English metaphorical expression, 비유표현 묶어 읽기, 오세웅

I have too much on my plate already.

I have been biting more than I can chew.

My hands are tied with too many things.

I am too swamped.

   

He is at the end of his rope.

He has nowhere else to go.

He's fallen into a dilemma.

He is out on a limb.

   

언어학자들은 모든 언어가 은유적이라고 한다. 쉽게 말하자면 우리 주변의 사물들은 처음부터 부르는 이름이 있었던 게 아니고 인간들이 상황에 맞게 이름을 붙인 것이기 때문에 모든 표현은 빗대어 표현하는, 즉 비유적이라는 것이다.

   

The book gave me food for thought.

I need to beef up my vita. (이력서에 살~)

I want my slice of the pie. 내조각~

This is a tough nut to crack.

   

In a nutshell, he wants to marry you.

   

We are giving you a bonus as a sweetener. (뇌물성 보너스^^)

That's baloney(nonsense).

Business is mushrooming.

I don't want him on our team because he may spill the beans.

I'm trying to get some brownie points from the teacher by smiling in class.

He devoured the whole book.

I savor everything he says.

The expression is quite stale.

Let me chew on it for a day.

I just can't swallow what you are telling me.

He's been ruminating on that idea for some time.

The teacher spoon-fed her students. - 쉽게 지도~

As long as you regurgitate what the teacher said, you will do fine on your exam.

He nourished his desire to become an actor.

He was drooling over her.

He has a lot of half-baked ideas.

She has been cooking up the scheme for a year.

   

I am walking on eggshells. I am walking on thin ice.

His words are all sugar-coated.

The movie left a bad taste in my mouth.

The idea is hard to digest.

You have to take the bitter with the sweet.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

This is peanuts compared to yours.

You're comparing apples and oranges.

They've all gone bananas. --흥분…

He held out an olive branch. 화해….제안..

The job is a real plum.

You nave to take her proposal with a grain of salt. -조심스럽게…

I am not trying to mince words. 솔직하게…

He puts a great value on my friendship.

You practically stole it.

   

It adds up to nothing.

We would have to earn his respect.

His lecture enriched my understanding of life.

This drink is rich in aroma.

I'll put my money on it.

The company has a lot of liquid assets.

We need to liquidate all our stocks.

Money is going down the drain.

   

I am not sure if my idea will sell.

That's the power of the almighty dollar.

I paid dearly for that mistake.

How can I repay you for your kindness?

I am indebted to you.

I owe you an apology.

Don't gamble with your life.

You get a lot of mileage out of your money in this area.

For what it's worth, here is my advice.

I will give you my two-cents' worth of advice.

When it comes to men, you'd better shop around.

Millionaires are a dime a dozen in the new world of mega-riches.

   

There's nothing to write home about.

The prices are going through the roof.

He has pushed me to the wall.

I've been up against a wall.

The house was crowded with people wall to wall.

We have to build from the ground up.

The analysis has a solid foundation.

We will iron out our differences.

The executives are hammering out a plan to reorganize the company.

Everything is hanging by a thread.

The fabric of our society is still strong.

The transition was seamless.

I am an open book. 누군지 알 수 있다.

That's not in my book.

We play by the book.

Let's hit the books. (let's study)

   

I can't handle her mood swings.

She deserves a taste of her own medicine.

It's better to call a spade a spade.

Let's lay our cards on the table.

I have to tie some loose ends.

I could hear a pin drop.

The teacher begins class like clockwork.

She finally found the key to the problem.

We are working on a shoestring. 적은예산…

It's only a drop in the bucket.

I've got a feather on my cap by getting the prize.

He seems to have something up his sleeve.

He had to make a speech off the cuff.

Our kids are getting along like a house on fire. 금방…

Clean up your room until everything is spick and span.

Did he get out of the bed on the wrong side?

It's going to be hard to fill his shoes.

My books disappeared like socks in a dryer.

I wear the pants in the family.

Do not spoonfeed these kids. Let them know that if they want to succeed in life, they must work for it.

   

Boys will be boys.

Pride is the mother of all sins.

The baby is all yours. 당신 차례~

She is wedded to the idea.

He is sad after receiving a Dear John letter from his girlfriend.

It has your name on it.

Smart is my middle name.

   

He italicizes everything.

We speak the same language.

This is the best car to go from Point A to Point B. (여기저기)

I know a thing or two about him.

He is one of a kind.

One accident is one too many.

He's the number one candidate for the job.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

You will know when you put two and two together.

That makes two of us. 같은생각…

Here is my two-cents' worth. 내 소견은….

Hindsight is always 20/20.

His days are being numbered.

   

Everywhere he opened the store, he put mon-and-pop stores out of business.

He planted seeds of doubt in her mind.

They are the cream of the crop. 가장 우수한 재원.

I heard it through the grapevines.

You've got to nip it in the bud.

Jealousy is an off-shoot of pride.

This is an outgrowth of an earlier theory.

The idea came out of his fertile brain.

My child is a late bloomer.

She is a budding artist.

He felt uprooted.

She's been under the weather. 아파서…

She stormed out of the room.

Rain or shine. 무조건 강행…

He has weathered many difficulties.

   

We've covered a lot of ground this semester.

The building burned to the ground.

I will kiss the ground you walked. 내가 너에게 굴복…

Be careful not to step on someone else's turf.

I like her because she is really down to earth.

We have unearthed the answer.

We dug for an answer.

This chocolate is heavenly.
The gov't is deliberately clouding the issue.

She is on cloud nine.

I am reaching for the stars.

He could not even get to the first base with her. 손도 못 잡아…

His answer is way off base.

We dived right into the opportunity.

This is just a ball park figure.

He has command of several languages.

We've decided to bury the hatchet. 싸우지 않기로.

The police are still looking for the smoking gun.

He calls all the shots here. 결정 내림…

It's a long shot but your can try.

She waits on you hand and foot.

I asked for her hand in marriage.

He is my right hand man.

It's right in the palm of my hand.

Please no more finger-pointing.

She thumbed a nose at me. 돼지코.. 조롱…

You may have to twist his arm to get a few dollars.

He has everything at his fingertips. 척척박사

Don't come begging at my feet later.

Houses in that area cost an arm and a leg.

I am keeping him on his toes. 긴장…

   

I've been trying to get it into her head. (get it through her head).

The plan came to a head (땅 덩어리의 머리 부분… 벼랑끝)

He has a big head. (자존심이 센)

She is a level-headed person. 분별력…

You don't need a brain surgeon for this.

Let me pick you brain.

Have heart. 동정심을…

My heart is not in it.

It was a hair-raising experience.

I have something I need to get off my chest.

I am telling you this with a heavy heart. 유감…

He is a man of heart.

The machine has a mind of its own.

   

I think you hit the nail on the head.

She is head and shoulders above the rest.

I can't think of anything off the top of my head.

It was hard to keep a straight face when I was promoted.

Feast your eyes on this car!

The food was mouth-watering.

I have to bite my lips.

His name is at the tip of my tongue.

I am going to play it by ear. 임기응변

I am all ears.

   

I did it to save my face. 체면치레…

She led him by the nose. 마음대로…

The stock market took a nose dive today.

I had to put my foot in my mouth.

You took the words out of my mouth.

You put the words into my mouth.

She turned a deaf ear.

On the face of it, the plan looks good.

Our plan fell flat on its face.

   

It is an infectious idea.

The company is not immune to a hostile takeover.

He spilled his guts out.

He has a biting sense of humor.

We're neck and neck.

Do you think I was born yesterday?

I received a fat check yesterday.

A fat chance! 희박.

   

We are fighting tooth and nail.

Laborers are the backbone of our society.

I can feel it in my bones.

We need live evidence.

She is an angel under the skin.

We'll now look at the weather in your neck of the woods (지역)

After all, she was left holding the baby.

I am in my birthday suit.

He shouldered the whole responsibilities.

You can cry on my shoulder any time.

You have a lot of nerve to do this to me.

It ain't over until the fat lady sings.

Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.

He is always the life of a party.

   

He is hanging tough.

He has a tight grip on the case.

The job is within my grasp.

Sometime you just have to go with the flow.

He is cut above. 수준높은..

You have a job cut out for you. 이미 정해진 일…

It was an uplifting experience.

I could not contain my anger any longer.

Don't let this opportunity pass you by.

I stumbled on to the deal. 우연히…

An accident is waiting to happen here.

Everything fell into place.

The job is up for grabs.

   

We have entered into an agreement.

Sit tight!

He cut my proposal into pieces.

He is going to have to cough up his money.

Hold your horses!

There is a dogleg on the golf course.

He dogged my footsteps.

He has his money on a short leash.

They multiply like rabits.

She chickened out at the last minute.

He ducked the question. 회피

In this rat race, I don't want to get involved.

He is playing possum. 포섬이 죽은체… 쥐과…

I feel sheepish 창피…

He is the black sheep in his family.

   

Let's hear it from the horse's mouth.

You're barking up the wrong tree.

It's a dog-eat-dog world out here.

He was a sitting duck.

   

It runs like a deer.

He grabbed the bull by the horns.

You two love-birds are making me jealous.

I took him under my wing.

She was cited for jaywalking.

You are moving into shark-infested waters.

Something smells fishy.

There are plenty of other fish in the water.

The world is our oyster. 우리 것! 세익스피어

I have a butterfly in my stomach. 떨림…

You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

He has done a lion's share in this project.

We're on a wild-goose chase. 쓸데없는.. 불가능한 일.

I've got other fish to fry.

   

This piano is a white elephant.

The road to success is long and winding.

We are at the crossroads in our lives.

If this doesn't work, we will try a different route.

He hit a roadblock when he tried to get a government approval.

Is there any way around it?

Let's backtrack slowly on this problem.

I am not out of the woods yet.

Let's get this show on the road.

I didn't get very far with the homework.

I got sidetracked so often that I didn't get to finish the project on time.

We face an uphill battle.

She's going upstream.

He is at the pinnacle of his career.

He is placed between a rock and a hard place.

We took a wrong turn somewhere. 관계 빗나가..

I have to distance myself from him.

It's all downhill from here.

He is always out in left field.

She is all over him.

She's gotten over him. 잊어버림.

I am on top of the situation.

Today is a dress-down day. (casual…)

Somewhere down the road, she will understand me.

He is living a life in the fast lane. 바쁘게…

My father had his over-the-hill birthday party yesterday. 40세..

   

I have lost my train of thought. 생각의 맥…

He has only one track of mind.

He is a back-seat driver. 참견의 대가…

She always takes a back seat. 수줍어..

The new CEO runs a tight ship.

She surely went overboard to buy her kid such an expensive car.

He is even-handed.

   

We will try to play fair and square.

He is going off tangent again. 쓸데없는 …

The story is about a love triangle.

We've been moving (going around) in circles.

He is straight. 이성 연애…

We're back to square one.

This is a political hot button.

   

It all boils down to this.

I have a burning desire to eat kimchi.

The loss of the contract left his business in the cold.

   

They are keeping me in the dark. 안 갈켜주고…

This is a shot in the dark. 어림짐작..

He dropped by out of the blue. … once in a blue moon.

This area may experience a black-out(power outage) because of the storm.

   

They rolled out the red carpet for me.

I got a pink slip today. 해고.

Would you shed light on this problem?

This book is enlightening.

It was only a light-hearted joke.

   

I was a kid in a candy store.

The business plan is in the pipeline.

He has a magnetic personality.

I know my place. 내분수를…

The idea has been floating around for some time.

We've been drifting around on this project for a year.

The answer finally surfaced.

You really have to be immersed in the language to learn it.

You made my day. 덕분에 좋은 하루…

There is chemistry between us.

It's music to my ears.

It doesn't ring a bell.

I've opened a can of worms.

Please come back when the dust is settled.

He laughed all the way to the bank. 돈 많이 벌었다…