詞語掌故：“貓語”(1/2)
Some cats like to catch small birds, like canaries. If someone looks very proud or satisfied with himself, we say he looks like the cat that ate the canary. 有些貓喜歡抓小鳥，比如金絲雀。如果某人自我感覺非常良好，我們就說他看起來就像一只吃了金絲雀的貓。
if you play cat and mouse with someone, you change between different kinds of behavior when dealing with another person. For example, a child might offer something sweet to her little brother and then take it away when he reaches for it. 如果說你跟某人玩貓和老鼠，就表示你和別人打交道時總是變換各種態度。比如說，一個小孩給她的小弟弟一些糖，當他快要拿時，她又把糖拿走了。
The saying that looks like something the cat dragged in describes something in bad condition.有句習語說被貓拖著的東西，就表示有些事處于危險的環境中。
2 old and funny expressions describe something that is the best or finest. Americans might say that something is the cat's meow（喵） and the cat's pajamas（睡衣）. 有兩個歷史悠久又有意思的表達常用來形容某樣東西是最好的或最棒的.。美國人常說這東西是貓的叫聲和它的睡衣。
Children might call a child who is easily frightened a fraidy cat or a scaredy cat.如果一個小孩很容易被嚇倒，那么其他小孩會叫他是膽小貓。
A copycat is someone who acts just like someone else or copies another person's work.。“復制貓（copycat）”用來形容愛模仿別人的行為和說話的人。
A fat cat is a person with a lot of money.“胖貓（fat cat）”表示某人非常有錢。
詞語掌故：“貓語”(2/2)
Sometimes people sleep for a short time during the day. This is called a cat nap.有時，人們白天會小睡一會兒，這叫做打瞌睡(cat nap)。
If you tell about something that was supposed to be a secret, we say you let the cat out of thebag.如果你說出了原本應該保密的事情，我們說你泄露秘密（let the cat out of the bag）。
If you are not able to speak or answer a question, someone might ask if the cat has got your tongue. 如果你不能說話或者回答不出某個問題，人們會問你啞巴了？為什么不吭聲？(if the cat has got your tongue?)
When the cat's away, the mice will play means people sometimes misbehave when there is no supervision. 貓兒不在，老鼠成精（When the cat's away, the mice will play），就是用來形容沒有監管下，人們有時會不太約束自己的行為。
curiosity killed the cat. This means being too concerned about things that are not your business might cause problems. 好奇害死貓。意思是過于關心與自己無關的事情會造成麻煩。
If your home is very small, you might say there is not enough room to swing a cat.如果你的房間很小，你可能會說房間太小沒有活動的余地（連搖擺貓的空間都不夠）。
Cats are not like sheep or cows that can be moved in a group. So we say a difficult or impossible job is like herding cats. 貓不像羊或牛一樣群體行動。所以我們說一件困難的或是不可能完成的工作就像讓貓集體行動一樣。（herding cats )
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