Meaning 意义Speak of the devil (and in he walks). This idiom means "talk about certain person and he appears".  A similar Spanish idiom is ""Hablando del Rey de Roma, por la ventana se asoma" (Speaking of the King of Rome, through the window he appears).  In Chinese, it is 说曹操,曹操到 ("shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo dào"), which translates as "Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives. Cáo Cāo is the a well known historical figure of ancient China during the Three Kingdom Period (220-265CE).Example 例子
  • Hey, I haven't seen Bob for a long time. Speak of the devil, here he comes.
  • Hola. hace tiempo no he visto a Bob. Mira, hablando rey del Roma, aquí viene Bob ahora.
  • 喂,我很久没有见过Bob. 说曹操,曹操到, 他正走过来!

 
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Meaning 意义

The most common meaning for this slang is something or a name which sounds familiar and causes someone to remember something or someone.  El modismo significa que hay algo o un nombre que provoca una memoria o conocimiento. 这一俚语最常用于某些事物或名听起来熟悉。

Example 例子

  • Hi, this is Brandon. Does it ring a bell to you? I am the person who always asks you to visit his blogs. 
  • Hola, soy Brandon. ¿Te acuerdas de mi? Yo soy la persona que siempre te pide que visites sus Blogs.  
  • 你好,我是布兰登,你记得我吗?我市一天到晚叫你上他的网站的那位。

 
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Meaning 意义

Back in the seventies and eighties, polyvinyl discs, known as records, were the mostly common form of music albums. A scratch of a record may cause the needle of a record player stuck in the same groove and plays the music over and over again. The idiom “Sound like a broken record” refers to a person saying the same thing over and over again. The literal translation of this idiom in Spanish is “pareces un disco rayado” 早在七十,八十年代音乐唱片普遍是用胶碟播放,当唱片被刮花唱针停留在槽上, 音乐重复又重复,此语句是指一个人说同样的事情一遍又一遍,喋喋不休。

Examples 例子

  • Brandon, you sound like a broken record. Please don’t keep telling me to visit your blogs. 白兰敦,请不要象破坏的唱碟,一天到晚叫我上你的网页。
  • Americans for the umpteen times accuse that China controls its currency. It sounds like a broken record to me. 美国无数次指中国操控人民币汇率,真是不胜其烦!
 
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There is a limit to everything. We can load the camel with lots of straw, but finally it will be too much and the camel's back will break. And it is only a single straw that breaks its back - the last straw. This can be applied to many things in life. People often say "That's the last straw!" when they will not accept any more of something.
There are a Spanish phrase and a Chinese phrase which have a similar meaning to the subject proverb and they are "La gota que colmó el vaso” and 忍无可忍 respectively

大家都知道,骆驼是非常强壮的动物,一般来说,一只骆驼可以运送很重很重的货物。但是,要是你不断往它背上加东西的话,这只骆驼到了一定程度就会达到它所能承受的饱和点,那怕再多加一根稻草也会使它承受不了而垮台。
Examples
  • You broke a lot of rules and I tried to put up with you. However, stealing money is the straw that broke the camel's back. You are fired!
  • Rompiste muchas reglas y trato de aguantarte. Pero haberte robado el dinero es la gota que colmó el vaso. íEstás despedido!
  • 你多次犯规,我已容忍你,但是挪用公款,我忍无可忍,我现在开除你。
  • You have been rude to me all day. I've had it. That's the last straw.
  • Has sido muy maleducado conmigo todo el día. ¡Me harté! !Esto es el colmo!
  • 你一整天对我不客气,我受够,忍无可忍!


 
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One can’t have one’s cake and eat it too is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech. It means an individual can’t use a thing and still attempts to own it (such as eating a piece of cake and yet still possessing that piece for future use) It may also indicate having or wanting more than one can handle or deserve, or trying to have two incompatible things. The proverb’s meaning is similar to the phrases, “you can’t have it both ways” and “you can’t have the best of both worlds.

There is a Chinese proverbs which bears similar meaning. It is 鱼与熊掌不可兼得, which literally means “one cannot get fish and bear’s paw at the same time”. Back in the old days, both were considered culinary rarities. I was told the closest Spanish phrase to this is.“no puedes tener simpre lo que quieras”

以上应语谚语表示不能同时做两件互不相容的事而双收其利,即两者不可兼得或不能两全其美,可译为:不能什么都随你;不能两全其美;事难两全;两者不可兼得.

Examples

  • He can’t make up his mind whether to go to college or get a full-time job. You can’t have your cake and eat it. 上大学还是找个全日工作的职业,他还拿不定主意,两者不可兼得啊。
  • You spend all your money on beer and then complain about being poor, but you can’t have your cake and eat it, you know. 你把所有的钱都喝啤酒喝完了,然后又抱怨没钱用,你知道,这不能两全其美啊。
 
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Background
The phrase "turning a blind eye" is attributed to an incident in the life of British Admiral Horatio Nelson, who was blind in one eye. In 1801, in certain battle, Nelson deliberately disobeyed the order of his superior by putting the telescope to his blind eye claiming that he did not see the related signal.

Meaning To choose to ignore behavior that one knows is wrong.

Examples
  • The city officials were bribed. They turned a blind eye to crimes committed by the gangsters.
  • Management often turn a blind eye to harassment in the workplace.
  • She knew Peter was taking the money from the company but she turned a blind eye because he was her son. 

背景

这谚语源於十八世纪一场战争,当时一名英国海军上将纳尔逊,他一只眼睛失明,他故意不执行上级命令,把望远镜放上瞎了的一只眼,而声称看不到有关旗号。

意思
指一人对他人不当行为视而不见。


例子
  • The city officials were bribed. They turned a blind eye to crimes committed by the gangsters. 某些地方官员因受贿对歹徒的罪行视若无睹。
  • Management often turn a blind eye to harassment in the workplace. 高层往往对公司发生的性骚扰视而不见。
  • She knew Peter was taking the money from the company but she turned a blind eye because he was her son. 她知道彼得挪用公款,但她视而不见,因他是她的儿子。