我们先给大家介绍: to let the cat out of the bag。从字面上来解释,to let the cat out of the bag它的意思是:让那只猫从口袋里出来。但是,它的实际意思是:在不小心的情况下泻露了秘密。下面这个例子就能说明这个俗语的意思:
例句-1: I bought a nice wrist watch as a surprise for my wife's birthday. But I'm afraid I let the cat out of the bag--I hid it under my socks and she found it when she was putting my clean clothes away.
例句-2: It was supposed to be a secret that we were firing our accountant for stealing money. But one of the secretaries saw the memo and let the cat out of the bag by telling her friends.
下面我们要讲的一个和cat有关的俗语是: look like the cat that ate the canary。Canary就是金丝雀。Look like the cat that ate the canary这个俗语是用来形容一个人显得非常满足,就像一只猫终于实现了它长期来的愿望,把鸟笼打开,把里面那只可怜的金丝雀吃了一样地感到满足。下面的例子说的是两个朋友去赛马,其中的一个重要方面是个老手,可是却输了,而那个新手却赢了。这个老手说:
例句-3: My friend didn't listen to my advice and he bet twenty dollars on the horse. Why, I couldn't believe my eyes! The horse won by a nose and my friend came back with the two thousand bucks he'd just won, looking like the cat that ate the canary.
例句-4: Say, I think Mister Green in Personnel just got that promotion he's been wanting so much. I saw him walk out of the boss's office like the cat that just ate the canary.