有相当一部分英语成语和汉语里的成语或词组相通，其用法和表达方式几乎完全一样，可以逐词对译出来；这类成语比较容易为我们所接受，特别适合于初涉英语成语的同志学习。
（1）bad egg坏蛋，歹徒。
Trust him nothing；he is a bad egg。别信他，他是个坏蛋。
（2）crocodile tears鳄鱼的眼泪，假慈悲。
Don''t weep crocodile tears with his misfortune. I know you have always detested him and are only too happy to see him get into trouble。别假惺惺地为他的不幸难过了，我知道你一直讨厌他，看到他倒霉，心里可高兴哩！
（3）cry wolf呼喊“狼来了”，发假情报。
That politician cries wolf in every speech he makes。那个政治家在他的每篇演说中都发假警报。
（4） （that is） easier said than done说起来容易做起来难。
Easier said than done，let''s pay more attention to practice.
说起来容易做起来难，让我们多注意些实践吧！
（5）fish in troubled waters混水摸鱼，乘人之危。
He''s always been good at fishing in troubled waters; he made a lot of money by buying houses that were bombed in the war.他总是善于乘人之危大捞一把，他靠购买在战争中遭过轰炸的房屋而赚了大量的钱财。
（6）fish out of water离水之鱼，不得其所。
She felt like a fish of water at the evening party because she knew no one. 她在晚会上感到很局促，因为她一个人也不认识。
（7）gives someone an inch and he will take an ell得寸进尺。
If you give those people an inch，they''ll take an ell；we told them they might use our side path to reach their garden，now they have fenced in the path so that we cannot use it ourselves.那些人就是得寸进尺；我们对他们说，他们可以经过我们的小道进他们的花园，现在他们已在小道上修起了篱笆，以致我们自己也无法走这条小路过去了。
（8）go west上西天，死，失败。
Poor John was one of those who went west in the explosion.可怜的约翰是在这次爆炸中魂归西天的人物之一。
（9）in a word一句话，简而言之
I have no time to tell you the whole story, in a word, they become hostile to each other。我没时间把全部经过告诉你，一句话，他们相互成了仇敌。
（10）lose face丢脸；失面子。
Certain country often loses face in regard to its relations with small weak countries on account of its dirty tricks某个国家在与弱小国家交往中因其使用卑鄙手段而总是丢脸。
（11）odds and ends零零碎碎。
What shall we do with all those odds and ends？我们用那些残余的东西可做什么呢？
（12）play with fire玩火，作无谓而危险的事。
He who plays with fire gets burned．玩火者必自焚。
（13）strike while the iron is hot趁热打铁。
Father is in a good mood at the moment．Strike while the iron is hot and ask him to let you go to the circus.这时父亲的情绪很好，乘此机会求他让你去看马戏。
（14）there’s no smoke without fire无火不冒烟；无风不起浪。
The story is all over the town. It is being spread by someone or by some people. There''s no smoke without fire.这个传说遍及全城，有人或有些人还在散布。真是无火不冒烟。
（15）a thorn in the flesh （side）肉中刺；棘手的事，不断使某人烦恼的根源。
（l6）The memory of this act will be a thorn in the flesh for the rest of your life，my boy.这种行动会使你不断引起回忆。使你终生烦恼，我的朋友。
