a cat nap 打个盹儿 let the cat out of the bag 放出袋中猫(泄密,说漏嘴) more than one way to skin a cat 剥猫皮各有巧妙不同(另有办法) rain cats and dogs 天上下猫,天上下狗(倾盆大雨) All cats are(或look)black(或gray)in the dark.或者We are in the same boat.也就是说:大家彼此彼此(We are all equal或We are in the same situation。就像「五十步笑百步」或「乌鸦笑猪黑」。 一言既出,驷马难追:有人译成:One word lets slip and four horses will fail to catch it. 或 A statement that once let loose cannot be caught by four galloping horses. 西方人也喜欢猫,并将猫养为宠物。但是黑猫却让西方人心生恐惧,尤其是英国人,他们将黑猫与女巫联系在上起。如果是在一个漆黑的星期五晚上碰上一只黑猫,便预示着此人会遭厄运。在英国古代的传说中,人们认为妖魔常变成黑的动物,尤其是黑猫,还有人说黑猫就是巫婆变的。黑猫有九命,巫婆有变九次的魔法。杀死一只黑猫,她还可以再变八次。所以英语的猫还含有"心地恶毒的女人,爱说人坏话的女人"等意思。如,She is a cat(她是个包藏祸心的女人),Mrs Smith is a perfect cat(史密斯太太是个地地道道的长舌妇),The man and his wife lead a cat and dog life, and both are miserable (他们夫妻俩经常吵架,两人都感到痛苦)。It's difficult to get a man to bell the cat(敢于在危险中挺身而出的人不容易到)。与猫有关的成语也很多,如:A cat has nine lives(猫有九命--自有天相),C
catnapats hide their claws(猫总是藏起自己的爪子--知人知面不知心),All cats are grey in the dark (黑暗处的猫都是灰的--人未出名时看起来都差不多),A gloved cat catches no mice(戴手套的猫抓不到老鼠--不愿吃苦的人成不了大事业),The cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream(掩耳盗铃,自欺欺人)。Care killed the cat(忧虑伤身), Let the cat out of bag(无意中泄露秘密),There's more ways than one to kill a cat(有的是办法),When the cat is away, the mice will play(猫不在,老鼠玩得自在),,like a cat on hot bricks(焦躁不安,如热锅上的蚂蚁),not a cat in hell's chance(毫无机会)。