Bedeutung: a means to an end

ein Mittel zum Zweck

ans Idiom

a hill of beans

a small amount, very little The money he lost doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

a pat answer

a planned or memorized answer, a canned answer You won't get the job if you give a pat answer to every question.

best laid plans

(See the best-laid plans)

by all means

yes, please do it By all means, come to the Learning Skills Centre.

by any means

any way or method, by doing any job He survived by any means when he first came to Canada.

by no means

not in any way, not by any stretch... By no means is a car a good investment. It will depreciate.

end justifies the means

(See the end justifies the means)

full of beans

in high spirits, energetic She seems to be full of beans today. She must be excited about something.

hill of beans

not very much, very little What I lose in the poker games doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

one-upmanship

ability to keep ahead of others, trying to keep an advantage I get tired of his one-upmanship and his desire to always be better than everyone else.

pat answer

(See a pat answer)

row of beans

(See a hill of beans)

spill the beans

tell a secret to someone who is not supposed to know about it Please don

the best-laid plans of mice and men go oft astray

plans are not guaranteed, plans sometimes do not work out "If this boat sinks, we'll say, ""The best-laid plans of mice and men go oft astray."""

the end justifies the means

any method is fine if the result is good If a person steals food to survive, does the end justify the means?

too many chiefs and not enough Indians

too many directors and not enough workers, too many cooks... Everybody tried to be the boss. We had too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

when in Rome, do as the Romans do

when you are a visitor do the same things as your hosts do "When I visit an Asian country, I learn the customs, and do as the ""Romans"" do."

Alans Psychedelic Breakfast

American slang for to vomit

cans

headphones

cool beans

very cool, great, or interesting

cream your jeans

to be very excited, so much so that one figuratively ejaculates. Not always necessarily sexual excitement:"God, she's gorgeous. I think I've just creamed my pants"

means

money

answer back

reply rudely回嘴；顶嘴
Don't answer back like that．别那样顶嘴！
The child often answered his grandmother back．这孩子经常与祖母顶嘴。

answer for

1． be responsible for；take the responsibility for对…负责
You must answer for any missing articles after the party．你必须对聚会后遗失的任何物品负责。
Parents should answer for their children's behaviour．父母应对自己孩子的行为负责。
2．guarantee 保证；担保
I can answer for his honesty．我可以保证他是诚实的。
I will answer for the truth of his statements．我担保他说的话是真实的。
3．be punished or blamed for因…而受罚；因…而受责备
He will have to answer for his crimes．他必须因他的罪行而受到惩罚。
Someday you will answer for your foolish behaviour．总有一天你将因你的愚蠢行为而受到惩罚。
4．serve for起…作用
That night the table answered for a bed for me．那天晚上那张桌子成了我的床。
5．speak for代表…讲话
Stop answering for John，let him speak．不要替约翰说，让他自己讲。
I can't answer for the other members of the committee．我不能代表其他委员的意见。

answer to

1．correspond to；be in accordance with符合；相符；一致
We all hope that the result will answer to our expectation．我们都希望结果和我们预料的一样。
That answers precisely to our needs．那正符合我们的需要。
A man answering to the police description was arrested in London last night．那个与警察描述的特征相符的人，昨晚已在伦敦被捕。
2．be responsible to对…负责
You'll have to answer to me if any harm comes to these children．要是这些孩子受到什么伤害，我将唯你是问。
He said he was ready to answer to those who worked under his direction．他说他愿意对在他领导下工作的人负责。
3．respond to；reply to对…做出反应；听从
The illness doesn't answer to medical treatment．这病治疗无效。
Young people should answer to the nation's call to go where they are most needed．青年人应该听从国家号召，到最需要的地方去。

answer up to

1．respond to对…做出反应；响应
We answered up to the appeal quickly．我们迅速响应了这个呼吁。
At the roll call，the men answered up to their names．点名时，士兵们应答迅速。
2．have a ready reply to对…对答如流
The little boy answered up to all the questions except two．除了两个问题外，这个孩子对答如流。

beyond one's means

more than one can afford 非财力所及
Don't live beyond your means．过日子不要超出自己财力所及的范围。

by means of

with the help of；by using sth．or some method 利用
He recovered by means of seaair and seabathing．他通过呼吸海边的空气和洗海水浴恢复了健康。
They succeeded by means of perseverance．他们依靠坚持而成功。
The thief entered the house by means of a ladder．小偷用一个梯子进了房间。

in answer/response to

in reply to应…而；响应；回答
He only shrugged his shoulders in answer to the question．他对问题的回答只是耸了耸肩而已。
The doctor came at once in answer to my telephone．医生接了我的电话立即就来了。
In answer to her shouts people ran out to help．人们一听到她的叫喊声都跑出来帮忙了。

in answer to

ways and means

Idiom(s): ways and means

Theme: MONEY

eferring to the raising of money to pay for something. (Typically refers to a government committee or a committee of some organization charged with raising money. Fixed order.)
• The suggestion was referred to the ways and means committee for discussion at the next meeting.
• The proposed legislation is stalled in ways and means.

pay a king's ransom

Idiom(s): pay a king's ransom (for sth)

Theme: PAYMENT

to pay a great deal for something. (To pay an amount as large as one might have to pay to get back a king held for ransom.)
• I would like to buy a nice watch, but I don't want to pay a king's ransom for it.
• It's a lovely house. I had to pay a king's ransom, but it is worth it.

one means business

Idiom(s): one means business

Theme: SERIOUSNESS

one is very serious. (Informal.)
• Billy, get into this house and do your homework, and I mean business.
• We mean business when we say you must stop all this nonsense.

not worth a hill of beans

Idiom(s): not worth a hill of beans AND not worth a plugged nickel

Theme: WORTHLESSNESS

worthless. (Folksy.)
• Your advice isn't worth a hill of beans.
• This old cow isn't worth a plugged nickel.

not take no for an answer

Idiom(s): not take no for an answer

Theme: PERSISTENCE

not to accept someone's refusal. (Informal. A polite way of being insistent.)
• Now, you must drop over and see us tomorrow. We won't take no for an answer.
• I had to go. They just wouldn't take no for an answer.

not know beans about

Idiom(s): not know beans (about sb or sth)

Theme: KNOWLEDGE - LACKING

to know nothing about someone or something. (Slang.)
• Bill doesn't know beans about flying an airplane.
• When it comes to flying, I don't know beans.
• Nobody knows beans about Bill.

live within one's means

Idiom(s): live within one's means

Theme: LIVELIHOOD

to spend no more money than one has.
• We have to struggle to live within our means, but we manage.
• John is unable to live within his means.

live beyond one's means

Idiom(s): live beyond one's means

Theme: LIFESTYLE

to spend more money than one can afford.
• The Browns are deeply in debt because they are living beyond their means.
• I keep a budget so that I don’t live beyond my means.

by all means of

Idiom(s): by all means of sth

Theme: POSITIVE

using every possible manner of something to do something.
• People will be arriving by all means of transportation.
• The surgeon performed the operation by all means of instruments.

best-laid plans of mice and men

Idiom(s): best-laid plans of mice and men AND best-laid schemes of mice and men

Theme: PLANNING

the best thought-out plans of anyone. (Mice and men is fixed order.)
• If a little rain can ruin the best-laid plans of mice and men, think what an earthquake might do!
• The best-laid schemes of mice and men are often disturbed by any small matter.

answer one's purpose

Idiom(s): answer someone's purpose AND serve someone's purpose

Theme: SERVING

to fit or suit someone's purpose.
• This piece of wood will answer my purpose quite nicely.
• The new car serves our purpose perfectly.

He who wills the end wills the means.

If you are determined to do something you will find a way.

The end justifies the means.

Wrong or unfair methods may be used if the result of the action is good.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

You should adopt the customs of the people or country you are visiting, and behave in the same way.

Answers on a postcard

This idiom can be used to suggest that the answer to something is very obvious or that the person would really like to hear what people think.

Easy as beans

Something that is so easy that anyone can do it is easy as beans.

King's ransom

If something costs or is worth a king's ransom, it costs or is worth a lot of money.

Man of means

A man, or woman, of means is wealthy.

Swansong

A person's swansong is their final achievement or public appearance.

Ethnic Cleansing

Killing of a certain ethnic or religious group on a massive scale.

More Idioms/Phrases

Drastic Times Call For Drastic Measures Dropping Like Flies Elvis has left the building Ethnic Cleansing Excuse my French Feeding Frenzy Field Day Finding Your Feet

English Vocalbulary

a monkey with a tin tool a must a name to conjure with a narrow escape a naughty little beggar A new broom sweeps clean. a newly married wife a nice how-d'ye-do a nice mess a nice piece of crumpet a non juring a number of a number of things a pack of cards a pack of lies a pair of compasses a pair of lovers a pair of men's trousers