Onus

1 a: burden    b: a disagreeable necessity: obligation    c: blame     d: stigma

2 : burden of proof

e.g. The onus is on us.     责无旁贷

rind: : a usually hard or tough outer layer

青青瓜衣； 相当于peel, crust 

土人又要感慨了，学了这么多年的英文，竟然不知西瓜皮是rind 。

e.g. the rind of watermelon

Pareidolia：亦真亦幻；

1994年，Steven Goldstein 描述了一种心理学现象， 就是人通常会把随机的模糊的视觉或听觉刺激（通常为图像和声音）感觉为特定的有意义的图像和声音，也就是形成错觉。

常见例子有： 云朵有时呈现动物形态或人的面部表情。我们可以“看到”月亮上的桂树就是这样的。

该词源于希腊词根 para- — beside, with or alongside — 和eidolon — image.

trumpet: to sound or proclaim on or as if on a trumpet

大肆宣传; 肆意鼓吹

trumpet the news

The newspapers trumpeted the terrors of the mummy's curse to all the world.

militant: aggressively active (as in a cause) : combative   该词看来与军队有关， 表示苛求的，咄咄逼人的。

e.g. a militant attitude

The lady is very militant and she wants you to do all work without any questions.

tumble:

To cause to fall; bring down: A scandal tumbled the government. 转入低谷

 

To put, spill, or toss haphazardly: tumbled the extra parts into a box. 摔摔打打

 

Stocks tumble as more bad economic news piles up (Yahoo headline today)

downplay: To minimize the significance of; play down: 低调处理；

 

e.g. downplay the bad news: 报喜不报忧

 

At work, you should downplay your role some time.

itty-bitty: very tiny   小小的；

e.g. itty-bitty fingers; itty-bitty toes

backfire: to have the reverse of the desired or expected effect

弄巧成拙; 事得其反

e.g. Their plans backfired。

gruesome: Causing horror and repugnance; frightful and shocking

令人厌恶; 骇人听闻

e.g. a gruesome murder

like a bump on a log

if someone sits or stands somewhere like a bump on a log, they do not react in a useful or helpful way to the activities happening around them.

榆木疙瘩; 无动于衷；熟视无睹

 

Don't just sit there like a bump on a log, come and help us!

downturn - A downturn is when the economy starts to go poorly.  经济萧条;经济衰落
e.g. You should save some money so that you’ll have some in case of a downturn in the economy.  

e.g  When a downturn hits， I can only eat instant noodles.

osteopathic medicine

Osteopathy is an approach to healthcare that emphasizes the role of the musculoskeletal system in health and disease. In practice, this most commonly relates to musculoskeletal problems such as back and neck pain.  整骨医学

In the United States, Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.s: 整骨专家) are fully licensed medical physicians and surgeons, practicing in all clinical specialties along with their M.D. colleagues.（----Wikipedia）

factual 

adj.  绝非梦幻;  一个非常常见的词汇，可是好像自己很少用，其实还蛮好用。

1 : of or relating to facts

e.g a factual error

2 : restricted to or based on fact ； 现实

e.g. a factual statement

 

Everybody plays the fool, sometime
Theres no exception to the rule, listen baby
It may be factual, it may be cruel, I aint lying
Everybody plays the fool

------Aaron Neville (partial lyrics)

Idiosyncrasy

It is defined as an individualizing quality or characteristic of a person or group, and is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity. The term can also be applied to symbols. Idiosyncratic symbols mean one thing for a particular person, as a blade could mean war, but to someone else, it could symbolize a surgery. By the same principle, linguists state that words are not only arbitrary, but also largely idiosyncratic signs.

Idiosyncrasy defined the way physicians conceived diseases in the nineteenth century. They considered each disease as a unique condition, related to each patient. (wikipedia)

因人而异;  具体情况，具体分析

e.g. All refractionists develop their own menthod in this regard, and each of their idiosyncrasics assists them with rapid and accurate subjective refraction.

ego boost:  a lift to your self-esteem or confidence. 

You might get an ego boost if your boss tells you that you are doing a great job and wants to give you a promotion. 

自信大增；

e.g. Steve got a much needed ego boost yesterday. People messed him up with some good-looking movie star.

contrive

verb

1 a: devise, plan <contrive ways of handling the situation> 筹划；计划

b: to form or create in an artistic or ingenious manner <contrived household utensils from stone>  设计安排

2: to bring about by stratagem or with difficulty : manage  运筹规划

<he contrived to win their support>

Was the Eye contrived without Skill in Opticks….?         没有光学， 哪来的眼睛？

                                                               ----- Isaac Newton, 1718

take the plunge

to do something important or difficult that you have been thinking about doing for a long time；to begin an unfamiliar venture, especially after hesitating。

 

“破釜沉舟”应该是最恰当的解释， 尤其是“plunge”本身有“投入；沉入”的意思。

 

I've decided to take the plunge and start up my own business.

Hold your nose and take the plunge!

proficient: a. n. well advanced in an art, occupation, or branch of knowledge

(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proficient)

业务熟练; 精通娴熟; 用于赞美别人或吹嘘自己的黄金词汇。

e.g.You are so proficient with your work.

—    proficiently adverb

—    proficiency n.

proficient implies a thorough competence derived from training and practice

e.g. proficient in translating foreign languages

adept implies special aptitude as well as proficiency

e.g. adept at doing long division

skilled stresses mastery of technique

e.g. a skilled surgeon.

skillful implies individual dexterity in execution or performance

e.g. skillful drivers.

expert implies extraordinary proficiency and often connotes knowledge as well as technical skill

e.g. expert in the evaluation of wines

Oronyms and Homophones 同音异义

通常 homophone 指一对同音异义字， 如 prince 和 prints; allowed 和 aloud)；

而 oronyms 常指同音异义词组， 如 grey day 和 grade A.

The good can decay many ways.
The good candy came anyways.

有首诗全部使用同音异义：Eye Halve a Spelling Chequer (I Have a Spelling Checker):

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect in it's weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

                        (Sauce unknown)           

 

A retronym is a type of neologism coined for an old object or concept whose original name has come to be used for something else, is no longer unique, or is otherwise inappropriate or misleading. （wikipedia）

retronym是一类集合词汇。特征是一客体或概念的最初定义被用于其它事物， 不再有特定含义， 从而不合适或容易被人误解。所以使用时需要重新命名或加以修饰。

该词于1980年由Frank Mankiewicz和William Safire在纽约时代杂志提出。其产生原因多数因为科学技术的更新。

例如：silent movie, 电影最初是无声的， 然而后来的电影都是有声的，所以“电影”就缺省为“有声电影”，无声电影的“无声”倒需要特别指出。

Bar soap （相对于后来的liquid soap）, desktop computer (相对于后来的laptop), optical zoom (相对于后来的digital zoom) 都是很好的例子。

还有，real numbers 实数 (相对于后来的imaginary numbers 虚数)；organic food 应该也是。 

我在想，如果大家全用wii打网球的话，我们以后是不是也要把网球叫做“tennis classic”？

List of retronym:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_retronyms

offbeat n. 非传统；另类

a.       相当于 eccentric; unconventional; 另类出格；奇里古怪

e.g. I prefer the standard to the offbeat in writing.

infallible    

1 : incapable of error :  e.g. an infallible memory    a. 永无过失；绝对正确

2 : not liable to mislead, deceive, or disappoint : e.g. an infallible remedy

3 : incapable of error in defining doctrines touching faith or morals

e.g. I am not infallible.

infallibility    n. 黄金法则

hone

Verb

1. to develop and improve (a quality or ability): a workshop to hone interview techniques

2. to sharpen (a tool)

Noun

a fine whetstone used for sharpening edged tools and knives 磨刀石

 

hone in

1. To move or advance toward a target or goal: 锤炼提高；反复磨砺

The missiles honed in on the military installation.

2. To direct one's attention; focus: 聚精会神

The lawyer honed in on the gist of the plaintiff's testimony.