英語慣用語的活用

慣用語是個固定的詞組，有一定的`語義，是不可分割的統一體，其整體的意思往往不能從組成慣用語的各個詞的原有意思中猜測而得。此外，慣用語的各個組成部分不可任意拆開或替換。但是某些慣用語，在特殊情況下，容許做些更動，從而增添活用性。

現在從下面的四點舉例説明：

⒈慣用語組成部分的替換，例如：

● pull a long face（愁眉苦臉）pull an unhappy face, 如：

The football coach pulled an unhappy face when his team was defeated.

● a stitch in time saves nine（及時補救）a word in time saves nine, 如：

The two were going to quarrel, but their friend cut in to appease them. A word in time saves nine.

⒉慣用語組成部分分開，例如： ● get an upper hand（佔上風）In a debate competition, a quick-witted debater can get an upper cut, if not the upper hand. ● cannot see the wood for the trees（見樹不見林）He sees too many trees, but not the whole wood.

⒊慣用語組成部分的擴充，例如： ● put into practice （實行）put into widespread practice, 如：

Davids proposal was well accepted, but no real effort was made to put it into widespread practice.

● keep company （結交朋友）keep disreputable company, 如：