Two-Word Expressions：兩字短語

Two-Word Expressions：兩字短語 

 
　　In spoken English, we often use two-word phrases, such as "so-so". Here are some of the more common two word phrases.

　　so-so=neither very bad(ly) nor very good/well(不好也不壞的，馬馬虎虎的，還算過得去的)
　　--How was the meeting?
　　--So-so. It was nice to see everyone, but we didn't get anything decided.

　　on-off=from time to time; sometimes(斷斷續續，有時)
　　They have a very on-off relationship.

　　love-hate=having feelings for someone/something which swing from love to hate(愛恨交加的強烈感情關系)
　　I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with my car.

　　mish-mash=an untidy disorderly mixture(混雜物，大雜燴)
　　The new policy is a bit of a mish-mash of the last two policies we've had.

　　riff-raff=quite a 'snobby' expression to describe people you think are lower in class than you(烏合之眾；地痞流氓)
　　Let's send out invitations for the party. We don't want the town's riff-raff turning up and eating all the food.

　　chit-chat=small talk or informal light conversation(聊天，閑談)
　　He asked us to stop our chit-chat and get on with our work.

　　knick-knack=a small cheap decorative object, esp. for the house(小擺設，小玩藝兒)
　　She's got a lot of knick-knacks. I'm always afraid I'm going to break one.

　　ship-shape=made clean and neat; in good order(整齊的，井然有序的)
　　I want to leave the place ship-shape when we go on holiday.

　　zig-zag=a line shaped like a row of z's(曲折，之字形)
　　the zigzags of the mountain roads

　　ding-dong=an noisy fight or argument(爭吵，爭辯)
　　They've had a bit of a ding-dong and they're not talking to each other at the moment.

　　higgledy-piggledy=in disorder; mixed together without system(紊亂的，雜亂無章的)
　　That bookshelf is all higgledy-piggledy!

　　flip-flops=a type of open shoe, which is usu. made of rubber and is held on by the toes and loose at the back(平底人字拖鞋)
　　I lived in my flip-flops when I was staying on the beach.

　　see-saw=(1) a board which is balanced in the middle and on which children sit at opposite ends, so that when one end goes up the other goes down(蹺蹺板)
　　(2) to move backwards and forwards, up and down, or between opponents or opposite sides(前后或上下運動；交替)
　　The English pound has see-sawed against the American dollar for the last two weeks.