1. gum up the works 把事情弄糟

Works在這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)里指某種機(jī)械裝置。想象一下要是把粘膠之類(lèi)的東西灌進(jìn)馬達(dá)里去，會(huì)出現(xiàn)什么樣的情況呢？齒輪皮帶之類(lèi)機(jī)件會(huì)粘在一塊兒，運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)肯定會(huì)受到影響，甚至干脆就停滯不動(dòng)了。其實(shí)gum up the works這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)出典就在這兒。當(dāng)然作習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)的時(shí)候gum up the works往往和機(jī)器無(wú)關(guān)，而是在說(shuō)人和事了，用來(lái)比喻把事情弄糟，或者阻礙事情的順利進(jìn)展。

來(lái)看個(gè)例子吧。這是個(gè)公司主管在跟合伙人商量有關(guān)同事Joe的事兒。

例句-1：I think we better leave Joe out of our first meeting with this new customer. Joe means well, but I'm afraid he'll say something stupid and really gum up the works for us.

我想我們和這位新顧客舉行第一次會(huì)議的時(shí)候Joe最好不要在場(chǎng)。Joe用意不壞，只是我怕他會(huì)說(shuō)出些不恰當(dāng)?shù)拇涝?huà)把我們的事情搞僵了。

有時(shí)，gum up the works也可以簡(jiǎn)化成gum up，意思不變。下面這個(gè)例子，說(shuō)話(huà)的人去Chicago洽談業(yè)務(wù)，但是由于助手Ryan粗心大意，讓他白跑了一趟。

例句-2：When I got to the meeting in Chicago and opened my proposal, I found out Ryan had put the wrong proposal inside. He certainly gummed up our chances to win a nice fat contract.

我到芝加哥參加業(yè)務(wù)會(huì)議時(shí)，打開(kāi)我的建議書(shū)才發(fā)現(xiàn)Ryan張冠李戴放錯(cuò)了建議書(shū)。他可真是糟蹋了我們贏得這份大大有利可圖的合約的機(jī)會(huì)。

2. beat one's gums 嘮叨，廢話(huà)連篇

在beat one's gums這個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)里，gum這個(gè)詞有完全不同的含義。它指的是人的牙齦。Beat one's gums，是從五十多年前第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間開(kāi)始流傳的俚語(yǔ)。意思是嘮嘮叨叨、沒(méi)完沒(méi)了地抱怨。這往往出于習(xí)慣，或者只是沒(méi)話(huà)找話(huà)說(shuō)。

例句-3：If I didn't hear my men beating their gums about how bad the chow was, or how hard they worked, I worried. When they were too quiet, I was afraid they were losing their fighting spirit.

要是我聽(tīng)不到我的部下沒(méi)完沒(méi)了地抱怨伙食有多差勁，或者他們干活有多辛苦，那我就得擔(dān)心了。當(dāng)他們過(guò)于沉默的時(shí)候，我害怕他們的斗志消沉了。

嘮叨抱怨也許是人所難免的行為，但是要是做得太過(guò)火，就會(huì)成了問(wèn)題，令人生厭。在下面例子里，名叫Oscar的家伙就是這樣一個(gè)人。說(shuō)話(huà)的人是在給一位新同事一點(diǎn)忠告。

例句-4：Look, you don't want to get a desk anywhere close to that guy Oscar. He'll drive you crazy - he loves to beat his gums anytime he has anybody close enough to be an audience for him.

喂，你可千萬(wàn)別靠近Oscar那家伙的辦公桌，他會(huì)把你煩死了。任何時(shí)候只要附近有任何人能聽(tīng)他說(shuō)話(huà)，他就會(huì)羅嗦個(gè)沒(méi)完沒(méi)了。