光从字面上,apple of one's eye的意思难道是“某人眼睛里的苹果?”其实,这里的“apple”可不仅仅表示“苹果”,它还表示“瞳孔”,是眼睛里最敏感最珍贵的东西。所以用它来表示最珍贵之物。
追溯源头,apple of one's eye来自《圣经·诗篇》第十七篇第八节:“求你保护我,如同保护眼中的瞳孔。” 之后人们就用apple of one's eye表示“掌上明珠,极珍爱之物;心肝宝贝,极珍惜之人”。
My nephew is just the apple of my eye.
我外甥特别招我喜欢。
He has five kids, but his only daughter is clearly the apple of his eye.
他有五个孩子,但其中只有一个是女儿。很明显,女儿是他的掌上明珠。
second bite of the apple
从字面上来看,second bite of the apple很好理解,就是“咬第二口苹果”。其实,远没有那么简单,因为这个短语是有喻义的,它还可以表示“第二次机会或机遇”。值得一提的是,这里的apple可以与“cherry(樱桃)”相互替换,意思保持不变。
Since a large percentage of her students failed the calculus exam, the teacher decided to give them a second bite of the apple by allowing them to take the test again.
鉴于一大部分学生都未通过微积分考试,该科老师决定给这群学生第二次机会,再参加一次测试。
There will be no second bite at(of) the cherry if we screw this up—it's our only chance.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, which is a saying we all familiar with. In fact, apples contain plenty of nourishments which are good to our health.