‘back and forth’, ‘by and large’, ‘safe and sound’, ‘out and about’, ‘more or less’, ‘wear and tear’, ‘hustle and bustle’, ‘ups and downs’
“來來回回”，“基本上，大體上”，“平安無事”，“四處走動”，“多多少少”，“(時間流逝導致的)磨損和消耗”，“擁擠喧囂”，“跌宕起伏”
Earlier this year, I shared 12 binomial expressions commonly used in English and gave examples with a business context. The post was extremely popular and was shared by many people. Thank you. Its popularity made me think that a further post with more examples might be welcome.
今年的早些時候，我分享了12個英文中經常使用到的“二項式”短語，并給出了相應商業背景的例子。這個帖子很受歡迎并且被許多人分享了。感謝支持。正是上一篇的受歡迎程度讓我構思一篇帶有更多例子的帖子，希望也能被欣然接受。
So here I am. Let’s start off with describing what binomials or word pairs are in English. Binomials are two words that are linked by a conjunction (usually and/or) and used together as a fixed expression. The word order is fixed which means that you can’t say ‘forth and back‘ or ‘large and by’. Most languages, as far as I know, have similar expressions.
因此我在這(寫了這篇文章)。首先，讓我們了解英文中的“二項式”短語或者說詞組，是什么意思吧。“二項式”短語指用連詞(通常是and或者or)連接在一起的兩個單詞構成的固定短語。固定語序意味著這兩個單詞的順序不能更換，也就是說你不能說forth and back‘ 或者 ‘large and by’。據我所知，很多語言，都有類似的表達方式。
In this post, I’d like to share 14 more binomial expressions commonly used in English. I want to show you in particular how these binomials are used in a business context.
在這篇文章中，我將分享14個英文中常見的“二項式”短語。并且告訴你們這些短語在具體的商務環境中的使用。
1. All or nothing – something you would do completely or not at all
1.非此即彼----指你要么把有些事做好，要么就完全別做
We cannot take an all or nothing approach in our business. We must be prepared to compromise.
我們不能在業務中采取非此即彼的方法。我們必須做好讓步的準備。
2. To be at someone’s beck and call – when you are at someone’s service to do what they want you to do.
2.聽某人的指使----指你為某人服務并做他想讓你做的事時
If he wants to work all the hours of the day that’s up to him. The trouble is he expects us all to be at his beck and call day and night.
如果他想一整天都工作的話，那取決于他自己。問題是他想讓我們不分晝夜的聽他指使。
3. Bells and whistles – special features that are added to a product or service. It’s often used in Marketing language.
3.花哨的東西，附加服務----指附加在產品或服務上的特殊特征。經常用于營銷術語中。
You can order the basic service or for an extra £20 you can get all the bells and whistles included in the package.
你可以訂購基本服務，只要額外支付20英鎊你就能打包得到所有的附加服務了。
4. Bread and Butter – a job or activity that provides the main income for a business
4.生計，主業----指提供主要收入的工作或活動
Small businesses are our bread and butter and we would be reckless to upset them.
小公司是我們的生計來源，我們會不顧一切的擾亂他們。
5. Cut and dried – we can use this expression in two ways
5.簡單的，已成定局的----我們可以在兩種情況下使用這句短語。
Simple to understand: Their instructions are cut and dried. They want us to deliver to by Monday at the very latest or we might as well forget the deal.
簡單易懂的：他們的說明十分簡單易懂。他們希望我們最遲星期一交貨，要不就別交了。
Final decision no room for change: We need a cut – and- dried decision by the end of the week.
最終的不可更改的決定：這周末前我們需要作出最終的決策。
6. Dos and don’ts – the general rules that businesses have of what can and cannot be done
6.該做的和不該做的，行規----指企業能做和不能做的事的基本規則
There are some basic dos and don’ts of email marketing that most people accept.
電郵推廣市場有很多被許多人接受的能做和不能做的基本規定。
7. Last but not least– something that is equally important even if it’s mentioned at the end.
7.最后但依然重要的----指一些事情盡管最后才提到，但仍然十分重要。
Last but not least, I’d like to thank the events team for organising a fantastic evening.
最后但仍然重要的一點，我要感謝組織這場美妙的夜晚的活動團隊。
8. Life-and-death (adjective) – Something that is important and serious
8.生死攸關的(形容詞)----指一些非常重要的事
The refugee crisis is a life-and -death matter. We cannot treat it so lightly.
難民危機是生死攸關的大事，我們不能草率處理。
9. Make or break – an expression that is very common in business to mean a situation or event or period that is extremely important because it can make something succeed or fail. It’s often used in the following ways:
9.決定成敗的—在商業中很常見的一個短語，指至關重要的決定成敗的情形，事件或時期。經常在下列方式中使用：
A make or break decision/situation
成敗在此一舉的決定/情形
A make or break deal – This is a make or break deal. We must make this work for us.
成敗在此一舉的交易----這是一項決定成敗的交易。我們要為了自己，讓這單交易成功。
Christmas is often a make- or-break time for small retailers.
圣誕節對一些小的零售商來說是決定成敗的時刻。
10. Nuts and bolts – the practical facts of something instead of the theory
10.具體細節----指實際情況而不是理論
When you look at the nuts and bolts of running a business, you soon realise it’s not as easy as it sounds.
當你仔細看經營公司的實際情況時，你會意識到這并不像聽上去那樣簡單。
11. Part and parcel -a feature of something that cannot be avoided
11.必不可少的一部分----指事物不可避免的特征
Working long hours is part and parcel of running your own business.
長時間工作是經營及自己的公司的無法避免的一部分
12. Song and dance – a long and complicated story or statement that sometimes is not true
12.大肆宣揚----指又長又復雜的故事或聲明，有時未必是真的
Oh, she made such a song and dance (statement) about how busy she was and how she couldn’t possibly take on more work.
噢，她如此夸張的說了這么長一段聲明，有關她有多么忙并且是如何的不可能接受更多的工作了。
He gave me a song and dance (story) about how difficult it was to get good workers these days.
他告訴我了一個又長又復雜的故事，描述了目前找到好員工有多么困難。
13. Fight tooth and nail – work very hard to get something
13.極力----指非常努力的為了某事
We fought tooth and nail to get to where we are now and I am not going to give up now.
我們竭盡全力的奮斗才達到現在的位置，因此我絕不會放棄。
14. touch and go – an uncertain situation
14.不好說----指不能確定的情形
For a few days the negotiations were in real danger of collapsing. It was touch and go. Scary!
幾天來，談判一直處在談崩的危險中。(結果)簡直太不好說了，真嚇人!
