迷你对话
A: I feel that Bob’s father-in-law is a hard nut to crack.
我觉得鲍勃的岳父是个难对付的家伙。
B: You have taken words out of my mouth. He is a tough customer .
你说出了我要说的话。他是个倔强的家伙。
A: But his daughter is a very nice girl.
可是他的女儿是个不过的女孩。
对话精讲
第一、 地道表达
【核心短语 】a tough customer
【解词释义 】tough的意思是“倔强的”,customer是“顾客”或“主顾”的意思,用于口语表示“家伙”。这两个词连起来构成的短语a tough customer的意思是“难对付的人”,“性格倔强的人”或“难斗的家伙”。
【 典型范例1 】Their new sales manager is a tough customer, so I was particularly pleased to negotiate such a favorable price.
他们新来的销售经理是个难打交道的人,因此能谈妥这样一个优惠价,我特别高兴。
【 典型范例2 】She is also a tough customer while showing.
购物的时候,她也是个难伺候的顾客。
第二 词海拾贝
a hard nut:难对付的人;难解之事;不易亲近或了解的人
【 典型范例1 】I never know Bill very well.He was not very communicative and always seemed to me a hard nut to crack.
我从来就不太了解比尔,他不太爱说话,我总觉得他这个人很难对付。
【 典型范例2 】The third question in the examination is a hard nut to crack.
考试的第三道题真是够难的。
【典型范例3 】My manager is a hard nut to crack. He always shouts at me about what I have done.
经理是个很难对付的人,他总是对我做的事大吼大叫。
【典型范例4 】Mind you, she is a hard nut to crack.
小心,这是个难对付的女人。
take words out of one’s mouth:抢先说出某人要说的话
【典型范例1 】 Great! You take the words out of my mouth——I have set my mind to buy a new computer.
太好了,这正是我想说的,我决定买一台新电脑。