纵观新概念教材，不管是新概念二册还是三册，都在标题中出现了很多非常实用的俗语、谚语、俚语的表达，例如a skeleton in the cupboard（家丑），one man’s meat is another man’s poison（萝卜青菜，各有所爱），one good turn deserves another（礼尚往来）等等。
这里和大家分享一些和食物有关的趣味英语俚语，作为课外补充阅读材料吧：
Bob works hard to bring his home the bacon and put bread and butter on his home’s table. Every morning, he drags himself to his desk at the bank and faces his tedious ten hours a day job. His boss, Mark, is a bad egg but has somehow taken a liking to Bob. So he always speaks well of Bob in front of Mr. David, the owner and a big cheese of the company.
bring home the bacon: a person who earns the money his family lives on 养家糊口的人
bread and butter ：things that affect persons directly in very important ways or means of supporting livelihood essentially 生计最基本的东西，可以说是柴米油盐
bad egg: bad person 坏蛋
big cheese: the most important person 重要的人物
Mark tells Mr. David that Bob is the cream of the crop and one smart cookie who uses his noodles. Mark likes to chew the fat with Bob during the coffee break and discusses half-baked company plans of the company with him because he trusts Bob and knows that Bob won’t spill the bean behind his back. On these occasions, Bob tries to avoid any hot potato.
the cream of the crop: somebody is the best in one field 出类拔萃的人才
smart cookie: very smart 聪明，会办事
use somebody’s noodles: use your smarts 动脑子
chew the fat: talk leisurely 闲聊
half baked: still in process 半熟， 未完成
spill the bean: reveal a secret accidentally 泄密
hot potato: problems that are difficult to handle棘手的事
Even if Mark isn’t his cup of tea, Bob makes efforts to butter him up by leading Mark into the discussions of electronic gadgets which Mark is nuts about. Bob really thinks that Mart is out to lunch and as nuts as fruit cake. But in a nut shell, if he polishes the apple, his job could become a piece of cake and maybe one day he will find his gravy train.
butter somebody up: flatter 拍马屁
be nuts about: be crazy about 痴迷
out to lunch: crazy 疯子
fruit cake: strange people 怪人
in a nut shell: in short 总的来说
polish the apple: please somebody 讨好，献媚
gravy train: a easy job with good salary 美差
