在汉语中,我们习惯用一些衣着名词来表示某一特定事物,如裙衩指代女子,纨绔代富家子弟,勒紧裤带过日子意味着节衣缩食,囊中羞涩暗指贫穷,类似的用法不胜枚举。有趣的是,英语中同样有好些衣着名词被广泛用于习语中。熟练地掌握它们有助于英语学习者对说英语国家文化背景的了解。以下就这方面的习语略作介绍。
　　1.hat帽子
　　I never thought that he was such a bad hat.(坏蛋;不老实、不道德的人)
　　He was talking through his hat.He was even not there when it happened.(说大话;说蠢话)
　　2.veil面纱
　　Let us draw a veil over what followed.(隐瞒,避而不谈)
　　3.collar衣领
　　Ah,you are in the collar now. You know marriage has its obligations.(受到约束)
　　4.shirt 衬衣
　　We should keep our shirt on no matter what they would say.(保持冷静;不要冲动)
　　In a business like this you can make a lot of money, but you can also lose your shirt.(倾家荡产)
　　5.sleeve 衣袖
　　He knew he could win him. He kept that card up his sleeve.(别有妙计;留着一手)
　　Jenny’s never made her own decision. She always hangs on her mother’s sleeve.(依赖某人;听从某人)
　　Tom’s confident attitude makes me believe that he has something up his sleeves.(成竹在胸)
　　Hearing the news, the boy laughed in this sleeves.(窃笑;暗自高兴)
　　He rolled up his sleeves when he came to know he had fallen behind his classmates.(准备大干一场)
　　6.pocket 口袋
　　He has suffered in his pocket.(经济受损失)
　　John is 500 pounds in/ out of pocket by this transaction.(这笔交易中赚钱/赔钱)
　　She is prepared to put her hand in her pocket.(解囊捐款)