【英语习语】

as bold as brass

【习语注释】

该习语中的bold表示“大胆的；敢于冒险的”，brass表示“黄铜；铜管乐器”，但在这里其实是bold的同义重复，在美语俚语里表示“厚脸皮”。所以该习语主要用来喻指“very bold; blatant”，即“非常大胆；明目张胆的”，相当于汉语里的“厚颜无耻；死皮赖脸；胆大妄为；胆大包天；不知羞耻；极为放肆”。

【习语运用】

He walked in, bold as brass, wearing nothing but his underpants.

他走了进来，只穿一条衬裤，极为厚颜无耻。

Once he is here, he won't leave; he just sits there as bold as brass.

他一来了就不走，死皮赖脸地坐在那儿。

They walked in holding hands, as bold as brass.

他们竟然手拉着手走进来，真是胆大妄为。

The man must be as bold as brass to have stolen money at mid-day.

这男子胆大包天，居然在中午光天化日下偷钱。

He came info, my office, as bold as brass, and told me he was leaving.

他极为放肆地走进我的办公室，告诉我他要退学。

【闲话习语】

该习语中的brass被用来表示“厚脸皮”的用法，出现在十七世纪上半叶，比如英国教士 Thomas Fuller在1642年曾这么写道：

"His face is of brasse, which may be said either ever or never to blush."

而习语as bold as brass的首次书面使用出现在George Parker的作品《Life's Painter》（1789）中：

“He died damn'd hard and as bold as brass. An expression commonly used among the vulgar after returning from an execution.”

那么，你还知道英语里“厚颜无耻”的其它说法吗？欢迎留言探讨。