儒琴英语词汇选自欧美报刊文章以及英语原文小说。坚持学习英语今日词汇，有助于阅读和理解当今欧美主流媒体的新闻时事报道和英语文学作品。
儒琴英语词汇（English Words and Phrases of the Day）
wait in the wings
If someone or something is waiting in the wings, they are not yet active or important, but are ready or likely to be so soon.
准备就绪；随时可使用
With Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s health in the spotlight, attention turns to abortion foe waiting in the wings. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is on the mend after another health scare, but that hasn’t stopped political operatives and those on Capitol Hill from laying the groundwork for an unprecedented battle set to ensue if she leaves the bench ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
— CNBC 30 Aug, 2019
damp squib
noun [ C ] /ˌdæmp ˈskwɪb/
an event that is not as exciting or popular as people thought it would be
令人空欢喜之事；效果不理想之事 (Cambridge)
Damp squib: Anti-Trump rally organizers downgrade crowd estimate by 70% as protesters stay at home. Jeremy Corbyn, the hard-left leader of the British Labour Party, used all his firepower to rail against President Trump’s state visit on Tuesday but attracted a dismal audience that fell way short of organizers’ hopes of drawing a quarter of a million people.
— The Washington Post by Rob Crilly | June 04, 2019 04:39 PM
Will the report represent the beginning of the end of the Trump presidency by uncovering witting collusion with Russia during the election campaign on the part of Trump and his aides? Or it will turn out to be a damp squib that inflicts no real damage on him?
stand sth on its head
turn sth on its head
to cause something such as an established belief to be doubted, especially because of new information or discoveries; If you stand an idea or argument on its head or turn it on its head, you think about it or treat it in a completely new and different way.
使（已确立的事物）发生动摇，动摇…的根基; 用全新的角度看问题
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s first weeks in office have not only stood American foreign policy on its head, but party politics at home as well. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are reeling from his deeply divisive tactics
Trump turned Syria policy on its head. It’s working out better than critics thought. During President Trump’s Oct. 6 phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump appeared to greenlight the Turkish invasion of northern Syria by agreeing to withdraw about 50 U.S. troops from the border region. In the days following, the seemingly impulsive capitulation drew howls of protests from even some of Trump’s most ardent supporters.
— The Washington Post by Jamie McIntyre | November 28, 2019 11:30 PM
parting shot
noun [ C ]
a remark that you make when you are leaving, so that it has a stronger effect; a final remark, typically a cutting one, made by someone at the moment of departure.
临走时说的尖刻话
A day after Trump announced he would replace Mattis two months earlier than expected, the president took a parting shot at the Pentagon chief, who resigned last week over policy differences with Trump.
“We are substantially subsidizing the Militaries of many VERY rich countries all over the world, while at the same time these countries take total advantage of the U.S., and our TAXPAYERS, on Trade,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets.
talk sth down
If someone talks down a particular thing, they make it less interesting, valuable, or likely than it originally seemed (Collins)
贬低；贬抑
The newly appointed ECB president this week began rowing back on her call to put the institution’s financial firepower into greening the economy. Her future colleagues on the Executive Board are also talking down the power of what Frankfurt can do for the environment.
— Politico Europe Dec 07, 2019
flesh sth out
to add more details or information to something
以细节（或信息）充实 (Cambridge)
The panel also fleshed out reasons why actions that fall within a president’s legitimate authority can still, when abused, constitute impeachable conduct. And attempts at improper conduct, even if unsuccessful, can still be impeachment-worthy, the committee argues.
— Politico Dec 7, 2019
