Some people say that life without music would be like life without air. Music is certainly a vital part of any culture. Music, together with language, is what distinguishes cultures and habits. So it’s only natural that idioms would be created around the theme of music.

有些人說沒有音樂的人生就像沒有了空氣。音樂是任何文化中至關重要的一部分。音樂和語言一起，把不同的文化和習俗區分開來，所以很自然地就產生了關于音樂主題的習語。

Here are some examples of how they are used in English:

以下是音樂相關的習語在英語中應用的例子：

1. Elevator Music – Pleasant and sometimes annoying music that is played in public places

? ?Elevator Music——在公共場合播放的愉快的、有時是惱人的音樂

“Apart from finding shopping malls boring, Keith finds the elevator music that is played particularly irritating”.

“除了覺得購商場無聊之外，基斯還覺得公共場合播放的音樂特別煩人?！?/p>

2. Ring a bell – If something rings a bell it reminds you of something even though you cannot remember it very well.

?? Ring a bell——某件事讓你想起了什么，盡管你記得不是很清楚。

“Yes, the song rings a bell but I am not sure exactly where I’ve heard it before”.

“是的，我對這首歌有印象，但是我不記得我在哪里聽到過?！?/p>

3. For a song – when you buy or sell something very cheaply

?? For a song——買或者賣出非常便宜的東西。

“I bought this car for a song”.

“我以極低的價格買了這輛車。”

4. Like a broken record - someone who repeats the same thing over and over again (very annoying)

?? Like a broken record——重復某件事的人（特別煩人）

“I’ve understood you want me to clean the bathroom. Stop going on like a broken record!”

“我知道你想要我去打掃浴室。別再像個壞掉的唱片機那樣喋喋不休了！”

5. Blow your own trumpet - boasting about your talents and successes

?? ?Blow your own trumpet——吹噓自己的才能和成功

“Sometimes it is not a bad thing to blow your own trumpet. After all, if you don’t, who else will?”

“有時候自吹自擂也不是見壞事。畢竟，如果你不這么做，還有誰會這么做？”

6. Jam session - playing improvised music in an impromptu setting. This could happen at a dinner party with friends.

?? Jam session——在沒有預先準備的場合下彈奏即興音樂?？赡馨l生在和朋友的晚宴上。

“After dinner, Tom and Harry got their guitars out and started a jam session. It was wonderful.”

“晚餐之后，湯姆和哈里拿出了吉他，即興演奏了一段。真是太棒了?！?/p>

7. Call the tune – to be in a position of authority to give orders and make important decisions

?? Call the tune——位于權威地位，下達命令，做出決策。

“Peter was always the person who called the tune in our team.”

“彼得總是我們隊伍里那個發號施令的人?！?/p>

(There is also another idiom “to call the shots” that has a similar meaning)

（另一個詞組to call the shots意思相同）

8. Blow the whistle – to report an illegal or unacceptable activity to the authorities.

?? Blow the whistle——向權威部門舉報不合法、不能接受的行為。

“Janet came under a lot of pressure from her colleagues when she blew the whistle on what was going on in the bank.”

“珍妮特在同事那受到很大壓力，因為她舉報了銀行了發生的事。”

(a whistle blower is the noun – “more recognition needs to be given to the courage it takes to be a whistle blower“.)

（whistle blower是對應的名詞——“應該對舉報人的勇氣給予充分重視”）

9. Music to one’s ears – to hear exactly what you want to hear

?? Music to one’s ears——聽到你想要聽和喜歡聽的內容

“The ringing sound of the cash tills is music to my ears!”

“現金的叮當聲對我來說就像天籟。”

10. Face the music - accept punishment for something

?? Face the music——承擔某事的懲罰

“There’s not a lot we can do, so we are going to have to face the music.”

“我們能做的不多，所以我們不得不承擔后果。”

（來源：滬江英語，編輯 Helen）