英语博客-北美风情 202、English idioms: to walk on egg shells, to walk on pins and needles, to tread lightly, etc.

 　　Sometimes we have to be sensitive to how other people are feeling. We might even act a certain way because we don’t want to upset them. In this episode¹, we talk about expressions used for this kind of situation. You might need to walk on pins and needles to keep others happy around you. Too bad everyone isn’t happy all the time!

 

　　Maura: So maybe there’s someone in your life who is having a very bad day. This is the time when you might walk on eggshells, because you wanna be sensitive to how they’re feeling and you don’t wanna disturb them.

 

　　Harp²: Exactly.

 

　　Maura: It could be just that specific time or maybe there’s someone in your life who is always sensitive and always gets disturbed easily. So in that case, you might always walk on eggshells around them because you know that they get upset very easily.

 

　　Harp: Yes, exactly. If it’s someone who gets angry or upset really easily, you might walk on eggshells around them all the time.

1 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

2 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。