對一些結構上對應或部分對應,比喻相似、意思相近的習語應采用直譯和轉換相結合的方法,對等部分直譯,不對等部分進行適當轉換。按照英漢兩種語言各自的習俗、比喻和習慣表達方法譯出,做到既能確切表達原意,又符合譯入語的習俗和比喻。 以下習語就是采用這種方法互譯的。
as blind as a bat 有眼無珠
as timid as a hare 膽小如鼠
on pins and needles 如坐針氈
as poor as a church mouse 一貧如洗
to kill two birds with one stone 一箭雙雕
to wake up a sleeping dog 打草驚蛇
to beat the dog before the lion 殺雞給猴看
Lock the door after the horse is stolen. 亡羊補牢。
He who takes charge knows the responsibility. 不當家不知柴米貴。
Poor by condition,rich by ambition. 人窮志不短。
Where there is a will ,there is a way. 事在人為。
It takes two to make a quarrel. 一個巴掌拍不響。
As a man sows,so he shall reap. 種瓜得瓜, 種豆得豆。
Don't wash your dirty linen in public. 家丑不可外揚。
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 情人眼里出西施。