縱觀新概念教材，不管是新概念二冊還是三冊，都在標題中出現了很多非常實用的俗語、諺語、俚語的表達，例如a skeleton in the cupboard（家丑），one man’s meat is another man’s poison（蘿卜青菜，各有所愛），one good turn deserves another（禮尚往來）等等。
這里和大家分享一些和食物有關的趣味英語俚語，作為課外補充閱讀材料吧：
Bob works hard to bring his home the bacon and put bread and butter on his home’s table. Every morning, he drags himself to his desk at the bank and faces his tedious ten hours a day job. His boss, Mark, is a bad egg but has somehow taken a liking to Bob. So he always speaks well of Bob in front of Mr. David, the owner and a big cheese of the company.
bring home the bacon: a person who earns the money his family lives on 養家糊口的人
bread and butter ：things that affect persons directly in very important ways or means of supporting livelihood essentially 生計最基本的東西，可以說是柴米油鹽
bad egg: bad person 壞蛋
big cheese: the most important person 重要的人物
Mark tells Mr. David that Bob is the cream of the crop and one smart cookie who uses his noodles. Mark likes to chew the fat with Bob during the coffee break and discusses half-baked company plans of the company with him because he trusts Bob and knows that Bob won’t spill the bean behind his back. On these occasions, Bob tries to avoid any hot potato.
the cream of the crop: somebody is the best in one field 出類拔萃的人才
smart cookie: very smart 聰明，會辦事
use somebody’s noodles: use your smarts 動腦子
chew the fat: talk leisurely 閑聊
half baked: still in process 半熟， 未完成
spill the bean: reveal a secret accidentally 泄密
hot potato: problems that are difficult to handle棘手的事
Even if Mark isn’t his cup of tea, Bob makes efforts to butter him up by leading Mark into the discussions of electronic gadgets which Mark is nuts about. Bob really thinks that Mart is out to lunch and as nuts as fruit cake. But in a nut shell, if he polishes the apple, his job could become a piece of cake and maybe one day he will find his gravy train.
butter somebody up: flatter 拍馬屁
be nuts about: be crazy about 癡迷
out to lunch: crazy 瘋子
fruit cake: strange people 怪人
in a nut shell: in short 總的來說
polish the apple: please somebody 討好，獻媚
gravy train: a easy job with good salary 美差
