The Year of Monkey

Monkey Idioms

Additional Knowledge

The Year of the Monkey ranks ninthin the 12-year rotation on the Chinese zodiac, which starts with rat, followedby ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog, and ends with pig. "The monkey is a symbol of clevernessand vitality and it is one of the best friends of human beings,''

As "hou," the word for monkeyin Chinese has the same pronunciationas the word for "duke,'' monkey images often appear as part of traditional deco-rations on windows, walls and clothing.Being a duke, in a broader sense, simply means achieving success in life.

For thousands of years, Chinese people have regarded the monkey as a symbol of good luck.

If a monkey is hanging a Chinese chop, or seal, on a maple tree, the picture can be literally read as "fenghou guayin'‘or "taking the seal to become a duke.'' When a monkey sits on the back of a horse -- "mashang fenghou,'' it can mean"to become a duke very soon.'' The Ming Dynasty novelist Wu Cheng'en undoubtedly played a great part in

extending the popularity of the monkey with his classic work "Journey to the West.''

Although the monkey is regarded as being very clever, the Chinese also jokeabout its short-sightedness in the idiom "zhaosan musi,'' which means somethinglike seeing four but accepting three.

Story?Story?

It was said that an old man of the WarringStates Period kept a group of monkeys. Everyday he fed each monkey four chestnuts for breakfast and another four for supper. Eventually, the old man couldn't afford it any more. So he asked the monkeys if he couldfeed them only three chestnuts in the morning and four at night. The monkeys screeched, jumping up and down in fury. Then the old man proposed four chestnuts in the morning, and three at night.

The monkeys were so happy to get four for breakfast that they overlooked the fact that were going to be short-changed in the evening.

Somehow, the idiom's meaning later changed into "playing the playboy,'' which also describes a characteristic of monkeys.

Generally speaking, Chinese people are very fond of monkeys. It is believed thatthe monkey would drive away evil, and also that he would keep even the wildestof horses under control. This has develop-ed into a folk belief that people born in the Year of the Monkey will have better Luck than those born in the Year of Goat,which is the preceding year.

1.monkey on one's back 背上的猴子 难以摆脱的负担

I’m really hard; it’s a monkey on my back !

2. monkey around. I wish that he would be more serious.  He wants to just monkey around. To handle something very

casually; to do something without a real purpose; to play around.

3.get this monkey off my back e.g. I have to get this monkey off my back. I have to stop gambling

stop a bad habit, be rid of a problem or hang-up

4.Monkey business (1) 是指不道德或不合法的行为，往往是偷偷摸摸和具有欺骗性的行为，例如盗用公款等。

There's a lot of monkey business going on atcity hall, with officials getting money under

(2) 不一定指当官的人贪污腐化，一般人当中也可能出现不轨行为

I think there's some kind of monkeybusiness going on in that house across the street. People going in and out all day long; maybe they're selling drugs or something

5.to make a monkey out of somebody

the table from those who want the contract

to build the new airport

to make a monkey out of somebody 。 把某人弄得好像一个傻瓜一样。 

Peter made a monkey out of me the other

day. He told me the party Saturday night

was formal, so I wore a suit and tie. But

everybody else was wearing a tee-shirt.

It sure made me feel like a fool

e.g. Tom made a monkey out of himself

by jumping up and down and yelling when

his father wouldn't let him go to the movie. 汤姆因为他爸爸不让他去看电影就一个

劲地上下乱跳，嘴巴里还大声乱叫，简直把

自己弄得像个傻瓜一样

The EndThe End