To strike while the iron is hot 意為「打鐵趁熱」,比喻做事要把握時機,不可耽誤。這個成語可追溯到 1300 年代末期。「打鐵趁熱」不只出現在中文和英文,全球許多不同的語言都有這個成語,包括德文、西班牙文、葡萄牙文、波蘭文、塞爾維亞文、阿拉伯文、土耳其文、克羅埃西亞文、瑞典文和芬蘭文。
例句:
- Robert doesn’t often make such offers. If I were you, I’d strike while the iron is hot. (羅伯特不常主動提出這樣的提議。如果我是你,我就打鐵趁熱,趕緊答應)
- This sounds like a pretty amazing deal they’re offering. I’d strike while the iron is hot if I were you. (他們提出的這項交易聽起來好像相當不錯。我要是你就打鐵趁熱)
- He deliberated too long whether or not to accept the new job that he’d been offered, and now they’ve given it to someone else. He should have struck while the iron was hot. (他慎重考慮是否接受提供給他的那份新工作考慮得太久,現在他們把那份工作給了別人了。他原本應該打鐵趁熱才對)
- This is the best time in the last ten years to buy a house. Let’s strike while the iron is hot! (這是過去十年買房的最佳時機。我們打鐵趁熱吧!)