魔鬼口語1000句（二十八）：我在等待時機
1. I said a few words off the cuff.
我即興講了幾句。
►off the cuff 即興地，即席地，臨時地，無準備地；非正式地，很隨便地。與off-hand相似。
e.g. This is not the kind of question that one can answer off the cuff. 這可不是那種可以當場答覆的問題。
當你回答一個問題，而對你的答案又不太肯定時，就可以用off the cuff這個習慣用語。
e.g. Off the cuff, I'd say about two thousand. 我的印象好像是兩千人。
2. By rights, I owe you an apology.
按理說，我得向你道歉。
►by rights 按理說；正當地
e.g. By rights he should be king. 按理說，他應該當國王。
3. Fear is contagious.
恐慌會傳染。
4. Will they reimburse you?
報銷嗎？
5. Your eyes are tantalizing.
你的眼睛讓人心猿意馬。
6. Don’t tamper with the machine.
別瞎鼓搗機器。
►tamper with 篡改；賄賂；胡亂擺弄；瞎搞
《生活大爆炸》第三季第1集中Howard他們篡改了Sheldon的實驗數據：
Sheldon: You tampered with my experiment?
Raj: We had to. It was the only way to keep you from being such a huge Dickensian.
7. OK, I’ll play along.
他不是想玩嗎？OK，我陪他玩。
►play along 合作，焦慮地等待，參與
e.g. I am glad you've decided to play along. 我高興的是你決定合作了。
e.g. Sometimes they would play along with us and pretend to be scared by some ghost or witch. 有時候他們會跟我們一起玩，假裝被鬼或者女巫嚇着了。
8. The song failed to catch fire.
這首歌沒火起來。
►catch fire（用火石）打火；（用火柴）擦火；對……產生很深影響，激起熱情
e.g. Paper is apt to catch fire. 紙容易着火。
e.g. For the first time the campaign began to catch fire. 這場運動從現在起纔開始沸騰起來了。
9. I’m biding my time.
我在等待時機。
10. Any stick will serve to beat a dog with.
欲加之罪，何患無辭。
