1. Make waves 兴风作浪,制造麻烦
Tom made huge waves in the office when he said the CEO had decided to downsize the company by half, but it turned out to be a rumor.
汤姆对大家说首席执行官决定公司裁员一半,搞得办公室人心惶惶,结果却是个谣言。
释义:直译是制造波浪,引申为无事生非,有点唯恐天下不乱的意思。
2. Man of straw 稻草人,傀儡,受人摆布的小人物
You can't count on him to help you. He's just a man of straw.
你千万不要指望他帮忙,他是个没有一点本事的傀儡。
释义:直译为稻草人,用于田间吓唬小鸟。另一说:从前英国法庭附近,常常有人把稻草插在鞋上,谁给钱,就给谁做伪证。亦可写为straw man。