肖福寿
“鼠，穴虫之总名也。”东汉经学家许慎的《说文解字》是这么解释的。此虫有时似乎不受人欢迎，难怪有“老鼠过街，人人喊打”之说;有时则显得可亲可爱，于是乎有“鼠咬天开”之说，也有“老鼠娶亲”这么一个浪漫的新春童话，却是极其神往。
从民俗学和文化学的角度来看，鼠则是一个兼灵性、仁爱、生命力、精致、聪明和神秘于一身的小生灵。早在几千年前，我国民间就流传着“四大家”“五大门”的动物原始崇拜，反映了古人对狐狸、黄鼠狼、刺猥、老鼠、蛇的敬畏心理。难怪乎，鼠已成为文学作品中的意味深长的重要题材。在汉语中，与鼠有关的习语、俗语或歇后语可谓不胜枚举，如“风箱里的老鼠——尽受气”“古董店里的老鼠——碰不得”“耗子进老鼠夹——离死不远”“老鼠骑在猫身上——好大的胆子”“老鼠窝里的食物——全是偷来的”。
2020年，是中国农历庚子年，即民间生肖纪年的鼠年。在这鼠年来临之际，让我们重新检阅一下汉英词典中一些与鼠相关的习语或俗语，聊作一种新年之乐吧。
本文的语料主要选取陆谷孙教授主编的《中华汉英大词典》，均为该词典的编纂者自以为迻译尚有特点的与鼠有关的表达法，其目的在于与广大读者共享并敦请广大读者质疑与指谬。
1 抱头鼠窜 （to cover the head and scurry away like a rat） to flee like a scared rat
2 城狐社鼠 （foxes in the city and rats in the temple of the village god） evildoers who are hard to remove for fear of damaging the structure
3 鸱张鼠伏 （like an owl spreading its wings and a mouse lying low） to run rampant now and act covertly then
4 痴鼠拖姜 （like a stupid rat dragging the ginger） to ask for trouble （of silly person）
5 虫臂鼠肝 （insects arms and rats livers） worthless trifles; petty things
6 膽小如鼠 as timid as a mouse; chicken-hearted
7 多鸣之猫，捕鼠必少 （cats which mew a lot catch few mice） people who talk a lot are usually “all talk and no action”
8 狗逮老鼠 （like a dog trying to catch mice） to be a busybody; to be meddlesome; to be nosy
9 狗盗鼠窃 （humble thief like a mouse or dog） petty unsuccessful rebel
10 孤雏腐鼠 （motherless young birds and decayed rats） things or people not worth mentioning; nonentities
11 过街老鼠 （like a rat crossing the street） target of universal detestation
12 稷蜂社鼠 （hornets in the temple of the grain god and rats in the temple of the village god） hard-to-remove evildoers with powerful connections or positions
13 老鼠过街，人人喊打 （when a rat crosses the street， everybody shouts and beats it） evil people are hated by everyone
14 老鼠再大也怕猫 （however big a rat is， it still fears a cat） there is always somebody bigger or stronger
15 罗雀掘鼠 （to net birds and dig for rats） 1. to scratch out a living; to eke out an existence 2. to do all one can to raise money
16 猫哭老鼠also猫哭耗子 （the cat crying for the rat） to shed crocodile tears
17 猫鼠同眠 （the cat and the mouse are asleep together） to be partners in crime; to collude in doing evil （eg， of corrupt officials and their underlings）
18 鼠标土豆mouse potato [cyber worker who always holds a mouse in hand]
19鼠盗蜂起 peasant uprising， peasants revolt [a term used by the feudal ruling class]
20 鼠肚鸡肠 （rats stomach and chickens intestines） to be narrow-minded see小肚鸡肠
21 鼠腹蜗肠also鼠腹鸡肠 （belly of a mole and bowels of a snail） petty-minded; narrow-minded; small-minded
22 鼠口不出象牙 （ivory does not grow from the mouth of a rat） one or you cannot make a silk purse out of a sows ear
23 鼠目寸光 （the small eyes of the rat see only an inch of light） to be shortsighted
24 鼠凭社贵 （a mouse builds its nest underground within the temple housing the village god so that none dare dig it） bad people throw their weight about; bad people bully others on account of their powerful connections
25 鼠竊狗盗also鼠窃狗偷 （to pilfer like rat and steal like a dog） petty thefts; petty tricks： 无～之扰be free from petty thefts
26 鼠雀之辈 lowly and humble people
27 鼠头鼠脑 （like a rats head） insidious; snaky; deceitful： ～的姿态 an air of craftiness and sinisterness
28 鼠牙雀角also鼠雀之牙 （rats teeth and birds horns） 1. to file a lawsuit （due to brutal forces） 2. brutal forces： ～甚纵横ferocious forces run rampant 3. trifle leading to a lawsuit： ～，便成讼端trifles can eventually end up in litigation 4. lawsuit; litigation
的确，汉语中与“鼠”有关的表达法实在太丰富了，诸如“鼠虎”“鼠璞”“鼠狱”“鼠牙笔”“奉头鼠窜”“狗头鼠脑”“狐奔鼠窜”“狐凭鼠伏”“蠖屈鼠伏”“进退首鼠”“狼奔鼠窜”“狼奔鼠偷”“马捉老鼠”“鼠肝虫臂”“出洞的老鼠——东张西望”“老鼠掉进米缸里——因祸得福”“老鼠逗猫——没事找事”“老鼠管仓——越管越光”“老鼠看仓，看得精光”“老鼠看天——小见识”“老鼠留不住隔夜粮”“老鼠咬象鼻——不识大体”“老鼠钻书箱——咬文嚼字”“一只老鼠坏了一锅汤”等表达法的英文翻译，更待我们共同探索。
