well off . in good condition；fortunate；rich 处境不错；幸运的；富有的

He seemed to be very well off．他好象很富有。

Only by continuously increasing social accumulation can a country be prosperous and the people well off．只有不断增加社会积累，一个国家才能兴旺，人民才能富裕。

wet blanket . A person or thing that keeps others from enjoying life扫兴的人或物

Don't be such a wet blanket．Come on，join the fun．不要这样令人扫兴，过来和我们一起玩。

The sudden downpour threw a wet blanket on their plans for an excursion．突然下了场倾盆大雨，把他们郊游的计划给毁了。

whale away . beat or hit hard；strike again and again用力击；揍

The boxer was whaling away at his opponent with both fists．那位拳击手挥舞双拳，向他的对手击去。

whale away . attack severely；go on without stopping or with great force严厉攻击；不停地用力敲

During the election the Mayor whaled away at the other party in his speeches．选举期间，市长在他的几次演说中一再抨击另一政党。

Mary has been whaling away on the typewriter for an hour．玛丽不停地打了一个时的字。

what for . A scolding or other punishment责备；处罚

If he tried his insolence on me，I'll give him what for．他要是敢对我蛮横无礼，我要给他点厉害尝尝。

Tom got what for from his father for answering him rudely．汤姆因无礼顶撞父亲而受到责备。

what if . what will happen if；what is the difference if；suppose that假设…；如果…，该怎么办

I don't like to have you go boating in such weather．What if a storm should come up? 我不想让你在这样的天气里去划船，要是刮起了大风暴怎么办?

What if he doesn't come? We can not do without him．如果他不来怎么办? ，我们就无法干。

 what of . what do you say or think of? 尊意如何；你认为…怎么样?

Today? But what of yesterday? 今天吗? 昨天如何呢?

what of .  what importance can be assigned to有什么关系? 有什么要紧?

His speech may not be exactly standard English，but what of that? 他讲的可能不是地道的标准英语，但那有什么关系呢?

John missed the bus．”—“What of it? He can take the next one．”“约翰没赶上公共汽车。”“那有什么关系? 乘坐下一班车。”

what with…and what with  .  partly because of…，partly because of一方面因为…，一方面又因为

What with their inferior equipment and what with their outdated technique the workers in that plant failed to fulfil their annual production plan last year．一方面因为设备差，一方面又因为技术落后，那个厂的工人去年没有完成年度生产计划。

What with all this work and so little sleep at night，I don't think I can go on much longer．工作这么多，再加上晚上睡得又少，我想我坚持不了多久了。

while away . pass（the time）in a leisurely way 消磨（时间）

I was glad of his company to while away an hour until the train came．在等车的一小时中，有他作伴消磨时间，我很高兴。

It is foolish to while away one's time in idle talk．把时间花费在闲谈上是很愚蠢的。

 whip and spur . hastily十万火急；匆匆

He rode whip and spur to the rescue．他匆忙骑马赶到营救场地。

 whip off . write hurriedly匆匆地写

He was able to whip off a short story every three weeks．他每三周就能写出一篇短篇小说。

whip up . incite；arouse；stir煽动；挑逗；激起

The orator whipped the crowd up to a state of frenzy．演讲者把听众的情绪煽动到了疯狂的程度。

by his speech，he whipped up tremendous enthusiasm among the audience．他用演说激发了听众的极大热情。

whip up . plan or assemble quickly；prepare quickly迅速地计划或聚集；迅速准备

The reporter whipped up a story about the fire for his paper．这位记者很快就为那家报纸写了一篇有关火灾的报道。

She can whip up a dress in an afternoon．她能很快地一个下午做件衣服。

He can whip up a delicious dinner in half the time it takes another man．他能用别人的一半时间备一席美味的酒宴。

whistle for . demand or expect without success；fail to obtain空想；徒然想得到

Mary didn't even thank us for helping her，so next time she needs help she can whistle for it ．我们帮了玛丽的忙，她连谢都不谢，下次她休想别人帮她忙。

I'm not prepared to use any of the firm's money to pay this man；let him whistle for his money．我不准备用公司的钱付给那个人，他休想得到钱。

white lie . kind untruth；small lie善意的假话；不严重的撒谎

When I said I liked her dinner，which really was terrible，I told a white lie because I didn't want to hurt her feelings．我说我喜欢她的晚餐，其实晚餐实在是不怎么样，我言不由衷怕伤了她的心。

I told a white lie when I told him that I liked his poor painting．我告诉他我喜欢他那幅很一般的油画时，我说了假话。

who's who . a reference book containing short biographical entries on the outstanding persons in a country，industry，profession，名人录；名人词典

Do you have a copy of“Who's Who in Japan”? 日本名人录》吗?

who's who .  who this one is and who that one is；who the different ones in a group of people are谁是谁

It took the new teacher a few days to remember who was who in the class．老师花了几天时间才记住班上学生的名字。

whys and wherefores . the answer to a question or problem理由；解释

He doesn't like to follow blindly but always goes into the whys and wherefores of everything．凡事他不喜欢盲从，总是追根究底。

wild goose chase . A wild or absurd search for something nonexistent or unobtainable毫无希望的乱跑；无意义地从事或追求

They embarked on a wild goose chase across the city in a vain attempt to find their lost son．他们在全城徒劳地奔波，无法找到失踪的孩子。

The reporter was sent on a wild goose chase for the man he was to interview had never really existed．那个被采访的人根本不存在，所以被派去采访的记者是在瞎折腾。