yang li: ok. 雖然有些老板經(jīng)常對(duì)自己的員工大喊大叫，但是如果員工真的遇到困難，他們總會(huì)伸出援助之手。這樣的老板看上去過于嚴(yán)厲，其實(shí)內(nèi)心都很善良，那么我們就可以說 their bark is worse than their bite. here's another example.

neil: the idiom is: his (or her) bark is worse than his (or her) bite. his bark is worse than his bite ╟ or her bark is worse than her bite.

yang li: bark 的意思是大聲的憤怒的喊叫，或是狗的叫聲。那么這句話的字面意思就是說他的叫聲很大，但是咬得不疼，那這到底是什么意思呢？

neil: well, if someone's bark is worse than their bite, it means basically that someone is not as unpleasant as they seem.

yang li: 也就是說一個(gè)人雖然外表看上去令人很不愉快，很反感，但其實(shí)他們內(nèi)心很美，使很善良的人。

neil: so, for example, you might have a boss at work who shouts a lot and gets angry at times. however, in reality they are a very good boss because they give you a bonus, they manage the team well and they let you have holidays when you want them. so really their bark is worse than their bite. they might not be pleasant to talk to but they're a good manager.

yang li: ok. 雖然有些老板經(jīng)常對(duì)自己的員工大喊大叫，但是如果員工真的遇到困難，他們總會(huì)伸出援助之手。這樣的老板看上去過于嚴(yán)厲，其實(shí)內(nèi)心都很善良，那么我們就可以說 their bark is worse than their bite. here's another example.

example

a: our tutor at university is always shouting at us about getting good grades. i hate going to see him.

b: is that mr. brown? i wouldn't worry ╟ his bark is worse than his bite. he's actually quite a nice guy if he's not your tutor!

a: so, do you get on with your girlfriend's family?

b: they're ok but her dad is really scary. he's not very friendly to me.

a: what does your girlfriend say about it?

b: she tells me not to worry ╟ his bark is much worse than his bite.

yang li: 其實(shí)漢語里也有一個(gè)意思相似的成語，你們知道是什么嗎？對(duì)了，就是刀子嘴，豆腐心。刀子和豆腐就相對(duì)應(yīng)英語里的 bark 喊叫和 bite 咬。