do sth by the book

鄭人買履

A man of the state of Zheng wanted to buy a pair of shoes.

從前，鄭國有個人想買雙鞋。

He measured his foot and put the measurement on a chair.

他量好了自己腳的尺碼，把它放在了椅子上。

When he set out for the market，he forgot to bring it along.

可當他趕往市集時，卻忘了帶量好的尺碼。

It was after he had found the pair he wanted that this occurred to him.

他要買鞋時，才想了起來。

“I forgot the measurement”， said he.

他說：“我忘帶尺碼了。”

He went home to get it. But when he returned， the market had closed and he did not get his shoes after all.

他回家去取量好的尺碼。等他趕回來時，市集已經(jīng)關(guān)了，他還是沒能買到鞋。

“Why didn‘t you try on the shoes with your feet?” He was asked.

有人問：“為什么不用你自己的腳去試一試鞋子呢?”

“I’d rather trust the measurement than trust myself.”

他說：“我寧愿相信尺碼也不相信我自己的腳。”

成語“鄭人買履”形容了一個不折不扣“不知變通”的人，做人如果“一味只知道照本宣科”，那就會變得“墨守成規(guī)”，就像這個“買鞋的鄭人”一樣了。英文中“鄭人買履”可以用“do sth by the book”來表達，意思就是“ 凡事都按照規(guī)章制度來辦”，有時候引申開來意思就是“墨守陳規(guī)”了。

我們一起來看一個例句：

This is a private deal - we don‘t have to do everything by the book.

這是一樁私下的買賣，我們沒必要都按規(guī)矩來做，這么死板。