例句3：Mr. Blank is getting a lot of letters and phone calls from people on this bill and he won"t say how he"ll vote. But when Congress votes Tuesday and push comes to shove, I think he"ll vote in favor of it.
他说：Blank先生收到了好多有关这个议案的信和电话，只是目前他还不愿意表态，然而到星期二国会表决的时候他可就没有丝毫回旋余地了。我认为他将投赞成票。
从这段话可以体会when push comes to shove意思就是面临最后紧要关头、没有任何回旋余地的时刻。
美国习惯用语第291讲
我们上次学的习惯用语都有push也就是“推”这个词，而我们今天要讲的习惯用语却都有一个动作相反的词pull， 也就是“拉”。我们先要学两个习惯用语，它们分别是：pull for. Pull for是打气、鼓劲，或者声援的意思。Pull through. Pull through是渡过逆境、渡过危机、脱险的意思。接下来我们要听一段话，里面有pull for和pull through两个习惯用语，说话的人是在医院探望一位刚动了大手术的同事。
例句-1： Hi, Jim! You look pretty good today. Everybody at the office says hello - we"re all pulling for you to pull through this operation and get back to work as soon as you can.
他说：嗨，Jim!你今天看来不错。办公室里所有的人都向你问好。我们在为你鼓劲，希望你手术后早日恢复健康，尽快回来上班。
Pull for就是打气、鼓励的意思，而pull through在这里的意思是克服疾病、恢复健康。
******
我们要学的下一个习惯用语是：pull your leg. Pull your leg是个古老的习惯用语，至少已经用了一百多年了。人们最初可能是看到有人恶作剧故意把手杖伸在别人的腿脚下使他绊倒摔跤，而得到启发，想出了这个习惯用语。好，让我们通过一个例子来理解这个习惯用语的确切意义。有人一早来上班，发现桌上有一张看来相当正式的通知，于是引起了一段生活中的小插曲：
例句2：This memo told me I was being transferred to Buffalo, where winter is really bad. I was worried when I saw people laughing at me, and I remembered it was April Fool"s Day, and I realized my friends are pulling my leg.
他说：这份通知说我要被调往Buffalo去工作。Buffalo那儿的冬天可真糟糕。我正发愁的时候看到人们都在笑我，我这才想起今天是愚人节，原来是朋友们在骗我跟我开玩笑。
从这段话可以看出pull one"s leg是跟某人开玩笑，或者是不带恶意的恶作剧。
******
我们还要学的一个习惯用语：pull the plug. 其中的plug ，这是电线一端的插头，插进墙上的插座就能得到电力。Pull the plug，当然就是把插头从插座上拔出来，那就是切断电源，或者等于是关了某一电器用具。这是从字面上来解释pull the plug，但是这个习惯用语有什么引伸的意义呢？让我们来看一个例子。这是一家商店的店主在说话，由于经济不景气，商店的生意直线下降。
例句3：Business has been terrible for six months and is getting worse every day. I hate to say this but maybe the best thing to do is pull the plug and just close up shop for good.
他说：这六个月来生意很差，而且目前也一天不如一天，出于无奈我不得不说，最好还是结束业务关店算了。 从这段话可以看出pull the plug可以解释结束、中止某一业务或者事业。
美语咖啡屋第19课
Y: 各位听众好，欢迎您到美语咖啡屋。我是杨晨
J: Hello, I"m Jody. Welcome to American Cafe. Hey, Yang Chen, how"s it going?
Y: 很好啊！
(Sound of table rocking, coffee cup spilling over)
Y: Jody，小心点，你不要晃桌子。 看我的咖啡都洒了。
J: It"s not my fault. Look, it"s the table. See how crooked it is?
(Sound of table rocking)
Y: Oh, 你说的没错，这桌子好奇怪，一个腿长，一个腿短。 得找人修一修才行啊。
J: No problem! Luckily, I"ve just come from visiting my favorite hardware store. Here let me...
(Sound of a saw cutting wood)
Y: Jody，你在干什么?
(Sound of a saw cutting wood)
J: I"m fixing ... (grunt) the (grunt) table leg.
Y: 不要再锯了，哎呀，你看别人都在看我们呢!
J: Just ignore (th)"em ... (sawing) just a little bit more (sawing) ... there!
(Piece of wood falling)
Y: 哎呀，现在这桌子更是高低不平了。
J: Oops.
Y: 你现在知道闯祸了。 中国有句成语“班门弄斧”，我看说的就是你。不过你这把锯子到是挺漂亮的。 从那里弄来的？
J: I told you, my favorite hardware store.
Y: 你最喜欢的hardware store ? 什么意思啊？
J: A hardware store. You know, a store that has hardware for fastening things, for fixing things, for...
Y: 我当然知道什么是五金店， 我是觉得奇怪的是，五金店不就是卖工具吗，还分什么喜欢不喜欢的。
J: Well, there is no reason to yell. Maybe some of our listeners don"t know. I got an idea. Let"s go visit Pfeiffer"s Hardware, my favorite hardware store.
Y: 好吧，我们就看看这个五金店有什么特别之处，让你这么激动。
(Background sounds of the Hardware Store. Cash register rings)
实录1 Todd Pfeiffer: My name is Todd Pfeiffer and we"re standing in Pfeiffer"s Hardware. A hardware store usually has hardware for fastening things, for helping build houses, for renovating houses, for repairing things in the house. And also tools, tools that you use with the hardware to fix things.
Y: Ha! 说了半天，他这个五金店不也就是卖点什么拧螺丝，修房子， 装修之类的工具。我还是不明白为什么你要说这是你最喜欢的五金店。
J: Oh, well, that"s easy. It"s not what he sells. Well, you know, I"ll let Todd explain.
实录2 Todd: It"s actually a fascinating place (be)cause it"s more than just a place to sell things; it"s also a place where people come to talk to get the latest the news. Here it"s about conversations about the neighborhood, what"s going on in people"s lives, what"s going on in my life.
Y: 真的？
J: It is a fascinating place. Really.
Y: 居然有人喜欢到五金店去聊天，去公园不更好吗？
J: Well, you can always go to a park. But, like Todd said it"s a place where people come to talk and to get the latest news. It"s a neighborhood hangout. Here"s Todd"s wife Adriana.
实录3 Adriana: But on Saturdays it"s a really fun place to be. The day flies by. You know, so many people come in and you get to talk to folks. And it"s fun to spend the day with Todd. It is. It"s really fun. We laugh a lot,...so..
Y: 她说的没错the day just flies by，时间过得好快。
J: That"s right. It"s so much fun that time passes quickly. Time just flies by.
Y: 现在我有点理解人们为什么喜欢到这家店， 因为老板和老板娘态度特别好，人们到这里有一种亲切的感觉。
J: Exactly. Steve, a retired man in the neighborhood, is a regular at Pfeiffer"s Hardware.
Y: 你说的"regular" 是什么意思?
J: Oh, a "regular," it"s spelled R-E-G-U-L-A-R, is someone who goes to a business frequently. So, you call them a regular.
Y: Wow, 居然有人逛五金店也会上瘾。这大概就和我们逛百货商店一样吧，百去不厌。
J: Here"s Steve explaining why he"s a regular at Pfeiffer"s Hardware.
实录4 Steve:Well, the difference here is Todd and Adriana. They make this a wonderful place to visit. I"m glad a place like this exists in the neighborhood. I"m glad that people like Todd and Adriana are available to visit every week, every day. I come and help. I began helping just to be helpful to them but later I found that I enjoyed it. And it"s a great pleasure to be productive.
Y: Steve只是个顾客。他常常来这里帮忙而且还乐在其中，看来他是把自己当成他们的一个家庭成员那样了。
J: Exactly! But back to our problem - our broken table. Look what I bought at Pfeiffer"s Hardware!
(Enter drill sound)
J: Now we can fix the table!
Y: Uh oh!
J: Trust me!
Y: Trust you? 我看我还是先走，你自己折腾吧。各位听众朋友，我们下次见了。
J: Wait! Come back, Yang Chen! It"s easier than it looks!!
美语咖啡屋第20课
Y: 各位听众好，我是杨晨。欢迎您到美语咖啡屋。
J: Hello, I"m Jody. Welcome to American Cafe.
Y: Jody， 你最近忙吗？
J: Pretty busy.
Y: 你在忙什么呢？
J: You know, work, spending time with my friends, oh don"t forget about the tap dance.
Y: 没错。最近我忽然觉得业余时间应该学点什么，你觉得我学跳舞怎么样？