口蜜腹剑，笑里藏刀
有人译为 His mouth is honey; his heart is a sword.外国人听了会对如此的比喻摸不着头脑，假如要形容某人口蜜腹剑，笑里藏刀，大家可以说with honey on one's lip and murder in one's heart,
或者 honey-mouthed but dagger-hearted.也可以更直接的译成He is an evil man who has a mouth that praises and a hand that kills.
少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲
有人译成 If you neglect study when you are young, what may happen to your old age?这句问句会把老外问得云里雾里，由于他们沒有学而优则仕的思想，也不觉得功课差，以后就会伤悲。他们劝告子女常常说的是：
Studying / working hard can lead you to a brighter / more promising1 future.
Study hard when you are young. It will pay off when you get older.
学如行舟，不进则退
假如直译成：Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back. 老外听后，或许会感到一头雾水。如此修改一下，表达可以明确一些：
Learning seems like rowing upstream; if one does not advance, one will fall back.
Learning is like rowing against the current, if one does not advance, one will retreat.
更直接的说法是：
If you don't make progress, you will fall behind.
1日为师，终身为父
有如此的译法：
He who teaches me for one day is my father for life.
If you are my teacher for even one day, you will be my teacher all my life.
He who teaches me may be considered my father-figure for life.
这几种译法意思都是老师即便对我只有一天的教诲，也会让我一生都受用不尽。外国人也有他们表达师生关系的谚语，如：
Teach others to fish and they will fish for a lifetime.
Give a man fish, he will have a meal; teach him to fish, he will have food all his life.
忠言逆耳，良药苦口
有人译成
Faithful words are contrary to the ears; good medicine tastes bitter to the mouth.
也有人反译为：
Bitter words are medicine; sweet words bring illness.
Good advice often jars on the ears; bitter pills have good effects.
这类说法，老外也会一知半解，不如直接一点说成：
Honest advice may be distasteful to the recipient2.
Honest advice is hard to accept.
Truth is a hard pill to swallow.
更简单的说就是：Truth hurts.
近墨者黑，近朱者赤
有人直译为：one who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black.也有人译成：
When you touch black, you become black; when you touch red, you become red.
这种说法，恐怕老外一时没办法理解真的含意。
不过他们倒有这么说：（这就不是figurative，比喻使用方法，而是直接叙述了）
One takes the behavior of one's company.
One takes on the attributes of one's associates.
Watch the company you keep!
As he who lies with dogs will ride with fleas3, how could your son learn anything good by mixing with those people?
得出的结论是，有一些习惯用语比较形象，但英语中不肯定有与之相对的比喻（如半瓶水之类），当翻译成英语时可能只能让外国人知道其字面上的意义，而不是比喻意义，此时不如直接讲出。假如英语中有与之对应的比喻使用方法就非常幸运了。（如：烈火炼真金，患难见真情，相对的是By a long road, we know a horse's strength；at times of difficulty, we discover a friend's true character.） 当然，习语也要用有度，在倡导革新的今天，新鲜的语言大概更让人可喜吧！
