和“鸟巢”的“巢”相关的英语习惯用语Feather这个词作动词的时候可以解释为铺垫羽毛那么feather your own nest就是在自己的窝里铺羽毛了想象一下垫上松软羽毛的小窝该是多么舒适啊固然我们不能只看这个习惯用语的字面意义，它的实际意思就是，中饱私囊，谋求个人利益 例句：I thought security at CIA was good and tight. How come this guy could spy for Russia for so long and feather his own nest with millions of dollars for Moscow? It”s really hard to believe. 我本以为中心情报局的安全防卫措施肯定既完善又严密可那个中心情报局官员怎么有时机常年累月地为莫斯科供应机密情报，并得到几百万美元的酬劳中饱私囊呢? 这简直令人难以置信 又如：In his will Mr. Green told this lawyer to use his money after he died to build a hospital for the poor. But the lawyer feathered his own nest by using the money to buy two apartment buildings for himself. Green先生在遗嘱中要这个律师在他身后用他的钱为贫民造一所医院，但是律师却拿这笔资金营私，为自己买了两栋公寓大楼。
3 foul your own nest Foul这个词可以解释为“玷污，弄脏”所以foul your own nest从字面上来看就是指把自己的安乐窝弄得乌七八糟想象一下，假如你把自己的安乐窝搞得脏乱不堪、臭气冲天，那你是在跟自己过不去，让自己不得安静了所以，foul your own nest这个比方说法的实际含义就是：毁坏自己的名誉，拆自己人的台 例句：The mayor could have been elected forever. But he”s finished now and may end up in jail. It was discovered that he”d been fouling his own nest by taking bribes and giving city contracts in return. 那个市长原来可能始终会中选，但是他现在可完蛋了，甚至还可能坐牢人们发觉他一向收受贿赂，拿承包市内工程的合同来作交易这一下他真把自己搞得声名狼籍 又如：Senator White is lucky to have a wife like Sally, a lovely and smart woman with a good job. When she learned that he had affairs with cheap women, she didn”t foul their own nest but still supported her husband to run for senator. White参议员有Sally这样一位好太太真是运气。
Sally才貌双全又有一份好工作当Sally听说丈夫和不三不四的女人纠缠不清的时候，她不但没把家丑外扬，而且仍旧支持她丈夫竞选参议员 4 stir up a hornet”s nest Hornet是黄蜂、胡蜂或者马蜂假如一个人不明智地捅马蜂窝，必定遭到大群马蜂的叮刺围攻所以，Stir up a hornet”s nest的含义就是：捅了马蜂窝，惹人说辞或者招来批判的意思to provoke the attack of a swarm of spiteful enemies or spirited critics 例句：Why are you trying to stir up a hornet”s nest? Our office has been managed this way for the last twenty years. Don”t waste time complaining about it; you”ll just get in a lot of trouble. 你为什么要去捅马蜂窝呢？我们的办公室这二十年来一向根据这个方式治理你别铺张时间去提意见了；你会给自己招惹麻烦的。
又如：The case has stirred up a hornet”s nest among the press and the congress. Everyone wants to know how this senior officer got away with stealing all those secrets for eight years before he got caught. 这件案子遭到新闻界和国会的剧烈责难，使大家震动的是这个高级官员怎么会窃取隐秘情报长达八年之久才被发觉 。