一日一成语【34】be well off

be well off

off这个词对谁来说都不是个陌生的词，相信一定知道get off(下车)，turn off(关掉)这些短语，或许也听说过day-off(休息日)，off shore(离岸)等等。但在be well off中的off一词却都不同于上面所列举的那些短语中off的意义。在be well off这个成语中off用来表示经济状况，如果说一家人家well off，那就是说这家人家可称得上是小康或殷实之家了：

The family was well off and all the children received a good education.
那家人是小康人家，所有的孩子都受过良好的教育。

和well off相对的是badly off，意即贫穷，经济结据：

They were so badly off that they had to sell whatever was valuable in their possession.
他们家境不佳，不得不变卖家产中任何值钱的东西。

这个成语中的副词well和与它相对的badly，有时可用比较级形式：

As both husband and wife are working now, the family is much better off than before.
夫妻两个眼下都有了工作，家庭的经济情况比以前好多了。