[不容易]no cinch

　　我是挣了钱，但这钱挣的不太容易了。

　　I know I’ve made some money, but it was no cinch to get it.

　　汉语“不容易”的概念较为笼统，若用英语来表示，不同语境有不同的表示方法。一般说来，可以用not easy或difficult之类的单词来表示，但作为地道的口语，no piece of cake或no cinch或no picnic就是几个广为人知的习惯用语。a piece of cake常用来喻指“轻松的事”，no piece of cake意指“不轻松”。no cinch中的cinch指“马鞍等的肚带”，常用来喻指“容易做的事”或“必然发生的事”。因此，no cinch这个俚语的意思就与我们所说的“不容易”相吻合了。

　　Dialogue

　　Linda: How did you get the job?

　　Sally: Through the help of John.

　　Linda: How are you getting on with it?

　　Sally: It takes time to get used to all the routines. And doing a good job in such a big company is no piece of cake.

　　Linda: Of course. We have to work hard and get things done. I know it’s no cinch to work in a big company. But on the other hand, the pay is usually much better.

　　Sally: You deserve such a good pay for all the things you do.

　　Linda: Certainly.