在英语中，经常会碰到“like watching paint dry”这个短语，字面意思是“就像是用眼看着等着油漆干”，实际上比喻的是一种“乏味无聊，冗长没意思的等待”。
- My girlfriend loved the Les Miserables movie, but I hated it. For me, it was like watching paint dry.
- The chancellor's budget speech is on TV later. It'll be like watching paint dry!
- I hate it when football is on the television, it's like watching paint dry.
值得注意的是，英语中还有一个与paint相关的短语“paint the town red”，字面意思是“把全城刷红”，实际上比喻的是“尽情地，毫无约束地狂欢庆祝”。
- It's my 21st birthday on Saturday and I'm going to paint the town red.
