a big pen as large as a beam

strip off the upper garment as a token of sincere apology (ready to submit to any punishment the other party may want to give)

as if riding in the spring breeze

like melting snow with hot water(easily done)

be hated by both man and God

poverty stifles ambition

endure the torments of hunger(go hungry)

supple twigs and tender leaves

let things go their own way(let things run their course)

devour what is soft and spit out what is hard

Fried beans with fried beans

bring disgrace on a family(desecrate one's own door)

Daily increasing and monthly benefiting

like flies taking to rottenness(like flies after a stink)

people with lofty ideas

get better with each passing day

turn a deaf ear to(be in at one ear and out at the other)

be now open now covert(equivocal)

ask about taboos and bans upon arrival in a foreign country

endure humiliation for the sake of preserving unity