下班后晚飯前，做飯忙不停，這時孩子吵貓狗叫，巴不得世界趕緊靜一靜。這就是一天中的“砒霜時間”。

Arsenic hour is the time after parents arrive home from work and before dinner is served; any extremely hectic part of the day, especially when dealing with young children.
“砒霜時間”指的是父母下班后，晚飯開飯前的這段時間，或者是一天中非常忙碌的時段，特別是帶年幼的孩子時。

It’s almost dinnertime. Mom or Dad, or both, are trying to get dinner going. They’ve just arrived home from work or they’re reeling from a long day of parenting. They’re tired, the kids are wired and everyone is hungry. Among other things.
快到晚飯時間了，母親或父親，或是兩個人都在做飯。他們剛下班，或者已經帶了一天孩子。他們非常疲憊，但孩子們極其興奮，每個人都很餓，等等。

Let’s peek inside one household:
讓我們看看這一家：

The oldest child has a million questions. The middle child needs a hand in the bathroom. The baby wakes up cranky from his afternoon nap. Then he poops. The dog starts scratching the paint off the door and then begins barking as if a serial killer is in the house. Simultaneously, the cat relieves itself in an unauthorized location.
老大問個沒完，老二在廁所需要人幫忙，最小的娃午覺醒后還有起床氣，然后他拉了。狗狗把門抓花了，然后狂吠不止，就好像屋里進了個連環殺手。這時，貓隨地大小便了。

This is the time of day known as “the arsenic hour.” Why? Because you either want to dispense some arsenic or take some.
這就是一天中的“砒霜時間”。為什么這樣說？因為這時你巴不得分點兒毒藥下去，或者自己吃點兒（開玩笑了）。

The best that can be said about the above situation is that it’s not my house. Our only pets are fish, who are usually very polite and well-behaved, particularly if you drop an occasional mention of “fillet” as you pass by the tank. The children are another matter.
最好的消息是，這不是在我家。我們唯一的寵物是金魚，非常禮貌，也很乖，特別是你路過魚缸，偶爾往里面扔個魚片時。孩子們就是另一回事了。

（中國日報網英語點津 yaning）