idiom 2

up in arms about

– upset or angry about something.

(buồn và bực tức về vấn đề gì)

E.g: She has been UP IN ARMS about the rent increase.

Put oneself in sb’s shoes

– imagine that you are in somebody’s

position in order to understand his/her feelings (đặt mình vào vị trí của người khác)

E.g: If you put yourself in my shoes, you would understand why I made that decision

Explore all avenues

(tìm mọi cách để làm gì đó)

E.g: We need to EXPLORE ALL AVENUES before doing something that is not very safe to a great number of people in order to minimize unfavorable consequences

On the ball

(hiểu và chủ động trong việc gì đó)

E.g: Our staff is really on the ball to get projects done on time.

Throw in the towel

(từ bỏ, đầu hàng)

E.g: I’ve spent too much time on this project to throw in the towel now.

Get a head start on

(đi đầu, tiên phong)

E.g: This year we’ll get a head start on the competition by running more advertise ments.

Hear on the grapevine

(nghe loáng thoáng về vấn đề gì đó)

E.g: I heard on the grapevine that she was pregnant, but I don’t know anything more.

In the heat of the moment

(Trong lúc nóng giận)

E.g: She doesn’t hate you. She just said that in the heat of the moment.

It takes two to tango

(trong cùng 1 sự việc mà có 2 hay nhiều người dính líu đến thì tất cả phải có trách nhiệm như nhau/ phải có lửa mới có khói)

E.g: She blames Tracy for stealing her husband. ‘Well, it takes two to tango.’

Get/jump on the bandwagon

(tham gia vào một hoạt động phổ biến/ phong trào)

E.g: You jump on the bandwagon when all your friends begin eating at a new popular restaurant.

Keep st at bay

(ngăn ai/ cái gì tiếp tận)

E.g: She fought to keep her unhappiness at bay.

Let sleeping dogs lie

(đừng có nhắc đến những chuyện không hay trong quá khứ/ để yên mọi thứ được yên ổn)

E.g: Mark thought about bringing up the old argument they had last month, but then he decided to let sleeping dogs lie

Not playing with a full deck

(kém thông minh)

E.g: Jim’s a nice guy, but with some of the foolish things he does, I wonder if he’s n ot playing with a full deck.

Give the benefit of the doubt

(quyết định tin tưởng ai hoăc điều gì đó)

E.g: I didn’t know whether his story was true or not, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Pull the wool over sb’s eyes

(lừa dối/che mắt ai đó)

E.g: You can’t pull the wool over my eyes. I know what’s going on.

Take with a grain of salt

nửa tin nửa ngờ)

E.g: I’ve read the article, which I take with a grain of salt.

Taste of sb’s own medicine

(gậy ông đập lưng ông)

E.g: Tom talks way too much – but last night he met someone who talked even more than he does, and he got frustrated. He finally got a taste of his own medicine.

Whole nine yards

(tất cả mọi thứ)

E.g: When I was little, my family always had lots of pets – dogs, cats, hamsters, fish, rabbits – the whole nine yards.

Wouldn’t be caught dead

(thà chết chứ không làm, không báo giờ thích làm điều gì đó)

E.g: My father wouldn’t have been caught dead in a white suit.

And then some

(nhiều hơn thế)

E.g: It looked like 20,000 people and then some were crowded into the stadium. I nvestors in the business got their money back and then some.

Find sb’s feet

(dần quen với việc gì)

E.g: Moving to a new city was difficult as first, but I soon found my feet.

Read sb’s mind

(đi guốc trong bụng)

E.g: I was surprised he knew what I was planning, like he could read my mind.

Before long

(chẳng bao lâu nữa)

E.g: I will be gone before long, but I hope you learn a lot

Set in sb’s ways

(không chịu thay đổi thói quen, suy nghĩ...)

E.g: My parents are quite traditional and set in their ways

(the) bottom line

(con số hoặc thông tin quan trọng)

E.g: 1- My bottom line to do this job is freedom from meddling!

2-Don’t give me the details of what the client said about the bid, just tell me his bottom line.

(Right) off the top of my head

(nói ra điều gì đó không cần suy nghĩ quá nhiều hay cần một kiến thức gì đó đặc biệt)

E.g: You are familiar enough with the data. Give us the information off the top of your head.

Down in the dumps

(buồn chán)

E.g: She’s a bit down in the dumps because she failed one of her exams.

(on the) cutting edge

vượt xa người khác ở một lĩnh vực nào đó)

E.g: His teaching process is on the cutting edge. This new computer is cutting edge technology.

Put all sb’s eggs in one basket

(bỏ tất cả trứng vào một giỏ, bỏ tất cả tiền bạc và công sức vào việc gì đó)

E.g: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. You should apply to lots of different universities

Chill out

relax, calm down (thoải mái, thư giãn)

E.g: Despite terrorism, Obama still kept calm and told his staff to chill out and got back to work.

Miss the boat

– miss an opportunity. (vuột mất cơ hội)

E.g: I sent my application in late and I think I missed the boat.

White elephant

(những đồ vật cũ, không có gía trị sử dụng)

E.g: That new motorbike I bought is really a white elephant, it is expensive and too big for these streets.

Out of the blue

- Nói về sự việc xảy ra đột ngộ, không hề có cảnh báo

hay chuẩn bị trước

E.g: It just started raining out of the blue - trời tự nhiên mưa.

Try sb’s hand at st

thử sức làm công việc gì đấy

E.g: I have tried my hands at a number of other finance jobs, but I always find myself coming back to accounting.

Blown away

cực kì sốc, ấn tượng với cái gì đó

E.g: When I saw Son Tung live in concert, I was absolutely blown away by his talent.

big fan of

thích cái gì

E.g: I am a big fan of these types of sharing dishes.

a bear with a sore head

tức giận, tâm trạng tệ

eg: John is always like a bear with a sore head first thing in the morning

a bit of a dark horse

người có những khả năng bị che giấu

a bitter pill (to swallow)

cái gì không tốt nhưng buộc phải chấp nhận, sựu thật khó chấp nhận

Ví dụ

• Losing to a younger player was a bitter pill to swallow.

another/(a different) kettle of fish

hoàn toàn khác biệt

Ví dụ

• Having knowledge is one thing but being able to communicate it to others is another kettle of fish.