idiom 1

bump into

tình cờ gặp

We bumped into Amy when we were in town last week.

a drop in the ocean

chỉ là số lượng rất nhỏ khi đặt trong tổng thể; muối bỏ bể

eg: My letter of protest was just a drop in the ocean.

Work flat out

– work very hard (làm việc cât lực)

eg: The employees have been working flat out to get the job finished ahead of the deadline.

The in thing

– something fashionable. (hợp mốt)

Make a fuss over

– overly care for someone/something (làm ầm lên)

eg: Whenever they visit Grandma she makes a fuss over the children.

Run of the mill

– average, ordinary (không có gì đặc biệt, bình thường)

E.g: Apple phones are very run of the mill these days.

Far-fetched

(gượng gạo, không tự nhiên, cường điệu)

E.g: The government’s choice for the new Defense Secretary seemed pretty farfetched to the opposition party.

Ace

– to do well (làm rất xuất sắc)

E.g: He aced the history test. He is an ace pitcher/batter/tennis player.

Get a kick out of (something)

– to get excitement or pleasure from an event or thought. (thích thú/tìm thấy sự thú vị của cái gì đó)

E.g: I really get a kick out of seeing the crazy things carried on motorbikes sometimes.

Bent out of shape

– often used to admonish others not to be too upset. (nổi điên, vô cùng tức giận)

E.g: Don’t get all bent out of shape about the way they drive over here!

Give (lend) sb a hand

– to give some forms of assistance with a task (giúp đỡ)

E.g: Could you give me a hand with this shipment

Sit on the fence

to be undecided. (trung lập, không đứng về bên nào)

E.g: I haven’t made my mind up about that issue, I’ll have to sit on the fence.

Hit the books

– to study, usually intensively (vùi đầu vào học)

E.g: I will sit the IELTS test next week. That’s why I have been hitting the books all day long.

Broke

– usually financial related, have no money, can also generally reference a state (cháy túi, hết tiền)

E.g: I can’t afford to go on holiday – I’m (flat) broke.

(Go) back to the drawing board

to start planning something again because the first plan failed (làm lại từ đầu)

E.g: Our plan didn’t work out, so it’s back to the drawing board.

Go the extra mile

– To make an extra effort; do more than usual (vô cùng cố gắng)

E.g: You had better not forget 8 leadership attributes that make you go the extra mile.

Crash course

– a quick lesson (khoá học cấp tốc)

E.g: We need a crash course in idioms for this IELTS program.

Up-to-the-minute

the very latest or most recent (rất hiện đại, rất hợp mốt, giờ chót, rất kịp thời)

E.g: Now we’re going live to our reporter in Washington for up-to-the-minute news on the crisis.

On the go

– busy (bận rộn)

E.g: I feel as though we always need to be on the go because life’s too short to be idle!

Up-market

(dành cho giới thượng lưu, hảo hạng, loại sang)

E.g: An upmarket restaurant that is quite pricey but also quite good

Cram

nồi nhét

E.g: The students are all cramming to get ready for the exams.

In high spirits

– extremely happy (vui vẻ, phấn chấn)

E.g: They’d had a couple of drinks and were in high spirits.

Keep one’s chin up

lạc quan lên, đừng nản chí

eg: Keep your chin up. Things will get better sooner or later

Read sb’s mind

– W – guess what somebody is thinking (đoán

suy nghĩ của người khác)

set the ball rolling

(bắt đầu hành động)

 I decided to set the ball rolling and got up to dance.

Fill in for sb

(làm thay việc của ai đó)

 Bill is going to be filling in for me while I’m out on maternity leave. antsy

(as) easy as pie

– very easy (dễ ợt)

E.g: For Tom, getting a graphic design certificate was easy as pie –he seemed to have a natural talent for it.

keep one’s fingers crossed for

(chúc may mắn)

eg: We’re keeping our fingers crossed that he’ll be healthy again very soon

Chicken scratch (n)

(chữ như gà bới/chữ xấu không đọc được)

E.g: His signature—an unforgettably idiosyncratic chicken scratch

The wee hours

– after midnight (quá nửa đêm)

E.g: He was up until the wee hours trying to finish his work.

A blessing in disguise

trong cái rủi có cái may)

E.g: Losing that job was a blessing in disguise really.

All in the same boat

(cùng chung cảnh ngộ)

E.g: None of us has any money, so we’re all in the same boat.

Early bird

(người hay dậy sớm)

E.g: I never miss sunrise. I’m an early

A breath of fresh air

(điều gì đó mới mẻ)

E.g: Selena was a talented and beautiful entertainer, a breath of fresh air in an industry full of people all trying to copy each other.

Keep one’s nose to the grindstone

(làm việc chăm chỉ)

E.g: If you keep your nose to the grindstone, you will finish this job tonight.

Know st inside out

– to be totally familiar with (hiểu rõ, quen thuộc)

E.g: He knows that subject backwards and forwards.

Leave well enough alone

– (để nguyên như vậy, không cần thay đổi nữa vì đã tốt rồi)

E.g: This repair is not perfect, but let’s leave well enough alone.

A penny for your thoughts

(bạn đang mải mê nghĩ chuyện gì vậy?)

E.g: For several minutes they sat silently, then finally she looked at him and said, “ A penny for your thoughts, Walter.”

Against the clock

(cật lực, chạy đua với thời gian)

E.g: With her term paper due on Monday, she was racing against the clock to finish it

Lend an ear

(lắng nghe)

E.g: If you have any problems, go to Claire. She’ll always lend a sympathetic ear.

Bushed

(mệt nhoài, đuối sức)

E.g: I am totally bushed after staying up so late.

Hard feelings

(buồn phiền)

E.g: I am sorry I have to fire you. No hard feelings, okay?

Be sick to death of

(chán đến chết)

E.g: I’m sick to death of doing nothing but work. Let’s go out tonight and have fun.

(come) rain or shine

(dù mưa hay nắng, dù có chuyện gì xảy ra)

E.g: I will be on time for the class, rain or shine. Come rain or shine, she is always smiling.

Be all ears

(lắng nghe)

E.g: I’m all ears, waiting to hear your latest excuse for not getting this job done!

Fresh/clean out of

(hết hạn rồi)

E.g: I have to go buy some more milk. It seems we’re fresh out now.

Have/get mixed feelings about st

(cảm xúc lẫn lộn, không chắc chắn)

E.g: I have mixed feelings about my trip to England. I love the people, but the clim ate upsets me.

Give it one’s best shot

(cố hết sức có thể)

E.g: This test question is really tough! I’ll give it my best shot, and I’ll get some marks for doing my best.

In deep water

(gặp rắc rối, gặp tình thế khó)

E.g: He has not submitted his dissertation so he’s in deep water.

Next to nothing

tốn ít tiền)

E.g: I went to the new discount store and bought these new shoes for only five dollars. That’s next to nothing