Collocations and Idioms

• A splitting headache

a severe headache

• A big cheese

an important, influential person

• A blind date

a meeting between two people who have not met before

• A hard nut to crack

a difficult person or problem to deal with

• A sweet tooth

a person who likes to eat sweet things

• A tall story

an unbelievable story

• A lost cause

no hope, no way to change

• A clean fast is better than a dirty breakfast

a bad start leads to a good outcome

• A bad beginning makes a bad ending

a bad start leads to a bad outcome

• A shadow of a doubt

some doubt

• A shot in the dark

a guess

• A kick in the pants

a strong criticism

• An open-and-shut case

a simple problem to solve

• A piece of cake

very easy

• Apples and oranges

two different things

• As cool as a cucumber

calm, not nervous

• As long as your arm

very long

• At the drop of a hat

immediately, instantly

• At a loss

confused

• At the eleventh hour

at the last moment

• As clear as crystal

very clear

• A woman gives and forgives, a man gets and forgets

women are more forgiving than men

• A man gets and forgets

đàn ông chỉ nhận và quên, không tha thứ

• To beat around the bush

to talk about something without getting to the main point

• By the skin of one's teeth

just barely

• To cost an arm and a leg

very expensive

• To get something off one's chest

to express something that has been on one's mind

• To get cold feet

to be scared of something

• To get st/have st at one's fingertips

to have something ready to use

• To have st on the brain

to think about something a lot

• To face the music

to accept the consequences of one's actions

• To face to face

direct

• To hit the nail on the head

to say exactly the right thing

• To have a bee in one's bonnet

to be obsessed with something

• To have a chip on one's shoulder

to be angry because one feels they have been treated unfairly

• To turn up one's nose at sth

to reject something because one thinks it's not good enough

• To have a hand in sth

to be involved in something

• To keep a stiff upper lip

to be brave in a difficult situation

• To know something like the back of one's hand

to know something very well

• To be all ears

to be ready to listen

• To be up to one's eyes

to be very busy

• To lead sb by the nose

to control someone and make them do exactly what you want them to do

• To lend an ear to sb/st

to listen to someone in a sympathetic way

• To look death in the face

to confront a dangerous situation

• To lose face

to be embarrassed

• To make a clean breast of it

to confess everything

• To make one's blood boil

to make one angry

• To see eye to eye with sb

to totally agree

• To shake a leg

to hurry up

• To keep one's head above the water

to stay out of financial trouble

• To bite the bullet

to endure a difficult situation

• To put a foot in it

to say something embarrassing

• To put one's foot down

to be firm about something

• To stand on one's own two feet

to be independent

• To stick one's nose into other's business

to interfere with other people's lives

• To trip over one's big feet

to trip over something

• To put on a brave face

to hide one's true feelings

• To pay through the nose

to pay too much for something

• To turn over a new leaf

to begin to behave in a new way

• To have a head for something

to be good at something

• To have one's head in the clouds

to be unrealistic

• To have one's hands full

to be very busy

• To go to one's head

to make someone arrogant

• To lose one's head

to become crazy

• To scratch one's back

to help someone in the hope that they will help you back

• To break a leg

good luck!

• To get st off one's chest

to express one's feelings

• To keep one's chin up

to stay optimistic

• To give someone the cold shoulder

to ignore someone

• To have a bone to pick with someone

to have a reason to argue with someone

• To bite the hand that feeds you

to harm someone who has helped you

• To have a finger in every pie

to be involved in many activities

• To get a grip on oneself

to control one's emotions

• To get something off one's chest

to express one's feelings

• To give a hand

to help

• To have a heart of gold

to be very kind

• To put one's foot in one's mouth

to say something embarrassing

• To feel it in one's bones

to have a strong feeling that something is true

• Off one's head

crazy

• Stay/keep/be on one's toe

be careful and alert

• Have in mind

consider, plan

• At heart

basically, fundamentally

• The apple of one's eye

a person or thing that is loved and cherished above all others

• Beyond the shadow of a doubt

no doubt at all

• A big fish in a small pond

an important person in a small group

• A lone wolf

a person who prefers to be alone

• A paper tiger

a person or thing that seems powerful but is not

• A snake in the grass

a deceitful or treacherous person

• A fly in the ointment

a small problem that spoils a situation

• A fish out of water

a person who is out of their element

• A fish out of the water

like a fish on dry land

• A bull in a china shop

a clumsy person

• To get one's ducks in a row

to be organized

• To get the bee in one's bonnet

to be obsessed with something

• To have a cow

to be very angry

• To have a dog in the fight

to have a personal interest in something

• To kill two birds with one stone

to accomplish two things at once

• To let the cat out of the bag

to reveal a secret

• To drink like a fish

to drink alcohol excessively

• To feel like a fish out of water

to be in an uncomfortable situation