english idioms advanced in use unit 51: ALL

at all hours (of the day and night)

repeatedly during the day and the night:

• They keep calling me _.

• Their poor dog barked _.

  → lặp đi lặp lại ngày đêm.

be someone all over

to be the typical behaviour of a particular person:

She's always talking - that's Claire _.

→ là bản chất, hành vi của ai.

SYN characteristic

all told

as a complete total:

• There were 550 people at the festival _.

• I made a lot in tips this week—$300 _.

  → tổng cộng.

SYN When all is said and done, In total

be all smiles

to look happy and friendly, especially when other people are not expecting you to:

She's never been very friendly, but she was _ when she asked me to help her with her homework.

→ tươi cười, vui vẻ khi người khác không mong chờ. (không thật lòng)

give the all-clear

if a doctor gives someone the all-clear, they tell the person that they do not have any health problems (figurative)

The building was _ following tests.

→ đã khỏe lại, không còn vđề gì nữa.

all in good time

used to tell someone to be patient because the thing they are eager for will happen when the time is right:

Be patient, you'll hear the result _.

→ mọi thứ sẽ xảy ra vào một thời điểm thích hợp hoặc vào lúc đúng đắn.

it's all systems go

everything is busy:

Work started on the indoor sports arena at the beginning of the year and _,with a huge team of builders working on the project.

→ mọi thứ đều rất bận rộn.

all in all

considering all the different parts of the situation together:

_, I think you've done very well.

The cruise wasn't perfect, but _ it was pretty good.

→ nểu mà ngẫm lại về tổng thể thì …

all or nothing

relates to doing something either completely or not at all:

She either loves you or hates you - it's _ with her.

The government has rejected the _ approach in favour of a compromise solution.

→ được cả hoặc mất hết.

to cap it all

used when you mention something in addition to all the other (bad) things that have happened:

It's been a terrible week and now, _, I've got a cold.

→ thêm một điều tồi tệ nữa là …

in all but name

existing as a fact but not officially described that way:

She is vice-president _.

Alice runs the business _.

→ tồn tại như là một sự thật nhưng không dc diển tả chính thức.

all-time

An ~ high, low, best, etc. is the highest, lowest, best, etc. level that has ever been:

After three years of drought, the water in the lake had reached _ low.

→ đỉnh điểm (thấp, cao, tốt nhất, ….)

all in the/your mind

If a problem is ~, it does not exist and is only imagined:

• His doctor tried to convince him that he wasn't really ill and that it was _.

• Boredom is _; it's up to you to find something of interest to do.

→ tất cả đều là tưởng tượng

SYN a figment of your imagination

all things to all people

If you try to be _, you try to do things that will please everyone.

• A good politician cannot be _.

• The show would have been better if it hadn’t tried to _.

→ chiều lòng ý mọi người.

SYN Play to the gallery

all-singing, all-dancing

An _ piece of equipment or system has a lot of advanced technical features, and therefore is able to do many things:

She showed us the new _ graphics software she'd bought for her computer.

→ tiên tiến, công nghệ cao (và rất dc việc).

SYN at-the-cutting-edge

for all someone cares/knows

said to show that something is not important to someone:

You could be the Queen of England, _ - you're not coming in here without a ticket.

→ dùng để nhấn mạnh rằng ai đó không quan tâm, sự việc đó xảy ra hay không cũng chẳng ảnh hưởng gì.