bridge the gap 4

Without doubt, I'd say…

chắc chắn:

Jo is without doubt one of the finest swimmers in the school.

beyond belief

không thể tin được

by profession

là nghề của…(as your profession or job):

He was a teacher by profession.

at the expense of

/1/ chọc ai đó: Would you stop making jokes at my expense?

/2/ gây hại cho ai đó: He had no need to protect their reputation at the expense of his own.

by hook or by crook

bằng mọi giá: I decided I was going to get that job by hook or by crook.

It's beyond me

Thật khó hiểu: How they can live in such chaos is beyond me.

It confound me why

confuse somebody by doing sth

confuse somebody with sth

gây bất ngờ cho ai:

(1) An elderly man from Hull has confounded doctors by recovering after he was officially declared dead.

(2) The singer confounded her critics with a remarkable follow-up album.

bring/call something to mind

nhớ gì đó: I can see his face, but I just can't bring his name to mind.

as a substitute for

như là sự thay thế cho

be an important factor in

là yếu tố quan trọng cho việc gì đó

go to your head

làm ai ảo tưởng rằng mình giỏi

go to a lot of trouble

tốn nhiều công sức

have (a lot/plenty/not much) going for (one)

thích gì đó nhiều

be/have (enough) to be going on with

đủ cho thời điểm hiện tại

go short of

thiếu: Many people went short of clothing in war

go halves on

chia nửa số tiền

go it alone

tự làm

go a long way to(wards)

cất công làm gì: Her sheltered childhood goes a long way to explaining her idea

go on a spending spree

mua sắm thỏa thích

seeing that

bởi vì

see something/it coming

dự đoán chuyện gì xảy ra: I knew he'd have a nervous breakdown, i saw it coming

see reason

hiểu lẽ phải: I cannot convince him that he was wrong, he can't see reason

see the light

hiểu ra vấn đề: He wanted to drop out of university until Ursula made him see the light

have seen better days

tình trạng cũ kĩ: That jacket has seen better days. Why don't you get a new one?

see to it that

đảm bảo rằng

plainly

/1/ rõ ràng: Every footstep could be plainly heard.

/2/ giản dị: a plainly furnished room

readily

/1/ ngay lập tức, nhanh chóng làm gì đó (quickly, immediately, willingly, or without any problem):

(1) He readily agreed to help.

(2) Larger sizes are readily available.

directed otherwise

or broken or inflamed skin, unless directed otherwise by your doctor.

complain bitterly

phàn nàn một cách cay đắng

greatly admire

cực kì ngưỡng mộ

particularly wanted (especially, or more than usual)

lúc muốn, lúc không

categorically

in a way that is without any doubt or possibility of being changed (chắn chắn không nghi ngờ): He categorically refused to take part in the project.

gratefully

một cách biết ơn: Local food banks gratefully accept monetary donations.

Xem

thinly

/1/ mỏng: thinly-sliced ham

/2/ ít người, số lượng gì đó (with only a small number of people or things, or without the people or things being close to each other): a thinly populated area

/3/ dễ nhìn thấy: A light mist thinly covered the summit.

soundly

/1/ hoàn toàn: he committee soundly rejected all of the proposed changes.

/2/ ngủ sâu: I slept very soundly, thank you - the bed was really comfortable.

mutually

(adv) lẫn nhau, qua lại (felt or done by two or more people or groups in the same way): Being rich and being a Socialist are not mutually exclusive (= they can exist together at the same time).

clean evidence

bằng chứng rõ ràng

a slap in the face

hành động sỉ nhục ai đó: It was a real slap in the face when they didn't invite me to the wedding.

smack one's lips

chép môi (để bày tỏ mong muốn được ăn thật nhiều thứ mà bạn thích):"I love chocolate cake," said Susannah, smacking her lips.

be tickled pink

rất vui, rất hài lòng: I was tickled pink to be invited.

clap/lay/set eyes on

gặp gì đó lần đầu: Everyone keeps talking about Patrick, but I've never clapped eyes on the man.

if/when push comes to shove

If something can be done if push comes to shove, it can be done if the situation becomes so bad that you have to do it:

If push comes to shove, we can always sell the car.

scratch a living/the surface (of sth)

to manage to earn only just enough money to live

The farmer somehow managed to scratch a living from the arid land.

Rub salt into someone's wounds

Losing was bad enough. Watching his enemy receiving the trophy just rubbed salt into the wound.

rub somebody's nose in it

to say or do things that make someone remember that they failed or got something wrong

go off with a bang

thành công rực rỡ

make a go of something

thành công trong việc gì:He has never owned a shop before, but I think he'll make a go of it.

be on the up and up

1. Đáng tin. 2. Thành công, = to be SUCCESSFUL. His career has been ON THE UP AND UP since he moved into sales.

go/come up in the world

đổi đời, đi lên

to have more money or a better social position than you had before:

Roger and Ann have gone up in the world - these days they only ever travel first-class.

have (got) it made

thành công trong cuộc sống: With his father at the head of the firm, he's got it made.

fight a losing battle

Cầm chắc thất bại.

e.g: You're FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE to advise Tom to give up smoking.

come to nothing = go up in smoke = fail

không đi đến đâu, tan thành mây khói, thất bại

be a flop/shambles

=be a fiasco

draw a blank

không thể nhớ, tìm được câu trả lời: He asked me for my phone number and I drew a blank - I just couldn't remember it.

wait in the wings

chờ đợi thời cơ

as large as life

thấy bằng xương bằng thịt: I looked up from my newspaper and there he was, as large as life, Tim Trotter!

in the public eye

nổi tiéng, công chúng biết đến

on leave

Vince is on leave from the navy.

Vince đang nghỉ phép ở ngành hải quân.

be in somebody's presence/absence

If you are in someone's presence, you are in the same place as that person, and are close enough to them to be seen or heard.

The talks took place in the presence of a diplomatic observer.

make one's presence felt/known

có ảnh hưởng quan trọng lên ai hoặc tổ chức nào đó: The new police chief has really made his presence felt.

(when/as soon as) somebody's back is turned

/1/ quay lưng với ai: When the referee's back was turned, he was elbowed in the ribs.

/2/ khi không có ai: As soon as their boss's back is turned, they stop working.

do a disappearing/vanishing act

to go away, usually because you do not want to do something or meet someone, chạy vụt đi:

Tina always does a vanishing act when my mother comes to stay.

to tickle to death

làm chết cười

tickle someone's fancy

thứ gì khiến bạn thích: Does anything on the menu tickle your fancy?

see the last of somebody

to not see something or someone again because that thing or person has gone away or has ended

go one better

Làm cái gì tốt hơn ai hay tốt hơn những gì mình làm trước đó:I gave her a card, but my brother went one better and bought her a present.

at/on the stroke of something

exactly at a particular time:

Fireworks started at the stroke of ten.

stroke of midnight

Đúng nửa đêm

make someone's blood run cold

sợ chết khiếp: I heard a tapping on the window which made my blood run cold.

do/make a good job of something

The dry cleaner's did a good job of removing that oil stain from my shirt.

at every job

mọi cách có thể

by a long way

You can use by a long way to emphasize that something is, for example, much better, worse, or bigger than any other thing of that kind.

[emphasis]

It was, by a long way, the worst meeting I have ever attended.

not by a long chalk

hoàn toàn không

your heart was in your mouth

If someone's heart is in their mouth, they are feeling extremely nervous: