IDIOMS (1)

make a start (on sth)

[make]
to begin doing something: bắt đầu làm việc gì.

eg: Let’s ___ on the project now so we can finish early.

the tip of the iceberg

[tip]
a small, noticeable part of a problem, the total size of which is really much greater: phần nổi của tảng băng chìm (ẩn dụ: chỉ là một phần nhỏ của vấn đề lớn hơn nhiều).

eg: These problems are just ___; there are more serious issues to address.

It stands to reason (that)

[stand]
it is logical, clear, or obvious: rõ ràng, hợp lý, hiển nhiên.

eg: ___ that if you eat less, you will lose weight

don't count your chickens before they hatch

[count]
don’t make plans based on something that might not happen: đừng vội mừng khi mọi thứ chưa chắc chắn.

eg: You haven’t got the job yet, so ___!

drop a brick

[drop]
to say something that makes you feel embarrassed or that embarrasses other people, often without intending to: lỡ lời, buột miệng nói điều gây khó xử.

eg: I really ___ when I asked about her husband without knowing they had divorced.

as dry as a bone

[bone]
extremely dry: khô khốc, khô như ngói.

eg: After weeks without rain, the ground was ___.

put pressure on sb

[put]
to try to persuade or force someone to do something: gây áp lực lên ai.

eg: The boss ___ the team to meet the tight deadline.

make use of sb/sth

[make]
to use someone or something for a particular purpose, especially something that is available but not always useful: tận dụng ai/cái gì.

eg: You should ___ of your free time to study English

make room for sth

[make]
to move things around to make space for something else: dọn chỗ, nhường chỗ cho cái gì.

eg: We need to ___ for the new furniture.

to draw (a) conclusion (from sth)

[draw]
to consider the facts of a situation and make a decision about what is true, correct, likely to happen, etc: rút ra kết luận từ điều gì.

eg: It’s too soon to ___ about what happened.

a home from home

[home]
a place where you feel as comfortable as you do in your own home: nơi thoải mái như ở nhà.

eg: The cozy hotel felt like ___.

a leopard can't change its spots

[leopard]
used to say that people cannot change their basic character, especially bad character: giang sơn dễ đổi, bản tính khó dời.

eg: He promised to stop lying, but ___!

a sight for sore eyes

[sight]
someone or something that you are very pleased to see: hình ảnh dễ chịu, đáng mừng khi được nhìn thấy.

eg: After being away for months, her smile was ___.

a stitch in times (saves nine)

[stitch]
it is better to deal with problems immediately rather than waiting to take action later when it may be too late: việc hôm nay chớ để ngày mai.

eg: Fixing the leak now is better; ___!

a stone's throw (away/from)

[stone]
a very short distance away: khoảng cách rất gần, ngay sát bên.

eg: The library is just ___ from my house.

achilles' heel

[heel]
a small problem or weakness in a person or system that can result in failure: điểm yếu chí mạng, tử huyệt.

eg: His inability to delegate tasks was his ___.

add fuel to the fire

[fuel]
to make a bad situation worse: đổ thêm dầu vào lửa.

eg: His sarcastic remarks only ___ during the argument.

all in good time

[time]
used to tell someone to wait for something and not try to make you hurry: rồi mọi thứ sẽ đến vào thời điểm thích hợp, đừng vội.

eg: You will get your chance to travel abroad, ___.

all mod cons

[mod cons]
all modern conveniences, the machines and devices such as washing machines and microwaves that make life easier and more comfortable: đầy đủ tiện nghi hiện đại.

eg: The apartment is equipped with ___.

An act of God

[God]
an event such as a flood, storm, or lightning that people cannot prevent or control: thiên tai, sự kiện tự nhiên không thể kiểm soát.

eg: The insurance policy does not cover damage caused by ___.

as the crow files

[crow]
in a straight line (used for measuring distance): theo đường chim bay, khoảng cách thẳng.

eg: It's about 50 miles from here to the coast ___.

at the drop of a hat

[hat]
immediately, without pausing to think: ngay lập tức, không chần chừ.

eg: She’d leave her job ___ if she had enough money.

be born with a silver spoon in your mouth

[spoon]
to be born into a rich family: sinh ra trong gia đình giàu có.

eg: He never had to work hard because he was ___

to be on the same wavelength (as sb)

[wavelength]

to share similar opinions and ideas with someone: cùng suy nghĩ, cùng quan điểm với ai.

eg: We’ve been friends for years because we are ___.

before your time

[time]
before you were born or before you were able to remember.
[idm.] trước thời bạn sinh ra hoặc trước khi bạn biết/nhớ.

eg: There were some great bands around, but that was ___.

below/under par

[par]
less good than usual or expected: dưới mức tiêu chuẩn, không đạt yêu cầu.

eg: His work has been ___ recently.

big mouth

[mouth]
used to say someone talks too much and cannot keep secrets: lắm mồm, không biết giữ mồm giữ miệng.

eg: Don’t tell her anything, she’s got a ___.

blot on the landscape

[blot]
something that makes a place look less attractive, often something large and ugly: vật làm mất mỹ quan.

eg: The new factory is a ___.

break-even

the point at which a business's income and costs are equal, so it makes neither a profit nor a loss: điểm hòa vốn.

eg: We expect to reach ___ after six months of operation.

break the mould (of)

[mould]
to be new and different, to change a situation completely by doing things in a new way: phá vỡ khuôn mẫu cũ, làm điều mới mẻ.

eg: Her innovative ideas really ___ of traditional teaching methods.

bury your head in the sand

[head]
to refuse to think about unpleasant facts, although they will have an influence on your situation: cố tình phớt lờ, trốn tránh thực tế.

eg: You can’t just ___ when faced with financial problems.

change your tune / sing a different tune ex:It was only when audiences hailed her that he changed his tune.

[tune]
to change your opinion completely, especially because it will bring you an advantage: thay đổi quan điểm (thường vì lợi ích cá nhân).

eg: He was against the plan, but he ___ when he realized it would benefit him.

(as) clean as a whistle / clean as a (new) pin

[clean]
extremely clean, or completely honest and legal: sạch bong, hoặc trong sạch, không có gì mờ ám.

eg: His criminal record is ___, so he got the job easily.

come clean (about sth)

[clean]
to finally tell the truth about something you have been hiding: thú nhận sự thật.

eg: It’s time you ___ about what really happened.

come rain or shine

[rain, shine]
whatever happens; no matter what the weather or situation is: dù chuyện gì xảy ra, bất kể thời tiết hay hoàn cảnh.

eg: She goes jogging every morning, ___.

concrete jungle

[concrete, jungle]
a city or part of a city with a lot of large, ugly, modern buildings and no trees or greenery: rừng bê tông (thành phố nhiều tòa nhà, thiếu cây xanh, ngột ngạt).

eg: Living in a ___ can feel overwhelming and stressful.

couch potato

[couch]
a person who spends a lot of time sitting and watching television: người lười biếng, chỉ ngồi xem TV.

eg: Don’t be such a ___, get up and exercise!

cry over spilt milk

[milk]
to waste time worrying about something that has already happened and cannot be changed: khóc than chuyện đã rồi, tiếc việc đã xảy ra.

eg: It's no use ___; the vase is already broken.

do sth on a whim

[whim]
to suddenly decide to do something without planning or considering it carefully: làm gì đó bốc đồng, theo hứng bất chợt.

eg: He bought the car ___.

down on your luck

[luck]
having a long period of difficulty finding work and earning money: vận rủi, gặp khó khăn tài chính trong thời gian dài.

eg: He's been ___ since losing his job.

draw the line

[line]
to set a limit at what you will accept or allow: đặt ra giới hạn không cho phép vượt qua.

eg: I ___ at lying to customers.

draw the short straw

[straw]
to be the person in a group who is chosen or forced to do something unpleasant: là người phải làm việc khó chịu do bị chọn.

eg: I ___ and had to clean the toilets.

fall short

[fall]
to fail to reach the standard that you expected or need: không đạt được kỳ vọng, thiếu hụt.

eg: Sales ___ of our expectations.

fifty-fifty

[fifty]
adj./adv. equal, with each person or group having or paying half of something: chia đều, 50-50.

eg: We agreed to split the cost ___.

follow your nose

[nose]
to trust your own feelings rather than obeying rules or allowing yourself to be guided by what other people say: làm theo bản năng, tin vào cảm giác của bản thân.

eg: Just ___ and do what feels right.

fly off the handle

[handle]
to suddenly become very angry: nổi giận bất thình lình.

eg: He ___ when he heard the news.

for good

[good]
forever, permanently.

eg: She left the country ___.

for the time being

[time]
for now, temporarily: hiện tại, tạm thời.

eg: You can stay here ___.

from time to time / now and then

occasionally but not regularly: thỉnh thoảng.

eg: We go out for dinner ___.

gain/get/have/take the upper hand (over sb/sth)

[hand]

to get an advantage over other people or over a situation: chiếm ưu thế, giành lợi thế.

eg: We finally ___ in the negotiations.

get on like a house on fire

[house]

to quickly become good friends with someone: trở nên thân thiết rất nhanh, rất hợp nhau.

eg: We ___ as soon as we met.

get sth off your chest

[chest]

to tell someone about something that has been worrying you so that you feel better: thổ lộ điều lo lắng để cảm thấy nhẹ nhõm hơn.

eg: I just needed to ___ and tell her how I felt.

get the wrong end of the stick/get hold of the wrong end of the stick

[stick]

to misunderstand something completely: hiểu sai hoàn toàn.

eg: You’ve ___, I wasn’t criticizing you.

get/catch sb's drift

[drift]

to understand the general meaning of what someone is saying: hiểu ý chính ai đó nói.

eg: I didn’t understand every word, but I ___ of what she meant.

against one’s better judgment

[judgment]

if you do something against your better judgment, you do it although you think it is wrong: làm gì đó dù biết không nên làm, trái với phán đoán tốt nhất của bản thân.

eg: I agreed to go with him ___, and it turned out to be a disaster.

get/have your way (with sb/sth)

[way]

to get or do what you want, especially when someone has tried to stop you: được làm theo ý, bất chấp người khác ngăn cản

eg: No one ever says no to her, so she always ___.

give sb a taste/dose of their own medicine

[taste] , [dose]

to treat someone in the same bad way they have treated others so they know how it feels: cho ai nếm mùi chính cách cư xử tệ họ đã dùng với người khác, thường nhằm dạy họ một bài học.

eg: After weeks of being rude to everyone, his colleagues decided to ___ him ___ his ___

give sth a miss ex: We usually go to France in the summer, but we've decided to give it a miss this year.

decide not to do sth

pull the rug out (from under someone) ex:The school pulled the rug out from under the city soccer league when they asked them to pay for using their field.

qua cầu rút ván to suddenly take away important support from someone

let one's guard down ex:"There will always be people in this business looking to exploit you, so you can never ___your ________ ____."

to stop being cautious about potential trouble or danger

go halves (on sth) ex: Do you want to go halves on a pizza?

share the cost of something with someoe so that you each pay

go to your head

v. khiến ai đó tự cao tự đại Don't let fame/success ...

grin and bear it ex: i really don't want to go, but I guess I'll just have to grin and bear it.

cắn răng chịu đựng

have a change of heart ex: william's had a change of heart and decided not to go to university after alll

thay đổi suy nghĩ, thái độ đã có

Have time on your hands/have time to kill ex:Gina has some time on her hands, so she is taking a college cours

to have nothing to do or not be busy

have your wits about you

be able to think quickly and make sensible decision

(hear sth) on/through the grapevine ex:I heard through the grapevine that he was leaving - is it true?

to hear news from someone who heard the news from someone else

home sweet home

tổ ấm ngọt ngào to be happy to be back in your own home ex: It was a trip, but there's nothing like ...........

in/for donkey's years

an extremely long time

I haven't been swimming ..............

in sb's good books ex: I don't think I'm in mrs Patterson's good books at the moment

use for saying that sb is pleased with you

in sb's bad books ex:He's in Melanie's bad books because he arrived two hours late

use for saying that sb is annoyed with you

in the dark (about) ex:I make up all the words myself, just like when I lived in the dark.

not knowing very much about sth, because other people are keeping it secret from you

in the middle of nowhere ex:The car broke down and we realised we were in the middle of nowhere.

a long way from any town or city:

in the nick of time ex:The swimmers were rescued in the nick of time.

thời khắc cuối cùng, phút cuối just in time to prevent something bad happening:

in the sticks ex:I don't think I could live so far out in the sticks.

in an area far from the town or city: I don't think I could live so far out in the sticks.

it's as broad as it's long (There are two ways to get INnsbruck, but I think it's as broad as it's long)

hoàn toàn giống nhau , không khác gì used for saying that you cannot choose between two things because they are equal

keep a straight face ex:I couldn't keep a straight face when I saw Mike's new haircut.

try to remain serious and not laugh

keep sb posted (on/about) sth ex: Do please keep me posted aboutany developments of Viet Nam

regularly give someone information about sth thay are interested in

keep sth under one's hat ex:The judges kept the results under their ...

keep something a secret.

Keep up with the Joneses

theo kịp với nhà người ta to try to own all the same things as people you know in order to seem as good as them

keep your hair/shirt on ex:Keep your hair on! There's no need to get annoyed!

used for telling someone not to get angry or upset

to kick yourself (for doing sth) ex:When I realized that I had put salt in my coffee I could have kicked myself.

be very annoyed because you have made a mistake, missed an opportunity, etc.

knee-high to a grasshopper ex:When I was ..., I used to believe that a monster lived under my bed.

very small, because you were very young

out of this world ex:The graphics and sounds are out of this world.

amazing, fantastic, great, unbelievabl( usually food)

here and there/high and low Ex:-> I have been searching here and there for the gift I bought for my girlfriend.

everywhere

back to the drawing board ex:They must go back to the drawing board and review the whole of youth training.

When an attempt fails and it's time to start all over

to beat about the bush ex:He never gives you a straight answer. He's always beating about the bush

vòng vo tam quốc to delay talking about something and not come to the main point

Best thing since sliced bread ex:He reckons his new mobile phone is the best thing since sliced bread.

A good invention or innovation. A good idea or plan.

Burn the midnight oil ex:Lawmakers were burning the midnight oil last night, as the debate continued.

study or work late into the night

Caught between two stools ex: I was caught between two stools when i had to choose which shirt to hang out with my girlfriend.

lưỡng lự difficult to choose between two alternatives

hit the books ex:I have to hit the books. My final exam is coming up soon.

Study very hard

let the cat out of the bag/spill the beans ex: I wanted it to be a surprise, but my sister let the cat out of the bag/ spill the beans

reveal a secret

when pigs fly/pigs might fly ex: I'll have finished it by tomorrow." "And pigs might fly/when pigs fly!"

something that is very unlikely to (or will never) happen

scratch someone's back ex:"You scratch my back and I will scratch yours" the customer said when we talked about the new sales contact

help someone out with the assumption that they will return the favor in the future

Hit the nail on the head Ex: I think Mick hit the nail on the head when he said that what's lacking in this company is a feeling of confidence.

Do or say something exactly right

take someone/something for granted Ex:-> One of the problems with relationships is that after a while you begin to take each other for granted!!

coi nhẹ

take sth into account/consideration ex:I hope my teacher will take into account/consideration the fact that I was ill just before the exams when she marks my paper.

remember to consider sth

keep an eye on sb/sth (v)

to look after someone/something

lose touch with someone

to lose contact with someone

at somebody's disposal ex:Having sold the house she had a large sum of money at her disposal (

to spend as she wanted).