idioms and collocations (part 2)

Be the cat’s whiskers

To be better than anyone else

Talent PIPELINE

Ex: the company employed a talent pipeline to get its human capital

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A talent pipeline is a proactive recruitment strategy that involves identifying, engaging, and nurturing a pool of qualified, passive candidates for future roles

Cant hold a candle to

Ex: I mean it is decent, but it cant hold a candle to shakespear’s stories

To not be as good as the other person or thung mentioned

At the behest of sb

Ex: the method was employed at the behest of the mayor

Because sb has asked or ordered you to do sth

On the pain of death = under the pain of death

Ex: I killed her on the pain of death.

If you have to do sth under the pain of death, You will be killed if you dont do it

The coast is clear

Ex: come over my house , the coast is clear

It is safe to do sth or go somewhere because nobody is watching or listening qqqqqq would prevent you or catch you

Off the record

Ex: What I just averted is off the record, dont breathe a word.

If sb speak or do sth off the record, they do not want it to be publicly reportedn

Go spare

Ex: He invariably goes SPARE

blow the fuse, have a tantrum

A mare’s nest

Ex: the discovery of infinite energy is just a mare’s nest

A discovery that appear to be exiciting,important but is actually worthless, mistaken

Take French leave

Ex: I took French leave during the party

Departing from a gathering, work or duty without permission , notice or saying goodbye , sneaking away

Seat-of-the-pants (a)

Ex; we used seat-of-the-pants navigation.

Done by instinct

Johnny-come-lately (a)

Ex: the company treated johnny-come-lately employees poorly

Recent arrival or newcomer

Man-of-war (n)

Ex; A british man-of-war

Tàu chiến

Hand-me-down (n)

Ex: my brother wears my hand-me-downs.

Used clothes passed to another person

WIDELY attributed

Ex: The company’s success is widely attrubuted to its human capitaon

WIDELY attributed

Take legal ACTION

Ex: he threatened to TAKE legal ACTION against me

To use a lawyer or court to help settle a disagrrement , etc that you have witj sb else

Make a pig of oneself

Ex: they made a pig of themselves and wolfed down the dinner

To each too much

PARTIAL success (n)

Part

Place reliance on

Ex; dont place any reliance on her

To trust, depend on sb

TELL a lie

Nói dối: TELL a lie

EXCHANGE words (collocation)

Ex: we did not exchange a word.

To speak with sb

Pet peeve

Ex: week coffee is one of my pet peeves

Sth that especially annoys you

GIG economy

GIG economy

GIG economy

On the back of sth

Ex:We successfully closed a deal on the back of a previous successful campaigns

Soon after an ealier success,and as a result of it

Take / plead the fifth

Ex: Sorry, im going to take the fifth with that question

To tell sb that you are not going to answer a question.

Keep the wolf from the door

Ex: He just got sacked and is truing to keep thr wolf from the door

To have just enough money to be able to sleep and live by

Rat on

Ex: He ratted on the covert deal, blowing the lid off it and its know in the public domain.

To be not loyal to sb, sth., esp by giving away secret information about them, or to fail to do sth that you said you would do

Fever dream

Ex: the Epstein Files situation is like a fever dream

A very strange experience or situation, usually a bad one, that seems like a dream as opposed to reality

On ice

Ex: the expansion plans are currently on ice

if a plan is on ice, it has been put of

There is LITTLE likelihood / there is NO likelihood

Ex: there is no likelihood that I will survive this.

>< there is EVERY likelihood

As luck would have it

Ex: as luck would have it, we ran into each other.

By chance

Public figure (n)

Ex: a well-known public figure

Người nổi tiếng ( = big name)

Big NAME

= public figure

Dyed-in-the-wool (a)

Ex: she is a dyed-in-the-wool conservative

~ opinionated : kiên định, k thay đổi quan điểm

Military service (n)

Nghĩa vụ quân sự

“Has the cat got your tongue”

Ex: how come? Has the cat got your tongue?

Sth you say to sb when you are annoyyed that they do not speak

At an IMPRESSIONABLE age

Ex: I consumed too much porn at an impressionable age

At the time during one’s salad days, easily influenced by others

POINT of contention

POINT of contention

= Bone of contention

Honey-tongued (a)

Ex: he used honey-tongued language to win his favor

sweeting talking , flattering ,

Mealy-mouthed (a)

Ex: his mealy-mouthed answer counts for nothing.

Indirect, evasive in speech , không thẳng thắn

Tight-lipped (a)

Ex: she remained tight-lipped about her past

Secretive or silent

Long-winded (a)

Ex: I hate his long-winded, but mealy-mouthed speech

To be too long, use too many words

Hard-nosed (a)

Ex: he has a hard-nosed approach to teaching his son, and admit trying to kill his son.

Practical, realistic, determined

Soft-hearted (a)

Ex: he is too soft-hearted to anyone

Compassionate, kind

Hot-headed (a)

Ex: hot-headed decisions often backfire

Easily angered, impulsiven

Muddle-headed (a)

Ex: I feel muddle-headed after a bad night’s sleep

Confused, foggy-brained

Bloody-minded (a)

Ex: being bloody-minded is a requisite in this industry

Very determined and refusing to give up,to change your mind or to do what others want you to do

Two-faced (a)

Ex: She is two-faced and invariably spits out spurious claims about closing deals.

Hypocritical, deceitful , giả dối

CLOSE a deal

Ex:we closed a deal with a major supermarket

To make a successful business arrangement with sb

Heavy-handed (a)

Ex: the government’s heavy-handed response backfired

Clumsy or oppressive , vụng về , nặng tay

Time-honored (a)

Ex: a time-honored tradition

Respected due to age

Time-worn (a)

Ex: the time-worn roads are treacherous

Damaged or old

World-weary (a)

Ex: he gave a wolf-weary sigh, in that he had just lost his shirt.

Bored with life, chán đời

War-weary (a)

Ex: The US’s citizens are war-weary

Chán nản với chiến tranh

Weather-beaten (a)

Ex: his weather-beaten face showed years at the sea

Damaged by weather

Care-worn (a)

Ex: his mother looks care-worn

Tired because of worrying

Thin-skinned (>< thick-skinned)

Ex: dont be so thin-skinned, he is just putting up your back.

Sensitive to criticism

Thick-skinned (a)

>< thin-skinned

Silver-tongued (a)

Ex: the silver-tongued salesman closed every deal

Persuasive, eloquent , có tài thuyết từ phục

Low-minded (a)

Ex: i loathe his low-minded jokes

Thô tục, tầm thường, đê tiện

High-handed (a)

Ex: the dictator high-handed manner annoys me

Using authority without consideration

Small-minded (a)

Ex: he has a small-minded view

= narrow-minded ~ adamant ~ opinionated

Iron-willed (a)

Ex: an iron-willed leader saves the company

Very determined

Pig-headed (a)

Ex: he is pig-headed and couldnt accept that he lost

Stupidly stubborn, cứng đầu , ngoan cố

Bull-headed (a)

= pig-headed

Stiff-necked (a)

Ex: the stiff-necked officials refuse to compromise

~ pigheaded ~ bull-headed

Hare-brained (a)

Ex: thats another hare-brained scheme of his.

Foolish, unrealistic

Be built on sand

Ex: the plan is built on sand and is on the cards to go up in smoke

Có nền tảng k vững chắc

Lose one’s SHIRT

Ex: he got too confident and ended up losing his shirt lol

To lose a lot of money, esp as a result of a bet

BOX one’s ears

Ex: In that the students spoke out of turn, the teacher boxed his ears

To hit sb on the side of the head, usually punitively

Make sport of sb

Ex: You should make sport of him, he is green and he will soon come into his own.

Trêu trọc ai đó

Drain the swamp

Ex: trump vowed to drain the swamp

(Chính trị), loại bỏ tham nhũng của hệ thống cũ

Killer app

Ex: AI is becoming the next killer appn

A use for a particular technology that becomes extremely popular

in THRALL to

Ex: she was in thrall to her boyfriend.

Phụ thuộc vào

Open secret

Ex: its an open secret around the office that Tim will be at the helm soon

A fact that should be secret but everyone knows about it

Hot air

Ex: dont believe him, its full of hot air

If sth sb says is hot air, it is not sincere and will have no practical results

HIGH noon

Exactly 12 o clock, when the sun is on top of us. Giữa trưa

Catch sb on the hop

Ex: Im afraid I was caught on the hop, I didnt bargain for such an early deadline

To do sth when sb is not ready for it and is not able to deal with it

Take sth on board

Ex: banks need to take the opinions of their customers on board

To understand or accept an idea or piece of information

Cut one’s losses

Ex: many investors decided to cut their losses and sell the stocks before It went south further

To avoid losing anymore money than you have lost

the hot seat

Ex:Donald trump is in the hot seat.

Vị trí đang phải chịu áp lực cao, dữ dội

Dead cert (n)

Ex: she is a dead cert for the job, she is so qualified

Sb who is quite certain to get or do sth / sth is certain

Halfway house (n)

Giải pháp nửa vời, k triệt để

Save for

Ex: the report is by and large good, save for some flim flam here and there.

= except for

Make a dent in sth

Ex: buying a new car made a big dent in our savings

To reduce an amount of sth, esp money or work

AT the helm ( not the same as took the helm)

Ex: He took the reins of Tim Cook and is now at the helm l

Ở vị trí lãnh đạo

In a bid to

Ex: He killed her in a bid to be at the helm of the company

= in order to = with a view to = with an eye to = so that

Sing-song (a)

Ex: the class sing in a sing-song way

Đều đều, ề à, đơn điệu

Hole-and-corner (a)

Ex: their hole-and-corner dealbwaa exposed by the media

Secretive and often dishonest

Out-and-out

Ex; thats an out-and-out lie !!

complete, in everyway. Used to emphasize an unpleasant quakity

Through-and-through (a)

Ex: he is a gentleman through-and-through

Completely, entirely

Off-the-cuff (a)

Ex: an off-the-cuff speech

Spoken without preparation

Matter-of-fact (a)

Ex; a matter-of-fact plan

Unemotional, practicaln

Tongue-in-check (a)

Ex: his remark was tongue-in-check, dont be offended

ironic, not serious

Under-the-table (a)

Ex: an under-the-table, illicit dealb

Secret, illegal )~ on the game

Out-of-date (a)

Ex: an out-of-date car

Obsolete , old

Newfangled (a)

Ex: the iphone Air is a newfangled product

Recently made for the first time, but not always an improvement on what exisited before