IDIOMS AND PHRASEL VERBS

hợp lý, có lý

add up=make sense,logical

His explanation simply doesn't add up.

hầu như không có gì

next to nothing

The scheme costs next to nothing to implement.

trực tiếp, tận mắt/từ nguồn trực tiếp

at first hand=firsthand; directly;

I experienced the problem at first hand.

người/đối tượng quan trọng, có thế lực

the big fish=big shot,key figure

The police are trying to catch the big fish behind the scheme.

tự cao, tự phụ

full of herself=conceited,bug-headed,self-important

She is talented, but sometimes too full of herself.

khô cong; hoàn toàn khô

as dry as a bone=arid/parched

After weeks without rain, the soil was as dry as a bone.

unsuccessful (formaL)

not interesting and showing no imagination

arid (a)

After several arid years, the company has started to become successful.

I found his writing extremely arid.

tai nạn/sự cố là điều khó tránh

accidents will happen=mishaps happen; things go wrong; inevitable accidents

Don't blame him too harshly; accidents will happen.

vượt qua, đỗ kỳ thi

get through (an exam)

She worked tirelessly to get through the exam.

xoay xở sống bằng

get by on
Many students get by on a modest allowance.

tạm xoay xở bằng thứ có sẵn

make do with

We had to make do with outdated equipment.

về đến nhà/nơi nào đó

get in

I didn't get in until midnight.

chán ngấy, phát ngán

be fed up with

Residents are fed up with endless traffic jams.

gửi tin/nhắn cho ai

drop sb a line

Drop me a line when you arrive.

Drop me a line when you arrive.

for your own peace of mind

Check the figures again for your own peace of mind.

vô ích; miễn phí; không vì lý do gì

for nothing= in vain

All that effort was for nothing.

vui sướng tột độ

jump for joy=ecstatic,overjoyed

She jumped for joy when she received the offer.

vì lợi ích/mục đích của

for the sake of

He stayed silent for the sake of his family.

sẵn sàng hành động

ready for action=gear sb for sth(geared up), on standby

The emergency team was ready for action.

vô ích, không đạt kết quả

in vain=unsuccessfully; fruitlessly; to no avail

They searched in vain for evidence.

trong tình trạng tốt; khỏe

in good shape
The economy is in good shape despite recent shocks.

rất khỏe, trong trạng thái tốt

in the pink =fit as a fiddle;

My grandfather is still in the pink at eighty.

dự định/nghĩ đến điều gì

have sth in mind

I have a different approach in mind.

chỉ huy, kiểm soát

in command of=in control of; lead; oversee

She is in command of the entire operation.

ngoài tầm nghe

out of earshot

They waited until they were out of earshot.

sống một cuộc đời khổ sở

lead a dog's life

Under his abusive employer, he led a dog's life.

làm ai trông ngu ngốc/xấu hổ

make a monkey of sb=The prank made a monkey of the manager.

The prank made a monkey of the manager.

tình hình thực tế/diễn biến sự việc

the way the cat jumps

We'll decide according to the way the cat jumps.

bản tính khó thay đổi

a leopard never changes its spots

Don't expect him to change overnight; a leopard never changes its spots.

phần lớn nhất

the lion's share

Large corporations receive the lion's share of the profits.

hoàn toàn bối rối

be completely foxed=baffled; puzzled; stumped

I was completely foxed by the final question.

óc phán đoán thực tế

horse sense

You need some horse sense to avoid such mistakes.

người thích hoạt động một mình

lone wolf=solitary person

He is something of a lone wolf at work.

công việc nặng nhọc, nhàm chán

donkey work=menial work

Interns often do the donkey work of data entry.

ám ảnh/đinh ninh về một ý tưởng

get a bee in one's bonnet=obsess over; fixate on; have an obsession

He's got a bee in his bonnet about online privacy.

chăm chú lắng nghe

all ears

Go ahead—I'm all ears

nhân vật quan trọng/quyền lực

the big cheese=big shot

He's the big cheese in the local business community.

người ngốc

a birdbrain =airhead/fool

Only a birdbrain would ignore such obvious evidence.

người xấu, không đáng tin

bad egg=troublemaker/dishonest person

Everyone eventually realised he was a bad egg.

người vụng về, thiếu tế nhị

a bull in a china shop=tactless,clumsy

He was like a bull in a china shop during the negotiations.

giấc ngủ ngắn

a cat nap=power nap

I had a quick cat nap before studying.

có chuyện cần trách/cằn nhằn ai

have a bone to pick with sb

I have a bone to pick with you about yesterday's meeting.

xoay xở để không bị quá tải/phá sản

keep your head above water

Many families struggle to keep their heads above water.

kiếm đủ tiền để sống

keep the wolf from the door

Two jobs barely keep the wolf from the door.

sống khép kín, không giao du

keep himself to himself=keep one's distance,be reserved

He tends to keep himself to himself.

cố theo kịp/đua đòi với người khác

keep up with the Joneses

Social media encourages people to keep up with the Joneses.

giữ tinh thần, đừng nản

keep one's chin up=remain upbeat,stay positive

Keep your chin up; things will improve.

ngập trong, cực kỳ bận với

up to one's ears in=snowed under; swamped with; overwhelmed by

I'm up to my ears in assignments this week.

ngay lập tức/hoàn toàn; ngoài kiểm soát

out of hand

The proposal was rejected out of hand.

để ý, canh chừng để tìm thấy

keep an eye out for

Keep an eye out for any suspicious activity.

cư xử không nghiêm túc, vòng vo

play games

I'm too busy to play games with unreliable people.

nói linh tinh, nói mà không biết gì

talk through your hat=talk nonsense; waffle; spout rubbish

He's talking through his hat about economics.

tránh xa nguy hiểm

out of harm's way

The children were moved out of harm's way.

sẵn sàng hy sinh rất nhiều để có được

give my right arm=go to great lengths

I'd give my right arm for that opportunity.

lỡ lời, làm tình huống khó xử

put your foot in it=put one's foot in one's mouth,make a faux pas,blunder

I really put my foot in it by mentioning her divorce.

muốn hưởng cả hai lợi ích không thể cùng có

have your cake and eat it

You can't have your cake and eat it.

want it both ways

vứt bỏ/tránh xa ngay lập tức

drop sth like a hot potato

Investors dropped the project like a hot potato.

thực sự đúng nghĩa là; chính hiệu

veritable=genuine; real; true

The city has become a veritable paradise for cyclists.

gặp rắc rối

be in the soup=be in trouble; be in a mess; be in hot water

If the data are lost, we're really in the soup.

giống nhau/cực kỳ thân thiết

like two peas in a pod

The sisters are like two peas in a pod.

bị bẽ mặt vì sai lầm

get egg on your face=be humiliated; be embarrassed; lose face

The minister got egg on his face after the claim was disproved.

đặt mọi hy vọng vào một lựa chọn

put all your eggs in one basket

Don't put all your eggs in one basket by relying on one client.

lừa/gạt ai

take sb for a ride=rip sb off; cheat; swindle

The salesman clearly took me for a ride.

chúi mũi vào sách, đọc say mê

get one's nose in a book

She can spend hours with her nose in a book.

thử một việc một cách thận trọng

put your toe in the water=test the waters; dip one's toe into

The company is putting its toe in the water with a small pilot scheme.

nín thở; chờ đợi trong hồi hộp

hold your breath

Hold your breath—the results are about to be announced.

im lặng, không nói ra

hold your tongue=bite one's tongue; remain silent

I decided to hold my tongue rather than escalate the dispute.

vẫn đúng/có hiệu lực

hold good

The same principle holds good today.

trì hoãn; giữ lại; kiểm soát bằng cách đe dọa*

hold over

The decision was held over until next week.

trách ai về điều gì

hold sth against sb=blame; resent; bear a grudge against

I don't hold it against her that she changed her mind.

trì hoãn/chờ; ngăn cản

hold off=delay; postpone; refrain from

The government held off making a decision.

vẫn giữ được vị thế, không bị lép vế

hold your own=stand one's ground; keep pace
She held her own in a highly competitive debate.

nói dài dòng, diễn thuyết

hold forth

He held forth on the dangers of technology

kìm nén, không để lộ

hold in =suppress; restrain

She struggled to hold in her laughter.

đi cùng nhau; phù hợp với nhau

go together=complement; match; coincide

These two ideas go together surprisingly well.

đi sâu vào, thảo luận chi tiết

go into=discuss

The report goes into considerable detail.

làm tôi đánh giá thấp đi rõ rệt

go right down in my estimation

His dishonesty went right down in my estimation.

rời đi; phát nổ; hỏng; mất hứng; reo

go off

The alarm went off at six.

bỏ lỡ cơ hội

miss the boat

We missed the boat by applying too late.

tự cắt đường quay lại

burn my bridges

Don't burn your bridges by insulting your former employer.

gọn gàng, ngăn nắp, trong tình trạng tốt

shipshape

The laboratory was kept shipshape.

những người chỉ gặp thoáng qua rồi xa nhau

ships that pass in the night=brief encounter; fleeting connection

We were merely ships that passed in the night.

trở nên giàu có/nhận được tiền lớn

come into money =inherit; receive a windfall; strike it rich

She came into money after selling the property.

phải chăm sóc/quản lý ai

have sb on one's hands

The teacher had thirty teenagers on her hands.

rất nhanh, đặc biệt kiếm tiền

hand over fist

The company is making money hand over fist.

tìm/kiếm được thứ gì

lay your hands on=obtain; get hold of; find

I need to lay my hands on the original document.

sắp xảy ra; ở gần

at hand =imminent; forthcoming; nearby

A major decision is at hand.

tiêu tiền hào phóng, ăn mừng lớn

push the boat out=splurge; spare no expense; go all out

We pushed the boat out for her graduation

có sẵn, hiện có

on hand=available; in stock; accessible

Extra equipment is on hand if needed.

không còn thuộc trách nhiệm/quản lý của bạn

off your hands=no longer one's responsibility; out of one's control

Once the project is approved, it's off my hands.

quyền tài phán/thẩm quyền pháp lý

jurisdiction=authority; legal power; competence

The case falls under federal jurisdiction.

phát điên/mất trí; hành xử như mất kiểm soát

lose your marbles=go crazy; lose one's mind; go nuts

You must have lost your marbles!

công nhận/ghi nhận công lao của ai

hand it to sb=give credit to; commend; acknowledge

I have to hand it to her—she handled it brilliantly.

quá mức, phô trương, thái quá

over the top

The decorations were a little over the top.

nói thẳng ý định/quan điểm

put my cards on the table=be frank; be upfront; lay one's cards on the table

Let me put my cards on the table: I oppose the proposal.

cuối cùng, khi thời gian thích hợp

in the fullness of time=eventually; in due course; ultimately

In the fullness of time, the truth became clear.

che giấu/vờ không tồn tại vấn đề

sweep sth under the carpet=conceal; cover up; hush up

The government cannot sweep the scandal under the carpet.

ai đó rất thông minh, khó bị lừa

no flies on sb

There are no flies on her; she spotted the loophole immediately.

thoát khỏi hậu quả/trừng phạt

get away with sth=escape punishment; evade consequences; go unpunished

Powerful people should not get away with corruption.

rất nhiều, vô số

no end of=countless; a great deal of; endless

The campaign has caused no end of problems.