idiom & phrs verbs

1. clear the air

remove suspicion/bad feeling

2. all along

from the beginning until now

3. all in

nearly, almost

4. all in

exhausted

5. all in all

when everything is considered

6. be up in the air

uncertain

7. for all

altogether, in total

8. be in the apple of sb’s eye

be sb’s favourite

9. be up in arms

be very angry

10.for all I care

I don’t care

11.for all I know

as far as I know

12.in all

overall

13.make allowances for

Dung thứ cho j đó

14.make amends for

to try to compensate for a past action

15.of all people

used to express annoyance/surprise

16.on account of

because of

17.on the alert

watchful and prepared/on the lookout/expecting sth

18.take into account

consider sth

19.whet sb’s appetite

make sb eager to have/experience more

20.in the air

existing, but not talked about

21.above board

honest

22.bark up the wrong tree

have a false idea about sth

23.be broke

have no/very little money

24.be full of beans

be very lively

25.be in sb’s black books

be out of favour

26.beat about/around the bush

avoid saying what one means directly

27.behind bars

in prison

28.big-headed

conceited, boastful

29.black and blue all over

covered with bruises

30.blessing in disguise

sth which appears bad at first but then turns out to be good

31.blue-eyed boy/golden boy

a favoured person

32.bolt from the blue

suddenly

33.brainwave

sudden clear idea/thought

34.break even

fed up; neither loss nor profit

35.browned off

fed up; bored

36.butter sb up

flatter sb

37.by and large

generally speaking

38.catch sb red-handed

be caught while committing a crime

39.chip off the old block

sb who is very like one of his parents

40.cost a bomb

be very expensive

41.deal a blow to

damage one’s hopes

42.hold your breath

wait for sb/sth anxiously

43.don’t blow your own trumpet

don’t boast

44.drive a hard bargain

be a tough businessman

45.drop a brick

say sth tactlessly

46.feel in one’s bones

feeling sth instinctively

47.get one’s own back

take/get revenge

48.have a bee in one’s bonnet

be very nervous about sth

49.have butterflies in one’s stomach

be anxious about sth

50.kick the bucket

die

51.lay bare

make public

52.make a clean breast of

confess

53.make one’s blood boil

cause sb to become very angry

54.on the spur of the moment

without thinking about sth

55.out of the blue

suddenly and unexpectedly

56.ring a bell

suddenly remind

57.see eye to eye

agree with sb

58.see the back of

be glad to see sb leave

59.take the bull by the horns

deal with problems boldly

60.wet blanket

dull person who spoils pp’s happiness

61.a piece of cake

sth very easy to do

62.a red-letter day

a very important day

63.a wild-goose chase

a hopeless search

64.a free-for-all

a chaotic situation

65.be on the cards

be likely to happen

66.to be caught red-handed

to be caught while committing a crime

67.be over the moon

be delighted

68.call sb names

insult sb

69.cross one’s mind

think of something

70.call the shots

to be the person who controls or organizes sth

71.chock-a-block

full of people or things

72.a meeting of minds

an agreement

73.different as chalk and cheese

totally different

74.cut sb dead

ignore sb deliberately

75.down in the dumps

depressed

76.down the drain

wasted; lost

77.get a bit hot under the collar

get angry, upset, or embarrassed

78.get a problem off one’s chest

to talk about your problem

79.go to the dogs

worsen

80.have the cheek

dare to do sth

81.keep one’s chin up

to be brave/ not be discouraged

82.let sleeping dogs lie

avoid mentioning a subject which could cause trouble

83.lost cause

hopeless situation or case

84.lose one’s looks

to become unattractive

85.off colour

looking slightly unwell

86.on the dole

receiving unemployment benefit/social security

87.play one’s cards right

act cleverly

88.show one’s true colours

reveal one’s real character

89.with flying colours

with great success

90.not count one’s chickens before they’re hatched

not assume sth before it happens

act on

do whatever is advised/suggested

act up

behave awkwardly or badly

answer (sb) back

speak rudely to sb

answer back

defend oneself

answer for

be responsible for sth / pay for sth / vouch for

answer to

be under the command of sb / have the characteristics described

back down

cease to oppose

back out of

withdraw from

back up

support

balance against

assess in relation to