popular idioms

make a start ex:That's why we should now make a start on reminding ourselves of the relevance of our own particular life story.

make a start ex:That's why we should now make a start on reminding ourselves of the relevance of our own particular life story.

bắt đầu làm gì to begin doing something

the key to ex:Our journeys on the whiteboard suggest that it holds the key to our concepts of beauty.

là chìa khoá, mấu chốt cho cái gì đó the part of a plan, action etc that will make it possible for it to succeed

in respond to ex: The subject has to select the correct word among four alternatives in response to a question.

phản hồi, đáp lại

the tip of the iceberg ex:As with many injuries, the damage we can see is only the tip of the iceberg.

chỉ là một tảng băng trôi a small noticeable part of a problem, the total size of which is really much greater

there is life there is hope ex: Uncle Jack is very ill but he could recover completely. When there is life there is hope.

còn nước còn tác, còn sống còn hi vọng

It stands to reason (that) ex:It stands to reason that Jason passed the exam with flying colours on account of his working hard during the term

thực tế là, rõ ràng là is obviously true from the facts

make a fresh start ex: After leaving prison, Jim decided to make a fresh start.

bắt đầu làm lại việc gì đó to start something again

don't count your chickens before they hatch ex:She wanted to buy a dress in case someone asked her to the dance, but I told her not to count her chickens before they hatched.

đừng đếm gà trước khi trứng nở you should not make plans that depend on something good happening before you know that it has actually happened:

be on good terms with ex: According to a recent survey, most people are on good terms with their neighbors.

Get on well with

to go back on something ex:He said he wouldn't charge more than €150, but he went back on his _____ and gave me an invoice for €200.

break a promise or agreement

drop a brick = drop a clanger ex: I dropped a brick/ clanger when talking with my best friend, and now she doesn't want to talk to me.

lỡ lời to do or say something that makes you feel embarrassed

as dry as a bone ex: If that floor is not as dry as a done when you're done, make sure to put up the sign we don't need anyone slipping out here!

extremely dry

once in a blue moon ex: My sister lives in Alaska, so I only see her one in a blue moon.

very rarely

on the contrary

ex:They do not reject modernity completely on the contrary, they embrace the modern world.

conversely,in contrast

put pressure on sb ex:he salesman started to ______ pressure on her to sign the agreement straightaway.

tạo áp lực cho ai đó try to force sb to do sth

follow sb's example ex:He would win the race if he ____ his brother's example and trained harder.

noi gương ai đó

make use of sb/sth ex:It is important for students to _____ full use of university facilities.

utilize,use

take/ have (one's) responsibility for ex:You are old enough to take ______ for what you have done.

chịu trách nghiệm

make room for sth ex: I had to clear out half the closet to ______ room for my new clothing purchases.

tạo chỗ cho allow enough free space

beat + the record ex:It seems that the world record for this event is almost impossible to _____.

phá vỡ kỷ lục

to draw (a) conclusion from sth ex:Another _____ will be drawn from the experiment.

rút ra kết luận to consider the facts of a situation and make a decision about what is true, correct, likely to happen, etc.

make a contribution to sth ex:Dr. Evans has _____ a valuable contribution to the life of the school.

to contribute

A drop in the ocean/bucket ex: The cost of a hotel for one night is a drop in the ocean for a big company like that.

quá nhỏ, chả thấm là bao a very small amount compared to the amount needed:

a home from home ex: Everyone nows me at this hotel so it's a real home from home.

nơi thân mật ấm cúng như ở nhà

a leopard can't change its spots ex:Jimmy says he's changed, but a leopard can't change its spots, you know.

giang sơn khó đổi,bản tính khó rời used for saying that someone will never change their behaviour or character

a sight for sore eyes ex:you're a sight for sore eyes! Thank goodness you're here

someone or something that you are very pleased to see

a stitch in times (saves nine) ex:If there's a problem with your car, it's better to get it looked at now. You knoe what they say " a stitch in times"

việc hôm nay chớ để ngày mai, giải quyết sớm sẽ đỡ rắc rối sed to say that it is better to deal with problems early than to wait until they get worse

a stone' throw (away/from) ex The animal was sitting just a stone's throw away from us.

rất gần very closed to

achilles'heel ex: Maths has always been my Achilles heel.

điểm yếu của ai đó

add fuel to the fire ex:The discovery that the government was aware of the cover-up has really added fuel to the fire.

thêm dầu vào lửa, làm trầm trọng thêm vấn đề

all in good time ex: be patient, you'll hear the result all in good time

đâu sẽ có đó,không cần phải vội

all mod cons (all modern conveniences) ex: The kitchen is fully equipped with all mod cons including a dishwasher.

những thiết bị hiện đại trong nhà

An act of God ex: Your home warranty will not cover a system's failure from normal wear and tear, but will cover failure from an act of God.

thiên tai/ sự kiện như lũ lụt, sấm sét hay động đất

as the crow files ex: It's about 200 miles as the crow files

in a straight line ( measuring distance)

at a loose end Ex: Come and see us, if you're at a loose end.

nhàn rỗi, vô công rỗi nghề, k có việc gì làm

at the drop of a hat

Ngay lập tức, không chần chừ

be born with a slier spoon in your mouth ex: Alice doesn't know what's it's like to be poor. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

sinh trong gia đình khá giả, giàu có

to be on the same wavelength (as sb) ex: What makes the problem worse is that Howard and Tina are not on the same wavelength about how to deal with it

understand the way another person thinks because you often have the same ideas and opinions they do

before your time ex:They say he was a great actor but that was before my time.

used for saying that something happened or existed before you were born or before you lived or worked somewhere

below/under par:

Your essays have been a bit below par recently. Is anything wrong?

tệ hơn, kém hơn mức bình thường

big mouth ex:I'm sorry. I shouldn't have opened my big mouth.

someone who has a big mouth cannot be trusted to keep things secret, say sth they should not

blot on the landscape ex: Many people in town think that the old factory is a blot on the landscape.

something that makes a place look less attractive, for example an ugly building

Break-Even Example: When you add fund expenses, you have to earn more than 2 % a year just to break even.

lỗ tiền, vốn to neither make a profit nor lose money

break the mould of (ex: I thought her last movie really broke the mould)

to do something in a completely new way

bury your head in the sand ex: You've got to face facts here - you can't just bury your head in the sand.

nhắm mắt làm ngơ pretend a difficult situation doesn't exist

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

change your opinion or attitude

(as) clean as a whistle/ clean as a (new) pin ex: I'm not worried about the tax inspection. This company's accounts are clean as a whistle

completely honest or legal

extremely clean

come clean ( about sth) ex:I thought it was time to come clean (with everybody) about what I'd been doing.

thú thực điều gì tell the truth about sth you have kept secret

come rain or shine ex: Come rain or shine, I'll see you on Thursday.

dù chuyện gì xảy ra, dù nắng hay mưa used for saying that something always happens or someone always does something despite bad weather or difficult conditions

commuter belt

khu vực vành đai, ngoại thành tp lớn

concrete jungle ex: where we used to live was a bit of concrete jungle

an unpleasant area in a city that is full of big ugly buildings and has no open spaces

couch potato ex: A lot of kids today are overweight couch potatoes.

physically very inactive person, lazy person

cry over spilt milk ex: It was disappointing, to say the least, but there's no point/ it is no use/it is no good crying over spilt milk

waste time feeling upset about something bad that has happened and cannot be changed

do sth on a whim ex:Wendy decided on a whim to redecorate the whole house.

làm việc gì thình lình một cách ngẫu hứng, ngẫu nhiên do because of a sudden feeling that you must have or do sth

down on your luck ex:The man was obviously down on his luck, so I gave him a little money.

having a long period of diffculty finding work and earning money không gặp may mắn (trong tìm việc, kiếm tiền)

draw the line ex: i won't act in films that are too violent - i draw the line at that.

say that you will definitely not allow or accept something

draw the short straw ex: Mike drew the short straw and had to clean the bathroom.

Bị bắt làm việc ko muốn be chosen to do something unpleasant

fall short ex: He would sack any of his staff who fell short of his high standards.

fail to reach a target

fifty-fifty ex: There's only a fifty-fifty chance that she'll survive the operation.

equal, or into two equal parts (idiom):

follow your nose ex: Just follow your nose until you come to a small bridge.

go straight forward, without turning

fly off the handle ex:Linda called me back and apologized for flying off the handle.

suddenly become extremely angry without a good reason

follow your nose

to do something in the way that you feel is right

for good

forever, permanently

for the time being ex:For the time being, Mrs Gilman's classes will be taken by other teachers.

for a short period of time from now, but not permanently

from time to time / now and then ex:He could not do this with-out creating controversy, without startling the press from time to time.

sometimes but not often, occasionally

gain/get/have/take the upper hand ex: It was a difficult game, but I eventually managed to gain the upper hand

chiếm ưu thế take control or advantage over a person or situation

get on like a house on fire ex:I was worried that they wouldn't like each other but in fact they're getting on like a house on fire.

become good friends very quickly and have a lot to talk to each other about

get sth off your chest ex:I had spent two months worrying about it and I was glad to get it off my chest.

Thổ lộ điều bạn đang lo lắng talk to someone about something that has been worrying you, so that you feel better about it

get the wrong end of the stick/get hold of the wrong end of the stick ex:Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick. I thought she was leaving him, not the other way round.

understanding sth completely wrongly

get/catch sb's drift ex:She could see from his expression that he caught her drift immediately.

understand the basic meaning of what someone is saying

GET/HAVE YOUR WAY. If I had my way, I would stay at home this summer.

be allowed to have or do what you want

give sb a taste/dose of their own medicine He finally got a taste of his own medicine, abandoned by his own family just like how he did to them years ago.

gậy lưng đập lưng ông treat someone in the same bad way they treat other people

give sb your word ex:I give you my word I won't tell anyone

promise to do sth

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 green fingers ex: My wife's always had green fingers whereas I don't know any thing about growing plants

to be good at gardening

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.