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ideoms Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

to be involved in something, especially something bad

A

be (a) party to sth
Crook had resigned his post rather than be party to such treachery.
The second mortgagee should also be a party to receive the additional covenant of the wife.
• Left-wing factors are a party to this move.
• Others who spoke to Mr Ayob hoped they might be party to something big.

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2
Q

succeeds in, an activity that needs more power, money,

A

punch above your weight
Singapore punches above its weight in the world economy.

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3
Q

to be personally involved in or affected by something

A

have a horse in the race

It’s probably going to bring a lot of people out to the election because everyone will have a horse in the race.
My people have a horse in this race, too.
Being a private institution we’re not tied to any state funding, so we don’t have a horse in that race.

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4
Q

ломать себе голову

A

rack your brain

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5
Q

ни к чему не приводить
can not remember

A

draw a blank
All their investigations have drawn a blank so far.

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6
Q

понять суть дела

A

put your finger on sth
Something was wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

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7
Q

to share ideas in trying to solve a problem:

A

put your heads together

If we can put our heads together we’ll figure out a way to deal with this.

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8
Q

to work or do other things from early in the morning until late at night and so get very little rest

A

burn the candle at both ends

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9
Q

при исполнении служебных обязанностей

A

in the line of duty

This year alone eight police officers have been killed in the line of duty.

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10
Q

If you do something such as pass an exam with flying colours, you do it very successfully.

A

(pass) with flying colours

I have passed the exam with flying colours

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11
Q

someone who is powerful and has achieved a lot:

A

a heavy hitter

Have you seen his résumé? He’s a real heavy hitter.

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12
Q

успешно сдать тест

A

ace a test

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13
Q

fail test

A

bomb/flunk a test

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14
Q

miss/ skip class

A

play hooky
cut class

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15
Q

the school, college, or university where you studied:

A

alma mater

He wanted to go back to his hometown and teach at his alma mater.
She decided to apply to her mother’s alma mater, Ithaca College.
My alma mater is forever asking me to donate to the annual fund.
He had a golf shirt with the name of his alma mater stitched on the breast

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16
Q

university etc.

A

post secondary degree

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17
Q

1 - freshman
2- sophomore
3- junior
4- senior
5- major

A
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18
Q

занять твердую позицию

A

put your foot down

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19
Q

дать маху/ ляпнуть

A

put your foot in it

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20
Q

difficult to believe and not likely to be true
маловероятный, заумный

A

far-fetched

The idea is not as it might sound.

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21
Q

генеральная уборка

A

spring clean
I gave the kitchen a spring clean at the weekend.

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22
Q

not young

A

no spring chicken

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23
Q

сарафанное радио

A

word-of-mouth
We get most of our work through word-of-mouth recommendations.
word-of-mouth publicity

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24
Q

next time maybe

A

take a rain check (on sth)

ind if I take a rain check on that drink? I have to work late tonight.

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25
Q

legal legitimate

A

above board

The deal was completely open and above board.

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26
Q

dont blame/criticise yourself

A

don’t beat yourself up

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27
Q

to ask someone who knows a lot about a subject for information or their opinion:

A

pick sb’s brain

Can I pick your brain about how you got rid of those weeds?

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28
Q

последняя решительная попытка/последнее решительное усилие

A

a last-ditch attempt/effort

a last-ditch effort to prevent war

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29
Q

to look extremely similar to someone:

A

be the spitting image of sb

Josie is the spitting image of her granny at the same age.
The old man was the (dead) spit of Winston Churchill.

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30
Q

urinate

A

spend a penny

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31
Q

to leave a place or begin a journey

A

hit the road

I’d love to stay longer but I must be hitting the road

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32
Q

If you have something on the house, it is given to you free by a business

A

on the house

All the drinks were on the house.

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33
Q

boast

A

blow your own trumpet/horn

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34
Q

замкнутый круг

A

Catch-22

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35
Q

выдать секрет, раскрыть чьи-либо планы

A

give the game away

It’s a secret, so don’t give the game away, will you?

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36
Q

to try something for the first time

A

give something a whirl
I’ve never done cross-country skiing before, but I thought I’d give it a whirl this winter.

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37
Q

said about a place or space that is very small

A

no(not enough) room to swing a cat

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38
Q

too large, small, etc. for a particular purpose

A

on the large,( small, etc.) side

This dress is on the large side for me.

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39
Q

присматривать за кем-либо/чем-либо

A

keep your/an eye on sb/sth

Could you keep an eye on this pan of soup for a moment?

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40
Q

разбираться в чем-либо, обладать способностями к чему-либо

A

have an eye for sth
Your son has a very good eye for detail.

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41
Q

удерживаться от смеха

A

keep a straight face
I can never play jokes on people because I can’t keep a straight face.

42
Q

стараться не выделяться

A

keep a low profile

43
Q

said to tell someone to stop being so angry or upset
calm down

A

keep your hair on

Keep your hair on! Your car isn’t badly damaged

44
Q

offensive
something or someone that you think is extremely good
the best of the best

A

the dog’s bollocks

45
Q

very healthy in a good shape

A

as fit as a fidder

46
Q

it is possibly true that
можно утверждать, что …

A

It is arguable that

It is arguable that the government has failed in this respect.

47
Q

it is a small world

A

it is a small world

48
Q

other thing to do

A

(have) other fish to fry

49
Q

вызывать у кого-либо мурашки, дрожь

A

give sb the creeps

These old buildings give me the creeps.

50
Q

have a strong urge to travel or move from place to place

A

have itchy feet

51
Q

boss

A

big cheese

52
Q

( there is) no easy solution

A

(there is ) no silver bullet

53
Q

stop conflict and become freinds

A

bury the hatchet

54
Q

to have no money or possessions

A

don’t have a pot to pis in
I had just moved to the city and didn’t have a pot to piss in.

55
Q

definetely dead

A

as dead as a dodo

56
Q

used to describe something or someone that one thinks is very good, useful, etc.

A

the best (greatest) thing since sliced bread.

He thinks wireless Internet access is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

57
Q

accept the responsibility for your actions

A

face the music

58
Q

to join an activity that has become very popular or to change your opinion to one that has become very popular so that you can share in its success

A

jump on the bandwagon.

After a couple of politicians won elections by promising to cut taxes, most of the others jumped on the bandwagon.

59
Q

to sell very easy and well

A

sell like hot cakes

60
Q

неплохо справляться с чем-либо

A

be no slouch
He’s no slouch when it comes to cooking.

61
Q

they do not like each othe

A

be no/little love lost between

62
Q

for a very long time

A

till/until the cows come home

I could sit here and argue with you till the cows come home, but it wouldn’t solve anything.

63
Q

in all of my life

A

in all my (born) days
I’ve never seen anything so strange in all my born days.

64
Q

from the very beginning

A

all along
Do you think he’s been cheating us all along?

65
Q

during the whole of a stated period of time

A

in/through all the years

I’ve never once seen her angry in all the years I’ve known her.

66
Q

собрать все силы в кулак

A

bite the bullet

67
Q

an apparent misfortune that eventually has good results

A

a blessing in disguise
“being omitted from the World Cup squad was a blessing in disguise”

68
Q

a bad or corrupt person in a group, typically one whose behaviour is likely to have a detrimental influence on their associates.

A

a bad apple
“looks like we hired ourselves a bad apple”

69
Q

означает, что вы можете наслаждаться двумя разными возможностями одновременно

A

the best of both worlds

I have the best of both worlds—a wonderful family and a great job.

70
Q

you should not make plans that depend on something good happening before you know that it has actually happened:

A

don’t count your chickens before they hatch
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.

71
Q

used to tell someone, especially someone who is leaving to go somewhere, that they should stay in touch

A

don’t be a stranger
Good luck in Canada - don’t be a stranger!
Don’t be a stranger - email me from time to time.

72
Q

пожать руку

A

pump someone’s hand

72
Q

пожать руку

A

pump someone’s hand

73
Q

плыть по течению

A

go with the flow
Just relax and go with the flow!

74
Q

вскружить голову

A

go to your head

Fame and fortune had gone to his head.

75
Q

ни перед чем не останавливаться

A

go to great lengths to do sth
He’ll go to great lengths to get what he wants.

76
Q

отдать должное

A

do justice to someone/something
This postcard doesn’t do justice to the wonderful scenery.

77
Q

an equal chance to do something

A

a fair crack of the whip
It’s only right that all the candidates should be given a fair crack of the whip.

78
Q

торопиться закончить что-либо к сроку

A

race/work against the clock
Last night we were racing against time to put the packets together before the conference started today.

79
Q

to look at someone in a very angry way.

A

shoot daggers at someone

Example: When my daughter told everyone I was celebrating my 70th birthday I shot daggers at her.

80
Q

to not tell someone something or give them information they need.

A

keep someone in the dark

Example: I wish my boss would stop keeping me in the dark and be clear about what is happening with the project funding.

81
Q

to suddenly understand, to be clear to someone
прозреть на

A

dawn on someone

Example: It finally dawned on my wife that our youngest child was taking money from her purse.

82
Q

very clear and easy to understand.

A

as plain as day

Example: If you don’t know how to use the machine read the directions. The manual is as plain as day.

83
Q

to keep something for a future time when it will be needed.

A

save something for a rainy day

Example: I got a gift card for my birthday but I’m not going to use it now. I’ll save it for a rainy day.

84
Q

to stop doing something.

A

call it quits

Example: I tried and tried to learn speak French but now I’m calling it quits.

85
Q

to be in complete control of something.

A

hold all the cards

Example: He may be the new manager but his secretary holds all the cards—she’s been working here for more than 20 years and has good relationships with everyone.

86
Q

to be expected to happen.

A

in the cards

Example: I think a promotion will definitely be in the cards if you continue to make your sales targets.

87
Q

to surprise someone.

A

catch someone off guard

Example: When my boss told me he was raising my salary he really caught me off guard.

88
Q

to be completely busy or absorbed in something

A

(get) caught up in something

Example: I got so caught up in reading this book that I didn’t notice how late it was and didn’t get to sleep until 3:00 AM.

89
Q

having little or no possibility of happening.

A

fat chance

Example: Fat chance I’m going out tonight because I have to work late.

90
Q

досрочно

A

ahead of time/schedule
We finished the project ahead of schedule.

91
Q

to swear a lot (= use rude words), or to involve a lot of swearing

A

turn the air blue

I backed the car into a wall and turned the air blue, I’m ashamed to say.
His television shows regularly turn the air blue.

92
Q

to use a lot of offensive language

A

swear like a trooper

He was extremely drunk and swearing like a trooper.

93
Q

Immediately, without delay, as in

A

With a drop of a hat
We were ready to pack our bags and go on vacation at the drop of a hat. This phrase probably alludes to signaling the start of a race or other contest by dropping a hat.

94
Q

returning to the simple and most important things

A

back to basics

95
Q

back to the beginning of a long process or piece of work
с самого начала

A

back to square one

None of the applicants were suitable, so we had to go back to square one and advertise the job again.

96
Q

to be wrong about the reason for something or the way to achieve something

A

be barking up the wrong tree

She thinks it’ll solve the problem, but I think she’s barking up the wrong tree.

97
Q

perform a task quickly or within a fixed time limit.

A

beat the clock

“frozen mixed vegetables help you beat the clock with this soup”

98
Q

to talk and think a lot about something

A

have a bee in one’s bonnet
He always has a bee in his bonnet about safety.

99
Q

special features that are added to a product or system to attract more buyers

A

bells and whistles
Manufacturers still build luxury cars with all the bells and whistles.

English (15 decks)

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