idioms Flashcards
cats and dogs
rain heavily
chalk and cheese
very different from each other
here and there
everywhere
a hot potato
a problem, situation, etc that is unpleasant to deal with
at the drop of the hat
immediately, instantly, without hesitating
back to the drawing board
time to start from the beginning, time to plan sth over again
beat about the bush
talk abt sth for too long without coming to the main point
the best thing since sliced bread
good innovation, idea
burn the midnight oil
study or work until midnight
caught between two stools
when one finds it’s difficult to choose between 2 alternatives
break a leg
used to wish sb good luck
hit the books
study
let the cat out of the bag
tell a secret carelessly or by mistake
when pigs fly ~ pigs might fly
sth will never happen, impossible to happen
scratch one’s back
help someone w/o the assumption that they will return the favor
hit the nail on the head
say sth that is exactly right
take sth for granted
cho la dieu hien nhien
take sth into account/ consideration
to consider sth
keep an eye on sb/ sth
de y den dieu gi
lose touch with sb
mat lien lac
at sb’s disposal
available for use as sb prefers
splitting headache
severe headache
off the peg~ off the rack
may san
on the house
free
hit the roof~ hit the ceiling~ go through the roof
suddenly become very angry
bring down the house
makes everyone applauses
pay through the nose (for sth)
pay too much for sth
pull sb’s leg
play a joke on sb (make them believe sth that’s not true
it strike sb as/ that a strange
lay lam la
high and low~ here and then
everywhere
the more, the merrier
cang dong cang vui
spick and span~ spic and span
neat and tidy
(every) now and then/ again
sometimes, occasionally
part and parcel of sth
an essential and crucial part of sth
go to one’s head
make you feel way too proud of yourself
be/ on the wagon
not drink alcohol, temporarily or permanently
on the spot
immediately
few and far between
not frequent
on the verge of~ on the brink of~ in the edge
almost do sth
lead sb by the nose
to control sb completely
at the eleventh hour
at the last possible moment
find fault (with sb/ sth)
kiem chuyen, bat loi
off and on/ on and off~ from time to time
not often
make believe
pretend
make good time
move fast
look daggers at sb
look at someone angrily
be out of question
not possible
all at once
suddenly
blow one’s trumpet
boast
fight tooth and nail
fight determinedly for what you want
sleep on sth
think more abt sth before giving an answer
play tricks/ jokes on
tron vi en
(go) down the drain
do song, do bien
smell a rat
suspect sth wrong abt a situation
the last straw
the last time before you lose it
get the hang of sth
understand, know how sth works
hard of hearing
diec tai
have a bee in one’s bonnet (abt sth)
am anh ve cgi do
get/ have cold feet
nervous abt sth you have planned to do
on second thoughts
suy nghi ki
in vain
hopeless, vo ich
chip in
contribute
out of/ off one’s head
crazy
run an errand
do chores
jump the (traffic) lights/ run the lights/ run a (red) light
vuot den do
fly off the handle
lose temper
the apple of one’s eye
nguoi yeu quy, vat quy bau
bucket down
rain heavily
a close shave/ call
thoat chet trong gang tac
drop a brick/ clanger
lo mieng
get/ have butterfies in one’s stomach
nervous
off the record
unofficial
(not) one’s cup of tea
(not) sth you like
cut it fine
make it just in time
golden handshake
mon tien hau hinh cho nguoi sap nghi viec
come to light
become known, discovered
take things to pieces
thao ra tung manh
put one’s foot in it/ put your foot in one’s mouth
say or do sth stupid that’s disrespectful
make (both) ends meet
struggle to make a living
pull one’s weight
be responsible of your part of work
get (hold of) the wrong end of the stick
misunderstand someone
cut and dried
decided a way that cannot be changed
see eye to eye
agree
have sb/ sth in mind
consider sb/ sth
a lost cause
hopeless, cannot change
to be bound to do sth
seem to
at heart
basically
know sb by sight
recognize sb
take (great) pains to do sth
doc suc lm gi do
make do
xoay so, to cope
sell sb short
underestimate
face the music
chiu tran
on probation
trong tgian quan che
sell/ go like hot cakes
ban dat nhu tom tuoi
it never rains but it pours~ when it rains, it pours
when sth bad happens, it’s really bad
salt and pepper
have a mixture of a dark and light color
a penny for your thoughts
to ask sb what are they thinking abt
home and dry~ be home free
have done sth hard successfully
down and out
that co lo van
learn by heart
thuoc long
a red-letter day
ngay trong dai
as high as a kite
kieu cang, tu phu
sleep like a log
ngu ngon, ngu say
fit like a glove
fit
be green with envy
envy
go up the wall
be angry
put on an act
gia bo
break the news (to sb)
deliver the news to sb
cost/ pay an arm and a leg
costly
look on the bright side
be positive
easier said than done
noi de hon lam
take it easy
relax
go into business
bat dau cong viec kinh doanh
time and tide wait for no man
thoi gian khong cho ai
back to square one
over again
a great one for sth
keen on sth
be in two minds abt sth/ doing sth
chua quyet dinh dc
in two shakes
very soon
at sixes and sevens
roi tung roi mu
on cloud nine
extremely happy
dresses (up) to the nines
dress up
nineteen to the dozen
talk without stopping
by a hair’s breath
trong duoi to ke toc
every nook and cranny~ every nook and corner
every part of places, aspects of a situation
600- pound gorilla
a powerful person
hog heaven
trong trang thai cuc ki sung suong
to go hog wild
roi len vi tuc gian hay sung suong
high off the hog
song cuc ki sung suong
play both ends against the middle
2 phe chong nhau de minh huong loi
bottom line
the most important result of a situation
like clockwork
chay deu nhu cai may
nuts and bolts
small but vital details of a situation
blue chip
co gia tri cao
ante up
pay back sth you own
win by a nose
thang sat nut
a shot in the dark
doan mo
rule the roost
lead 1 to chuc
hog wash
loi noi vo gia tri
across the board
all the classes, ranks,…
backed into a corner
bi don vao the ket
well-heeled
well-off
go bananas
become angry or lose temper
someone’s goose
lam hong ke hoach
eat crow
rut lai loi tuyen bo
hunker down
chu tam lam viec
buy a pig in a poke
buy sth because you are fooled
a fly in the ointment
1 con sau lam rau noi canh
a lame duck
vulnerable
bud someone
bother someone
not have a cat in hell’s change
khong co cow may
water under the bridge
chuyen da qua
turn over a new leaf
quyet tam thay doi cuoc doi
the bee’s knees
the best
make a bee-line for sth
nhanh nhau lam viec gi
the straw that broke the camel’s back
the last straw
from rags to riches
tu ngheo den gia
it takes two to tango
co lua moi co khoi
let sleeping dogs lie
not recall the past
burn your bridges
make yourself lose your opportunity
off the top of one’s head
pure spontaneity
bite one’s head off
la mang, nat no ai do
get on like a house on fire
get on well
give a big hand
give an applause
for the high jump
bi phat
toe the line
tuan lenh
a flash in the pan
thanh cong thoang qua
in the balance
khong chac chan
hush money
hoi lo tien
at large
tu do (kh bi bat)
on the spur of the moment
su hoi thuc cua tinh huong
on the rocks
on the verge of going to the wall
on the cards
bi quo mang
a vicious circle
vong luan quan
on a shoestring
short of money
feather one’s nest
lam giau bat chinh
give sb the sack
fire sb
all Greek to me
not understand anything
come into force
tro thanh luat
go off the deep end
lose control, temper
on the dole
jobless
swan
di lang thang
duck
cui lom khom
fox
lam ai do boi roi
break ranks
tu choi giup do
bite the bullet
can dam doi dau
stick to your guns
giu vung lap truong
press on (with sth)
tiep tuc lam gi do
be poles apart
nhu 2 thai cuc
meet sb halfway
chiu chap nhan, thoa thuan
