Idioms ( thành ngữ

- E.g: S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 1 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) They thought that she didn’t want to go to the disco because she didn’t like dancing.
- S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 2 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) E.g.
- I felt like being out in the sunshine.
- We walked arm in arm along the beach for hours." Beating Around The Bush = vòng vo tam quốc "If you want to ask me, just ask.
- a wild goose chase: cuộc tìm kiếm vô vọng - a guinea pig: người tự làm vật thí nghiệm S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 10 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) OTHER One good turn deserves another (Ăn miếng trả miếng) Who breaks, pays (Bắn súng không nên thì phải đền đạn) Two securities are better than one (Cẩn tắc vô ưu) Slow and sure (Chậm mà chắc) Threats do not always lead to blows (Chó sủa là chó không cắn) If the cab fits then wear it (Có tật giật mình) Money makes the mare go (Có tiền mua tiên cũng được) Where's there's life, there's hope (Còn nước còn tát) A lie has no legs (Giấu đầu lòi đuôi) We have gone too far to draw back (Đâm lao thì phải theo lao) In for a penny, in for a pound (Được voi đòi tiên) Tell me the company you keep, and I will tell you what you see (Gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì sáng) It never rains but it pours (Họa vô đơn chí) If you eat the fruit, you have to think about the one who grows the tree (Ăn quả nhớ kẻ trồng cây) We reap what we sow (Gieo gió gặt bão) THere's no smoke without fire (Không có lửa sao có khói) Who makes excuses, himself excuses (Lạy ông tôi ở bụi này) One scabby sheep is enough to spoil the whole flock (Con sâu làm rầu nồi canh) To kill two birds with one stone (Nhất cữ lưỡng tiện) S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 11 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) To let the wolf into the fold (Nuôi ong tay áo) Constant dropping wears stone (Nước chảy đá mòn) A miss is as good as a mile (Sai một ly đi một dặm) A flow will have an ebb (Sông có khúc người có lúc) Grasp all, lose all (Tham thì thâm) Time lost is never found (Thời giờ đã mất thì không tìm lại được) Bitter pills may have blessed effects (Thuốc đắng dã tật) Beginning is the difficulty (Vạn sự khởi đầu nan) Traveling forms a young man (Đi một ngày đàng, học một sàng khôn) No guide, no realization (Không thầy đố mày làm nên) More Better late than never (muộn còn hơn ko) Half a loaf is better than no bread (méo mó có hơn ko) Health is better than wealth (Sức khỏe quý hơn vàng) Birds of a feather flock together (Đồng thanh tương ứng, đồng khí tương cầu) To run with the hare and hold with the hounds (Bắt cá hai tay) Many a little makes a mickle (Kiến tha lâu cũng đấy tổ) Where there is a will, there is a way (Có chí thì nên) Actions speak louder than words = Nói ít làm nhiều.
- All clear If you are allowed to do something after a check- up to make sure that everything is all right, you get the all clear.
- Argue the toss If you argue the toss, you dispute a decision or choice which has already been made.
- Tự tìm rắc rối Ex: Driving fast on these roads is really asking for trouble! At all costs If you are determined to obtain or achieve something at all costs, you want it regardless of Bằng mọi giá the expense, effort or sacrifice involved.
- In the bag If you think something is in the bag, you are almost certain it will be achieved.
- Ex: The future of the company is in the S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 15 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) balance while the takeover bid is being examined.
- Have a ball If you have a ball, you enjoy yourself.
- Ex: The party was great.
- S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 16 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) Ex: If you hang around with that gang, you'll find yourself behind bars in no time.
- Tighten If you need to tighten your belt, you must your belt spend your money carefully.
- Thắt chặt hầu bao Ex: Another bill? I'll have to tighten my belt this month! Bet your bottom If you bet your bottom dollar on something, dollar you are absolutely certain of it.
- "Let's book tickets in advance - better safe than sorry!" Think better of If you think better of something, you decide something not to do something that you intended doing.
- For the birds If you think something is for the birds, you consider it to be uninteresting, useless, or not S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 17 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) to be taken seriously.
- Ex: As far as I'm concerned, his theory is for the birds! Kill If you kill two birds with one stone, you Một mũi tên bắn two birds with succeed in doing two things at the same time.
- Bite the hand If you bite the hand that feeds you, you are Nuôi ong tay áo that feeds you unfriendly or do harm to someone who is kind to you.
- Bite your tongue If you bite your tongue, you try not to say what you really think or feel.
- Sợ (sốc) lạnh xương cold sống Ex: The look in the prisoner's eyes made my blood run cold.
- Put/lay one's cards on If you put your cards on the table, you speak the table honestly and openly about your feelings and Lật ngửa intentions.
- Carrot and stick If you use a carrot-and-stick approach, you use the promise of reward and the threat of Cây gậy và punishment to make somebody work harder.
- tạo sự sôi động Ex: The arrival of the actress caused quite a stir in the village.
- Clear the air If you decide to clear the air, you try to remove the causes of fear, worry or suspicion by talking Bày tỏ hết about them openly.
- Not have a clue If you don't have a clue about something, you don't know anything about it.
- không biết Ex: My wife's grandmother's maiden name? I don't have a clue! Cold calls If you make cold calls, you telephone potential customers from a list of people you do not know.
- Off colour If you are off colour, you are looking or feeling ill.
- Cross the line If you cross the line you go beyond the authorized limits and do something which is not Vượt rào acceptable.
- Cut one's losses If you end or withdraw from something that is already failing, in order to reduce the loss of S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 21 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) money, time or effort invested in it, you cut your losses.
- Let's cut our losses before it's too late." Cut it out! If you say cut it out to someone, you are telling them to stop doing something.
- D Dance to someone's If you dance to someone's tune, you do whatever tune that person tells you to do.
- Giữ bí mật Ex: The personnel were kept in the dark about the merger until the last minute.
- Darken someone's If you darken someone's door, you come as an door unwanted or unwelcome visitor.
- Ex: Because of the crisis, the planned housing development is now dead in the water.
- Ex: It's a dog's life working in the after-sales department.
- Let sleeping dogs lie If you tell somebody to let sleeping dogs lie, you are asking them not to interfere with a situation because they could cause problems.
- To be dying for If you are dying for something, you have a strong something desire for it.
- No problem - it was easy as pie! Eat /dip into one's If you eat or dip into your savings, you spend savings part of the money you have put aside for future use.
- Look someone in If you look someone in the eye, or eyes, you look Nhìn thẳng vào theeyes at them directly so as to convince them that you are mắt telling the truth, even though you may be lying.
- F Keep a If you keep a straight face, you look serious straight face although Làm mặt you really want to laugh.
- Fast If you decide to fast track something, such as a track something task or project, you give it high priority so that the objective is reached as quickly as possible.
- Have other fish to If you have other fish to fry, you have more fry important things to do.
- On the fly If you do something on the fly, you do it quickly, without thinking much about it, while doing something else.
- Ex: Sales of the book got off to a flying start and exceeded our expectations." Follow in If you follow in someone's footsteps (for example someone's a parent), you lead a similar life or do the same job.
- Follow suit If you follow suit, you do the same as somebody else has just done.
- A foot in the door If you say that someone has a foot in the door, you mean that they have a small but successful start in something and will possibly do well in the future.
- Ex: With today's unemployment, it's difficult to get a foot in the door in any profession." Get a foothold If you get a foothold somewhere, you secure a position for yourself in a business, profession or Có chân trong organisation.
- (có người hỗ trợ bên trong) Ex: The contract got the firm a foothold in the local administration.
- A free hand If you have a free hand, you have permission to make your own decisions, especially in a job.
- Friends in high If you know important or influential people in places business or government, you have friends in high Bạn bè có chức places.
- I can't change my mind now! S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 28 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) Get your ducks in a This expression means that you are trying to get row things well organized.
- Get your hands dirty If you get your hands dirty in your job, you become involved in all aspects of it, including work that is physical, unpleasant or less interesting.
- Get the message If you get the message, you understand what someone is trying to tell you, even if it is expressed Hiểu ý in actions or gestures rather than words.
- Get off the hook If you do something wrong and manage to get off the hook, you avoid punishment or blame.
- Get on your high horse If you get on your high horse, you start behaving in a haughty manner, as though you should be treated with more respect.
- Thắng thế Ex: She went on a diet but it didn't last long - her S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 29 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) love of chocolate got the better of her! Get to the bottom of If you get to the bottom of a problem or mystery, something you solve it by finding out the true cause of it.
- Get the show on the If you manage to put a plan or idea into action, road you get the show on the road.
- Ex: All you talk about is politics - give it a rest...please! Give someone a hard If you give someone a hard time, you annoy them time or make things difficult for them.
- Go against the tide If you go against the tide, you refuse to conform to current trends, or the opinions or behavior of other Đi ngược people.
- Ex: If you announce that you're going to drop out of school, your parents will go bananas! Go to extremes People who go to extremes behave in a way which lacks moderation.
- My chiều gió savings are gone with the wind! Green light If you give or get the green light, you give or get a signal or permission to do something.
- in the red Losing money Ex: The company has been in the red since last year.
- in the works being planned Ex: The new line of products is in the works.
- laid up Confined to bed S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 35 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) Ex: He has been laid up for a few days because of a cold.
- luck out Fortunate Ex: If you luck out in Las Vegas, you can make a lot of money.
- N neck and neck nearly equal Ngang nhau Ex: The two teams were neck and neck in the game.
- nest egg amount of money saved Ex: He has a good nest egg in the bank.
- S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 40 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) R raise eyebrows cause surprise Chau mày Ex: These crazy clothes should raise eyebrows at the (ngạc nhiên) office tomorrow.
- screw up make a mistake Ex: If you screw up one more time, I will fire you.
- S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 42 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) take on Hire Ex: The company is expected to take on more employees next year.
- xí under a cloud under suspicion Ex: The politician has been under a cloud over the S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 43 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) possibility of taking bribes.
- upper hand advantage Thắng thế Ex: The union members have the upper hand in the negotiations.
- watch it be careful Ex: I think you should watch it if you travel to that city.
- Có tật giật mình S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 47 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ.
- Không biết thì dựa cột mà nghe S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 48 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ.
- If you cannot bite, never show your teeth - The less said the better 17.
- Tẩm ngẩm chết voi - Dumb dogs are dangerous S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 49 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ.
- S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 50 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) Laughter is the best medicine.
- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder • Dục tốc bất đạt Haste makes waste.
- Something Better than nothing If you cannot have the best, make the best of what you have • Lời nói không đi đôi với việc làm.
- Handsome is as handsome does Beauty in the eye of the beholder.
- If you cannot bite, never show your teeth (don’t bark.
- If you run after two hares, you’ll catch none • Đã trót thì phải trét.
- If you sell the cow, you will sell her milk too • Xem việc biết người.
- Judge a man by his work S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 53 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ.
- (Đừng đếm gà trước khi nó nở) Don’t look at the gift in the horse mouth.
- c) my cup of tea – If you say football ‘isn’t my cup of tea’, it means that you don’t like it.
- S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 57 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) 6.
- If you feel sad because your boyfriend or girlfriend leaves you, you may be suffering from.
- heartache – if you feel a sense of sadness, sorrow or regret, you can say your heart aches.
- to have a heart of gold – if you are very kind, we say you have a ‘heart of gold’.
- 3, d)- sank – if you hear some bad news, khi nhận được một tin buồn nào đó – your heart sinks.
- The centre of town – If you want to describe the very centre of town, you can say ‘the heart of town’.
- Can you identify it? 1) To fail to take an opportunity because you didn't act quickly enough a.Wake up at the end of the film b.Buy yesterday's newspaper c.Miss the boat 2)What people actually do is more important (or a better indication of their true feelings) than what the say a.Doing is above talking b.Actions speak louder than words S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 59 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) c.A foot on the stairs beats a word in the air 3)If something bad is being said about someone, or if something seems bad, there is probably a good reason for it a.There's no smoke without fire b.No mouth without teeth c.No car without wheels 4) To avoid taking responsibility by saying that someone else is responsible a.Pass the chocolate b.Pass the buck c.Pass the wine 5)Something is not going to continue for much longer(ex :a person is going to lose their job soon ) a.Their days are numbered b.Their bottle is almost empty c.Their milkshake is finished 6) An activity or situation(especially a job or career )in which there is a lot of competition and people are too busy to relax themselves a.Rat hole b,Rat food c.Rat race 7)Don't expect or wait for something(usually something good) to happen ,because it probably won't happen a.Don't stand with your mouth open b.Don't hold your breath c.Don't hold your hands out Exercise 2: now choose the correct answer for each of the questions below 1) What is "wet blanket"? a.Someone who spoils other people's fun by being negative and complaining b.Something that looks impressive but is really just an illusion c.Something that makes your face or head look very different 2)What does it mean if you "keep someone posted"? a.You make sure they can't come near you (or at least not often) S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 60 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) b.you give them up-to-date information about what is happening c.You make sure they have enough to eat and drink 3)What does it mean if someone has "guts" (or has "the guts" to do something) a.They are courageous b.They are angry c.They are ỉntelligent 4)What does "sell your soul" mean? a.to sell something that is important to you but not to anyone b.To mix your personal life with your working life c.to do something that against your beliefs (ex .for money) 5)what does it mean if something is"like watching paint dry'? a.It is very difficult b.It is very easy c.It is very boring 6)What does it mean if something is"set in stone" a.It is extremely old b.it cannot be changed or altered c.It is dirty 7)When might someone say"in a nutshell"? a.If they are about to give you a short summary of some information b.If they are about to tell you about something someone did that they think was very bad c.If they are about to tell you a joke Exercise 3: Complete the sentences below with the appropriate idioms from Exercise 1 and 2 .You may need to change the verbs forms 1."I don't know how much longer I can keep working here.Sure,the money is good,but the company does so many unethical things.I feel like I've What I'd really like to do is leave the_rat race__________and just go and live on a beach somewhere,but then how would I pay the bills?" "Yeah,right,you've been saying that for at least 5 years.May be you like the job more than you think.After all,_ Actions speak louder than words.
- Why don't you have_____to admit that you have made mistakes?" Key: Exercise 1: Read the definitions(1-7) below of some idioms.For each definition.Two of the expressions(a-c) have been invented ,but one is the correct idiom,Can you identify it? 1) To fail to take an opportunity because you didn't act quickly enough a.Wake up at the end of the film b.Buy yesterday's newspaper c.Miss the boat 2)What people actually do is more important(or a better indication of their true feelings ) than what the say a.Doing is above talking b.Actions speak louder than words c.A foot on the stairs beats a word in the air 3)If something bad is being said about someone, or if something seems bad,there is probably a S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 62 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) good reason for it a.There's no smoke without fire b.No mouth without teeth c.No car without wheels 4) To avoid taking responsibility by saying that someone else is responsible a.Pass the chocolate b.Pass the buck c.Pass the wine 5)Something is not going to continue for much longer(ex :a person is going to lose their job soon ) a.Their days are numbered b.Their bottle is almost empty c.Their milkshake is finished 6) An activity or situation(especially a job or career )in which there is a lot of competition and people are too busy to relax themselves a.Rat hole b,Rat food c.Rat race 7)Don't expect or wait for something(usually something good) to happen ,because it probably won't happen a.Don't stand with your mouth open b.Don't hold your breath c.Don't hold your hands out Exercise 2: now choose the correct answer for each of the questions below 1) What is "wet blanket"? a.Someone who spoils other people's fun by being negative and complaining b.Something that looks impressive but is really just an illusion c.Something that makes your face or head look very different 2)What does it mean if you "keep someone posted"? a.You make sure they can't come near you (or at least not often) b.you give them up-to-date information about what is happening c.You make sure they have enough to eat and drink S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 63 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) 3)What does it mean if someone has "guts" (or has "the guts" to do something) a.They are courageous b.They are angry c.They are ỉntelligent 4)What does "sell your soul" mean? a.to sell something that is important to you but not to anyone b.To mix your personal life with your working life c.to do something that against your beliefs (ex .for money) 5)what does it mean if something is"like watching paint dry'? a.It is very difficult b.It is very easy c.It is very boring 6)What does it mean if something is"set in stone" a.It is extremely old b.it cannot be changed or altered c.It is dirty 7)When might someone say"in a nutshell"? a.If they are about to give you a short summary of some information b.If they are about to tell you about something someone did that they think was very bad c.If they are about to tell you a joke Exercise 3: Complete the sentences below with the appropriate idioms from Exercise 1 and 2 .You may need to change the verbs forms 1."I don't know how much longer I can keep working here.Sure,the money is good,but the company does so many unethical things.I feel like I've_ sold my soul What I'd really like to do is leave the_rat race__________and just go and live on a beach somewhere,but then how would I pay the bills?" "Yeah,right,you've been saying that for at least 5 years.May be you like the job more than you think.After all,_ Actions speak louder than words.
- S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 65 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) A.
- singing S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 66 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) C.
- become more popular or successful S ư u t ầ m , t ổ n g h ợ p P a g e 67 | 69 Idioms ( thành ngữ ) 6.
- if you pass something with flying colours (colors), you pass easily, with a very high mark or grade