idioms Flashcards
(189 cards)
1
Q
cats and dogs
A
rain heavily
2
Q
chalk and cheese
A
very different from each other
3
Q
here and there
A
everywhere
4
Q
a hot potato
A
a problem, situation, etc that is unpleasant to deal with
5
Q
at the drop of the hat
A
immediately, instantly, without hesitating
6
Q
back to the drawing board
A
time to start from the beginning, time to plan sth over again
7
Q
beat about the bush
A
talk abt sth for too long without coming to the main point
8
Q
the best thing since sliced bread
A
good innovation, idea
9
Q
burn the midnight oil
A
study or work until midnight
10
Q
caught between two stools
A
when one finds it’s difficult to choose between 2 alternatives
11
Q
break a leg
A
used to wish sb good luck
12
Q
hit the books
A
study
13
Q
let the cat out of the bag
A
tell a secret carelessly or by mistake
14
Q
when pigs fly ~ pigs might fly
A
sth will never happen, impossible to happen
15
Q
scratch one’s back
A
help someone w/o the assumption that they will return the favor
16
Q
hit the nail on the head
A
say sth that is exactly right
17
Q
take sth for granted
A
cho la dieu hien nhien
18
Q
take sth into account/ consideration
A
to consider sth
19
Q
keep an eye on sb/ sth
A
de y den dieu gi
20
Q
lose touch with sb
A
mat lien lac
21
Q
at sb’s disposal
A
available for use as sb prefers
22
Q
splitting headache
A
severe headache
23
Q
off the peg~ off the rack
A
may san
24
Q
on the house
A
free
25
hit the roof~ hit the ceiling~ go through the roof
suddenly become very angry
26
bring down the house
makes everyone applauses
27
pay through the nose (for sth)
pay too much for sth
28
pull sb's leg
play a joke on sb (make them believe sth that's not true
29
it strike sb as/ that a strange
lay lam la
30
high and low~ here and then
everywhere
31
the more, the merrier
cang dong cang vui
32
spick and span~ spic and span
neat and tidy
33
(every) now and then/ again
sometimes, occasionally
34
part and parcel of sth
an essential and crucial part of sth
35
go to one's head
make you feel way too proud of yourself
36
be/ on the wagon
not drink alcohol, temporarily or permanently
37
on the spot
immediately
38
few and far between
not frequent
39
on the verge of~ on the brink of~ in the edge
almost do sth
40
lead sb by the nose
to control sb completely
41
at the eleventh hour
at the last possible moment
42
find fault (with sb/ sth)
kiem chuyen, bat loi
43
off and on/ on and off~ from time to time
not often
44
make believe
pretend
45
make good time
move fast
46
look daggers at sb
look at someone angrily
47
be out of question
not possible
48
all at once
suddenly
49
blow one's trumpet
boast
50
fight tooth and nail
fight determinedly for what you want
50
sleep on sth
think more abt sth before giving an answer
51
play tricks/ jokes on
tron vi en
52
(go) down the drain
do song, do bien
53
smell a rat
suspect sth wrong abt a situation
54
the last straw
the last time before you lose it
55
get the hang of sth
understand, know how sth works
56
hard of hearing
diec tai
57
have a bee in one's bonnet (abt sth)
am anh ve cgi do
58
get/ have cold feet
nervous abt sth you have planned to do
59
on second thoughts
suy nghi ki
60
in vain
hopeless, vo ich
61
chip in
contribute
62
out of/ off one's head
crazy
63
run an errand
do chores
64
jump the (traffic) lights/ run the lights/ run a (red) light
vuot den do
65
fly off the handle
lose temper
66
the apple of one's eye
nguoi yeu quy, vat quy bau
67
bucket down
rain heavily
68
a close shave/ call
thoat chet trong gang tac
69
drop a brick/ clanger
lo mieng
70
get/ have butterfies in one's stomach
nervous
71
off the record
unofficial
72
(not) one's cup of tea
(not) sth you like
73
cut it fine
make it just in time
74
golden handshake
mon tien hau hinh cho nguoi sap nghi viec
75
come to light
become known, discovered
76
take things to pieces
thao ra tung manh
77
put one's foot in it/ put your foot in one's mouth
say or do sth stupid that's disrespectful
78
make (both) ends meet
struggle to make a living
79
pull one's weight
be responsible of your part of work
80
get (hold of) the wrong end of the stick
misunderstand someone
81
cut and dried
decided a way that cannot be changed
82
see eye to eye
agree
83
have sb/ sth in mind
consider sb/ sth
84
a lost cause
hopeless, cannot change
85
to be bound to do sth
seem to
86
at heart
basically
87
know sb by sight
recognize sb
88
take (great) pains to do sth
doc suc lm gi do
89
make do
xoay so, to cope
90
sell sb short
underestimate
91
face the music
chiu tran
92
on probation
trong tgian quan che
93
sell/ go like hot cakes
ban dat nhu tom tuoi
94
it never rains but it pours~ when it rains, it pours
when sth bad happens, it's really bad
95
salt and pepper
have a mixture of a dark and light color
96
a penny for your thoughts
to ask sb what are they thinking abt
97
home and dry~ be home free
have done sth hard successfully
98
down and out
that co lo van
99
learn by heart
thuoc long
100
a red-letter day
ngay trong dai
101
as high as a kite
kieu cang, tu phu
102
sleep like a log
ngu ngon, ngu say
103
fit like a glove
fit
104
be green with envy
envy
105
go up the wall
be angry
106
put on an act
gia bo
107
break the news (to sb)
deliver the news to sb
108
cost/ pay an arm and a leg
costly
109
look on the bright side
be positive
110
easier said than done
noi de hon lam
111
take it easy
relax
112
go into business
bat dau cong viec kinh doanh
113
time and tide wait for no man
thoi gian khong cho ai
114
back to square one
over again
115
a great one for sth
keen on sth
116
be in two minds abt sth/ doing sth
chua quyet dinh dc
117
in two shakes
very soon
118
at sixes and sevens
roi tung roi mu
119
on cloud nine
extremely happy
120
dresses (up) to the nines
dress up
121
nineteen to the dozen
talk without stopping
122
by a hair's breath
trong duoi to ke toc
123
every nook and cranny~ every nook and corner
every part of places, aspects of a situation
124
600- pound gorilla
a powerful person
125
hog heaven
trong trang thai cuc ki sung suong
126
to go hog wild
roi len vi tuc gian hay sung suong
127
high off the hog
song cuc ki sung suong
128
play both ends against the middle
2 phe chong nhau de minh huong loi
129
bottom line
the most important result of a situation
130
like clockwork
chay deu nhu cai may
131
nuts and bolts
small but vital details of a situation
132
blue chip
co gia tri cao
133
ante up
pay back sth you own
134
win by a nose
thang sat nut
135
a shot in the dark
doan mo
136
rule the roost
lead 1 to chuc
137
hog wash
loi noi vo gia tri
138
across the board
all the classes, ranks,...
139
backed into a corner
bi don vao the ket
140
well-heeled
well-off
141
go bananas
become angry or lose temper
142
someone's goose
lam hong ke hoach
143
eat crow
rut lai loi tuyen bo
144
hunker down
chu tam lam viec
145
buy a pig in a poke
buy sth because you are fooled
146
a fly in the ointment
1 con sau lam rau noi canh
147
a lame duck
vulnerable
148
bud someone
bother someone
149
not have a cat in hell's change
khong co cow may
150
water under the bridge
chuyen da qua
151
turn over a new leaf
quyet tam thay doi cuoc doi
152
the bee's knees
the best
153
make a bee-line for sth
nhanh nhau lam viec gi
154
the straw that broke the camel's back
the last straw
155
from rags to riches
tu ngheo den gia
156
it takes two to tango
co lua moi co khoi
157
let sleeping dogs lie
not recall the past
158
burn your bridges
make yourself lose your opportunity
159
off the top of one's head
pure spontaneity
160
bite one's head off
la mang, nat no ai do
161
get on like a house on fire
get on well
162
give a big hand
give an applause
163
for the high jump
bi phat
164
toe the line
tuan lenh
165
a flash in the pan
thanh cong thoang qua
166
in the balance
khong chac chan
167
hush money
hoi lo tien
168
at large
tu do (kh bi bat)
169
on the spur of the moment
su hoi thuc cua tinh huong
170
on the rocks
on the verge of going to the wall
171
on the cards
bi quo mang
172
a vicious circle
vong luan quan
173
on a shoestring
short of money
174
feather one's nest
lam giau bat chinh
175
give sb the sack
fire sb
176
all Greek to me
not understand anything
177
come into force
tro thanh luat
178
go off the deep end
lose control, temper
179
on the dole
jobless
180
swan
di lang thang
181
duck
cui lom khom
182
fox
lam ai do boi roi
183
break ranks
tu choi giup do
184
bite the bullet
can dam doi dau
185
stick to your guns
giu vung lap truong
186
press on (with sth)
tiep tuc lam gi do
187
be poles apart
nhu 2 thai cuc
188
meet sb halfway
chiu chap nhan, thoa thuan
