IDIOMS 77 THÀNH NGỮ THƠNG DỤNG KÌ THI THPT Hit the books: bắt đầu học Eg: hit the books! I know you have a test this weekend Way to go: làm tốt Eg: you’ve made it Way to go Easier said than done: khó bạn nghĩ Eg: you want to climb Mount Everest? Easier said than done Thank goodness : cảm thấy biết ơn Eg: thank goodness, you are home We are so worried about you Cost an arm and a leg: đắt Eg: we had to spend our last penny on this car, it cost an arm and a leg Cup of tea: kiểu người/ vật người thật thích Eg: I’m sorry , she is not my cup of tea In bad/good mood: (tinh thần) vui / buồn Eg: he’s in good mood when he passed the exam Cheer one up : khiến vui Eg: your first prize will cheer your parents up Take sth for granted : đánh giá thấp tầm quan trọng, nghĩ tự nhiên thế, coi nhẹ điều Eg: I was wrong when I took it for granted that he would be always with me Here and there : nơi Eg: I’ve been looking here and there for her 11 Let the cat out of the bag: để lộ bí mật Eg: it’s a secret don’t let the cat out of the bag 12 Once in a blue moon: Eg: once in a blue moon, I stop thinking about him If only he knew how much I love 10 him 13 On the verge of = on the brink of= in the edge of:đẩy đến bờ vực Eg: we have to protect endangered animals They’re on the verge of extinction 14 Sleep on it: nghĩ nhiều Eg: you don’t have to give me your decision now Sleep on it and let me know tomorrow 15 Smell a rat: nghi ngờ Eg: I start to smell a rat when I see her send a message to our enemy 16 In vain: vơ ích Eg: she tried in vain to sleep 17 Run an errand: chạy việc vặt, làm việc khơng quan trọng Eg: I’ve got to run an errand I’ll come back in a minute 18 Fly off the handle: bình tĩnh Eg: no one flies of the handle without a reason 19 Cats and dogs: mưa tầm tã Eg: it’s raining cats and dogs 20 A hot potato: vấn đề nan giải , nóng hổi Eg: the abortion issue is a political hot potato in the US 21 Back to the drawing board: bắt đầu lại từ đầu Eg: my plans to create a tiny car made of glasses were unsuccessful, so I guess it is back to the drawing board 22 Burn the midnight oil: thức khuya làm việc , học Eg: I will have a big exam tomorrow so I’ll be burning the midnight oil tonight 23 Caught between two stools: lưỡng lự, lựa chọn nào, dự Eg: I caught between two stools which shirt to choose 24 Bucket down: mưa xối xả, mưa to Eg: it’s been bucketing down all day 25 Close shave= narrow escape: thoát chết gang tấc Eg: he close shave when the car nearly hit him 26 Drop a brick : lỡ lời , lỡ miệng Eg: I dropped a brick when making my mummy sad 27 Get butterflies one’s stomach: cảm thất bồn chồn Eg : I always get butterflies in my stomach when it comes to talking test 28 Off the record : khơng thức, khơng cơng bố Eg: what the president said is not to be printed It’s off the record 29 One’s cup of tea : thứ mà ta thích Eg: music is my cup of tea The songs make me relax 30 Break a leg : chúc may mắn 31 Scratch someone’s back: giúp với mong muốn sau người ta giúp lại Eg: “ you scratch my back and I will scratch yours”, the customer said when we talked about the new sales contact Hit the nail on the head: đoán , nói trúng Eg: she hit the nail on the head when choosing the answer for test 33 Take sth into account / consideration: tính đến Eg: we will take your long years of service into account when we make our final 32 decision 34 Keep an eye on sb/sth: để ý, để tâm đến Eg: please keep an eye on my baby while I am out 35 Put someone/ something at someone’s disposal: có sẵn cho sử dụng theo ý muốn Eg: I’d be glad to help you if you need me I put myself at your disposal 36 Splitting headache: đau đầu búa bổ Eg: I’ve got a splitting headache I’m going upstairs for a map Off the peg: may sẵn ( quần áo) Eg: if I buy trousers off the peg , they’re always too short 38 On the house: trả tiền Eg: I went to a restaurant last night I was the ten thousandth customer, so my dinner 37 was on the house 39 Hit the roof = go through the roof: giận Eg: I’m afraid he will hit the roof when he finds out our vacation is cancelled 40 Bring down the house: làm cho khán phòng vỗ tay Eg: danny’s voice brought the house down He really brought down the house with his fantastic song 41 Pay through the nose: trả giá đắt Eg: if you want decent wine in a restaurant, you will have to pay through the nose for it 42 By the skin of one’s teeth: sát Eg: I got through calculus class by the skin of my teeth 43 Pull someone’s leg : chọc Eg: you don’t mean that You’re just pulling my leg 44 The more, the merrier: đông, vui Eg: of course you can have a ride with us The more, the merrier 45 Spick and span: ngăn nắp , gọn gang Eg: the kitchen was spick and span as ever, every surface wiped down and everything in its place 46 Every now and then : Eg: Every now and then , I want to be alone 47 On the spot: Eg: I will be there on the spot Few and far between: gặp Eg: go and tell her that you love her That kind of girl is really few and far between 49 Lead sb by the nose: nắm đầu, dắt mũi Eg: they simply didn’t know what they were doing and they were led by the nose by a 48 manipulative government 50 At the eleventh hour: vào phút chót Eg: she always sturned her term paper in at the eleventh hour 51 Find fault with: trích , kiếm chuyện Eg: it is very easy to find fault with the work of others 52 Off and on / on and off: không đặn , Eg: we don’t often go there – just off and on 53 Make believe : giả bộ, giả vờ Eg: I tried to make believe she was happy, but knew deep down it was not true 54 Be out of the question: Eg: you cannot get married until you are 19, it’s out of the question 55 All at once = suddenly: Eg: all at once , there was a loud banging on the door 56 Blow one’s trumpet: bốc phét, khoác lác Eg: anyone will tell you she’s one of the best journalist we’ve got Although she’d never blow her trumpet 57 Play tricks / jokes on: chọc phá, trêu ghẹo , chơi khăm Eg: the kids are always play jokes on their teachers 58 The last straw: giọt nước tràn ly Eg: when she showed up late a third time, that was the last straw We had to fire her 59 On second thoughts: suy nghĩ kĩ Eg: on second thoughts, it was a dumb movie 60 Fly off the handle: dễ giận, phát cáu Eg: no one will fly off the handle for no reason 61 The apple of one’s eyes: đồ quý giá Eg: you are the apple of my eyes 62 Bucket down: mưa xối xả, mưa to Eg: it’s been bucketing down all day 63 Get butterflies one’s stomach: cảm thấy bồn chồn Eg: I always get butterflies in my stomach when it comes to taking test 64 Cut it fine: đến sát Eg: only allowing half an hour to get from the station to the airport is cutting it fine, isn’t it? 65 Golden handshake: tiền hậu hĩnh dành cho người nghỉ việc Eg: the manager got early retirement and a 600,000$ golden handshake when the company was restricted 66 Put on an act: giả , làm Eg: we’ve known you are a good swimmer – stop putting on an act 67 Come to light: biết đến , phát Eg: four soldiers have faced charges since the scandal came to light last fall 68 Take things to pieces: tháo mảnh Eg: men like to take things to pieces and put them together 69 See eye to eye: đồng tình Eg: I’m glad that they see eye to eye on the matter of the conference location 70 Have in mind: suy tính, cân nhắc Eg: I don’t want to see a movie now, I have in mind going to the park 71 To be bound to: chắn Eg: you’re bound to be late if you don’t hurry 72 At heart: thực chất , Eg: James sometimes seems quite unfriendly but at heart he’s a good person 73 To know by sight: nhận Eg: The woman said that she would know the thief by sight if she ever saw him again 74 To take pains: làm việc cẩn thận tận tâm Eg: she takes pains to everything well 75 To make : xoay sở , đương đầu Eg: During difficult economic times, many people have to make with less 76 Sell someone/ sth short: đánh giá thấp Eg: when you say that John isn’t interested in music , you’re selling him short Did you know he play the violin quite well? 77 Face the music : chịu trận Eg: Mary broke a dinning-room window and had to face the music when her father got home  Sưu tầm 