Английские идиомы

Идиома: hand over fist Перевод: быстро, проворно Пример: His new company is making money hand over fist. Его новая компания быстро зарабатывает деньги.

[for all the world] {adv. phr.} 1. Under no circumstances. Bettysaid she wouldn’t marry Jake for all the world. 2. Precisely;exactly. It began for all the world like a successful baseballseason for the UIC Flames, when suddenly they lost to the BlueDemons.

[every last man] also [every man jack] {n. phr.} Every single man;each man without exception. I want every last man to be here ontime tomorrow morning. Every man jack of you must do his duty.

Идиома: wear more than one hat Перевод: иметь более одной обязанности, работать по совместительству Пример: Our teacher wears more than one hat and is the head of the school board as well as the coach of the swim team. Наш учитель также по совместительству выполняет обязанности директора школы, а также тренера нашей команды по плаванию.

[account] See: CALL TO ACCOUNT, CHARGE ACCOUNT, LEAVE OUT OF ACCOUNT, ON ACCOUNT, ON ACCOUNT OF, ON ONE’S ACCOUNT, ON ONE’S OWN ACCOUNT, SAVINGS ACCOUNT, TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.

[patch up] {v.} 1. To mend a hole or break; repair; fix. Hepatched up a couple of old tires. The lovers patched up theirquarrel. 2. To put together in a hurried or shaky way. Theypatched up a hasty peace.

Идиома: cut the ground out from under someone / cut the ground from under someone’s feet Перевод: выбить почву из-под ног; нарушить планы Пример: The politician cut the ground out from under his opponent. Политик выбил почву из под ног своего оппонента.

[be on the verge of] {v. phr.} To be about to do something; be very close to. We were on the verge of going bankrupt when, unexpectedly, my wife won the lottery and our business was saved.

[make an exhibition of oneself] {v. phr.} To behave foolishly orembarrassingly in public. Stop drinking so much and making anexhibition of yourself.

[step into one’s shoes] {v. phr.} To do what someone else usuallydoes after he has stopped doing it. When Bill’s father died, Billhad to step into his father’s shoes to support his mother. A coachtrains the junior varsity to step into the shoes of the members of thevarsity team when they graduate. When the boss … Читать далее

[swallow one’s pride] {v. phr.} To bring your pride under control;humble yourself. After Bill lost the race, he swallowed his prideand shook hands with the winner. Compare: EAT ONE’S WORDS,

Идиома: waste one’s breath Перевод: говорить бестолку, не достигать желаемого результата Пример: He is very stubborn and you are wasting your breath to argue with him. Он очень упрям, и ты бестолку пытаешься спорить с ним.

[eye] See: APPLE OF ONE’S EYE, BAT AN EYE or BAT AN EYELASH, BELIEVE ONE’S EYES, CATCH ONE’S EYE, CLEAR-EYED, CLOSE ONE’S EYES orSHUT ONE’S EYES, EYES OPEN, EYE OUT, EYE TO, FEAST ONE’S EYES ON, FOUR-EYES, GET THE EYE, GIVE THE EYE, GREEN-EYED MONSTER, HALF AN EYE, HAVE AN EYE ON, HAVE EYES ONLY … Читать далее

[white sale] {n.} The selling, especially at lower prices, of goodsor clothing usually made of white cloth. Mother always buys manythings at the January white sale to save money.

[psych out] {v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} 1. To find out the realmotives of. Sue sure has got Joe psyched out. 2. To goberserk; to lose one’s nerve. Joe says he doesn’t ride hismotorcycle on the highway anymore because he’s psyched out. Jimpsyched out and robbed a liquor store, when he has all he needs andwants!

Идиома: get off on the wrong foot (with someone or something) Перевод: неудачно, плохо начать что-либо, или какие-либо отношения с кем-либо Пример: I got off on the wrong foot with my boss and our relationship is not good. Я неудачно начал свое знакомство с начальником, и сейчас у нас не очень хорошие отношения.

[make a clean sweep of] {v. phr.} 1. Achieve a complete victory. In 7980 the Reagan Republicans made a clean sweep of the westernstates. 2. To eliminate thoroughly and completely. The newattorney general is expected to make a clean sweep of all the oldadministrative personnel.

[hard sell] {n.}, {informal} A kind of salesmanship characterizedby great vigor, aggressive persuasion, and great eagerness on the partof the person selling something; opposed to «soft sell». Your hardsell turns off a lot of people; try the soft sell for a change, won’tyou?

[dog days] {n. phr.} The hottest days of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. «The dog days are upon us,» John said. «It’s time to go swimming in the lake.»

[far cry] {n.} Something very different. His last statement wasa far cry from his first story. The first automobile could run, but it was a far cry from a modern car.

[turn the tables] {v. phr.} To make something happen just theopposite of how it is supposed to happen. The boys turned thetables on John when they took his squirt gun away and squirted him.

[little frog in a big pond] or [small frog in a big pond] {n. phr.}An unimportant person in a large group or organization. In a largecompany, even a fairly successful man is likely to feel like a littlefrog in a big pond. When Bill transferred to a larger high school, he found himself a small … Читать далее

[hover over] {v. phr.} 1. To remain close or above. The rescuehelicopter was carefully hovering above the stranded rock climbers. 2. To watch over; supervise. «Mother!» Phillip cried, «if you don’tstop hovering over me, I’ll go bananas!»

[fork over] or [fork out] also [fork up] {v.} To pay; pay out. He had to fork over fifty dollars to have the car repaired. Compare:HAND OVER.

[missing link] n. 1. Something needed to complete a group; amissing part of a chain of things. A 1936 penny was the missinglink in John’s collection of pennies. The detective hunted for thefact that was the missing link in the case. 2. An unknown extinctanimal that was supposed to be a connection between man and … Читать далее

[silent majority] {n.}, {informal} The large majority of peoplewho, unlike the militants, do not make their political and socialviews known by marching and demonstrating and who, presumably, canswing an election one way or the other. Sidney Miltner is a memberof the silent majority.

[do in] {v.}, {slang} 1. To ruin; destroy. Mr. Smith’s business was done in by a fire that burned down his store. 2a. To kill; murder. The poor man was done in by two gangsters who ran away after the crime. 2b. To make tired; exhaust. The boys were done in after their long hike. … Читать далее

[carry through] {v.} 1a. To put into action. Mr. Green was notable to carry through his plans for a hike because he broke his leg. 1b. To do something you have planned; put a plan into action. Jean makes good plans but she cannot carry through with any of them. Compare: GO THROUGH WITH, CARRY … Читать далее

Идиома: give someone the benefit of the doubt Перевод: предположить или поверить, что кто-либо прав или не виновен в чем-либо Пример: I gave the man the benefit of the doubt but I still think that he is lying. Я посчитал, что этот человек не виновен, но я все равно думаю, что он лжет.

Идиома: under control Перевод: под контролем Пример: The fire was under control after the fire department arrived. После того, как прибыла пожарная бригада, огонь был под контролем.

Идиома: teach someone a lesson Перевод: быть уроком кому-либо, отплатить кому-либо за плохое поведение Пример: I plan to teach my friend a lesson for not telephoning me to cancel our appointment. Я собираюсь отплатить своему другу за то, что он не позвонил мне, чтобы сказать, что он не придет на встречу.

[move a muscle] {v. phr.} To move even a very little. — Used innegative sentences and questions and with «if». The deer stoodwithout moving a muscle until the hunter was gone. The girls wereso startled that they did not move a muscle. You’re sitting rightwhere you were when I left! Have you moved a muscle? … Читать далее

[one-night stand] {n. phr.} 1. A single performance given by atraveling company while on a tour. After they went bankrupt in thebig cities, the traveling jazz quartet played one-night stands in thecountry. 2. A brief affair or sexual encounter. «With AIDS allaround us?» said Jane. «Nobody is having one-night stands anymore.»

[at leisure] {adj.} or {adv. phr.} 1. Not at work; not busy; with free time; at rest. Come and visit us some evening when you’re at leisure. 2. or [at one’s leisure] When and how you wish at your convenience; without hurry. John made the model plane at his leisure. You may read the book … Читать далее

Идиома: fish for compliments Перевод: напрашиваться на комплименты, вести себя так, чтобы получить комплимент Пример: Emma, you know you don’t look fat in that dress. Are you fishing for compliments? Эмма, ты же знаешь, что это платье тебя не полнит. Ты что, напрашиваешься на комплименты?

[beat the meat] {v. phr.}, {vulgar}, {avoidable} To masturbate. «So what did you do for sex in prison for seven years?» Joe asked. «Well, unless you want to become gay, you can beat the meat and that’s about it,» Max answered.

[give a hard time] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To give trouble by whatyou do or say; complain. Jane gave her mother a hard time on thebus by fighting with her sister and screaming. Don’t give me ahard time, George. I’m doing my best on this job. Compare: GIVE FITS.2. To get in the way by … Читать далее

[cold war] {n.} A struggle that is carried on by other means and not by actual fighting; a war without shooting or bombing. After World War II, a cold war began between Russia and the United States.

Идиома: cover one’s tracks Перевод: заметать следы; прятать то, что было сделано Пример: The man was trying to cover his tracks but it was easy to see where he had been. Мужчина пытался замести следы, но было легко проследить, где он был.

[time out] {n. phr.} Time during which a game, a lecture, adiscussion or other activity is stopped for a while for some extraquestions or informal discussion, or some other reason. He took atime out from studying to go to a movie. The player called timeout so he could tie his shoe. «Time out!» — The … Читать далее

[push on] {v. phr.} To press forward; proceed forward laboriously. The exhausted mountain climbers pushed on, despite the roughweather, as the peak was already in sight.

[fat chance] {n. phr.}, {slang} Little or no possibility; almost nochance. A high school team would have a fat chance of beating astrong college team. Jane is pretty and popular; you will have afat chance of getting a date with her. Compare: GHOST OF A.

Идиома: miss the point Перевод: не понять главного, не понять сути дела Пример: My friend was missing the point when we tried to explain why he shouldn’t do what he was doing. Мой друг не понял главного, когда мы пытались объяснить ему, почему ему не следует делать то, что он делает.

Идиома: off duty Перевод: не работать, быть не на службе Пример: The police officer was off duty when he saw the bank robbery. Когда офицер полиции увидел ограбление банка, он был не на службе.

[measure up] {v.} To be equal; be of fully high quality; come up. John didn’t measure up to the best catchers but he was a good one. Lois’ school work didn’t measure up to her ability. Compare up: TOPAR. Contrast: FALL SHORT.

[cool as a cucumber] {adj. phr.}, {informal} Very calm and brave; not nervous, worried, or anxious; not excited; composed. Bill is a good football quarterback, always cool as a cucumber.

[master copy] {n.} 1. A perfect text to which all copies are madeto conform; a corrected version used as a standard by printers. Themaster copy must be right, because if it isn’t, the mistakes in itwill be repeated all through the edition. 2. A stencil from whichother copies are made. Mr. Brown told his secretary … Читать далее

[own up] {v.}, {informal} To take the blame; admit your guilt;confess. When Mr. Jones asked who broke the window, Johnny ownedup. Mary owned up to having borrowed her sister’s sweater. When Mother saw that someone had broken the vase, Billy owned up toit. See: COME CLEAN.

[take to task] {v. phr.} To reprove or scold for a fault or error. He took his wife to task for her foolish wastefulness. Theprincipal took Bill to task for breaking the window.

[stand one’s ground] also [hold one’s ground] {v. phr.} 1. To stayand fight instead of running away. The enemy attacked in greatnumbers but our men stood their ground. Compare: GAIN GROUND. Contrast: GIVE GROUND, LOSE GROUND. 2. To defend a belief orstatement; refuse to weaken when opposed; insist you are right. John’s friends said he … Читать далее