Английские идиомы

[odd jobs] {n. phr.} Work that is not steady or regular in nature;small, isolated tasks. Dan does odd jobs for his neighbors, barelymaking enough to eat.

Идиома: fall flat (on one’s face) Перевод: упасть в грязь лицом; полностью провалиться, потерпеть неудачу Пример: My attempt at humor fell flat and now the girl does not like me. Моя попытка пошутить закончилась неудачей, и теперь девушка меня не любит. I fell flat on my face when I tried to impress the girl with … Читать далее

[have rocks in one’s head] {v. phr.}, {informal} To be stupid; nothave good judgment. When Mr. James quit his good job with the coalcompany to begin teaching school, some people thought he had rocks inhis head.

[man of his word] {n. phr.} A man who keeps his promises and doesthe things he agrees to do; a man who can be trusted. My uncle is aman of his word.

[back street] {n.} A street not near the main streets or from which it is hard to get to a main street. We got lost in the back streets going through the city and it took us a half hour to find our way again. Compare: SIDE STREET.

[make a racket] {v. phr.} To cause a lot of noisy disturbance. Iwish the kids playing in the street wouldn’t make such a racket whileI’m trying to take a nap.

Идиома: change of scenery Перевод: смена обстановки; какое-либо другое место, где все по-другому Пример: My sister and her husband have decided to move because they want a change of scenery. Моя сестра и ее муж решили переехать, потому что им требовалась смена обстановки.

[put someone on] {v.} To play a joke on someone by saying or doingthings that are only pretense; kid. When the voice on the phonetold Mrs. Jones she had won a $10,000 prize, she thought someone wasputting her on.

[look daggers] {v. phr.} To show anger with a look; express hate orenmity by a look or stare; look fiercely. The other driver lookeddaggers at Morris for turning in before him. Mary did not daretalk back to her father, but she looked daggers.

Идиома: spick-and-span Перевод: быть очень ухоженным, прибранным, чистым Пример: The house was spick-and-span when we returned from our holiday. Дом был идеально прибран, когда мы вернулись из отпуска.

[keep pace] {v. phr.} To go as fast; go at the same rate; not getbehind. When they go for a walk, Johnny has to take long steps tokeep pace with his father. When Billy was moved to a more advancedclass, he had to work hard to keep pace. Compare: KEEP UP.

[pull oneself together] {v. phr.} To become calm after beingexcited or disturbed; recover self-command; control yourself. Ithad been a disturbing moment, but he was able to pull himselftogether.

[be nuts about] {v. phr.} To be enthusiastic or very keen about someone or something; be greatly infatuated with someone. Hermione is nuts about modern music. «I am nuts about you, Helen,» Jim said. «Please let’s get married!»

Идиома: far and away the best Перевод: самый лучший; вне сомнений лучший Пример: The basketball player is far and away the best player on the team. Этот баскетболист самый лучший игрок в команде.

[law of averages] {n. phr.} The idea that you can’t win all thetime or lose all the time. The Celtics have won 10 games in a rowbut the law of averages will catch up with them soon.

Идиома: a sacred cow Перевод: человек или явление, не подлежащее осмеянию, осуждению, критике Пример: The medical insurance system is a sacred cow of the government and is never criticized by anyone. Система медицинского страхования — это то, что никогда не подвергается критике с чьей-либо стороны.

[pitch out] {v.} 1. To deliberately throw a pitch outside of thehome plate in baseball so that the batter cannot hit the ball and thecatcher can make a quick throw. The catcher wanted the pitcher topitch out and see if they could catch the runner stealing. 2. To tossthe ball easily to a football back. … Читать далее

[pull a fast one] {v. phr.} To gain the advantage over one’sopponent unfairly; deceive; trick. When Smith was told by his bossthat he might be fired, he called the company president, hisfather-in-law, and pulled a fast one by having his boss demoted.

[catch on] {v.}, {informal} 1. To understand; learn about. — Often used with «to». You’ll catch on to the job after you’ve been here awhile. Don’t play any tricks on Joe. When he catches on, he will beat you. 2. To become popular; be done or used by many people. The song caught on and … Читать далее

[crop up] {v.} To come without warning; appear or happen unexpectedly. Problems cropped up almost every day when Mr. Reed was building his TV station. Serious trouble cropped up just when Martin thought the problem of his college education was solved. Compare: TURN UP.

[under a cloud] {adj. phr.} 1. Under suspicion; not trusted. Joyce has been under a cloud since her roommate’s braceletdisappeared. The butcher is under a cloud because the inspectorsfound his scales were not honest. 2. Depressed, sad, discouraged. Joe has been under a cloud since his dog died.

[take on faith] {v. phr.} To lend credence to something due toone’s confidence in the source, rather than based on evidence. Oneshould never take on faith what one hears about Washington politics.

[let it rip] {v. phr.}, {used imperatively}, {slang} Don’t beconcerned; pay no attention to what happens. Why get involved? Forget about it and let it rip. 2. Do become involvedand make the most of it; get in there and really try to win. Comeon man, give it all you’ve got and let it rip!

[hit the high spots] {v. phr.} To consider, mention, or see onlythe more important parts of something such as a book, war, or schoolcourse. In his lecture, the speaker hit the high spots of hissubject. The first course in general science hits only the highspots of the physical sciences. The Bakers went to the fair … Читать далее

[rock the boat] {v. phr.}, {informal} To make trouble and risklosing or upsetting something; cause a disturbance that may spoil aplan. The other boys said that Henry was rocking the boat bywanting to let girls into their club. Politicians don’t like torock the boat around election time. Compare: UPSET THE APPLE CART. Contrast: LET WELL … Читать далее

[pay dirt] {n.}, {slang} 1. The dirt in which much gold is found. The man searched for gold many years before he found pay dirt. 2.{informal} A valuable discovery. — Often used in the phrase «strikepay dirt». When Bill joined the team, the coach struck pay dirt. Jean looked in many books for facts about … Читать далее

[peg away] {v.} To work methodically, industriously, or steadily Thomson pegged away for years at a shoe repair business. Joneskept pegging away, and finally recognition came.

Идиома: day and night Перевод: день и ночь, все время, постоянно Пример: We worked day and night to finish the project before the end of the month. Мы работали день и ночь, чтобы закончить проект до конца месяца.

Идиома: have an edge / have the edge (on / over someone or something) Перевод: иметь преимущество над кем-либо или чем-либо Пример: Our team has an edge over the other teams to win the high school football championship. Наша команда имеет преимущество над другими командами в школьном футбольном чемпионате. The boy has the edge on … Читать далее

[field goal] {n.} 1. A score in football made by kicking the ballover the bar between the goal posts. The Giants were not able tomake a touchdown but they kicked two field goals. Compare: EXTRAPOINT. 2. A score in basketball made by a successful shot through thebasket not made on a free throw. A field … Читать далее

[shut up] {v.} 1. {informal} To stop talking. Little Ruthie toldFather about his birthday surprise before Mother could shut her up. -Often used as a command; usually considered rude. Shut up and letJoe say something. If you’ll shut up for a minute, I’ll tell youour plan. Syn.: BUTTON YOUR LIP, DRY UP, KEEP ONE’S MOUTH … Читать далее

[calculated risk] {n.} An action that may fail but is judged more likely to succeed. The sending of troops to the rebellious island was a calculated risk.

[explode a bombshell] {v. phr.}, {informal} To say somethingstartling; suggest or show something astonishing or shocking, Thepolice exploded a bombshell when they arrested the kindly old bankerfor stealing money from the bank. The principal exploded abombshell by cancelling the dance as a penalty. Political leadersexploded a bombshell when they picked the young lawyer to run … Читать далее

[give the show away] {v. phr.} To reveal a plan or information thatis supposed to be secret. You have read further in the book than Ihave, but please don’t tell me where the treasure was buried;otherwise you’d be giving the show away.

[die out] {v.} To die or disappear slowly until all gone. This kind of bird is dying out. If you pour salt water on grass, it dies out. The American colonists started colleges so that learning would not die out.

[hold off] {v.} 1a. To refuse to let become friendly. The president’s high rank and chilly manner held people off. Compare: KEEP AT A DISTANCE. 1b. To be rather shy or unfriendly. Perkins was a scholarly man who held off from people. Compare: KEEPAT A DISTANCE. 2. To keep away by fighting; oppose by force. … Читать далее

[wee folk] or [little folk] or [little people] {n. phr.} Fairypeople; brownies; elves; fairies; or goblins. Mother read me astory about the wee folk who lived in the forest and came out atnight. There are many stories about little people dancing in themoonlight.

Идиома: a square peg (in a round hole) Перевод: человек не на своем месте, неподходящий человек; белая ворона Пример: My friend was like a square peg in a round hole when he tried to do the job of an accountant. Мой друг был белой вороной, когда пытался выполнять обязанности бухгалтера.

[on duty] {adj. phr.} Doing one’s job; supervising. Two soldiersare on duty guarding the gates. There is always one teacher onduty during study hour. Contrast: OFF DUTY.

Идиома: reluctant to do something Перевод: не желать, не хотеть делать что-либо; делающий что-либо с неохотой Пример: The surgeon was reluctant to operate on the young boy before he was sure that it was necessary. Хирург не хотел оперировать маленького мальчика прежде, чем он убедится, что это необходимо.

[tug-of-war] {n.} 1. A game in which two teams pull on oppositeends of a rope, trying to pull the other team over a line marked onthe ground. The tug-of-war ended when both teams tumbled in aheap. 2. A contest in which two sides try to defeat each other;struggle. A tug-of-war developed between the boys who … Читать далее

[free ball] {n.} A ball in football that is in play, that is not inthe possession of anyone, that is not a legally thrown forward pass, and that belongs to the first team which can grab it. A Notre Dameplayer fell on a free ball and recovered it for his team.

Идиома: all in a day’s work Перевод: часть чего-либо ожидаемого; что-либо обыденное, привычное, естественное Пример: It was all in a day’s work when the firefighters rescued the cat. Спасение кошки было частью работы пожарников.

[lay eyes on] or [set eyes on] {v. phr.} To see. She knew he wasdifferent as soon as she laid eyes on him. I didn’t know the man;in fact, I had never set eyes on him.

[in tow] {adj. phr.} 1. Being pulled. The tugboat had the largeocean liner in tow as they came into the harbor. An engine camewith a long string of cars in tow. 2. Being taken from place toplace; along with someone. Janet took the new girl in tow andshowed her where to go. Mrs. Hayes went … Читать далее

Идиома: pull one’s socks up / pull up one’s socks Перевод: засучить рукава, приложить усилия, поднапрячься (буквально: подтянуть носки) Пример: «You had better pull up your socks or you will not be able to continue working here.» Лучше тебе поднапрячься, или ты не сможешь продолжать здесь работать.

Идиома: follow in someone’s footsteps Перевод: последовать чьему-либо примеру; полностью следовать, подражать кому-либо Пример: The boy is following in his father’s footsteps and has decided to work for a bank. Мальчик следует по стопам своего отца, он решил работать в банке.

Идиома: foul play Перевод: грязная игра; преступление (убийство, грабеж); обман Пример: It’s not clear why the man drowned, but the police haven’t ruled out foul play. Неясно, почему мужчина утонул, но полиция не исключает убийства.

Идиома: can’t stand someone or something / can’t stomach someone or something Перевод: не выносить кого-либо или что-либо Пример: My uncle cannot stand his daughter’s boyfriend. Мой дядя не выносит молодого человека своей дочери.

Идиома: have a hard time with something / have a hard time doing something Перевод: испытывать трудности с чем-либо, при выполнении чего-либо Пример: She had a hard time with history classes in high school because of her unpleasant teacher. В школе у нее были трудности с уроками истории из-за неприятностей с учителем. I’m having a … Читать далее