Английские идиомы

[not to know whether one is coming or going] {v. phr.} To becompletely confused. He was so perplexed he didn’t know whether hewas coming or going. Compare: AT SEA.

[drag one’s feet] or [drag one’s heels] {v. phr.} To act slowly or reluctantly. The children wanted to watch television, and dragged their feet when their mother told them to go to bed. The city employees said the mayor had promised to raise their pay, but was now dragging his feet.

[bowl over] {v.}, {informal} 1. To knock down as if with a bowled ball. The taxi hit him a glancing blow and bowled him over. 2. To astonish with success or shock with misfortune; upset; stun. He was bowled over by his wife’s sudden death. The young actress bowled over everybody in her first movie.

[at odds] {adj. phr.} In conflict or disagreement; opposed. The boy and girl were married a week after they met and soon found themselves at odds about religion. Compare: AT LOGGERHEADS.

[out in left field] {adj. phr.}, {informal} Far from the rightanswer; wrong; astray. Johnny tried to answer the teacher’squestion but he was way out in left field. Susan tried to guesswhat the surprise was but she was way out in left field. 2. Speakingor acting very queerly; crazy. The girl next door was always queer, … Читать далее

[take for a ride] {v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To take out in a carintending to murder. The gang leader decided that the informer mustbe taken for a ride. 2. To play a trick on; fool. The girls toldLinda that a movie star was visiting the school, but she did notbelieve them; she thought they were … Читать далее

[put oneself in another’s place] or [put oneself in another’sshoes] {v. phr.} To understand another person’s feeling imaginatively;try to know his feelings and reasons with understanding; enter intohis trouble. It seemed like a dreadful thing for Bob to do, but Itried to put myself in his place. If you will put yourself in thecustomer’s shoes … Читать далее

[think out] {v.} 1. To find out or discover by thinking; study andunderstand. Andy thought out a way of climbing to the top of thepole. Compare FIGURE OUT, WORK OUT. 2. To think through to the end;to understand what would come at last. Bill wanted to quit school, but he thought out the matter and … Читать далее

[kill the goose that laid the golden egg] To spoil something thatis good or something that you have, by being greedy. — A proverb. Mrs. Jones gives you an apple from her tree whenever you go by herhouse, but don’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg by botheringher too much.

[send word] {v. phr.} To send notification to; advise. When hisfather fell seriously ill, we sent word to Mike to come home asquickly as possible.

[make the grade] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To make good; succeed. It was clear that Mr. Baker had made the grade in the insurancebusiness. It takes hard study to make the grade in school. 2. Tomeet a standard; qualify. That whole shipment of cattle made thegrade as prime beef.

[in season] {adv.} or {adj. phr.} 1. {literary} At the proper orbest time. Fred’s father told him that he was not old enough yetbut that he would learn to drive in season. 2a. At the right orlawful time for hunting or catching. Deer will be in season nextweek. In spring we’ll go fishing when trout … Читать далее

[short] See: CAUGHT SHORT, FALL SHORT, FOR SHORT, IN BRIEF or INSHORT, IN SHORT ORDER, IN SHORT SUPPLY, MAKE SHORT WORK OF, RUN SHORT, SELL SHORT, THE LONG AND THE SHORT.

[ahead of the game] {adv. or adj. phr.}, {informal} 1. In a position of advantage; winning ; ahead ; making it easier to win or succeed. The time you spend studying when you are in school will put you ahead of the game in college. After Tom sold his papers, he was $5 ahead of … Читать далее

[get a line on] {v. phr.} To receive special, sometimes evenconfidential information about something. Before Bill accepted hisnew position, he got a line on how the business was being run.

[edge out] {v.} To defeat in competition or rivalry; take the placeof; force out. Harry edged out Tom for a place in Mary’saffections. Signal lights on cars have gradually edged out handsignals.

[bottleneck] {n.} A heavy traffic congestion. In Chicago the worst bottleneck is found where the Kennedy and the Eden’s expressways separate on the way to the airport.

[holier-than-thou] {adj.} Acting as if you are better than othersin goodness, character, or reverence for God; acting as if morallybetter than other people. Most people find holier-than-thou actionsin others hard to accept. After Mr. Howard stopped smoking, he hada holier-than-thou manner toward his friends who still smoked.

[canned heat] {n.} Chemicals in a can which burn with a hot, smokeless flame. Some people use canned heat to keep food warm. The mountain climbers used canned heat for cooking.

[put up or shut up] {v. phr.} {informal} 1. To bet your money onwhat you say or stop saying it. — Often used as a command; oftenconsidered rude. The man from out of town kept saying their teamwould beat ours and finally John told him «Put up or shut up.» 2. Toprove something or stop … Читать далее

[make short work of] {v. phr.} To finish rapidly. The cat madeshort work of the baby rabbit. Tim was anxious to get to themovies so he made short work of his homework.

[cold comfort] {n.} Something that makes a person in trouble feel very little better or even worse. When Tim lost the race, it was cold comfort to him to hear that he could try again in two weeks. Mary spent her vacation sick in bed and Jane’s letter about her trip was cold comfort.

[skim the surface] {v. phr.} To do something very superficially. He seems knowledgeable in many different areas but his familiarity isvery superficial, since he only skims the surface of everything hetouches.

[spending money] or [pocket money] {n.} Money that is given to aperson to spend. When the seniors went to New York City on a trip, each was given $10 in spending money. Father gave John a nickel inpocket money when he went to the store with Mother.

[dirty one’s hands] or [soil one’s hands] {v. phr.} To lower or hurt one’s character or good name; do a bad or shameful thing. The teacher warned the children not to dirty their hands by cheating in the examination. I would not soil my hands by going with bad people and doing bad things.

[rob Peter to pay Paul] {v. phr.} To change one duty or need foranother; take from one person or thing to pay another. Bill owedSam a dollar, so he borrowed another from Joe to pay Sam back. Herobbed Peter to pay Paul. Trying to study a lesson for one classduring another class is like robbing … Читать далее

[beat the rap] {v. phr.} To escape the legal penalty one ought to receive. In spite of the strong evidence against him, the prisoner beat the rap and went free.

[knock on wood] {v. phr.} To knock on something made of wood tokeep from having bad luck. — Many people believe that you will havebad luck if you talk about good luck or brag about something, unlessyou knock on wood; often used in a joking way. Charles said, «Ihaven’t been sick all winter.» Grandfather said, … Читать далее

[hang by a thread] or [hang by a hair] {v. phr.} To depend on avery small thing; be in doubt. For three days Tom was so sick thathis life hung by a thread. As Joe got ready to kick a field goal, the result of the game hung by a hair. Compare: HANG IN THE … Читать далее

[walking dictionary] {n. phr.} A person highly knowledgeable inmatters of language use. If you want to know what «serendipity»means, ask my Uncle Fred. He is a professor of English and is also awalking dictionary.

[flip one’s lid] also [flip one’s wig] {slang} 1. To lose one’stemper. When that pushy salesman came back Mom really flipped herlid. Compare: BLOW A FUSE. 2. To lose your mind; become insane. When he offered me three times the pay I was getting, I thought hehad flipped his lid. 3. To become unreasonably enthusiastic. … Читать далее

[think twice] {v.} To think again carefully; reconsider; hesitate. The teacher advised Lou to think twice before deciding to quitschool. Compare: THINK BETTER OF.

[on end] {adj. phr.} Seemingly endless. — Used with plural nouns oftime. Judy spent hours on end writing and rewriting her essay. During July and August there was no rain for weeks on end.

[by the skin of one’s teeth] {adv. phr.} By a narrow margin; with no room to spare; barely. The drowning man struggled, and I got him to land by the skin of my teeth. She passed English by the skin of her teeth. Compare: SQUEAK THROUGH, WITHIN AN ACE OF or WITHIN AN INCH OF.

[color guard] {n.} A military guard of honor for the flag of a country; also: a guard of honor to carry and protect a flag or banner. There were four Marines in the color guard in the parade. Bob was picked to be a color guard and to carry the banner of the drum corps … Читать далее

[short haul] {n.} A short distance; a short trip. TheScoutmaster said that it was just a short haul to the lake. Theman from the moving company said they did not make short hauls, so wehired a truck to move our furniture three blocks to our new house. Contrast: LONG HAUL.

[then again] {adv.} As an opposite possibility; another thing. He may be here tomorrow. Then again, he may not come until nextweek. I thought you told me about the fire, but then again itcould have been Bill.

[come again] {v.}, {informal} Please repeat; please say that again.- Usually used as a command. «Harry has just come into a fortune,» my wife said. «Come again? » I asked her, not believing it. «Come again,» said the hard-of-hearing man.

[to pieces] {adv. phr.} 1. Into broken pieces or fragments;destroyed. The cannon shot the town to pieces. The vase fell topieces in Mary’s hand. 2. {informal} So as not to work; into a stateof not operating. After 100,000 miles the car went to pieces. When Mary heard of her mother’s death, she went to pieces. … Читать далее

[and how!] {interj.}, {informal} Yes, that is certainly right! — Used for emphatic agreement. «Did you see the game?» «And how!» «Isn’t Mary pretty?» «And how she is!» Syn.: YOU BET, YOU SAID IT. Compare: BUT GOOD.

[take it easy] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. or [go easy] or [takethings easy] To go or act slowly, carefully, and gently. — Often usedwith «on». Take it easy. The roads are icy. «Go easy,» saidBilly to the other boys carrying the table down the stairs. «Takeit easy on John and don’t scold him too much,» … Читать далее

[string along] {v.}, {informal} 1. To deceive; fool; lead ondishonestly. Mary was stringing John along for years but she didn’tmean to marry him. George told the new boy that he must alwayscall the teacher «Sir,» but the new boy soon saw that George wasstringing him along. Compare: ON A STRING. 2. To follow someone’sleadership; join … Читать далее

[ride out] {v.} To survive safely; endure. The captain orderedall sails lowered so the ship could ride out the storm. Jackdecided to ride out his troubles by saying that he had made a mistakebut that he had learned his lesson.

[in the face of] {adv. phr.} 1. When met or in the presence of;threatened by. He was brave in the face of danger. She began tocry in the face of failure. 2. Although opposed by; without beingstopped by. Talking continued even in the face of the teacher’scommand to stop. Syn.: IN SPITE OF. Compare: FLY … Читать далее

[frame of mind] {n. phr.} One’s mental outlook; the state of one’spsychological condition, There is no use trying to talk to himwhile he is in such a negative frame of mind.

[high jinks] {n. phr.}, {informal} Noisy or rough gaiety; wildplay; tricks. The sailors were on shore leave, and high jinks wereto be expected. The high school seniors engaged in high jinksafter commencement.

[fix someone’s wagon] or [fix someone’s little red wagon] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. to administer aspanking. Stop that right away or I’ll fix your wagon! 2. to thwart or frustrate another, toengineer his failure. If he sues me for slander, I will counter-suehim for malicious prosecution. That will fix his wagon!

[filthy lucre] {n.}, {informal} Money, especially when thought ofas bad or shameful. When the rich gambler tried to make Sarah marryhim, she said, «Keep your filthy lucre — I shall marry the man Ilove.» — Sometimes used in a joking way. «Come and let’s get ridof some filthy lucre.»

[on the point of] {prep.} Ready to begin; very near to. — Usuallyused with a verbal noun. The coach was on the point of giving upthe game when our team scored two points. The baby was on thepoint of crying when her mother finally came home. Compare: ABOUT TO, AT THE POINT OF.

[fairy godmother] {n.} 1. A fairy believed to help and take care ofa baby as it grows up. 2. A person who helps and does much foranother. The rich man played fairy godmother to the boys and had abaseball field made for them. Jane was a fairy godmother to herpoorer friends.