[ears burn] {informal} To feel embarrassment or shame at hearingothers talk about you. Joan overheard the girls criticizing her andit made her ears burn. Joe’s ears burned when he heard hisclassmates praising him to each other.
[to boot] {adv. phr.} In addition; besides; as something extra. He not only got fifty dollars, but they bought him dinner to boot. Compare: FOR GOOD MEASURE, IN THE BARGAIN, THROW IN.
[steamed up] {adj.}, {informal} Excited or angry about or eager todo something. The coach gave the team a pep talk before the game, and he got them all steamed up to win the game. When Mary foundout that Jane had not kept their secret, she became all steamed up. Bill was all steamed up about … Читать далее
[one-upmanship] {v.}, {informal} Always keeping ahead of others;trying to keep an advantage. No matter what I do, I find that Jimhas already done it better. He’s an expert at one-upmanship. Jacktook the news to the principal while we were still talking about it. He’s very quick to practice one-upmanship. Compare: ONE UP.
[throw off] {v.} 1. To get free from. He was healthy enough tothrow off his cold easily. Compare: RID OF. 2. To mislead; confuse;fool. They went by a different route to throw the hostile banditsoff their track. 3. To produce easily or as if without effort. Shecould throw off a dozen poems in a night.
[dine out] {v. phr.} To not eat at home but to go to a restaurant. «Let’s dine out tonight, honey,» she said to her husband. «I am tired of cooking dinner every night.» See: EAT OUT.
[keep one at a distance] or [keep one at arm’s length] {v. phr.} Toavoid company; not become too friendly toward. Mr. Smith is kind to the workers in his store but after work he keeps themat a distance. Betty likes Bill and is trying to be friendly, buthe keeps her at arm’s length. Compare: KEEP … Читать далее
Идиома: I’ll get right on it. Перевод: Сейчас же этим займусь. Я займусь этим немедленно. Пример: «I need you to send these letters off.» «I’ll get right on it.» Мне нужно, чтобы ты отправил эти письма. — Сейчас же этим займусь.
Идиома: make no mistake (about something) Перевод: не иметь сомнений о чем-либо, быть уверенным в чем-либо Пример: I told the man to make no mistake about the fact that he was not permitted to park his car in our parking area. Я сказал этому человеку, чтобы он уяснил себе, что ему нельзя ставить свою машину … Читать далее
[pipe down] {v.} 1. To call away from work with awhistle. He piped the men down after boat drill. 2. {slang} Tostop talking; shut up; be quiet. «Oh, pipe down,» he called. -Often considered rude.
[tie-in] {n.} A connection; a point of meeting. John’s essay onWorld War II provides a perfect tie-in with his earlier work on WorldWar I.
[public-address system] {n.} A set of devices for making aspeaker’s voice louder so that he can be heard by more people. Thepublic-address system broke down during the senator’s speech. Thenews was announced over the public-address system.
[under arrest] {adj. phr.} Held by the police. The man believedto have robbed the bank was placed under arrest. The three boyswere seen breaking into the school building and soon found themselvesunder arrest.
[pickpocket] {n.} A thief; a petty criminal who steals things andmoney out of people’s pockets on a bus, train, etc. In some bigcities many poor children become pickpockets out of poverty.
[pip-squeak] {n.}, {informal} A small, unimportant person. Ifthe club is really democratic, then every little pip-squeak has theright to say what he thinks. When the smallest boy was chosen tobe the monitor, the class bully said he would not obey a littlepip-squeak.
Идиома: hard and fast Перевод: твердый, строгий, фиксированный, не подлежащий изменению Пример: There is no hard-and-fast rule that say you cannot use a cell phone on the bus. Не существует твердых правил, запрещающих использовать телефон в автобусе.
Идиома: at large / on the loose Перевод: на свободе, на воле Пример: The criminal was at large for many months. Преступник был на свободе много месяцев. The zoo animals were on the loose for three hours before the zookeeper discovered their escape. Животные из зоопарка были на свободе три часа, перед тем, как работник … Читать далее
[had rather] or [had sooner] {v.} To choose to ; like better to; would prefer to. — Usedwith an infinitive without «to». My aunt invited me to the movies, but I said I had rather go on a picnic with the girls. I hadsooner live in the city than on a farm.
[catch one’s eye] {v. phr.} To attract your attention. I caugh this eye as he moved through the crowd, and waved at him to come over. The dress in the window caught her eye when she passed the store.
[lay oneself open to] {v. phr.} To make oneself vulnerable to;expose oneself. If you don’t perform your job properly, you willlay yourself open to criticism.
[green around the gills] or [pale around the gills] {adj. phr.},{slang} Pale-faced from fear or sickness; sickly; nauseated. Bill’sfather took him for a ride in his boat while the waves were rough, andwhen he came back he was green around the gills. The car almosthit Mary crossing the street, and she was pale around the … Читать далее
[stand the gaff] {v. phr.}, {informal} To stand rough treatment; dowell in spite of great physical or mental hardship. An athlete mustlearn to stand the gaff. No person running for office gets farunless he can stand the gaff. Compare: HOLD OUT 2, STICK OUT 2.
[alive with] {prep.}, {informal} Crowded with; filled with. The lake was alive with fish. The stores were alive with people the Saturday before Christmas.
[in a jam] {adv. phr.}, {informal} In a predicament; in a situationfraught with difficulty. If you continue to disregard theuniversity instructions on how to take a test, you’ll wind up in a jamwith the head of the department. Compare: IN A PICKLE, IN DEEP SHIT.
[down and out] {adj. phr.} Without money; without a job or home; broke. Poor Sam lost his job after his wife had left him; he is really down and out.
[play a waiting game] {v. phr.} To withhold action until one’schances for success improve. Ray would like to be vice president ofthe company so he is playing a waiting game in the hope that thepresident will soon recognize his abilities.
Идиома: add insult to injury Перевод: подливать масло в огонь; обижать человека еще сильнее; ухудшать ситуацию, положение Пример: Our boss added insult to injury when she refused to let us use the telephone and computers during lunch. Наша начальница еще больше испортила нам настроение, когда запретила нам пользоваться телефоном и компьютером во время обеда.
[in the first place] {adv. phr.} 1. Before now; in the beginning;first. You already ate breakfast! Why didn’t you tell me that inthe first place instead of saying you didn’t want to eat? Carlpatched his old football but it soon leaked again. He should havebought a new one in the first place. 2. See: IN … Читать далее
[keep out ] {v. phr.} 1. To stay out; remain out of. Thesign on the fence said, «Danger! Keep out!» 2. To stave off; notallow in. The border patrol near El Paso, Texas, is trying to keepillegal immigrants out of the United States.
[punch-drunk] {adj.} 1. Dazed or become dulled in the mind frombeing hit in the head. He was a punch-drunk boxer who made hisliving shining shoes. 2. In a foggy state of mind; groggy. Marywas so thrilled at winning the contest she acted punch-drunk. Markwas punch-drunk for a few minutes after he fell off his bicycle.
[four corners] {n.} All parts of a place. People came from thefour corners of the world to see him. He has been to the fourcorners of the country. Compare: ALL OVER.
[sink in] or [soak in] {v.}, {informal} To be completelyunderstood; be fully realized or felt. Everybody laughed at thejoke but Joe; it took a moment for it to sink in before he laughedtoo. When Frank heard that war had started, it didn’t sink in fora long time until his father was drafted into the army. … Читать далее
[slip through one’s fingers] {v. phr.} To escape without someone’sknowing how. Policemen surrounded the building, but the thiefmanaged to slip through their fingers. Mike earns a good wage, buthe doesn’t save a penny. Money just slips through his fingers.
[leg to stand on] {n. phr.} A firm foundation of facts; facts tosupport your claim. — Usually used in the negative. Jerry’sanswering speech left his opponent without a leg to stand on. Amossued for damages, but did not have a leg to stand on.
Идиома: all thumbs Перевод: не уметь чинить, ремонтировать, работать руками; быть неуклюжим Пример: My friend is all thumbs when he fixes things around his house. У моего друга не получается ничего отремонтировать по дому.
Идиома: (get) on one’s high horse Перевод: вести себя высокомерно или с презрением; считать себя умнее или лучше других Пример: When he gets carried away he gets on his high horse and thinks that all other people are inferior. Когда его заносит, он часто начинает вести себя надменно, и думать, что другие люди ниже него. … Читать далее
[pass away] {v.} 1. To slip by; go by; pass. We had so much funthat the weekend passed away before we realized it. Forty yearshad passed away since they had met. 2. To cease to exist; end;disappear; vanish When automobiles became popular, the use of thehorse and buggy passed away. 3. To have your life … Читать далее
Идиома: the birds and the bees Перевод: «пестики и тычинки», способ говорить об отношениях полов в образовательных целях Пример: The father tried to tell his son about the birds and the bees. Отец пытался рассказать своему сыну о пестиках и тычинках.
[tough luck] {n. phr.} An informal way to say that one had thatcoming; it serves one right. So your date didn’t show up, eh? Toughluck, fellow.
[down the line] {adv. phr.}, {informal} 1. Down the road or street; straight ahead. The church is down the line a few blocks. 2. All the way; completely; thoroughly. Bob always follows the teacher’s directions right down the line.
[throw caution to the winds] also [throw discretion to the winds]{v. phr.} To be daring; make a bold or risky move. Hearing thatApaches were planning to start a war, the whites decided to throwcaution to the winds and attack the Apaches first.
Идиома: out of the blue Перевод: неожиданно, внезапно; словно из ниоткуда Пример: From out of the blue I asked my girlfriend if she wanted to get married. Я неожиданно спросил свою девушку, не хотела бы она выйти за муж.
Идиома: keep someone in the dark Перевод: держать кого-либо в неведении (относительно планов, намерений, и т. п.) Пример: He always keeps us in the dark about his personal affairs. Он никогда нам ничего не рассказывает о своих личных делах.
[play] See: ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY, DOUBLEPLAY, FAIR PLAY, FORCE PLAY, GAME AT WHICH TWO CAN PLAY, MAKE A PLAYFOR, TURN ABOUT IS FAIR PLAY.
[wheel and deal] {v. phr.}, {slang} To make many big plans orschemes; especially with important people in government and business;in matters of money and influence; handle money or power for your ownadvantage; plan important matters in a smart or skillful way andsometimes in a tricky, or not strictly honest way. Mr. Smith made afortune by … Читать далее
Идиома: break one’s word Перевод: нарушить слово, обещание Пример: The young child promised his parents that he would not break his word. Ребенок пообещал родителям, что не нарушит своего слова.
[live on borrowed time] {v. phr.} To live or last longer than wasexpected. Ever since his operation, Harvey felt he was living onborrowed time. Mr. Brown was living on borrowed time because ayear ago the doctors had told him he would only live six months.
[go for broke] {v. phr.}, {slang} To risk everything on one bigeffort; use all your energy and skill; try as hard as possible. Theracing car driver decided to go for broke in the biggest race of theyear. Compare: ALL-OUT.
[beaver] {n.}, {slang}, {vulgar}, {avoidable}, {citizen’s bandradio jargon} A female, especially one driving along the highway and operating a CB radio. I didn’t know there was a beaver aboard that eighteen wheeler.
[let drop] {v. phr.} 1. To cease to talk about; set aside; forget. This is such an unpleasant subject that I suggest we let it dropfor a few days. 2. To disclose; hint. He unexpectedly let dropthat he was resigning and joining another firm.