Английские идиомы

[have a ball] {v. phr.}, {slang} Enjoy yourself very much; have awonderful time. Johnny had a ball at camp. Mary and Tim have aball exploring the town. After their parents left, the childrenhad a ball. Syn.: HAVE A TIME.

[lay to rest] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To put a dead person into agrave or tomb; bury. President Kennedy was laid to rest inArlington National Cemetery. 2. To get rid of; put away permanently;stop. The Scoutmaster’s fears that Tom had drowned were laid torest when Tom came back and said he had gone for a … Читать далее

[dry up] {v.} 1. To become dry. The reservoir dried up during the four-month drought. 2. To disappear or vanish as if by evaporating. The Senator’s influence dried up when he was voted out of office. 3. {slang} To stop talking. — Often used as a command. «Dry up!» Tony said angrily when his friend … Читать далее

[in one’s shell] or [into one’s shell] {adv.} or {adj. phr.},{informal} In or into bashfulness; into silence; not sociable;unfriendly. After Mary’s mother scolded her, she went into hershell. The teacher tried to get Rose to talk to her, but shestayed in her shell. Contrast: OUT OF ONE’S SHELL.

[about face] {n.} A sudden change of course or a decision opposite to what was decided earlier. Her decision to become an actress instead of a dentist was an about face from her original plans.

[common as an old shoe] {adj. phr.}, {informal} Not showing off; not vain; modest; friendly to all. Although Mr. Jones ran a large business, he was common as an old shoe. The most famous people are sometimes as common as an old shoe.

[extend one’s sympathy to] {v. phr.} To offer one’s condolences onthe occasion of a death or similarly tragic event. All of Tom’scolleagues extended their sympathy to him when his wife and daughterwere killed in a car accident.

[clock] See: AGAINST TIME or AGAINST THE CLOCK, AROUND THE CLOCK or THE CLOCK AROUND, PUT BACK THE CLOCK or TURN BACK THE CLOCK, GO LIKE CLOCKWORK or GO OFF LIKE CLOCKWORK, TURN THE CLOCK BACK.

[vicious circle] {n. phr.} A kind of circular or chain reaction inwhich one negative thing leads to another. Some people take so manydifferent kinds of medicine to cure an illness that they develop otherillnesses from the medicine and are thus caught in a vicious circle.

[jump through a hoop] {v. phr.}, {informal} To do whatever you aretold to do; obey any order. Bob would jump through a hoop forMary. Compare: TWIST AROUND ONE’S LITTLE FINGER, UNDER ONE’S THUMB.

[read over] {v. phr.} To read hurriedly in a rather superficialmanner. The professor said he had no time to read my essaythoroughly but that he had read it over and would comment later indetail.

[step out on] {v. phr.} To be unfaithful to one’s marriage partneror steady lover. It is rumored that he has been stepping out on hiswife. That’s why she’s so upset.

[the three R’s] {n. phr.} riting, reading, and rithmetic, thethree basic skills of an elementary education. Barry has completedthe three R’s, but otherwise he has had little formal education.

[in a bind] or [in a box] {adv. phr.}, {informal} Likely to havetrouble whether you do one thing or another. Sam is in a bindbecause if he carries home his aunt’s groceries, his teacher will beangry because he is late, and if he doesn’t, his aunt will complain. Compare: BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP … Читать далее

[law unto oneself] {n. phr.}, {literary} A person who does onlywhat he wishes; a person who ignores or breaks the law when he doesn’tlike it. Everybody in Germany feared Hitler because he was a lawunto himself. Mr. Brown told Johnny that he must stop trying to bea law unto himself. Compare: TAKE THE LAW INTO … Читать далее

[out of season] {adv. phr.} 1. Not at the right or lawful time forhunting or catching. The boys were caught fishing out of season. 2. Not at the usual time for growing and selling. The corn we getout of season is different from the kind we grow here. Contrast: INSEASON.

[horse sense] {n.}, {informal} A good understanding about what todo in life; good judgment; wisdom in making decisions. Bill hadnever been to college, but he had plenty of horse sense. Somepeople are well educated and read many books, but still do not havemuch horse sense.

[weasel out] {v. phr.} To renege on a previous promise; not keep anobligation for some not always straight reason. I’m so tired Ithink I am going to weasel my way out of going to that meeting thisafternoon.

[baker’s dozen] {n.}, {informal} Thirteen. «How many of the jelly doughnuts, Sir? » the sales clerk asked. «Oh, make it a baker’s dozen.»

[come of] {v.} 1. To result from. After all the energy we spent on that advertising campaign, absolutely nothing came of it. 2. To become of; happen to. «Whatever became of your son, Peter?»

[reckon without] {v.} To fail to consider as one of the thingswhich might change a situation; not think about. The committee forthe class picnic party made careful plans for a beach party but theyreckoned without a sudden change in the weather.

[count off] {v.} 1. To count aloud from one end of a line of men to the other, each man counting in turn. The soldiers counted off from right to left. 2. To place into a separate group or groups by counting. The coach counted off three boys to carry in the equipment. Tom counted … Читать далее

[safety blitz] {n.} A defensive play in football in which thedefensive safety man makes a quick run to tackle the offensivequarterback. Bob’s safety blitz kept Tom from making a touchdown.

[think little of] {v. phr.} Think that isnot important or valuable. John thought little of Ted’s plan forthe party. Joan thought little of walking two miles to school. Contrast: THINK A GREAT DEAL OF.

[had better] or [had best] {informal} Should; must. I had betterleave now, or I’ll be late. If you want to stay out of trouble, you had best not make any mistakes. Jim decided he had better dohis homework instead of playing ball.

[bring into line] {v. phr.} To make someone conform to the accepted standard. Sam had to be brought into line when he refused to take his muddy shoes off the cocktail table.

[foul-up] {n.} 1. {informal} A confusedsituation; confusion; mistake. The luncheon was handled with onlyone or two foul-ups. 2. {informal} A breakdown. There was afoul-up in his car’s steering mechanism. 3. {slang} A person whofouls up or mixes things. He had gotten a reputation as a foul-up.

[take the cake] {v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To take the first prize; bethe best; rank first. Mr. Jones takes the cake as a storyteller. 2. To be the limit; to be the worst; have a lot of nerve; be a veryrude, bold, or surprising action. I let Jack borrow my baseball andhe never gave it … Читать далее

[eagle eye] {n.} Sharp vision like that of an eagle; the ability tonotice even the tiniest details. The new boss keeps an eagle eye onall aspects of our operation.

[come a cropper] 1. To fall off your horse. John’s horse stumbled, and John came a cropper. 2. To fail. Mr. Brown did not have enough money to put into his business and it soon came a cropper. Compare: RIDING FOR A FALL.

[see the light at the end of the tunnel] {v. phr.}, {informal} Toanticipate the happy resolution of a prolonged period of problems. We’ve been paying on our house mortgage for many years, but at longlast we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[die is cast] {v. phr.}, {literary} To make an irrevocable decision. Everything was ready for the invasion of Europe, the die had been cast, and there was no turning back now.

[born out of wedlock] {adj. phr.} Born to parents who are not married to each other; without legal parents. Sometimes when a married couple can’t have children, they adopt a child who was born out of wedlock. Today we no longer make fun of children born out of wedlock.

[afoul of] {prep.} 1. In collision with. The boat ran afoul of a buoy. 2. In or into trouble with. The thief ran afoul of the night watchman. Speeders can expect to fall afoul of the law sometimes.

[bring about] {v.} To cause; produce; lead to. The war had brought about great changes in living. Drink brought about his downfall.

[dead letter] {n. phr.} An undeliverable letter that ends up in a special office holding such letters. There is a dead letter office in most major cities.

[rough-and-tumble] 1. {n.} Very rough, hard fighting or arguingthat does not follow any rules. There was a rough-and-tumble on thestreet last night between some soldiers and sailors. Many peopledon’t like the rough-and-tumble of politics. 2. {adj.} Fighting orarguing in a very rough and reckless way; struggling hard; notfollowing rules or laws. It took strong men … Читать далее

[and so forth] or [and so on] And more of the same kind; and further amounts or things like the ones already mentioned. The costumes were red, pink, blue, purple, yellow, and so forth. Compare: WHAT HAVE YOU.

[weigh down] also [weight down] 1. To make heavy; cause to go downor bend with weight; overload. The evergreens are weighed down bythe deep snow. — Often used with «with» or «by». There are so manychildren in the back seat that they are weighing down the back of thecar. 2a. To overload with care or … Читать далее

[watch one’s step] {v. phr.} To mend one’s ways; exercise prudence, tact, and care. I have to watch my step with the new boss as he isa very proud and sensitive individual.

[bum steer] {n.} Wrong or misleading directions given naively or on purpose. Man, you sure gave me a bum steer when you told me to go north on the highway; you should have sent me south!

[a must] {n.} 1. An inevitability; a necessity. Visas in many foreign countries are a must. 2. An extremely interesting or memorable event, such as a free concert given by an international celebrity. Alfred Brendel’s Beethoven master classes are open to the public and are not to be missed; they’re a must.

[in consequence of] {prep.}, {formal} As a result of. Inconsequence of the deep snow, school will not open today. Inconsequence of his promise to pay for the broken window, Bill was notpunished. Compare: BECAUSE OF, ON ACCOUNT OF.

[nip and tuck] {adj. or adv.}, {informal} Evenly matched; hardfought to the finish. The game was nip and tuck until the lastminute. A was a nip and tuck race right to the finish line. The two salesmen fought nip and tuck for the contract all the way. Compare: NECK AND NECK.

[give the devil his due] {v. phr.} To be fair, even to someone whois bad; tell the truth about a person even though you don’t like him, I don’t like Mr. Jones, but to give the devil his due, I must admitthat he is a good teacher.

[go broke] {v. phr.}, {slang} To lose all one’s money; especiallyby taking a chance; owe more than you can pay. The inventor wentbroke because nobody would buy his machine. Dan had a quarter buthe went broke matching pennies with Fred.

[separate the men from the boys] {v. phr.}, {informal} To show whohas strength, courage and loyalty and find who do not. When theship hit an iceberg and sank, it separated the men from the boys. The mile run separates the men from the boys.

[face lift] {n. phr.} 1. A surgical procedure designed to makeone’s face look younger. Aunt Jane, who is in her seventies, had anexpensive face lift and now she looks as if she were 40. 2. Arenovation, a refurbishing. Our house needs a major face lift tomake it fit in with the rest of the neighborhood.

[call for] {v.} 1. To come or go to get. John called for Mary to take her to the dance. Syn.: PICK UP. 2. To need; require. The cake recipe calls for two cups of flour. Success in school calls for much hard study.

[until all hours] {adv. phr.} Until very late at night. He is soanxious to pass his exams with flying colors that he stays up studyinguntil all hours.