Английские идиомы

[base] See: FIRST BASE, GET TO FIRST BASE or REACH FIRST BASE, LOAD THE BASES or FILL THE BASES, OFF BASE, SECOND BASE, STOLEN BASE, THIRD BASE.

[blast off] {v.} 1. To begin a rocket flight. The astronaut will blast off into orbit at six o’clock. 2. Also [blast away] {informal} To scold or protest violently. The coach blasted off at the team for poor playing.

Идиома: turn the other cheek Перевод: подставить другую щеку; не обратить внимания на обиду или выпад; не пытаться поквитаться Пример: The man decided to turn the other cheek when someone tried to start a fight with him in the restaurant. Мужчина решил не пытаться расквитаться, когда кто-то задирался к нему в ресторане.

Идиома: keep one’s head above water Перевод: оставаться на плаву; преодолевать сложности (особенно финансовые) Пример: The man is having trouble keeping his head above water since his salary decreased. Мужчине трудно оставаться на плаву с тех пор, как его зарплата была понижена.

[morning after] {n.}, {slang} The effects of drinking liquor orstaying up late as felt the next morning; a hangover. One of thetroubles of drinking too much liquor is the morning after. Mr. Smith woke up with a big headache and knew it was the morning after.

Идиома: carry (a lot of) weight (with someone or something) Перевод: иметь вес, оказывать (большое) влияние; быть убедительным Пример: The man’s education and experience carry a lot of weight in the university. Образование и опыт этого человека имеют большой вес в университете.

[break the ice] {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To conquer the first difficulties in starting a conversation, getting a party going, or making an acquaintance. To break the ice Ted spoke of his interest in mountain climbing, and they soon had a conversation going. Some people use an unusual thing, such as an unusual piece of … Читать далее

[kick over the traces] also [jump the traces] {v. phr.} To breakthe rules; behave badly. When their teacher was absent and they hada substitute, the children kicked over the traces. Compare: ACT UP, CUT UP, LET LOOSE, OUT OF HAND, RAISE CAIN.

[presence of mind] {n. phr.} Effective and quick decision-makingability in times of crisis. When Jimmy fell into the river, hisfather had the presence of mind to dive in after him and save him fromdrowning.

Идиома: cloak-and-dagger Перевод: шпионский, тайный Пример: The agents were involved in cloak-and-dagger diplomacy over the spy scandal. Агенты были вовлечены в тайные дипломатические разбирательства из-за шпионского скандала.

[under cover] {adv.} or {adj. phr.} Hidden; concealed. Theprisoners escaped under cover of darkness. He kept his inventionunder cover until it was patented. Compare: UNDER WRAPS.

[instead of] or [in place of] also {formal} [in lieu of] {prep.} Inthe place of; in substitution for; in preference to; rather than. Iwore mittens instead of gloves. The grown-ups had coffee but thechildren wanted milk in place of coffee. The boys went fishinginstead of going to school. The Vice-President talked at themeeting in place … Читать далее

[slip a cog] or [slip a gear] {v. phr.}, {slang} To make a mistake. I must have been slipping a cog when I said that I would run formayor. Jim hates to sleep outdoors. He’s slipping his gears ifhe’s promised to take the boys camping. Compare: SLIP UP.

[the wiser] {adj.} Knowing about something which might beembarrassing of knowing. — Usually used with «nobody» or «no one». Mary took the teacher’s book home by mistake, but early the nextmorning she returned it with nobody the wiser.

Идиома: on the spot Перевод: 1. тотчас же, сразу, на месте, не откладывая; 2. в затруднительном или неловком положении, в тяжелом положении Пример: It’s noon, and I’m glad you’re all here on the spot. Now we can begin. Сейчас полдень, и я рад, что вы все на месте. Теперь мы можем начинать. The man was … Читать далее

[hard-fisted] {adj.} 1. Able to do hard physical labor; strong. Jack’s uncle was a hard-fisted truck driver with muscles of steel. 2. Not gentle or easy-going; tough; stern. The new teacher was ahard-fisted woman who would allow no nonsense. 3. Stingy or mean; notgenerous with money. The hard-fisted banker refused to lend Mr. Jones more … Читать далее

[back to the wall] or [back against the wall] {adv. phr.} In a trap, with no way to escape; in bad trouble. The soldiers had their backs to the wall. He was in debt and could not get any help; his back was against the wall. The team had their backs to the wall in … Читать далее

Идиома: make someone sick Перевод: вызывать у кого-либо отвращение Пример: The attitude of the woman next door makes me sick. Отношение женщины, которая живет по соседству, вызывает у меня отвращения.

[cough up] {v.}, {slang} 1. To give unwillingly; pay with an effort. Her husband coughed up the money for the party with a good deal of grumbling. 2. To tell what was secret; make known. He coughed up the whole story for the police.

[hot and heavy] {adv. phr.}, {informal} Strongly; vigorously;emphatically. Fred got it hot and heavy when his wife found out howmuch he had lost at cards. The partners had a hot and heavyargument before deciding to enlarge their store.

[sell one a bill of goods] {v. phr.} To persuade another to acquiresomething useless; defraud. We were sure sold a bill of goods whenAlfred persuaded us to buy his custom-built car for which replacementparts weren’t available anywhere.

[fly-by-night ] {adj.} Set up to make a lot of money in a hurry, then disappear so people can’t find you to complain about poor work, etc.; not trustworthy; not reliable. Mrs. Blank bought her vacuumcleaner from a new company; when she tried to have it fixed, she foundit was a fly-by-night business.

[when push comes to shove] {adv. phr.} A time when a touchysituation becomes actively hostile or a quarrel turns into a fight. Can we count on the boss’ goodwill, when push comes to shove?

[get on to one] {v. phr.} To figure someone out; understand whatsomeone else is up to. The FBI is on to Jim’s secret trading withthe enemy.

[odds are against] {v. phr.} The likelihood of success is notprobable; the chances of success are poor. The odds are against hergetting here before Monday.

Идиома: Say no more. Перевод: Я вас понял. Можете не продолжать. Пример: «Someone ought to clean this mess.» «Say no more. I’ll get right on it.» Кому-нибудь нужно здесь убраться. — Понятно. Сейчас же этим займусь.

[shrug off] or [shrug away] {v.} To act as if you are notinterested and do not care about something; not mind; not let yourselfbe bothered or hurt by. Alan shrugged off our questions; he wouldnot tell us what had happened. Muriel shrugged away every attemptto comfort her. The ballplayer shrugged off the booing of thefans. … Читать далее

Идиома: fan the flames (of something) Перевод: раздувать пламя; усложнять положение, делать ситуацию более напряженной Пример: The speech by the labor leader fanned the flames of the angry workers. Речь профсоюзного лидера сделала ситуацию с недовольными рабочими еще напряженней.

[come to think of it] {v. phr.}, {informal} As I think again; indeed; really. Come to think of it, he has already been given what he needs. Come to think of it, I should write my daughter today.

[promise the moon] {v. phr.} To promise something impossible. Apolitician who promises the moon during a campaign loses the voters’respect. I can’t promise you the moon, but I’ll do the best job Ican. Compare: ASK FOR THE MOON.

Идиома: (to be) in hot water Перевод: иметь неприятности, быть в беде Пример: He has been in hot water at work since he took a week off with no excuse. У него на работе неприятности, с тех пор, как он взял выходную неделю без объяснений.

[lend oneself to] {v. phr.} To give help or approval to; encourage;assist. Alice wouldn’t lend herself to the plot to hide theteacher’s chalk.

Идиома: smoking gun Идиома: smoking gun разг. Перевод: неоспоримое доказательство вины, неоспоримая улика Пример: This document is the smoking gun that proves that he was lying. Этот документ — неопровержимое доказательство того, что он лгал.

Идиома: feel like a new person Перевод: чувствовать себя совершенно другим человеком, чувствовать себя освеженным, обновленным Пример: I felt like a new person after I had a shower. После душа я чувствовал себя очень свежо и легко.

Идиома: come in handy Перевод: быть кстати, пригодиться Пример: I think that the small hammer will come in handy to fix the desk. Я думаю, что небольшой молоток будет как раз кстати, чтобы починить этот стол.

[run over] {v.} 1. To be too full and flow over the edge; spillover. Billy forgot he had left the water on, and the tub ran over. 2. To try or go over quickly; practice briefly. Duringthe lunch hour, Mary ran over her history facts so she would rememberthem for the test. The coach ran … Читать далее

[live in a fool’s paradise] {v. phr.} To deceive oneself; telloneself unreal stories. His information is based on a lot ofmisunderstanding — the poor guy is living in a fool’s paradise.

Идиома: point of view Перевод: точка зрения; то, что кто-либо думает о чем-либо Пример: I find it difficult to understand my friend’s point of view on many issues. Мне трудно понять точку зрения моего друга по многим вопросам.

[get a grip on] {v. phr.} To take firm control of something. IfTim wants to keep his job, he had better get a grip on himself andstart working harder. Contrast: LOSE ONE’S GRIP.

[cut one’s losses] {v. phr.} To stop spending time, money, or energy on unprofitable projects and concentrate on what goes well. «Just cut your losses, Jim,» his father suggested, «and get on with the rest of your life.»

Идиома: (to be) in high spirits Перевод: быть в хорошем расположении духа Пример: They are in high spirits since their home team won the tournament. У них хорошее настроение, потому что команда из их города выиграла чемпионат.

Идиома: horse trade Перевод: вести трудные деловые переговоры, а также приходить к соглашению, достигнутому в ходе таких переговоров Пример: We had to horse trade but we were finally able to reach an agreement to buy the antique car. Нам пришлось вести сложные переговоры, но мы смогли прийти к соглашению о покупке антикварного автомобиля.

Идиома: pin money Перевод: карманные деньги, деньги на мелкие расходы Пример: Janet used to earn pin money by painting signs. Джанет зарабатывала карманные деньги тем, что красила знаки.

[on one’s own account] or {informal} [on one’s own hook] {adv. phr.} 1. For yourself; as a free agent; independently. After theyhad picked out the class gift, members of the committee did someshopping on their own account. 2. See: OF ONE’S OWN ACCORD.

[fall to] {v.} 1. To begin to work. The boys fell to and quicklycut the grass. Syn.: TURN TO. 2. To begin to fight. They took outtheir swords and fell to. 3. To begin to eat. The hungry boys fellto before everyone sat down. 4. Begin; start. The old friends metand fell to talking about … Читать далее

[go hang] {v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To stop being of interest orimportance; be forgotten. — Usually used with «let». Mr. Johnsonlet his business go hang after his wife died. 2. To leave you alone;not bother. When the neighbor told Father how to manage hischildren, Father told him to go hang. Compare: TELL WHERE TO GET … Читать далее

[feel out of place] {v. phr.} To experience the sensation of notbelonging in a certain place or company. Dave felt out of placeamong all those chess players as he knows nothing about chess.

[out of hand] {adv. phr.} 1. Out of control. Bobby’s birthdayparty got out of hand and the children were naughty. Small puppiesoften get out of hand. 2. Suddenly, quickly without examination ofpossible truth or merit; without any consideration. — Often used after»dismiss» or «reject». The senator rejected out of hand thecritics’ call for his resignation. … Читать далее

[cliffhanger] {n.}, {informal} A sports event or a movie in which the outcome is uncertain to the very end keeping the spectators in great suspense and excitement. Did you see «The Fugitive»? It’s a regular cliffhanger.

[way] See: ALL THE WAY or THE WHOLE WAY, BY THE WAY, BY WAY OF, COME A LONG WAY, CUT BOTH WAYS or CUT TWO WAYS, EVERY WHICH WAY, FROMWAY BACK, GO OUT OF ONE’S WAY, HARD WAY, HAVE A WAY WITH, IN A BADWAY, IN A BIG WAY, IN A FAMILY WAY, IN A … Читать далее