Английские идиомы

[pare down] {v. phr.} To limit; economize; reduce. With asmaller income per month, the family had to pare down their householdexpenses.

Идиома: rub elbows with somebody Идиома: rub elbows with somebody Перевод: общаться, встречаться, вращаться в обществе; находиться бок о бок (с кем-либо) Пример: He’s Hollywood’s most popular hairdresser and regularly rubs elbows with top movie stars. Он — самый популярный стилист Голливуда, и он регулярно вращается в обществе топ-звезд.

Идиома: get off easy Идиома: get off easy разг. Перевод: избежать серьезного наказания Пример: The criminals got off easy after they robbed the bank. Преступники избежали серьезного наказания за ограбление банка.

[Joe Doakes] {n.} A name used informally for the average man. Let us say that Joe Doakes goes to the movies three times a year. Compare: MAN IN THE STREET, SO-AND-SO.

Идиома: clear someone’s name Перевод: вернуть себе доброе имя; доказать, что кто-либо не виновен в чем-либо Пример: The man tried very hard to clear his name regarding his past criminal activity. Мужчина очень старался вернуть себе доброе имя из-за своего преступного прошлого.

[eyes pop out] {informal} are very much surprised. — Usedwith a possessive noun or pronoun. Mary’s eyes popped out when hermother entered her classroom. When Joan found a clock radio underthe Christmas tree, her eyes popped out.

Идиома: aside from / apart from / other than Перевод: кроме этого, за исключением (чего-либо) Пример: Aside from this small mistake, the translation was perfectly correct. За исключением этой небольшой ошибки, перевод был полностью правильный. Apart from a few scratches, the car was undamaged. За исключением нескольких царапин, машина была невредима. He doesn’t know any … Читать далее

Идиома: so far, so good Идиома: so far, so good разг. Перевод: пока что все идет хорошо, до сих пор все в порядке Пример: «So far, so good,» she replied when we asked her how her new job was going. «Пока что все хорошо,» ответила она, когда мы спросили ее, как у нее дела на … Читать далее

[sit on] {v.} 1. To be a member of, etc. Mr. Brown sat on the jury at the trial. 2. {informal} Toprevent from starting or doing something; squelch. The teacher saton Fred before he could get started with the long story. Theteacher sat on Joe as soon as he began showing off.

[sales check] or [sales slip] {n.} A paper which the clerk givesthe person who bought something; a paper that shows what you bought ina store and how much you paid for it. Mrs. Smith checked the salesslip with what she bought. Mary brought the sales check when shereturned the dress so she could get her … Читать далее

[worlds apart] {adj. phr.} Completely different; in totaldisagreement. Jack and Al never agree on anything; they are worldsapart in their thinking.

[grab off] {v.}, {informal} To take quickly; take or grab beforeanybody else can; choose for yourself. The people who got to theshow first grabbed off the best seats. The women hurried to thestore to grab off the things on sale. The prettiest girls at thedance were grabbed off for partners first. Compare: SNAP UP.

[dose out] {v.} To sell the whole of; end by selling all the goods; also, to sell your stock and stop doing business. The store dosed out its stock of garden supplies. Mr. Jones dosed out his grocery. Mr. Randall was losing money in his shoe store, so he decided to dose out.

[cover girl] {n.} A pretty girl or woman whose picture is put on the cover of a magazine. Ann is not a cover girl, but she is pretty enough to be.

[turn the scales] {v. phr.} To affect the balance in favor of oneparty or group against the other. It could well be that the speechhe made turned the scales in their favor.

Идиома: such as Перевод: такой, как; как например Пример: I need various tools such as a hammer and a saw in order to complete the job. Мне нужны разные инструменты, такие, как молоток и пила, чтобы закончить работу.

[take it all in] {v. phr.} To absorb completely; listenattentively. Bill’s piano music filled the room and we took it allin with admiration.

[flea in one’s ear] {n. phr.}, {informal} An idea or answer that isnot welcome; an annoying or surprisingly sharp reply or hint. I’llput a flea in his ear if he bothers me once more.

[sign out] {v.} To write your name on a special list or in a recordbook to show that you are leaving a place. Most of the studentssign out on Friday. Contrast SIGN IN.

[well] See: ALL VERY WELL, AS WELL, AS WELL AS, HAIL FELLOW WELLMET, LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE, PLAY ONE’S CARDS RIGHT or PLAY ONE’S CARDSWELL, VERY WELL, WEAR WELL.

Идиома: wise guy Перевод: умник; человек, который ведет себя так, будто он умнее других Пример: He always acts like a wise guy when he is in a big group. Он всегда умничает, когда находится в большой компании людей.

[off one’s chest] {adj. phr.}, {informal} Told to someone and sonot bothering you anymore; not making you feel worried or upset, because you have talked about it. After Dave told the principalthat he had cheated on the test, he was glad because it was off hischest. Father felt that Tom wasn’t helping enough around thehouse, … Читать далее

[case] See: BASKET CASE, CIRCUMSTANCES ALTER CASES, COUCH CASE, GET DOWN TO BRASS TACKS also GET DOWN TO CASES, IN ANY CASE, IN CASE or IN THE EVENT, IN CASE OF also IN THE EVENT OF, VANITY CASE.

[bear watching] {v. phr.} 1. To be worth watching or paying attention to; have a promising future. That young ball player will bear watching. 2. To be dangerous or untrustworthy. Those tires look badly worn; they will bear watching. Compare: KEEP AN EYE ON.

[zone defense] {n.} A defense in a sport in which each player has to defend a certain area. Thecoach taught his team a zone defense because he thought his playersweren’t fast enough to defend against individual opponents.

[laugh one’s head off] {v. phr.}, {informal} To laugh very hard; beunable to stop laughing. Paul’s stories are so wildly funny that Ilaugh my head off whenever he starts telling one of them.

[hat in hand] {adv. phr.}, {informal} In a humble and respectfulmanner. They went hat in hand to the old woman to ask for hersecret recipe.

Идиома: burst at the seams Перевод: 1. лопаться, трещать по швам; разваливаться; 2. лопаться от смеха или от гордости Пример: The train was bursting at the seams as it entered the station. Поезд трещал по швам, когда подходил к станции. I was bursting at the seams from laughter. Я лопался от смеха.

Идиома: a lost cause Перевод: безнадежное дело Пример: Trying to change the work habits of our secretary is a lost cause. She will never change. Пытаться изменить рабочие привычки нашего секретаря — это безнадежное дело. Она никогда не поменяется.

Идиома: bring something home (to someone) Перевод: сделать что-либо более ясным, понятным, очевидным Пример: Explaining everything in more detail helped to bring it home to him. Объяснение всего более детально помогло ему понять.

[charge account] {n.} An agreement with a store through which you can buy things and pay for them later. Mother bought a new dress on her charge account. Mr. Jones has a charge account at the garage on the corner.

[hired man] {n. phr.} A man employed to do jobs every day about ahouse or farm. The hired man was sick, and a lot of the dailychores were not done.

Идиома: make a living Перевод: зарабатывать на жизнь Пример: He cannot make a living by only doing a part-time job. Он не может зарабатывать себе на жизнь, работая на неполную ставку.

Идиома: no go Перевод: безвыходное положение, тупик Пример: It is no go for our plan to have three games this weekend. We can only have two games. В эти выходные никак не получится провести три игры, как мы планировали. Мы сможем провести лишь две игры.

[horseplay] {n.} Rough, practical joking. The newlyweds couldn’tget a wink of sleep all night because there was a lot of yelling andscreaming outside of their window — the usual horseplay.

[screw around] {v. phr.}, {vulgar}, {avoidable} To hang around idlywithout accomplishing anything, to loaf about, to beat or hack around. You guys are no longer welcome here; all you do is screw around allday.

[ferret out] {literary} or [smell out] or [sniff out] {v.} To huntor drive from hiding; to bring out into the open; search for and find. John ferreted out the answer to the question in the library. Jane smelled out the boys’ secret hiding place in the woods.

[meet one’s eye] {v. phr.} To be in plain view or come into plainview; appear clearly or obviously. When John rounded the bend, aclear blue lake met his eye. On a first reading the plan lookedgood, but there was more to it than met the eye.

[case in point] {n. phr.} An example that proves something or helps to make something clearer. An American can rise from the humblest beginnings to become President. Abraham Lincoln is a case in point.

[the picture] {n.} The way things are or were; the facts aboutsomething; the situation; what happened or happens. Where doesSusan come into the picture. When you are looking for a job youreducation enters into the picture. Old Mr. Brown is out of thepicture now and his son runs the store. After the fight on theplayground, … Читать далее

[give the willies] {v. phr.} To cause someone to be uncomfortable, fearful, or nervous. Sue hates to camp out in a tent; the buzzingof the mosquitoes gives her the willies.

[get lost] {v. phr.}, {slang} Go away! — Used as a command. Getlost! I want to study. John told Bert to get lost. Compare: DROPDEAD.

[but good] {adv. phr.}, {informal} Very much so; thoroughly completely; forcefully. — Used for emphasis. Jack called Charles a bad name, and Charles hit him, but good. Tom fell and broke his leg. That taught him but good not to fool around in high trees. Compare: AND HOW.

[on purpose] {adv. phr.} For a reason; because you want to; notaccidentally. Jane did not forget her coat; she left it in thelocker on purpose. The clown fell down on purpose.

[haul in] or [haul up] or [pull in] {v.}, {slang} To bring beforesomeone in charge for punishment or questioning; arrest. John washauled in to court for speeding. The tramp was hauled up forsleeping on the sidewalk. Compare: CALL ON THE CARPET.

Идиома: tighten / put the screws on somebody or something Перевод: подтянуть гайки; повысить требования, усложнить ситуацию для кого-либо или чего-либо Пример: Government agencies need to tighten the screws on illegal immigrants. Правительственным агентствам нужно подтянуть гайки с нелегальными мигрантами. We are putting the screws on that country to end its history of helping terrorists. … Читать далее

[on easy street] {adj. phr.}, {informal} Having enough money tolive very comfortably; rather rich. After years of hard work, theGrants found themselves on easy street. Jim’s novel was a successand put him on easy street. Compare: IN CLOVER, IN THE CHIPS, WELL-TO-DO.

[neither fish nor fowl] also [neither fish, flesh, nor fowl]Something or someone that does not belong to a definite group or knownclass; a strange person or thing; someone or something odd or hard tounderstand. The man is neither fish nor fowl; he votes Democrat orRepublican according to which will do him the most good. Mrs. … Читать далее

[so much ] {adj.} 1. A limited amount of; some. Sometimesstudents wonder if the teacher knows they have only so much time to dotheir lessons. If you can’t give everyone a full glass of milk, just put so much milk in each glass. 2. Equally or amounting to; onlyamounting to. — Often used for emphasis. … Читать далее

[in one’s glory] {adj. phr.} Pleased and contented with yourself. When John won the race, he was in his glory. Tom is very vain, and praise puts him in his glory.