(Ôn thi ĐGNL, ĐGTD) Chuyên đề: Thành ngữ (Idioms)

STT

Thành ngữ

Nghĩa

Ví dụ

1

The black sheep

Người bị xem là khác biệt, gây tai tiếng trong gia đình/nhóm

Tom is the black sheep of the family because he dropped out of college.

2

Blue in the face

Nói hoặc làm mãi mà không có kết quả, vô ích

You can argue with her until you’re blue in the face, but she won’t change her mind.

3

Red-letter day

Ngày đặc biệt, đáng nhớ vì có tin tốt

Graduation day was a real red-letter day for me.

4

With flying colors

Thành công vang dội, xuất sắc

She passed the final exam with flying colors.

5

White as a ghost/sheet

Mặt tái mét vì sợ hãi hoặc sốc

He turned as white as a ghost when he saw the accident.

6

Once in a blue moon

Hiếm khi, rất ít khi xảy ra

We only go to the beach once in a blue moon.

7

Black and white

Rõ ràng, minh bạch, không mập mờ

The rules are written in black and white.

8

Catch sb red-handed

Bắt quả tang

The police caught the thief red-handed.

9

Have a yellow streak

Có bản tính nhát gan, hèn nhát

He won’t join the army — he has a yellow streak.

10

Get/give the green light

Cho phép bắt đầu làm điều gì

The manager gave us the green light to start the project.

11

Out of the blue

Bất ngờ, đột ngột

She called me out of the blue after five years.

12

Paint the town red

Đi chơi, ăn mừng náo nhiệt

Let’s paint the town red after the exam results come out!

13

Red tape

Thủ tục rườm rà, quan liêu

We need to cut through the red tape to get this approved.

14

In the pink

Có sức khỏe tốt

After the surgery, she’s back in the pink again.

15

Lend color to sth

Làm tăng vẻ đáng tin, khiến điều gì có vẻ hợp lý hơn

The witness’s statement lent color to the suspect’s story.

STT

Thành ngữ

Nghĩa

Ví dụ

1

Break a leg

Chúc may mắn (thường dùng trước khi ai đó biểu diễn)

“Break a leg!” I said to my friend before her performance.

2

Scratch someone's back

Giúp đỡ ai với hy vọng họ sẽ giúp lại mình

I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.

3

Hit the nail on the head

Nói/làm chính xác

You hit the nail on the head when you said we need more staff.

4

Splitting headache

Đau đầu dữ dội

I can’t concentrate - I have a splitting headache.

5

Make someone's blood boil

Làm ai tức giận

His rude comments made my blood boil.

6

Pay through the nose

Trả giá quá đắt

We paid through the nose for our holiday flights.

7

By the skin of one's teeth

Suýt soát, vừa kịp

He caught the train by the skin of his teeth.

8

Pull someone's leg

Chọc ghẹo, đùa ai

Relax, I’m just pulling your leg.

9

Fight tooth and nail

Chiến đấu dữ dội

The two teams fought tooth and nail for the trophy.

10

Not bat an eye

Không tỏ ra ngạc nhiên

She didn’t bat an eye when she heard the news.

11

Cost an arm and a leg

Rất đắt đỏ

This designer bag cost me an arm and a leg.

12

Go to one's head

Khiến ai trở nên kiêu ngạo

Success has gone to his head.

13

Get/have cold feet

Mất can đảm, chùn bước

She got cold feet before the wedding.

14

Lead somebody by the nose

Dắt mũi, điều khiển ai

He’s completely led by the nose by his business partner.

15

Off one's head

Điên rồ

You must be off your head to try that jump.

16

Put one's foot in it

Lỡ lời gây bối rối

I really put my foot in it when I asked about her ex-husband.

17

Keep/Stay on one's toes

Cảnh giác, sẵn sàng

The teacher’s sudden questions keep students on their toes.

18

Have in mind

Suy tính, cân nhắc

I have a few ideas in mind for the project.

19

At heart

Thực chất, về bản chất

He seems strict, but he’s kind at heart.

20

Face the music

Chịu hậu quả

He must face the music for his mistakes.

21

Like the back of one's hand

Biết rõ như lòng bàn tay

I know this city like the back of my hand.

22

The twinkling of an eye

Trong nháy mắt

The thief disappeared in the twinkling of an eye.

23

On the tip of my tongue

Biết nhưng tạm thời không nhớ ra

Her name is on the tip of my tongue.

24

Put one's foot in one's mouth

Nói điều ngu ngốc, xúc phạm người khác

I put my foot in my mouth by mentioning her weight.

25

Stick one's nose into sb’s business

Xía mũi vào chuyện người khác

Stop sticking your nose into my private life.

26

Feel sth in one's bones

Cảm nhận rõ rệt

I feel in my bones that something is wrong.

27

A real pain in the neck

Gây phiền toái, khó chịu

This traffic jam is a real pain in the neck.

28

Face to face

Trực tiếp

We finally met face to face after months of emailing.

29

See eye to eye with sb

Đồng tình hoàn toàn

We don’t see eye to eye on this matter.

30

Keep one's head above water

Xoay xở để tồn tại

We’re barely keeping our heads above water financially.

31

Have egg on one's face

Xấu hổ vì sai lầm

He had egg on his face after making that mistake.

32

Word of mouth

Truyền miệng

The restaurant became popular through word of mouth.

33

Heart to heart

Nói chuyện chân thành

We had a heart-to-heart talk last night.

34

Body and soul

Hết lòng

She devoted herself body and soul to the cause.

35

Flesh and blood

Người ruột thịt

He’s my flesh and blood — my own brother.

36

Skin and bones

Gầy trơ xương

After the illness, he was all skin and bones.

37

Lend an ear to sb/sth

Lắng nghe một cách chân thành

She always lends an ear when I have problems.

38

Trip over one's own feet

Tự vấp ngã

He tripped over his own feet during the dance.

39

In one's capable hands

Trong tay người có khả năng xử lý

The project is in your capable hands.

40

Up to your eyes

Ngập đầu, rất bận

I’m up to my eyes in work.

41

Have a head for sth

Giỏi về cái gì

She has a head for numbers.

42

A sweet tooth

Người thích ăn đồ ngọt

I have a sweet tooth and can’t resist chocolate.

43

Have sth at one's fingertips

Nắm thông tin/kiến thức và có thể dùng ngay

He has all the statistics at his fingertips.

STT

Thành ngữ

Nghĩa

Ví dụ

1

Take the mickey out of sb

Chế nhạo, châm chọc ai

They were taking the mickey out of his new haircut.

2

Get butterflies in one's stomach

Cảm thấy bồn chồn, lo lắng

I always get butterflies in my stomach before giving a speech.

3

Have a bee in one's bonnet about sth

Ám ảnh, cứ nói mãi về điều gì

She has a bee in her bonnet about healthy eating.

4

When pigs fly

Điều không thể xảy ra

He’ll apologize? Yeah, when pigs fly!

5

Teacher's pet

Học sinh cưng của giáo viên

John is the teacher’s pet in our class.

6

Let the cat out of the bag

Vô tình tiết lộ bí mật

He let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party.

7

Kill two birds with one stone

Một mũi tên trúng hai đích

By studying on the train, I killed two birds with one stone.

8

A big fish in a small pond

Người quan trọng trong một phạm vi nhỏ

He’s a big fish in a small pond at his local club.

9

Rain cats and dogs

Mưa rất to

It’s raining cats and dogs outside — don’t forget your umbrella!

10

Like a fish out of water

Bơ vơ, lạc lõng

I felt like a fish out of water at the fancy party.

11

Like water off a duck's back

Như nước đổ đầu vịt, không bị ảnh hưởng

The criticism was like water off a duck’s back to her.

12

Don't count your chickens before they hatch

Đừng vội chắc chắn điều gì trước khi nó xảy ra

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch — wait for the results.

13

The early bird catches the worm

Ai nhanh tay, chăm chỉ thì sẽ thành công

If you want the best deals, you have to get up early — the early bird catches the worm.

14

Be in the doghouse

Khiến ai đó khó chịu vì hành động của mình

He’s in the doghouse with his wife for forgetting their anniversary.

15

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth

Đừng chê bai hay xét nét quà tặng

It’s not polite to look a gift horse in the mouth.

16

Cock-and-bull story

Chuyện bịa đặt, hoang đường

He came up with some cock-and-bull story about being late.

17

Change horses in midstream

Thay đổi giữa chừng, khi đang làm dở

We can’t change horses in midstream - let’s finish what we started.