Bump into – to meet someone by chance (tình cờ gặp ai đó)
I bumped into my old friends at the seminar for education officials
A drop in the ocean – every small part of something much bigger. (Hạt muối bỏ bể
không thấm vào đâu)
Just learning idioms is a drop in the ocean when it comes to preparing for the
Work flat out – work very hard (làm việc cât lực)
The employees have been working flat out to get the job finished ahead
of the deadline.
The in thing – something fashionable. (hợp mốt)
The new iPhone is really the in thing at the moment.
Make a fuss over – overly care for someone/something (làm ầm lên)
Whenever they visit Grandma she makes a fuss over the children.
Run of the mill – average, ordinary (không có gì đặc biệt, bình thường)
Apple phones are very run of the mill these days.
far-fetched – usually refers to an idea, choice, decision, plan that may be unusual,
probably not a good choice. (gượng gạo, không tự nhiên, cường điệu)
The government’s choice for the new Defense Secretary seemed pretty far-
fetched to the opposition party.
ace – to do well. Usually used relating to a test, competition, something with a
score, or a clear winner or loser. (làm rất xuất sắc)
He aced the history test. He is an ace pitcher/batter/tennis player.
A hot potato – a controversial topic (vấn đề khó giải quyết, vấn đề nan giải)
Abortion and capital punishment are hot potatoes in my country at
the moment.
Get a kick out of (something) – to get excitement or pleasure from an event or
thought. (thích thú/tìm thấy sự thú vị của cái gì đó)
I really get a kick out of seeing the crazy things carried on motorbikes
sometimes.
bent out of shape – often used to admonish others not to be too upset. (nổi điên,
vô cùng tức giận)
Don’t get all bent out of shape about the way they drive over here!
Give (lend) somebody a hand – to give some forms of assistance with a task (giúp
đỡ)
Could you give me a hand with this shipment?
Sit on the fence – to be undecided. (trung lập, không đứng về bên nào)
I haven’t made my mind up about that issue, I’ll have to sit on the fence.
A piece of cake – very easy. (dễ ợt)
Getting a band 6 in the speaking test will be a piece of cake.
Hit the books – to study, usually intensively (vùi đầu vào học)
I will sit the IELTS test next week. That’s why I have been hitting the books all
day long.
Soul mate – someone you trust very deeply (bạn tâm giao, bạn chí cốt)
My husband is not just my lover, he’s my soul mate.
broke – usually financial related, have no money, can also generally reference a
state (cháy túi, hết tiền)
I can’t afford to go on holiday – I’m (flat) broke.
(Go) back to the drawing board – to start planning something again because the
first plan failed (làm lại từ đầu)
Our plan didn’t work out, so it’s back to the drawing board.
Go the extra mile – To make an extra effort; do more than usual (vô cùng cố gắng)
You had better not forget 8 leadership attributes that make you go the extra
mile.
crash course – a quick lesson (khoá học cấp tốc)
We need a crash course in idioms for this IELTS program.
up-to-the-minute – the very latest or most recent (rất hiện đại, rất hợp mốt, giờ
chót, rất kịp thời)
Now we’re going live to our reporter in Washington for up-to-the-minute
news on the crisis.
On the go – busy (bận rộn)
I feel as though we always need to be on the go because life’s too short to
be idle!
up-market – Relatively expensive and designed to appeal to wealthy consumers
(dành cho giới thượng lưu, hảo hạng, loại sang)
an upmarket restaurant that is quite pricey but also quite good
cram – to try to accomplish a lot quickly, also can mean to try to put a lot of items
in a tight fit, which is probably not idiomatic with that meaning. (nhồi nhét)
The students are all cramming to get ready for the exams.
in high spirits – extremely happy (vui vẻ, phấn chấn)
They’d had a couple of drinks and were in high spirits.
keep one’s chin up – remain brave and keep on trying; remain cheerful in difficult
circumstances. (lạc quan lên, đừng nản chí)
Keep your chin up. Don’t take your troubles to bed with you
Keep your chin up. Things will get better sooner or later
read my/your/his mind – W – guess what somebody is thinking (đoán suy nghĩ của
người khác)
I was surprised he knew what I was planning, like he could read my mind.
get the ball rolling – start doing something, especially something big (bắt đầu hành
động)
I decided to set the ball rolling and got up to dance.
You should get the ball rolling as soon as possible to be well-prepared for the
IELTS test.
for ages – for a very long time (một thời gian dài/rất lâu rồi)
I waited for ages but he never showed up
fill in for someone – do someone’s work while he is away; substitute for (làm thay
việc của ai đó)
Bill is going to be filling in for me while I’m out on maternity leave.
antsy – getting restless. (sốt ruột, hiếu động, không yên được)
The guys are getting antsy, we need to go somewhere else before they get
too noisy.
(as) easy as pie – very easy (dễ ợt)
For Tom, getting a graphic design certificate was easy as pie –he seemed to
have a natural talent for it.
under the weather – sick; not completely well (ốm)
I noticed that the cat was looking a little under the weather.
fingers-crossed = keep one’s fingers crossed (for someone or
something) – to wish for luck for someone or something (chúc may mắn)
We’re keeping our fingers crossed that he’ll be healthy again very soon
have a chin-wag – have a long conversation between friends; have a chat (trò
chuyện)
We had a good chinwag over a bottle of wine.
chicken scratch (n) – the handwriting that is crammed or illegible (chữ như gà
bới/chữ xấu không đọc được)
His signature—an unforgettably idiosyncratic chicken scratch
the wee hours – after midnight (quá nửa đêm)
He was up until the wee hours trying to finish his work.
a blessing in disguise – something that seems bad or unlucky at first, but results in
something good happening later (trong cái rủi có cái may)
Losing that job was a blessing in disguise really.
all in the same boat – in the same difficult situation as someone else (cùng chung
cảnh ngộ)
None of us has any money, so we’re all in the same boat.
beating around the bush – avoid the main topic and not speaking directly about it
(vòng vo tam quốc)
Let’s stop beating about the bush and discuss this matter
