120 THÀNH NGỮ (IDIOMS) PHỔ BIẾN NHẤT TRONG IELTS SPEAKING, TARGET BAND 8+
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 exam.
Work flat out – work very hard (làm việc cật 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 (someone/something) – 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.
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, hào 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 – 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/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
