IDIOMS Thành ngữ tiếng anh thông dụng THPT

IDIOMS
77 THÀNH NGỮ THÔNG DỤNG KÌ THI THPT
Hit the books: bắt đầu học
Eg: hit the books! I know you have a test this weekend
2. Way to go: làm rất tốt
Eg: you’ve made it. Way to go
3. Easier said than done: khó hơn bạn nghĩ
Eg: you want to climb Mount Everest? Easier said than done
Thank goodness : cảm thấy biết ơn
Eg: thank goodness, you are home. We are so worried about you
Cost an arm and a leg: rất đắt
Eg: we had to spend our last penny on this car, it cost an arm and a leg
Cup of tea: kiểu người/ vật một người thật sự thích
Eg: I’m sorry , she is not my cup of tea
In bad/good mood: (tinh thần) vui / buồn
Eg: he’s in good mood when he passed the exam
Cheer one up : khiến ai đó vui
Eg: your first prize will cheer your parents up
Take sth for granted : đánh giá thấp tầm quan trọng, nghĩ rằng đó là tự nhiên như thế,

1.

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

coi nhẹ điều gì
Eg: I was wrong when I took it for granted that he would be always with me

Here and there : mọi nơi
Eg: I’ve been looking here and there for her
11.
Let the cat out of the bag: để lộ ra một bí mật
Eg: it’s a secret . don’t let the cat out of the bag
12.
Once in a blue moon: rất hiếm
Eg: once in a blue moon, I stop thinking about him. If only he knew how much I love
10.

him
13.
On the verge of = on the brink of= in the edge of:đẩy đến bờ vực
Eg: we have to protect endangered animals. They’re on the verge of extinction
14.
Sleep on it: nghĩ nhiều hơn


Eg: you don’t have to give me your decision now. Sleep on it and let me know
tomorrow
15.
Smell a rat: nghi ngờ
Eg: I start to smell a rat when I see her send a message to our enemy
16.
In vain: vô ích
Eg: she tried in vain to sleep
17.
Run an errand: chạy việc vặt, làm việc gì đó không quan trọng
Eg: I’ve got to run an errand. I’ll come back in a minute
18.

Fly off the handle: mất bình tĩnh
Eg: no one flies of the handle without a reason
19.
Cats and dogs: mưa tầm tã
Eg: it’s raining cats and dogs
20.
A hot potato: vấn đề nan giải , nóng hổi
Eg: the abortion issue is a political hot potato in the US
21.
Back to the drawing board: bắt đầu lại từ đầu
Eg: my plans to create a tiny car made of glasses were unsuccessful, so I guess it is back
to the drawing board
22.
Burn the midnight oil: thức khuya làm việc , học bài
Eg: I will have a big exam tomorrow so I’ll be burning the midnight oil tonight
23.
Caught between two stools: lưỡng lự, không biết lựa chọn cái nào, do dự
Eg: I caught between two stools which shirt to choose
24.
Bucket down: mưa xối xả, mưa to
Eg: it’s been bucketing down all day
25.
Close shave= narrow escape: thoát chết trong gang tấc
Eg: he close shave when the car nearly hit him
26.
Drop a brick : lỡ lời , lỡ miệng
Eg: I dropped a brick when making my mummy sad
27.
Get butterflies one’s stomach: cảm thất bồn chồn
Eg : I always get butterflies in my stomach when it comes to talking test

28.
Off the record : không chính thức, không được công bố
Eg: what the president said is not to be printed. It’s off the record
29.
One’s cup of tea : thứ mà ta thích
Eg: music is my cup of tea. The songs make me relax
30.
Break a leg : chúc may mắn
31.
Scratch someone’s back: giúp ai với mong muốn sau này người ta sẽ giúp lại mình
Eg: “ you scratch my back and I will scratch yours”, the customer said when we talked
about the new sales contact


Hit the nail on the head: đoán , nói trúng phóc
Eg: she hit the nail on the head when choosing the answer for test
33.
Take sth into account / consideration: tính đến cái gì
Eg: we will take your long years of service into account when we make our final
32.

decision
34.
Keep an eye on sb/sth: để ý, để tâm đến ai
Eg: please keep an eye on my baby while I am out
35.
Put someone/ something at someone’s disposal: có sẵn cho ai sử dụng theo ý muốn
Eg: I’d be glad to help you if you need me. I put myself at your disposal
36.
Splitting headache: đau đầu như búa bổ

Eg: I’ve got a splitting headache. I’m going upstairs for a map
Off the peg: may sẵn ( quần áo)
Eg: if I buy trousers off the peg , they’re always too short
38.
On the house: không phải trả tiền
Eg: I went to a restaurant last night. I was the ten thousandth customer, so my dinner
37.

was on the house
39.
Hit the roof = go through the roof: giận dữ
Eg: I’m afraid he will hit the roof when he finds out our vacation is cancelled
40.
Bring down the house: làm cho cả khán phòng vỗ tay nhiệt liệt
Eg: danny’s voice brought the house down. He really brought down the house with his
fantastic song
41.
Pay through the nose: trả giá đắt
Eg: if you want decent wine in a restaurant, you will have to pay through the nose for it
42.
By the skin of one’s teeth: sát sao
Eg: I got through calculus class by the skin of my teeth
43.
Pull someone’s leg : chọc ai
Eg: you don’t mean that. You’re just pulling my leg
44.
The more, the merrier: càng đông, càng vui
Eg: of course you can have a ride with us. The more, the merrier
45.
Spick and span: ngăn nắp , gọn gang

Eg: the kitchen was spick and span as ever, every surface wiped down and everything in
its place
46.
Every now and then : thỉnh thoảng
Eg: Every now and then , I want to be alone


47.

On the spot: ngay lập tức
Eg: I will be there on the spot

Few and far between: hiếm gặp
Eg: go and tell her that you love her. That kind of girl is really few and far between
49.
Lead sb by the nose: nắm đầu, dắt mũi ai
Eg: they simply didn’t know what they were doing and they were led by the nose by a
48.

manipulative government
50.
At the eleventh hour: vào phút chót
Eg: she always sturned her term paper in at the eleventh hour
51.
Find fault with: chỉ trích , kiếm chuyện
Eg: it is very easy to find fault with the work of others
52.
Off and on / on and off: không đều đặn , thỉnh thoảng
Eg: we don’t often go there – just off and on
53.

Make believe : giả bộ, giả vờ
Eg: I tried to make believe she was happy, but knew deep down it was not true
54.
Be out of the question: không thể được
Eg: you cannot get married until you are 19, it’s out of the question
55.
All at once = suddenly: bất thình lình
Eg: all at once , there was a loud banging on the door
56.
Blow one’s trumpet: bốc phét, khoác lác
Eg: anyone will tell you she’s one of the best journalist we’ve got. Although she’d never
blow her trumpet
57.
Play tricks / jokes on: chọc phá, trêu ghẹo , chơi khăm
Eg: the kids are always play jokes on their teachers
58.
The last straw: giọt nước tràn ly
Eg: when she showed up late a third time, that was the last straw. We had to fire her
59.
On second thoughts: suy nghĩ kĩ
Eg: on second thoughts, it was a dumb movie
60.
Fly off the handle: dễ nổi giận, phát cáu
Eg: no one will fly off the handle for no reason
61.
The apple of one’s eyes: đồ quý giá của ai
Eg: you are the apple of my eyes
62.
Bucket down: mưa xối xả, mưa to
Eg: it’s been bucketing down all day

63.
Get butterflies one’s stomach: cảm thấy bồn chồn
Eg: I always get butterflies in my stomach when it comes to taking test


64.

Cut it fine: đến sát giờ
Eg: only allowing half an hour to get from the station to the airport is cutting it fine,

isn’t it?
65.
Golden handshake: món tiền hậu hĩnh dành cho người sắp nghỉ việc
Eg: the manager got early retirement and a 600,000$ golden handshake when the
company was restricted
66.
Put on an act: giả bộ , làm bộ
Eg: we’ve known you are a good swimmer – stop putting on an act
67.
Come to light: được biết đến , được phát hiện
Eg: four soldiers have faced charges since the scandal came to light last fall
68.
Take things to pieces: tháo ra từng mảnh
Eg: men like to take things to pieces and put them together
69.
See eye to eye: đồng tình
Eg: I’m glad that they see eye to eye on the matter of the conference location
70.
Have in mind: đang suy tính, cân nhắc
Eg: I don’t want to see a movie now, I have in mind going to the park

71.
To be bound to: chắc chắn
Eg: you’re bound to be late if you don’t hurry
72.
At heart: thực chất , cơ bản
Eg: James sometimes seems quite unfriendly but at heart he’s a good person
73.
To know by sight: nhận ra
Eg: The woman said that she would know the thief by sight if she ever saw him again
74.
To take pains: làm việc cẩn thận và tận tâm
Eg: she takes pains to do everything well
75.
To make do : xoay sở , đương đầu
Eg: During difficult economic times, many people have to make do with less
76.
Sell someone/ sth short: đánh giá thấp
Eg: when you say that John isn’t interested in music , you’re selling him short. Did you
know he play the violin quite well?
77.
Face the music : chịu trận
Eg: Mary broke a dinning-room window and had to face the music when her father got
home
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