What are idioms?

Idioms are phrases and sentences that do not mean exactly what they say. Even if you know the meaning of every word in the see or hear, you may not understand the idiom because you don't understand the culture behind it. Thus, I have selected some of the most common ones and hope that these will help. Thank you all.

Have Fun !



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A bad apple

Meaning:
A (morally) bad person who makes a whole group bad.

A bad apple is someone who has a bad effect on a whole group or system.

People also say, "One bad/rotten apple spoils the (whole) bushel/barrel."


Example:
The corruption in the government started with a bad apple, a high official two years ago. Now the whole system is corrupt.

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Be a piece of cake

Meaning:
To be very easy
If something is a piece of cake, it is very easy to do.

Example:
A: How was the driving test yesterday? Did you pass?
B: Of course! It was a piece of cake.

***

Be all ears

Meaning:
Be very intersted in what someone is about to say.

If you are all ears, you are eager and ready to listen to what someone is going to say.

Example:
Now tell us all about your adventures in Afraica last summer. I'm all ears.
When the president started his speech, he found everyone listening, all ears.

***

Be the apple of someone's eye

Meaning:
Be loved very much by someone.

If someone is the apple of your eye, you think he/she is very important to you, and you love him/her very much.
This idiom is used especially when someone is loved by an older member of his/her family.

Example:
Erika is Mark's only granddaughter, and she's the apple of his eye.
Sarah's only son was the apple of her eye.

***
Be as American as apple pie

Meaning:
Be typically American
If something or someone is as American as apple pie, it/he/she is typically or completely American.

Example:
Jose and Maria came to the U.S. 10 years ago and still keep the traditions of their home country. However, their children are as American as apple pie.

***

Be as blind as a bat

Meaning:
Be unable to see well or unable to see at all.
If someone is as blind as a bat, he/she cannot see well or cannot see at all because of his/her very bad eyesight.

Example:
A: Can you read the first paragraph on page 115 for me?
B: Sorry, I forgot to bring my glasses. I'm as blind as a bat without them.

***

Backfire

Meaning:
to produce an unexpected / undesired / opposite result.
If your plan or action backfires, you get the opposite result to the one you wanted.

Example:
The new stricter school policy may backfire and do more harm to the students than good.
Her plan to lose weight backfired. After losing 10 pounds, she started to eat a lot again and gained 20 pounds quickly.

***
Bark up the wrong tree

Meaning:
To misunderstand a situation and complain to a wrong person or blame a wrong thing.
If someone is barking up the wrong tree, he/she has an incorrect idea about a situation, and his/her course of action is wrong.


Example:
Don't blame me. I have nothing to do with it. You are barking up the wrong tree.
The committee spent more than 5 month to try to solve the problem. They were just barking up the wrong tree.

***
Be broke

Meaning:
Without money
If you are broke, you don't have money.

Example:
"Do you want to go to the movies tonight?" "I can't go. I'm broke. Tomorrow is payday."

***
Beat around the bush

Meaning:
Avoid or delay talking about something unpleasant or embarrassing
If you beat around the bush, you don't say something directly to someone because you are worried about his/her reaction and don't want to upset him/her.
Some people also say " beat about the bush. "

Example:
Don't beat around the bush! Tell me what exactly you want.
Let's not beat around the bush anymore. You'd better do this project over. It's not acceptable to us.

***
Beat it

Meaning:
Go away immediately.
If you say "Beat it" to someone, you tell him/her to leave quickly because he/she is annoying. This is an impolite command.

Example:
I guess we should beat it before she comes back.
"This is not your place. Beat it!" (This is not a polite way to ask someone to leave.)

***

Bend over backwards (backward)

Meaning:
Do as much as you can to help or please someone.
If you bend over backwards, you do your best or try harder than you need in order to please someone or do something he/she wants.

Example:
The manager bent over backwards to help new employees.
I bent over backward, trying to defend her. I don't know what else I can do for her.

***

Bug someone

Meaning:
Bother someone.
If someone/something bugs you, he/she/it annoys you.

Example:
That's enough! Stop bugging me. Don't ask me anymore.
He's always talking too loud in the office. It really bugs us.

***
(Have / Get) Butterflies in someone's stomach

Meaning:
Very nervous or excited before doing something important such as giving a speech and taking a test.
If you have butterflies in your stomach, you are very nervous and/or excited about something you are going to do soon.

Example:
He always gets butterflies in his stomach before taking a test.

English idioms (continued)


Can't make head nor tail (out) of something / someone

Meaning:
Not be able to understand.
If you can't make head nor tail (out) of something or someone, you can't understand it/him/her at all.

Example:
Could you show me how to use this machine? I can't make head nor tail out of the instructions in the manual.
Bob is a very strange guy. Everything he says and does is very strange. I cannot make head nor tail of him.



Cast pearls before swine

Meaning:
Offer or show something valuable, good, or beautiful to someone who does not understand its value
If you are casting pearls before swine, you are wasting your time showing or offering something very helpful or valuable to someone who does not understand or appreciate it.


Example:
Don't bother explaining Shakespeare to Bob. It would be like casting pearls before swine.
Tom wouldn't listen to Sarah's wise advice. She was just casting pearls before swine.



Catch someone's eye

Meaning:
Attract someone and make him/her look at something.
If someone or something catches your eye, you look because of interest.

Example:
While driving on the freeway, an interesting billboard caught my eye.
Suddenly something flying in the sky caught his eye. It was a big bird he had never seen before.


(be) Chicken

Meaning:
Coward.
If you are chicken, you are not brave enough to do something.


Example:
"Why won't you dive in? Are you chicken? (Don't be chicken!)"



(Get / have) Cold feet

Meaning:
Suddenly become (be) very nervous about doing something that you were going to do.
If you get cold feet, you become afraid to do something that you planned to do or agreed to do.


Example:
It's normal for young people to get cold feet before their wedding.
He agreed to go bungee jumping with his friends, but he got cold feet when they arrived at the jump.


(Quit ) cold turkey

Meaning:
Quit a bad habit such as smoking or drinking alcohol suddenly, without any gradual adjustment.
If you quit something (smoking, etc.) cold turkey, you stop it suddenly and completely.

Example:
Tom was a heavy drinker for more than 15 years; then he quit drinking cold turkey. He's never drunk again since then.


Cook Someone's Goose

Meaning:
Get someone in trouble. Keep someone from succeeding.
If you cook someone's goose, you get him/her into trouble or prevent him/her from succeeding at something.



Example:
Ted stayed up late yesterday at a party and missed an important meeting in the morning.
He told his boss he was sick, but one of his colleagues cooked his goose. She saw him dancing at the party last night.

When the president made a wrong decision about the country's economic policy, his political goose was cooked.


Be (as) cool as a cucumber

Meaning:
Very calm and relaxed even in a difficult situation
If someone is (as) cool as a cucumber, he/she is very relaxed and/or calm when you expect him/her to be nervous or upset.

Example:
He had very bad news last night, but he came to the office as cool as a cucumber this morning as if nothing had happened.

She was cool as a cucumber even right after she was fired.


Cool someone's heels

Meaning:
Wait for a long time.
If you cool your heels, someone makes you wait for a long time with nothing to do, so you get bored or impatient.

Example:
While they were having a long meeting, Mary was cooling her heels waiting for the results.

The show was so popular that I had to cool my heels in a long line at the box office.


Couch potato

Meaning:
A person who spends a lot of idle time sitting and watching television.
If a person is a couch potato, he/she is not active and spends most of his/her time sitting and watching TV.
He/she doesn't do anything productive.

Example:
School children don't play outside as much as before. Many of them are overweight couch potatoes.
Don't be a couch potato! You're just wasting your time.


(Be) cut from the same cloth


Meaning:
Be very similar, act in a very similar way

If you say two or more people are cut from the same cloth, you mean they are very alike or act in a very similar way.

Example:
When you teach children, remember that they are not cut from the same cloth. Each child has his/her own personality.

hum
I have a book about this topic
Can I post it on here

Hi Alex,

[sm=welcome.gif] to VNTQ.

Trích đoạn: AlexCorleone
hum
I have a book about this topic
Can I post it on here

Oh, please do !

Thank you in advance for your help.

This topic had started a while ago, but no one joined in for feedback or input.
You can either continue with this topic or post a new one. It's up to you.

Looking forward to reading your posts.

Hope that you'll have a good time here.

Hi! Everyone.
There are a lot of idiom sentences about English language in English idiom book. I have that book, and i will ask ThaiNhi to help me to post the book if Alex doesnt have time to do that. At least, I will post the book's name because this is the good book that I want to share with everyone.

Hi Everyone,

Does anybody has a Longman Dictionary? if yes, please post it in here for other sisters and brothers. My boyfriend said it is really a good dictionary for English learners beacause it is easier to understand. Thank you so much. Have a nice day.

Trích đoạn: htld

Hi Everyone,

Does anybody has a Longman Dictionary? if yes, please post it in here for other sisters and brothers. My boyfriend said it is really a good dictionary for English learners beacause it is easier to understand. Thank you so much. Have a nice day.

Hi htld,

[sm=welcome.gif] to VNTQ English Club.

Below are the links for English dictionary online. Please take a look.


1. http://www.ldoceonline.com/

2. http://www.notredame.ac.jp/~peterson/URL/research/dictionaries.html

3. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/


You can also go to www.google.com - type English dictionary online - Search.

Good luck !

* Don't even go there! = I don't want to talk about that
* Could I take a rain check on that? = Could I do it in another time?
* A disaster area = a big mess
* Gave s/o a hard time = teased or were mean to s/o
_ I own you one = You've done me a favor, one day, I'll do you a favor
_ Like a lamb ( lamb to a slaughter ) = used to warn s/o not to do sth dangerous without realizing it.

Some idioms (*) are just used by American people 'cos they're American English slangs.

IMHO, when you study one new word, please have a look in dict, you'll learn many idioms from that one.

Trích đoạn: tinhcuoimayngab
_ I own you one = You've done me a favor, one day, I'll do you a favor

you meant, "I owE you one", right Love !?

Oh, sorry. I had a mistake. Thanks

This is a link about English Idioms. I hope it will helpful.  1850 IDIOMs
 
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/list.php 
 

Trích đoạn: htld

Hi Everyone,

Does anybody has a Longman Dictionary? if yes, please post it in here for other sisters and brothers. My boyfriend said it is really a good dictionary for English learners beacause it is easier to understand. Thank you so much. Have a nice day.

Yeah i do, i have this dictionary, it's the most interesting and useful dictionary i have ever known. very academic and easy to understand. but what a pity i dont know how to upload it to serve. In fact, it is very expensive to upload this heavy file . But you can search on google with the keyword : download long man dictionary and download torrent. Good luck!

Nuhiepdethuong: you absolutely did work very hard for this topic. I admire you so much! Thanks for your useful and interesting topic!