50 IDIOMS THƯỜNG GẶP TRONG BÀI THI IELTS

 

STT	Idiom	Nghĩa	Ví dụ
1	rain cats and dog	rain heavily (Mưa tầm tã, Mưa nặng hạt)	Don't forget to take your umbrella It's raining cats and dogs
2	chalk and cheese	very different from each other (Khác biệt)	Marry and her sister are chalk and cheese
3	here and there	everywhere	I have been looking here and there for the book I received from my friend yesterday
4	a hot potato	something that is difficult or dangerous to deal with (vấn đề nan giải, nóng hổi)	The abortion issue is a political hot potato in the US.
5	at the drop of a hat	immediately, instantly, without hesitation or reasons (Ngay lập tức, không do dự, không có lý do rõ ràng)	If you need me, just call me. I can come at the drop of a hat.
6	back to the drawing board	time to start from the beginning, it is time to doplan something over again (bắt đầu lại)	My plans to create a tiny car made of glasses were unsuccessful, so I guess it's back to the drawing board for me.
7	beat about the bush	avoiding the main topic, and not speaking directly about the issue (nói vòng vo, lạc đề)	Stop beating about the bush and answer my question.
8	best/ greatest thing since sliced bread	= be excellenta good invention or innovation, a good idea orplan (ý tưởng hay, tốt)	Portable phones are marketed as the best thing since sliced bread, people think they are perfect.
9	burn the midnight oil	to stay up working, especially studying late at night (thức khuya làm việc, học bài)	I will have an English exam tomorrow so I'll be burning the midnight oil tonight.
10	caught between two stools	when someone finds it difficult to choose between two alternatives (lưỡng lự, không biết lựa chọn cái nào, do dự)	I was caught between two stools when I had to choose which university to attend.
11	break a leg	good luck! (thường dùng để chúc may mắn )	I have heard that you're going to take part in a contest tomorrow, break a leg, my friend!
12	hit the books	Study with concentrated effort (học cực kỳ tập trung)	I can't go out tonight. I've got to hit the books because I'm having an exam tomorrow.
13	when pigs fly	something will never happen (chuyện viễn vông, không tưởng)	I think he'll pay you back your money when pigs fly
14	scratch someone's back	help someone out with the assumption that theywill return the favor in the future (giúp đỡ người khác với hy vọng họ sẽ giúp lại mình)	"You scratch my back and I will scratch yours later," the customer said when we talked about the new sales contact.
15	hit the nail on the head	do or say something exactly right (nói chính xác, làm chính xác)	John hit the nail on the head when he said most people can use a computer without knowing how it works.
16	take sb/sth for granted	coi thường, không coi trọng	She always takes his friends for granted
17	take sth into account/consideration	to remember to considersomething (tính đến cái gì, xem xét việc gì)	We will take your long year of service into account when we make our final decision.
18	put sb/sth at somebody's disposal	to make someone orsomething available to someone (có sẵn theo ý muốn của ai)	I'd be glad to help you if you need me. I put myself at your disposal.
19	splitting headache	a severe headache (đau đầu như búa bổ)	I've got a splitting headache. I'm going upstairs for a nap.
20	on the house	= free (không phải trả tiền)	I went to a restaurant last night. I was the ten thousandth customer, so my dinner was on the house.
21	off the peg	may sẵn (quần áo)	If I buy trousers off the peg, they're always foo short.
22	hit the roof= go through the roof= hit the ceiling	to suddenly become angry (giân dữ)	I'm afraid he will hit the roof when he finds out our vacation is canceled
23	bring the house down	make an audience respond with great enthusiasm, typically as shown by their laughter or applause (làm cho cả khán phòng vỗ tay nhiệt liệt)	G-Dragon brought the house down He really brought down the house with his fantastic song
24	pay through the nose	to pay too much for something (trả giả quả đắt)	You have to pay through the nose for a new car
25	by the skin of someone's teeth	sát sao, rất sát	I got through calculus math by the skin of my teeth.
26	pull someone's leg	chọc ai	Are you just pulling my leg?
27	it strikes someone as/that strange	lấy làm lạ	It strikes me as strange that he falled the exam because he studied hard.
28	high and low = here and there	everywhere	I have been searching high and low for the new shirt
29	the more, the merrier	càng đông càng vui	Can I bring some friends with me? Yeah sure, the more, the merrier.
30	spick and span	ngăn nắp, gọn gàng	The kitchen was spick and span as ever, every surface wiped down and everything in its place.
31	every now and then	sometimes	Every now and then, I want to be alone.
32	part and parcel	integral, crucial (quan trọng, thiết yếu)	Being hard-working is a part and parcel of success.
33	go to someone's head	khiến ai kiêu ngạo	Too much success will go to her head.
34	once in a blue moon	rất hiếm (rare)	Once in a blue moon, I stop thinking about her. If only she knew how much I loved her.
35	few and far between	rare (hiếm gặp)	Go and tell her that you love her! That kind of girl is really few and far between
36	be on the wagon	kiêng rượu	Bob's old drinking buddies complained that he was no fun when he went on the wagon
37	on the spot	immediately (ngay lập tức)	I will be there on the spot.
38	on the verge of = on the brink of= on the edge of	bên bờ vực	We have to protect elephants. They are on the verge of extinction.
39	led someone by the nose	to control someone and make them do exactly what you want them to do (nắm đầu, dắt mũi ai)	They simply didn't know what they were doing and they were led by the nose by a manipulative government
40	the eleventh hour	phút chót	She always turned her term paper in at the eleventh hour.
41	find fault with	chỉ trích, kiếm chuyện, bắt lỗi	It is very easy to find fault with the work of others.
42	off and on/ on and off	không đều đặn, thỉnh thoảng	We don't often go there- just off and on.
43	make believe	giả bộ, giả vờ	I tried to make believe she was happy, but knew deep down it was not true.
44	make good time	di chuyển nhanh, đi nhanh	We made good time and were at the hotel by lunch time.
45	look daggers at someone	giận dữ nhìn ai đó	Their relationship is not free and easy but at least he is no longer looking daggers at her.
46	be out of the question	impossible (không thể được)	You cannot get married until you are 18, it's out of the question.
47	all at once	suddenly (bất thình lình)	All at once, there was a loud banging on the door
48	blow someone's trumpet	bốc phét, khoác lác	I believe in you because you'd never blow your trumpet..
49	sleep on it	suy nghĩ thêm về điều gì đó	You don't have to make your decision now. Sleep on it.
50	fight tooth and claw/nail	đánh nhau dữ dội, cấu xé nhau	We fought tooth and claw to retain our share of the business.

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