Expreses idiomticas

Traduo

Exemplo

com seus sinnimos

after all despite,

depois de tudo, ao fim

I knew it! After all, I was

nevertheless

e ao cabo

right!

all along all the time

todo o tempo

I knew about his little

secret all along.

all ears eager to listen sou todo ouvidos

I am all ears.

all of a sudden

All of a sudden, he refused

de repente

suddenly

to pay.

all the same

tanto faz, a mesma

If its all the same to you,

no difference

coisa

lets start at two.

all thumbs clumsy

desastrado

He cant fix anything, hes

all thumbs.

apple of discord

ma da discrdia,

This question is an apple

subject of envy or quarrel o ponto da discrdia

of discord in our family.

as a rule usually

As a rule, we offer a 5%

em geral

discount.
as far as I am

at onde eu sei

As far as I am concerned,

concerned

both the book and the

in my opinion

movie are good.

as for me/as to me

na minha opinio

in my opinion
as well also, too

As for me, you can rely

on his support.

tambm

He knows math, and

physics as well.

at all (not) in the

(absolutamente) nada

at all. I dont like it at all.

smallest degree
at random without

na sorte

order
at this point at this

He chose those places

at random.

a essas horas

time
be about to ready

He doesnt know French

At this point, we cant turn

back.

estar prestes a

(to do)

I was about to leave when

you called.

be after someone

estar atrs de algum;

His mother is always after

insist, press

insistir, pressionar

him to study.

be all in be extremely estar acabado

Im all in, Id better

tired

go to bed now.

be back on ones feet se recuperar depois

Hes back on his feet after

healthy again or better

de um tempo difcil,

a long period of debt and

financially

se levantar

unemployment.

beat around the bush se esquivar

Stop beating around the

avoid giving

bush! Get to the point!

a clear/definite answer
be beside oneself

estar descontrolado, fora She was beside herself

be very upset, nervous,

de si

with worry / with grief.

be better off

estar em uma situao

Hell be better off with

be in a better situation

melhor

a new job.

be broke have

estar falido

I spent all my money, Im

worried, etc.

no money at all
be hard on something

broke.
ser duro com algo/algum My son is hard on shoes,

/someone treat roughly

they dont last long with

him. Life was pretty hard
on Tom.

be high on ones list

a primeira coisa da lista

A new car is high

be one of the most

on my list of priorities.

important things

A new TV is not high

on my list.

be in charge of

ser o responsvel por

He is in charge

be responsible for

of marketing.

be in the red be in debt estar quebrado, cheio

Our sales were in the red

de dvidas

last year.

be into smth.

estar

He is into computers. She

be interested in

interessado/apaixonado

is into sports.

por algo
bend over backwards fazer todo o possvel

I bent over backwards

try hard

to help her.

be on ones way

estar no caminho

Im on my way.

be on the safe side

para maior segurana

Take an extra key, just

not to take any chances

be out of be without

to be on the safe side.

estar sem, no ter

We are out of bread,

cheese, and sugar.

be out of shape

estar fora de forma

He needs to exercise,

be physically unfit

he is out of shape.

be out of sorts in bad estar de mau humor

Leave him alone, hes out

humor

of sorts today

be pressed for time /

estar pressionado por

money be short of; not tempo/dinheiro (no ter

Im pressed for time now.

We are pressed for money

have enough

suficiente tempo/dinheiro) at the moment.

beside the point off

no vem ao caso

the point

What I said to him

privately is beside the
point.

be to blame

ser culpado

Who is to blame for this

be responsible for

awful mistake? Tom

a mistake / something

is to blame for this mix-up.

wrong
be touch and go

estar por um fio

be uncertain of the result

He was very sick, and for

some time it was touch
and go, but he is better
now.

be up against

enfrentar (algo/algum)

Our company is up against

be opposed by, have

serious attempts of hostile

problems, be in danger

takeover.

be up and

voltar a andar/recuperar- He was sick for a month,

around/about able

se (depois de uma

but now he is up and

to be out of bed after

doena)

around.

estar muito ocupado

Im up to my ears in work.

estar tramando algo

I have to check what the

an illness
be up to ones ears
very busy
be up to something
do mischief

kids are up to.

be up to someone

depende de algum,

Its up to you to decide. Its

be ones own decision

a deciso de algum

up to you to close the

or responsibility

office every day

at 8 oclock.

be used to

estar acostumado a

Im used to hard work.

Hes used to heat.

be accustomed to
big shot important

pessoa importante

person

He is a big shot around

here.

bite off more than one

valorizar-se demais (ter I couldnt handle two jobs

can chew try

o olho maior que

and family. I really bit off

to do more than one can

a barriga)

more than I could chew.

bite ones tongue stop morder a lngua/se

I almost told her, but bit

talking

segurar e no falar

my tongue.

bite the dust die,

morrer/ser derrotado

Many of them bit the dust

be defeated
black sheep a good-

in that war.
ovelha negra

Their second son is the

for-nothing member of the

black sheep of the family,

family

he is good for nothing.

blind date a meeting

encontro a escuras

She refuses

of a man and woman

to go on a blind date again

arranged by friends

because she had bad

experience.

blow it lose the chance perder a oportunidade

He understood that
he blew it.

blow over pass, end

vai passar/acabar

Wait here till his anger

blows over.

bottom line main

resultado

result/factor
break into enter

The bottom line is, I dont

have enough money.

entrar fora

The police broke into the

by force

robbers house.

break ones heart hurt partir o corao

The news of her death

deeply

de algum

broke his heart.

break the ice

quebrar o gelo (superar

The party was dull until

overcome shyness

a timidez e dar o primeiro someone broke the ice

in making the first step

passo)

with a joke and we all

laughed.

break the news tell

espalhar informao

CNN is breaking the news

new facts

right now.

bring home the bacon sustentar a famlia

He works very hard

earn the living for the

at several places to bring

family
brush off give

home the bacon.

no dar bola

no attention to
brush up on review

The boss brushed off

my project again.

repassar as informaes You need to brush

up on the tenses.

by all means -definitely, definitivamente,

Do you need my help?

certainly

certamente

By all means.

by heart

de cor (e salteado)

Learn this poem by heart

by memorizing
by hook or by crook

for tomorrow.
do jeito que der

by any means possible

She will get what she

wants by hook or by crook.

by the way incidentally inclusive, por falar nisso By the way, Ann is coming
back today.
call a spade a spade

dar nome aos bois

use plain, direct words

He always tells the truth

and calls a spade a spade.

call it a day consider

dar por terminado

Weve been working for

work finished for the day

(o trabalho)

10 straight hours. Lets call

it a day.

call off cancel

cancelar

The police called off the

search.

carry out fulfill

realizar, cumprir

She never carries out her

plans.

carry weight

ter influncia/importncia His advice always carries

be important

weight here.

cast down depressed, desanimar

He was cast down by the

sad

bad news.

castles in the air

sonhar com o resultado

Instead of working hard,

daydreaming about

(estar viajando)

he spends time building

success

castles in the air.

catch ones eye attract chamar a ateno

This picture caught

attention

my eye.

catch ones breath

recuperar o flego

stop and rest

catch someone off
guard catch someone

I cant run, I need to catch

my breath.

pegar de surpresa

He caught me off guard

with his question.

unprepared
catch someone red-

pegar algum no flagra

The manager caught the

handed find smb. in the (fazendo algo errado)

boy red-handed when

act of doing wrong

he was stealing cigarettes.

catch up become not

atualizar

behind
close call a narrow

He needs to catch up with

the others.

foi por pouco

The speeding car almost

escape, a bad thing that

hit the man. That was

almost happened

really a close call.

come across meet

encontrar

by chance
come down with

I came across that article

yesterday.

ficar doente, gripar

become ill

Im coming down with

a cold.

come to ones senses voltar razo, cair na real He finally came to his
start acting reasonably,

senses, started to work

intelligently

hard, and passed his

exams.

come true become

virar realidade

My dream came true

reality

when I met Pat.

come up with suggest propor, sugerir

Mike came up with

a brilliant idea.

count on depend on

contar com

You can always count

on me for help.

cut corners to take

buscar atalhos, esquivar- He ran fast, cutting

a short-cut; to limit ones

se

spending

corners where he could.

I have to cut corners this
week.

cut down on reduce

diminuir (o consumo)

You have to cut down

on chocolate.

cut out to be /cut out for estar feito para

She isnt cut out

it have the ability

to be a surgeon. Hes cut

(um trabalho)

to do something

out to be a leader.

do ones best try very dar o melhor de si

I did my best to help him

hard

in his work.

do ones bit do whats fazer o necessrio

Ill do my bit, you can

needed
do over do again

count on me.
refazer

This work is not good,

do it over.

do someone good

beneficiar, fazer o bem

be good for

Fresh air and exercise will

do you good.

do something behind

fazer algo pelas costas

I hate people who

ones back

de algum

do things behind my back.

do (harmful) things

He did it behind my back

secretively

again.

do without live without viver sem, prescindir

Ill have to do without a car

for a while.

down to earth practical ser prtico, realista

Hes quiet, sensible and

down to earth.

draw the line fix a limit colocar um limite

He drew the line for her

at $100 a day.

dress up put on the

vestir a melhor roupa

best clothes

What are you dressed

up for?

drop off deliver

levar/deixar uma pessoa Can you drop me off at the

somewhere

em algum lugar

drop out quit (school) abandonar

bank?
He dropped out of school
last year.

duty calls must fulfill

o dever chama

obligations
easier said than done

He said, Duty calls and

left for work.

falar fcil, difcil fazer Its easier said than done,

but Ill try to do it.

eat ones words take morder a lngua

He had to eat his words

back words

after her report.

even so nevertheless, ainda assim

I work hard. Even so, I like

but

my job.

every now and then -

de vez em quando

Every now and then I visit

occasionally

my old aunt.

every other day every dia sim dia no

She washes her hair every

second one

other day.

fall behind lag behind ficar para trs

The little boy fell behind

the older boys.

fall in love begin

apaixonar-se

to love
fall out of love stop

at first sight.
deixar de amar

loving
false alarm untrue

Tom fell in love with Sue

They fell out of love and
divorced soon.

alarme falso

rumor

I heard he quit but it was

a false alarm.

a far cry from

longe de ser o que

His second book wasnt

something very

parecia

bad, but it was a far cry

different, almost opposite

from his first book.

(neg.)
feel it in ones bones ter um mau

Something bad is going

expect something bad

to happen, I feel

pressentimento

to happen
feel like doing

it in my bones.
sentir vontade de fazer

I feel like going for a walk.

something want to do, alguma coisa

I dont feel like working

be inclined to do smth.

now, Im tired.

feel up to be able to do ter nimo para fazer

I dont feel up to cleaning

alguma coisa

the house.

few and far between

muito poucas vezes,

Her visits are few and far

rare, scarce

raras vezes

between.

find fault with criticize encontrar problemas,

find out learn

He always finds faults with

criticar

everybody.

descobrir

I found out that Maria left

or discover

town.

firsthand directly from em primeira mo

You can trust it, its

the source

firsthand information.

first things first

as primeiras coisas

First things first: how much

important things come

primeiro

money do we have to pay

before others
fly off the handle get

right away?
perder as estribeiras

angry
follow in someones

He flew off the handle and

yelled at me.

seguir os passos

Igor followed in his fathers

footsteps do the same de algum

footsteps, he became

thing

a doctor, too.

foot in the door

meio caminho andado, ter Nina got a foot in the door

a special opportunity for

um p dentro (uma

because her friend works

a job

oportunidade)

in that company.

foot the bill pay the bill pagar

Her father footed the bill

for the party.

for good forever

para sempre

After her death, he left

town for good.

for the time being

por enquanto

at this time

For the time being, this

house is all right for us.

frame of mind mental (nesse) estado de nimo I cant do it in this frame

state

of mind.

from A to Z completely (conhecer) de cabo

He knows this town from A

a rabo

to Z.

from now on now and a partir de agora

From now on, I forbid you

in the future

to go there.

get a grip on oneself controlar-se

Stop crying! Get a grip

take control of ones

on yourself!

feelings
get along with have

se dar bem com algum Ann gets along with most

coworkers, but doesnt get

good relations

along with Laura.

get away with not

escapar

The police didnt find the

be caught after doing

thief. He got away with his

wrong

crime.

get carried away get

deixar-se levar pelo

He got carried away with

too excited and

entusiasmo

opening a store and lost

enthusiastic about

most of his money.

something
get cold feet be afraid ficar com medo

I wanted to try it but got

to do

cold feet.

get even with have

nivelar/empatar

Ill get even with him for

ones revenge

a situao

everything!

get in touch with

entrar em contato com

Get in touch with Mr.

contact

algum

Smith for help.

get lost lose ones way se perder

She got lost in the old part

of town.

Get lost! Lay off!

Fora! V embora!

I dont want to see you

again. Get lost!

get mixed up get

confundir

confused
get off ones back

wrong way and got lost.

deixar algum em paz

leave alone
get on ones high

I got mixed up, went the

Stop bothering me! Get off
my back!

sentir-se superior aos

Every time I ask her

horse behave haughtily demais

to help me with typing, she

towards someone

gets on her high horse.

get on (the bus, train,

subir (no meio

I got on the bus on Oak

plane)

de transporte)

Street.

get off (the bus, train,

descer (do meio

I got off the bus at the

plane)

de transporte)

bank.

get out of hand get out sair do controle

If he gets out of hand

of control

again, call me right away.

get over recover after superar uma

I cant get over how rude

an illness or bad

m experincia ou uma

he was to me. She got

experience

doena

over her illness quite

quickly.

get rid of dispose of,

livrar-se de, desfazer-se He got rid of his old

discard

de

get together meet with reunir-se (com amigos)

useless car.
My friends and I get
together often.

get to the bottom

chegar no fundo,

He usually gets to the

know deeply

em detalhes

bottom of things.

get to the point get

ir direto ao ponto

Get to the point!

Give me a break!

Me d um tempo!

Come on, stop it! Give

spare me

Me poupe!

me a break!

to the matter

give someone a hand dar uma mo, ajudar

Can you give me a hand

help

with cooking?

give someone a lift

dar carona

Can you give me a lift

/a ride take to some

to the bank? He gave her

place by car

a ride in his new Porsche.

give someone a piece

criticar, dizer abertamente She lost my umbrella

of ones mind criticize uma opinio

again, so I gave her

frankly

a piece of my mind about

her carelessness.

give up stop doing

render-se

something, stop trying

I gave up smoking. I gave

up trying to fix my old car.

to do something
go back on ones

quebrar uma promessa

word break a promise

First he said he would

help me, but then he went
back on his word.

go for it try to do a new v com tudo

If I were you, I would

thing

go for it.

go from bad to worse ir de mal a pior

His business went from

be worse

bad to worse.

go out go to parties,

sair (ir a uma festa,

Do he and his wife go out

movies

ao cinema, etc)

often?

go out of ones way -try esforar-se muito, tentar He goes out of his way
very hard

muito

go to ones head

subir cabea (sucesso) His acting success went

make too proud

go to pieces get very

to please her.
to his head.

ficar arrasado

She went to pieces when

upset, fall apart

she heard it.

go with the flow lead seguir o fluxo

She always goes with the

quiet life

flow.

grow on someone

gostar pouco a pouco

become liked
had better should

When she knew him more,

he grew on her.

melhor que voc...

You look ill, youd better

see a doctor.

have a ball have

se divertir muito

a good time

Yesterday we had a ball

at the party.

have a bone to pick

ajustar contas com

Mr. Brown, I have a bone

complain or discuss

algum, resolver algum

to pick with you. My mail

something unpleasant

problema com algum

was lost because of you.

have a word with

falar com algum

Can I have a word with

someone talk to
have words with

you?
falar seriamente com

I had words with

someone argue with

algum

someone about something

my coworker today
because he used
my computer again.

have it in him have the ter habilidades

Laura has it in her

ability

to be a good doctor.

have no business doing no assunto para voc, You have no business

something have

no te diz respeito

no right to do
have ones back to the

my permission.
estar entre a cruz

wall be hard-pressed, e a espada

on the defensive

staying here without

I had no choice, I had
my back to the wall.

(em um dilema)

have ones hands full estar muito ocupado

He has his hands full with

very busy

hard work.

have ones heart set

querer muito alguma

She has her heart set

on something want

coisa

on going to New York.

something very much

He has his heart set

on Betty.

have pull have

influenciar

influence on

Does he have pull with the

director?

(not) have the heart

(no) ter coragem de,

I dont have the heart

(not) have the courage

(no) se atrever a

to tell him that he wasnt

accepted, hell

to do smth. unpleasant

be so unhappy.
high and low

em tudo que lugar

I searched high and low

everywhere

(de cima a baixo)

for my lost cat.

hit the nail on the

acertar

You hit the nail on the

head say exactly the

head when you said our

right thing

company needs a new

director.

hit upon something

pensar em algo, descobrir They hit upon gold. I hit

to discover

upon a plan.

hold it against

culpar algum por alguma I lost his book, but

someone blame

coisa

somebody for doing

something

he doesnt hold
it against me.

Hold it! Stop! Wait!

Para!

Hold it! I forgot my key.

Hold on! Wait!

Espera!

Hold on! Ill be back

in a minute.

hold ones own

se manter firme

He can hold his own

maintain oneself

in any situation. We need

in a situation, behave

men who can hold their

as needed

own.

hold up rob using

assaltar, atacar

a weapon
ill at ease

This bank was held

up twice last year.

incmodo

uncomfortable

She felt ill at ease

because of her cheap
dress.

in advance well before de antemo

He told her about his plan

in advance.

in a nutshell in a few

em poucas palavras

words
in care of someone

is to buy land.
aos cuidados de /

write to one person at the escrever para uma

address of another
in cold blood

In a nutshell, my plan
Im staying at Toms
house. Write to me in care

pessoa com o endereo of Tom Gray, Chicago,

de outra

Illinois.

a sangue frio

He killed her in cold blood.

mercilessly
in fact actually,

na verdade, na realidade In fact, he works

in reality
in general generally,

as a manager here.
em geral

generally speaking

In general, he likes
to be alone. He described
the place only in general.

in ones element what estar cmodo, saber

Hes in his element when

one likes

do que est falando

hes arguing.

in other words using

em outras palavras

In other words, you

other words
in plain English

refused to do it for her.

francamente falando

in simple, frank terms

I didnt really like the

concert. In plain English,
the concert was terrible.

the ins and outs all

(conhecer) os detalhes

He knows the ins and outs

info about

of this business.

in someones shoes

se colocar na situao

Id hate to be in his shoes

in another persons

de outra pessoa

now. He lost his job, and

position
in the long run in the

his wife is in the hospital.

no fim das contas

In the long run, itll

end

be better to buy it.

in the same boat in the no mesmo barco,

Stop arguing with me,

same situation

were in the same boat

na mesma situao

and should help each

other.
in the clear free from

estar fora de qualquer

Pay the bill and youll

blame

suspeita

be in the clear.

in time

em tempo de (fazer algo) I came in time to have

(to do something)

a cup of coffee before

before something begins

class.

it goes without saying no preciso falar

It goes without saying that

should be clear without

he must pay what he owes

words

right away.

Its on the tip

est na ponta da lngua

of my tongue.
its time should

His name is on the tip

of my tongue.

est na hora

Hurry up, its time to go.

Its worth it. / Its not

vale a pena, no vale

Watch this film, its

worth it. Its (not) worth

a pena

worth it. Dont buy this

do it right away

buying, visiting, watching,

coat, it is not worth it. This

etc.

museum is worth visiting.

This film is not worth
watching.

it will do its enough

suficiente, serve

Stop reading, it will do for

now.

jump at the

aproveitar a oportunidade His boss mentioned a job

opportunity/chance

in Europe, and Peter

accept the opportunity

jumped at the opportunity.

eagerly
just as soon prefer this preferiria

Id just as soon stay home,

Im tired.

one
just in case

para garantir, por via das Take an extra shirt, just

to be on the safe side

dvidas

in case.

Just my luck! Bad /

que sorte/azar!

They lost my job

Hard luck!
keep an eye on take

application. Just my luck!

ficar de olho, cuidar

Betty keeps an eye

on my sons for me. Ill

care of, watch, look after

keep an eye on you!

keep a straight face

ficar srio

not to laugh
keep company

I tried to keep a straight

face, but failed.

fazer companhia

She keeps me company

accompany

quite often.

keep ones word fulfill manter a palavra

You promised, now keep

a promise

your word.

keep someone posted manter algum informado Keep me posted about

inform
keep your fingers

your plans.
cruzar os dedos

I have a job interview

crossed hope that

today. Keep your fingers

nothing will go wrong

crossed for me, will you?

kill time fill/spend

matar o tempo

empty time

I went to the show to kill

time.

(not) know the first thing no saber absolutamente I dont know the first thing
about not to have any nada

about nuclear physics.

knowledge about
know the ropes

saber de tudo

be very familiar with some

He knows all the ropes

in this company.

business
last-minute notice little notcia de ltima hora

His arrival was a last-

or no time to prepare for

minute notice, we didnt

something

have time to prepare for it.

lay ones cards on the

pr as cartas sobre

Finally, we asked him

table be frank and

a mesa

to lay his cards on the

open

table and tell us about his

plans.

lay ones life on the

arriscar a vida

He laid his life on the line

line put oneself

to fulfill this task, but

in a dangerous situation

nobody appreciated his

efforts.

lead a dogs life live

viver uma vida de co

He leads a dogs life.

lead someone on

enganar, fazer algum

They suspect that you are

make someone believe

acreditar em algo

leading them on. You led

in misery

something that isnt true

me on!

leave it at that accept deixar as coisas como

Leave it at that, what else

reluctantly

esto

can you do?

leave word leave

deixar uma mensagem

He left word for you

a message

to meet him at the airport

at 6.

let bygones

esquecer o passado

Why dont you let bygones

be bygones forget and

be bygones and forget

forgive bad things in the

about what he said?

past
let go of release the

deixar ir (embora)

hold

Let go of my hand or Ill

call the guard.

let (it) go forget bad

esquecer, superar

Hes still in despair and

experience, return

um problema

cant let (it) go. You cant

to normal life

change anything, so let

it go.

let ones hair down

relaxar, ficar vontade

She is always so formal.

be relaxed and informal

She never lets her hair

with other people

down.

let someone down

decepcionar algum

disappoint, fail someone

let someone know

time!
avisar, informar

inform
like father, like son

Dont let me down this

Let me know when you
find a job.

tal pai, tal filho

Paul won a prize

be like ones parent

in a chess tournament.

in something

Great! Like father, like

son!

little by little step

pouco a pouco

Little by little, he got used

by step
look for search for

to Tokyo.
procurar

What are you looking for?

look forward to expect esperar ansiosamente

Im looking forward to your

with pleasure

letter. Mary is looking

forward to the party.

look out be careful,

tomar cuidado

watch out

Look out! The bus

is coming!

look up check with

procurar (informao

If you dont know this

/in a dictionary

na Internet, no dicionrio, word, look it up in the

or a reference book

etc)

dictionary.

lose ones temper

perder a pacincia

He loses his temper very

become angry

often.

lose ones way get lost se perder

I lost my way. Can you

help me?

lose track of not

perder de vista, no ver

I lost track of him years

to know where someone

algum h muito tempo

ago.

golpe de sorte

He got his lucky break

or something is
lucky break a lucky
chance
make a living earn

when he got this job.

ganhar a vida

money to provide for life

He works hard. His family

is big, and he has to make
a living somehow.

make allowance for

levar em conta

Dont criticize him so hard,

take into consideration

make (an) allowance for

when judging

his inexperience.

make a point of

se empenhar em fazer

be sure to do something

algo, ter certeza de fazer about his wife. Make

intentionally

algo intencionalmente

it a point to be here by 10.

make ends meet

chegar no final do ms

His doesnt get much

Make a point of asking

to have and spend only

money. I wonder how

what one earns

he manages to make ends

meet.

make friends become fazer amigos/amizade

Anton makes new friends

friends

easily.

make fun of laugh at, tirar sarro de

He made fun of her

joke about
make no bones about

German accent.
no vou repetir

Ill make no bones about it:

it say/do openly,

I dont like your attitude

without hesitation

to work.

make room for allow

fazer espao para

We can make room for

space for

one more dog.

make sense be logical ter sentido

What you say makes

sense.

make the most

tirar o maior proveito

Lets make the most of our

of smth do the best

de algo

vacation.

fazer as pazes

Im tired of fighting. Lets

in the given situation

make up become
friends again
make up for smth

make up.
recompensar

compensate
make up ones mind

you spent on it.

tomar uma deciso

decide
make yourself

Ill make up for the time

When will you go? Make
up your mind.

sinta-se em casa

at home

Come in please. Make

yourself at home.

be comfortable, feel
at home
man of his word one

um homem de palavra

You can depend on his

who keeps promises,

promise to help. Hes

is dependable

a man of his word.

mean well have good ter boas intenes

He meant well, but

intentions

it turned out that

he spoiled a couple
of things for me.

might as well a good

podia aproveitar e... (boa I might as well telephone

idea

ideia)

him now.

missing person

pessoa desaparecida

The little boy disappeared.

someone who is lost and

The police registered him

cant be located

as a missing person.

meet someone
halfway compromise

achar o ponto mdio

Hes reasonable and tries

to meet his coworkers

with others
never mind it doesnt

halfway, when possible.

esquea, no importa

Thank you. Never mind.

sem falar em...

We have three dogs, not

matter
not to mention
in addition to
no wonder not

to mention two cats.

no uma surpresa

No wonder hes sick.

surprising
now and again

He ate three big fish.

de vez em quando

occasionally

I meet them now and

again at the bank.

odds and ends

restos, uma variedade

I needed to buy some

a variety of small

de coisas pequenas

odds and ends for the

unimportant things

e sem importncia

kitchen.

or leftovers
off the cuff without

de maneira improvisada Off the cuff, I can give you

preparation
off the point beside

only a rough estimate.

no vem ao caso

the point
off the record not for

What I think about him

is off the point.

extraoficialmente

the public, unofficially

Strictly off the record,

I think the director is going
to get married soon.

once and for all

de uma vez por todas

You must quit smoking

decidedly

once and for all.

on credit not pay cash pagar no crdito

He bought a car on credit.

right away
on edge nervous,

nervoso, irritado

irritable
on guard on the alert

Hes been on edge ever

since she left.

alerta

Hes cautious and always

on guard.

on hand available

ter mo

Do you have a calculator

on hand?

on ones own alone,

sozinho

by oneself
on ones toes alert,

She likes to live and work

on her own.

alerta

He was on his toes and

attentive, prepared for

produced a very good

difficulties

impression on them.

on purpose

de propsito

intentionally
on second thought

I didnt do it on purpose,
it just happened so.

pensando bem

Id like to sit on the aisle.

On second thought, Id like

after thinking again

a window seat.
on the alert on guard

alerta

Hes cautious and always

on the alert.

on the carpet called

chamar a ateno, criticar Yesterday the boss called

in by the boss for criticism (ser chamado sala

do chefe)
on the go busy, on the em movimento

her on the carpet for being

rude to the coworkers.
He is always on the go.

move
on the off chance

no caso de...

On the off chance that you

dont find him at work,

unlikely to happen, but still

heres his home address.

on the other hand

por outro lado

Id like to have a dog.

considering the other side

On the other hand,

of the question

my wife likes cats better.

on the spot right there no mesmo lugar

I decided to do it on the
spot.

on the spur of the

na empolgao

He bought this car on the

moment without

do momento

spur of the moment, now

previous thought / plan

he regrets it.

on time punctual

pontual, em tempo

Jim is always on time.

out of ones mind

louco, fora de si

If you think so, youre out

crazy

of your mind.

out of ones way away fora do caminho

I cant give you a lift to the

from someones usual

bank, its out of my way

route

today.

out of the question

fora de discusso

Paying him is out of the

impossible

question!

pack rat a person who acumulador compulsivo

Why does she keep all

saves lots of unnecessary

those things she never

things

uses? She is a pack

rat.

pay attention

prestar ateno

Pay attention to his words.

be attentive
pick a fight start

comear uma discusso He often tries to pick

a quarrel
pick up take, get

a fight with me.

escolher

play ones cards right saber jogar, no errar

choose the right steps

Ill pick you up at 7.

If you play your cards

a mo, no pisar em falso right, hell agree to your

in doing something

plan.

potluck supper

jantar onde cada um traz You know what happened

a surprise meal, where

alguma coisa de comer

at our last potluck supper?

nobody knows what

Everybody brought

dishes other guests will

macaroni and cheese,

bring

apples, and beer!

pull oneself together controlar-se e/para sair

Stop crying and

brace oneself, summon

complaining! You have

de um mau momento

your strength

to pull yourself together

now.

pull the wool over

enganar

Are you trying to pull the

someones eyes

wool over my eyes?

deceive, mislead someone

It wont do you any good.

put a damper on

colocar barreiras,

She always puts a damper

discourage

estraga-prazeres

on my plans.

put in a word for

defender algum, falar

Id be very grateful if you

someone say positive coisas boas de algum

could put in a word for

things about someone

me when you speak

para outra pessoa

to him.
put off postpone

adiar

Dont put it off till

tomorrow.

put ones foot down

se opor fortemente

object strongly

Her father put his foot

down when she said she
wanted to marry Alan.

put ones foot in it

fazer besteira, falar algo He put his foot in it when

do the wrong thing, make fora de hora

he told the boss his

a fool of oneself

daughter wasnt pretty.

put up with accept,

aguentar, tolerar

I cant put up with your

tolerate
quite a bit of much,

bad work!
muito

I had quite a bit of trouble

a lot of

with that car.

quite a few many, a lot muitos

He wrote quite a few good

of

stories.

rack ones brain try

esforar-se, quebrar

He racked his brain

hard to think

a cabea

to solve the puzzle.

read between the

ler nas entrelinhas

His books are not easy

lines find or understand

to understand; you have

the implied meaning

to read between the lines.

remember me to say

mandar lembranas

Please remember

hello to

me to your family.

right away immediately imediatamente

It very important
to do it right away.

ring a bell remind

parecer familiar

Annabel Lee? Yeah,

someone of something

it rings a bell, but I cant

familiar /half-forgotten

place it right now.

rock the boat make

causar problemas, gerar Peter always rocks the

the situation unstable

conflito

boat when we discuss

companys spending
policy.

rub shoulders with

relacionar-se

He doesnt rub shoulders

meet with

with the rich.

rub someone the wrong irritar algum

His remarks rub many

way irritate, annoy,

coworkers the wrong way.

make angry
run into meet

encontrar algum por

I ran into an old friend

by chance

casualidade

yesterday.

save face try to change voltar atrs para salvar

He said a stupid thing and

the negative impression

tried to save face

a reputao

produced

by saying
he misunderstood me.

save ones breath stop no perder tempo

Theres no use talking

useless talk

to him about his spending

explicando

habits, so save your

breath.
scratch the surface

analisar de maneira

He examines all the facts

study something

superficial

closely, he doesnt just

superficially

scratch the surface.

see about make

ocupar-se de alguma

I have to see about our

arrangements for

coisa

plane tickets.

see eye to eye agree

dividir o mesmo ponto

We dont see eye to eye

de vista

any longer.

serve someone right ter o que merece

It serves him right that

get what someone

he didnt get this job,

deserves

he despised all other

candidates.

serve ones purpose servir ao propsito

I doubt that hiring this man

be useful to someone for de algum

will serve your purpose.

his purpose
show promise

quando uma pessoa

This young actor shows

be promising

promete, leva jeito

promise.

show up appear

aparecer

I waited for hours but

he didnt show up.

size up evaluate

avaliar

someone
sleep on it postpone

It took me 5 minutes
to size up that man.

adiar algo para o dia

Dont decide now, sleep

a decision till next morning seguinte

on it.

a slip of the tongue

It was just a slip of the

erro, equvoco, lapso

a mistake

tongue!

slip (from) ones mind esquecer

It slipped my mind what

forget

she asked me.

smell a rat suspect

suspeitar alguma coisa

something
so far up to now

Im not sure what it is, but I

smell a rat.

at agora

So far, I have read

3 books by King.

so much the better its melhor ainda

If he can pay cash,

even better

so much the better.

spill the beans tell

contar/revelar

Who spilled the beans

a secret

um segredo

about our plan?

stand a chance have

ter uma oportunidade

a chance
stand out

of getting it.
destacar-se, sobressair

be noticeable
stand to reason

He stands out in any

group of people.

ser lgico

be logical
straight from the

He doesnt stand a chance

It stands to reason that

he apologized.

falar francamente

shoulder speak frankly

Dont try to spare

my feelings, give
it to me straight from the
shoulder.

take a dim view

ter uma opinio negativa My sister takes a dim view

of something

sobre algo

disapprove of something
take a break stop for

of the way I raise

my children.

fazer uma pausa

Lets take a break, Im

rest

tired.

take advantage of use aproveitar-se de

We took advantage of the

for ones own benefit,

low prices and bought

to profit from

a computer and a monitor.

take after be like one

parecer-se aos pais

of the parents

Tom takes after his father

in character, and after his
mother in appearance.

take a stand

assumir uma

People need to take

on something make

posio/opinio dura

a stand on the issue

a firm opinion/decision

of nuclear weapons.

on smth.
take care of look after, cuidar de

Can you take care

protect, see that smth.

of my dog while Im away?

is done properly

Tom takes good care

of his car.

take hold

segurar

of something take,

Take hold of this rope and

pull.

hold
take into account
consider smth.
take it easy relax,

considerar

You must take into

account her old age.

no se preocupe, v com Take it easy, everything

be calm

calma

will be OK.

take (it) for granted

tomar algo como certo

Mothers love is always

accept as given

taken for granted

by children.

take ones breath away

tirar o flego de algum

That great view took

my breath away.

take ones time

fazer as coisas com

Dont hurry. Take your

do slowly

calma, sem pressa

time.

take ones word for it acreditar na palavra

Take my word for it,

believe

de algum

he wont go there.

take pains try hard

esforar-se

He took pains to make his

to do it well
take part in smth.

report perfect.
participar

participate in
take place happen

Mary is going to take part

in the show.

acontecer

The accident took place

on Oak Street.

take someones mind off distrair os pensamentos

Go to a concert or a movie

things distract from

to take your mind off

fixed ideas/thoughts

things.

take steps take action agir

We need to take steps

/measures

against it.

take the words right out tirar as palavras da boca I was about to say the
of ones mouth say

da outra pessoa

the same before

same! You took the words

right out of my mouth.

somebody else says it

take time take a long

levar tempo

It takes time to get used

time

to a new place.

take time off be absent tirar um tempo/dia livre

He took time off to attend

from work

the wedding.

take turns alternate

alternar, revezar

We went to Minsk by car.

doing something one after

We didnt get tired

another

because we took turns

driving

talk back answer

responder (de um jeito

Dont talk back to the

rudely

rude)

teacher!

talk it over discuss

discutir

Ill talk it over with

my family.

tell apart see the

distinguir

Can you tell the twins

difference

apart?

Thats just the point. Esse o ponto.

Thats just the point! I hate

Thats it.

this job!

the writing on the wall premonio (de algo

The plane crashed. Tim

a sign of future events

said he saw the writing

ruim)

(usually, trouble)

on the wall about this

flight.

not think much of

no achar to bom (algo I dont think much of her

think low

ou algum)

cooking.

think over consider

pensar com calma

Think over your answer.

carefully
till one is blue in the

Think it over carefully.

esforar-se muito

face try hard

to make a long story

in the face!
resumindo

short in short
to say the least

I repeated it till I was blue

To make a long story
short, we won.

para falar o mnimo

to make the minimum

The film was boring and

long, to say the least.

comment about smth.

try on put on new

experimentar/provar

Try on this leather coat,

clothes to test them for

(roupa)

its very good. She tried

it on, but it didnt fit her

size or look

at all.
try ones hand

experimentar/tentar algo I want to try my hand

at something try

at painting.

turn on / off switch on / ligar/desligar

Turn on the radio. Turn off

off

the water.

turn out to be

resultar

result/end this way

turn over a new leaf

He turned out to be a very

good actor.

comear de novo

He promises to turn over

make a fresh start in life,

a new leaf and quit alcohol

work, etc.

for good.

turn the tide reverse

mudar o rumo das coisas The new evidence turned

the course of events

the tide, and the defendant

was acquitted of charges.

twist ones arm make convencer algum

They twisted his arm

to agree

to sell the house.

(inicialmente, contra
a vontade)

under the weather feel resfriado, gripado

Im a little under the

ill

weather today.

up-and-coming

algo promissor

He is an up-and-coming

showing promise of future

young lawyer who might

success

help you with your case.

up in arms hostile to,

protestar, estar contra

The employees are

in strong protest against

up in arms about the new

something

retirement rules.

up in the air undecided estar no ar, indefinido

My vacation plans are still

up in the air.

up to par equal

adequado/normal

His behavior isnt

in standard

up to par.

used to did often in the tinha o costume de

I used to play the piano

past, but not now

when I was in school (but I

dont play it now).

walk on air be very

estar nas nuvens, muito

He got the job and

happy

feliz

is walking on air now.

waste ones breath

esforo em vo

Dont waste your breath

speak uselessly,

trying to make him do it,

to no purpose

he wont change his mind.

watch ones step

ter cuidado, ir com calma Watch your step!

be careful
watch out look out,

ter cuidado

be careful
wet blanket a kill-joy,

Watch out for that car!

Watch out!

estraga-prazeres

Remember what a wet

who spoils everybodys

blanket he was last time?

fun

Please dont invite him

again.

Whats the matter?

What is it?

o que est acontecendo? Whats the matter? What

happened?

which way the wind

em que direo sopra

blows what the real

o vento / qual a realidade wind blows and always

situation is

nisso tudo

acts accordingly.

white lie unimportant

mentira inocente

A white lie is told to spare

lie
word for word in the

your feelings.
literalmente

same words
would rather prefer

He knows which way the

Tell me word for word

what he said.

preferir

Id rather stay at home

today.