KEY

Common idioms List

Set 1
Common Idioms Definitions
It cost me an arm and a leg to take my trip to Australia. Very expensive
I was over the moon when he asked me to marry him. Extremely pleased or happy
You are taking your IELTS test next week?? Aren’t Doing or starting something too early
you jumping the gun. You’ve only just started studying. nghĩa là làm điều gì vội vã, quá
sớm
He comes round to see me once in a blue moon. Happening very rarely
Đây là hiện tượng xảy ra khi trăng tròn vào thời điểm khác
thường của tháng và rất hiếm. Chính vì vậy, tiếng Anh sử
dụng thành ngữ once in a blue moon để chỉ những việc hiếm
khi xảy ra
He’s got a chip on his shoulder. Feeling inferior or having a grievance
Chip có nghĩa là một mảnh gỗ và shoulder là cái vai. Thành about something
ngữ này xuất xứ từ thế kỷ thứ 19 để chỉ những người thích
gây sự, mang một khúc gỗ trên vai và thách người khác đánh
nhau với họ để làm rơi khúc gỗ xuống đất
I reckon getting a band 7 in IELTS will be a piece of cake! Very easy
I’m very good at English.
The money sent by comic relief to help poverty in Africa is A very small part of something much
just a drop in the ocean. They need far more than this. bigger
Getting a low score the first time I took IELTS was a Something positive that isn’t recognized
blessing in disguise. It forced me to study extremely hard so until later
I got a much better score the next time.  điều hạnh phúc/sung sướng cải trang ->
cụm từ này nghĩa là một việc tốt mà đầu
tiên bạn không nhận ra, thậm chí
còn nghĩa đó là việc không tốt; trong cái
rủi có cái may.23 thg 7, 2019
We have to actually do something about global It’s better to actually do something
warming. Actions speak louder than words. rather than just talking about it
là hành động quan trọng hơn lời nói,
được dùng trong trường hợp bạn mong
đợi hành động hơn là lời nói từ đối
phương. Nó cũng có nghĩa là nếu bạn đã
nói bạn sẽ làm điều gì đó, vậy thì bạn cần
phải làm nó
I bumped into Jenny in town the other day. It's a small Meeting someone you would not have
world. expected to
Đúng là trái đất tròn!”
Idioms Practice - Test yourself on these first 10 common idioms
Set 2
Common Idioms
Oh well, I got 5.5 in IELTS again. Back to the drawing
board!
bắt đầu lại từ đầu
I hate my job so much I can’t bare going to work, but if I quit Having two very bad choices.
I don’t think I can get another job. I’m really stuck / caught (note: stuck/caught can be omitted)
between a rock and a hard place.
I have to bite my tongue so I don’t say what I really think of Wanting to say something but stopping
him!
Come on, cut to the chase. We haven’t got all day!
Are you putting all of your savings into that company?
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Try not to worry about it. Every cloud has a silver lining.
It was difficult when I moved to another country but I
eventually found my feet.
My parents are very fixed in their ways. They won’t start
using the internet.
I think he got up on the wrong side of the bed this
morning. He is in a terrible mood.
Definitions
When an attempt to do something fails
and it's time to start all over again using
different methods
Nghĩa:  ở trong một tình thế cực kỳ khó
khăn khi phải lựa chọn giữa một trong
hai phương án. 
Nguồn gốc: thành ngữ này bắt nguồn từ
Mỹ và0 năm 1921. Khi đó, các công
nhân mỏ tại Arizona biểu tình để yêu cầu
được tăng lương và cải thiện điều kiện
làm việc, song những mong muốn của họ
liên tiếp bị các ông chủ khước từ. Các
công nhân này phải đứng giữa hai sự lựa
chọn: ở lại Arizona và tiếp tục cuộc sống
khốn khó như hiện tại (the rock), hoặc
chuyển đến một TP khác và phải tìm
kiếm một công việc mới, nơi ở mới (hard
place).
yourself.
Leave out all the unnecessary details and
just get to the point
Putting all of ones resources into one
possibility
Believing that every bad situation has a
positive side / eventually leads to
something good
To become comfortable in what you are
doing
Not wanting to change from the normal
ways of doing things
To refer to someone who is having a bad
day
Nghĩa: Tỉnh dậy trong trạng thái vô cùng
bực bội mà không rõ lí do.
Nguồn gốc: thành ngữ này có nguồn gốc
từ thành Rome. Khi đó, người Roma tin
rằng nếu họ tỉnh dậy bên phía trái của
 giường (được coi là “wrong side”) thì cả
ngày đó họ sẽ gặp xui xẻo.

My mother will always go the extra mile to help people. Doing much more than is required when
doing something
Go to the Idiom practice exercise for these 10 words
Set 3
Common Idioms Definitions
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. That’s the reason he Say exactly the right thing
didn’t get the job.
Today’s going so badly. If it’s not one thing, it’s the other. When everything seems to be going
wrong
I just said it in the heat of the moment. I was angry. I know Saying or doing something suddenly
I shouldn’t have. without thinking about it
Keep an eye on him. I think he may cheat in the exam. Watch someone or something carefully
Have you heard? John down the road has kicked the bucket. Died
I don’t want to argue with him again. It’s better to let Avoid a conflict
sleeping dogs lie.
I told him what gift you have bought him for his birthday. Tell someone something that you were
Sorry, I didn’t mean to let the cat out of the bag. not supposed to
Nghĩa: Tiết lộ bí mật một cách vô ý
 
Nguồn gốc: Thời xưa, các thương gia
thường bán lợn sống cho khách hàng.
Những con lợn đó được cho vào bao
trước khi khách hàng đưa tiền và mang
lợn đi. Tuy nhiên, nhiều thương gia đã
gian lận, thế lợn bằng mèo và khách hàng
chỉ phát hiện ra mình bị lừa khi về đến
nhà và bỏ con mèo ra khỏi ba

Don’t tell her what you really think of her if she’s helping Hurt or upset someone who is helping
you with your English! Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. you
I’m not sure which party he is going to vote for. He’s sitting Not making a firm decision between
on the fence. different choices
Everything she does is very over the top. She can’t just have Excessive
a few drinks – se has to get really drunk.
View these 10 idioms in use and practice them

Set 4
Common Idioms Definitions
Let’s keep studying for IELTS. Practice makes perfect.“Có Continuously doing something to
công mài sắt có ngày nên kim” improve
Don’t get upset about what he said. He’s just pulling your leg. Joking around
có nghĩa là trêu, chọc ai, nói một điều
không có thật để trêu đùa ai.
Sorry but I think I’ll take a rain check on that. To decline an offer that you will take up
có nghĩa là từ chối một đề nghị ( hoặc yêu cầu) mà bạn later
mong là có thể chấp nhận/thực hiện lại vào ngày hôm sau
As a rule of thumb, I don’t study at weekends. I spend the Principal that is strictly adhered / kept to
time with my family. Quy tắc “ngón tay cái” này biểu thị cho
Theo kinh nghiê ̣m thì một quy luật bất thành văn nói chung nào
đó, luôn đúng.
I can smell a rat. He said he has a PhD but he can’t even To sense that something is not right
remember which university he studied at. có nghĩa là nghi ngờ có một sự sai quấy
hay dối trá
She’s the spitting image of her mother. To look exactly like someone else
The ball's in your court now. What are you going to do? Telling someone it's now their turn to
make a decision
Unfortunately I think he’ll be studying for IELTS until the For a very long timetrong một khoảng
cows come home. His English is very poor. thời gian dài
It was all tongue-in-cheek. He didn’t really mean what he said. Something said in humour rather than
không nghiêm túc, mỉa mai, hay đùa, seriously
She’s feeling under the weather today so she won’t be going UnwellThành ngữ này ám chỉ việc bạn bị
to work. ốm, mệt mỏi, do học tập quá nhiều, có
thể bắt đầu bị cúm, các triệu chứng đau
đầu.
Go to idioms exercises for Set 4 words
Set 5
Common Idioms Definitions
We've had some big disagreements over the years, but it’s Things from the past that are not
all water under the bridge now. We get on fine. important anymore
Nước chảy qua cầu) là một thành ngữ phổ biến tại Anh,
tức là một chuyện gì không tốt đã trôi qua, không nên lo nghĩ
hay nhắc lại nữa
You are what you eat so it’s better to have a healthy diet. If you eat bad food, you’ll be unhealthy,
Hãy nói cho tôi biết bạn ăn gì, tôi sẽ trả lời bạn là ai if you eat good food, you’ll be healthy
You can’t judge a book by its cover. I need to get to know The belief that outside appearances do
him before I decide what he is like. not reveal what someone or something is
đừng đánh giá một sự vật/sự việc/con người chỉ qua vẻ bề really like
ngoài.
We're really working against the clock now. We must hurry. Not having enough time to do something
Why are we bothering? We're flogging a dead horse. Our Attempting to continue with something
online business is making no money, so we should move on that is finished / over
and do something else. thường dùng để thuyết phục ai đó
 rằng kết cục đã an bài và mọi nỗ lực
sau đó đều trở nên vô ích, giống như
đánh vào con ngựa đã chết thì không
có tác dụng gì

I bent over backwards to help him. I hope he appreciates it. Doing all you can to help someone
Ý nói: Cố gắng mọi sức lực để làm việc gì đó, thường thường
là để làm cho ai khác vui. Ngoài cụm trên, ta cũng có thể nói
“to lean over backwards”.
So you have the IELTS test today?? Break a leg. Good luck
Ok, I'm playing devil's advocate here, but if marijuana is To put forward a side in an argument
legalized, isn't it more likely young people will smoke it? that may not be your own in order to
Với bất kì điều gì mà bạn cảm thấy rất đúng hay cần thiết (ví show the counter-argument / ensure all
dụ bạn tin rằng mọi người nên học thêm ngôn ngữ thứ 2), bạn sides are discussed
hãy viết với góc nhìn ngược lại (nghĩa là mọi người không nên
học ngôn ngữ thứ 2 nào nữa). Trong tiếng Anh, người ta gọi đó
là “playing devil’s advocate” – nghĩa là khi bạn chọn về phía
mà bạn không tin, để có thể nhìn ra vấn đề từ một góc nhìn
khác.
Hold your horses! We haven't won anything yet. Telling someone who is getting ahead of
Hold your horses ( = wait a moment) themselves to wait / be patient
Một người đang bê rất nhiều con ngựa là nghĩa đen hóm hỉnh
cho cụm “Hold your horses” – Hãy đợi một chút.

She is driving me up the wall. She won't stop talking. Annoying or irritating somebody
có nghĩa là điều đó làm bạn rất khó chịu
và bực tức

BÀI TẬP THỰC HÀNH

Idioms Practice Exercise 1

Below is a list of the first 10 common phrases to practice. Remember to go back to the
common idioms page to learn the words if you have not done that yet.

 a blessing in disguise 
 a drop in the ocean
 a piece of cake 
 actions speak louder than words
 an arm and a leg
 chip on his shoulder 
 it's a small world
 jumping the gun
 once in a blue moon
 over the moon

Idioms Practice Exercise 1

1. Getting my car fixed is going to cost me   as the engine has
completely blown, but I have no choice. I need it for work.
2. The flu I had a few weeks ago which prevented me from going on holiday with my friends
was   . They had a terrible time. Everything went wrong and it
cost them a lot of money.

3. I was in a café in Italy and amazingly I saw Paul from down the road in
there. 

4. Jan is finally getting a chance to go on her trip of a life time, a holiday to Australia! She
was   when I spoke to her.

5. 3 pounds may seem like   but if everyone contributed that

much we'd have thousands.

6. The government keeps talking about reducing poverty but what do they ever do about it?
Nothing!   .

7. I've got a promotion at work, but all John did was make a joke about it. He has a
real   . I think he is just jealous.

8. The interview for that new job was   . They asked me really
easy questions.

9. The new Martin Scorsese film is out at the cinema. A film that comes out that I really enjoy
and want to see happens   , so I'll definitely go and see it.

10. He was   when he gave up his job to start university. Now

he has found out he can't get a grant.

key
1. an arm and a leg
2. a blessing in disguise
3. it's a small world
4. over the moon
5. a drop in the ocean
6. actions speak louder than words
7. chip on his shoulder
8. a piece of cake
9. once in a blue moon
10. jumping the gun
Idiom Practice Exercise 2

 back to the drawing board

 between a rock and a hard place
 bite your tongue
 cut to the chase
 every cloud has a silver lining
 find your feet
 fixed in his/her ways
 get up on the wrong side of the bed
 go the extra mile
 put all your eggs in one basket
1. Can you   and tell us if we are going to lose our jobs or
not?

2. Don't be so grumpy with me! Did you   ?

3. He's very   . He'll never vote Labour. He's voted for the
Conservative party his whole life.

4. I know everything seems very bad at the moment but   .

I'm sure something good will come out of it.

5. I know you shouldn't   but I'm going to sell all my stocks

and shares and purchase an off-plan property in Spain. I'm sure it will be fine.

6. I was   in that meeting. I really wanted to tell him that his
idea was no good but you can't say that to the boss.

7. It doesn't look like this strategy to improve the company's profits is working, so
it's   !

8. Jane really   yesterday. I only asked her to pick the kids

up from school, but she took them home, helped with their homework and put them to bed.

9. She's   . Her marriage isn't working so she's very

unhappy at home, but if she moves out and leaves him her family will blame her and won't talk
to her.

10. The job might seem confusing at first as there are a lot of different departments you need
to work with but you'll soon

 key
 1. cut to the chase
 2. get up on the wrong side of the bed
 3. fixed in his ways
 4. every cloud has a silver lining
 5. put all your eggs in one basket
 6. biting my tongue
 7. back to the drawing board
 8. went the extra mile
 9. between a rock and a hard place
 10. find your feet

Idiom in use - Practice Exercise 3

 bite the hand that feeds you
 heat of the moment
 hit the nail on the head
 if it's not one thing, it's the other
 keep an eye on 
 kick the bucket
 let sleeping dogs lie
 let the cat out of the bag
 over the top
 sit on the fence
1. I missed my bus this morning, then when I went for a taxi I realized I'd left my wallet at
home. Then when I got back home I couldn't find my key. Now my computer has crashed.
Honestly,   .

2. I hope Joyce hasn't   . She was in her 90s. She got
taken off to hospital the other day as she was very unwell.

3. I   as I accidentally mentioned that we are all meeting

for a drink tonight. Sorry, I know you didn't want him to know.

4. I tend to   over most controversial issues. I'm never

sure which side of the argument to support.

5. The boss never disciplined John over the fact that he came into work late twice last week.
He must have decided to   .

6. Try to keep up good relations with your boss. You don't want
to   .

7. He   when he said the reason we lost the match is

because of weakness in our defence. That's definitely the reason.

8.He doesn't really hate you. He just said it in the   .

9. An IELTS examiner has to   the time in the speaking

test. It should not be more than 14 minutes.

10. Her angry response to your email was way   . You

had every right to say what you did.

Key
1. if it's not one thing, it's the other
2. kicked the bucket
3. let the cat out of the bag
4. sit on the fence
5. let sleeping dogs lie
6. bite the hand that feeds you
7. hit the nail on the head
8. heat of the moment
9. keep an eye on
10. over the top
Idioms Exercises - Practice 4
 practice makes perfect
 pulling your leg
 rule of thumb
 smell a rat
 take a rain check
 the ball's in your court
 the spitting image
 till the cows come home
 tongue-in-cheek
 under the weather
1. Wow – the painting is   of you. Who drew it?

2. I'm a bit busy so I'll   , but thanks for inviting me.

3. I've been a bit   since last night. I think it may have been something
I ate.

4. Are you   ? I don't believe you really did that.

5. The police   when he said he wasn't involved in the crime.

Someone fitting his description had been seen in the area.

6. Don't worry if you can't do it yet. Keep trying.   .

7. The   in our house is not to talk about politics – it always ends in
arguments!

8. The TV programme was a   look at American culture. It wasn't that

serious.

9. I've told him how angry I am, so   now. We'll see what he does.

10. We'll be waiting   for England to win the football World Cup again.

1. the spitting image

2. take a rain check

3. under the weather

4. pulling my leg

5. smelt a rat

6. practice makes perfect

7. rule of thumb

8. tongue-in-cheek

9. the ball's in his court

10. till the cows come home

Idiom Practice Exercises - Practice 5

 bend over backwards
 break a leg
 drive someone up the wall
 flogging a dead horse
 hold your horses
 playing devil's advocate
 water under the bridge
 working against the clock
 you are what you eat
 you can't judge a book by its cover
1. We'll be   to get this finished. It's 4pm so we only have
an hour left.

2.   mate! I'm sure you'll do well. You're easily the best
team.

3. I agree with you really. I'm just   so you know what those
who disagree with you may say.

4. Please, don't worry about what you said anymore. It's

all   . I know you were just feeling upset at the time.

5. Stop trying to get back with your ex-girlfriend. You're   .

There is no love between you anymore.

6. I thought John was an idiot when I first saw him just because of the way he dressed.
But   – he's a really good bloke.

7. My doctor always says   when I go to see him about my

weight. It's very true as I have a poor diet.

8. The government is   before the election to appear united.

They know the electorate needs to believe in them.

9. My younger brother really   . He argues and disagrees with

everything I say.

10. I think you should   ! You aren't ready yet to quit and
start your own business. You need more experience.

1. working against the clock

2. break a leg
3. playing devil's advocate
4. water under the bridge
5. flogging a dead horse:
6. you can't judge a book by its cover
7. you are what you eat
8. bending over backwards
9. drives me up the wall
10. hold your horses