STRUCTURE 18

1 The elephant in the room| the 600 lb/800 lb. gorilla: an obvious truth/fact, especially st embarrassing or
undesirable, that is being intentionally ignored.
 We all sat sipping our tea quietly; no one wanting to bring up the elephant in the room about his
expulsion from college.
 I don't want to ask the question, but it is the 800 lb. gorilla.

2 Lose face: to lose prestige or respect.

 His terrible performance in the debate caused him to lose face with the voters.
 John is more afraid of losing face than losing money.

Save face: to keep your reputation and avoid others losing respect for you
 We said (he left to find a better job) to let him save face, but actually we fired him.

3 The final/last straw (the straw that breaks the camel's back): the last in a series of unpleasant events
that finally makes you feel that you cannot continue to accept a bad situation.
 She's always been rude to me, but it was the last straw when she started insulting my mother.

4 Throw sb under the bus: to do st harmful to sb else in order to gain anadvantage for yourself.
 He has been accused of throwing fellow Republicans under the bus for his personal agenda.
 I'm not going to throw my friend under the bus for something he did 25 years ago.

5 Blow off steam: to do or say st that helps you to get rid of strong feelings or energy.
 Call me any time you need to blow off some steam.

Let sb’s hair down: to relax and enjoy yourself

 We need a place where young folk can let their hair down and enjoy themselves.

6 Actions speak louder than words: what you do is more important and shows your intentions and feelings
more clearly than what you say.
 Trump made all sorts of promises when he was on the campaign trail. However, actions speak
louder than words, so we'll see how many of those promises he actually keeps.

7 If the shoe fits, wear it: if st (typically negative) applies to one, one should accept blame for it.
 I know you don't like being called unreliable, but if the shoe fits, wear it.
 A: "Why do teachers always treat me like some kind of troublemaker?" B: "If the shoe fits...."

Put yourself in sb's place/position/shoes: to imagine how someone else feels in a difficult situation
 Before being quick to judge someone for their actions, you should always try to put yourself in
their place. Everyone is human, after all.
 Put yourself in my shoes and then tell me what you would have done!

8 The wrong side of the tracks: a part of a town or city that is particularly impoverished (and usually
dangerous)
 I was always looked down on as a kid because I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.
 His mother didn't want him dating anyone from the wrong side of the tracks.

9 Blessing in disguise: st that seems bad or unlucky at first but causes st good to happen later
 Being laid off was a blessing in disguise – within a month I got a much better job.

Lay sb off (=make sb redundant ): to stop employing sb because there is not enough work for them to do
200 workers at the factory have been laid off.(sa thải)

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10 Go/swim against><with the tide: to not follow what everyone else is doing
 He was also unafraid to swim against the tide of opinion.
 I mean, there are times when I’ve swum with the tide, but when I feel strongly about an issue, I’m
not shy about swimming against the tide.

11 Up to sb’s ears in st: extremely busy

 There's no way I can take a vacation right now, I'm up to my ears in work at the moment!

12 Far from: not at all

 We were far from disappointed when they told us they couldn't come to visit.
 What he said is far from true. (totally wrong)

13 Be married to st: to spend so much time doing st or thinking about it that you have little time to do or
think about anything else.
 I was married to my job.
 The country's leaders were married to rigid five-year plans.

14 At some point: at some moment in time

 At some point I decided she was no longer my friend.

15 In ruins: destroyed or severely damaged

 Years of fighting have left the area in ruins.
 The scandal left his reputation in ruins.
 Their plans for a comeback now lie in ruins.

16 Put on: to organize an event, show, performance etc

 We’re putting on a concert to raise money for cancer charities.

17 Deep down (adv): felt strongly and often hidden from other people
 Deep down, I still love him.
 Deep down, we know we don’t have what it takes.

18 Have what it takes (to do st): to have the qualities or character needed to be successful.
 She doesn’t have a college degree, but I think she has what it takes to do the job.

19 Loose cannon: an uncontrolled person who is likely to cause unintentional damage.

 He is smart but he is a loose cannon. He opens his mouth without thinking, and you never know
what he might say.

20 Once and for all: completely and finally

 We have to resolve this matter once and for all.
 If we act fast, we can once and for all prevent wild animals in Britain from suffering terrible
cruelty.

21 Shake sb/st off: to get rid of sb; to get free of someone who is bothering you.
 Stop bothering me! What do I have to do to shake you off?
 I wish I could shake off John. He's such a pest!
 She felt a pain in her left leg, but she hoped to shake it off if she slowed up.

22 Dump sb: to end a romantic relationship with sb

 Did you hear he has dumped his girlfriend?

23 Chase the blues away: do or think st happy to stop feeling sad or depressed.
 She was dumped by her boyfriend but she’s going to chase the blues away with a song of very her
own.

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24 (All) in one piece: not damaged, not injured
 The radio had been stolen, but otherwise we got the car back (all) in one piece.
 Cheer up. At least you’re still in one piece.

26 Go down in history | Take your place in history: to be remembered by many people for having done st.
 He’ll go down in history as one of our finest leaders.

Make history: to do something important that has not been done before and will be recorded publicly
and remembered for a long time.
 Margaret Thatcher made history when she became the first female British prime minister.

27 Natural: a person who is very good at st without having to learn how to do it, or who is perfectly suited
for a particular job.
 He’s a natural for the role.

28 Set for life: have so much money for the rest of one's life that they never need to work again
 As soon as I win the lottery, I will be set for life. I'll never have to work again!

29 Cut some rug: to dance, dance well

 In the video Billie Jean, Michael Jackson really cut a rug.
 This is a great song! Wanna get up and cut some rug?

30 So long: goodbye
 So long, John. See you tomorrow.

31 Call it a day: to stop what you are doing because you do not want to do any more or think you have done
enough.
 I'm getting a bit tired now - let's call it a day.
 After 14 years living and working in this country, she thinks it's time to call it a day.

32 Lucky you/me…: used to say that sb is fortunate to have st, be able to do st (often use it when from
inside you feel like saying "I envy you !")
 ‘My husband’s a rich man, and devoted to me.’ ‘Lucky you.’

33 Not look a day over: to appear to be no older than (a certain age)

 “Today's my 50th birthday.” “Really? You don't look a day over 40.”

34 Help yourself to st: to take some of what you want, without asking permission – used especially when
offering food to someone
 Please, help yourself to some cake.

35 The good old day: a time in the past when you believe life was better
 I wish my grandma would stop going on about the good old days.
 They loved to sit and chat about the good old days.

Go/be on about: to keep talking about sb/st, especially when other people think it is boring
 She’s always on about her children.

36 Bail sb/st out (of st): help sb/st in difficulty, usually by lending them money
 She keeps running up huge debts and asking friends to bail her out.
 The government had to bail the company out of financial difficulty.

37 Fall flat on one’s face: to fail or make a mistake in an embarrassing way, ngã sml
 The new scheme fell flat on its face in spite of all the support that was given.
 It's always amusing to see a newscaster fall flat on his face.

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37 Went out: (of a fire or light) be extinguished, be put out; stops producing light or heat
 The lights went out.
 When I woke up the fire had gone out.

39 Be better off (doing sth): used to say that sb is/would be happier if they were in a particular position or
did a particular thing
 She's better off without him.
 The weather was so bad we'd have been better off staying at home.

40  Cut ribbons
 I prefer sipping happiness by myself
 The 8%-a-year growth is a distant memory.
 His mother ran a sidewalk tea stand.
 Real estate market is frozen hard
 Loans go bad.
 His family survived solely on his mother's meager earnings.
 Pham's given name translates as "prosperity"
 Pham escaped his circumstances through books
 The policy is in full effect
 Market-based reforms within the ongoing socialist structure.

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