25 English idioms
Expressions that should not be taken literally.
These phrases should know everyone who wants to pull level of spoken English and understand what was going on in the conversation, movies or books.
- Against the clock - almost a race against time - it means "to do something very quickly," in the short term.
- Eat to one's word - you can not eat his words, but to take back his words - completely.
- Break A leg - sometimes in the movies you can hear someone advises hero "break a leg", in fact it is good luck: no fluff, no pen!
- The apple of one's eye - literally translated scary, but the phrase means something like "the diamond of my soul," someone very loving and treasure it.
- To feel it in one's bones - this is the case when you instinctively feels that something will happen. In the Russian language there is a premonition of another place in English - bones.
- When pigs fly - a phrase about flying pigs remind many situation "when cancer at Mount hiss" or "till the cows come home." That is to say never.
- To scratch someone's back and That someone Will scratch in return - this expression literally translates as "to scratch the back of another that he scratched you in return," ie, quid pro quo: to make a man a good deal in the hope that he will respond to those same.
- To walk A Mile in my Shoes - it does not offer a walk in someone else's shoes, you are asked to "stay in my shoes," imagine yourself in someone else's place.
- Cost to an arm and leg A - so they say when something is too expensive. You literally have to sell part of the body to afford this thing.
- To count one's Chickens before They hatch - do not count on the success of earlier times, when nothing is clear. We have a similar expression "do not count your chickens before they are hatched."
- It's Raining cats and dogs - funny to imagine a rain of cats and dogs, but as they say, when it's pouring.
- Rat race - "rat race" - by and large, our whole life. It means "to be in a constant state of hurry and rivalry", chase success / money - anyone that.
- In a nutshell - if you want to say something briefly, this expression is perfect to speak in a nutshell.
- The grass is always greener on the Other Side (of the fence) - translates as "well where we do not." Many for a notice that the grass is always greener - here it's the same feeling.
- Quick and dirty - in our language have the same term that says "cheap and cheerful".
- A leg to shake - so they say when you need to hurry up and do something quickly, "move!".
- Not your cup of tea - this is not your element when the soul does not belong to something or something can not be done. Literally "not your cup of tea," and you need to find your own.
- Curiosity Killed the cat - overly curious person can often hear that. In Russian - Varvara curious nose torn off in the bazaar, neither cat has suffered.
- Take to the cake - do not rush to take the cake, it means "to beat all" (in a good or bad way). Vaguely reminiscent of Russian "take off the shelf pie."
- A leopard cannot Change ITS spots - as a man can not change his nature, he "such as it is" and the leopard can not change the spots on the skin. Good argument for those who do not want to change.
- Blood, Sweat, and Tears - expression means a huge effort or hard work. Literally "blood, sweat and tears": in Russian has an intimate "seven pots went off."
- Pushing the Envelope - an expression of a man who always offers something new and out of the ordinary.
- To save your breath - literally, "Take care of your breath," then it's not worth wasting time and talk about what is not useful. Better to remain silent and not to rend the air.
- To know where the bodies are buried - when you hear it, do not worry - in this sentence there is nothing about these graves, Russian analogue of "that's where the shoe pinches" - is to understand the essence of the matter.
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