80 Thành ngữ tiếng Anh (Idioms) người Mỹ thường xuyên sử dụng

LangGo tổng hợp 80 thành ngữ tiếng Anh thông dụng được sử dụng phổ biến trong giao tiếp. Cùng với loạt diễn giải ý nghĩa và ví dụ cụ thể về American Idioms dưới đây sẽ giúp bạn nói tiếng Anh tự nhiên như người bản xứ. Chúc bạn học tốt tiếng Anh!

Under the weather: dùng khi ai đó ốm, hoặc cảm thấy không khỏe vì lý do nào đó.

Ex: Marie’s pretty under the weather for the next couple of days.

Marie sẽ khá mệt trong mấy ngày tiếp đây.

It’s not rocket science: diễn tả cái gì đó không phức tạp hoặc không làm mọi thứ phức tạp như chúng cần trở nên.

Ex: My coach always said, "Basketball is not rocket science. It's about putting the ball in the basket."

Huấn luyện viên của tôi luôn nói: "Bóng rổ không quá phức tạp. Nó chỉ là đặt quả bóng vào rổ thôi mà".

Hang in there: diễn tả ý nghĩa tiếp tục tiến về phía trước, và không bỏ cuộc khi mọi thứ trở nên khó khăn 

Ex: Hang in there, baby. You can pass the university entrance exam!

Cố lên em. Em có thể vượt qua kì thi vào đại học!

Cutting corners: được sử dụng để miêu tả một hoạt động mà ai đó thể hiện bằng cách đi tắt để đạt kết quả cuối cùng và thường phớt lờ các quy tắc, luật lệ. 

Ex: The agency accused the airline of cutting corners on safety.

Đại lý cáo buộc hãng hàng không đi tắt về an toàn.

Bite the bullet: là chịu đựng một tình huống đau đớn hoặc khó chịu được coi là không thể tránh khỏi, nhiều khi mang ý nghĩa tiêu cực.

Ex: I hate going to the dentist, but I'll just have to bite the bullet.

Tôi ghét phải đi nha khoa, nhưng tôi sẽ phải chịu đựng đau đớn.

Better late than never: làm việc gì đó trễ một ngày, một tuần,... tốt hơn là không bao giờ làm việc ấy

Ex: "Dan finally paid me the money he owed me." "Well, better late than never."

"Cuối cùng Dan cũng chịu trả số tiền anh ấy nợ tôi" "Tốt rồi, muộn còn hơn không"

Go back to the drawing board: bắt đầu lại từ đầu vì kế hoạch trước đã thất bại.

Ex: It looks like my plan to kill the weeds in the garden has failed. Back to the drawing board.

Có vẻ là kế hoạch diệt cỏ dại trong vườn của tôi đã thất bại rồi. Làm lại từ đầu vậy.

Hit the sack: có vẻ là rất mệt và buồn ngủ.

Ex: I’ve got a busy day tomorrow, so I think I’ll hit the sack.

Tôi sẽ bận rộn lắm vào ngày mai, nên tôi nghĩ tôi sẽ nghỉ ngơi và đi ngủ.

We’ll cross that bridge when it gets here: to address the problem when it arises and not worry about it beforehand.

Speak of the devil: someone you were just talking about showed up unexpectedly.

That’s the last straw: your patience is wearing thin or you are completely out of patience with something or someone.

On the ball: you are doing what you are supposed to be doing and you are doing a good job.

Make a long story short: you are taking a lengthy story and abbreviating it by leaving some details out to make it briefer.

A blessing in disguise: something you thought would be problem actually turned out to be something beneficial

Get out of hand: situation or someone is spinning out of control.

The best of both worlds: an ideal situation or scenario.

Wrap your head around it: you are taking the time to understand something or you have already taken the time to understand something.

Pulling your leg: you are just joking or kidding around with someone.

Time flies when you’re having fun: you are having such a good time that you don’t pay attention to the time and before you know it, it’s really late.

Get your act together: straighten up and do what you are supposed to do instead of goofing off.

Let you off the hook:  you are not going to blame someone or something for which they rightfully have the blame.

A dime a dozen: something or someone is common and not unique.

Break a leg: is used to wish someone good luck, typically regarding a performance.

Call it day: to retire for the day, stop working and relax.

Give you the benefit of the doubt: to trust what someone is saying as the truth.

No pain, no gain: if you don’t work hard to achieve something, you won’t ever achieve it.

Don’t get bent out of shape: don’t get upset over something.

So far, so good: the progress so far is a success.

To make matters worse: you are doing something to cause an already existing problem an even worse problem.

Your guess is as good as mine: you don’t have a clue and that your best guess would most likely be mine too.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder: sometimes being away for a period of time can cause a person to care for you even more than they already did.

Add insult to injury: compounding an already bad situation by doing something to make it even worse in some way.

Act your age: to grow up because you are acting immaturely.

Add fuel to the fire: making a bad situation, the “fire,” even worse by providing this hypothetical “fire” with the fuel is needs to burn even more.

Ball-park figure: to give someone an approximate number or estimation, usually to do with money.

Big fish in a little sea: someone is famous or well-known but are only so in their small town.

Bite to eat: getting something to eat. generally more than just one bite.

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you: don’t mistreat someone who is trying to help you out.

Breaking ground: you are doing something new or something that has never been done before.

Burst into tears: to begin crying all of a sudden.

Cash in on it: to gain profit from doing something.

Catch your eye: something or someone got your attention.

Come out of the closet: to tell someone that you are gay.

Come what may: what will be will be no matter what happens.

The crack of dawn: right at dawn or right as the sun rises.

Cut class: to not attend a class or classes that day.

Cut loose: to not pay attention to the way you are acting, have fun, party.

Dead ringer: someone or something looks exactly like someone or something else.

Dirt cheap: something is extremely inexpensive.

Drown your sorrows: to get drunk in order to forget all of your problems.

Down in the dumps: you are upset, sad, or depressed because of something that happened.

Easy as pie: something was very easy to do.

Easy come, easy go: something was simple to obtain, but it was also very simple to lose.

Everything but the kitchen sink: nearly everything a person owns.

Elbow room: to have enough space for people so they won’t be bumping into one another.

Eat your words: willing to admit that what you said was wrong.

Eat your heart out: to be jealous or envious of someone or something

Face the music: to stand up and admit that you did wrong and deal with the consequences.

Fall short: not having enough of something that you need or to need more to make ends meet.

Feel like a new person: to feel revived or refreshed.

Follow your heart: to act based on your feelings for someone or something.

Full plate: someone is extremely busy and does not have room in their schedule to do anything else.

Get carried away: to blow something out of proportion or exaggerate it in some way.

Get cold feet: to second guess something that you are doing and become frightened about actually going through with it.

Get something off your chest: to admit something that you have not admitted before that is bothering you and causing you distress.

Go Dutch: everyone pays for themselves when they are going out as a group.

Go over with a fine-tooth comb: to look at something very closely to analyze every little detail.

Golden opportunity: it is an opportune chance to do something that you may never get the chance to do again.

Hand-me-down: something, typically clothing, that is passed down from an older child to a younger one in order to save money purchasing new things.

Hands full: you have too much to do and have no room in your schedule to do anything else.

Hit the spot: something was gratifying or fulfilling in some way.

Hit a snag: you have encountered a problem or an issue along the way.

Ill at ease: you are uneasy about something or uncomfortable.

In mint condition: something has no flaws and is in perfect condition.

In the same boat: someone is in a similar predicament.

Jack of all trades: someone that is able to fix a lot of different things but who seems to be an expert in none of them.

Just what the doctor ordered: someone got exactly what they needed.

Keeping a low profile: to not draw attention to yourself so no one will notice you.

Kick back: to relax and take it easy

Knock on wood: to hope that something will happen and the bad luck will not affect the outcome or success; essentially saying “I hope” or “God willing”

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