Анна Григорьева - 1500 русских и 1500 английских идиом, фразеологизмов и устойчивых словосочетаний

between a rock and a hard place; between the devil and the deep blue sea

Trying to please both his wife and his mother he finds himself between a rock and a hard place.

I couldn’t make up my mind. I was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

между нами говоря

between you and me; between ourselves; between you, me and the gatepost

Between you and me, I think he made up the whole story.

Between ourselves, he is having trouble with his wife.

Between you, me and the gatepost, I don’t believe his words.

между Сциллой и Харибдойbetween Scylla and Charybdis

мелкая сошка

small fry

The boss is too snobbish to greet the small fry.

мерить взглядом(кого-л.)

to look someone up and down

She looked me up and down and I knew she thought I was improperly dressed for the party.

мертвого разбудит

loud enough to wake the dead

The noise was loud enough to wake the dead.

мертвый сезон

the off season

This town is very quiet in the off season.

место под солнцем

a place in the sun

John worked very hard to earn his place in the sun.

метать бисер перед свиньями

to cast pearls before swine

She tried to show the beauty of Latin poetry to her students but it was just casting pearls before swine.

минута в минуту

on the dot

She promised to come at nine o’clock on the dot.

молоко на губах не обсохло

to be still wet behind the ears

He has no experience of the job – he is still wet behind the ears.

молочные реки и кисельные берега

a land of milk and honey

Many people regard the United States as a land of milk and honey.

мороз по коже пробежал(у кого-л.)

a shiver down someone’s spine

Every time I hear that song, I feel a shiver down my spine.

мочиться против ветра

to piss against the wind

To argue with the director is like pissing against the wind.

мутить воду

to muddy the waters

I found different definitions in other dictionaries which only muddied the waters further.

мухи не обидит

wouldn’t hurt a fly

My dog barks a lot, but really he wouldn’t hurt a fly.

на верху блаженства

on top of the world

Daniel is on top of the world – he’s just got a new job.

на вес золота

worth one’s weight in gold

She is a good secretary. She is worth her weight in gold.

на всякий случай

to be on the safe side

We should come to the station at least an hour before the train leaves, just to be on the safe side.

на глазах(у кого-л.)

before someone’s (very) eyes

The boy stole the sweets before my very eyes.

на голову выше(кого-л.)

head and shoulders above someone

Mary thinks her husband stands head and shoulders above any other man.

на голом месте

from scratch

His house was destroyed by fire and he had to start building again from scratch.

на каждом шагу

at every turn

He encountered unexpected difficulties at every turn.

на коленях

on bended knees

He was willing to go to her on bended knees to ask forgiveness.

на месте(кого-л.)

in someone’s shoes

If I were in your shoes I wouldn’t trust him.

на ногах

on one’s feet

The doctor has been on his feet all day long in the operating room.

на ножах(с кем-л.)

at daggers drawn (with someone ); at loggerheads (with someone )

They’ve been at daggers drawn with their neighbours for years.

The government and the trade unions were often at loggerheads.

на носу

(a)round the corner; close/near at hand

Winter is just around the corner. Are you prepared?

The exams are close at hand.

на первый взгляд

at first sight; on the face of it

At first sight, the problem appeared quite simple, but it actually turned out to be very difficult.

On the face of it, her husband is clearly in the wrong, but do we know the whole story?

на плохом счету(у кого-л.)

in someone’s bad/black books

I don’t know what I’ve done to get into his bad books.

на своих двоих

on shanks’s pony

My car didn’t start and I had to go the whole way on shanks’s pony.

на свой страх и риск

at one’s own risk

But remember that the sea is dangerous. You swim at your own risk.

на седьмом небе

in seventh heaven; on cloud nine

The girl was in seventh heaven with her new toy.

Peter has been on cloud nine since his engagement to Mary.

на уме(у кого-л. что-л.)

to have something on one’s mind

I could see he had something on his mind.

на хорошем счету(у кого-л.)

in someone’s good books

Paul has been in the manager’s good books since he increased last year’s sales.

на худой конец

if the worst comes to the worst; as a last resort

If the worst comes to the worst, we could always sell the car.

If we can’t get the money in any other way, I suppose we could, as a last resort, borrow from your rich uncle.

на черный день

for a rainy day

I put aside a little money each month for a rainy day.

набивать карман

to line one’s pockets

The agent has been lining his pockets with the profits for the last three years.

набивать руку(в чем-л.)

to get the hang of something ; to get one’s hand in (at something )

The task seemed difficult at first, but after a few weeks I got the hang of it.

It won’t take you long to get your hand in at the game.

навострить уши

to prick up one’s ears

He pricked up his ears when they mentioned his name.

навязнуть в зубах

to be sick and tired of someone/something ; to be sick to death of someone/something

I’m sick and tired of hearing about your new car.

I’m sick to death of her complaints.

нагонять тоску(на кого-л.)

to give someone the hump

He really gives me the hump with his boring stories.

надевать маску

to play a part

Don’t let him fool you – he’s just playing a part.

надрывать душу(кому-л.)

to break someone’s heart

The boy really broke his mother’s heart when he run away from home.

надрывать животики

to be in stitches; to split one’s sides (laughing)

It was quite funny and the audience was in stitches.

My friends nearly split their sides when I showed them my new hat.

нажимать на все педали

to pull out all the stops

We’ll have to pull out all the stops if we want to get to the station in time.

называть вещи своими именами

to call a spade a spade

Let’s call a spade a spade. The boy is a liar.

намылить голову(кому-л.)

to haul someone over the coals; to give someone the rough edge of one’s tongue

He was hauled over the coals for being absent without permission.

The boss gave me the rough edge of his tongue because I was so late for work.

напрашиваться на неприятности

to ask for it/trouble

He was really asking for it by threatening the police officer.

напугать до смерти(кого-л.)

to put the fear of God into someone ; to frighten/scare someone out of one’s wits

Driving with Ralph in his racing car puts the fear of God into me.

The dog frightened the little girl out of her wits.

наставить нос(кому-л.)

to pull a fast one on someone; to pull the wool over someone’s eyes

She certainly pulled a fast one on me.

Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes. I know what’s going on.

наступать на любимую мозоль(кому-л.)

to hit/touch a (raw) nerve

The newspaper article must have touched a nerve with a lot of readers.

наступать на пятки(кому-л.)

to be hard on someone’s heels

Our competitors are hard on our heels – we must improve our design.

находить общий язык(с кем-л.)

to find common ground (with someone )

The two sides seem unable to find any common ground.

начинать с нуля

to start from scratch; to start from square one

My sister moved to another town where she had to start from scratch.

We lost all our clients and had to start again from square one.

не ахти какой

nothing to write home about

The film was nothing to write home about.

не бог весть что

no great shakes; not much cop

His girlfriend is no great shakes.

The book wasn’t much cop.

не в духе

out of sorts; out of humour

I’ve been feeling tired and a little out of sorts.

William is out of humour this morning. He has been shouting at everybody.

не в курсе дела

out of the picture

The whole plan is a secret and she wants to keep everybody out of the picture.

не в своей тарелке

ill at ease; out of one’s element

I always feel ill at ease when I meet his wife.

When it comes to poetry, I’m out of my element.

не в своем уме

out of one’s head; off one’s head/rocker/nut

He must be out of his head to go swimming on such a cold day.

Spending that much on a dress! She must be off her rocker.

не в форме

out of sorts/form; below par; under the weather

The horse is out of form; it’s not likely to win the race.

I was feeling a little below par this morning.

He was tired and a bit under the weather.

не верить своим глазам

cannot believe one’s eyes

When I saw her husband washing up the dishes, I couldn’t believe my eyes!

не верить своим ушам

cannot believe one’s ears

I was shocked to learn that he had been fired, I couldn’t believe my ears.

не видеть дальше собственного носа

cannot see beyond the end of one’s nose

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