to throw someone off balance

The conflicting information threw me off balance.

выводить из себя (кого-л.)

to get someone’s goat; to make someone’s hackles rise

The way she keeps denying the obvious really gets my goat.

His rude remarks made my hackles rise.

выдерживать характер

to stand/hold one’s ground; to stand firm/fast; to stick to one’s guns

The boss stood his ground and refused to accept my resignation.

He wanted me to bend to his wishes, but I stood fast and held back the tears.

John has been asked to withdraw his complaint, but he is sticking to his guns.

выжимать все соки (из кого-л.)

to bleed someone dry

The police fines have bled us dry.

вызывать на ковер (кого-л.)

to have someone on the carpet

The boss will have him on the carpet for causing trouble.

вылетать в трубу

to go bust; to go to the wall

This company he works for has gone bust.

Many small firms went to the wall in the past year.

вылетать из головы (у кого-л.)

to slip someone’s mind

I meant to invite him to lunch, but it slipped my mind.

выносить сор из избы

to wash one’s dirty linen in public

It is unfortunate that his wife has chosen to wash their dirty linen in public.

выпадать на долю (кому-л.)

to fall to someone’s lot

It fell to his lot to tell Paul the bad news about his brother.

выплакать все глаза

to cry one’s eyes out

She cried her eyes out when he married another girl.

выплывать на свет божий

to come to light

All his secrets have come to light.

выпускать из рук (что-л.)

to let something slip through one’s fingers

You will always regret that you have let such an opportunity slip through your fingers.

выпускать пар

to let off steam

Tom’s shouting didn’t mean he was angry with you; he was just letting off steam.

выходить в люди

to make one’s way in the world

He has made his own way in the world – his parents have not helped him at all.

выходить из своей скорлупы

to come out of one’s shell

Nancy was very shy when she first went to school, but since she has made some friends, she has come out of her shell.

выходить из себя

to lose one’s temper/rag; to fly off the handle; to go off the deep end

She lost her temper and shouted at her husband.

My father flew off the handle when he saw my report card.

I knew my father would be angry with me, but I had no idea he’d go off the deep end like this.

выходить сухим из воды

to get off scot free; to land/fall on one’s feet

Mark cheated on the examination and got caught, but he got scot free.

No matter what trouble he gets himself into, he always seems to land on his feet.

гадкий утенок

an ugly duckling

гладить по головке (кого-л.)

to pat someone on the back

You shouldn’t criticise him all the time. Why don’t you pat him on the back occasionally?

гладить против шерсти (кого-л.)

to ruffle someone’s feathers; to rub someone up the wrong way

She always tried not to ruffle his feathers.

He rubbed me up the wrong way and this led to an argument.

глаза полезли на лоб (у кого-л.)

one’s eyes nearly popped out of one’s head

When I heard how much money she was spending on clothes, my eyes nearly popped out of my head.

глаза разгорелись (на что-л.)

to set one’s heart on something

I’ve set my heart on having that new dress.

глазом не моргнуть

not to bat an eyelid; not to turn a hair

Tom didn’t bat an eyelid when he was told that his daughter was getting married.

He didn’t turn a hair when a large dog ran straight towards him.

глас вопиющего в пустыне

a voice crying in the wilderness

глупый как пробка

to be dead from the neck up

Her husband was dead from the neck up.

глухой как пень

(as) deaf as a post

He won’t hear us – he’s as deaf as a post.

гнать волну

to make waves

Why do you always have to make waves?

гнать в три шеи (кого-л.)

to throw someone out on one’s ear

If you continue to be so late, the director will throw you out on your ear.

гнуть свою линию

to stand/hold one’s ground; to stand firm/fast; to stick to one’s guns

The referee stood his ground and refused to be intimidated.

The customer stood fast and got a refund on the faulty good he brought back.

She was sticking to her guns and nobody could persuade her to do something against her wishes.

гнуть спину

to break one’s back; to work one’s fingers to the bone

I’m not going to break my back working all day for such low wages.

His parents worked their fingers to the bone so he could have everything he needed.

говорить без обиняков

not to mince matters; to talk turkey

Not to mince matters, he is absolutely useless.

I wanted to discuss his behaviour and I was prepared to talk turkey.

говорить на ветер

to waste one’s breath

You’re wasting your breath. He won’t agree to go with you.

голову даю на отсечение

I’ll eat my hat!

I’ll eat my hat if it wasn’t your little sister who stole my book.

голубая кровь

blue blood

They are very poor, but they have blue blood in their family.

голыми руками

with one’s bare hands

A desperate man can kill a leopard with his bare hands.

гора с плеч

a load off someone’s mind

It is a load off my mind to know that he has solved that problem.

городить чушь

to talk through one’s hat

You’re talking through your hat. You don’t know anything about it.

горькая пилюля

a bitter pill (to swallow)

His betrayal came as a bitter pill to swallow.

горячая линия

a hot line

The society has set up a hot line for people to report sightings of whales and dolphins.

грабеж средь бела дня

daylight robbery

The prices in this shop are unbelievable – it’s daylight robbery.

греть руки

to line one’s pockets; to feather one’s nest

When the company discovered that the director had been lining his pockets with bribes and commissions, he was dismissed.

The mayor used a lot of public money to feather his nest.

гроша медного не стоить

not worth a damn

Your advice isn’t worth a damn.

давать волю (кому-л.)

to give someone free rein

The boss gave me free rein with the new project.

давать волю (чему-л.)

to give something free rein; to give way to something

In writing that book he gave his imagination free rein.

He gave way to anger and yelled at the children.

давать выход (чему-л.)

to give vent to something

June gave vent to her anger and frustration in a furious letter to her husband.

давать жару (кому-л.)

to give someone hell

If he goes to a pub with his friends, his wife gives him hell.

давать на лапу (кому-л.)

to grease someone’s palm

We had to grease the palms of numerous officials before we could renew the licence.

давать от ворот поворот (кому-л.)

to give someone the boot/push/heave-ho/brush-off

My sister has given her latest boyfriend the heave-ho.

давать пищу сплетням

to set tongues wagging

The news of her marriage set tongues wagging through the whole village.

давать себе волю

to let oneself go

She really let herself go at the party and drank far too much beer.

давать тягу

to take to one’s heels; to turn tail and run; to do a bunk

The thief saw me and took to his heels.

Two boys did a bunk during the morning break.

I was so nervous that my only thought was to turn tail and run.

далеко не так

far from it

I thought your wife spoke fluent German. – Far from it – she doesn’t even know how to say ‘hello’.

далеко пойти

to go far

Her son has a talent for painting and I’m sure he will go far.

Дамоклов меч

the sword of Damocles

дать дуба

to kick the bucket; to cash in one’s chips

His children were just waiting for the old man to kick the bucket.

Tony is too young to cash in his chips.

дать урок (кому-л.)

to teach someone a lesson

I decided to teach my neighbour a lesson after I caught him peeping through my windows.

два сапога пара

birds of a feather

I’m sure that Debbie and her boyfriend are birds of a feather.

действовать на нервы (кому-л.)

to get on someone’s nerves; to get under someone’s skin; to drive someone up the wall

Please stop whistling. It’s getting on my nerves.

I can’t stand this woman – she gets under my skin.

Their children always drive me up the wall.

делать вид

to make believe; to put on an act

The children made believe they were pirates and treasure hunters.

I thought he had hurt his foot, but he was only putting on an act.

делать из мухи слона

to make a mountain out of a molehill

Aren’t you making a mountain out of a molehill? I’m sure he’ll give you the money back.

делать посмешище (из кого-л./чего-л.)

make someone/something a laughing stock

It is a silly idea. It will make our university a laughing stock.

делать хорошую мину при плохой игре

to put on a brave face

My brother was disappointed by his failure in the examinations, but he put on a brave face and pretended nothing had happened.

делать честь (кому-л.)

to do someone credit

His honesty does him credit.

делать шиворот-навыворот

to put the cart before the horse

Isn’t it rather putting the cart before the horse to buy the furniture when you haven’t yet moved to your new house?

держать (свое) слово

to keep one’s word

You must keep your word if you promised to help him.

держать в ежовых рукавицах (кого-л.)

to keep a tight rein on someone; to rule someone with a rod of iron

The teacher kept a tight rein on his students.

His wife rules him with a rod of iron.

держать в неведении (кого-л.)

to keep someone in the dark

Peter kept his wife in the dark about his plans to buy a new car.

держать в руках (кого-л./что-л.)

to have someone/something in the palm of one’s hand

The politician has the local press in the palm of his hand.

держать в узде (кого-л./что-л.)

to keep a tight rein on someone/something

She had to keep a tight rein on her feelings.

держать на почтительном расстоянии (кого-л.)

to keep someone at arm’s length

Jack wanted to know my sister better, but she kept him at arm’s length.

держать на коротком поводке (кого-л.)

to have someone on a string

He has his poor wife on a string – she always does what he says.

держать под каблуком (кого-л.)

to have someone in the palm of one’s hand

My sister has her husband in the palm of her hand.

держать порох сухим

to keep one’s powder dry

We must act cautiously and keep our powder dry.

держать рот на замке

to keep one’s mouth shut; to button one’s lip(s)

Will he keep his mouth shut about the mistake we made?

Button your lip about me being late for work.

держать руку на пульсе

to keep one’s finger on the pulse

My father has retired from the company now, but he still likes to keep his finger on the pulse.

держать ухо востро

to keep/have one’s ear to the ground; to keep one’s eyes open; to keep a weather eye open

If you keep your ear to the ground you’ll soon find a good job.

Keep your eyes open and see if you can learn something.

A crisis is boiling up. Keep a weather eye open.

держать хвост пистолетом

to keep one’s chin up

Keep your chin up – things will get better.

держать язык за зубами

to hold one’s tongue; to keep mum

I don’t think he can be trusted to hold his tongue.

Please keep mum about my plans to go into medicine.

держаться за юбку (кого-л.)

to be tied to someone’s apron-strings

He can’t make any decisions himself because he is tied too much to his mother’s apron-strings.

держаться на ниточке

to hang by a thread

His chances to win the election were hanging by a thread.

детские игрушки

child’s play; kids’ stuff

My brother is an experienced mountaineer, so climbing that mountain was child’s play to him.

Making chairs is kid’s stuff to my father.

дешевле пареной репы

dirt cheap

He got that computer dirt cheap.

до второго пришествия

till kingdom come

I don’t want to wait till kingdom come for you to decide what to do.

до кончиков ногтей

to one’s fingertips

He is an artist to his fingertips.

до мозга костей

to the backbone; through and through

Your brother is a gentleman to the backbone.

She is a liar through and through.

до поры до времени

for the time being

I am staying at the hotel for the time being.

доводить до белого каления (кого-л.)

to make someone see red; to make someone’s blood boil

The sight of reporters standing outside her house made Helen see red.

His words really made my blood boil.

дойти до ручки

to be at the end of one’s tether

I am at the end of my tether, and if I hear that noise again, I’ll scream.

доходить до ушей (чьих-л.)

to come to someone’s ears

It has come to our ears that you have bought a new house.

дрожать как осиновый лист

to shake like a leaf

The boy stood in the corner shaking like a leaf.

дурной глаз

the evil eye

Nothing is going right for him – he is sure somebody put the evil eye on him.

дух захватывает (у кого-л.)

to take someone’s breath away

The girl was so beautiful she took my breath away.

душа нараспашку (у кого-л.)

to wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve

I think she was really disappointed about your absence, but she is not a person who wears her heart on her sleeve.

душа общества

the life and soul of the party

He is so quiet at work that you’d never think he was the life and soul of the party last night.

душа ушла в пятки (у кого-л.)

to have one’s heart in one’s boots; one’s heart sank to one’s boots

I had my heart in my boots when I went to see the director.

When I saw his face, my heart sank to my boots.

души не чаять (в ком-л.)

to think the world of someone

She thinks the world of her husband.

дым коромыслом

all hell breaks loose

All hell broke loose in the house when the children started to play cowboys and Indians.

дырявая голова

to have a head/memory like a sieve

I can’t remember her name – I’ve got a memory like a sieve.

дышать на ладан (быть при смерти)

to have one foot in the grave

His children treat him as though he has one foot in the grave.

дышать на ладан (существовать последние дни)

to be on one’s last legs

My fridge is on its last legs – I’ve had it twenty years.

если бы да кабы

if wishes were horses, beggars would ride

если уж на то пошло

come to that

I haven’t seen Judy for a long time. Come to that, I haven’t seen her husband either.

ехать в Тулу со своим самоваром

to carry coals to Newcastle

Taking her flowers would be like carrying coals to Newcastle – she grows flowers in her own garden.

ждать, откуда ветер подует

to see how the wind blows; to see which way the cat jumps

Before we tell them about our plans, I think we should see which way the wind blows.

My husband always waits to see which way the cat is going to jump before making a decision.

жечь корабли

to burn one’s boats

I’ve burnt my boats by telling my boss that I was leaving, but I haven’t got another job.

Жив курилка!

there is life in the old dog yet

жив-здоров

safe and sound; alive and kicking

Her son returned safe and sound from the war.

The last time I saw John, he was alive and kicking.

живого места не оставить (на ком-л.)

to beat someone black and blue; to beat the living daylights out of someone

The man beat Tom black and blue for stealing.

If you do that again, I’ll beat the living daylights out of you.

жить как кошка с собакой

to lead a cat and dog life

She and her brother lead a cat and dog life. They are always quarrelling.

жить не по средствам

to live beyond one’s means

No wonder the Browns are deeply in debt; they have been living beyond their means for years.

жребий брошен

the die is cast

I’m not sure that I’ll find a better job but the die is cast – I’ve told my boss I wanted to leave.

за спиной (у кого-л.)

behind someone’s back

She has been saying unpleasant things about you behind your back.

за деревьями леса не видеть

not to see the wood for the trees

When people get stressed they often can’t see the wood for the trees.

за здорово живешь

for kicks

The boy said that he had stolen the car just for kicks.

за плечами (у кого-л.)

under one’s belt

Gerald has a lot of experience under his belt.

за решеткой

behind bars

He spent five years behind bars after being convicted of forgery.

забот полон рот (у кого-л.)

to have one’s hands full; to have a lot on one’s plate

He has her hands full looking after four children.

Sorry, I can’t help you – I’ve got too much on my plate at the moment.

заводить волынку

to harp on the same string

I wish you’d stop harping on the same string every time I light a cigarette. I won’t give up smoking.

заговаривать зубы (кому-л.)

to spin someone a yarn

He managed to spin me a yarn about being ill to explain his lateness.

загонять в угол (кого-л.)

to box someone into a corner

Her convincing arguments quickly boxed me into a corner.

задавать головомойку (кому-л.)

to haul someone over the coals

The teacher hauled the boy over the coals for being late for school.

задавать тон

to set the pace; to call the tune

His work sets the pace for future experiments.

The secretary calls the tune in the office.

задевать за живое (кого-л.)

to cut someone to the quick; to hit/touch a (raw) nerve

Her angry words cut me to the quick.

I think I touched a nerve when I asked him about his children.

задирать нос

to put on airs and graces

Because they have a big house she is always putting on airs and graces.

закатывать истерику

to have/throw a fit

She’ll have a fit when she knows you’ve broken her vase.

закидывать удочку

to put out feelers

They put out feelers to see if anyone was interested in buying the shop.

закон джунглей

the law of the jungle

закрывать глаза (на что-л.)

to close one’s eyes to something; to turn a blind eye to something

She chose to close her eyes to her son’s rude behaviour.

The director always turned a blind eye to her mistakes in order to prevent trouble.

закрыть лавочку

to shut up shop; to put up the shutters

They’d worked hard all morning and at half past three they decided to shut up shop and go home.

During the war many shops had to put up the shutters.

закусить удила

to take the bit between one’s teeth

There was a lot of work to be finished, so he took the bit between his teeth and stayed late at the office.

зализывать раны

to lick one’s wounds

Tom was still licking his wounds from his marriage break-up.

заметать следы

to cover one’s tracks

The criminals have covered their tracks very cleverly.

замолвить словечко (за кого-л.)

to put in a good word for someone

My father is going to put in a good word for me in the hope that the boss will give me another chance.

запеть на другой лад

to change one’s tune

She said she liked travelling by car, but when she saw the road she changed her tune.

запретный плод

forbidden fruit

Forbidden fruit is always the most desirable.

заразительный смех

an infectious laugh

His laugh was so infectious that we all joined in.

заснуть вечным сном

to be called to one’s eternal rest

застигать врасплох (кого-л.)

to take someone by surprise; to catch someone with one’s pants/trousers down

The news took us by surprise.

He asked me where I’d been last night and I was caught with my pants down.

застигать на месте преступления (кого-л.)

to catch someone red-handed; to catch someone in the act

The police caught the burglars red-handed.

The thief was caught in the act of breaking into the shop.

затаить дыхание

to hold one’s breath

She held her breath as she watched the attempt to save the drowning child.

заткнуть за пояс (кого-л.)

to run rings round someone; to put someone to shame

Jane is good at French but her brother David can run rings round her – he can speak Dutch and German as well.

I thought I was in good shape for this race but my friend Tom, who was much older than me, put me to shame.

затыкать рот (кому-л.)

to shut someone’s mouth

They threatened to shut his mouth if he talks to the police.

затянуть пояс потуже

to tighten one’s belt

If the crisis gets worse, we shall just have to tighten our belts.

заходить (слишком) далеко

to go too far; to overstep the mark

He has always been a bully but this time he went too far and even his parents were ashamed of him.

You overstepped the mark when you shouted at the director.

звонить во все колокола

to shout it from the rooftops

If I’d known you were going to shout it from the rooftops, I wouldn’t have told you about my work.

здоров как бык

(as) sound as a bell

At the age of eighty her grandfather was as sound as a bell.

зеленая улица

the green light

The government gave the green light to the minister’s plan for the new road.

злой как черт

(as) cross as two sticks; like a bear with a sore head

The man was as cross as two sticks when his wife left without waiting for him.

When my brother has to get up early, he’s like a bear with a sore head.

змея подколодная

a snake in the grass

Don’t be deceived by his friendliness – he’s a real snake in the grass.

знать в лицо (кого-л.)

to know someone by sight

I know Gregory by sight but I’ve never met him.

знать свое дело

to know one’s stuff/onions

He is a good worker and knows his stuff. I’d be sorry if he left our company.

We’ve worked with him in the past. He is a man who knows his onions.

знать как свои пять пальцев (что-л.)

to know something like the back of one’s hand; to know something inside out

He knew Manchester like the back of his hand.

He is a very good plumber who knows his job inside out.

знать свое место

to know one’s place

I knew my place and kept silent.

знать, что к чему

to know what is what

You don’t have to worry about him – he knows what’s what.

золотая середина

a happy medium

You can surely find some happy medium between exercising all the time and doing nothing.

золотое дно

a gold-mine

The report represents a gold-mine of useful information.

золотое правило

the golden rule

The golden rule of teaching is to be clear.

золотое сердце

a heart of gold

His wife is a lovely woman. She has a heart of gold.

золотой телец

the golden calf

зондировать почву

to put out feelers

I wanted to get a new job, so I put out some feelers with our competitors.

и глазом не успел моргнуть

before you can say Jack Robinson

I’ll catch a train and be there before you can say Jack Robinson.