SBT Grammar

• keep one's chin up


  hãy mạnh mẽ lên (when things go wrong)
• by the skin of one's teeth

  by a (very) narrow margin
• (not) stomach sth

  be un(able) to accept sth (No longer can I stomach your dreadful lies)
• a pain in the neck


  a nuisance, an annoying person
• have the guts


  have the courage
• thumb through a book

  look through a book
• down at heel


  poor and shabbily dressed
• get one's back up


  annoy
• fight tooth and nail

  fight fiercely
• hold one's tongue


  restrain oneself from saying sth
• make one's blood boil


  make one very angry
• a bone of contention (between)


  a cause of dispute (That piece of land has been a bone of contention whether the two bothers for years)
• bite one's lip


  refrain from saying sth / restrain a cry
• be glad to see the back of sb


  be happy to see sb leave/go
• bone idle

  extremely lazy
• have a (good) head for sth


  be good at sth
• egg sb on

  urge/encourage sb to do mischief (trò nghịch ngợm)
• turn tail


  run away
• his bark is worse than his bite

  he is nicer than he sounds/seems
• pull the woll over sb's eyes

  deceive/fool sb
• bird's eye view (of sth)

  aerial view
• haven't seen hide or hair of sb

  haven't seen sb at all
• not give two hoots (about sh)


  not care (about sth)
• spread one's wings


  extend one's activities, move to a new place
• get someone's goats


  To annoy someone very much
• cut sb/sth down to size

  show sb to be less important than they think
• once and for all


  now, finally
• once in a lifetime

  extremely rarely
• once in a while


  occasionally
• once too often


  one more time than is desired/safe/needed
• double your money

  make twice as much money
• not budge/give an inch

  refuse to change an opinion
• see/tell sth a mile off

  understand sth very obvious
• a breath of fresh air


  s.o or sth that is new and different and makes everything seem more exciting
• all hell broke loose

  describe a situation that suddenly becomes chaotic and disruptive, especially with people arguing or fighting
• give/budge an inch idiom


  to make even a slight change in opinion or attitude
• go blue in the face

  turn a dark/bluish (màu xanh lợt) colour because of cold/fear/anger
• black and blue


  with bruises all over one's body
• in black and white


  in writing, in print
• whiter than white

  exaggeratedly white or pure/good (He pretends to be whither and white, but I know all about his past)