Idioms
Expressões Idiomáticas
Expressões idiomáticas são frases que não devem ser traduzidas ao pé da letra. O significado de uma expressão idiomática é muito diferente do significado de cada uma das palavras separadamente. Por exemplo: "The red car caught my eye." Sabemos que um carro não pode agarrar e que um olho não pode ser lançado. Precisamos entender o significado da expressão “caught my eye” para compreender o que está sendo dito. Que nesse caso, quer dizer que "o carro vermelho chamou minha atenção".
Essa é uma lista de expressões idiomáticas com exemplos de como podem ser usadas:
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A
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about to
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Peggy is about to leave.
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in advance
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We booked the tickets in advance.
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alive and kicking
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I love Berlin. It's alive and kicking.
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all of a sudden
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I went out in the sun. Then, all of a sudden, it started to rain.
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all over the place
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There are environmental problems all over
the place. |
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B
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to go from bad to worse
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My marks went from bad to worse last term.
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to bag sb.
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Tom bagged this special offer at an online-shop.
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beat-up
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Mark is too beat-up to play tennis this evening.
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to do the best
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He always does his best.
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blabber
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Don't listen to him, he's a blabber.
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to blag sb.
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Once in a while young Tim blags his father's cigarettes.
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bloody
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What a bloody day!
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to be blue
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She's been feeling blue all day.
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bouncer
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A bouncer's task is to keep out those who might cause trouble.
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be broke
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I can't go to the cinema with you, I'm broke.
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to brush up on sb.
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I have to brush up on my Spanish.
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buck
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You can buy a DVD player for less than 100 bucks (dollars).
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butt
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You're a pain in the butt.
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buzz
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Parachuting gives me a real buzz.
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Buzz off!
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Buzz off! I have told you not to come to my place anymore.
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C
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a close call
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I had a close call. A stone almost hit me!
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to catch sb.
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Sorry, I didn't quite catch your telephone number.
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to catch cold
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I walked out in the rain, so I caught cold.
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not to have a clue
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I don't have a clue about repairing the faucet.
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Come off it!
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Come off it! This isn't the truth.
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as far as I'm concerned
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As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to watch the film.
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cop
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A big crowd of cops gathered in front of the Bank of England.
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corner shop
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Mother really liked corner shops when she was a child.
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cram school
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Many pupils have to go to a cram school in the afternoon.
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on credit
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I'd not buy the new TV on credit.
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cut
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Mr Brown made big cuts of $500 million.
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D
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damned
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I hate going through that damned rush hour.
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to dig in one's heels
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If you take or express an opinion and refuse to change it, you dig in your
heels. |
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to disrespect sb.
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Poor people shouldn't be disrespected.
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to do one's best
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He does his best to fix the car.
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to do someone good
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Let's go on a holiday. The sun will do us good.
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to do without
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If there's no milk for the tea, it'll do without.
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down under
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Down under will be my next destination.
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E
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to be up to one's ears
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Sorry, I can't go out with you. I'm up to my ears in work.
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every now and then
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Every now and then I play the piano.
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every other
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He comes to me every other week.
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to see eye to eye
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World Bank and IMF see eye to eye on Asia
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F
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fair enough
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Fair enough! Let's go out for dinner tonight.
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fiddle
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Especially fiddles are necessary to play folk music.
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to keep the fingers crossed
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I have to see the doctor for a checkup. - I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
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flutter
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The old lady loves a flutter on the slot machine.
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folk
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We all are fond of the Irish folk.
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for free
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I was lucky. I got this CD for free.
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freak out
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Ron freaked out when he heard that Peter had broken his car.
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fridge
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Butter must be kept in the fridge.
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G
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to get a lot of stick
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In his new job Jack gets a lot of stick.
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to get cold feet
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He wanted to speak to the boss, but he didn't. He got cold feet.
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to get fed up with sb.
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They get fed up with their neighbour's parties.
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to get rid of sb.
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We have to get rid of that old car.
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to get sb.
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Jason, did you finally get your exercise?
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to take sth. for granted
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I took it for granted the meeting was on Tuesday.
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greasy spoon
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I'd rather starve instead of eating at a greasy spoon.
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groovy
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This cocktail tastes groovy.
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guy
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Jennifer fell in love with the guy from the supermarket.
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H
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had better
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You'd better go now.
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on the other hand
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Sue likes pop music, on the other hand she doesn't like discos.
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to give a hand
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Can you give me a hand with the cupboard?
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hard graft
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Building our house has been a hard graft.
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by heart
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My brother has to learn the poem by heart.
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hip
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Molly always knows what's hip.
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to hold s.o.'s horses
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Hold your horses," I said when John began to leave the room.
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to be hooked on sth.
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Bill is hooked on car racing.
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J
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to jump down sb.'s throat
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The boss jumped down my throat because I was late for work.
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K
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knackered
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What has happened? You look so knackered.
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to keep an eye on sth./sb.
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Will you keep an eye on my baby?
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L
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little by little
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Andrew had an accident while playing ice-hockey. Little by little he begins to walk.
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to look forward to sb.
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I look forward to my holidays in Rome.
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M
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to make ends meet
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She's been out of work for years. How can she make ends meet with four children?
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to make friends easily
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Chris makes friends easily.
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to make oneself at home
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Come in, please. Make yourself at home.
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to make the most
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Let's make the most of the last day of our holidays.
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to make up one's mind up
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Did you make your mind up to buy a new computer?
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mash
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I love Grandma's homemade mash.
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What's the matter?
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You look sad. What's the matter with you?
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to be mean
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Grandfather is mean with money.
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to meet sb. halfway
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I don't like his ideas, but I can imagine that we should meet halfway.
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to mess around
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The clown messed around to make the children laugh.
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to mess up
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Sandy has really messed up this time.
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P
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from now on
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From now on I'm going to drive more carefully.
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old fart
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Bob isn't an entertainer, he is an old fart.
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pint
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"A pint for me, please."
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to be pissed off
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Leave me alone, I'm pissed off!
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plonk
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Plonk often causes a bad headache.
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to come to the point
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Don't talk for hours. Come to the point.
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to pop in
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I won't be back early. I'll pop in at Max's.
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to put in a word for sb.
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My mother doesn't let me go out. Can you put in a word for me, please?
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pretty much
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They earn pretty much money together.
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out of the question
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We can't come to the party. This is out of the question.
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Q
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quid
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A quid is a pound in British currency.
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R
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red tape
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Too much red tape takes everything longer.
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right as rain
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Your baby is right as rain.
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S
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to sack sb.
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Fred was sacked because he had lost his driving licence.
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scruffy
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Her apartment is very scruffy.
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to see about
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Let's have a party on Saturday. I'll see about the drinks.
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sharpish
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After a quarrel Mike left sharpish.
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to be in someone's shoes
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I don't want to be in Peter's shoes.
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to shut up
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Shut up or disappear before I get furious.
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can't stand
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I can't stand the rain.
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in the sticks
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During their holiday the Bakers lived in the sticks. Far away from towns.
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to stick sth./sb.
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I can't stick more of this.
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stroppy
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Jimmy is a stroppy child.
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stuff
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Where is all that stuff I bought at Oxfam's yesterday?
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T
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Take it easy.
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Take it easy.
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telly
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You're a couch potato. All you can do is sit in front of the telly.
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thick
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Are you thick? This is the right number.
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Think nothing of it.
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Think nothing of it.
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to be on time
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Please be on time.
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to take one's time
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Take your time.
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tipple
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After walking through the cold rain everyone enjoyed a tipple.
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to loose track
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Do you know where Fred lives? - I've lost track of him.
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to take turns
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My sister and Anne take turns babysitting.
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W
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Watch your step.
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You'd better watch your step if you don't want trouble with your boss.
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to wear many hats
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You've got to wear many hats if you want to run your own hotel.
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when push comes to shove
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When push comes to shove you'd rather accept the job.
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to feel under the weather
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I think, I'll stay at home tonight. I'm feeling a little under the weather.
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no wonder
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No wonder he is ill. He went out in shorts in winter.
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a word in your ear
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Could I have word in your ear?
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Words fail me.
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Did you hear about Sue and Pat? - Words fail me.
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to eat one's words
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I'm sorry. I'll eat my words.
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in other words
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In other words, you can't answer the question.
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to have words with sb.
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I had words with the headteacher of my son's school
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would rather
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Would you like to spend your holidays in the North? No - I'd rather fly to Mexico.
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to wow sb.
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His appearance at the party wowed me.
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Z
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to zing through sth.
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The arrow zinged through the trees as fast as lightning.
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