Colloquial English

[Владислав]

action - excitement - Do you know where the action is in this town?

action man - a man who participates in macho activities.

break it up - stop - Break it up, or I will call the police.

[Алексей Конобеев]

Fish bowl TV - another name for all those reality shows in which you see people in their daily lives.

[Владислав]

to sleep like a dog - спать как сурок

to go against the grain - противоречить

to be on up and up - быть на высоте

to put smth in a nutshell - выражаться кратко

on a shoestring - автостопом

catch a glimpse of - увидеть на мгновение

stare into space - глазеть

[Алексей Конобеев]

to sleep like a dog - спать как сурок

Or you could say "to sleep like a log" as well

[Владислав]

Of course.

 

Character

 

to be able to stand my ground -стоять на своем

to be a able to establish a good rapport - устанавливать хорошие отношения

not good at selling myself - не способен проявит себя

[Владислав]

Crazy

* Are you crazy?

* Man, you’re insane!

* You drive me nuts!

* If you say that again, I go bananas!

* He is lunatic!

* He went bonkers!

* He’s a wacko!

* Have you gone round the bend?

* He is crazy as a loon.

* He is mad as a hatter.

* Someone is not all there...

* She’s nutty as a fruitcake!

* He's really off his rocker!

* What happens if the Mental Health Court decides that the person was of unsound mind at the time of the offence?

* You are out of your mind!

* You are sick in the head.

* We have gone stark raving mad trying to do it.

* Now, he's just plain batty.

* She was gung ho about her new job.

* Her brother is dotty.

* These slovenly workmen drive me up the wall

* Your nagging is driving me to drink.

[tam]

Crazy

* Are you crazy?

 

 

Yes,ain't it great to be crazy? Song attached.

Ain__t_it_great_to_be_crazy.rar

[Владислав]

to plead guilty - признать себя виновным

to be released on bail - быть освобожденным

to be granted or refused bail - отклониться

to be ramanded in custody - быть взятым под стражу

[Алексей Конобеев]

Food, like any everyday matter, gives rise to a number of interesting expressions. Here are some that you will probably be able to use in the classroom:

bread and butter issues - basic needs

to butter someone up - to flatter someone to get a favour out of them

What's cooking? - What's happening?

a hot potato - an argument difficult to settle

in the soup - in serious trouble

[Владислав]

to turn over a new leaf - начать новую жизнь

once in a blue moon - очень редко

to take pot luck - сделать не зная, что получится

[вал вал]

to plead guilty - признать себя виновным

to be released on bail - быть освобожденным

to be granted or refused bail - отклониться

to be ramanded in custody - быть взятым под стражу

 

to be released on bail быть освобожденным ПОД ЗАЛОГ

to be granted or refused bail отклониться??? я бы перевела как давать/отказывать в залог(е) (поручительстве)

to be ramanded in custody быть возвращенным под стажу

[Алексей Конобеев]

Life and legal cases ofyten give rise to expressions, which do not mean quite what they would if you looked only on their surface. For example, a British magazine once wrote about a minister or an MP that he was seen extremely drunk. The person in question took legal action against the magazine, trying to prove that he was not drunk at all. The court's ruling was that the minister was "tired and emotional", and not drunk. Now "tired and emotional" has become a common euphemism for "very drunk", so if you see it in print, you know what exactly they are trying to say.

[вал вал]

So Yeltsin used to be tired and emotional at meetings and conferences even at international ones

[Suliko]

So Yeltsin used to be tired and emotional at meetings and conferences even at international ones

Yes, leading a country is a tiresome and emotionally challenging job, that's for sure!

[Алексей Конобеев]

a road hog - a person who drives in such a way that other cars cannot pass. Hm, there seem to be quite a few of road hogs around this days, so when in Moscow I really prefer to use the Metro. In fact, in many cities underground transport is faster and often safer than surface transport. I've written about my experienc with undergraound transport in some countries in my blog today, for more information see this: http://www.englishteachers.ru/forum/index....mp;showentry=34

[Алексей Конобеев]

To beat swords into ploughshares - "перековать мечи на орала". I had to translate this expression a few days ago and could not recall the biblical original in English. And what do you find difficult to translate sometimes?

[Владислав]

THROUGH

 

to fall through - to fail on the exams

to get through smth - to be successful

to put someone through - to connect with someone by phone

to see smth through - to finish the deal

to see through smth - to read between the lines

[Владислав]

OFF

 

to work off - to get rid of smth

to cut off - to push aside; to remove; to dismiss; to discharge; to suspend (temporally)

to call off - to abolish; to cancel

to break off - to stop

to tie the police off - to call the police

[Алексей Конобеев]

Books play an important part in our life. Although now they are not such treasured possessions as they used to be when each manusript or a printed book was a rarity, hand-bound and encrusted with gems, they still continue to give rise to all sorts of expressions that speak volumes about the life and customs of those who use these expressions.

Here are a few of them:

to be a closed book - to be something that you don't understand, e.g. Chemistry has always been a closed book for me.

to be an open book - to be something that is easy to understand and see through, eg. she is an open book, all her feelings are written on her face.

to close the book on something - to say that something is finished, e.g. Let's close the books on her behaviour last night and say not a word about it anymore.

to throw the book at someone - to punish someone as severely as possible, e.g. Everybody was to blame, but she really threw the book at Fred, so in the end he had to clean all the mess we had made.

to write the book on something - to know something very well: Jack has been poor for so long even without the recession. He wrote the book on poverty.

by the book - to do everything according to the rules

a coffee-table book - a large and expensive book with many pictures, that is kept mainly for the guests to look at.

 

 

If you are interested in books, why not attend the 22nd International Moscow Book Fair? I've just spent two days there and has written about it in my blog here: http://www.englishteachers.ru/forum/index....mp;showentry=41

[Владислав]

to have butterflies in someone`s stomach – to be nervous about something

to be shorthanded – to have not enough people to help

to be back out of something – to change mind

to watch someone`s mouth – to be careful what someone says

to zip someone`s lip – not to talk

to have to face the music – to pay for the mistakes

to put someone`s foot down – to insist on and say no

to have a green thumb – to be good at growing plants

[Владислав]

to come

 

to come across – to meet by chance

to come along – to go with somebody

to come back – to turn

to come off – to come loose; to fly away

to come on – to go

to get

 

to get together – to gather, to meet

to get over – to recover from illness

to get off – to get down from; to get out of

to get along with somebody – to live

 

to run

 

to run into – to meet by chance

to run over – to cross; to crush; to knock down

to run out of – to exhaust the supplies

 

to turn

 

to turn down – to reduce; to diminish

to turn to somebody for something –

to turn into – to change

to turn inside out – выворачивать наизнанку

to turn up – to appear

[Владислав]

Animal Idioms

Bald as an eagle – Голый как орел

 

Sly as a fox – Хитрый как лис

 

Stubborn as a mule – Упрямый как осел

 

Let the cat out of the bag – Открыть тайну

 

At open doors dogs come in – Беспечность приводит к беде

[Владислав]

Mobile Telephone

 

a Sim-card – сим-карта

 

a handset – телефонная трубка

 

a reypad – клавиатура

 

a screen – экран

 

a text message – текстовое сообщение

 

an aerial - антенна

 

a hands free phone – громкая связь

 

a loudspeaker - громкоговоритель

 

on/off button – кнопка включения, выключения

 

a microphone – микрофон

 

a charger – зарядное устройство

 

busy line – линия занята

 

back (of a phone) – задняя панель (у телефона)

 

front (of a phone) – передняя панель у телефона

 

battery – батарея

 

Pin-number – пин-код (личный идентификационный номер)

 

caller holding the line – абонент ждет у телефона соединения

 

number unobtainable – номер недоступен

 

to dial a number – набрать номер

 

insert your Pin-number – введите ваш пин-код

 

to make a call – сделать звонок, звонить

 

to hold the line – оставаться на линии

 

to plug in a phone – включить телефон в сеть

 

to press a button – нажать кнопку

 

to call back - перезвонить

 

to leave a message – оставить сообщение

 

to put you through - соединить

 

to bear with – подождать

 

to put a caller through – соединить абонента

 

to pick up the phone – снимать трубку

 

to hang up – повесить трубку

[Алексей Конобеев]

one-upper - a person who, when she or he hears a story, immediately tells another one with a more terrible/serious/dramatic outcome, thus trying to stay "above" everyone else in the conversation.

[Владислав]

Combinations with the word “language”:

 

a foreign language – иностранный язык

bad language – брань, ругань

finger language – язык жестов

language laboratory – лаборатория. Где отрабатывают владение языком

language of flowers – язык цветов

machine language – компьютерный язык

modern language – современный язык

the language of Shakespeare – язык Шекспира

the official language – официальный язык

to learn/to study language – учить/преподавать язык

to translate from a language – переводить с языка

to translate into a language – переводить на язык