Sport Idioms – Idioms chủ đề thể thao
| Idiom | Dịch nghĩa | Example |
| across the board | công bằng cho mọi người | Ten percent raises were given across the board. |
| at this stage in the game | tại thời điểm này | Nobody knows who is going to win the election at this stage in the game. |
| the ball is in your court | quyết định/trách nhiệm của bạn để làm một cái gì đó | “Do you think I should accept the job offer?”
“Don’t ask me. The ball is in your court now”. |
| bark up the wrong tree | bạn chọn sai người hoặc ý tưởng | I think you’re barking up the wrong tree by blaming Matt for the missing money. |
| blind-sided | không nhìn thấy một cái gì đó | George blind-sided Eric with his fist at the bar. |
| blow the competition away | giành chiến thắng một cách dễ dàng | If you wear that dress to the beauty pageant you are going to blow the competition away. |
| call the shots | đưa ra quyết định | While our boss is on vacation, Bob will call the shots. |
| chip in | giúp đỡ bằng cách quyên góp tiền hoặc thời gian | The staff members chipped in 5 dollars each to buy Jody a birthday gift. |
| down to the wire | đúng lúc kết thúc | It’s coming down to the wire to get these done on time. |
| front runner | một trong những người được kỳ vọng sẽ giành chiến thắng | Angela is a front runner for the new supervisor position. |
| get a head start | bắt đầu trước tất cả những người khác | They gave the walkers a head start in the run for cancer. |
| get into the full swing | cảm thấy thoải mái khi làm một cái gì đó sau một khoảng thời gian | It will probably take a month of working at my new job before I get into the full swing of things. |
| get off the hook | trốn thoát, không có trách nhiệm | The child got off the hook for stealing because the security camera was broken. |
| give something or someone a fair shake | thử một thời gian trước khi từ bỏ | You should give Nadine a fair shake before you decide she isn’t good enough for the job. |
| get a second wind | có một nguồn năng lượng sau khi mệt mỏi | I was exhausted after 3 kilometres of running, but I got a second wind after I passed the beach. |
| give it your best shot | cố gắng hết mình | Give it your best shot and you may just make it to the finals. |
| give one a run for one’s money | cố gắng tốt nhất để chiến thăng ai đó | I know the other team is expected to win, but let’s give them a run for their money tonight. |
| go overboard | làm hoặc nói nhiều hơn cần thiết | You can’t believe everything Janice says about Rick. She tends to go overboard when she’s complaining about him. |
| go to bat for someone | bảo vệ một ai đó | Andy is asking for a salary increase, and I’m going to go to bat for him if the boss says no. |
| have the upper hand | có cơ hội tốt hơn để chiến thắng hoặc thành công | The Blues have the upper hand in the tournament, because none of their players is injured. |
| hit below the belt | làm hoặc nói điều gì đó rất không công bằng hay độc ác | Amanda was hitting below the belt when she called Adrian an unfit father. |
| hit a snag | gặp một vấn đề | The renovations were going along great until we hit a snag with the carpet installation. |
| hold all the aces | dự kiến sẽ giành chiến thắng hoặc thành công | The children hold all the aces when it comes to the father-son baseball tournament. |
| the home stretch | gần cuối | I think Alice’s pregnancy is in the home stretch. |
| hot shot (big shot) | một nhân vật quan trọng hoặc rất thành công | All the hot shots from Silicon Valley were invited to meet the president. |
| jump the gun | bắt đầu quá sớm | I guess I jumped the gun by buying Pam and Steve a wedding gift. They called off the engagement. |
| keep one’s head above water | cố gắng không để bị tụt lại trong công việc hoặc nhiệm vụ khác | We are so busy during the tourist season I can barely keep my head above water. |
| learn the ropes | hiểu những điều mới lạ | The first week on the job you will just be learning the ropes. |
| let her rip | đi trước | Okay, here are the keys to your new car. Let her rip! |
| level playing field | mọi người đều có cơ hội như nhau | The spelling bee is a level playing field because all of the kids are in grade nine. |
| long shot | một điều rất khó khăn để hoàn thành | Jim thinks we can afford the house, but I think it’s a long shot. |
| make the cut | được lựa chọn để tham gia một đội hoặc một nhóm | I didn’t get a second interview, so I’m pretty sure I won’t make the cut. |
| neck and neck | ở trong một ràng buộc chặt chẽ với ai đó | George and Stan are neck and neck in the hockey pool. Either of them could win the money. |
| no sweat | không có gì | I told Lily it was no sweat for us to babysit next weekend. |
| not playing with a full deck (of cards) | không toàn lực | I think Jerry was still drunk at work on Sunday because he wasn’t playing with a full deck |
| not up to par | không đủ tốt cho một công việc hoặc vị trí | I’m afraid your resume isn’t up to par for the engineering position. |
| to be off base | không thực hiện một cách công bằng hoặc nhận xét đúng | You were way off base when you said Bill needed to lose weight. |
| on target | làm đúng để thành công | We are on target to meet our budget this month. |
| on the ball | sẵn sàng và có khả năng | The new receptionist is really on the ball when it comes to answering the phone. |
| out in left field | lạ, rất độc đáo; hoàn toàn sai | All of the students laughed when Joe gave an answer that was out in left field. |
| out of someone’s league | không tốt như một người nào đó | I’d like to date Maria, but I’m afraid I’m out of her league. |
| par for the course | một tình huống dự kiến | Waiting in line is par for the course at Christmas time. |
| plenty of other fish in the sea | có rất nhiều người đàn ông và phụ nữ khác để hẹn hò | I know you still love Jack, but remember there are plenty of other fish in the sea. |
| race against time | hầu như không có thời gian để thực hiện một cái gì đó | It’s a race against time to find a kidney donor for my cousin. |
| settle a score with someone | phân thắng bại | My brother wants to settle the score with that guy who stole my wallet. |
| shot in the dark | đoán | I was lucky to win the quiz. All my answers were shots in the dark. |
| skate on thin ice | làm điều gì đó rủi ro, nắm bắt cơ hội | You’re skating on thin ice by not sending in your college application before now. |
| start the ball rolling | bắt đầu một cái gì đó | Please can everyone be seated so we can start the ball rolling. |
| step up to the plate | chịu trách nhiệm | It’s time you stepped up to the plate and apologized for your mistake. |
| take a rain check | chấp nhận sau một thời gian | Sorry, I can’t go to the movies today, but I’d love to take a rain check. |
| take sides | chọn một người hay một nhóm để hỗ trợ | I hate to take sides, but I think Jerry is right about the paint colour. |
| take the bull by the horns | chấp nhận thử thách và cố gắng hết sức | Even though this new job will mean relocating, I think you should take the bull by the horns for once. |
| take the wind out of one’s sails | làm cho một người nào đó xuống tinh thần | I think I took the wind out of Angela’s sails when I told her she was a terrible singer. |
| throw in the towel | bỏ cuộc | If they don’t accept our offer this time we are going to throw in the towel and look at houses elsewhere. |
| time out | nghỉ ngơi | Let’s take some time out and grab a coffee. |
| three strikes and you’re out | bạn chỉ có ba cơ hội | The school’s no smoking policy is three strikes and you’re out. |
| two strikes against | bạn chỉ có một cơ hội còn lại | Nancy is going to be fired in no time. She already has two strikes against her for coming in late. |
| under the table | bất hợp pháp | I don’t have a work visa, so they have to pay me under the table. |
| win hands down | trận thắng dễ dàng | The other team was missing half of its players. We won hands down. |
