Some
Useful Idioms
By:
Nargess Noori
Ahmad Yousefi
Mehdi Mosafer
have two left feet: someone who cannot dance
In
the last night party the Michel’s girlfriend had two left feet.
add insult to injury: namak be zakhme
kasi zadan
Although he had come very late at
appointment but his foolish justification added insult to our injury.
Hurt a person's feelings after doing him/her harm; also, make a bad
situation worse. For example, Not
only did the club refuse him, but it published a list of the rejected
applicants - that's
adding insult to injury, or The
nearest parking space was half a mile away, and then, to add insult to injury,
it began to pour: The phrase is an ancient one, even older than its
often cited use in the Roman writer Phaedrus's fable
of the bald man and the fly. A fly bit the head of a bald man, who, trying to
crush it, gave himself a heavy blow. The fly then jeered, "You want to
avenge an insect's sting with death; what will you do to yourself, who have
added insult to injury?" In English it was first recorded in 1748. [http://dictionary.reference.com]
get away with murder: to not accept responsibility and accuse
someone else; tafre raftan, shoone
khaali kardan
no rocket scientist: not very intelligent.
He
can't understand the instructions; He’s no rocket scientist!
dark horse [newspaper describtion for a politician]:
ones that nobody knows much about him and he is a secretive person
The
new director is a dark horse; I wonder what he's like.
a party pooper: a person who spoils enjoyable activities by
refusing to join in. This idiom is also useful in apologies: “I'm sorry to be a
party pooper, but I have to go home now.”
I'm sorry to be a party pooper, but I don't want to play t [?]
Bon
appetite: Enjoy it
be a copycat: to be imitate someone
Mary is a copycat; Whatever
Mark does, she does. [So she consider as a copycat person, no dependence person.]
beat around the bush: to avoid answering a question
Stop beating around the bush
and give us your final decision.
a fish out of water:
strange, odd
The new student who has been in
this country for 4 years looks like a fish out of water at the university.
fair-weather friend: somebody
who is your friend only when things are going well for you
He is a fair-weather friend
only and you can't rely on him if you have a problem.
have one's heart in the right
place: to have good intentions, even if there are bad
results
He makes some serious mistakes sometimes but his heart is in the
right place.
in a nutshell: briefly, in
a few words
We
went to the meeting and they told us in a nutshell what would be happening to
everyone next year.
fly into a rage: to become suddenly very angry
You
have to control yourself; you fly
into a rage easily.
face the
music: to receive
punishment
He
is going to have to face the music sooner or later because of crime.
fly off
the handle: to lose one's
terms
He
really flew off the handle when he saw the bill for the meal.
green with
envy: jealous
I
was green with envy when I heard that he would be going to
go to
one's head: to make someone
overly proud
I
think that his new job has gone to his head and he thinks that he is
better than everyone else.
a
doggy bag: a bag or
container for food you don't eat at the restaurant or café
If
we can't eat all the lobster, ask for a doggy bag and we'll take it home.
We
can have it for lunch tomorrow.
knock around
with: be friends with
keep
your cool: stay calm, not
become excited
Can
you keep your cool during an emergency, or do you panic?
make a
living: earn enough money
to live on
You
can make a living at farming, but you won't be rich!
make a
pass: show that you feel
romantic toward someone
Julie
made a pass at me. She sent me a love note and smiled at me.
there is a life in the old dog yet: dud az konde boland
mishe
behind the scene: poshte oparde
Most
important political decisions are behind the scenes.
deep in debt: taa kherkere tu
gharz
sell someone/something short: kasi/chizi raa
daste kam gereftan
You
are selling yourself short. [to khodeto daste
kam migiri.]
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