1500 русских и 1500 английских идиом, фразеологизмов и устойчивых словосочетаний

змея подколодная

a snake in the grass

Don’t be deceived by his friendliness – he’s a real snake in the grass.

знать в лицо (кого-л.)

to know someone by sight

I know Gregory by sight but I’ve never met him.

знать свое дело

to know one’s stuff/onions

He is a good worker and knows his stuff. I’d be sorry if he left our company.

We’ve worked with him in the past. He is a man who knows his onions.

знать как свои пять пальцев (что-л.)

to know something like the back of one’s hand; to know something inside out

He knew Manchester like the back of his hand.

He is a very good plumber who knows his job inside out.

знать свое место

to know one’s place

I knew my place and kept silent.

знать, что к чему

to know what is what

You don’t have to worry about him – he knows what’s what.

золотая середина

a happy medium

You can surely find some happy medium between exercising all the time and doing nothing.

золотое дно

a gold-mine

The report represents a gold-mine of useful information.

золотое правило

the golden rule

The golden rule of teaching is to be clear.

золотое сердце

a heart of gold

His wife is a lovely woman. She has a heart of gold.

золотой телец the golden calf

зондировать почву

to put out feelers

I wanted to get a new job, so I put out some feelers with our competitors.

и глазом не успел моргнуть

before you can say Jack Robinson

I’ll catch a train and be there before you can say Jack Robinson.

и дело с концом

that’s that

You are not going to the party alone, and that’s that.

И не говорите!

you are telling me

It’s hot today, isn’t it? – You’re telling me.

(и) туда и сюда

back and forth; up and down; to and fro; backwards and forwards

The wind moved the leaves gently back and forth.

We’ve been driving up and down the street looking for you.

She walked to and fro in the room waiting for the news.

The pendulum was moving slowly backwards and forwards.

играть в кошки-мышки (с кем-л.)

to play cat and mouse with someone

If you continue to play cat and mouse with your boyfriend, he’ll break up with you.

играть вторую скрипку

to play second fiddle

He was tired of playing second fiddle to his older brother.

играть на руку (кому-л.)

to play into someone’s hands

I had an uncomfortable feeling that by leading my men into the valley I had played into the enemy’s hands.

играть с огнем

to play with fire

She knew she was playing with fire by having an affair with her boss.

Иди к черту! Go to hell!

идти в ногу (с чем-л./кем-л.)

to keep pace with something/someone

It is difficult to keep pace with current fashions.

идти в ногу со временем

to move with the times

If we don’t move with the times, our customers will go elsewhere.

идти в огонь и воду

to go through fire and water

He would go through fire and water to help us.

идти на боковую

to hit the hay/sack

I think I’ll hit the hay now.

идти на поправку

to be on the mend

She has been very ill, but she’s on the mend now.

идти навстречу (кому-л.)

to meet someone halfway

The problem would be solved if you could meet us halfway.

идти напролом

to stop at nothing

My sister will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

идти насмарку

to come to nothing; to go down the drain; to go by the board

His plans to buy a new house came to nothing when he found out how much it would cost.

All my hard work went down the drain when the boss changed his priorities.

We didn’t have enough money so the holiday plans went by the board.