Tổng hợp Idioms thông dụng chủ đề Sức mạnh và quyền lực (Power and authority)

IDIOMS	MEANING	EXAMPLE
brought to account	to be made to take responsibility and/or accept punishment for one’s actions (bị buộc phải chịu trách nhiệm và nhận trừng phạt do hành động của mình)	If you committed a crime, you will be brought to account soon enough.
show of hands	a vote in which people raise one of their hands to show that they support a suggestion (việc giơ tay biểu quyết)	Her re-election to the committee was defeated on/by a show of hands.
move the goalposts	to change the rules while someone is trying to do something in order to make it more difficult for them (thay đổi quy định để làm khó ai đó hoặc để đạt được lợi ích nào đó)	They seem to move the goalposts* every time I meet the required conditions.*
poacher turned gamekeeper	a person who has changed from one situation or attitude to the opposite one, especially somebody who used to oppose people in authority but is now in a position of authority (người có công việc hoặc thái độ thay đổi hoàn toàn, người mà trước phản đối chính quyền nhưng giờ lại thành người nắm quyền)	The notorious computer hacker who once stole money from unsuspecting Internet users now helps the government catch other hackers – it’s a strange case of poacher turned gamekeeper.
you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it/him drink	used to emphasize that you can make it easy for someone to do something, but you cannot force them to do it (bạn có thể cho ai đó cơ hội, nhưng không thể ép họ nắm lấy cơ hội đó)	A: “I just don’t understand. We’ve given him the very best education and introduced him to the right people, but he just won’t pursue a meaningful career.” – B: “Well, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”
play god	to act as if you are in total control of something (hành động như thể mình là người có quyền quyết định tất cả)	As a doctor, you have to detach yourself emotionally from your patients, or else you risk feeling like you’re playing God* with them.*
hold all the cards	to be in a position of power or control over someone or something else (có quyền kiểm soát hoặc quyền lực với ai/cái gì)	Now that Charlotte knows about us, she holds all the cards* – I imagine it won’t be long until she tells my wife what she saw.*
give someone the go-ahead	to give someone permission to start doing something (cho phép ai làm gì)	We’re just waiting for our manager to give us the go-ahead* before we release the latest software update.*
under someone’s thumb	under somesomeone’s control (dưới sự kiểm soát của ai)	He’s got the committee firmly under his thumb* – they agree to whatever he asks.*
put someone’s foot down	to use your authority to stop something happening (sử dụng quyền lực để ngăn điều gì xảy ra)	The kids complained and complained when we refused to get a puppy, but we had to put our foot down.
take a back seat	to allow someone else to play a more active and important role in a particular situation than you do (sẵn sàng chấp nhận lép vế trước ai, chịu ở địa vị hay quyền lợi thấp hơn, trở nên ít quan trọng hơn ai/cái gì)	I took a back seat* during the presentation because I knew you could handle it.*
the bigger they are, the harder they fall	said to emphasize that the more important or powerful a person is, the more difficult it is for them when they lose their power or importance (càng có quyền lực cao thì sự thất bại càng nặng nề)	That bully thinks he’s untouchable, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
pull the strings	to have the real control over a person or organization, especially in secret or without it being public knowledge (thực sự có quyền kiểm soát một người hay một tổ chức nào đó (thường là bí mật))	Although the president of the company has the final say in all these matters, in truth it is really his daughter who pulls the strings.
lay down the law	to forcefully make known what you think should happen (nghiêm khắc yêu cầu ai phải làm gì)	You can’t let these kids walk all over you. You need to lay down the law* and stick to it.*
fall from grace	a situation in which you do something that makes people in authority stop liking you or admiring you (đánh mất địa vị, sự tôn trọng, uy tín)	That actor had a catastrophic fall from grace* after his racially charged tirade spread across social media.*
in the lap of the gods	to be out of one’s control or power (nằm ngoài khả năng kiểm soát hoặc quyền lực của ai)	Now that the jury is deliberating, my fate is in the lap of the gods.
breathe down my neck	to monitor someone closely, usually in an overbearing and irritating way (giám sát ai thật kĩ, thật chặt)	I can’t get any work done with you breathing down my neck.
pull rank	to use the power that your position gives you over someone in order to make them do what you want (sử dụng quyền thế của mình một cách không công bằng để giành tư lợi hoặc buộc người khác làm điều gì cho mình)	Whenever new assignments come up, Tom always pulls rank* on us and picks the best one for himself.*
send someone packing	to dismiss or send one away rudely or abruptly (đuổi cổ, tống khứ ai đi với thái độ thô lỗ)	I was only five minutes late, but the boss sent me packing nonetheless.
give someone free rein	to give one complete freedom to do what one wants or chooses (cho ai tự do làm điều họ muốn)	The theatre will give local people free rein* to choose its programme.*
clip someone’s wings	to limit someone’s freedom, power, or full potential (kiềm chế, hạn chế sự tự do/ quyền hạn của ai)	The kids need to be able to explore the world around them – don’t clip their wings.
the real power behind the throne	someone who does not have an official position in a government or organization but who secretly controls it (người hoặc nhóm người có quyền kiểm soát thực sự hoặc có ảnh hưởng lớn, nhưng không chịu trách nhiệm chính thức hoặc công khai)	His assistant was thought to be the real power behind the throne.

IDIOMS

MEANING

EXAMPLE

brought to account

to be made to take responsibility and/or accept punishment for one’s actions (bị buộc phải chịu trách nhiệm và nhận trừng phạt do hành động của mình)

If you committed a crime, you will be brought to account soon enough.

show of hands

a vote in which people raise one of their hands to show that they support a suggestion (việc giơ tay biểu quyết)

Her re-election to the committee was defeated on/by a show of hands.

move the goalposts

to change the rules while someone is trying to do something in order to make it more difficult for them (thay đổi quy định để làm khó ai đó hoặc để đạt được lợi ích nào đó)

They seem to move the goalposts every time I meet the required conditions.

poacher turned gamekeeper

a person who has changed from one situation or attitude to the opposite one, especially somebody who used to oppose people in authority but is now in a position of authority (người có công việc hoặc thái độ thay đổi hoàn toàn, người mà trước phản đối chính quyền nhưng giờ lại thành người nắm quyền)

The notorious computer hacker who once stole money from unsuspecting Internet users now helps the government catch other hackers – it’s a strange case of poacher turned gamekeeper.

you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it/him drink

used to emphasize that you can make it easy for someone to do something, but you cannot force them to do it (bạn có thể cho ai đó cơ hội, nhưng không thể ép họ nắm lấy cơ hội đó)

A: “I just don’t understand. We’ve given him the very best education and introduced him to the right people, but he just won’t pursue a meaningful career.” – B: “Well, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”

play god

to act as if you are in total control of something (hành động như thể mình là người có quyền quyết định tất cả)

As a doctor, you have to detach yourself emotionally from your patients, or else you risk feeling like you’re playing God with them.

hold all the cards

to be in a position of power or control over someone or something else (có quyền kiểm soát hoặc quyền lực với ai/cái gì)

Now that Charlotte knows about us, she holds all the cards – I imagine it won’t be long until she tells my wife what she saw.

give someone the go-ahead

to give someone permission to start doing something (cho phép ai làm gì)

We’re just waiting for our manager to give us the go-ahead before we release the latest software update.

under someone’s thumb

under somesomeone’s control (dưới sự kiểm soát của ai)

He’s got the committee firmly under his thumb – they agree to whatever he asks.

put someone’s foot down

to use your authority to stop something happening (sử dụng quyền lực để ngăn điều gì xảy ra)

The kids complained and complained when we refused to get a puppy, but we had to put our foot down.

take a back seat

to allow someone else to play a more active and important role in a particular situation than you do (sẵn sàng chấp nhận lép vế trước ai, chịu ở địa vị hay quyền lợi thấp hơn, trở nên ít quan trọng hơn ai/cái gì)

I took a back seat during the presentation because I knew you could handle it.

the bigger they are, the harder they fall

said to emphasize that the more important or powerful a person is, the more difficult it is for them when they lose their power or importance (càng có quyền lực cao thì sự thất bại càng nặng nề)

That bully thinks he’s untouchable, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

pull the strings

to have the real control over a person or organization, especially in secret or without it being public knowledge (thực sự có quyền kiểm soát một người hay một tổ chức nào đó (thường là bí mật))

Although the president of the company has the final say in all these matters, in truth it is really his daughter who pulls the strings.

lay down the law

to forcefully make known what you think should happen (nghiêm khắc yêu cầu ai phải làm gì)

You can’t let these kids walk all over you. You need to lay down the law and stick to it.

fall from grace

a situation in which you do something that makes people in authority stop liking you or admiring you (đánh mất địa vị, sự tôn trọng, uy tín)

That actor had a catastrophic fall from grace after his racially charged tirade spread across social media.

in the lap of the gods

to be out of one’s control or power (nằm ngoài khả năng kiểm soát hoặc quyền lực của ai)

Now that the jury is deliberating, my fate is in the lap of the gods.

breathe down my neck

to monitor someone closely, usually in an overbearing and irritating way (giám sát ai thật kĩ, thật chặt)

I can’t get any work done with you breathing down my neck.

pull rank

to use the power that your position gives you over someone in order to make them do what you want (sử dụng quyền thế của mình một cách không công bằng để giành tư lợi hoặc buộc người khác làm điều gì cho mình)

Whenever new assignments come up, Tom always pulls rank on us and picks the best one for himself.

send someone packing

to dismiss or send one away rudely or abruptly (đuổi cổ, tống khứ ai đi với thái độ thô lỗ)

I was only five minutes late, but the boss sent me packing nonetheless.

give someone free rein

to give one complete freedom to do what one wants or chooses (cho ai tự do làm điều họ muốn)

The theatre will give local people free rein to choose its programme.

clip someone’s wings

to limit someone’s freedom, power, or full potential (kiềm chế, hạn chế sự tự do/ quyền hạn của ai)

The kids need to be able to explore the world around them – don’t clip their wings.

the real power behind the throne

someone who does not have an official position in a government or organization but who secretly controls it (người hoặc nhóm người có quyền kiểm soát thực sự hoặc có ảnh hưởng lớn, nhưng không chịu trách nhiệm chính thức hoặc công khai)

His assistant was thought to be the real power behind the throne.

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