Tổng hợp Idioms thông dụng chủ đề Bí mật và sự tiết lộ (Secret and revelation)

IDIOMS	MEANING	EXAMPLE
mum’s the word	a pledge not to reveal a secret or to tell about something or someone (yêu cầu giữ bí mật)	Your secret is safe with me. Mum’s the word.
off the record	if someone says something off the record, they do not want it to be publicly reported (không được công bố hay ghi chép công khai)	Our official position is that he decided to change careers, but, off the record, he was fired for making inappropriate comments to his staff.
(just) between you and me	what is going to be or has been said should not be told to anyone else (“không được nói với ai những điều gì tôi sắp nói”)	I overheard the boss talking to her secretary last night and, just between you and me, she’s giving the promotion to George after all.
method to someone’s madness	a specific, rational purpose in what one is doing or planning, even though it may appear crazy or absurd to another person (có một mục tiêu/mục đích thầm kín nào đó, mặc dù nó có thể bị xem là điên rồ đối với người khác)	I know you don’t understand my motivation for this decision, but after the dust settles you’ll see that there is a method to my madness.
spill the beans	to reveal something that was meant to be a secret (tiết lộ bí mật)	We had everything organized for Bruce’s surprise party, but Kate accidentally spilled the beans* to him at work.*
call a spade a spade	to say the truth about something, even if it is not polite or pleasant (nói thẳng và nói thật mà không sợ làm phiền lòng người khác, nói toạc móng heo)	I’m not at all secretive, and I’m not afraid to call a spade a spade.
throw some light on	to reveal information or details about something; to clarify or help people understand something (làm sáng tỏ, để lộ thông tin về cái gì)	As an economist, he was able to throw some light on* the problem.*
make no bones about	not hesitate to do something; be honest and open about something (thành thật nói rõ điều mình suy nghĩ, không do dự, không ngập ngừng)	Make no bones about it – this deal is terrible for the team.
plain as day	very obvious or noticeable; very easy to understand (rõ như ban ngày)	These directions are plain as day, so you shouldn’t have any questions.
let the cat out of the bag	to allow a secret to be known, usually without intending to (tiết lộ thông tin mà mình không nên nói ra)	I was trying to keep the party a secret, but Mel went and let the cat out of the bag.
come to light	to become known or to be discovered (tiết lộ, phơi bày sự thật về điều gì)	Discrepancies in the yearly budget report only came to light* after the auditors began analyzing it.*
keep track	to make certain that you know what is happening or has happened to someone or something (theo dõi ai/cái gì để biết điều gì đang diễn ra với ai/cái đó)	You have so many students. I really wonder how you keep track* of them all.*
come clean	to admit something to someone, often regarding a wrongdoing that one has tried to hide (thú thật điều gì mà trước đây mình muốn giấu kín)	The kids finally came clean* about eating the cookies I’d made for the bake sale.*
get to the bottom of something	to discover the truth about a situation (tìm ra, hiểu rõ nguyên nhân, ngọn nguồn của vấn đề)	I have every confidence that our detectives will get to the bottom of* this crime.*
show someone’s hand	to allow people to know about intentions that you had previously kept secret (tiết lộ ý định/kế hoạch của mình, nhất là từ trước đến nay vẫn đang giữ bí mật)	Pressure from the government is forcing the notoriously secretive CEO to show his hand* regarding his company’s tax profile and offshore accounts.*
bring something to light	to reveal something, often something inappropriate or illegal (đưa ra ánh sáng; làm rõ tỏ mọi chuyện)	Discrepancies in the yearly budget report brought to light* corruption in the company.*
keep something under your hat	to keep (something) secret (giữ bí mật)	Keep this under your hat for now, but Greg is definitely the one getting the promotion.
my lips are sealed	said when you are promising to keep a secret (Tôi sẽ giữ bí mật)	A: “Oh and please don’t tell him you saw me here.” B: “Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.”
have something up someone’s sleeve	to have a secret plan, idea, or advantage that can be utilized if and when it is required (có kế hoạch, ý tưởng hoặc lợi thế bí mật có thể tận dụng khi cần)	I have a few tricks up my sleeve* if he decides to pursue legal action against me.*
pull the wool over someone’s eyes	to deceive someone in order to prevent them from discovering something (lừa ai để họ không phát hiện ra điều gì, che mắt ai)	Be prepared for your kids to try to pull the wool over your eyes* when they’re teenagers.*

IDIOMS

MEANING

EXAMPLE

mum’s the word

a pledge not to reveal a secret or to tell about something or someone (yêu cầu giữ bí mật)

Your secret is safe with me. Mum’s the word.

off the record

if someone says something off the record, they do not want it to be publicly reported (không được công bố hay ghi chép công khai)

Our official position is that he decided to change careers, but, off the record, he was fired for making inappropriate comments to his staff.

(just) between you and me

what is going to be or has been said should not be told to anyone else (“không được nói với ai những điều gì tôi sắp nói”)

I overheard the boss talking to her secretary last night and, just between you and me, she’s giving the promotion to George after all.

method to someone’s madness

a specific, rational purpose in what one is doing or planning, even though it may appear crazy or absurd to another person (có một mục tiêu/mục đích thầm kín nào đó, mặc dù nó có thể bị xem là điên rồ đối với người khác)

I know you don’t understand my motivation for this decision, but after the dust settles you’ll see that there is a method to my madness.

spill the beans

to reveal something that was meant to be a secret (tiết lộ bí mật)

We had everything organized for Bruce’s surprise party, but Kate accidentally spilled the beans to him at work.

call a spade a spade

to say the truth about something, even if it is not polite or pleasant (nói thẳng và nói thật mà không sợ làm phiền lòng người khác, nói toạc móng heo)

I’m not at all secretive, and I’m not afraid to call a spade a spade.

throw some light on

to reveal information or details about something; to clarify or help people understand something (làm sáng tỏ, để lộ thông tin về cái gì)

As an economist, he was able to throw some light on the problem.

make no bones about

not hesitate to do something; be honest and open about something (thành thật nói rõ điều mình suy nghĩ, không do dự, không ngập ngừng)

Make no bones about it – this deal is terrible for the team.

plain as day

very obvious or noticeable; very easy to understand (rõ như ban ngày)

These directions are plain as day, so you shouldn’t have any questions.

let the cat out of the bag

to allow a secret to be known, usually without intending to (tiết lộ thông tin mà mình không nên nói ra)

I was trying to keep the party a secret, but Mel went and let the cat out of the bag.

come to light

to become known or to be discovered (tiết lộ, phơi bày sự thật về điều gì)

Discrepancies in the yearly budget report only came to light after the auditors began analyzing it.

keep track

to make certain that you know what is happening or has happened to someone or something (theo dõi ai/cái gì để biết điều gì đang diễn ra với ai/cái đó)

You have so many students. I really wonder how you keep track of them all.

come clean

to admit something to someone, often regarding a wrongdoing that one has tried to hide (thú thật điều gì mà trước đây mình muốn giấu kín)

The kids finally came clean about eating the cookies I’d made for the bake sale.

get to the bottom of something

to discover the truth about a situation (tìm ra, hiểu rõ nguyên nhân, ngọn nguồn của vấn đề)

I have every confidence that our detectives will get to the bottom of this crime.

show someone’s hand

to allow people to know about intentions that you had previously kept secret (tiết lộ ý định/kế hoạch của mình, nhất là từ trước đến nay vẫn đang giữ bí mật)

Pressure from the government is forcing the notoriously secretive CEO to show his hand regarding his company’s tax profile and offshore accounts.

bring something to light

to reveal something, often something inappropriate or illegal (đưa ra ánh sáng; làm rõ tỏ mọi chuyện)

Discrepancies in the yearly budget report brought to light corruption in the company.

keep something under your hat

to keep (something) secret (giữ bí mật)

Keep this under your hat for now, but Greg is definitely the one getting the promotion.

my lips are sealed

said when you are promising to keep a secret (Tôi sẽ giữ bí mật)

A: “Oh and please don’t tell him you saw me here.” B: “Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.”

have something up someone’s sleeve

to have a secret plan, idea, or advantage that can be utilized if and when it is required (có kế hoạch, ý tưởng hoặc lợi thế bí mật có thể tận dụng khi cần)

I have a few tricks up my sleeve if he decides to pursue legal action against me.

pull the wool over someone’s eyes

to deceive someone in order to prevent them from discovering something (lừa ai để họ không phát hiện ra điều gì, che mắt ai)

Be prepared for your kids to try to pull the wool over your eyes when they’re teenagers.

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