Tổng hợp Idioms thông dụng chủ đề Công việc và việc làm (Work and employment)

IDIOMS	MEANING	EXAMPLE
bread and butter	a job or activity that provides you with the money you need to live (công việc thiết yếu để làm kế sinh nhai của một người)	Singing is my only bread and butter* now. I don’t know how I would survive without it.*
have someone’s work cut out	to have much work to do to complete a particular task (có nhiều việc phải làm để hoàn thành một việc gì đó)	She’ll really have her work cut out* to finish all those reports by the end of the week.*
have someone’s hands full	to be busy or completely occupied with dealing with something (rất bận rộn, không có thời gian làm việc khác)	Paula has her hands full* with those kids*
a list as long as someone’s arm	a very long list of items to accomplish (một danh sách rất dài những thứ cần hoàn thành)	I’m too busy to make it to dinner tonight – I have a list as long as my arm* to finish.*
not have a minute to call someone’s own	to be very busy (rất bận rộn)	The principal does not have a minute to call her own.
put something in motion	to start a machine or process (bắt đầu, khởi động)	We filled in a form to put the whole process in motion.
ahead of the game	at an advantage because you have done more preparation or know more than other people, especially those you are competing against (có lợi thế, điều kiện thuận lợi trong cạnh tranh; rất thành công với những gì đang làm (doanh nghiệp, kinh doanh))	It’s hard to stay ahead of the game* in network security when the threat landscape is constantly changing.*
on the go	busy and active (bận rộn và năng động)	A: “You’re retired, so why are you always on the go?” – B: “Hey, life’s too short to be idle!”
up to someone’s ears in something	to have too much of something; to be overwhelmed by something (có cực kì nhiều việc phải làm)	If any of my guys get hurt at the construction site, I’ll be up to my ears in* paperwork.*
the long arm of the law	the police (cảnh sát)	The long arm of the law is finally wrapping its fingers around these corrupt politicians.
no picnic	not an easy task; unenjoyable or challenging (công việc không hề vui vẻ dễ chịu, hoặc không dễ thực hiện)	Being a single parent is no picnic, I can tell you.
get the sack	to be fired from a job or task (bị sa thải)	I tried so hard to do a good job in Mrs. Smith’s garden, but I got the sack* anyway.*
have big shoes to fill	to have to work really hard in order to live up to the high standards set by the person who had the job before you (phải nỗ lực, cố gắng làm việc siêng năng, chăm chỉ để sánh được với và duy trì những tiêu chuẩn cao mà người đi trước đã đạt được)	I heard you’re taking over for Marcy, right? Well, good luck – you have big shoes to fill!
run a tight ship	to keep a place, group, or organization very well organized and operating efficiently (điều hành công việc, một nơi nào đó hay một nhóm theo cách chặt chẽ, có kỉ luật và hiệu quả)	Shaona was running a tight* ship and didn’t waste time on small talk*
(as) busy as a bee	very busy (rất bận rộn)	I’m currently choreographing three plays, so I’m as busy as a bee.
tread the boards	to act in plays (diễn kịch, đóng kịch)	He always yearned to tread the boards on Broadway.
step into someone’s shoes	to take someone’s place, often by doing the job they have just left (tiếp bước ai, làm công việc giống người đó)	There was no one who could step into Alice’s shoes* when she left, so everything came to a stop.*
work someone’s fingers to the bone	to work extremely hard, especially for a long time (nỗ lực hết mình)	I have worked my fingers to the bone* renovating this house, and I’m glad to say that it has all been worth it.*
too many chiefs and not enough indians	too many managers and not enough people to do the work (lắm thầy ít thợ)	Everyone wants to be the brains of this project, but there are too many chiefs and not enough IndiansI
a hive of activity	a place where a lot of people are working very hard (nơi mà mọi người làm việc rất vất vả)	Unfortunately, the bar underneath our apartment is a hive of activity* till midnight every night.*
show someone the ropes	to explain or demonstrate to one how to do or perform a job, task, or activity (chỉ ai đó cách làm việc)	I know there’s a lot to take in, but your partner has been here for over 10 years and will show you the ropes.
draw the short straw	to be selected to do an undesirable task (được chọn để làm một nhiệm vụ không mong muốn)	Mike drew the short straw* and had to clean the bathroom.*
snowed under	to be very busy or overwhelmed with something (có quá nhiều việc phải làm và không có đủ thời gian để làm những việc đó)	We have been snowed under* with phone calls all day.*
burn the candle at both ends	to work or do other things from early in the morning until late at night and so get very little rest (làm việc từ sáng đến đêm, không nghỉ ngơi)	Oh, Denise is definitely burning the candle at both ends* – she’s been getting to the office early and staying very late to work on some big project.*
rushed off someone’s feet	to be extremely busy (cực kì bận rộn)	We have three parties of 40 scheduled for the dining room this evening, so all of our servers are going to be rushed off their feet.
get someone’s marching orders	to receive a notice of dismissal from someone’s employment (bị cho thôi việc)	Daniel got his marching orders* for arriving to work drunk.*

IDIOMS

MEANING

EXAMPLE

bread and butter

a job or activity that provides you with the money you need to live (công việc thiết yếu để làm kế sinh nhai của một người)

Singing is my only bread and butter now. I don’t know how I would survive without it.

have someone’s work cut out

to have much work to do to complete a particular task (có nhiều việc phải làm để hoàn thành một việc gì đó)

She’ll really have her work cut out to finish all those reports by the end of the week.

have someone’s hands full

to be busy or completely occupied with dealing with something (rất bận rộn, không có thời gian làm việc khác)

Paula has her hands full with those kids

a list as long as someone’s arm

a very long list of items to accomplish (một danh sách rất dài những thứ cần hoàn thành)

I’m too busy to make it to dinner tonight – I have a list as long as my arm to finish.

not have a minute to call someone’s own

to be very busy (rất bận rộn)

The principal does not have a minute to call her own.

put something in motion

to start a machine or process (bắt đầu, khởi động)

We filled in a form to put the whole process in motion.

ahead of the game

at an advantage because you have done more preparation or know more than other people, especially those you are competing against (có lợi thế, điều kiện thuận lợi trong cạnh tranh; rất thành công với những gì đang làm (doanh nghiệp, kinh doanh))

It’s hard to stay ahead of the game in network security when the threat landscape is constantly changing.

on the go

busy and active (bận rộn và năng động)

A: “You’re retired, so why are you always on the go?” – B: “Hey, life’s too short to be idle!”

up to someone’s ears in something

to have too much of something; to be overwhelmed by something (có cực kì nhiều việc phải làm)

If any of my guys get hurt at the construction site, I’ll be up to my ears in paperwork.

the long arm of the law

the police (cảnh sát)

The long arm of the law is finally wrapping its fingers around these corrupt politicians.

no picnic

not an easy task; unenjoyable or challenging (công việc không hề vui vẻ dễ chịu, hoặc không dễ thực hiện)

Being a single parent is no picnic, I can tell you.

get the sack

to be fired from a job or task (bị sa thải)

I tried so hard to do a good job in Mrs. Smith’s garden, but I got the sack anyway.

have big shoes to fill

to have to work really hard in order to live up to the high standards set by the person who had the job before you (phải nỗ lực, cố gắng làm việc siêng năng, chăm chỉ để sánh được với và duy trì những tiêu chuẩn cao mà người đi trước đã đạt được)

I heard you’re taking over for Marcy, right? Well, good luck – you have big shoes to fill!

run a tight ship

to keep a place, group, or organization very well organized and operating efficiently (điều hành công việc, một nơi nào đó hay một nhóm theo cách chặt chẽ, có kỉ luật và hiệu quả)

Shaona was running a tight ship and didn’t waste time on small talk

(as) busy as a bee

very busy (rất bận rộn)

I’m currently choreographing three plays, so I’m as busy as a bee.

tread the boards

to act in plays (diễn kịch, đóng kịch)

He always yearned to tread the boards on Broadway.

step into someone’s shoes

to take someone’s place, often by doing the job they have just left (tiếp bước ai, làm công việc giống người đó)

There was no one who could step into Alice’s shoes when she left, so everything came to a stop.

work someone’s fingers to the bone

to work extremely hard, especially for a long time (nỗ lực hết mình)

I have worked my fingers to the bone renovating this house, and I’m glad to say that it has all been worth it.

too many chiefs and not enough indians

too many managers and not enough people to do the work (lắm thầy ít thợ)

Everyone wants to be the brains of this project, but there are too many chiefs and not enough IndiansI

a hive of activity

a place where a lot of people are working very hard (nơi mà mọi người làm việc rất vất vả)

Unfortunately, the bar underneath our apartment is a hive of activity till midnight every night.

show someone the ropes

to explain or demonstrate to one how to do or perform a job, task, or activity (chỉ ai đó cách làm việc)

I know there’s a lot to take in, but your partner has been here for over 10 years and will show you the ropes.

draw the short straw

to be selected to do an undesirable task (được chọn để làm một nhiệm vụ không mong muốn)

Mike drew the short straw and had to clean the bathroom.

snowed under

to be very busy or overwhelmed with something (có quá nhiều việc phải làm và không có đủ thời gian để làm những việc đó)

We have been snowed under with phone calls all day.

burn the candle at both ends

to work or do other things from early in the morning until late at night and so get very little rest (làm việc từ sáng đến đêm, không nghỉ ngơi)

Oh, Denise is definitely burning the candle at both ends – she’s been getting to the office early and staying very late to work on some big project.

rushed off someone’s feet

to be extremely busy (cực kì bận rộn)

We have three parties of 40 scheduled for the dining room this evening, so all of our servers are going to be rushed off their feet.

get someone’s marching orders

to receive a notice of dismissal from someone’s employment (bị cho thôi việc)

Daniel got his marching orders for arriving to work drunk.

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

Trong bài viết sau, azVocab giới thiệu các Idioms thông dụng chủ đề Secret and revelation, giúp bạn diễn đạt…

Xem thêm