Tổng hợp Idioms thông dụng chủ đề Luật pháp, tội ác và hình phạt (Law, crime and punishment)

IDIOMS	MEANING	EXAMPLE
face the music	to receive punishment; to accept the unpleasant results of one’s actions (chấp nhận sự chỉ trích hay sự trừng phạt vì lầm lỗi của mình)	Mary broke a dining-room window and had to face the music* when her father got home.*
get someone off the hook	to help one to avoid punishment or culpability for some wrongdoing (thoát trách nhiệm, hết gặp trở ngại)	He’s the best lawyer in the business. If anyone can get you off the hook* for murder, he can.*
a slap on the wrist	a small punishment or occasion when someone is told they have done something wrong (sự khiển trách nhẹ nhàng)	Bill hasn’t been late to school that many times, so just give him a slap on the wrist* for his tardiness.*
give someone the slip	evade or escape from someone (chạy trốn khỏi ai; né tránh)	The burglar gave us the slip, but we’re in pursuit.
smell a rat	to suspect that something is wrong; to sense that someone has caused something wrong (nghi ngờ)	She thought she smelled a rat when she saw John slinking away from the scene of the crime.
under the table	secretly (often because what is being done is illegal) (một cách bí mật, thường là điều gì đó bất hợp pháp)	The governor is suspected of making deals under the table* with corporations looking to skirt certain regulations.*
do something by the book	to do something exactly as the rules tell you (làm theo đúng quy tắc, luật lệ)	This is a private deal – we don’t have to do everything by the book.
carry the can	to accept blame or responsibility for something that one did not cause (nhận tội thay)	The innocent boy was forced to carry the can* for the gangster or his boss will do harm to the boy’s family.*
catch someone red-handed	to discover someone while they are doing something bad or illegal (bắt quả tang ai đó làm điều sai trái)	The maid was caught red-handed* stealing money from the drawer by the owner of the house.*
get away with murder	to avoid consequences for any of one’s actions; to be able to do whatever one wants without consequences (làm điều sai trái mà không bị trừng phạt; lách luật)	Of course he’s misbehaving at school – you let him get away with murder* at home!*
in the eyes of the law	from the technical viewpoint of the legal system (xét từ góc độ chuyên ngành của hệ thống pháp luật)	The criminal was caught after committing a crime and was assessed by the court to have suffered from severe mental illness. But in the eyes of the law, he is considered to be guilty on all counts.
bring someone to book	to punish someone and make that person explain their behaviour (bắt ai đó phải chịu trách nhiệm về hành vi của họ)	I’m sure the boss is going to bring me to book* for my outburst during the meeting. I just hope I don’t get fired.*
no hard and fast rules	if there are no hard and fast rules, there are no clear rules for you to follow (không có quy tắc nào cứng nhắc, bất di bất dịch cả)	There’s no hard and fast rule* about when you need to start or end your workday here – as long as you log 40 hours each week.*
take the law into someone’s own hands	punish someone who you believe has done something wrong yourself instead of waiting for someone in authority to do it (tự trừng phạt ai theo cách của mình, nhất là vi phạm pháp luật hoặc bạo lực, mà không nhờ đến công an hay chính quyền can thiệp; thay trời hành đạo)	I know you’re frustrated by how long it’s taken the police to respond, but you can’t just take the law into your own hands.
put/get/lay someone’s hands on someone	to catch someone (bắt được ai)	I’ll kill him if I ever get my hands* on him.*
pay someone’s debt to society	to serve the sentence given to one upon conviction of a crime (ngồi tù, thụ án do phạm tội)	In the eyes of the law, he has paid his debt to society, so he shouldn’t be facing any further punishment for his past crimes.
under the counter	covertly or secretly (and often illegally) (một cách bí mật, thường là bất hợp pháp)	If you’re selling alcohol under the counter, you could get into a lot of trouble.
pull a fast one	to cheat someone (lừa đảo, trục lợi từ người khác)	He was trying to pull a fast one* when he told you he’d paid.*
take the fifth	to refuse to testify against oneself in court (từ chối trả lời một câu hỏi vì câu trả lời có thể gây bất lợi cho bản thân tại tòa)	The lawyer told his client to take the fifth* before she was asked to do a testimony.*
do a runner	to run away without paying for a good or service (ăn cắp vặt)	The teenagers did a runner* when the cab stopped, leaving the driver with an unpaid bill.*
line someone’s pockets	to earn money using dishonest or illegal methods (kiếm tiền bằng cách bất hợp pháp)	Staff at the bank have apparently been lining their pockets* with money from investors’ accounts.*
have/be caught with someone’s fingers in the till	to steal money, or to be discovered to be stealing money, from the place where you work (trộm tiền nơi làm việc/của sếp)	He was caught with his fingers in the till* after management set up a covert surveillance system.*
behind bars	in prison (ngồi tù)	He’s spent most of his life behind bars.
put behind bars	to put someone in prison (bắt ai đó và tống họ vào tù)	The bank robbers have been finally put behind bars.
catch someone in the act	find someone while they are doing something they should not be doing (bắt quả tang)	The police caught the robbers* in the act of ransacking another house.*
throw the book at someone	to severely punish someone (trừng phạt ai đó một cách nặng nề)	After the accident, the safety inspector threw the book at* the company directors.*
heads will roll	used to say that some people will be punished because of something that has happened (ai đó sẽ bị trừng phạt rất nặng về việc họ đã gây ra)	Heads will roll if there are any errors in the pamphlets we printed for this networking event.
cook the books	to give false information in a company’s accounts, to provide fake financial reports (gian lận sổ sách)	One of the directors had been cooking the books, and the company had been losing money for years.
cover someone’s tracks	to hide or destroy the things that show where you have been or what you have been doing (che giấu những vết tích hay những việc mình đã làm)	Roberts covered his tracks* by throwing the knife in the river.*
do time	to spend a certain period in prison (ngồi tù)	If you keep stealing things, you might ending up doing time* one day.*
a short sharp shock	(describing or relating to) punishment that is quick and effective (hình phạt/biện pháp bất ngờ, gây sốc, nghiêm khắc nhưng hiệu quả)	It is clear now that the policy of punishing young offenders with a short sharp shock is much less effective than education and emotional training.
blow the whistle	to tell people publicly about something bad that someone is doing (tố cáo ai, vạch trần việc gì)	The gangs were getting very bad. It was time to blow the whistle.
above the law	not subject to the law; immune to the law (không chịu sự điều chỉnh của pháp luật; miễn nhiễm với pháp luật)	Many computer hackers act as though they are above the law* when they steal valuable data from companies and attempt to sell it online.*
fall afoul of	to experience problems, punishment, or harm because you do not obey a rule or disagree with a powerful organization, group, or person (làm điều gì đó không được phép, đặc biệt là không tuân theo các quy tắc hoặc luật pháp)	They fell afoul of* the law by not paying their taxes*
might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb	said to mean that because the punishment for a bad action and an even worse one will be the same, you have no reason not to do the worse one (xử phạt nặng hơn vì hình phạt giữa tội nhẹ và tội nặng vẫn như nhau)	I’ve already blown most of my savings, so what’s another $100? Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.

IDIOMS

MEANING

EXAMPLE

face the music

to receive punishment; to accept the unpleasant results of one’s actions (chấp nhận sự chỉ trích hay sự trừng phạt vì lầm lỗi của mình)

Mary broke a dining-room window and had to face the music when her father got home.

get someone off the hook

to help one to avoid punishment or culpability for some wrongdoing (thoát trách nhiệm, hết gặp trở ngại)

He’s the best lawyer in the business. If anyone can get you off the hook for murder, he can.

a slap on the wrist

a small punishment or occasion when someone is told they have done something wrong (sự khiển trách nhẹ nhàng)

Bill hasn’t been late to school that many times, so just give him a slap on the wrist for his tardiness.

give someone the slip

evade or escape from someone (chạy trốn khỏi ai; né tránh)

The burglar gave us the slip, but we’re in pursuit.

smell a rat

to suspect that something is wrong; to sense that someone has caused something wrong (nghi ngờ)

She thought she smelled a rat when she saw John slinking away from the scene of the crime.

under the table

secretly (often because what is being done is illegal) (một cách bí mật, thường là điều gì đó bất hợp pháp)

The governor is suspected of making deals under the table with corporations looking to skirt certain regulations.

do something by the book

to do something exactly as the rules tell you (làm theo đúng quy tắc, luật lệ)

This is a private deal – we don’t have to do everything by the book.

carry the can

to accept blame or responsibility for something that one did not cause (nhận tội thay)

The innocent boy was forced to carry the can for the gangster or his boss will do harm to the boy’s family.

catch someone red-handed

to discover someone while they are doing something bad or illegal (bắt quả tang ai đó làm điều sai trái)

The maid was caught red-handed stealing money from the drawer by the owner of the house.

get away with murder

to avoid consequences for any of one’s actions; to be able to do whatever one wants without consequences (làm điều sai trái mà không bị trừng phạt; lách luật)

Of course he’s misbehaving at school – you let him get away with murder at home!

in the eyes of the law

from the technical viewpoint of the legal system (xét từ góc độ chuyên ngành của hệ thống pháp luật)

The criminal was caught after committing a crime and was assessed by the court to have suffered from severe mental illness. But in the eyes of the law, he is considered to be guilty on all counts.

bring someone to book

to punish someone and make that person explain their behaviour (bắt ai đó phải chịu trách nhiệm về hành vi của họ)

I’m sure the boss is going to bring me to book for my outburst during the meeting. I just hope I don’t get fired.

no hard and fast rules

if there are no hard and fast rules, there are no clear rules for you to follow (không có quy tắc nào cứng nhắc, bất di bất dịch cả)

There’s no hard and fast rule about when you need to start or end your workday here – as long as you log 40 hours each week.

take the law into someone’s own hands

punish someone who you believe has done something wrong yourself instead of waiting for someone in authority to do it (tự trừng phạt ai theo cách của mình, nhất là vi phạm pháp luật hoặc bạo lực, mà không nhờ đến công an hay chính quyền can thiệp; thay trời hành đạo)

I know you’re frustrated by how long it’s taken the police to respond, but you can’t just take the law into your own hands.

put/get/lay someone’s hands on someone

to catch someone (bắt được ai)

I’ll kill him if I ever get my hands on him.

pay someone’s debt to society

to serve the sentence given to one upon conviction of a crime (ngồi tù, thụ án do phạm tội)

In the eyes of the law, he has paid his debt to society, so he shouldn’t be facing any further punishment for his past crimes.

under the counter

covertly or secretly (and often illegally) (một cách bí mật, thường là bất hợp pháp)

If you’re selling alcohol under the counter, you could get into a lot of trouble.

pull a fast one

to cheat someone (lừa đảo, trục lợi từ người khác)

He was trying to pull a fast one when he told you he’d paid.

take the fifth

to refuse to testify against oneself in court (từ chối trả lời một câu hỏi vì câu trả lời có thể gây bất lợi cho bản thân tại tòa)

The lawyer told his client to take the fifth before she was asked to do a testimony.

do a runner

to run away without paying for a good or service (ăn cắp vặt)

The teenagers did a runner when the cab stopped, leaving the driver with an unpaid bill.

line someone’s pockets

to earn money using dishonest or illegal methods (kiếm tiền bằng cách bất hợp pháp)

Staff at the bank have apparently been lining their pockets with money from investors’ accounts.

have/be caught with someone’s fingers in the till

to steal money, or to be discovered to be stealing money, from the place where you work (trộm tiền nơi làm việc/của sếp)

He was caught with his fingers in the till after management set up a covert surveillance system.

behind bars

in prison (ngồi tù)

He’s spent most of his life behind bars.

put behind bars

to put someone in prison (bắt ai đó và tống họ vào tù)

The bank robbers have been finally put behind bars.

catch someone in the act

find someone while they are doing something they should not be doing (bắt quả tang)

The police caught the robbers in the act of ransacking another house.

throw the book at someone

to severely punish someone (trừng phạt ai đó một cách nặng nề)

After the accident, the safety inspector threw the book at the company directors.

heads will roll

used to say that some people will be punished because of something that has happened (ai đó sẽ bị trừng phạt rất nặng về việc họ đã gây ra)

Heads will roll if there are any errors in the pamphlets we printed for this networking event.

cook the books

to give false information in a company’s accounts, to provide fake financial reports (gian lận sổ sách)

One of the directors had been cooking the books, and the company had been losing money for years.

cover someone’s tracks

to hide or destroy the things that show where you have been or what you have been doing (che giấu những vết tích hay những việc mình đã làm)

Roberts covered his tracks by throwing the knife in the river.

do time

to spend a certain period in prison (ngồi tù)

If you keep stealing things, you might ending up doing time one day.

a short sharp shock

(describing or relating to) punishment that is quick and effective (hình phạt/biện pháp bất ngờ, gây sốc, nghiêm khắc nhưng hiệu quả)

It is clear now that the policy of punishing young offenders with a short sharp shock is much less effective than education and emotional training.

blow the whistle

to tell people publicly about something bad that someone is doing (tố cáo ai, vạch trần việc gì)

The gangs were getting very bad. It was time to blow the whistle.

above the law

not subject to the law; immune to the law (không chịu sự điều chỉnh của pháp luật; miễn nhiễm với pháp luật)

Many computer hackers act as though they are above the law when they steal valuable data from companies and attempt to sell it online.

fall afoul of

to experience problems, punishment, or harm because you do not obey a rule or disagree with a powerful organization, group, or person (làm điều gì đó không được phép, đặc biệt là không tuân theo các quy tắc hoặc luật pháp)

They fell afoul of the law by not paying their taxes

might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb

said to mean that because the punishment for a bad action and an even worse one will be the same, you have no reason not to do the worse one (xử phạt nặng hơn vì hình phạt giữa tội nhẹ và tội nặng vẫn như nhau)

I’ve already blown most of my savings, so what’s another $100? Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.

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