Tổng hợp Idioms thông dụng chủ đề Nguy hiểm và rủi ro (Danger and risk)

IDIOMS	MEANING	EXAMPLE
sail close to the wind	to do something that is dangerous or only just legal or acceptable (làm điều liều lĩnh và mạo hiểm; gần trái với luật pháp hoặc điều không thích hợp)	If you keep sailing close to the wind, the police are going to arrest you eventually.
on the safe side	to avoid risk (chắc ăn/tránh những rủi ro, nguy hiểm có thể xảy ra)	Maybe it won’t rain, but to be on the safe side, take your umbrella.
play it safe	to be careful and not take risks (làm việc một cách chắc ăn, chọn cho mình con đường an toàn, tránh rủi ro, thử thách)	To play it safe, I’d allow an extra ten minutes, just in case.
take someone’s life into someone’s (own) hands	to do something that is very dangerous, especially where you risk death (làm gì đó, tham gia vào cái gì gây nguy hiểm đến tính mạng)	I felt like I was taking my life into my own hands* climbing up the rickety old structure.*
a narrow squeak	a situation in which danger or problems are barely avoided (thoát trong gang tấc)	That guy barely made it over the tracks before the train came. What a narrow squeak!
no laughing matter	to be very serious (nghiêm trọng)	It might seem funny but I tell you what, getting stuck up a tree is no laughing matter.
hang by a thread	to be perilously close to failing, dying, or resulting in a bad outcome (ngàn cân treo sợi tóc)	After the loss, their chances of getting into the championships are hanging by a thread.
between the devil and the deep blue sea	facing two equally unpleasant, dangerous, or risky alternatives, when the avoidance of one ensures encountering the harm of the other (tình cảnh tiến thoái lưỡng nan)	I was between the devil and the deep blue sea, for if I didn’t take out another loan – and go deeper into debt – I could not pay off the debts I already owed.
risk someone’s life and limb	to do something that might cause severe injury or death (làm việc gì nguy hiểm có thể gây ra thương tích nặng nề hoặc nguy hiểm tới tính mạng)	Today we pay our respects to the brave men and women who risk their life and limb* every day to keep our country safe.*
keep someone on their toes	make sure that someone is ready to deal with anything that might happen by doing things that they are not expecting (luôn sẵn sàng cho những tình huống có thể xảy ra; đề cao cảnh giác)	The supervisors do random checks to keep all staff on their toes.
push my luck	to try too hard to get a particular result and risk losing what you have achieved (liều lĩnh làm một điều gì một cách dại dột, hy vọng rằng vận may của mình vẫn tiếp tục)	She’s agreed to help on Saturday, but I think I’d be pushing my luck* if I asked her to be here the whole weekend.*
dice with death	to do something very risky or dangerous (liều mạng; liều lĩnh)	You’re dicing with death* driving at that speed on icy roads.*
tempt fate	to take a foolish risk because you depend too much on luck (đánh liều, chấp nhận rủi ro ngu ngốc vì dựa dẫm qua nhiều vào may mắn, liều mạng)	Leaving your door unlocked is just tempting fate.
chance someone’s arm	to take a risk in order to get something that you want (mạo hiểm để đạt được thứ mình muốn)	Aren’t you chancing your arm* a bit giving up a secure job to start up a business?*
stick someone’s neck out	to take a risk (đánh liều để có một cái gì)	Look, I’m sticking my neck out* for you here. I could get fired if they find out what we’re up to!*
uncharted territory	a situation or circumstance that is foreign, unclear, or uncharted and which may be dangerous or difficult as a result (một tình huống/ hoàn cảnh xa lạ có thể gây ra nguy hiểm)	John has always kept himself closed off from family members, so his real feelings have been uncharted territory* for all of us.*
play with fire	to do something that risks causing one harm, damage, or misfortune; to do something dangerous (đùa với lửa; làm một việc gì đó nguy hiểm và có thể khiến bản thân gặp rắc rối)	Jen swears she’s being safe when she experiments with drugs, but I think she’s playing with fire.
on dangerous ground	in a position that poses danger to oneself or is likely to upset or offend others (làm điều gì theo cách có nhiều rủi ro, chẳng hạn như có nguy cơ bị phản đối hoặc thất bại, hoặc có nhiều khả năng làm người khác tức giận)	I may be on dangerous ground* with this opinion, but, as a mother myself, I really don’t think women should breastfeed in public.*
set alarm bells ringing	to cause concern due to being an indication that there is something wrong (gióng lên hồi chuông cảnh tỉnh/cảnh báo)	The new report set alarm bells ringing* among the board members because it forecasts a large decrease in enrollment.*
skating on thin ice	to be doing something that is dangerous or involves risks (hành động đang làm rất nguy hiểm, nhiều rủi ro có thể dẫn đến thảm họa hoặc kết quả không tốt)	He’s skating on thin ice* by lying to the police.*
out of harm’s way	in a position that is safe from harm or from which harm cannot be done (tránh khỏi nguy hiểm)	The children will be here soon – you had better put that plate out of harm’s way.
go out on a limb	in a position where you have no support from other people, something risky or extreme position (làm điều gì đó rủi ro, dại dột)	There’s nothing wrong with politicians going out on a limb* sometimes and risking their reputation.*
go to hell in a handbasket	to be in an extremely and increasingly bad or ruinous condition; to be on the inevitable path to utter failure or ruin (trong điều kiện bị phá hủy, tàn phá nặng nề, trong tình trạng xấu; không tránh khỏi thất bại hoặc hư hại)	With the way he’s running things, the company is going to hell in a handbasket!
out of the frying pan into the fire	from a bad, stressful, or dangerous situation into one that is even worse (thậm chí còn tệ hơn)	Those poor refugees escaped the famine but ended up in a war zone – out of the frying pan into the fire.
burn someone’s bridges	to do something that cannot be easily undone or reversed in the future (often because one has behaved offensively or unfavorably) (làm điều gì đó khiến bạn không thể quay lại như trước nữa)	I think you really burned your bridges* when you announced you were quitting and proceeded to insult your boss in front of the whole staff.*
sword of Damocles	if you have a sword of Damocles hanging over you/your head, something bad seems very likely to happen to you (ai/điều gì phải đổi mặt với nguy hiểm, hoặc rắc rối sắp xảy ra)	The threat of war has hung over the region like the sword of Damocles* for nearly a decade.*

IDIOMS

MEANING

EXAMPLE

sail close to the wind

to do something that is dangerous or only just legal or acceptable (làm điều liều lĩnh và mạo hiểm; gần trái với luật pháp hoặc điều không thích hợp)

If you keep sailing close to the wind, the police are going to arrest you eventually.

on the safe side

to avoid risk (chắc ăn/tránh những rủi ro, nguy hiểm có thể xảy ra)

Maybe it won’t rain, but to be on the safe side, take your umbrella.

play it safe

to be careful and not take risks (làm việc một cách chắc ăn, chọn cho mình con đường an toàn, tránh rủi ro, thử thách)

To play it safe, I’d allow an extra ten minutes, just in case.

take someone’s life into someone’s (own) hands

to do something that is very dangerous, especially where you risk death (làm gì đó, tham gia vào cái gì gây nguy hiểm đến tính mạng)

I felt like I was taking my life into my own hands climbing up the rickety old structure.

a narrow squeak

a situation in which danger or problems are barely avoided (thoát trong gang tấc)

That guy barely made it over the tracks before the train came. What a narrow squeak!

no laughing matter

to be very serious (nghiêm trọng)

It might seem funny but I tell you what, getting stuck up a tree is no laughing matter.

hang by a thread

to be perilously close to failing, dying, or resulting in a bad outcome (ngàn cân treo sợi tóc)

After the loss, their chances of getting into the championships are hanging by a thread.

between the devil and the deep blue sea

facing two equally unpleasant, dangerous, or risky alternatives, when the avoidance of one ensures encountering the harm of the other (tình cảnh tiến thoái lưỡng nan)

I was between the devil and the deep blue sea, for if I didn’t take out another loan – and go deeper into debt – I could not pay off the debts I already owed.

risk someone’s life and limb

to do something that might cause severe injury or death (làm việc gì nguy hiểm có thể gây ra thương tích nặng nề hoặc nguy hiểm tới tính mạng)

Today we pay our respects to the brave men and women who risk their life and limb every day to keep our country safe.

keep someone on their toes

make sure that someone is ready to deal with anything that might happen by doing things that they are not expecting (luôn sẵn sàng cho những tình huống có thể xảy ra; đề cao cảnh giác)

The supervisors do random checks to keep all staff on their toes.

push my luck

to try too hard to get a particular result and risk losing what you have achieved (liều lĩnh làm một điều gì một cách dại dột, hy vọng rằng vận may của mình vẫn tiếp tục)

She’s agreed to help on Saturday, but I think I’d be pushing my luck if I asked her to be here the whole weekend.

dice with death

to do something very risky or dangerous (liều mạng; liều lĩnh)

You’re dicing with death driving at that speed on icy roads.

tempt fate

to take a foolish risk because you depend too much on luck (đánh liều, chấp nhận rủi ro ngu ngốc vì dựa dẫm qua nhiều vào may mắn, liều mạng)

Leaving your door unlocked is just tempting fate.

chance someone’s arm

to take a risk in order to get something that you want (mạo hiểm để đạt được thứ mình muốn)

Aren’t you chancing your arm a bit giving up a secure job to start up a business?

stick someone’s neck out

to take a risk (đánh liều để có một cái gì)

Look, I’m sticking my neck out for you here. I could get fired if they find out what we’re up to!

uncharted territory

a situation or circumstance that is foreign, unclear, or uncharted and which may be dangerous or difficult as a result (một tình huống/ hoàn cảnh xa lạ có thể gây ra nguy hiểm)

John has always kept himself closed off from family members, so his real feelings have been uncharted territory for all of us.

play with fire

to do something that risks causing one harm, damage, or misfortune; to do something dangerous (đùa với lửa; làm một việc gì đó nguy hiểm và có thể khiến bản thân gặp rắc rối)

Jen swears she’s being safe when she experiments with drugs, but I think she’s playing with fire.

on dangerous ground

in a position that poses danger to oneself or is likely to upset or offend others (làm điều gì theo cách có nhiều rủi ro, chẳng hạn như có nguy cơ bị phản đối hoặc thất bại, hoặc có nhiều khả năng làm người khác tức giận)

I may be on dangerous ground with this opinion, but, as a mother myself, I really don’t think women should breastfeed in public.

set alarm bells ringing

to cause concern due to being an indication that there is something wrong (gióng lên hồi chuông cảnh tỉnh/cảnh báo)

The new report set alarm bells ringing among the board members because it forecasts a large decrease in enrollment.

skating on thin ice

to be doing something that is dangerous or involves risks (hành động đang làm rất nguy hiểm, nhiều rủi ro có thể dẫn đến thảm họa hoặc kết quả không tốt)

He’s skating on thin ice by lying to the police.

out of harm’s way

in a position that is safe from harm or from which harm cannot be done (tránh khỏi nguy hiểm)

The children will be here soon – you had better put that plate out of harm’s way.

go out on a limb

in a position where you have no support from other people, something risky or extreme position (làm điều gì đó rủi ro, dại dột)

There’s nothing wrong with politicians going out on a limb sometimes and risking their reputation.

go to hell in a handbasket

to be in an extremely and increasingly bad or ruinous condition; to be on the inevitable path to utter failure or ruin (trong điều kiện bị phá hủy, tàn phá nặng nề, trong tình trạng xấu; không tránh khỏi thất bại hoặc hư hại)

With the way he’s running things, the company is going to hell in a handbasket!

out of the frying pan into the fire

from a bad, stressful, or dangerous situation into one that is even worse (thậm chí còn tệ hơn)

Those poor refugees escaped the famine but ended up in a war zone – out of the frying pan into the fire.

burn someone’s bridges

to do something that cannot be easily undone or reversed in the future (often because one has behaved offensively or unfavorably) (làm điều gì đó khiến bạn không thể quay lại như trước nữa)

I think you really burned your bridges when you announced you were quitting and proceeded to insult your boss in front of the whole staff.

sword of Damocles

if you have a sword of Damocles hanging over you/your head, something bad seems very likely to happen to you (ai/điều gì phải đổi mặt với nguy hiểm, hoặc rắc rối sắp xảy ra)

The threat of war has hung over the region like the sword of Damocles for nearly a decade.

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