Practical English idioms [En-En-Russian]
Language/Russian
The deck with 101 cards in it was first shared on 04Dec2021 and is far from over. It can always be downloaded and installed again, in which case all your progress and changes will definitely be saved and the additions I made will be added as well as new cards. Expressions from this deck have been overheard in films, television series, or have been read in modern English-language books.
Each idiom is explained in several variants in English along with usage examples. Approximately every other expression has a brief origin story, usually following the "Note". Translations of the meaning itself and several examples into Russian are also given. The expression itself and several (3-5) examples are voiced.
All cards are illustrated with images that are freely available on the Internet. Don't let their gradual animated appearance in the card intimidate you, this was done to distract you from automatically reading the examples in an attempt to mildly force only to listen to them at least a few seconds.
Recommended minimum level for effective study of the deck is B1 (according to the CEFR standard)
Screenshots:
Sample Data
| Id | 0068 |
| Вопрос | from the horse's mouth |
| Ответ | из надёжного источника; из первоисточника |
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| Sample | 1. Each of them carried a note-book, in which whenever the great man spoke, he desperately scribbled. Straight from the horse's mouth2. I heard it from the horse's mouth3. I invited you to hear from the horse's mouth4. The answer came back out of thin air rather than from the horse’s mouth |
| FullSample | 1. У каждого из них была записная книжка, в которую судорожно записывалось всё, что говорил великий человек. Сведения из первоисточника2. Я слышал это из первых уст3. Я пригласил тебя послушать всё из первых уст4. Ответ скорее был высосан из пальца, чем получен из надёжного источника |
| Remark | ▪ given by somebody who is directly involved, who has direct personal knowledge of the matter and therefore likely to be accurateas an illustrationI know it's hard to believe but I heard it (straight) from the horse's mouth.A: "Is our test really getting rescheduled?" B: "Yep, our teacher was ahead of me in the lunch line, so I heard it straight from the horse's mouth." ▪ from an authoritative or dependable sourceas an illustrationI know it's true! I heard it straight from the horse's mouth!This comes straight from the horse's mouth, so it has to be believed.‘How do you know he’s leaving?’ ‘I got it straight from the horse’s mouth. He told me himself.’I have it from the horse's mouth that he plans to retire next month. ▪ if you get a piece of information in such a way, you get it directly from someone who is involved in it and knows most about itas an illustrationWhen he hears, straight from the horse's mouth, what a good worker you are, he'll increase your wages.Most of the book is completely true; it comes from the horse's mouth.Note: The analogy here is to examining a horse’s teeth, which reveal its age with some accuracy. Although this fact has been known for centuries (and indeed gave rise to the adage, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, dating from the fifth century),the expression dates only from the 1920s.“I have it straight from the mouth of a horse,” wrote Christopher Morley (Kitty Foyle, 1939).Alternatively, it may simply refer to the presumed ideal source for a racing tip and hence of other useful information which is so reliable that it is as if the horse itself has told you how well it is going to perform. |
| Example |
| Id | 0267 |
| Вопрос | have/get cold feet |
| Ответ | смалодушничать, струсить |
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| Sample | 1. He... urged me to go ahead, not to faint or get cold feet (Th. Dreiser, ‘A Book about Myself’)2. I usually have cold feet when I speak in public3. I agreed to do it but now I've got cold feet4. At the last minute he got cold feet and withdrew from the deal |
| FullSample | 1. Он... уговаривал меня идти вперёд, не падать духом и не трусить2. Когда мне приходится выступать перед публикой, я обычно робею3. Я согласился было это сделать, но теперь мне стало что-то страшновато4. В последний момент он засомневался и отказался от сделки |
| Remark | ▪ to suddenly feel nervous about doing something that one has planned or agreed to do, especially something important, often to the extent that one tries to avoid itas for instanceSally got cold feet at the last moment and called off the wedding.The planned burglary never took place. Fred's accomplice got cold feet and Fred couldn't do it on his own. ▪ to be timid; to back off from some undertakingas for instanceGood luck getting her out on stage — she always has cold feet before a performance.We got out of the car. Favell strolled up to meet us. ‘What were you all waiting for, cold feet?’ he said. (D. du Maurier, ‘Rebecca’) — Мы вышли из машины. Фавелл пошел нам навстречу. - Чего вы все ждали? Струсили? - спросил он. ▪ to experience fearfulness, timidity, nervousness or anxiety preventing the completion of a course of actionas for instanceI wasn't nervous until the morning of my wedding, but everyone assured me that I just had cold feet.He was going to ask her but he got cold feet and said nothing. ▪ no longer want to continue what you intended or have started to do because you are nervous or afraidas for instanceDo you still want to do this parachute jump or are you getting cold feet? Note: This expression appears to date from the nineteenth century, at least in its present meaning. In the early seventeenth century it was an Italian proverb that meant to have no money; it was so used by Ben Jonson in his play Volpone. The source of the more recent meaning is obscure. Some believe it comes from soldiers retreating in battle because their feet are frozen. Another source cites a German novel of 1862 in which a card player withdraws from a game because, he claims, his feet are cold. ANT: take the plunge / make the plunge Finally, Mona took the plunge. `I have something to tell you,' she said. I'd been putting it off for years, but I finally took the plunge and enrolled in a college course. |
| Example |
| Id | 0134 |
| Вопрос | match made in heaven |
| Ответ | счастливый брак; подходящее, идеальное сочетание |
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| Sample | 1. We're a little match made in Heaven if I say so2. Particle physics and cosmology was a match made in heaven3. Turned out the couple weren’t a match made in heaven as she had hoped4. The Chinese-US trade relationship may have seemed like a marriage match made in heaven, but in hindsight it is clear that it merely led to a blowup |
| FullSample | 1. Мы - маленькая пара, связанная Небесами, если я дам добро2. Союз физики частиц и космологии был очень подходящим сочетанием3. Оказалось, что эта пара не создана на небесах, как она надеялась4. Торговые отношения Китая и США могли казаться идельными, но в ретроспективе становится очевидным, что они всего лишь привели к ссоре |
| Remark | ▪ an extremely well-suited pairing of people or things; a match that will result in a particularly positive or successful outcomee.g.Mike and Timothy are a match made in heaven! I can't think of two people better suited to marry one another.The new wide receiver and the team's veteran quarterback have proved to be a match made in heaven on the field. ▪ a very happy marriage or partnershipe.g.When Kelly and Julie partnered up and opened their restaurant, it was a match made in heaven.Cindy and Mark look so happy together. That's a match made in heaven. ▪ a combination of two people or things which seems perfecte.g.When she married Dave, everyone thought that theirs was a match made in heaven.A merger between the two leading mobile phone networks would appear to be a marriage made in heaven, but will consumers lose out? |
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