not one's place - not one's role to do something It is not my place to tell other people what they should do with their free time.. not see past/farther than the end of one's nose - to n
Trang 1not move a muscle
- to remain perfectly motionless
I was told to not move a muscle while the dentist was working on my teeth
not much of (something)
- to be rather bad, to be not so good
It is not much of a hotel but I think that it will be okay for one night
not on your life
- definitely not
"May I borrow your car?"
"Not on your life."
not one iota
- not even a tiny bit
There is not one iota of truth in what that man is saying about me
not one's place
- not one's role to do something
It is not my place to tell other people what they should do with their free time
not see past/farther than the end of one's nose
- to not care about the future or about what is happening elsewhere or to other people
My friend cannot see farther than the end of her nose and is not interested in the lives
of other people
Trang 2
not set foot (somewhere)
- to not go somewhere
We did not set foot in the old factory that we passed on our hike
not show one's face
- to not appear
We asked the man to not show his face at our restaurant if he was not going to behave properly
not sleep a wink
- to not sleep at all
I am tired today because I could not sleep a wink last night
not so hot
- to be not very good
I have been feeling not so hot lately because I had a cold last week
not (someone's) cup of tea
- to be not something that one likes
Classical music is not her cup of tea so she did not go the the concert with the others
not take no for an answer
- to not accept someone's refusal
My aunt would not take no for an answer when I said that I would not eat dinner at her house
Trang 3not tell a (living) soul
- to not reveal something to anyone
I did not tell a soul about what happened during the fight with my friend
not touch (something) with a ten-foot pole
- to consider something completely undesirable or uninteresting
That car is dangerous and I would not touch it with a ten-foot pole
not up to scratch/snuff
- to be not adequate
My uncle's golf game is not up to scratch and he always gets a bad score
not with it
- to be not able to think clearly
My grandmother was not with it today and we were not able to have a very good visit
not worth a dime
- to be worthless
Our old sofa is not worth a dime so we put it in the garbage
not worth a hill of beans
- to be worthless
Anything that our supervisor says is not worth a hill of beans so nobody trusts him
not worth a plugged nickel
- to be worthless
His promise to pay back the money is not worth a plugged nickel
Trang 4not worth mentioning
- to be not important enough to require a comment
The problem that we had with the former manager was not worth mentioning so we did not say anything to anybody
not worth one's while
- to be not worth bothering with
It is not worth my while to go downtown if it is only to do one small thing
not worth the trouble
- to be not important enough to require a comment or to do something
It was not worth the trouble to repair the old stove so we threw it in the garbage
nothing Idioms
nothing but skin and bones
- to be very thin or emaciated
The young man was nothing but skin and bones when he returned from the camping trip
nothing but (something)
- to be only something
There were nothing but people who played wind instruments at the music camp
nothing doing
- I will not do it, certainly not
Trang 5nothing down
- to not require a down payment
The young couple purchased the house with nothing down
nothing if not (something)
- without doubt, certainly
He is nothing if not punctual He has never been late in his seven years with this company
nothing of the kind
- to be nothing like that
My boss thought that my comments were complaints but I told him that they were nothing of the kind
nothing short of (something)
- to be more or less the same as something
It was nothing short of a miracle that the young man survived the car accident
nothing to choose from
- no choice
There was nothing to choose from when we went to the shoe sale in the late
afternoon
nothing to complain about
- everything is all right
I told my boss that I had nothing to complain about regarding my job
Trang 6nothing to it
- to be easy
There was nothing to it and I was able to fix the television in about ten minutes
nothing to sneeze at
- to be something that you should take seriously and respect
His new salary is nothing to sneeze at
nothing to speak of
- not many, not much
"Were there any problems that you found during the house inspection."
"Nothing to speak of Everything seemed to be fine."
nothing to write home about
- nothing exciting or interesting happened
"Did anything interesting happen during your holiday."
"Nothing to write home about," I replied
.
now and then
- occasionally
I like to go to that restaurant now and then
now or never
- at this time and no other
Trang 7nowhere near
- not nearly
There were nowhere near enough chairs for all of the people who planned to come to the meeting
null and void
- to be canceled, to be worthless
The credit card was null and void and I was unable to use it on my holiday
a number of things or people
- an indefinite number of things or people
There were a number of reasons why I did not want to study at my father's university
number one
- oneself, one`s own interests
He is always looking out for number one and will never do anything for other people
nurse a grudge
- to keep a feeling of dislike toward someone
My old boyfriend is still nursing a grudge toward me even after three years
nurse (someone) back to health
- to give someone care to restore him or her to good health
My mother spent several weeks with my grandmother to try and nurse her back to health
Trang 8nuts about (someone or something)
- to be enthusiastic about something
He has been nuts about cars ever since he was a little boy
nuts and bolts (of something)
- the basic facts about something
The nuts and bolts of the housing loan were carefully discussed by the bank and their client
nutty as a fruitcake
- to be very crazy
The woman who lives next door to us is nutty as a fruitcake
nuzzle up to (someone or something)
- to nestle or cuddle against someone or something (especially with your nose or face) The puppy nuzzled up to his owner as he slept on the sofa
Trang 9O
occur to (someone)
- to come into someone's mind (an idea or thought)
It occurred to me that I will not be able to meet my friend on Saturday because I have
to go to the airport to meet someone else
ocean(s) of (something)
- a very large amount of something
There was oceans of food at the party
odd man out
- an unusual person or thing
I always feel that I am the odd man out when I go with my coworkers to a restaurant
(the) odd (something)
- an extra or spare something, one or two of something
We saw the odd interesting bird on our hike through the mountains
an oddball
- a person who does not act like other people
The man is an oddball and nobody at his company likes to work with him
odds and ends
- a variety of small items (sometimes remnants of something)
We made games for the children from odds and ends that we found around the house
Trang 10an odor of sanctity
- an atmosphere of excessive holiness or piety
There was an odor of sanctity surrounding the chambers of the judge at the
courthouse
of Idioms
of age
- to be old enough to be allowed to do something (vote,drink etc.)
When my cousin came of age we had a big party for him to celebrate
of age
- to be fully developed, to be mature
Rapid transportation came of age when the first jets were built
of all the nerve
- How shocking!
Of all the nerve for my friend to ask me for more money when she never repaid me what she had already borrowed
of all things
- Imagine that!
"Of all things," the woman said when the post office worker told her that her package was too large for delivery
of benefit to (someone)
- to be good for someone, to be a benefit to someone
Another meeting to solve the problem would be of no benefit to myself so I decided not to attend