Vydáno dne 15.10.2017
Víte, že citron může být šunka? A umíte v angličtině mazat med
kolem pusy? To a mnohem více se dočtete v dnešním článku o idiomech.
Idiomy jsou zažitá spojení, která v doslovném překladu nedávají často příliš smysl, proto je jejich pochopení poměrně komplikované. Více si o problematice idiomů přečtěte v článku Idiomy v angličtině.
have
butterfingers/hæv 'bʌtəfɪngəz/ –
být nešika, být nemehlo *1
butterfingers/'bʌtəfɪngəz/ –
nemehlo, nešika
Don't throw him the ball, he has butterfingers.
*2
God, you dropped it again! – Sorry, I am such a butterfingers.*3
cherrypick/'tʃeripɪk/
(cherry-pick) – vybírat si jen to
nejlepší *4
The company cherrypicked profitable areas, ignoring the others.
*5
You can't cherry-pick only the best nuts that are easy to crack and leave the rest to me. We will have to open all the nuts that are in the bowl anyway.*6
spice up/ˌspaɪs 'ʌp/ – dodat šmrnc, oživit (taky okořenit)
If you two aren't happy with your sex life anymore, why don't you spice it up a little?
*7
The party was quite boring when I got there and no one was having much fun. Then Jason and Sarah arrived and spiced the party up with some games. It was really cool.*8
butter up/'ˌbʌtəˌʌp/ –
podlézat, přehnaně lichotit, mazat med kolem huby *9
My colleague Mark is always buttering up our boss. He naively thinks he'll get a pay rise.
*10
At least butter me up a little if you want to borrow some money.*11
peanuts/'pi:nʌts/ –
pakatel, pár šupů *12
A thousand pounds for that fancy watch? I'm sure it's just peanuts for him.
*13
Do you know how much they are offering to pay? I'm not going to work for peanuts!*14
lemon/'lemən/ – šunt, šunka, béčko, slabota (často ve spojení s auty)
He seems happy with the pre-owned car, but I'm afraid he'll find out very soon it's a lemon.
*15
My new phone is a real lemon. I regret ever buying it.*16
mutton dressed as
lamb/ˌmʌtn drest əz 'læm/ –
stará vykopávka (která si hraje na mladou *17
Do you really want to buy this dress? You aren't twenty anymore and I'm sure you don't want to look like mutton dressed as lamb, do you?
*18
She usually dresses the same way as her daughter. She believes mutton dressed as lamb is sexy or something.*19
sugar-coat/'ʃʊgəkəʊt/ –
zaobalit – učinit přijatelným, stravitelným *20
I wouldn't tell him about the commotion. Well, ok, tell him, but sugar-coat it a little.
*21
No matter how much I sugar-coated the news, it left her devastated.*22
compare apples and
oranges/kəmˌpeə ˌæplz ənd 'ɒrənʒdɪz/ –
míchat/porovnávat jablka s hruškami *23
My job and your job? Give me a break. It's like comparing apples and oranges. I work much harder.
*24
I know you painted the hall last year and yes, it looks much better now. But painting all the house is not the same. Don't compare apples and oranges.*25
Pozn.: Možná je i varianta compare apples with oranges nebo mix apples and/with oranges.
packed like sardines/ˌpækt laɪk sɑ:'di:nz/ – namačkaní jako sardinky
There were only two cabins on that boat so we were packed like sardines when we wanted to sleep. Otherwise the voyage was amazing.
*26
When the bus came, it was already terribly crowded. Steve managed to squeeze in, but all the passengers were packed like sardines.*27
rub salt into the
wound/rʌb 'sɔ:lt ɪntə ðə ˌwu:nd/ –
dělat to ještě horší *28
Not only did his boss reduce his salary, he rubbed salt in his wound by telling him he could easily fire him.
*29
She failed the final exam and to rub salt into the wound her boyfriend dumped her the very same day.*30
cream of the
crop/'kri:m əv ðə 'krɒp/ –
výkvět, to nejlepší *31
Some of the new employees think they are the cream of the crop. They think they're much better than the rest of us.
*32
This new car really is the cream of the crop.*33
Pozn.: Setkat se v angličtině můžete také s francouzským
crème de la crème/ˌkrem də lɑ: 'krem/
(nejlepší z nejlepších). *34
like taking candy from a
baby – hračka, snadná věc *35
I hope you aren't surprised we won. Come on, it was like taking candy from a baby.
*36
Whenever my grandma sees a door-to-door salesperson, she always buys something. It's so easy for them. It's like taking candy from a baby.*37
that's the way the cookie
crumbles – tak to (na světě)
chodí, tak už to bývá *38
Not everything always turns out the way you want. That's the way the cookie crumbles.
*39
You can't always win. That's the way the cookie crumbles.*40
life is not a bowl of
cherries – život není
peříčko/procházka růžovou zahradou *41
It's so unfair! – Well, life is not a bowl of cherries.
*42
I know. Life isn't always a bowl of cherries, but I will not give up.*43
you can't make an omelette without breaking (a
few) eggs – když se kácí les,
lítají třísky *44
Some employees will have to be dismissed in order for the company to become more successful. You know what they say, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.
*45
too many cooks spoil the
broth/stew – když moc lidí mluví
do stejné věci, dopadne to špatně *46
I think only James and Steve should take care of the contract. You know what they say, too many cooks spoil the broth.
*47
I know that too many cooks spoil the stew, but two heads are better than one.*48
Některé idiomy (zde hlavě ty na konci seznamu) hraničí až s klišé, proto doporučujeme i samostatný článek o anglických klišé.