Menyempatkan Diri Belajar Bahasa Inggris Ungkapan (idiomatic expressions)

Di bawah ini adalah beberapa contoh ungkapan (idiomatic expressions) yang bisa ditemui di beberapa teks bahasa Inggris:

Pass the buck: menimpakan kesalahan pada orang lain, melimpahkan tanggung jawab pada orang lain, contoh: Don't try to pass the buck! It's your fault, and everybody knows it. Some people try to pass the buck whenever they can.

Pulling frequent all-nighters: belajar kebut semalam

On edge: gelisah

Up and at ’em: menyibukkan diri

Love something as much as the next gal: sangat menyukai, contoh: I love Chuck Norris as much as the next gal

Falling into work out rut: terjebak dalam kebiasaan latihan (olahraga) yang itu-itu saja 

Sent to the glue factory: pada dasarnya ungkapan ini bermakna sesuatu yang tidak lagi dipakai. Pada jaman dahulu, kuda-kuda tua dibantai, dan bangkainya dikirim ke pabrik lem, karena itulah lagi gunanya kuda-kuda itu.

Up in arms: murka, marah

Get a grip on one/sth: menguasai atau bisa mengendalikan seseorang atau sesuatu

Deer in the headlight: kaget dan tak bisa bergerak; ketakutan

Give a run for someone’s money: merasa tidak sia-sia mengeluarkan uang karena mendapatkan sesuatu yang memang benar-benar  pantas dihargai dengan uang tersebut

Rest assured=you can be sure: yakinlah

Live within your means: menghindari berutang dengan membelanjakan uang tidak lebih besar dari penghasilan

Take a cue: mengambil pelajaran

Had one’s wit about one: tetap tenang, menguasai diri, fokus, dan awas

Got one’s head screwed on: bisa menimbang dengan bijaksana, contoh: If you have your head screwed on right, you don't complain when you have to work overtime.

Right off the bat; langsung, segera,

Make good on promise: Menepati janji. Contoh: She never made good on promise to compensate me.

Have a black thumb; Bertangan panas, tidak bisa bercocok tanam. Contoh: I have killed all the plants in my house. I must have a black thumb.

Have a green thumb; bertangan dingin; lawan have a black thumb

Pull thorugh: Selamat dari kesulitan, sembuh dari penyakit: He has a severe pneumonia, but I am sure he will pull through

To wrap one's head around: Memahami atau mengerti; this is exceedingly difficult stuff to wrap one's head around: Ini masalah yang sangat sulit dipahami.

Come out in the wash: Masalah yang akan terselesaikan; kesulitan yang akan sirna: Don't worry about the fight you got into--it'll all come out in the wash

In the dust: far behind ketinggalan:  a marketing strategy that left our competitors in the dust.

You can take it to the bank: Dijamin kebenarannya: Believe me. What I am telling you is the truth. You can take it to the bank.

Rolled the dice: risk; endager (membahayakan): Dostors warn that you are really rolling the dice with this drug 

Poke fun: Subject to laughter or ridicule; bahan olok-olok: The students poked fun at the inexperienced teacher.

In a nutshell: Secara singkat: Just tell me the story in a nutshell.

Give sombody a heads-up: To give someone information or a warning: I wanted to give you a heads-up that I'llbe sending you a revised form for your approval.

Shoot the breeze: Membual: Some, seemingly without much else to do, stuck around to shoot the breeze.

As these things go: for something like this; The problem is considered small as these things go.

Scour the fine print: look carefully at every detail; You have to scour the fine print to find it

Steer clear: Menjauhi; I would steer clear of Joe if I were you. 

Take something with a grain salt: Tidak buru-buru menganggap sesuatu sebagai benar: I've read the article, which I take with a grain of salt. 

beside oneself: in an extreme state of some emotion: sangat emosional, hilang kontrol; I was beside myself with anger 

Earn your stripes: Membuktikan kebolehan: She earned her stripes as a junior reporter before becoming education correspondent.

off guard: Tidak waspada; lengah: Caught in an off-guard moment

at one's wit's end: Habis pikiran; tak bisa melakukan apa-apa lagi; I have a problem that has me at wit's end, and I am hoping you can help 

be walking/treading on a eggshells; trying very hard not to upset someone: I was like walking on eggshells with my father. The smallest thing would make him angry. 

zero in (on someone or something):membidik langsung: The television camera zeroed in on the little boy scratching his head; zero in (on something): mengarahkan perhatian hanya pada sesuatu yang tertentu: My son's teacher was able to zero in and deals with his problems; She needs to really zero in on what's important instead of going off on a lot of tangents. 

confide in: curhat; She confides in no one but her husband 

fall far short of: kurang; tidak cukup:  You fall far short of reaching your full potential (You do not use your full potential) 

kick back; 1. kumpul-kumpul; kongkow-kongkow: I'll call up a few guys and a few girls over to my house; we'll have a kick back.2. uang suap


talk someone off the ledge: mollify: menenangkan seseorang: She wanted to quit bu I talked her off the ledge, mostly by apologizing to her.

hit home; refer to or be relevant or familiar to; tepat sasaran: "I hope this message hits home." 

in stitches: laughing so much that it is difficult to control yourself; the movie will keep you in stitches from the beginning to the end.  

white-knuckle: mencengkeram; menggenggam sesuatu kuat-kuat dan lama hingga tangan berdarah: He was whithe-knuckling the steering wheel.

family jewels: buah pelir; penis; I kicked his family jewels

get one's back: melindungi seseorang dari belakang ketika dia sedang dalam situasi sulit; Go. I'll get your back. 

pitch a fit: marah; ngamuk; Boy, you should have seen Dennis pitch a fit when we told him the price of his repair.  

to make ends meet: mencari uang yang cukup untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidup: I have to work at two jobs to make ends meet.

to come to terms: mulai menerima sebuah keputusan atau situasi yang sulit: She's never really come to terms with her son's death

at a moment's notice: tanpa pemberitahuan; secara tiba-tiba: They are always asking us to produce reports at a moment's notice. 

to confuse matters: ingat jangan keliru: to confuse matters, adjectives can also end in "-ly" 

it's a stretch to say: hal ini tidak berarti bahwa....: it's a stretch to say that you can workout just once and  see the same health benefits as hitting the gym daily.

it stands to reason: maka bisa dipastikan; masuk akal: it stands to reason that most people will not by a new car if they don't think they can pay for it 

of sorts: sejenis, semacam: He managed to make a curtain of sorts out of an old sheet. 

against the grain: melawan arus, bertentangan dengan kecenderungan: it goes against the grain to tell outright lies 

go out on a limb: menantang bahaya atau situasi sulit dengan tidak ditemani atau didukung siapa-siapa: 'She's prepared to go out on a limb and do something different.' 

take something in one's stride: menerima keadaan sebagai apa adanya: She faced a serious problem, but she was able to take it in her stride.

come to terms with something: mulai menerima dan menjalani sesuatu yang sulit atau tidak menyenangkan: She's never really come to terms with her son's death

buy into: percaya, khususnya secara sepenuhnya atau tanpa krtitik: couldn't buy into that brand of conservatism. 

 Sumber referensi: http://novenrique.blogspot.com