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
