Л. Ф. Шитова

350 IDIOMS
WITH THEIR ORIGIN,
OR THE IDIOMATIC CAKE
YOU CAN EAT AND HAVE IT TOO

350 ИДИОМ
И ИХ ПРОИСХОЖДЕНИЕ,
ИЛИ КАК НЕВИННОСТЬ СОБЛЮСТИ
И КАПИТАЛ ПРИОБРЕСТИ

СанктПетербург

ББК 81.2Англ.
Ш55

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Ш55

Шитова Л. Ф.
350 Idioms with Their Origin, or The Idiomatic Cake
You Can Eat and Have It Too = 350 идиом и их происхож

дение, или как невинность соблюсти и капитал
приобрести. – СПб. : Антология, 2011. – 160 с.
ISBN 978
5
94962
184
4
Заключительная книга цикла авторских фразеологи

ческих словарей содержит новый подход к изучению идиома

тики. Структура книги поможет глубже понять значение
идиомы, а история её происхождения останется в памяти,
что позволит адекватно употребить это выражение в речи,
делая её более богатой и красочной.
ББК 81.2Англ.

ISBN 978
5
94962
184
4

© Шитова Л.Ф., 2011
© ООО «Антология», 2011

Фостику – он знает, за что

FOREWORD
ÂÑÒÓÏËÅÍÈÅ

Изучение идиоматики, или фразеологии – увлекатель
ный процесс, демонстрирующий богатство любого языка.
Сталкиваясь с идиомой, читатель пытается понять её значе
ние, а догадавшись (как правило, благодаря контексту), де
лает попытку проанализировать составляющие её элементы,
чтобы докопаться до сути производимого эффекта. Привле
кательность использования идиоматики в речи объясняется
стремлением говорящего к образности речи, а также (не в
последнюю очередь) желанием продемонстрировать свобод
ное владение языком, одним из признаков которого являет
ся уместное и адекватное использование идиом. Родная речь
носителя языка также весьма богата фразеологическими вы
ражениями, которыми он пользуется, зачастую не отдавая
себе в этом отчёта.
Настоящая книга появилась на свет в результате наблю
дения за ростом интереса изучающих английский язык к
образному английскому выражению, имеющему (или не
имеющему) соответствующего русского эквивалента. Услы
шав или прочитав идиому, разобравшись в её структуре и
поняв переносный смысл, у человека возникает естествен
ное желание получить ответ на вопрос о её происхожде
нии.
К средствам образной речи мы относим не только соб
ственно идиомы, т.е. устойчивые словосочетания, значение
которых не выводимо из значений составляющих их компо
нентов. Здесь также будут представлены широкоупотреби
тельные клише, существующие во многих языках мира,
библейские изречения, крылатые фразы, устойчивые слово
сочетания, популярные слова и выражения. Срок жизни
3

многих из них недолог, некоторые – однодневки, однако
целый ряд фразеологизмов оставляет заметный след в языке
и остаётся в употреблении длительное время.
Автору хочется с помощью этой книги удовлетворить ин
терес людей, увлечённых английским языком (и образной
речью, в частности) к истории возникновения того или ино
го оборота речи. Одни истории кажутся занимательными,
другие драматическими или комическими, как сама жизнь,
частью которой эти выражения являются. Со временем ис
ходное значение речевого оборота может искажаться, тем
интереснее узнать обо всех перипетиях этого выражения.
Знакомство с историей той или иной речевой единицы рас
ширит общекультурные фоновые знания читателя, т.к. кни
га содержит многочисленные отсылки к выдающимся
деятелям истории и культуры прошлого, историческим и
литературным фактам.
Каждая словарная статья содержит английское выраже
ние, его эквивалент или перевод на русский язык, краткое
толкование, предложение, иллюстрирующее его смысл, и
наконец, происхождение. Цитируемое происхождение мо
жет быть гипотетично (поскольку нередко встречаются раз
личные этимологические версии одной и той же единицы),
поэтому приводятся разные трактовки. Как правило, выбор
делается в пользу более вероятной или чаще встречающейся
версии.
В книге сохранена орфография использованных источни
ков, включая вариативность написания некоторых сложных
слов и имён собственных.
Сделанные художником иллюстрации призваны упростить
понимание идиомы и её происхождения и/или могут послу
жить «пазлом» для разгадки того, что скрывается за тем или
иным рисунком.
Тщательный отбор фразеологического материала, пред
ставленного в настоящей книге, проводился с учётом степе
ни его употребительности в современном английском языке.
Особая благодарность Татьяне Львовне Брускиной за пре
доставление редких источников.

A
abomination of desolation
мерзость запустения
M E A N I N G : the abomination that makes desolate; in modern
speech the phrase is used to denote anything very
hateful, regarded with aversion, an abominable thing
For decades, under the Communist regime, the
abomination of desolation had reigned in most
Russian Orthodox churches.
ORIGIN:
From the Bible (Daniel, 9:27; Matthew, 24:15).
The biblical story has it that when the Romans
conquered Palestine, they set up their standard in
the Holy of Holies in the temple of Jerusalem. The
Holy of Holies was the sanctuary of the temple,
entered only by the high priest. The Roman
standard within the walls of the sanctuary was
regarded by the people of Jerusalem with horror
and disgust, as an abomination. The abominable
place was forsaken by the people and fell into ruin
and neglect. As the Roman standard caused
abomination and brought destruction, it was called
an abomination of desolation.
absence makes the heart grow fonder
в разлуке чувство крепнет
M E A N I N G : separation intensifies love
My boyfriend is going to South America and I won’t
see him for six months. – Ah, well, absence makes
the heart grow fonder.
ORIGIN:
This sentiment was first expressed in an anonymous
sixteenth century poem; became very common by
the end of the nineteenth century.
5

add insult to injury
подлить масла в огонь
M E A N I N G : to heap humiliation on someone after they have
already been hurt
Having cut off our electricity in error, the Electricity
Board added insult to injury by charging us the cost
of reconnection.
ORIGIN:
The words appear to be from a Latin writer, Phaedrus,
who refers to Aesop’s fable of the bald man who
swatted a fly, missed and smacked himself on the head.
The fly saw this as adding insult to injury.
alas, poor Yorick
бедный Йорик
M E A N I N G : a lament for a dead person or scheme; used as an
expression of compassion or sympathy
Alas, poor Yorick! Your financial pyramid has toppled
down.
ORIGIN:
“Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio; a fellow
of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.” This
quotation from Shakespeare’s Hamlet (Act III, Sc.1;
1601) is often used ironically, but it was originally
Hamlet’s sad remark on finding the skull of his old
friend, the court jester, in the graveyard.
alive and kicking
жив*здоров; жив курилка
M E A N I N G : active or flourishing
I had a letter from Rod. He’s still very much alive
and kicking, working on a farm.
ORIGIN:
The metaphor is from fish selling, when the freshest
fish for sale were those just caught and still moving.
all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
все (звери) равны, но некоторые равнее
M E A N I N G : in reality, not all the people proclaimed equal are
able to enjoy equal rights
There aren’t card votes at Westminster, but some
votes are more equal than others.
6

ORIGIN:

A fictional slogan from George Orwell’s Animal
Farm (1945), a commentary on the totalitarian
excesses of Communism. The saying alludes to
Thomas Jefferson’s “All men are created equal and
independent”, from the Preamble to the American
Declaration of Independence (1776).

all dressed up and / with nowhere to go
как дурак с чистой шеей; остаться ни с чем
M E A N I N G : said of plans fallen to the ground when life seems
dreary, weary and slow
Rob rang up and said he had to work late, so I was
all dressed up with nowhere to go.
ORIGIN:
The Oxford English Dictionary has this catch phrase
starting life in a song by G. Whiting (1912). The
words gained further emphasis when Theodore
Roosevelt decided to retire from presidential
competition in 1916, leaving members of the
Progressive Party all dressed up with nowhere to go.
alphabet soup
алфавитный суп / алфавитная каша
M E A N I N G : a large number of books and documents, or simply
titles and names, especially of organizations known
by their initials

7

ORIGIN:

You can’t find anything in the telephone book
because it’s filled with alphabet soup.
The allusion is to a tinned soup fed to children
which contains letters of the alphabet made of
pasta.

also ran
вечный неудачник; сошедший с круга
M E A N I N G : someone who is unsuccessful or unimportant
Peter felt that he was one of life’s also
rans. His
education had ended unsuccessfully; he had
taken a number of uninteresting and poorly paid
jobs.
ORIGIN:
This is a description used in reporting horseracing
results describing any horse which fails to gain one
of the first three places.
as cool as a cucumber
спокойный как танк
M E A N I N G : very calm, not nervous or emotional
Roslyn was as cool as a cucumber when she got the
award from the President of the United States.
ORIGIN:
As early as the 1500s this expression was used to
describe calm and composed people. When
thermometers were invented, scientists showed that
cucumbers are often 10 degrees cooler inside than
outside air.
as different as chalk and / from cheese
небо и земля; лёд и пламень
M E A N I N G : the lack of similarity between two people or things
despite a superficial resemblance
Our relationship works because we are very aware
of our differences. We accept that we are chalk and
cheese.
ORIGIN:
In the Middle Ages one test of sanity was to see if
the patient could taste the difference between chalk
and cheese.
8

as pleased as Punch
довольный как слон; счастлив как ребёнок
M E A N I N G : to feel very happy
He was as pleased as Punch when we all said how
good his cooking was.
ORIGIN:
The phrase alludes to the appearance of Mr. Punch,
a character known in England from the time of the
Restoration. As his face is carved on wood, it never
changes expression and is always beaming.
as thick as two (short) planks
глупый как пробка; тупой как валенок
M E A N I N G : very stupid, unintelligent
She’s a pretty girl but as thick as two short planks.
ORIGIN:
This expression, which can also be shortened to as
thick as two planks, makes a pun of thick which
means stupid as well as the more normal meaning
(i.e. the opposite of thin).
at the drop of a hat
в любую минуту / в любой момент
M E A N I N G : right away; at once; without delay; willing at any
moment
Most unemployed people aren’t lazy; they would
accept work at the drop of a hat.
ORIGIN:
There are many ways to start a race or other sporting
event: shoot a gun, wave a flag, and yell “Ready,
set, go!” and so on. Years ago someone would drop
a hat as the starting signal, and the contest would
begin immediately. Today if anyone does anything
(not just something athletic) eagerly and on the
spur of the moment, we say it’s done at the drop of
a hat.
at the end of one’s rope / tether
на (эмоциональном) пределе; дойти до ручки
M E A N I N G : to be tired or annoyed, unable to deal with the
situation any more
9

ORIGIN:

I’m at the end of my tether, and if the phone rings
once more, I’ll scream!
A tether is a rope used to limit an animal’s
movements and where it can feed. If the animal
reaches the end of the tether, it can’t find any more
grass to eat, so becomes hungry and unhappy.

awake famous
проснуться знаменитым / знаменитостью
M E A N I N G : to acquire great popularity at a very short time
I awoke one morning and found myself famous.
ORIGIN:
The phrase belongs to George Gordon Byron who
wrote it in his diary in 1812.

10

B
back to square one
от печки; с нуля; начинать заново
M E A N I N G : to go back to the beginning
I’ve spent years writing this book, and now I’ve been
told to write it all differently, so it’s back to square
one, I’m afraid.
ORIGIN:
The phrase comes from games with squares on the
playing surface of the board. This appears to have
gained currency in the 1930s onwards through its
use by British radio football commentators.
backhanded compliment
сомнительный комплимент
M E A N I N G : praise that is expressed in such a way that it is clearly
more of a criticism
He said he liked me a lot better than the last time he
met me, which I thought was rather a back
handed
compliment.
ORIGIN:
The back of the hand is traditionally associated
with scorn or disapproval, the front of the hand is
used to pat in a congratulatory gesture.
backseat driver
непрошеный советчик
M E A N I N G : a bossy person who tells another person what to do;
a person who gives unwanted advice and directions
I can fix this computer myself, but she always tries
to be a backseat driver.
ORIGIN:
When automobiles became popular in the United
States in the 1920s, many rich people rode around
11

in the backseats of chauffeurdriven cars. The
backseat passenger gave orders to the frontseat
driver: where to go, what road to take, how fast to
drive, and so on. Today backseat driver refers to
any aggressive person, in or out of a car, who tries
to tell others what to do.
bag and baggage
со всеми пожитками / манатками / потрохами
M E A N I N G : the entire belongings of a person departing or
departed from a place, usually forever
She threw him out of the house bag and baggage.
ORIGIN:
As a military term in the past it meant the complete
possessions of an army which, in honorable retreat,
would go without leaving anything behind for the
enemy.
baker’s dozen
чёртова дюжина
M E A N I N G : thirteen of anything for the price of twelve
At the garage sale, we charged 75 cents per baseball
card or $9 for a baker’s dozen.
ORIGIN:
Hundreds of years ago some English bakers
cheated their customers by baking air pockets
into loaves of bread, making them lightweight.
In 1266 the English Parliament passed a law that
said that bakers who sold underweight bread
would be severely punished. To protect
themselves bakers began to add an extra loaf to
each dozen sold.
baptism of fire
боевое крещение
M E A N I N G : a painful initiation
I was given a million
dollar project to manage in my
first month. It was a real baptism of fire.
ORIGIN:
In France it was traditionally used to describe a
soldier’s first experience of battle. It may originally
12

have come from the experience of those martyrs
who wished to embrace Christianity formally, but
were burnt at the stake before they could be baptized
by a priest.
bark up the wrong tree
обратиться не по адресу
M E A N I N G : to direct your attention or efforts towards the wrong
person or thing; to have the wrong idea about
something
You’re barking up the wrong tree if you think you
will be able to influence the judge.
ORIGIN:
During colonial times in America, raccoon hunting
was a popular sport. Trained dogs would chase the
raccoon up a tree and bark furiously at the base
until the hunter came. Sometimes the raccoon
could escape to another tree, leaving the dog
barking up the wrong tree.
batten down the hatches
задраить люки; принять все меры предосторожности
M E A N I N G : to get ready for trouble; prepare for any emergency
We’d better batten down the hatches. The weather
service says a tropical storm is headed our way.
ORIGIN:
This is a nautical term that comes from the early
1800s. On a ship, sailors prepared for stormy
weather by nailing waterproofed pieces of canvas
and wood (battens) over the entryways (hatches)
to the cargo area below the main deck. Today you
batten down the hatches when you prepare for any
kind of trouble.
beat about / around the bush
ходить вокруг да около
M E A N I N G : to talk about things in a roundabout way without
giving clear answers or coming to the point
Stop beating about the bush and tell me what you
came for!

13

ORIGIN:

This expression goes all the way back to the 1500s
when hunters hired people called beaters to drive
small animals or the birds out of the bushes so the
hunters could get a better shot at them.

beat the living daylights out of someone
избить до полусмерти; живого места не оставить
M E A N I N G : to punish someone with physical violence
I’ll beat the living daylights out of anyone who
scratches my new car!
ORIGIN:
It has been suggested that daylights means eyes in
boxing slang, but it is more probable that the
phrase is a corruption of an older threat to beat
the liver and lights out of someone, the lights being
the lungs.
bee’s knees
пуп земли
MEANING:

ORIGIN:

the best, most attractive, talented person
I know Phil is quite good
looking, but I wish he
wouldn’t admire himself in the mirror so much. He
obviously thinks he’s the bee’s knees!
Originating in the early nineteenth century, this may
be connected with an eighteenthcentury saying:
As big as a bee’s knee, a jocular allusion to a small
thing or person, but its main attraction seems to be
the rhyme and the ludicrous image.

before you can / could say Jack Robinson
в мгновение ока
M E A N I N G : very quickly
Before you could say Jack Robinson, he’d taken my
wallet and dashed out of the room.
ORIGIN:
It is unknown who Jack Robinson actually was.
beggar description
не поддаваться описанию
M E A N I N G : impossible to express in words
14

ORIGIN :

The sunset that evening was a beauty to beggar all
description.
Shakespeare says of Cleopatra’s beauty: It beggar’d
all description (Antony and Cleopatra, Act II,
Sc. 2)

beggars can’t be choosers
бедному и вору всё впору
MEANING :
needy people have to take whatever they can get
and cannot be concerned about the quality if they
cannot afford to buy it for themselves
Beggars can’t be choosers. If you don’t have money to
go out for a pizza, you’ll have to eat it in a cafeteria.
ORIGIN :
This proverb has been around since the mid1500s.
It means that people who need something but who
have little or no control over the situation can’t
choose what they get. They have to accept what is
offered.
bells and whistles
навороты; прибамбасы
MEANING :
impressive accessories, especially flashy, high
technology features and frills, which may
sometimes be more decorative than necessary
Your computer software may have all the latest bells
and whistles, but is it good value for money?

15

ORIGIN :

This modern phrase became popular with the
development of many kinds of new electronic and
computerized equipment. The bells and whistles
represent all sorts of super hightech features that
you don’t really need in a basic model but which
make a product more fun to use (and more
expensive).

best of British
ни пуха ни пера; желаю удачи
MEANING :
used to wish someone well, especially when the
speaker doubts someone will succeed
I’m off to take my driving test, and I’ve only had
three lessons. – And the best of British to you –
you’ll need it!
ORIGIN:
A phrase used in World War II, particularly when
things were not going well for the British.
between the devil and the deep blue sea
между молотом и наковальней
M E A N I N G : between two great dangers and not knowing what
to do; in a very difficult position
Glenn had to choose between confessing that he
hadn’t studied or trying to fake it. He was between
the devil and the deep blue sea.
ORIGIN:
In the early 17th century the heavy plank fastened
to the side of a vessel as a support for guns was
called the devil. Sometimes a sailor had to go out
onto this plank to do repairs to the boat. In heavy
seas he would be in a great danger of falling
overboard and drowning because he was between
the devil and the deep blue sea.
between you, me and the lamppost / gatepost /
doorpost / bedpost / post
между нами (девочками) говоря
M E A N I N G : an expression used with the telling of a secret that
the speaker wants only the person being spoken to
to know and no one else
16

ORIGIN:

Between you, me and the lamp
post, I think Pete
and Sarah’s marriage is breaking up.
Can be traced to Charles Dickens’ novel The Life
and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, 1839.

bimbo
смазливая девица
M E A N I N G : a young woman who is not very intelligent but is
particularly attractive
Marie is certainly not a bimbo – she’s very brainy
and works as a scientist.
ORIGIN:
This word was originally used in America in the
first part of the last century. It was short for the
Italian bambino meaning baby. However, it wasn’t
until the 1980s that the word became popular again
and found its new meaning of an attractive but
stupid young woman. A variation is himbo which
can be used to describe a man with similar
characteristics.
birds and the bees
откуда дети берутся
M E A N I N G : human sexual behavior as explained to children by
parents and teachers
My parents never actually sat down and told me
about the birds and the bees.
ORIGIN:
This euphemism is an ironic reference to the
traditional indirect method of teaching children
about sex by allusion to the mating habits of insects
and birds.
bite the bullet
проглотить пилюлю; смириться
M E A N I N G : to prepare for a unpleasant experience; to brace
yourself to endure with courage something painful
but necessary
They decided to bite the bullet and pay the extra for
the house they really wanted.
17

ORIGIN:

Many word experts think that this expression came
from the 19th century medical practice of giving a
wounded soldier a bullet to bite before he was
operated on without anesthetics on the battlefield.
Biting on the soft lead bullet was the way of dealing
with pain. It kept the soldier from screaming, which
could distract the surgeon during the operation.

bite the dust
загнуться; приказать долго жить; отдать концы
M E A N I N G : to die; to fall in defeat; to fail to succeed
Three hundred more people lost their jobs in the
same region when another firm bit the dust.
ORIGIN:
This cliché is actually more than 2,000 years old
and comes from a line in Homer’s Iliad. This saying
describes many dying warriors in the Trojan War
falling to the earth and biting the dust. If people
fall with their faces in the dirt, you can think of
them getting dust in their mouths. The idiom
became popular in English in the mid1800s,
especially in early twentiethcentury cowboy and
Indian films.
blow hot and cold
семь пятниц на неделе
M E A N I N G : to continually change one’s mind about something
/ someone; to be indecisive; to waver
He blows hot and cold on the plan so that I don’t
know whether he will eventually help us or not.
ORIGIN:
This expression originates from one of the famous
fables written by the ancient Greek author, Aesop.
The story is about a man who meets a demon (small
devil) in a wood. The man blows on his hands to
warm them and so the demon invites him home
and gives him a bowl of hot soup. When the man
starts blowing on his soup to cool it, the demon is
terrified and throws him out of the house. The
reason is that he is frightened of anything which
can blow hot and cold from the same mouth.
18

blue blood
голубая кровь; аристократ
MEANING:

ORIGIN:

of high or noble birth; an aristocrat; from the upper
class of society
Mr. Rimler is marrying a very rich girl from high
society, a real blue blood.
Though this expression has been used in English
since the early 1800s, it actually comes from an
older Spanish saying sangre azul, used for those
Spaniards who had not intermarried with the dark
skinned Moors. Their blood was called blue because
the blue veins were conspicuous under their fair
skin.

bluechip company
высококлассная компания
MEANING:

ORIGIN:

a commercial company of high standing, in which
it is considered to be profitable and safe to invest; a
financially sound company with increasingly good
prospects
This week we’ve seen spectacular gains , especially
among blue chips, famous companies with a history
of profit in good and bad economic times.
The term is from gambling where a blue chip has
the highest value.

bolt from the blue
(как) гром среди ясного неба
MEANING:

ORIGIN:

something sudden, unexpected, and shocking
His resignation was a bolt from the blue.
This expression has been used since at least the
early 1800s. Picture a calm, clear, blue sky. You’d
probably be surprised, even startled, if a bolt of
lightning suddenly cracked down. In the same
way, any big surprise is like lightning shooting
out of a clear, blue sky. You just don’t expect it to
happen.
19

bone of contention
камень преткновения; яблоко раздора; спорный /
трудный вопрос
M E A N I N G : the cause of a quarrel
We’ve fought for so long that we’ve forgotten what
the bone of contention was.
ORIGIN:
The image of dogs fighting over a bone has
frequently been transferred to human disputes and
appeared in John Heywood’s Proverbs (1562).
break a leg
ни пуха ни пера
M E A N I N G : good luck; do a great job in the show
On the night of the play, Anne’s father told her to
break a leg.
ORIGIN:
Saying this to a performer before a show has long
been a theatrical tradition. It comes from the old
German saying, Hals
und Beinbruch (break your
neck and leg), and was shortened to just the leg.
Perhaps it exists because of an old show business
superstition that wishing someone good luck might
cause just the opposite to happen, so you wish the
performer bad luck to assure the opposite of that.
brighteyed and bushytailed
здоровый, бодрый, весёлый, энергичный
M E A N I N G : healthy, cheerful, fit, bright and lively
Ilsa woke up bright
eyed and bushy
tailed after a
good night’s sleep.
ORIGIN:
The image is from description of the squirrel,
possibly from children’s stories in the early twentieth
century. It is a rather arch, jocular comment on a
person’s general condition and spirit.
bring home the bacon
прокормить семью; добиться успеха, победить
M E A N I N G : to support a family by working; to earn a living; to
earn or win something of value; to succeed
20

ORIGIN:

Both Richard and Stephanie got jobs to bring home
the bacon for their children.
There are two theories about where this expression
came from. One was from the contest at early
American country fairs of chasing after a greased
pig. If you caught it, you could take it home as your
prize. Another possibility is that it came from a
practice in the early 1300s. A baron willed that if
any married person in Dunmow, England, swore
at the church door that they had not had a single
quarrel for a whole year and a day, they would get
free side bacon to take home.

buck stops here
я за всё в ответе; отвечать головой; нести ответственность
M E A N I N G : I accept ultimate responsibility
A small sign on Harry Truman’s desk declared, “The
Buck Stops Here,” and the reverse of the sign said
“I’m from Missouri”.
ORIGIN:
The expression is said to have originated with the
game of poker, in which a marker (a knife with a
buckhorn handle, “the buck”) was used to indicate
the person whose turn it was to deal. The phrase
was popularized in 1949 by US President Harry
Truman, who kept a sign with that phrase on his
desk in the Oval Office. It refers to the fact that the
President has to make the decisions and accept the
ultimate responsibility for those decisions. Truman
received the sign as a gift from a prison warden,
who was also an avid poker player.
bug someone
доставать к*л, раздражать, надоедать
M E A N I N G : to irritate, annoy, and bother someone a lot
I wish you would just stop bugging me and leave me
in peace.
ORIGIN:
This popular AfricanAmerican idiom comes from
the 1960s and is a handy expression when people
21

are pestering you. It comes from baga and bugal,
words in West African languages that mean to
annoy. By the way, in certain situations, bug can
also mean to wiretap someone’s phone so that his
or her conversation can be listened in on.
bumf
спам
MEANING:

ORIGIN:

printed information, advertisements, brochures
(often unwanted)
The estate agent sent me some bumf about a house.
It said it was “uniquely situated” so I went to see it
and find it was next to a motorway!
This word was originally 19thcentury slang for
toilet paper. Today it still has a connection with
paper although now it refers to documents,
brochures or leaflets of all kinds. Despite the past
it is not an impolite word and can be used in any
circumstances.

bury the hatchet
заключить мир, помириться; прекратить вражду
M E A N I N G : to settle an argument; end a war; make peace;
become friends after being enemies
Stop fighting, and bury the hatchet!
ORIGIN:
This saying probably comes from Native American
nations who would make peace with their enemies
by holding a ceremony. They would actually bury
tomahawks, hatchets, and other war weapons to
show that the fight was over. If war broke out again,
they would dig up those weapons. By the end of the
1800s the meaning of bury the hatchet was extended
to include settling any kind of argument and making
friends with your enemy.
business as usual
жизнь продолжается
M E A N I N G : continuing as normal
The maxim of the British people is “Business as usual.”
22

ORIGIN:

The wartime Prime Minister, Winston Churchill,
is responsible for this expression. He first used it
in a speech in 1940 during the Second World War,
just after London had been bombed heavily by the
Germans. He said, “The maxim of the British
people is ‘Business as usual’” – meaning that the
population would carry on a normal life despite
the bombs. Soon notices with the phrase appeared
on buildings throughout the city – shops, offices,
post offices and banks. Today it is not associated
with war, but it is used to describe life continuing
as normal despite problems or disasters.

business before pleasure
делу время, а / и потехе час
M E A N I N G : there should be time for work and time for leisure
I’m afraid I’ll have to go. Business before pleasure,
you know.
ORIGIN:
Another version of the phrase, Business first, pleasure
afterwards, belongs to W. Thackeray, a 19thcentury
English writer. The Russian equivalent is attributed
to tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1629–1676).
Nowadays the words are usually wrongly interpreted
to mean: most of one’s time should be given to work,
and only a small part of it to leisure.
busman’s holiday
в отпуске делать то же, что на работе
M E A N I N G : spending your free time doing the same thing you
do during working hours
Victor went back to his carpentry shop after spending
all weekend building out treehouse. What a busman’s
holiday!
ORIGIN:
In London, during the late1800s and early 1900s,
buses were pulled by horses. Some bus drivers loved
their horses so much that on their days off from
work, they would ride on their own buses just to
make sure that other bus drivers took good care of
the horses. This habit got to be called a busman’s
23

holiday and today it can be applied to anybody who
does the same thing on free time as he or she gets
paid to do at work.
butter would not melt in one’s mouth
прикидываться невинной овечкой
M E A N I N G : he or she is too angelicseeming to be credible
Sally looks as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth,
but she can be so cruel.
ORIGIN:
This proverbial saying appeared in John Heywood’s
collection (1546).
buzzword
популярное словечко / словцо
M E A N I N G : a new word or expression which is fashionable
There are so many buzzwords in the music industry,
it takes time to learn them all.
ORIGIN:
Examples of Sixties buzzwords are cool and groovy
(very good, enjoyable); examples of Eighties
buzzwords are street cred (in touch with fashion /
ideas / opinions of the young people) and power
dressing (dressing in clothes which indicate authority
/ power) and examples of Nineties buzzwords are
green (not harmful to the environment) and ozone

friendly (not harmful to the ozonelayer which
protects the earth from the sun). Buzzwords often
go out of fashion very quickly.
by the skin of one’s teeth
едва, чудом, еле*еле; с большой натяжкой; с горем пополам
M E A N I N G : only just; by a tiny margin
England held on by the skin of their teeth to win
11:10.
ORIGIN:
The original phrase from the Bible (Job, 19:20)
means a narrow escape suggesting that you escape
injury, say, by such a narrow measure that it is as
thin as the skin on your teeth, that is, nonexistent.

24

Ñ
carry coals to Newcastle
ехать в Тулу со своим самоваром
M E A N I N G : to do something unnecessary; to bring something
to a place where it is already plentiful
Taking flowers to the florist’s daughter is like
carrying coals to Newcastle.
ORIGIN:
There are many coalmines in the English city of
Newcastle. Coal is shipped out from this port to
other places. Newcastle definitely doesn’t need
extra coal, so if you carry coals there, you are doing
something totally unnecessary. Today the meaning
of this expression includes similar situations like
taking snowballs to people living near the North
Pole.
carry the can
отдуваться
M E A N I N G : to take responsibility or blame for something
She suspected that she’d be left to carry the can for
her boss’s mistakes.
ORIGIN:
This was originally a military expression. A group
of soldiers would elect one man, usually of the
lowest rank, to fetch beer for everyone. He would
carry it in a large can (metal container) which he
had to return at the end of the evening. So the man
who carried the can took responsibility for it. Now
the phrase can be applied to anyone who has to
take the responsibility or blame for something –
rightly or wrongly.
25

catch 22
заколдованный круг; уловка 22
M E A N I N G : a situation in which a kind of mad logic prevails,
defying any solution
Homeless people often find themselves in a catch

22 situation: they can’t afford lodgings, and
employers won’t hire them without a fixed abode.
ORIGIN:
The phrase was invented by Joseph Heller for the
title of his novel (1961) about US fliers in World
War II. Captain Yossarian tries to get out of flying
missions on the grounds that he is mentally ill and
the doctor confirms that according to regulations,
he must ground any bombardier who is crazy.
However, the catch is that anyone who wants to get
out of flying missions is definitely not crazy.
catch someone on the hop
застать врасплох
M E A N I N G : to catch someone unprepared; to surprise someone
The baby caught Derek on the hop – he thought
Debbie was just very fat!
ORIGIN:
Just after the Second World War, hoppicking was
a popular holiday for workingclass Londoners as
it was often the only chance they had to enjoy the
countryside. It was a cheap family holiday which
lasted the whole summer. As most men worked in
jobs which gave only a few days holiday a year, they
had to invent an excuse in order to go hoppicking.
Sometimes the employer discovered the truth and
caught a man on the hop, or in other words, caught
him picking hops.
chattering classes
гнилая интеллигенция
M E A N I N G : educated people who like to discuss and give their
opinions about political and social matters;
gossiping and opinionated intellectuals
Football has recently become a trendy topic among
the chattering classes.
26

ORIGIN:

This is a fairly new phrase which seems to have
been started in the quality British newspapers in
the 1990s to describe the people who subscribe to
common current beliefs and prejudices.

chew the fat
точить лясы; чесать языки; трепаться, болтать
M E A N I N G : to have a friendly, informal talk; to chat in a relaxed
way
My friend and I sat up half the night just chewing
the fat.
ORIGIN:
In the late 1800s this expression was popular in the
British army, and then it came to the United States.
One possible origin might be that military and naval
people were given tough meat to eat and they had to
chew the fat of the meat as they talked. At any rate,
if you’re just hanging out, talking with your friends
in an easy, relaxed way, you’re chewing the fat.
chip off the old block
точная копия (родителей)
M E A N I N G : a child bearing a strong resemblance in appearance
or character to one of the parents
I never realized how much Felix looks like his father.
He’s a real chip off the old block.
ORIGIN:
The comparison of the child to a small offcut
from a large piece of wood or stone is found in
ancient Greek literature and more recently in a
seventeenth century collection of proverbs by John
Ray (1670). A block can be of wood or stone. If
you chipped off a little piece of it, the chip would
resemble the big block – for instance, in color
and texture. In the same way, a child (chip) might
act and look like the parents (the old block).
chockablock
до отказа / битком набит
M E A N I N G : completely full / squashed together in a limited
space
27

ORIGIN:

London is chock
a
block with tourists at the
moment.
This expression originates from nautical slang. The
word chock refers to a ringlike device through
which ropes are passed and block refers to two pieces
or blocks of wood which are pulled together. They
are both part of a block and tackle, a mechanism
which is used on ships to hoist or lift heavy loads.

clappedout
в хлам
MEANING:

ORIGIN:

old, wornout and possibly broken (object); very
tired, wornout (person)
I feel really clapped
out after the holiday because
every day my boyfriend insisted that we swim twenty
lengths before breakfast, run ten miles before lunch
and walk for three hours in the mountains in the
afternoon.
This expression can be used to describe either
objects such as cars, bicycles, watches, etc., or less
usually, people. When using it to describing objects,
be careful not to use it simply as a substitute for
broken as it can only refer to things which are old.
If using it to describe a person, it is important to be
aware that it is not very polite.

claptrap
ерунда / чепуха на постном масле; чушь собачья
M E A N I N G : insincere, foolish talk / nonsense
Don’t listen to that claptrap. Linda used blue paint
because it was the only color she had!
ORIGIN:
This word comes from the theatre of the early 18th
century. It referred to any trick that the playwright
used to make the audience clap – in other words
a trap for claps! Today it has completely lost its
theatrical associations and is only used to describe
opinions or information which give the impression
of being important but are in fact worthless.

28

cliffhanger
на самом интересном месте (захватывающая концовка
сериала)
M E A N I N G : a situation in which the important result is very
much in doubt until the last minute
The captain announced the ship had hit
something and was sinking. There was only one
hour to get all the passengers and crew into the
lifeboats. No one was sure if it could be done – it
was a real cliffhanger.

ORIGIN:

The American actress Pearl White starred in a TV
series called “The Perils of Pauline”. Each episode
would end with Pauline in a dangerous situation so
that the audience would want to watch the next one
to see what happened. In one episode Pauline was
hanging on the edge of a cliff and this inspired the
expression. Cliffhangers and cliffhanger endings are
still used in TV drama series today. The expression
can also describe situations in real life which are
dramatic and uncertain.

29

close shave
на волосок (от несчастья)
M E A N I N G : a near disaster; a narrow escape
He’s never had an accident but he’s had several
close shaves.
ORIGIN:
Literally a close shave is the work of a good barber
or a sharp razor. The closer to the skin the beard is
cut, the greater the danger of slicing the skin.
cold turkey
резко бросить дурную привычку; завязать с ч*л
M E A N I N G : a method of giving up an addiction, especially to
drugs, which is simply to stop the habit without
any special help or treatment
I hit the TV habit cold turkey. I took five books out
of the library and covered my set with a blanket.
ORIGIN:
This 20th century American expression describes an
instant withdrawal from any kind of habit, such as
smoking, alcohol, drugs, or highfat foods. If you
totally quit your harmful behavior without any help,
then you quit cold turkey. No one is quite sure why
the words cold and turkey were joined this way.
According to another explanation, the phrase derives
from the plain appearance of a meal of cold turkey as
opposed to the bird served hot with festive trimmings.
come out / pass with flying colors
с блеском / блестяще справиться с задачей
M E A N I N G : to achieve a great success
He passed his exams with flying colors.
ORIGIN:
The image is from the days of sailing ships returning
from a successful sea battle flying their flags, known
as colors.
come up to scratch
соответствовать стандартам; быть на уровне; пройти
проверку / испытание
M E A N I N G : to meet the required standard; to pass the test
30

ORIGIN:

Under the new system, we will not continue to employ
teachers whose work doesn’t come up to scratch.
The origin of this phrase lies in the early rules of
boxing. The scratch was a line scratched into the
centre of the ring which a knockeddown fighter
had to crawl to in order to be declared still in the
game. If he failed to come to the scratch he was
declared beaten.

Confucius, he say…
как сказал Конфуций; как говорится
M E A N I N G : a humorous expression used before relating a
traditional wise thought
Confucius, he say, “You take no umbrella – it rains,
you get wet!
ORIGIN:
Unorthodox grammatical verb forms are used to
imitate Chinese grammar.
corny
пошлый, банальный
M E A N I N G : unoriginal due to being overused and sentimental
I’ve written a short story but I don’t know how to end
it. I was thinking of making the two main characters
get married and live happily ever after. – Oh, no,
that’s a really corny ending – it’s been done a
hundred times before.
ORIGIN:
This word originally described rural American
audiences with simple, unsophisticated tastes.
Because the farmers grew corn, they were known
as corn
fed and the humor they liked came to be
known as corny. Today you can use the word to
describe many things. For example, corny jokes,
corny films, corny tastes.
cost an arm and a leg
обойтись в кругленькую сумму; стоить целое состояние
M E A N I N G : very expensive; highpriced, though possibly not
worth the cost
31

ORIGIN:

It cost him an arm and a leg to go to Hawaii, but Mr.
Wong really needed the vacation.
This popular mid20thcentury American
expression gets a lot of use as things get more
expensive. Naturally, one’s arms and legs are
priceless, so what this saying implies is that if
something is really expensive, then it’s like paying
for it with one of your limbs.

couch potato / a sofa spud
диванная картошка (любитель смотреть телевизор, жуя
и лежа на диване)
M E A N I N G : someone who is very inactive and spends most of
their time watching television
Jane was in danger of turning into a couch potato
when she was resting at home after her operation.
ORIGIN:
This expression comes from America. It describes
a person who doesn’t do much in their free time
except watch television. Why couch? Because that’s
where a lot of people sit when they’re watching TV.
Why potato? Because to the person who coined this
description, a person who lies around all day and
night in front of the television set reminded him of
a potato – a dull, lumpy vegetable with eyes.
creature comforts
житейские / маленькие радости
M E A N I N G : material things like good food and accommodation
which make life pleasant
I hate camping. I can’t do without my creature
comforts.
ORIGIN:
It has been a commonplace since the seventeenth
century. In Nicholas Nickleby, Charles Dickens
played on the meaning of creature, that is alcoholic
spirits, to pun that Mr. Squeers, the sadistic
schoolmaster, had been seeking forgetfulness in
creature comforts, which turned out to be brandy
and water.
32

cry wolf
бить ложную тревогу
M E A N I N G : to give a false alarm of danger; to warn of a peril
that you know is not real
Don’t worry if my little brother starts screaming
that there’s a ghost in his room. He always cries
wolf.
ORIGIN:
One of Aesop’s most famous fables tells of a
bored shepherd boy who falsely cried that a wolf
was killing his sheep. When people came and
found out there was no wolf threatening the
sheep, they were annoyed. The shepherd did that
once too often; one day when a real wolf came,
no one came when he called out, and the wolf ate
the sheep.
customer is always right
клиент всегда прав
M E A N I N G : one of the popular phrases now associated with the
business of selling through stores
Rule 1 – the customer is always right. Rule 2 – if
the customer is wrong, read Rule 1.
ORIGIN:
The saying is attributed to H. Gordon Selfridge,
an American who came to Britain and introduced
the idea of the monster department store.
cut the Gordian knot
рассечь / разрубить Гордиев узел
M E A N I N G : to solve a tricky problem with one decisive action;
in a strong; simple and effective way
There was so much fighting between staff, she
decided to cut the Gordian knot and sack them
all.
ORIGIN:
According to Greek legend, King Gordius of
Phrygia tied his wagon to a tree with a complicated
knot. Whoever managed to undo it, would rule Asia.
Alexander the Great simply slashed the knot with
his sword without trying to untie it.
33

cut to the quick
задеть за живое
M E A N I N G : to hurt someone’s feeling very deeply; to be
extremely unkind or nasty
I was cut to the quick by her harsh remarks.
ORIGIN:
Many centuries ago there was an Old English word
cwicu (today it’s quick) which referred to the most
sensitive flesh on the body, right under the nails
on your fingers and toes. The phrase has been in
use since the seventeenth century when people
started using it to mean more than just cutting
someone with a knife or sword. It meant offending
a person so deeply with a cutting remark that he
felt sharp inner pain as if he had been emotionally
stabbed.
cutting edge
передний край, передовой рубеж (развития науки и
техники)
M E A N I N G : the forefront of new developments; the most
advanced or important position, usually in science
and technology
My brother works in nuclear physics. He’s on the
cutting edge of some pretty amazing discoveries.
ORIGIN:
The allusion is to the sharp blade of a knife or tool.
Just as the cutting edge of a sharp knife makes
contact before the rest of the knife when slicing
through objects, a highly advanced discovery is said
to be on the cutting edge. The term has been used
in science and technology since the 1950s to
describe innovative research and has spread into
everyday life to the extent that it is the title of a
British television program.

34

D
die is cast
жребий брошен
M E A N I N G : the decision is irrevocable; the dice have been
thrown already
From the moment the first shot was fired, the die
was cast and war became inevitable.
ORIGIN:
This is a translation of Julius Caesar’s words when he
crossed the Rubicon to seize power in Italy in 49 BC,
meaning that he could not turn back at that point.
don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
дарёному коню в зубы не смотрят
M E A N I N G : do not criticize something which is given to you as
a gift; take what you’ve been given without criticism
or emphasis on its worth
When Sandy complained about her present, her dad
told her not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
ORIGIN:
This is an ancient saying which appears in many
languages and comes from the practice of assessing
the age and state of health of a horse by examining
its teeth before purchasing.
dot your i’s and cross your t’s
не упустить детали; уделить внимание мельчайшим
подробностям
M E A N I N G : to take great care over the details
Mrs. Potter wants us to proofread our papers and
dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s.
ORIGIN:
An expression similar to this first appeared in books
in the early 1500s. If you want good penmanship,
35

you’d better be careful with things like the dots
over the i’s and the lines crossing the t’s. Today this
widely used saying refers to being extremely
thorough by paying close attention to details in
whatever you do.
double Dutch
китайская грамота
M E A N I N G : incomprehensible or nonsensical speech
I couldn’t understand what he was saying – it was
double Dutch for me.
ORIGIN:
The Dutch were singled out as foreigners to be
ridiculed because of the traditional seafaring rivalry
between the English and the Dutch.
down the hatch
пей до дна
M E A N I N G : to swallow a drink in one gulp
Grandma handed me a glass of smelly medicine and
said, “Down the hatch.”
ORIGIN:
People have used this expression for centuries.
A ship’s passengers, crew, and cargo pass through
an opening in the deck called the hatch.
Sometime in the mid1500s a clever toastmaker,
probably a sailor, realized that a drink going into
a person’s mouth was like things going into the
hatch of a ship. He lifted a glass to his lips and
said, “Down the hatch,” and a new toast was
born.
drive a hard bargain
настаивать на своём, не уступать в споре; блюсти свои
интересы; не идти на уступки в цене; многого хотеть
M E A N I N G : to insist on hard terms in making an agreement
that is often to your advantage; to buy or sell at a
good price
I had to trade him three of my best comic books for
just one baseball card. He sure drives a hard bargain.

36

ORIGIN:

This idiom goes back to Greek writings of AD 950.
It made its way into English about 500 years later.
To drive means to vigorously carry through some
task; hard means tough.

drop a clanger
сморозить; ляпнуть; допустить бестактность
M E A N I N G : to be guilty of an embarrassingly bad mistake, or
indiscreet remark or action
I dropped a clanger at the party when I mentioned
Tom’s wife – I didn’t realize she’d left him.
ORIGIN:
The action has such an impact that it is like letting
fall a piece of heavy clanging or ringing metal. It
appeared only in the twentieth century in this sense.
Dutch courage
храбрость во хмелю
M E A N I N G : false bravery inspired by alcohol
He drank a glass of wine for Dutch courage before
he went to see his employer about his pay rise.
ORIGIN:
This negative characteristic attributed to the Dutch
is in keeping with the seventeenthcentury
propaganda spread by sailors who regarded the
Dutch as rivals. As in most images of the Dutch,
this is also pejorative.

37

E
eat humble pie
загладить / искупить вину
M E A N I N G : to be very submissive after regretting an action or
words
Last week Charles accused his new secretary of
stealing his wallet. But the next day he found it
at home, so he had to eat humble pie all week
and offer Fiona more money before she agreed
to stay!
ORIGIN:
In the Middle Ages umbles were the unpleasant but
edible parts of a deer which were cooked in a pie.
The best deer meat was eaten by the rich, whereas
the umble pie was eaten by their servants who were
of a lower social class. Over time the word umble
became confused with the word humble which
means meek or submissive to give the current
expression.
eat smb out of house and home
по миру пустить (разорить тратами на еду и
содержание)
M E A N I N G : to be so expensive to feed a