wish you’d stop harping on the same string every time I light a cigarette. I won’t give up smoking.
заговаривать зубы (кому-л.)
to spin someone a yarn
He managed to spin me a yarn about being ill to explain his lateness.
загонять в угол (кого-л.)
to box someone into a corner
Her convincing arguments quickly boxed me into a corner.
задавать головомойку (кому-л.)
to haul someone over the coals
The teacher hauled the boy over the coals for being late for school.
задавать тон
to set the pace; to call the tune
His work sets the pace for future experiments.
The secretary calls the tune in the office.
задевать за живое (кого-л.)
to cut someone to the quick; to hit/touch a (raw) nerve
Her angry words cut me to the quick.
I think I touched a nerve when I asked him about his children.
задирать нос
to put on airs and graces
Because they have a big house she is always putting on airs and graces.
закатывать истерику
to have/throw a fit
She’ll have a fit when she knows you’ve broken her vase.
закидывать удочку
to put out feelers
They put out feelers to see if anyone was interested in buying the shop.
закон джунглей
the law of the jungle
закрывать глаза (на что-л.)
to close one’s eyes to something; to turn a blind eye to something
She chose to close her eyes to her son’s rude behaviour.
The director always turned a blind eye to her mistakes in order to prevent trouble.
закрыть лавочку
to shut up shop; to put up the shutters
They’d worked hard all morning and at half past three they decided to shut up shop and go home.
During the war many shops had to put up the shutters.
закусить удила
to take the bit between one’s teeth
There was a lot of work to be finished, so he took the bit between his teeth and stayed late at the office.
зализывать раны
to lick one’s wounds
Tom was still licking his wounds from his marriage break-up.
заметать следы
to cover one’s tracks
The criminals have covered their tracks very cleverly.
замолвить словечко (за кого-л.)
to put in a good word for someone
My father is going to put in a good word for me in the hope that the boss will give me another chance.
запеть на другой лад
to change one’s tune
She said she liked travelling by car, but when she saw the road she changed her tune.
запретный плод
forbidden fruit
Forbidden fruit is always the most desirable.
заразительный смех
an infectious laugh
His laugh was so infectious that we all joined in.
заснуть вечным сном
to be called to one’s eternal rest
застигать врасплох (кого-л.)
to take someone by surprise; to catch someone with one’s pants/trousers down
The news took us by surprise.
He asked me where I’d been last night and I was caught with my pants down.
застигать на месте преступления (кого-л.)
to catch someone red-handed; to catch someone in the act
The police caught the burglars red-handed.
The thief was caught in the act of breaking into the shop.
затаить дыхание
to hold one’s breath
She held her breath as she watched the attempt to save the drowning child.
заткнуть за пояс (кого-л.)
to run rings round someone; to put someone to shame
Jane is good at French but her brother David can run rings round her – he can speak Dutch and German as well.
I thought I was in good shape for this race but my friend Tom, who was much older than me, put me to shame.
затыкать рот (кому-л.)
to shut someone’s mouth
They threatened to shut his mouth if he talks to the police.
затянуть пояс потуже
to tighten one’s belt
If the crisis gets worse, we shall just have to tighten our belts.
заходить (слишком) далеко
to go too far; to overstep the mark
He has always been a bully but this time he went too far and even his parents were ashamed of him.
You overstepped the mark when you shouted at the director.
звонить во все колокола
to shout it from the rooftops
If I’d known you were going to shout it from the rooftops, I wouldn’t have told you about my work.
здоров как бык
(as) sound as a bell
At the age of eighty her grandfather was as sound as a bell.
зеленая