questions put me off my stride and I got confused.
выбивать почву из-под ног (у кого-л.)
to cut the ground from under someone’s feet; to pull the rug from under someone
The politician completely cut the ground from under his opponent’s feet.
His girlfriend pulled the rug from under him by going to Spain alone.
выбросить из головы (что-л.)
to get something out of one’s system/mind
He couldn’t get that problem out of his system.
выведенного яйца не стоить
not worth a damn
His opinion isn’t worth a damn.
выводить из равновесия (кого-л.)
to throw someone off balance
The conflicting information threw me off balance.
выводить из себя (кого-л.)
to get someone’s goat; to make someone’s hackles rise
The way she keeps denying the obvious really gets my goat.
His rude remarks made my hackles rise.
выдерживать характер
to stand/hold one’s ground; to stand firm/fast; to stick to one’s guns
The boss stood his ground and refused to accept my resignation.
He wanted me to bend to his wishes, but I stood fast and held back the tears.
John has been asked to withdraw his complaint, but he is sticking to his guns.
выжимать все соки (из кого-л.)
to bleed someone dry
The police fines have bled us dry.
вызывать на ковер (кого-л.)
to have someone on the carpet
The boss will have him on the carpet for causing trouble.
вылетать в трубу
to go bust; to go to the wall
This company he works for has gone bust.
Many small firms went to the wall in the past year.
вылетать из головы (у кого-л.)
to slip someone’s mind
I meant to invite him to lunch, but it slipped my mind.
выносить сор из избы
to wash one’s dirty linen in public
It is unfortunate that his wife has chosen to wash their dirty linen in public.
выпадать на долю (кому-л.)
to fall to someone’s lot
It fell to his lot to tell Paul the bad news about his brother.
выплакать все глаза
to cry one’s eyes out
She cried her eyes out when he married another girl.
выплывать на свет божий
to come to light
All his secrets have come to light.
выпускать из рук (что-л.)
to let something slip through one’s fingers
You will always regret that you have let such an opportunity slip through your fingers.
выпускать пар
to let off steam
Tom’s shouting didn’t mean he was angry with you; he was just letting off steam.
выходить в люди
to make one’s way in the world
He has made his own way in the world – his parents have not helped him at all.
выходить из своей скорлупы
to come out of one’s shell
Nancy was very shy when she first went to school, but since she has made some friends, she has come out of her shell.
выходить из себя
to lose one’s temper/rag; to fly off the handle; to go off the deep end
She lost her temper and shouted at her husband.
My father flew off the handle when he saw my report card.
I knew my father would be angry with me, but I had no idea he’d go off the deep end like this.
выходить сухим из воды
to get off scot free; to land/fall on one’s feet
Mark cheated on the examination and got caught, but he got scot free.
No matter what trouble he gets himself into, he always seems to land on his feet.
гадкий утенок
an ugly duckling
гладить по головке (кого-л.)
to pat someone on the back
You shouldn’t criticise him all the time. Why don’t you pat him on the back occasionally?
гладить против шерсти (кого-л.)
to ruffle someone’s feathers; to rub someone up the wrong way
She always tried not to ruffle his feathers.
He rubbed me up the wrong way and this led to an argument.
глаза полезли на лоб (у кого-л.)
one’s eyes nearly popped out of one’s head
When I heard how much money she was spending on clothes, my eyes nearly popped out of my head.
глаза разгорелись (на что-л.)
to set one’s heart on something
I’ve set my heart on having that new dress.
глазом не моргнуть
not to bat an eyelid; not to turn a hair
Tom didn’t bat an eyelid when he was told that his daughter was getting married.
He didn’t turn a hair when a large dog ran straight towards him.
глас вопиющего в пустыне
a