LUYỆN DỊCH ANH VIỆT UNIT 3 - GS.TS ĐỖ HỮU VINH

THÀNH NGỮ VÀ NGỮ ĐOẠN DÙNG TRONG BÁO CHÍ, NẾU KO HIỂU SẼ GẶP KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC ĐỌC BÁO - At first glance (or worse, “at first blush”) - As a nation (or worse, “as a society”) - Upon deeper reflection (why not reflect deeply from the start?) - Observers (unless referring to people actually sitting around watching something) - [Person] is not alone (from anecdote to generalization, we get it) - And [someone/something] is no exception - Pundits say - Critics say (or “critics are quick to point out”) - The American people (unless in a quote) - The narrative (unless referring to a style of writing) - Probe (an uncomfortable substitute for “investigation”) - Opens/offers a rare window (unless it is a real window that is in fact unusual) - Begs the question (unless used properly – and so rarely used properly that it’s not worth the trouble) - Be that as it may - If you will (actually, I won’t) - A cautionary tale - Needless to say (then don’t say it) - Suffice it to say (if it suffices, then just say it) - This is not your father’s [anything] - [Anything] 2.0 (or 3.0, or 4.0…) - At a crossroads (unless referring to an actual intersection) - The powers that be - Outside the box (describes creative thinking — with a cliche) - A favorite Washington parlor game - Don’t get me wrong - Yes, Virginia, there is a [something] - Christmas came early for [someone] - Chock full (“full” is just fine by itself) - Last-ditch effort (unless ditch-digging is involved) - Midwife (as a verb, unless involving childbirth) - Cue the [something] - Call it [something] - Pity the poor [something] - It’s the [something], stupid - Imagine (as the first word in your lede) - Time will tell if [something] - Palpable sense of relief (unless you can truly touch it) - Sigh of relief - Plenty of blame to go around - Rorschach test (unless it is a real one) - Turned a blind eye - Underscores - Cycle of violence (unless referring to a particularly vicious Schwinn) - Searing indictment - Broken system (or, “the [anything] system is broken”) - Famously (if readers know it, you don’t need to tell them it is famous; if they don’t know it, you just made them feel stupid) - The Other (or “otherize,” “otherization” and other variations) - Effort (as a verb) - Table (as a verb, as in “table the talks”) - Shutter (as a verb, as in “they shuttered the factory”) - Gestalt/Zeitgeist - Orwellian (unless discussing George Orwell) - Machiavellian (unless discussing Niccolo Machiavelli) - Gladwellian (never) - What happens in [somewhere] stays in [somewhere] - Oft-cited - Little-noticed - Closely watched - Hastily convened - Much ballyhooed - Shrouded in secrecy - Since time immemorial - Tipping point - Inflection point - Point of no return - The [anything] community - If history is any guide - The devil is in the details - [Somebody] does not suffer fools gladly - A ragtag army (or ragtag militia) - A tale of two [anything] - Ignominious end - Tightly knit (unless referring to actual knitting) - In the final analysis (especially as beginning of a final sentence/paragraph) - Ultimately (same as above) - For all intents and purposes - At the end of the day (same as above) - Victim of his/her own success - Who lost [insert country here]? - Punditocracy - Twitterati - Commentariat - Chattering classes - Naysayers - Keen observer - Took to Twitter - Tongues wagging (h/t afterword to paperback of “This Town”) - White-shoe law firm - Well-heeled lobbyists - Skittish donors - Byzantine rules (unless referring to the empire in the Middle Ages) - Rise of the 24-hour news cycle (it’s been a while) - In the digital age (again, it’s been a while) - Not so fast - Remains to be seen - Tenuous at best - Woefully inadequate Or so it seems - Depending on whom you ask Burst onto the national political scene - For now (especially at the end of a sentence set off by a dash; all it does is negate everything that came before) - Tectonic shifts or seismic shifts (unless real ones) - Feeding frenzy/feeding the frenzy - Double down - Game-changer - [Anything]-gate (especially if you’re writing in The Washington Post) - In the wake of [anything] - How I learned to stop worrying and love the [anything] - Love [X] or hate [X]… - The [anything] we love to hate - Don the mantle of [anything] - Usher in an era of [anything] - A portrait emerges - In a nutshell - The social fabric (or “the very fabric of our democracy/nation/society”) - Hot-button issue - Hotly contested - Perfect storm - Face-saving compromise - Eye-popping - The argument goes - The thinking goes - Contrary to popular belief - Intoned - The new normal - The talk of the town (unless referring to the New Yorker section) - It couple (or “power couple”) - Paradigm shift (in journalism, all paradigms are shifting) - Unlikely revolutionary (in journalism, all revolutionaries are unlikely) - Unlikely reformer (in journalism, all reformers are unlikely, too) - Grizzled veteran (in journalism, all veterans are either grizzled or “seasoned”) - Manicured lawns (in journalism, all lawns are manicured) - Wide-ranging interview (in journalism, all interviews range widely, even if they don’t) - Rose from obscurity (in journalism, all rises are from obscurity) - Dizzying array (in journalism, all arrays make one dizzy) - Withering criticism (in journalism, all criticism is withering) - Predawn raid (in journalism, all raids take place in the predawn hours) - Nondescript office building (in journalism, all office buildings are nondescript) - Unsung hero (in journalism, all heroes lack music) - Sparked debate - Raised questions - Raises more questions than answers - Raise the specter of [anything] - More often than not - hand-wringing - Ironic Capitalization Implying the Unimportance of Things Others Consider Important - But reality/truth is more complicated (in journalism, we oversimplify, then criticize the oversimplification) - Scarred by war (unless referring to real scars) - War-torn - War of words (worse if followed by “is heating up”) - Trading barbs - Shines a spotlight on [something] (unless there is a real spotlight that is shining) - [Something] is no panacea - [Something] is no silver bullet - Political football - Political theater - More than you think (how do you know what I think?) - Less than you think (how do you know what I think?) - Not as much as you think (how do you know what I think?) - You guessed it (how do you know what I guessed?) - Shifting dynamics (code for “don’t hold me to this”) - The situation is fluid (code for “I have no idea what is going on”) - Partisans on both sides - Charm offensive - Fallen on hard times - On thin ice - Poster child - Going forward - Creature of Washington - Official Washington - A modest proposal (this was written once, very well, and has been written terribly ever since) - Stinging rebuke - Mr. [Anyone] goes to Washington (unless a reference to the actual movie) - The proverbial [something] (Tacking this in front of a cliche doesn’t excuse it, just admits you used it knowingly) - Fevered speculation - [Anything] is all the rage - Iconic - How did we get here? (code for “here comes the b-matter”) - But first, some background (code for “I know more than you do”) - Growing body of evidence - [Anything] on steroids (unless you cover professional sports) - Resists easy classification/categorization - Increasingly (unless story proves something is in fact increasing) - Tapped (as substitute for “selected” or “appointed) - Any “not-un” formulation (as in “not unsurprising that you’d use that cliche”) - Wait for it - Wait, what? - There, I said it - And here’s the kicker - See what I did there? - 'Bed' (verb) - Translation: Have sex with - 'Pour one's curves into' - Translation: Wear - 'Show someone what they're missing' - Translation: Leave the house without crying - 'Party until the early hours' - Translation: Leave a nightclub relatively late - 'Unlucky-in-love' (adjective) - Translation: Unmarried - 'Wowed the crowds' - Translation: Performed - 'Turned heads in' - Translation: Wore - 'Blonde' (noun) - Translation: Blonde woman - 'Slam/blast/attack' - Translation: Criticise - 'Romp' - Translation: Have sex - 'Go au naturel' - Translation: Not wear make-up - 'British taxpayers' - Translation: British people who aren't illegal immigrants - 'Bare one's curves' - Translation: Leave the house in anything other than an burkha - 'Caused a stir' - Translation: Turned up - 'Go make-up free' - Translation: Not wear make-up - 'Step out' - Translation: Leave the house - 'Rack up a XXXX bill' - Translation: Spend XXXX - Sleepy village - Translation: Village - 'Male/female admirer' - Translation: Man/woman - 'Donned' - Translation: Wore - 'Rocked' - Translation: Wore - 'Shows off' - Translation: Is in possession of - A stitch in time saves nine - Blow off steam - Can’t hold a candle to - Close, but no cigar - Eyes bigger than stomach - It’s coming down to the wire - It’s time to face the music - That’s a horse of a different color - Somebody dropped a dime on him - A word to the wise - A leopard cannot change his spots - A fool and his money are soon parted - A penny saved is a penny earned - This too shall pass - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - Birds of a feather flock together - Cheaters never prosper - Cold hands, warm heart - Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched - Don’t upset the apple cart - Fight fire with fire - Finders keepers, losers weepers - Great minds think alike - Honesty is the best policy - If the shoe fits, wear it - If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen - Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - It takes one to know one - Keep your chin up - Less is more - Treat others as you want to be treated - Misery loves company - All publicity is good publicity (so not true) - Money talks - Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today - Add feathers in one’s cap. - A Narrow escape - At one’s wits end - A big gun - A Fish out of water - A cat and dog life - A cock and bull story - Above board - Add fuel to fire - All fire and brimstone - An axe to grind - An open secret - Apple of discord - Apple pie order - At a glance - At daggers drawn. - At large - At one’s beck and call - At par - At the eleventh hour - At the fag end - At the mercy of - Bad blood - Bad debt - Bask in the glow - Be hand in glove with - Bear the burnt - Bear the grudge - Beat about the bush - Bed of roses - Bed of thorns - Bell the cat - Between devil and the deep sea - Bits and pieces - Black and white - Black sheep - Blessing in disguise - Blow one’s own trumpet - Bolt from the blue - Bone of contention - Bread and butter - Break the ice - Bring to light - Bring to book - Build castles in the air - Burn midnight oil - Burn one’s finger - Burst at seams - Burning question - Bury the hatchet - By and large - By hook or by crook - By leaps and bounds - Call a spade a spade - Capital punishment - Carry weight - Caught in the cross fire. - Cat out of the bag - Chicken hearted man - Cold blooded murder - Come down heavily on somebody - Come out with flying colors - Command a premium - Come to a standstill - Cost dear - Cool one’s heels - Cross swords - Crux of the problem - Cry for the moon - Cry over spilt milk - Curry favour with somebody - Cut a sorry figure - Cut throat competition - Damocles’ sword - Dance to someone’s tune - Domino effect - Dark horse - Deliver the goods - Die in harness - Do the rounds - Die is cast - Eat a humble pie - Eat one’s words - Eke out - End in fiasco - End in smoke - Eye wash - Emotions run high - Face the music - Fall out of favour - Fall short of - Fan the sentiments - First and foremost - Fish in troubled waters - Flex the muscles - Fly in the face of something - Flying visit - Foot the bill - Foregone conclusion - Fall on the deaf years - Foul play - From hand to mouth - Give a clarion call - Gain ground - Get on one’s nerves - Get rid of something - Gift of the gab - Give in - Give vent to - Give away - Go Scot free - Gather steam - Go to dogs - Go off - Go haywire - Good for nothing - Grease the palm - Greek and Latin - Gird up one’s loins - Grope in the dark - Hang in balance - Hard and fast - Hard nut to crack - Have an edge over - Hell bent on something - Herculean task - High time - Hit below the belt - Hit the nail on the head - Hobson’s choice - Hold good - Hope against hope - Hue and cry - Hush money - In a jiffy - In a nutshell - In full swing - In good faith - In light of - In the dark - In the good books of somebody - In the red - In the black - Ins and outs - Jack of all trades, master of none - Jump to the conclusion - Keep one's word - Keep the fingers crossed - Kith and kin - Lame excuse - Laughing stock - Leap in the dark - Learn by rote - Leave in the lurch - Leave no stone unturned - Lend an ear to something - Let loose - Lion’s share - Live in a fool’s paradise - Look down upon - Loosen the purse string - Maiden speech - Make both ends meet - Make mountain of a mole hill - Make up one’s mind - Much ado about nothing - Newtonian approach - Necessary evil - Nine days wonder - Nip in the bud - Null and void - Olive branch - On the cards - On the eve of something - Out of place - Out of question - Play out of one’s skins - Pay back in the same coin - Pillar to post - Put on a back burner - Play down - Play truant - Pound of flesh - Poke one’s nose - Pour oil on troubled waters - Pros and cons - Queer fish - Quirk of fate - Rain or shine - Rainy day - Read between the lines - Red letter day - Red tapism - Rest assured - Right hand man - Rise to the occasion - Rolling stone - Rule out - Rule the roost - Save one’s skin - Sea change - See eye to eye with each other - See things through coloured glasses - Set the Thames on fire - Shed crocodile’s tears - Silver lining in a dark cloud - Sine die - Sit on the fence - Slip of tongue - Smear campaign - Smell a rat - Sorry state - Speak volumes - Spell doom for - Spill the beans - Start from the scratch - Steer clear from - Stick to one's gun - Stir the hornet’s nest - Storm in tea cup - Strike the balance - Strike while the iron is hot - Strike a discordant note - Sweep under the carpet - Swim against the current - Take a heavy toll - Take a leaf out of others book - Take on - Take the bull by horns - Take stock of the situation - Tempers run high - Thankless job - Tip of the iceberg - The length and breadth of something - Throw cold water on - To be in neck to neck with each other - Train the gun on somebody - Throw down the gauntlet - Throw mud at - Throw out of gear - To and fro - To pass the buck - Tom, Dick and Harry - Tooth and nail - Trump card - Turn down - Turn turtle - Under a cloud - Uphill task - Ups and downs - Vexed question - Via media - Wear and tear - Wet blanket - Whims and fancies - White elephant - Wild goose chase - Wolf in the sheep’s clothing - Word of mouth - Worship the rising sun - Yeoman’s service