350 frases em inglês que vão te ajudar em qualquer conversa (e no português também)

[Sonia Bloomfield]

350 frases em inglês que vão te ajudar em qualquer conversa

Muitas vezes, conseguimos reconhecer um nativo não apenas pelo sotaque ou pela forma correta de usar a gramática, mas pela capacidade de usar expressões típicas e ditados populares. Obviamente que esse conhecimento não garante a aprovação em uma prova, mas, com certeza, ajuda muito na hora de entender uma nova cultura.

O Incrível.club traz neste post algumas das expressões mais importantes em inglês, a sua tradução e alguns exemplos práticos.

Expresões idiomáticas com seus sinônimos	Tradução	Exemplo
after all — despite, nevertheless	depois de tudo, ao fim e ao cabo	I knew it! After all, I was right!
all along — all the time	todo o tempo	I knew about his little secret all along.
all ears — eager to listen	sou todo ouvidos	I am all ears.
all of a sudden — suddenly	de repente	All of a sudden, he refused to pay.
all the same — no difference	tanto faz, é a mesma coisa	If it’s all the same to you, let’s start at two.
all thumbs — clumsy	desastrado	He can’t fix anything, he’s all thumbs.
apple of discord — subject of envy or quarrel	«maçã» da discórdia, o ponto da discórdia	This question is an apple of discord in our family.
as a rule — usually	em geral	As a rule, we offer a 5% discount.
as far as I am concerned — in my opinion	até onde eu sei	As far as I am concerned, both the book and the movie are good.
as for me/as to me — in my opinion	na minha opinião	As for me, you can rely on his support.
as well — also, too	também	He knows math, and physics as well.
at all — (not) in the smallest degree	(absolutamente) nada	He doesn’t know French at all. I don’t like it at all.
at random — without order	na sorte	He chose those places at random.
at this point — at this time	a essas horas	At this point, we can’t turn back.
be about to — ready (to do)	estar prestes a	I was about to leave when you called.
be after someone — insist, press	estar atrás de alguém; insistir, pressionar	His mother is always after him to study.
be all in — be extremely tired	estar acabado	I’m all in, I’d better go to bed now.
be back on one’s feet — healthy again or better financially	se recuperar depois de um tempo difícil, se levantar	He’s back on his feet after a long period of debt and unemployment.
beat around the bush — avoid giving a clear/definite answer	se esquivar	Stop beating around the bush! Get to the point!
be beside oneself — be very upset, nervous, worried, etc.	estar descontrolado, fora de si	She was beside herself with worry / with grief.
be better off — be in a better situation	estar em uma situação melhor	He’ll be better off with a new job.
be broke — have no money at all	estar falido	I spent all my money, I’m broke.
be hard on something /someone — treat roughly	ser duro com algo/alguém	My son is hard on shoes, they don’t last long with him. Life was pretty hard on Tom.
be high on one’s list — be one of the most important things	a primeira coisa da lista	A new car is high on my list of priorities. A new TV is not high on my list.
be in charge of — be responsible for	ser o responsável por	He is in charge of marketing.
be in the red — be in debt	estar quebrado, cheio de dívidas	Our sales were in the red last year.
be into smth. — be interested in	estar interessado/apaixonado por algo	He is into computers. She is into sports.
bend over backwards — try hard	fazer todo o possível	I bent over backwards to help her.
be on one’s way	estar no caminho	I’m on my way.
be on the safe side — not to take any chances	para maior segurança	Take an extra key, just to be on the safe side.
be out of — be without	estar sem, não ter	We are out of bread, cheese, and sugar.
be out of shape — be physically unfit	estar fora de forma	He needs to exercise, he is out of shape.
be out of sorts — in bad humor	estar de mau humor	Leave him alone, he’s out of sorts today
be pressed for time / money — be short of; not have enough	estar pressionado por tempo/dinheiro (não ter suficiente tempo/dinheiro)	I’m pressed for time now. We are pressed for money at the moment.
beside the point — off the point	não vem ao caso	What I said to him privately is beside the point.
be to blame — be responsible for a mistake / something wrong	ser culpado	Who is to blame for this awful mistake? Tom is to blame for this mix-up.
be touch and go — be uncertain of the result	estar por um fio	He was very sick, and for some time it was touch and go, but he is better now.
be up against — be opposed by, have problems, be in danger	enfrentar (algo/alguém)	Our company is up against serious attempts of hostile takeover.
be up and around/about — able to be out of bed after an illness	voltar a andar/recuperar-se (depois de uma doença)	He was sick for a month, but now he is up and around.
be up to one’s ears — very busy	estar muito ocupado	I’m up to my ears in work.
be up to something — do mischief	estar tramando algo	I have to check what the kids are up to.
be up to someone — be one’s own decision or responsibility	depende de alguém, a decisão é de alguém	It’s up to you to decide. It’s up to you to close the office every day at 8 o’clock.
be used to — be accustomed to	estar acostumado a	I’m used to hard work. He’s used to heat.
big shot — important person	pessoa importante	He is a big shot around here.
bite off more than one can chew — try to do more than one can	valorizar-se demais («ter o olho maior que a barriga»)	I couldn’t handle two jobs and family. I really bit off more than I could chew.
bite one’s tongue — stop talking	morder a língua/se segurar e não falar	I almost told her, but bit my tongue.
bite the dust — die, be defeated	morrer/ser derrotado	Many of them bit the dust in that war.
black sheep — a good-for-nothing member of the family	ovelha negra	Their second son is the black sheep of the family, he is good for nothing.
blind date — a meeting of a man and woman arranged by friends	encontro a escuras	She refuses to go on a blind date again because she had bad experience.
blow it — lose the chance	perder a oportunidade	He understood that he blew it.
blow over — pass, end	vai passar/acabar	Wait here till his anger blows over.
bottom line — main result/factor	resultado	The bottom line is, I don’t have enough money.
break into — enter by force	entrar à força	The police broke into the robber’s house.
break one’s heart — hurt deeply	partir o coração de alguém	The news of her death broke his heart.
break the ice — overcome shyness in making the first step	quebrar o gelo (superar a timidez e dar o primeiro passo)	The party was dull until someone broke the ice with a joke and we all laughed.
break the news — tell new facts	espalhar informação	CNN is breaking the news right now.
bring home the bacon — earn the living for the family	sustentar a família	He works very hard at several places to bring home the bacon.
brush off — give no attention to	não dar bola	The boss brushed off my project again.
brush up on — review	repassar as informações	You need to brush up on the tenses.
by all means -definitely, certainly	definitivamente, certamente	Do you need my help? — By all means.
by heart — by memorizing	de cor (e salteado)	Learn this poem by heart for tomorrow.
by hook or by crook — by any means possible	do jeito que der	She will get what she wants by hook or by crook.
by the way — incidentally	inclusive, por falar nisso	By the way, Ann is coming back today.
call a spade a spade — use plain, direct words	dar nome aos bois	He always tells the truth and calls a spade a spade.
call it a day — consider work finished for the day	dar por terminado (o trabalho)	We’ve been working for 10 straight hours. Let’s call it a day.
call off — cancel	cancelar	The police called off the search.
carry out — fulfill	realizar, cumprir	She never carries out her plans.
carry weight — be important	ter influência/importância	His advice always carries weight here.
cast down — depressed, sad	desanimar	He was cast down by the bad news.
castles in the air — daydreaming about success	sonhar com o resultado (estar viajando)	Instead of working hard, he spends time building castles in the air.
catch one’s eye — attract attention	chamar a atenção	This picture caught my eye.
catch one’s breath — stop and rest	recuperar o fôlego	I can’t run, I need to catch my breath.
catch someone off guard — catch someone unprepared	pegar de surpresa	He caught me off guard with his question.
catch someone red-handed — find smb. in the act of doing wrong	pegar alguém no flagra (fazendo algo errado)	The manager caught the boy red-handed when he was stealing cigarettes.
catch up — become not behind	atualizar	He needs to catch up with the others.
close call — a narrow escape, a bad thing that almost happened	foi por pouco	The speeding car almost hit the man. That was really a close call.
come across — meet by chance	encontrar	I came across that article yesterday.
come down with — become ill	ficar doente, gripar	I’m coming down with a cold.
come to one’s senses — start acting reasonably, intelligently	voltar à razão, cair na real	He finally came to his senses, started to work hard, and passed his exams.
come true — become reality	virar realidade	My dream came true when I met Pat.
come up with — suggest	propor, sugerir	Mike came up with a brilliant idea.
count on — depend on	contar com	You can always count on me for help.
cut corners — to take a short-cut; to limit one’s spending	buscar atalhos, esquivar-se	He ran fast, cutting corners where he could. I have to cut corners this week.
cut down on — reduce	diminuir (o consumo)	You have to cut down on chocolate.
cut out to be /cut out for it — have the ability to do something	estar feito para (um trabalho)	She isn’t cut out to be a surgeon. He’s cut out to be a leader.
do one’s best — try very hard	dar o melhor de si	I did my best to help him in his work.
do one’s bit — do what’s needed	fazer o necessário	I’ll do my bit, you can count on me.
do over — do again	refazer	This work is not good, do it over.
do someone good — be good for	beneficiar, fazer o bem	Fresh air and exercise will do you good.
do something behind one’s back — do (harmful) things secretively	fazer algo pelas costas de alguém	I hate people who do things behind my back. He did it behind my back again.
do without — live without	viver sem, prescindir	I’ll have to do without a car for a while.
down to earth — practical	ser prático, realista	He’s quiet, sensible and down to earth.
draw the line — fix a limit	colocar um limite	He drew the line for her at $100 a day.
dress up — put on the best clothes	vestir a melhor roupa	What are you dressed up for?
drop off — deliver somewhere	levar/deixar uma pessoa em algum lugar	Can you drop me off at the bank?
drop out — quit (school)	abandonar	He dropped out of school last year.
duty calls — must fulfill obligations	o dever chama	He said, «Duty calls» and left for work.
easier said than done	falar é fácil, difícil é fazer	It’s easier said than done, but I’ll try to do it.
eat one’s words — take back words	morder a língua	He had to eat his words after her report.
even so — nevertheless, but	ainda assim	I work hard. Even so, I like my job.
every now and then -occasionally	de vez em quando	Every now and then I visit my old aunt.
every other day — every second one	dia sim dia não	She washes her hair every other day.
fall behind — lag behind	ficar para trás	The little boy fell behind the older boys.
fall in love — begin to love	apaixonar-se	Tom fell in love with Sue at first sight.
fall out of love — stop loving	deixar de amar	They fell out of love and divorced soon.
false alarm — untrue rumor	alarme falso	I heard he quit but it was a false alarm.
a far cry from something — very different, almost opposite (neg.)	longe de ser o que parecia	His second book wasn’t bad, but it was a far cry from his first book.
feel it in one’s bones — expect something bad to happen	ter um mau pressentimento	Something bad is going to happen, I feel it in my bones.
feel like doing something — want to do, be inclined to do smth.	sentir vontade de fazer alguma coisa	I feel like going for a walk. I don’t feel like working now, I’m tired.
feel up to — be able to do	ter ânimo para fazer alguma coisa	I don’t feel up to cleaning the house.
few and far between — rare, scarce	muito poucas vezes, raras vezes	Her visits are few and far between.
find fault with — criticize	encontrar problemas, criticar	He always finds faults with everybody.
find out — learn or discover	descobrir	I found out that Maria left town.
firsthand — directly from the source	em primeira mão	You can trust it, it’s firsthand information.
first things first — important things come before others	as primeiras coisas primeiro	First things first: how much money do we have to pay right away?
fly off the handle — get angry	perder as estribeiras	He flew off the handle and yelled at me.
follow in someone’s footsteps — do the same thing	seguir os passos de alguém	Igor followed in his father’s footsteps, he became a doctor, too.
foot in the door — a special opportunity for a job	meio caminho andado, ter um pé dentro (uma oportunidade)	Nina got a foot in the door because her friend works in that company.
foot the bill — pay the bill	pagar	Her father footed the bill for the party.
for good — forever	para sempre	After her death, he left town for good.
for the time being — at this time	por enquanto	For the time being, this house is all right for us.
frame of mind — mental state	(nesse) estado de ânimo	I can’t do it in this frame of mind.
from A to Z — completely	(conhecer) de cabo a rabo	He knows this town from A to Z.
from now on — now and in the future	a partir de agora	From now on, I forbid you to go there.
get a grip on oneself — take control of one’s feelings	controlar-se	Stop crying! Get a grip on yourself!
get along with — have good relations	se dar bem com alguém	Ann gets along with most coworkers, but doesn’t get along with Laura.
get away with — not be caught after doing wrong	escapar	The police didn’t find the thief. He got away with his crime.
get carried away — get too excited and enthusiastic about something	deixar-se levar pelo entusiasmo	He got carried away with opening a store and lost most of his money.
get cold feet — be afraid to do	ficar com medo	I wanted to try it but got cold feet.
get even with — have one’s revenge	nivelar/empatar a situação	I’ll get even with him for everything!
get in touch with — contact	entrar em contato com alguém	Get in touch with Mr. Smith for help.
get lost — lose one’s way	se perder	She got lost in the old part of town.
Get lost! — Lay off!	Fora! Vá embora!	I don’t want to see you again. Get lost!
get mixed up — get confused	confundir	I got mixed up, went the wrong way and got lost.
get off one’s back — leave alone	deixar alguém em paz	Stop bothering me! Get off my back!
get on one’s high horse — behave haughtily towards someone	sentir-se superior aos demais	Every time I ask her to help me with typing, she gets on her high horse.
get on (the bus, train, plane)	subir (no meio de transporte)	I got on the bus on Oak Street.
get off (the bus, train, plane)	descer (do meio de transporte)	I got off the bus at the bank.
get out of hand — get out of control	sair do controle	If he gets out of hand again, call me right away.
get over — recover after an illness or bad experience	superar uma má experiência ou uma doença	I can’t get over how rude he was to me. She got over her illness quite quickly.
get rid of — dispose of, discard	livrar-se de, desfazer-se de	He got rid of his old useless car.
get together — meet with	reunir-se (com amigos)	My friends and I get together often.
get to the bottom — know deeply	chegar no fundo, em detalhes	He usually gets to the bottom of things.
get to the point — get to the matter	ir direto ao ponto	Get to the point!
Give me a break! — spare me	Me dá um tempo! Me poupe!	Come on, stop it! Give me a break!
give someone a hand — help	dar uma mão, ajudar	Can you give me a hand with cooking?
give someone a lift /a ride — take to some place by car	dar carona	Can you give me a lift to the bank? He gave her a ride in his new Porsche.
give someone a piece of one’s mind — criticize frankly	criticar, dizer abertamente uma opinião	She lost my umbrella again, so I gave her a piece of my mind about her carelessness.
give up — stop doing something, stop trying to do something	render-se	I gave up smoking. I gave up trying to fix my old car.
go back on one’s word — break a promise	quebrar uma promessa	First he said he would help me, but then he went back on his word.
go for it — try to do a new thing	vá com tudo	If I were you, I would go for it.
go from bad to worse — be worse	ir de mal a pior	His business went from bad to worse.
go out — go to parties, movies	sair (ir a uma festa, ao cinema, etc)	Do he and his wife go out often?
go out of one’s way -try very hard	esforçar-se muito, tentar muito	He goes out of his way to please her.
go to one’s head — make too proud	subir à cabeça (sucesso)	His acting success went to his head.
go to pieces — get very upset, fall apart	ficar arrasado	She went to pieces when she heard it.
go with the flow — lead quiet life	seguir o fluxo	She always goes with the flow.
grow on someone — become liked	gostar pouco a pouco	When she knew him more, he grew on her.
had better — should	é melhor que você...	You look ill, you’d better see a doctor.
have a ball — have a good time	se divertir muito	Yesterday we had a ball at the party.
have a bone to pick — complain or discuss something unpleasant	ajustar contas com alguém, resolver algum problema com alguém	Mr. Brown, I have a bone to pick with you. My mail was lost because of you.
have a word with someone — talk to	falar com alguém	Can I have a word with you?
have words with someone — argue with someone about something	falar seriamente com alguém	I had words with my coworker today because he used my computer again.
have it in him — have the ability	ter habilidades	Laura has it in her to be a good doctor.
have no business doing something — have no right to do	não é assunto para você, não te diz respeito	You have no business staying here without my permission.
have one’s back to the wall — be hard-pressed, on the defensive	estar entre a cruz e a espada (em um dilema)	I had no choice, I had my back to the wall.
have one’s hands full — very busy	estar muito ocupado	He has his hands full with hard work.
have one’s heart set on something — want something very much	querer muito alguma coisa	She has her heart set on going to New York. He has his heart set on Betty.
have pull — have influence on	influenciar	Does he have pull with the director?
(not) have the heart — (not) have the courage to do smth. unpleasant	(não) ter coragem de, (não) se atrever a	I don’t have the heart to tell him that he wasn’t accepted, he’ll be so unhappy.
high and low — everywhere	em tudo que é lugar (de cima a baixo)	I searched high and low for my lost cat.
hit the nail on the head — say exactly the right thing	acertar	You hit the nail on the head when you said our company needs a new director.
hit upon something — to discover	pensar em algo, descobrir	They hit upon gold. I hit upon a plan.
hold it against someone — blame somebody for doing something	culpar alguém por alguma coisa	I lost his book, but he doesn’t hold it against me.
Hold it! — Stop! Wait!	Para!	Hold it! I forgot my key.
Hold on! — Wait!	Espera!	Hold on! I’ll be back in a minute.
hold one’s own — maintain oneself in a situation, behave as needed	se manter firme	He can hold his own in any situation. We need men who can hold their own.
hold up — rob using a weapon	assaltar, atacar	This bank was held up twice last year.
ill at ease — uncomfortable	incômodo	She felt ill at ease because of her cheap dress.
in advance — well before	de antemão	He told her about his plan in advance.
in a nutshell — in a few words	em poucas palavras	In a nutshell, my plan is to buy land.
in care of someone — write to one person at the address of another	aos cuidados de / escrever para uma pessoa com o endereço de outra	I’m staying at Tom’s house. Write to me in care of Tom Gray, Chicago, Illinois.
in cold blood — mercilessly	a sangue frio	He killed her in cold blood.
in fact — actually, in reality	na verdade, na realidade	In fact, he works as a manager here.
in general — generally, generally speaking	em geral	In general, he likes to be alone. He described the place only in general.
in one’s element — what one likes	estar cômodo, saber do que está falando	He’s in his element when he’s arguing.
in other words — using other words	em outras palavras	In other words, you refused to do it for her.
in plain English — in simple, frank terms	francamente falando	I didn’t really like the concert. In plain English, the concert was terrible.
the ins and outs — all info about	(conhecer) os detalhes	He knows the ins and outs of this business.
in someone’s shoes — in another person’s position	se colocar na situação de outra pessoa	I’d hate to be in his shoes now. He lost his job, and his wife is in the hospital.
in the long run — in the end	no fim das contas	In the long run, it’ll be better to buy it.
in the same boat — in the same situation	no mesmo barco, na mesma situação	Stop arguing with me, we’re in the same boat and should help each other.
in the clear — free from blame	estar fora de qualquer suspeita	Pay the bill and you’ll be in the clear.
in time (to do something) — before something begins	em tempo de (fazer algo)	I came in time to have a cup of coffee before class.
it goes without saying — should be clear without words	não é preciso falar	It goes without saying that he must pay what he owes right away.
It’s on the tip of my tongue.	está na ponta da língua	His name is on the tip of my tongue.
it’s time — should do it right away	está na hora	Hurry up, it’s time to go.
It’s worth it. / It’s not worth it. It’s (not) worth buying, visiting, watching, etc.	vale a pena, não vale a pena	Watch this film, it’s worth it. Don’t buy this coat, it is not worth it. This museum is worth visiting. This film is not worth watching.
it will do — it’s enough	é suficiente, serve	Stop reading, it will do for now.
jump at the opportunity/chance — accept the opportunity eagerly	aproveitar a oportunidade	His boss mentioned a job in Europe, and Peter jumped at the opportunity.
just as soon — prefer this one	preferiria	I’d just as soon stay home, I’m tired.
just in case — to be on the safe side	para garantir, por via das dúvidas	Take an extra shirt, just in case.
Just my luck! — Bad / Hard luck!	que sorte/azar!	They lost my job application. Just my luck!
keep an eye on — take care of, watch, look after	ficar de olho, cuidar	Betty keeps an eye on my sons for me. I’ll keep an eye on you!
keep a straight face — not to laugh	ficar sério	I tried to keep a straight face, but failed.
keep company — accompany	fazer companhia	She keeps me company quite often.
keep one’s word — fulfill a promise	manter a palavra	You promised, now keep your word.
keep someone posted — inform	manter alguém informado	Keep me posted about your plans.
keep your fingers crossed — hope that nothing will go wrong	cruzar os dedos	I have a job interview today. Keep your fingers crossed for me, will you?
kill time — fill/spend empty time	matar o tempo	I went to the show to kill time.
(not) know the first thing about — not to have any knowledge about	não saber absolutamente nada	I don’t know the first thing about nuclear physics.
know the ropes — be very familiar with some business	saber de tudo	He knows all the ropes in this company.
last-minute notice — little or no time to prepare for something	notícia de última hora	His arrival was a last-minute notice, we didn’t have time to prepare for it.
lay one’s cards on the table — be frank and open	pôr as cartas sobre a mesa	Finally, we asked him to lay his cards on the table and tell us about his plans.
lay one’s life on the line — put oneself in a dangerous situation	arriscar a vida	He laid his life on the line to fulfill this task, but nobody appreciated his efforts.
lead a dog’s life — live in misery	viver uma vida de cão	He leads a dog’s life.
lead someone on — make someone believe something that isn’t true	enganar, fazer alguém acreditar em algo	They suspect that you are leading them on. You led me on!
leave it at that — accept reluctantly	deixar as coisas como estão	Leave it at that, what else can you do?
leave word — leave a message	deixar uma mensagem	He left word for you to meet him at the airport at 6.
let bygones be bygones — forget and forgive bad things in the past	esquecer o passado	Why don’t you let bygones be bygones and forget about what he said?
let go of — release the hold	deixar ir (embora)	Let go of my hand or I’ll call the guard.
let (it) go — forget bad experience, return to normal life	esquecer, superar um problema	He’s still in despair and can’t let (it) go. You can’t change anything, so let it go.
let one’s hair down — be relaxed and informal with other people	relaxar, ficar à vontade	She is always so formal. She never lets her hair down.
let someone down — disappoint, fail someone	decepcionar alguém	Don’t let me down this time!
let someone know — inform	avisar, informar	Let me know when you find a job.
like father, like son — be like one’s parent in something	tal pai, tal filho	Paul won a prize in a chess tournament. Great! Like father, like son!
little by little — step by step	pouco a pouco	Little by little, he got used to Tokyo.
look for — search for	procurar	What are you looking for?
look forward to — expect with pleasure	esperar ansiosamente	I’m looking forward to your letter. Mary is looking forward to the party.
look out — be careful, watch out	tomar cuidado	Look out! The bus is coming!
look up — check with /in a dictionary or a reference book	procurar (informação na Internet, no dicionário, etc)	If you don’t know this word, look it up in the dictionary.
lose one’s temper — become angry	perder a paciência	He loses his temper very often.
lose one’s way — get lost	se perder	I lost my way. Can you help me?
lose track of — not to know where someone or something is	perder de vista, não ver alguém há muito tempo	I lost track of him years ago.
lucky break — a lucky chance	golpe de sorte	He got his lucky break when he got this job.
make a living — earn money to provide for life	ganhar a vida	He works hard. His family is big, and he has to make a living somehow.
make allowance for — take into consideration when judging	levar em conta	Don’t criticize him so hard, make (an) allowance for his inexperience.
make a point of — be sure to do something intentionally	se empenhar em fazer algo, ter certeza de fazer algo intencionalmente	Make a point of asking about his wife. Make it a point to be here by 10.
make ends meet — to have and spend only what one earns	chegar no final do mês	His doesn’t get much money. I wonder how he manages to make ends meet.
make friends — become friends	fazer amigos/amizade	Anton makes new friends easily.
make fun of — laugh at, joke about	tirar sarro de	He made fun of her German accent.
make no bones about it — say/do openly, without hesitation	não vou repetir	I’ll make no bones about it: I don’t like your attitude to work.
make room for — allow space for	fazer espaço para	We can make room for one more dog.
make sense — be logical	ter sentido	What you say makes sense.
make the most of smth — do the best in the given situation	tirar o maior proveito de algo	Let’s make the most of our vacation.
make up — become friends again	fazer as pazes	I’m tired of fighting. Let’s make up.
make up for smth — compensate	recompensar	I’ll make up for the time you spent on it.
make up one’s mind — decide	tomar uma decisão	When will you go? Make up your mind.
make yourself at home — be comfortable, feel at home	sinta-se em casa	Come in please. Make yourself at home.
man of his word — one who keeps promises, is dependable	um homem de palavra	You can depend on his promise to help. He’s a man of his word.
mean well — have good intentions	ter boas intenções	He meant well, but it turned out that he spoiled a couple of things for me.
might as well — a good idea	podia aproveitar e... (boa ideia)	I might as well telephone him now.
missing person — someone who is lost and can’t be located	pessoa desaparecida	The little boy disappeared. The police registered him as a missing person.
meet someone halfway — compromise with others	achar o ponto médio	He’s reasonable and tries to meet his coworkers halfway, when possible.
never mind — it doesn’t matter	esqueça, não importa	Thank you. — Never mind.
not to mention — in addition to	sem falar em...	We have three dogs, not to mention two cats.
no wonder — not surprising	não é uma surpresa	He ate three big fish. No wonder he’s sick.
now and again — occasionally	de vez em quando	I meet them now and again at the bank.
odds and ends — a variety of small unimportant things or leftovers	restos, uma variedade de coisas pequenas e sem importância	I needed to buy some odds and ends for the kitchen.
off the cuff — without preparation	de maneira improvisada	Off the cuff, I can give you only a rough estimate.
off the point — beside the point	não vem ao caso	What I think about him is off the point.
off the record — not for the public, unofficially	extraoficialmente	Strictly off the record, I think the director is going to get married soon.
once and for all — decidedly	de uma vez por todas	You must quit smoking once and for all.
on credit — not pay cash right away	pagar no crédito	He bought a car on credit.
on edge — nervous, irritable	nervoso, irritado	He’s been on edge ever since she left.
on guard — on the alert	alerta	He’s cautious and always on guard.
on hand — available	ter à mão	Do you have a calculator on hand?
on one’s own — alone, by oneself	sozinho	She likes to live and work on her own.
on one’s toes — alert, attentive, prepared for difficulties	alerta	He was on his toes and produced a very good impression on them.
on purpose — intentionally	de propósito	I didn’t do it on purpose, it just happened so.
on second thought — after thinking again	pensando bem	I’d like to sit on the aisle. On second thought, I’d like a window seat.
on the alert — on guard	alerta	He’s cautious and always on the alert.
on the carpet — called in by the boss for criticism	chamar a atenção, criticar (ser chamado à sala do chefe)	Yesterday the boss called her on the carpet for being rude to the coworkers.
on the go — busy, on the move	em movimento	He is always on the go.
on the off chance — unlikely to happen, but still	no caso de...	On the off chance that you don’t find him at work, here’s his home address.
on the other hand — considering the other side of the question	por outro lado	I’d like to have a dog. On the other hand, my wife likes cats better.
on the spot — right there	no mesmo lugar	I decided to do it on the spot.
on the spur of the moment — without previous thought / plan	na empolgação do momento	He bought this car on the spur of the moment, now he regrets it.
on time — punctual	pontual, em tempo	Jim is always on time.
out of one’s mind — crazy	louco, fora de si	If you think so, you’re out of your mind.
out of one’s way — away from someone’s usual route	fora do caminho	I can’t give you a lift to the bank, it’s out of my way today.
out of the question — impossible	fora de discussão	Paying him is out of the question!
pack rat — a person who saves lots of unnecessary things	acumulador compulsivo	Why does she keep all those things she never uses? — She is a pack rat.
pay attention — be attentive	prestar atenção	Pay attention to his words.
pick a fight — start a quarrel	começar uma discussão	He often tries to pick a fight with me.
pick up — take, get	escolher	I’ll pick you up at 7.
play one’s cards right — choose the right steps in doing something	saber jogar, não errar a mão, não pisar em falso	If you play your cards right, he’ll agree to your plan.
potluck supper — a surprise meal, where nobody knows what dishes other guests will bring	jantar onde cada um traz alguma coisa de comer	You know what happened at our last potluck supper? Everybody brought macaroni and cheese, apples, and beer!
pull oneself together — brace oneself, summon your strength	controlar-se e/para sair de um mau momento	Stop crying and complaining! You have to pull yourself together now.
pull the wool over someone’s eyes — deceive, mislead someone	enganar	Are you trying to pull the wool over my eyes? It won’t do you any good.
put a damper on — discourage	colocar barreiras, estraga-prazeres	She always puts a damper on my plans.
put in a word for someone — say positive things about someone	defender alguém, falar coisas boas de alguém para outra pessoa	I’d be very grateful if you could put in a word for me when you speak to him.
put off — postpone	adiar	Don’t put it off till tomorrow.
put one’s foot down — object strongly	se opor fortemente	Her father put his foot down when she said she wanted to marry Alan.
put one’s foot in it — do the wrong thing, make a fool of oneself	fazer besteira, falar algo fora de hora	He put his foot in it when he told the boss his daughter wasn’t pretty.
put up with — accept, tolerate	aguentar, tolerar	I can’t put up with your bad work!
quite a bit of — much, a lot of	muito	I had quite a bit of trouble with that car.
quite a few — many, a lot of	muitos	He wrote quite a few good stories.
rack one’s brain — try hard to think	esforçar-se, quebrar a cabeça	He racked his brain to solve the puzzle.
read between the lines — find or understand the implied meaning	ler nas entrelinhas	His books are not easy to understand; you have to read between the lines.
remember me to — say hello to	mandar lembranças	Please remember me to your family.
right away — immediately	imediatamente	It’ very important to do it right away.
ring a bell — remind someone of something familiar /half-forgotten	parecer familiar	Annabel Lee? Yeah, it rings a bell, but I can’t place it right now.
rock the boat — make the situation unstable	causar problemas, gerar conflito	Peter always rocks the boat when we discuss company’s spending policy.
rub shoulders with — meet with	relacionar-se	He doesn’t rub shoulders with the rich.
rub someone the wrong way — irritate, annoy, make angry	irritar alguém	His remarks rub many coworkers the wrong way.
run into — meet by chance	encontrar alguém por casualidade	I ran into an old friend yesterday.
save face — try to change the negative impression produced	voltar atrás para salvar a reputação	He said a stupid thing and tried to save face by saying he misunderstood me.
save one’s breath — stop useless talk	não perder tempo explicando	There’s no use talking to him about his spending habits, so save your breath.
scratch the surface — study something superficially	analisar de maneira superficial	He examines all the facts closely, he doesn’t just scratch the surface.
see about — make arrangements for	ocupar-se de alguma coisa	I have to see about our plane tickets.
see eye to eye — agree	dividir o mesmo ponto de vista	We don’t see eye to eye any longer.
serve someone right — get what someone deserves	ter o que merece	It serves him right that he didn’t get this job, he despised all other candidates.
serve one’s purpose — be useful to someone for his purpose	servir ao propósito de alguém	I doubt that hiring this man will serve your purpose.
show promise — be promising	quando uma pessoa promete, leva jeito	This young actor shows promise.
show up — appear	aparecer	I waited for hours but he didn’t show up.
size up — evaluate someone	avaliar	It took me 5 minutes to size up that man.
sleep on it — postpone a decision till next morning	adiar algo para o dia seguinte	Don’t decide now, sleep on it.
a slip of the tongue — a mistake	erro, equívoco, lapso	It was just a slip of the tongue!
slip (from) one’s mind — forget	esquecer	It slipped my mind what she asked me.
smell a rat — suspect something	suspeitar alguma coisa	I’m not sure what it is, but I smell a rat.
so far — up to now	até agora	So far, I have read 3 books by King.
so much the better — it’s even better	melhor ainda	If he can pay cash, so much the better.
spill the beans — tell a secret	contar/revelar um segredo	Who spilled the beans about our plan?
stand a chance — have a chance	ter uma oportunidade	He doesn’t stand a chance of getting it.
stand out — be noticeable	destacar-se, sobressair	He stands out in any group of people.
stand to reason — be logical	ser lógico	It stands to reason that he apologized.
straight from the shoulder — speak frankly	falar francamente	Don’t try to spare my feelings, give it to me straight from the shoulder.
take a dim view of something — disapprove of something	ter uma opinião negativa sobre algo	My sister takes a dim view of the way I raise my children.
take a break — stop for rest	fazer uma pausa	Let’s take a break, I’m tired.
take advantage of — use for one’s own benefit, to profit from	aproveitar-se de	We took advantage of the low prices and bought a computer and a monitor.
take after — be like one of the parents	parecer-se aos pais	Tom takes after his father in character, and after his mother in appearance.
take a stand on something — make a firm opinion/decision on smth.	assumir uma posição/opinião dura	People need to take a stand on the issue of nuclear weapons.
take care of — look after, protect, see that smth. is done properly	cuidar de	Can you take care of my dog while I’m away? Tom takes good care of his car.
take hold of something — take, hold	segurar	Take hold of this rope and pull.
take into account — consider smth.	considerar	You must take into account her old age.
take it easy — relax, be calm	não se preocupe, vá com calma	Take it easy, everything will be OK.
take (it) for granted — accept as given	tomar algo como certo	Mother’s love is always taken for granted by children.
take one’s breath away	tirar o fôlego de alguém	That great view took my breath away.
take one’s time — do slowly	fazer as coisas com calma, sem pressa	Don’t hurry. Take your time.
take one’s word for it — believe	acreditar na palavra de alguém	Take my word for it, he won’t go there.
take pains — try hard to do it well	esforçar-se	He took pains to make his report perfect.
take part in smth. — participate in	participar	Mary is going to take part in the show.
take place — happen	acontecer	The accident took place on Oak Street.
take someone’s mind off things — distract from fixed ideas/thoughts	distrair os pensamentos	Go to a concert or a movie to take your mind off things.
take steps — take action /measures	agir	We need to take steps against it.
take the words right out of one’s mouth — say the same before somebody else says it	tirar as palavras da boca da outra pessoa	I was about to say the same! You took the words right out of my mouth.
take time — take a long time	levar tempo	It takes time to get used to a new place.
take time off — be absent from work	tirar um tempo/dia livre	He took time off to attend the wedding.
take turns — alternate doing something one after another	alternar, revezar	We went to Minsk by car. We didn’t get tired because we took turns driving
talk back — answer rudely	responder (de um jeito rude)	Don’t talk back to the teacher!
talk it over — discuss	discutir	I’ll talk it over with my family.
tell apart — see the difference	distinguir	Can you tell the twins apart?
That’s just the point. — That’s it.	Esse é o ponto.	That’s just the point! I hate this job!
the writing on the wall — a sign of future events (usually, trouble)	premonição (de algo ruim)	The plane crashed. Tim said he saw the writing on the wall about this flight.
not think much of — think low	não achar tão bom (algo ou alguém)	I don’t think much of her cooking.
think over — consider carefully	pensar com calma	Think over your answer. Think it over carefully.
till one is blue in the face — try hard	esforçar-se muito	I repeated it till I was blue in the face!
to make a long story short — in short	resumindo	To make a long story short, we won.
to say the least — to make the minimum comment about smth.	para falar o mínimo	The film was boring and long, to say the least.
try on — put on new clothes to test them for size or look	experimentar/provar (roupa)	Try on this leather coat, it’s very good. She tried it on, but it didn’t fit her at all.
try one’s hand at something — try	experimentar/tentar algo	I want to try my hand at painting.
turn on / off — switch on / off	ligar/desligar	Turn on the radio. Turn off the water.
turn out to be — result/end this way	resultar	He turned out to be a very good actor.
turn over a new leaf — make a fresh start in life, work, etc.	começar de novo	He promises to turn over a new leaf and quit alcohol for good.
turn the tide — reverse the course of events	mudar o rumo das coisas	The new evidence turned the tide, and the defendant was acquitted of charges.
twist one’s arm — make to agree	convencer alguém (inicialmente, contra a vontade)	They twisted his arm to sell the house.
under the weather — feel ill	resfriado, gripado	I’m a little under the weather today.
up-and-coming — showing promise of future success	algo promissor	He is an up-and-coming young lawyer who might help you with your case.
up in arms — hostile to, in strong protest against something	protestar, estar contra	The employees are up in arms about the new retirement rules.
up in the air — undecided	estar no ar, indefinido	My vacation plans are still up in the air.
up to par — equal in standard	adequado/normal	His behavior isn’t up to par.
used to — did often in the past, but not now	tinha o costume de	I used to play the piano when I was in school (but I don’t play it now).
walk on air — be very happy	estar nas nuvens, muito feliz	He got the job and is walking on air now.
waste one’s breath — speak uselessly, to no purpose	esforço em vão	Don’t waste your breath trying to make him do it, he won’t change his mind.
watch one’s step — be careful	ter cuidado, ir com calma	Watch your step!
watch out — look out, be careful	ter cuidado	Watch out for that car! Watch out!
wet blanket — a kill-joy, who spoils everybody’s fun	estraga-prazeres	Remember what a wet blanket he was last time? Please don’t invite him again.
What’s the matter? — What is it?	o que está acontecendo?	What’s the matter? What happened?
which way the wind blows — what the real situation is	em que direção sopra o vento / qual a realidade nisso tudo	He knows which way the wind blows and always acts accordingly.
white lie — unimportant lie	mentira inocente	A white lie is told to spare your feelings.
word for word — in the same words	literalmente	Tell me word for word what he said.
would rather — prefer	preferir	I’d rather stay at home today.

Fonte: Study-English.info
Tradução e Adaptação: Incrível.club