be breathing down somebody’s neckšlapat komu na paty, funět komu na záda Most lord lieutenants are scarcely in jobs where they have employers breathing down their necks about time off, but there can be substantial day-to-day expenses. Those moments when the heat is on, the chips are down and reality seems to be breathing down our necks. Well with all those people breathing down his neck it's probably put him off. (BNC-B) |
get something off one’s chestulevit si, vyzpovídat se You need to clear the air and get deep seated anxieties and worries off your chest. No doubt you feel better now you've got that off your chest. Come on now; if it's bothering you so much you'd better get it off your chest. (BNC-B) |
tear/ pull one's hair outrvát si vlasy The latest development is a drug called clomipramine which has the endearing quality of reducing the desire to pull your hair out when under stress. A Tory friend of mine who has been trying to write nice things about the Conservative campaign has been tearing his hair out in desperation, not just because they are doing so badly - but because they deserve to. Look at him, lord of all he surveys, calm, controlled, in total command of himself. Anyone else would be tearing his hair out, confronted by a pack of jabbering foreigners, but does Feargal? (BNC-B) |
not to turn a hairnehnout ani brvou Some said his wife didn't turn a hair any more when Sammy was carried in like a drowned rat. I moved corpses minus their heads, legs and arms, and didn't turn a hair. But when you lift a corpse that looks anything but a corpse, it's terrifying. So Herbie didn't try and jump in the car before I could lift him and trying to get Audrey in with her stiff leg. And then get the rug across her. She didn't turn a hair when she said two hundred and ninety three pounds. (BNC-B) |
be at each other’s throatsbýt na ostří nože Of course native Siberians sometimes fought among themselves, just as the various national and religious communities of Europe were often at each other's throats. The Socialist Party had not only suffered its worst election defeat in 25 years but also given every appearance of being in the process of disintegration. Its leaders were at each other's throats. If the rest of the media were anything to go by, you'd assume that most women were at each other's throats. Especially on the issue of maternal responsibility. Two of France's proudest industries are at each other's throats over a perfume called Champagne unveiled by fashion house Yves Saint Laurent. (BNC-B) |
at face valuebez rozmyšlení One of these, often referred to by the police, is the unrealistic fear that many people, particularly the elderly, have of their society. They take at face value cases such as this one involving the policewomen, and they really believe that they live in a society that has lost all its civilized values. In the absence of an experiment, a statistical effect of one variable on another cannot just be accepted as causal at face value. To conclude our review of criminal statistics, it is clear that official statistics on crime, like most statistics, should not be taken at face value as facts to be accepted uncritically. (BNC-B) |
face to facemezi čtyřma očima, osobně, tváří v tvář Live work is the one area where the artists and audience meet face to face. Most people when confronted with a horse will pat it. Why? If two people meet socially, face to face, sooner or later one of them will speak, or acknowledge in some way the presence of the other. I have not seen her alone face to face all the time we have been here and when I do see her in company she is won’t to turn from me. (BNC-B) |
Keep your hair onJen klid! She gave Bunty a very sharp look. You'll miss your entrance, miss. Keep your hair on. All right, all right, keep your hair on! It was quite a relief to hear Felicity lapse into the phraseology of Pinehurst days. I won't tell him anything. Keep your hair on, girl, Nick said. (BNC-B) |
keep one’s head above waterdržet se nad vodou The conference centre, in common with most of the others, will need a public subsidy to keep its head above water. It hurt badly at first to lose my job but things have worked out reasonably well. I am keeping my head above water and that makes me one of the lucky ones. As long as I earn enough to keep my head above water and to pay my way in life for the next twelve months, keep my family fed and watered, I'm OK. (BNC-B) |
keep a straight facezachovat vážnou tvář When I told the estate agents I wanted a flat in Soho, most of them had difficulty keeping a straight face but I wanted to live there and I persevered with it. It is sometimes hard to keep a straight face when Terry gets into his stride on this subject. I try and keep a straight face, but I can't help grinning at myself. (BNC-B) |
stick in somebody’s throatbýt proti mysli komu When it affects life-and-death issues, such as Northern Ireland , the idea of making legislation on internment, for example, subject to back-room bargains struck at Westminster , is one which would stick in the throats of many voters. Geoff Allen, who has served Northampton as player and official for 30 years, said: What does stick in the throat is that Shelford, who has made our leading players better players, will probably have to sit on his backside while apparently some other overseas players can come and go as they please. The loyalist paramilitary leadership at least progressed far enough to be able last year to express abject and true remorse, yet such words stick in the throat of Sinn Fein and the IRA. (BNC-B) |
put a brave face on somethingnedat nic najevo, předstírat klid But the company and its advisers put a brave face on the outcome yesterday. The Government tried to put a brave face on the mess. A Downing Street spokesman said: We don't use words like crisis. The world is filled with sad women who put a brave face on their unhappiness. (BNC-B) |
off the top of one’s headbez přípravy, bez rozmyšlení And he proceeded to do so, off the top of his head at considerable length, to the admiration of all present. I attach a proposal drafted somewhat off the top of my head, which you may like to use to open discussions with the Navarra Ministry. I decided, off the top of my head, to start playing a song that I had started writing earlier in the week. And so I just started playing it and the other guys started improvising. (BNC-B) |
turn headsupoutat velkou pozornost MacMillan does concede that the alienation of working class people from classical music is one that concerns him. He knows he is more likely to turn heads in Covent Garden than he is popping out for the papers in Jordanhill. These days, we pamper promising young sportsmen with premature praise, often with the best of intentions, and discover that an unearned reputation can be no less fatal. It can turn heads and destroy careers. If a dress turned heads in the 1960s, it will still turn heads today. (BNC-B) |
bang/ hit one’s head against a brick wallházet hrách na stěnu It was like banging your head against a brick wall to attempt to fight against Movement Orders. Although she was terribly fond of the children she found that working with them was like banging her head against a brick wall. I must admit that I got fed up with pursuing it and I think it's like banging your head against a brick wall in the end. Yes. Didn't really have the energy to pursue it. (BNC-B) |