Contrastive analysis of idioms referring to body parts between english and vietnamese

Luận văn, khóa luận, đề tài

Graduation Thesis Acknowledgements I would like to express my deep gratitude to Ms Ngun ThÞ Têng (M.A) - my supervisor - who helped and encouraged me a lot to complete this thesis I also want to thank all the teachers of Foreign Languages Department for lending me necessary materials and giving me useful advice for my thesis I am very grateful to my parents and classmates for their help and encouragement during the process of writing this graduation thesis To everyone, I truly thank Vinh, May 2003 Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 Graduation Thesis Table of contents Page Acknowledgements Table of contents Part I Introduction Background information Aims of the study Objects of the study Methods of the study 5 Design of the study Part II Investigation Chapter Idioms 1.1 Definitions of idioms 1.1.1 Points of view of English authors on idioms 1.1.2 Points of view of English authors on idioms 1.2 History of studying idioms 1.2.1 In England and Europe 1.2.2 In Vietnam 1.3 Criteria to distinguish idioms from free - word groups 10 1.3.1 Word and its meaning 10 1.3.2 Free - word groups and idioms 12 1.4 Criteria to distinguish idioms from proverbs 13 Chapter English and Vietnamese idioms referring to body parts 16 2.1 16 English and Vietnamese idioms referring to body parts 2.1.1 The elements of body parts in English idioms Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 16 Graduation Thesis 2.1.2 The elements os body parts in Vietnamese idioms 16 2.2 The meaning of English idioms referring to body parts and their equivalents in Vietnamese 17 2.2.1 Some differences in cultural features of idioms referring to body parts between English and Vietnamese 17 2.2.2 Some similarities in cultural features of idioms referring to body parts between English and Vietnamese 19 Chapter Some suggested exercises for using idioms referring to body parts in teaching and learning English 26 Part III Conclusion 30 Reference books 31 Appendix Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 Graduation Thesis Part I Introduction Background information Nowadays, English is referred to as a global language So it is not uncommon that it is used the most widely over the world As a result, English is being taught and learned in Vietnam During the course of learning English, we have chance to deal with many aspects of English language In that ,we are really fond of English idioms since they play a very important role in reflecting the vivid, colourful picture of the nation’s customs, cultural traditions, and history Learning English, we consider idioms the means to make the observations, judgements, and explanations more lively and interesting For example, to describe “a kind - hearted person”, the Englishmen are likely to say “a heart of gold” Here, “a heart of gold” is an idiom Besides, idioms are also very useful, appropriate tools for communicating effectively a great deal of meaning in just a few words On our research, we find many types of English idioms, especially idioms referring to body parts which cause lots of difficulties for the learners in mastering them That interests us much when we realize that there is a great number of Vietnamese idioms referring to body parts For instance, to indicate a person who is very old, very aged, the Vietnamese would like to say đầu bạc long We are attracted by the question how and why idioms differ from each other between English and Vietnamese in case of idioms referring to body parts That is why we choose the subject “A contrastive analysis of idioms referring to body parts between English and Vietnamese” to study We hope to contribute a small part of learning and teaching idioms In this study, idioms are described in a variety of contexts and situations However, English idioms are various and great in number So, in this small scale of this study, we only deal with English idioms referring to body parts in contrast with those in Vietnamese Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Thuý - K40A1 Graduation Thesis Aims of the study The first aim of this study is to help the learners to improve their knowledge of English and Vietnamese as well, especially idioms referring to body parts The second aim of this study is to give students and learners some cultural characters in the two countries which are described in idioms referring to body parts The third aim is that through this study, we try to give some types of exercises to improve the ability of using idioms referring to body parts of the learners Objects of the study a Idioms b Idioms referring to body parts in English and Vietnamese c The meaning of English idioms referring to body parts and their equivalents in Vietnamese Methods of the study a Statistic method b Contrastive method c Analytic and systematic method Design of the study Part I Introduction Background information Aims of the study Objects of the study Methods of the study Design of the study Part II Investigation Chapter Idioms Chapter English and Vietnamese idioms referring to body parts Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 Graduation Thesis Chapter Some suggested exercises for using idioms referring to body parts in teaching and learning English Part III Conclusion Reference books Appendix Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 Graduation Thesis Part II Investigation Chapter IDIOMS 1.1 Definition of idioms 1.1.1 Points of view of English authors on idioms According to “Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture” an idiom is “a fixed phrase that has its own special meaning and it is impossible to guess the meaning of separate words” The phrase “a pain in the neck” can be easily understood in the sentence “After the operation, she still has a pain in the neck” through its literal meaning, but it also has a common figurative meaning in the sentence “Phil always goes mad if others not obey him He is really a pain in the neck” (here “a pain in the neck” refers to a nuisance, or something or someone that causes nuisance) Or the other phrase “an old head on young shoulders” in the sentences “Helen is very Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 Graduation Thesis worried about how to protect the dolphins She in fact has an old head on young shoulders” These phrases “a pain in the neck” and “an old head on young shoulders” are called idioms The linguist F.R.Palmer (1971) claimed that idioms “involve collocation of special kind” This means that the meaning of the words combined is obscure This meaning is not related to the meaning of individual words but is occasionally nearer to the meaning of single words For example, “twiddle one’s thumbs” in the sentence “It is not equal when Tim only comes to the office and twiddles his thumbs” has the idiomatic meaning “do nothing” This meaning is very different from the meaning of each word ( “twiddle” indicates an action, “thumbs” are biggest fingers of hand) Idioms in English have been defined by Jennifer Seidl - W Mc Mordie (1988) as “a number of words which, when taken together, have a different meaning from the individual meanings of each word” In a shorter word, an idiom can be seen as a number of words which, when taken together, shows the different meaning from the meanings of each word 1.1.2 Points of view of Vietnamese authors on idioms In Vietnam, an idiom is considered to be “a set expression whose meaning is generally un explicable simply through the meaning of individual words it contains” (Hoàng Phê, Từ điển tiếng Việt, Nhà xuất Đà Nẵng 1997) For example, the phrase da mồi tóc sơng (scaly skin and grey hair) means very old, aged, used to indicate an aged person in the following sentence: “Chèc đà mời năm trời Còn đà da måi tãc s¬ng” ( Trun KiỊu , Ngun Du) ( With more than ten years gone, if still alive, they must have old tooth, grey hair) Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 Graduation Thesis Hoàng Văn Hành (1994) defined an idiom as “a stable word - group with a solid formation and structure, and a complete and figurative meaning, used in everyday communication, especially in spoken language” (“KĨ chun Thành ngữ, Tục ngữ tiếng Việt, Nhà xuất Khoa häc x· héi, 1994) Let’s have a look at the example chõ mũi vào chuyện ngời khác in the sentence xóm này, biết mụ Hoà kẻ chuyên chõ mũi vào chuyện ngời khác (In this village, everybody knows that Mrs Hoa always pokes her nose into other’s life) History of studying idioms 1.2.1 In England and Europe In England and Europe, lots of linguists started their study in English idioms since the very beginning of 20th century Many Western and American authors gave great contributions to the collection of English idioms such as : W.Mc Mordie with “English Idioms and How to Use Them” (published in 1909), considered as the first to research carefully on the field of English idioms V.H.Collin with “A Book of English Idioms with Explanation” (published in 1958) and “American English Idioms” (published in 1986) Browkal M with “Idioms for Everyday Use” (published in 1994) A.P.Cowie, R.Martin and I.R.Cairo with “Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English” (published in 1994) Lord Quirk, Professor Douglas Biber, Rod Bohitho and many others authors with “Longman Idioms Dictionary” (published in 1998) Teachers and researchers from Cambridge University with “Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms” (published in 1999) 1.2.2 In Vietnam Although the study in English idioms was started much later than in Europe and other countries, many Vietnamese linguists show their interests in this new, difficult subject They are: Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 Graduation Thesis Bïi Phông with “Dictionary of Vietnamese - English Idioms and Proverbs explained” (published in 1995) and “English -Vietnamese Idioms Sayings (published in 1995) Đoàn Minh - Nguyễn ThÞ TuyÕt with “English - Vietnamese Common Idioms” (published in 1994) Trần Tất Thắng with Idioms for Everyday use (published in 1995) Phạm Văn Bình with English Idioms and Proverbs (published in 1996) L· Thµnh with “Dictionary of Current English - Vietnamese Idioms” ( translation published in 1995) About Vietnamese idioms, many Vietnamese authors did a long research and gave out worthy collections such as : Lơng Văn Đang, Nguyễn Lực with Thành ngữ Tiếng Việt (published in 1979) Hoàng Văn Hành, Nguyễn Nh ý, and Phan Xuân Thành with Kể chuyện Thành ngữ, tục ngữ volume 1,2,3 (published in 1988 and 1991) Vũ Dung with Từ điển Thành ngữ Tục ngữ Việt Nam (published in 1993) Nguyễn Nh ý, Nguyễn Văn Khang and Phan Xuân Thành with Từ điển Thành ngữ Việt Nam (published in 1993) Việt Chơng with Từ điển Thành ngữ, Tục ngữ, Ca dao Việt Nam (published in 1996) Nguyễn Lân with Từ điển Thành ngữ Tục ngữ Việt Nam (published in 1997) Vĩnh Bá with Từ điển Thành ngữ Tiếng Việt (published in 1999) So, through the time, idioms have been studied widely In order to master the base and the criteria to define an idiom, we will come to the next unit 1.3 Criteria to distinguish idioms from free-word groups 1.3.1 Word and its meaning Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 10 Graduation Thesis And there are many other English idioms with their equivalents in Vietnamese shown in the table below Table The meaning of English idioms referring to body parts and their equivalents in Vietnamese No 10 11 12 13 English idioms to put one’s head in a noose to put one’s head on the block to scratch one’s head be banging/beating one’s head against the brick wall from head to toe Be hanging over one’s head a roof over one’s head head in the clouds to put one’s head in the lion’s mouth to wash one’s hands off something/someone to know something like the palm of one’s hand To wring one’s hand To work hand in hand Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Thuý - K40A1 Vietnamese idioms đa đầu vào thòng lọng đa đầu vào tròng gÃi đầu gÃi tai đâm đầu vào tờng từ đầu đến chân lơ lửng đầu mái tranh che đầu đầu lơ lửng mây đa đầu vào chỗ chết phủi tay xong việc biết rõ nh lòng bàn tay tay bắt mặt mừng chung tay chung søc 23 Graduation Thesis 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 To get itchy hand change hands can count something on the fingers of one’s hands tied hand and foot Be a dab hand at something Be an old hand at something To keep one’s eyes glued to To shut one’s eyes to the fact In the twinkle of an eye before one could blink an eye not even bat an eye To give someone the eye a shot in the eye one’s eyes are bigger than stomach four eyes To pull the wool over one’s eyes An eagle eye Be staring in the face To put on a brave face stuff one’s face In one ear and out the other To turn a deaf ear to To prick up one’s ears Be over heads and ears in debt To make a rod for one’s own back To turn one’s back on To stab someone in the back To have a broad back To put one’s back into it To something behind one’s back To be at the back of someone To split hairs By a hair’s straight To make one’s hair curl Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 ngøa tay ngứa chân sang tay đổi chủ đếm đầu ngãn tay trãi ch©n trãi tay quen tay hay viƯc quen tay hay việc dán mắt vào nhắm mắt làm ngơ nháy mắt nháy mắt không thèm chớp mắt liếc mắt đa tình gai mắt/chớng tai gai mắt mắt to bụng bốn mắt vải tha che mắt thánh mắt cú vọ sờ sờ trớc mặt mặt dạn mày dày ngập mặt ngập mũi vào lỗ tai lỗ miệng bng tai giả điếc giỏng tai cài tóc nợ ngập đầu ngập cổ gậy ông đập lng ông quay lng ngoảnh mặt đâm dao sau lng lng dài vai rộng bán lng cho trời nói xấu sau lng đứng sau lng chẻ đôi sợi tóc đờng tơ kẽ tóc dựng tóc gáy 24 Graduation Thesis 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 To harm a hair in one’s head To be all mouth To keep one’s mouth shut with a plum in one’s mouth To have one’s nose in the book to stick/poke one’s nose into other’s business To lead someone by the nose To make a long nose at someone the Achille’s heel To turn to one’s heels To be dead on one’s feet feet of clay To drag one’s feet be armed to the teeth a sharp tongue let something slip through one’s fingers go dowm on bended knees shoulder to shoulder be up to one’s neck in A heart of stone A heart of gold to have a change of heart with all one’s heart from the bottom of one’s heart Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 đụng đến sợi tóc đầu mồm năm miệng mời giữ mồm giữ miệng mồm ngậm hột thị chúi mũi vào sách nhúng mũi vào chuyện ngời khác dắt mũi vẩy mũi chế giễu gót chân Asin ngoảnh đầu quay gót chồn chân mỏi gối sa chân xuống bùn giẫm chân chỗ trang bị tận giấu gơm đầu lỡi để vuột khỏi tay quỳ gối khom lng kề vai sát cánh ngập đầu ngập cổ trái tim sắt đá lòng vàng thay lòng đổi toàn tâm toàn ý tự đáy lòng 25 Graduation Thesis Chapter Some suggested exercises for using idioms referring to body parts in teaching and learning English In any study, the biggest aim is to help the learners get advanced in learning In the small scope of this study in English idioms referring to body parts, we only give five types of exercises which are the most typical in English I Type Definition Match the definition on the left (1 - 5) with the correct idioms on the right (a - e) To be able to something easily because it a To keep a straight face is very familiar and done after To help someone who is trying to b To look down on one’s nose something difficult To be able to look serious eventhough you c To something with one’s Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 eyes 26 Graduation Thesis shut want to laugh To say exactly what someone else was going d To lend somebody a hand to say or were thinking about e To take the words out of one’s mouth To treat someone haughtily II Type Multiple - choice Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence: “Are you listening to me?” “Yes, go on, I’m all ” a.hands b.mouth c.head d.ears He failed to get a place at the University and ever since he has given his friends the cold a.heart b.shoulder c.hand d.head She had a sweet .and couldn’t resist buying chocolates and cream cakes a.mouth b.tongue c.tooth d.throat He couldn’t make up his .about where to go on the summer holidays a.mind b.leg c.head d.foot Lily is known as born with a silver spoon in her She goes to school by a Roll Royce! a.finger b.hand c.mouth d.tongue III Type Choose the adjectives given to match with each sentence: long, cold, sweet, green, big, bloody, cool, broad, sharp, black to keep a .head to give someone a .eye to pull a .face Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Thuý - K40A1 27 Graduation Thesis to be given a .nose to have a .back to have a .tooth to have .fingers to have a .tongue to have a .mouth 10 to give someone the .shoulder IV Type True or False Decide whether the following sentences are used correctly (true) or incorrectly (false): The police saw that I wasn’t wearing the seatbelt but fortunately, he turned a blind head to it He irritates me all the time He is really a pain in the neck She can’t any housework perfectly She is all fingers and toes He was very good at Maths at school He had a good head for numbers Of course he loves you ! It is as plain as the nose on your face! V Type Crossword Complete the following crossword Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 28 Graduation Thesis Cross: Harry is trying his best to get an abroad scholarship He is really working his to the bones It is not a good company to invest your money in or you’ll put your in the lion’s mouth It is 10 a.m now Shake your .or we’ll be late for interview! I can’t remember the man you introduced to me last week I have no memory for ., you know How about him? “How dare you speak to me like that?” hissed Polly, finding her Down: A few of the houses were shabby and down at , but most had just had a coat of fresh paint Let’s have a big .for Goma and his jazz band! “My !” is often said after someone else had just said to show that you not believe it Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 29 Graduation Thesis Part III Conclusion Through the study above, we reaffirm that English idioms in general and English idioms referring to body parts are various and they are very useful materials in teaching and learning English Since it is suggested that English has acquired a powerful, perhaps dominant position in the world today, all the aspects of it are widened more and more From that, idioms are paid attention to as a consequence In this small scope of this study, we only introduce an overview of English idioms referring to body parts in contrast with those in Vietnamese We hope that this will be an interesting and useful teaching material for everyone who has interest in English idioms, especially idioms referring to body parts Furthermore, we also reflect some cultural features that are described in idioms in both English and Vietnamese We suggest here some types of exercises that may be helpful for teachers and learners who want to be successful and effective in using English Because of the limitation of knowledge and ability, though we have tried our best, mistakes are unavoidable Therefore, we would like to receive all your remarks, comments as well as advice to make this study perfecter Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 30 Graduation Thesis Reference books B¸, VÜnh English - Vietnamese Idioms Dictionary Nhà xuất Giáo dục, 1999 Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms Chơng, Việt Từ điển Thành ngữ, Tục ngữ, Ca dao Việt Nam Nhà xuất Đồng Nai, 1996 Dung, Vũ; Thuý Anh, Vũ; Hào, Vũ Quang Từ điển Thành ngữ Tục ngữ Việt Nam Nhà xuất Văn hoá, 1997 Đang, Lơng Văn; Lực, Nguyễn Thành ngữ tiếng Việt Nhà xuÊt b¶n Khoa häc x· héi, 1993 G B Antrushina English Lexicology Higher School Publishing House Moscow, 1985 Hành, Hoàng Văn Kể chuyện Thành ngữ, Tục ngữ tiếng Việt Nhà xuất Khoa học xà hội, 1994 Hùng, Nguyễn Mạnh English Lexicology Nhà xuất Giáo dục, 2000 Dr Lân, Nguyễn Từ điển Thành ngữ Tục ngữ Việt Nam Nhà xuất Khoa học xà héi, 1997 10 Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture 11 Longman Idioms Dictionary 12 O’ Driscoll, James Britain - Revised and Updated Oxford University Press, 2000 13 Phê, Hoàng Từ điển tiếng Việt Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Thuý - K40A1 31 Graduation Thesis Nhà xuất Đà Nẵng, 1997 14 Phông, Bïi Dictionary of Vietnamese - English Idioms and Proverbs explained Nhà xuất Khoa học xà hội Hà Néi, 1995 15 Thµnh, L· Dictionary of Currrent English - Vietnamese Idioms Nhà xuất Khoa học Kỹ thuật, 1995 16 Trang, Nguyễn Minh Kể chuyện Thành ngữ tiếng Anh (English Idioms and Their Stories) Nhà xuất Trẻ, 1998 17 ý, Nguyễn Nh; Hành, Hoàng Văn, Từ điển giải thích Thành ngữ tiếng Việt Nhà xuất Giáo dục, 1997 Table English and Vietnamese idioms referring to body parts No 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 English idioms ARM, HAND, FINGER be putty in one’s hands chance one’s arm cost an arm and a leg to give one’s right arm for something to twist one’s arm be up in arms about something arm in arm at arm’s length in the arms of Morpheus with open arms a shoot in the arm up to one’s armpits to fly to arms to take up arms against somebody to bear arms to lie in arms have a finger in every pie have a finger on the pulse to give someone the finger keep one’s finger crossed not lift / raise a finger point the finger of blame pull / take one’s finger out put one’s finger on something wrap / wrist someone around your little finger get one’s finger burned have green fingers have ichy fingers let something slip through one’s fingers one’s sticky fingers work one’s fingers to the bone throw the little fingers burn one’s fingers Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 No 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Vietnamese idioms cánh tay, bàn tay, ngón tay bắt tận tay day tận mặt bắt cá hai tay bà chúa đứt tay bốc lửa bỏ tay ngời chặt tay day trán tay năm ngón cờ ®Õn tay nÊy phÊt cê ®· ®Õn tay hai tay buông xuôi khéo tay hay miệng vui vỗ tay vào múa tay bị ném đá giấu tay nh tay với chân tay bắt mặt mừng tay bế tay bồng tay đà nhúng chàm tay đứt ruột xãt tay lµm hµm nhai, tay quai miƯng trƠ tay trắng hoàn tay trắng tay xách nách mang tay yếu chân mềm thơm tay may miệng thợng cẳng tay hạ cẳng chân trăm tay nghìn mắt trở tay không kịp vắt nớc không lọt tay vung tay trán cầm dầu dính tay xé mắm mút tay cá vào tay bắt chai tay bạc áo tay xoay viÖc 32 Graduation Thesis 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 snap one’s finger on one’s face hand over fist bring up by hand chuck one’s hand have a hand like a foot not a hand’s turn be caught with one’s hand in the till something with one’s hand tied behind the back come (readily) to hand be a dab hand at something a firm hand a first hand force one’s hand be / get out of hand have the upper hand give someone a big hand give someone a free hand give / lend somebody a hand go hand in hand hand in glove have a hand in the hand of God eat out of one’s hand keep something (ready) to hand have a whip hand over someone the heavy hand of someone hold one’s hand keep one’s hand in live from hand to mouth someone needs a hand on the other hand reject / dismiss something out of hand show / tip one’s hand take a hand in something take something / somebody in hand try one’s hand at something turn one’s hand to something wait for someone hand and foot work hand in hand with someone with a high hand have the game / cards in one’s hand know something like the back of one’s hand offer one’s hand bound / tied hand and foot go cap in hand to someone with an open hand put one’s hand to the plough raise one’s hand against someone one’s right hand stay one’s hand sleight of hand the matter in hand put one’s hand in the pocket put one’s hand in one’s heart ask for one’s hand bear someone in hand die by one’s own hand have time on one’s hand with one’s hat in the hand give someone the hand kiss one’s hand to someone keep a tight hand learn at second hand make a woman’s hand a prisoner read one’s hand at the hands of someone change hands boil / dirty one’s hands fall into the wrong hands one’s hands are tied have one’s hands full all hands on deck get one’s hands on Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 cuốc đau tay cày mỏi gối ®«ng miÕng Ýt tay gËt gï tay ®ịa tay chÐn bèc tay sèt ®ỉ tay ngi gãp søc chung tay hai tay hai gậy hàng hai tay hứng tay dới đỡ tay ký hai tay lót tay chuối mát tay hay thuốc ngắn tay với chẳng tới trời nồi thủng tay thợ hàn hớt / phỗng tay phủi tay xong việc tay chèo tay chống tay năm tay mời tay nem tay chạo tay ngời đấm phản vụng tay hay mắt khoanh tay chịu chết bó tay chịu chết bó tay bó chân tay năm ngón bàn tay có ngón dài ngón ngắn bé nh ngón tay út bé nh lòng bàn tay bàn chân bàn tay bóc bánh chẳng đợc dính tay chắp tay rũ áo đếm đầu ngón tay 33 Graduation Thesis 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 play (right) into one’s hands be rubbing one’s hands with glee play one’s hands for all it is worth lie in one’s hands a safe pair of hands sit on one’s hands take something / somebody off one’s hands wash one’s hands off something / someone win hands down in good hands take one’s life in one’s hands take the law into one’s own hands through up one’s hands take off one’s hands have long hands the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing hands down lay hands on blood on one’s hands off one’s hands take something into one’s own hands red hands take one’s courage in both hands overplay one’s hands BACK be flat on one’s back behind one’s back have one’s back to the wall on one’s back a pat on the back to turn one’s back on put one’s back into it have a broad back be glad to see the back of someone keep someone off one’s back to break one’s back to cover one’s back to get one’s own back on someone to watch one’s back when one’s back is turned a monkey on one’s back to make a rod for one’s own back a slap on the back back and belly be at the back of someone BLOOD cold blood to draw blood to be drown in blood blood freud be out of for one’s blood get one’s blood up to have one’s blood in hand to make one’s blood boil to make one’s blood freeze to make one’s blood run cold blood of a family ill blood in warm blood a new / fresh blood to stir one’s blood to sweat blood to run in the blood to spill one’s blood bad blood be baying for one’s blood blood and thunder blood, sweat and tears be in one’s blood scent blood taste blood Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Thuý - K40A1 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 Lng bán lng cho trời cháy mặt lấm lng chung lng đấu sức / cật chung lng chung sức dài lng tốn vải đâm dao sau lng gậy ông đập lng ông giơ lng chịu đòn lng dài vai rộng thắt lng buộc bụng tiền lng gạo bị vạch áo cho ngêi xem lng tríc mỈt, sau lng còng lng uốn gối đổ mồ hôi trán, dán mồ hôi lng giắt lng giắt túi 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 máu máu mủ ruột rà máu chảy ruột mềm lời nói đọi máu đầu đen máu đỏ chung dòng máu uống máu ngời không ăn gan uèng m¸u 34 Graduation Thesis 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 be too rich for one’s blood young blood BONE a bone of contention be close to the bone (down) to the bone know something in one’s bones to jump one’s bones to be in one’s bone bred in the bones as dry as a bone to have a bone in one’s throat to make old bones break no bones to have a bone to pick with to be only skin and bone CHEEK cheek by jowl to turn the other cheek with tongue on cheek to hand in one’s cheek EAR in one ear and out the other smile from ear to ear bend one’s ear have an ear for something to give someone a thick ear have one’s ear have / keep an ear out for something keep an ear to the ground lend an ear listen with half an ear be out on one’s ear play something by ear a tin ear to turn a deaf ear to something / somebody give ear to a flea in one’s ear to bow down one’s ear to someone to box one’s ear to cock one’s ear have a word in one’s ears music to one’s ears sharp ears for one’s private ear have long ears to ring in one’s ears to set persons by the ears to be all ears one’s ears are burning one’s ears are flapping pin back one’s ears prick up one’s ears be up to one’s ears in something be wet behind the ears shut one’s ears to the advice preach to deaf ears fall on deaf ears EYE not even bat an eye cast / run an eye on catch one’s eye the evil eye an eye for an eye get one’s eye in give somebody a black eye give someone the eye have an eye on the main chance have one’s eye on something Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 88 89 90 xơng trao xơng đổi thịt thịt nát xơng mòn / tan thay xơng đổi cốt 91 92 93 94 95 96 má đợi đựoc vạ má đà sng má phấn môi son có duyên cậy chút má hồng cơm nhà má vợ má phồng má tẹt má đào phận bạc 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 tai chán đến tận mang tai đầu phải tai chúi mũi chói tai chíng tai gai m¾t ngang tai chíng m¾t có tai có mặt đầu gối tai đầu gối cằm đinh tai nhức óc mật rót vào tai mũ ni che tai ngang tai trái mắt nghe nh đấm vào tai nh sét đánh ngang tai nói nh đấm vào tai sáng tai họ điếc tai cày tai nghe mắt thấy tai to mặt lớn bụng đói tai điếc bng tai giả điếc bng tai trộm nhạc / chuông chạy bở tai đắp tai ngoảnh mặt đắp tai cài trốc để / bỏ tai đút nút lỗ tai ăn cáy, bng tai gió thoảng tai giỏng tai cài tóc nói hay trái tai nói nh rót vào tai nói thật trật lỗ tai quen tai nhẵn mặt vào lỗ tai lỗ miệng bắt bọ bỏ tai bở tai mắt nửa mắt chúi mũi chúi mắt đầu mày cuối mắt mày ngài mắt phợng mắt cú vọ mắt la mày lét mắt lơ mày láo mắt nhắm mắt mở m¾t s¾c nh dao (cau) m¾t tríc m¾t sau 35 Graduation Thesis 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 to be one in the eye for someone keep an eye on something / somebody (do not ) see eye to eye to turn a blind eye to something / somebody keep an eagle eye on keep an eye out for something / somebody keep a jealous eye in keep a weather eye open with a jaudiced eye throw dust in the eye in the twinkle of an eye before you could blink an eye a shot in the eye spit in one’s eye cock one’s eye at someone be out of the corner of one’s eye in the eyes of be very much in the public eye as far as the eye can see a gleam in one’s eyes to moisten one’s eyes with proper eye to remove the scales from one’s eyes with a single eye to bring tears to one’s eyes have circles round the eyes eye swimming with tears all eyes are on someone something with one’s eyes shut one’s eyes are poping out of head one’s eyes are bigger than stomach feast one’s eyes on four eyes go into something with one’s eyes open have eyes in the back of one’s head keep one’s eyes glued to something keep one’s eyes open only have eyes for someone open one’s eyes to something square eyes take eyes off someone a sight for sore eyes pull the wool over one’s eyes shut one’s eyes to the fact the apple of one’s eyes FACE blow up in one’s face come face to face with couldn’t / shouldn’t show one’s face fall flat on one’s face fly in the face of someone not just a pretty face get out of one’s face be staring in the face cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face keep a straight face a long face lose face put on a brave face set one’s face against it show one’s face stuff one’s face throw one’s back in one’s face have egg on one’s face laugh on the other side of one’s face a slap in the face be blue in the face as clear as the nose on the face to laugh in one’s face Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 mắt tròn mắt dẹt mong đỏ mắt múa rìu qua mắt thợ múa búa trớc cửa Lỗ Ban ngời trần mắt thịt nhắm mắt đa chân nhắm mắt làm ngơ nhắm mắt xuôi tay tiếc rỏ máu mắt tối mắt tối mũi tức nổ mắt vải tha che mắt thánh bụng đói mắt mờ bịt / bng mắt bắt chim bng tai bịt mắt chết không / ngời vuốt mắt chết không nhắm đợc mắt có mắt mà chẳng có ngơi có mắt nh mù có ®Đp m¾t ta míi m¾t ngêi m¾t chØ thiên, mắt địa mắt mặt đồng cân mắt to bụng đói hoa / vàng mắt giơng mắt ếch hai mắt dồn hiền lành trớc mắt làm giặc sau lng khuất mắt cho qua mắt sâu râu rậm mắt trắng môi thâm nhắm mắt ăn dơ phồng má trợn mắt sáng mắt, chặt đầu gối biết mày ngang mắt dọc biết mặt dọc mặt ngang ăn trớc mắt, nói trớc mặt bé ngời to mắt bịt mắt lấy tiền mắt đỏ nh cá chày mắt nh mắt rắn mắt to nh èc nhåi 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 mỈt ba mỈt lời mặt mà chẳng / không lòng mặt đặt tên mặt vạch tên chọn mặt gửi vàng chơi chó chó liếm mặt chửi nh tát nớc vào mặt có máu mặt cúi mặt khom lng khom lng quì / uốn gối đỏ mặt tía tai giở mặt nh bàn tay mắng vuốt mặt không kịp mặt búng sữa mặt cắt không giọt máu mặt cắt không máu mặt chai mày đá mày chai mặt đá mặt dạn mày dày mặt đỏ nh gà chọi mặt đỏ nh gấc mặt hoa da phấn mặt nạc đóm dày 36 Graduation Thesis 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 to look in the face to shut the door in one’s face a face like thunder put a bold face on something become red in the face a smooth face have the face to something have one’s face lifted have no memory for faces 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 Flesh flesh and blood go the way of all flesh in the flesh make one’s flesh crawl / creep neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring one’s own flesh and blood one’s pound of flesh press the flesh a thorn in one’s flesh the world, the flesh and the devil Ngun ThÞ Ngäc Th - K40A1 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 mặt nặng mày nhẹ mặt nặng nh chì mặt nặng nh đá đeo mặt (ngây) nh ngỗng ỉa mặt cán càn / thuổng mặt ngời thú mặt nhăn nh bị mặt nh chàm đổ mặt sắt đen mặt sứa gan lim mặt trơ trán bóng mặt ủ mày chau mặt vàng nh nghệ mặt xanh nanh vàng mở mày mở mặt ma không đến mặt, nắng chẳng đến đầu nặng mặt sa mày nghệt mặt nh ngỗng ỉa tối mày tối mặt trông mặt mà bắt hình dong vạch mặt trán vẽ mày vẽ mặt vuốt mặt không kịp vuốt mặt không nể mũi chọn mặt bng mâm có bát mát mặt da chì mặt bủng đánh chuông mặt, đánh giặc tay đánh gẫy gối tối mặt đắp mo nang vào mặt cúi mặt xuống đất, cất mặt lên trời lánh mặt tránh tiếng lên mặt xuống chân mát mặt, chặt mặt ngời mời mặt vắng mặt thiếu, có mặt thừa vua biết mặt chúa biết tên xấu mặt, chặt ăn ngập mặt ngập mũi bắt tận tay, day tận mặt biết mặt biết ngời bỏ muối vào mặt chó gầy hổ mặt ngời nuôi có mặt mắng, vắng mặt thơng phấn dồi mặt nỡ phấn dồi chân mặt bẹt nh bánh dày mặt đỏ nh lửa mặt lạnh nh sắt nguội mặt nh chuột kẹp mặt phèn phẹt nh mâm mặt rắn nh sành mặt rỗ nh tỉ ong bÇu Rt nh në tõng khóc rt rt để / bỏ da ruột nóng nh cào thắt ruột thắt gan thâm gan tím ruột tức ruột căm gan bầm gan bầm / tím ruột bầm gan sôi maú bầm gan lộn ruột cháy ruột cháy gan đứt ruột đứt gan héo gan héo ruột mát gan mát ruét 37 ... Thesis Chapter ENGLISH AND VIETNAME se IDIOMS REFERRING TO BODY PARTS 2.1 English and Vietnamese idioms referring to body parts 2.1.1 The elements of body parts in English idioms Up to now, there... some types of exercises to improve the ability of using idioms referring to body parts of the learners Objects of the study a Idioms b Idioms referring to body parts in English and Vietnamese. .. meanings of English idioms referring to body parts and their equivalents in Vietnamese 2.2.1 Some differences in cultural features of idioms referring to body parts between English and Vietnamese