"Have a lock on" nghĩa là gì?

"Have a lock on (someone or something)" = khóa chặt -> nghĩa là hoàn toàn kiểm soát và điều khiển ai/cái gì.

Ví dụ

Jay Inslee, who is running for a rare third term as governor, seems to have a lock on one of the two spots on the November ballot.

I always looked forward to the mail, in previous years. You could always count on exciting letters inviting you to attend a function, speak at a meeting, and invest in new ventures that would make you a lot of money. I remember when a new venture was a wonder drug like penicillin but I didn’t invest because it came from bread mold and I figured Mrs. Baird would soon have a lock on that.

Both events were reminders that the Midwest can pack an outsized punch. That is most obvious in politics: the stakes are high in a region in political flux (luồng chính trị). Unlike much of the coasts and the south, where voters for one or other party have a lock on outcomes, in this region many switch loyalty. If you want to know whether Mr Trump may win another term, a big part of the answer will be found, come November, in battlegrounds (chiến trường) like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania—three states he unexpectedly won in 2016—and Ohio or Iowa, which he might yet lose.

Bài trước: "Make buckle and tongue meet" nghĩa là gì?