"What's that got to do with the price of cheese" nghĩa là gì?

Photo by Pingz Man

"What's that got to do with the price of cheese?" nghĩa là câu hỏi nhằm đặt sự chú ý của mọi người lên một vấn đề ít liên quan hoặc không liên quan đến chủ đề đang nói.

Ví dụ

What's that got to do with the price of cottage cheese? Did you accept any sort of furlough (nghỉ phép) money Jamie?

My Gran used to say ‘you can forget that for a game of soldiers’ if she didn’t want to do something and ‘what’s that got to do with the price of cheese/fish?’ When someone contributed something to a conversation she deemed as irrelevant (không liên quan).

"Darling," she said, "don't you think you'll ever get old?"

I was puzzled (bối rối). I couldn't see any reason for her asking that. "What's that got to do with the price of cheese?” I asked.

A: "Have you ever read Hamlet?"

B: “What's Hamlet got to do with the price of cheese?”

A: “Someone says something about protesting too much.”

B: “I'm not protesting a flaming thing."

A: “Laying out too many arguments or denials,” he explained.

Thu Phương

Bài trước: "Cheese it the cops" nghĩa là gì?

"Cheese it the cops" nghĩa là gì?

Chạy mau! Photo by Niyas Khan on Unsplash

"Cheese it, the cops!" hoặc "cheese" (tiếng lóng) nghĩa là chạy ngay đi (cảnh sát đang tới)!

Ví dụ

Oh shit dude it’s the cops cheese it!

He looked a little nervous at Adam's approach. “Cheese it, the cops,” he said.

I look at all these welldressed women, frightened now. Should we run out the back? How do you say “Cheese it, the cops” in French?

The pirates'cries were soon mixed with the sound of running footsteps. Across the fields the rest of the crew were in sight of the monster. “Cheese! Cheese! Cheese!” they shouted as they waved their arms to get noticed.

Thu Phương

Bài trước: "Pay the penalty for" nghĩa là gì?

"Grow on trees" nghĩa là gì?

Photo by: Rob Mulally on Unsplash

"Grow on trees" = mọc trên cây -> nghĩa là có nhiều hoặc dễ dàng đạt được.

Ví dụ

Money does grow on trees in this American town. A local town, Tenino, in the US rehashes (làm lại) an old invention from the last century. Tenino has started producing its own localized currency (tiền mặt) in order to fight the economic downturn brought on by the global pandemic. The town has started printing its own currency on thin planks of wood. The creative solution has helped businesses stay afloat amid a raging pandemic. It aims to boost the local economy, and is not an alternative to the mighty dollar.

“When I think of Aspiration, it reminds me of the phrase “money doesn’t grow on trees,” begins Aspiration client (khách hàng) Miguel Garcia, “but now my money helps to grow them! I love that I can sign in and keep track of my progress. In the last few months alone, I’ve planted 169 trees alone.”

Voices of the Peninsula: Dividends (tiền lãi cổ phần) don’t grow on trees. “Without taxing for the extraction of our oil, there will be no dividends.”

Ngọc Lân

Bài trước: "Up for grabs" nghĩa là gì?

"Pay the penalty for" nghĩa là gì?

Photo by Tbel Abuseridze on Unsplash

"Pay the penalty for (something)" nghĩa là nộp phạt, chịu hậu quả về hành động sai trái.

Ví dụ

The employer must pay a penalty for not offering (cung cấp) affordable coverage.

Taxpayers who receive a Notice of the automatic penalty for late filing must pay the penalty.

Did you ever hear one of them disputing (tranh luận) that the person who's killed unjustly (không đúng) or does anything else whatever unjustly should pay the penalty?

This bill which seeks to accord a double pay penalty for overtime work poses a multitude of serious problems and difficulties for our industry and we are opposed (phản đối) to it.

Thu Phương

Bài trước: "Not care twopence" nghĩa là gì?

"Not care twopence" nghĩa là gì?

Không màng thế sự, thật tự do tự tại! Photo by Juli Kosolapova on Unsplash

"Not care twopence" hoặc "not give twopence", "not matter twopence" nghĩa là chẳng hề quan tâm, không bận tâm.

Ví dụ

I have now been a good while in this House – I have heard “responsibility' often used, but never to any effect: with regard to the responsibility of Ministers in this country, I would not give twopence for it.

I do not care twopence about this particular case. We shall lay down a bad precedent (tiền lệ) if we pass this bill simply because we are told that otherwise large claims may be made by persons against the Government.

Well, of course you care, otherwise you'd not be angry! If it didn't matter twopence to you who you saw me with you'd – you'd just show you didn't care. You'd just be as friendly as when I left. Don't you see, you give yourself away?

He said that if any honourable member brought in such Bills as the honourable member for Masterton had in hand and then rose and said he did not care twopence whether they were passed or not, what encouragement (khích lệ) did he give to the House to help him?

Thu Phương

Bài trước: "Like cheese at four pence" nghĩa là gì?

"Like cheese at four pence" nghĩa là gì?

"Chả hiểu mình đang đợi cái gì nữa." Photo by Maycon Marmo from Pexels

"Like cheese at fourpence" = như phô mai với giá 4 xu -> nghĩa là (ai đó) chờ đợi một cách vô ích, phí phạm thời gian, hoặc bị bỏ rơi. Trước đây, phô mai bán với giá 4 xu bị coi là đắt và sẽ không ai mua.

Ví dụ

Why are you standing there like cheese at fourpence?

I waited and waited for you and then started to feel like i was standing about like cheese at fourpence.

There's probably one somewhere. I'm currently stood here like cheese at fourpence twizzling mi car keys round mi finger.

I'm no deep thinker, no poet, shouldn't be standing here like cheese at fourpence. That was one of Auntie Maisie's sayings, 'Don't stand there like cheese at fourpence.'

Thu Phương

Bài trước: "Have a penchant for" nghĩa là gì?

Vì sao Vương quốc Anh phát triển?

vì không có "chính sách công nghiệp",

khu vực công không/tránh làm các việc/hoạt động của khu vực tư nhân (khởi nghiệp)...

-----

trích dẫn hôm nay… is from page 39 of the May 9th, 2020, draft of the important forthcoming monograph (công trình nghiên cứu về một chuyên đề nào đó; chuyên khảo) from Deirdre McCloskey and Alberto Mingardi, The Illiberal and Anti-Entrepreneurial State of Mariana Mazzucato (footnote deleted; link added):

The Enrichment emerged in Britain first, and government spending (chi tiêu chính phủ) there was until well into the 20th century focused on the defense of the realm (bảo vệ vương quốc), the protection of the sea routes (đường biển) to India, and the servicing the debt (trả nợ) contracted (nhiễm, mắc phải) to defeat (đánh bại) at last the French. As the economic historian  (sử gia kinh tế) Joel Mokyr puts it, “any policy objective aimed deliberately (có tính toán, cố ý, chủ tâm) at promoting (thúc đẩy) long-run economic growth  (tăng trưởng kinh tế dài hạn) would be hard to document (ghi chép lại) in Britain before and during the Industrial Revolution (Cách mạng Công nghiệp)…. In Britain the public sector (khu vực công) by and large (nói chung) eschewed (tránh làm) any entrepreneurial (khởi nghiệp) activity (hoạt động).”

DBx: Pictured above is the British engineer George Stephenson (1781-1848). Born poor (sinh ra trong gia đình nghèo khó) to illiterate parents (cha mẹ thất học/mù chữ), and himself illiterate until early adulthood, Stephenson’s creativity (óc sáng tạo) and diligence (siêng năng, chuyên cần, cần cù) contributed much to the development of railroads (phát triển đường sắt).

Bài trước: Làm gì có chuyện đó

"Have a penchant for" nghĩa là gì?

Thích ăn đào hay là ăn... em? Photo by Molly Champion from Pexels

"Have a penchant for (doing something)" nghĩa là có xu hướng, thiên hướng (sở thích, mong muốn làm gì).

Ví dụ

I see you still have a penchant for peaches.

They have a penchant for innovations (đổi mới). Their passion for responding to challenges is remarkable.

Whenever I'm asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one.

I would like to say that this endeavor (nỗ lực) has been a labor of love, but it hasn't, and if you have ever chanced to meet me or read what I write, you will understand that I have a penchant for trying to tell it as it is rather than as I would prefer it to be.

Thu Phương

Bài trước: "Put lead in his pencil" nghĩa là gì?

Làm gì có chuyện đó

ko có tổ chức cụ thể nào gọi là "xã hội" cả,

cái gọi là quy hoạch "xã hội" thật ra là mệnh lệnh nhà nước "đàn áp/không đếm xỉa đến" sự thỏa hiệp lẫn nhau của hàng triệu người khác...

-----

trích dẫn hôm nay… is from page 61 of Thomas Sowell’s 2009 book Intellectuals and Society (original emphasis):

[T]here is no concrete institution called “society,” and what is called “social” planning are in fact government orders over-riding (không thèm đếm xỉa đến; là quan trọng hơn (cái gì); cho là mình có quyền cao hơn) the plans (kế hoạch) and mutual (lẫn nhau) accommodations (sự thu xếp thuận tiện; sự thoả hiệp) of millions of other people.

DBx: Indeed so.

“Socialism,” “social planning,” “industrial policy” (chính sách công nghiệp) – these are some of the names given to schemes by which the few substitute (thay thế) their knowledge and preferences for those of the many. And because the few who issue the commands (mệnh lệnh chỉ huy) can know neither the preferences of the many nor the on-the-spot, frequently changing, and hyper-detailed economic realities, any such scheme substitutes hubris (sự xấc xược, ngạo mạn, sự kiêu căng láo xược) and ignorance  (sự ngu dốt, sự không biết) for humility (sự khiêm tốn, sự nhún nhường) and intelligence.

Choosing the issuers of these commands democratically does not solve the problem described above. Even the most ideal democratic election reveals at best the preference of the majority of voters between two large and unavoidably nebulous (âm u, u ám; mờ đục) bundles of promised-but-not-yet-achieved policy actions. And even if the officials who obtain power through such elections have magnanimity that would shame Albert Schweitzer, they cannot possibly obtain more than a vanishingly small fraction of the knowledge that they would need to possess in order to use their power in ways that improve society.

All proposals for protectionism (chủ nghĩa bảo hộ) and industrial policy replace the vast amounts of knowledge incessantly marshaled and used by markets with what is necessarily the ignorance of government officials, and also with what in practice is the breathtaking arrogance of these officials and of those who advise them.

Bài trước: Sự thật không thể chối bỏ

"Up for grabs" nghĩa là gì?

Photo by: Tu Trinh on Unsplash

"Up for grabs" có từ grab là tóm, lấy -> cụm từ này nghĩa là có sẵn cho tất cả mọi người; 'sẵn, cứ thế lấy'.

Ví dụ

The numbers for Wednesday's Lotto's Powerball have been drawn with a huge $26 million jackpot up for grabs. Tonight's numbers are: 40, 36, 28, 37, 6, and 21. The bonus (thưởng) ball is 17 and the Powerball is 8.

Like any roster (phân công) that experienced an offseason roster overhaul -- specifically a roster that struggled in almost every area on both sides of the ball last season -- several positions are up for grabs heading into 2020.

Here's what's up for grabs at the Galway Races 'Virtual (ảo) Best Dressed' competition!

Ngọc Lân

Bài trước: "Fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down" nghĩa là gì?

"Fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down" nghĩa là gì?

Photo by: Brandon Green on Unsplash

"Fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down" = (cứ như) vừa rơi khỏi cây và va vào tất cả các cành ở dưới (cái mặt sưng vêu đó :) -> nghĩa là người rất xấu xí, không ưa nổi.

Ví dụ

She fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, the concussion (rung chuyển) evidently gave her brain damage too.

Again, don’t mistake any of this for malice (độc ác). Legend is one thousand times better looking than I am. It’s no contest. But inside the taxidermy of Sexiest Man Alive, this bastard fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. This guy is sexy in the same way a roll of Bounty is a lethal weapon.

“Anyway, no one should have to go face-to-face (đối mặt) with Kenny. There stood a man who fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. “But he was a magnificent player and that night in Spain will go with me to the grave if only for my attempt to scare the s*** out of Keegan in the tunnel.

Ngọc Lân

Bài trước: "Hit a sticky patch" nghĩa là gì?

Sự thật không thể chối bỏ

là 'bàn tay vô hình' đã thúc đẩy mức sống của cơ man không biết bao nhiêu con người,

thất bại thị trường là số ít so với/bị tràn ngập bởi thành công thị trường...

-----

trích dẫn hôm nay… is from page 277 of the Introduction to Book II of the 1981 Liberty Fund edition of Adam Smith’s 1776 An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations:

The person who employs his stock in maintaining labour, necessarily wishes to employ it in such a manner as to produce as great a quantity of work as possible. He endeavours (cố gắng, nỗ lực, gắng sức), therefore, both to make among his workmen (công nhân, người thợ, người lao động) the most proper distribution of employment (phân bổ lao động đúng đắn nhất), and to furnish them with the best machines which he can either invent or afford to purchase.

DBx: Smith here observes that businesspeople (doanh nhân) using their own funds (tiền của chính mình) (and funds voluntarily entrusted (tự nguyện giao phó) to them) seek to produce for the market as much output as possible by employing what we today call “optimal” (tối ưu) amounts, and kinds, of capital goods and labor. And in seeking maximum possible profit in this way, businesspeople are led as if by an invisible hand (bàn tay vô hình) to promote the welfare of countless other human beings, nearly all of whom are strangers to businesspeople and to each other.

Since Smith first published these words 244 years ago, a great deal of economists’ attentions has been devoted to obtaining a better understanding of just how this market process works and what are the institutional arrangements that promote its working or stifle  (bóp nghẹt; đàn áp, kiềm chế; làm ngột ngạt, khó thở) its working.

It is, by now, easy to rattle off reasons why free markets fail to reach “perfection.” It’s done frequently by sophomores (sinh viên năm hai) and pundits (chuyên gia dởm). But it is also impossible – at least for the historically informed – to deny (chối bỏ rằng) that market failures (thất bại thị trường) in reality are swamped (tràn ngập) by market successes. The standard of living of ordinary people in the modern world testifies (chứng tỏ, biểu lộ, chứng thực, chứng nhận) to this truth (sự thật này).

What no one has done is to offer a compelling reason (lý do thuyết phục) to believe that substituting (thay thế) government direction (chỉ đạo của chính phủ) of economic activity (hoạt động kinh tế) for market direction of this activity will generally outperform (vượt trội hơn) markets. The only truly serious attempt (nỗ lực cực kỳ nghiêm túc) to offer such a reason is found in the work of the so-called “market socialists” of the first half of the 20th century. That effort failed (thất bại).

Bài trước: Giải pháp triển khai công tác bầu cử hiệu quả

"Hit a sticky patch" nghĩa là gì?

Photo by: Niclas Gustafsson on Unsplash

"Hit a sticky patch" -> nghĩa là trong khoảng/trải qua thời gian khó khăn, gian khổ.

Ví dụ

Like lots of sides in and around the top six, Preston have hit a sticky patch. It's runs like their one win in seven matches - taking just four points from a possible 21 - that has allowed teams such as Derby back into the play-off (trận quyết định) race.

When he hit a sticky patch with Brexit last autumn, he decided to prorogue (tạm ngưng) parliament (nghị viện) for five weeks rather than face the music (đối mặt với hậu quả).

These two teams head into this clash in contrasting form. Villarreal look to be finishing the campaign with a flourish (thịnh vượng), while the visitors have hit a sticky patch at a poor time.

Ngọc Lân

Bài trước: "Hit the buffers" nghĩa là gì?

"Hit the buffers" nghĩa là gì?

Photo by: David Preston on Unsplash

"Hit the buffers" = đâm trúng vật đệm -> nghĩa là tạm dừng mọi hoạt động.

Ví dụ

Projects to have hit the buffers include the upgrade of South Kensington tube station with TfL saying "design and development tenders (dễ vỡ) exceeded original project funding”.

THE PROPOSED Saudi Arabian-led takeover of Newcastle has reportedly hit the buffers over who will have the final say on decisions. A £300million deal was reached with owner Mike Ashley in April, with fans praying (cầu nguyện) it would be passed through within weeks.

Debenhams hit the buffers for a second time in a year in April as the coronavirus outbreak led to the closure (đóng cửa) of stores during lockdown.

Ngọc Lân

Bài trước: "Speak softly and carry a big stick" nghĩa là gì?

Thức tỉnh

bao nhiêu năm qua ta đã sống không nhà, bao nhiêu năm qua ta đã sống xa nhà... 🙂

Bài trước: Cách mạng tháng 10 là của ai?

Giải pháp triển khai công tác bầu cử hiệu quả

bỏ phiếu, đừng bằng tay, hãy bằng chân,

covid-19, cột điện biết đi cũng bỏ mỹ mà... :D

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trích dẫn hôm nay… is from page 1 of GMU law professor Ilya Somin’s newly published (2020) book, Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom:

We often take it for granted (coi là đương nhiên) that ballot box (hòm phiếu) voting (bỏ phiếu) is the essence of political freedom (bản chất /cốt lõi/điều cốt yếu của tự do chính trị). In liberal democracies (nền dân chủ tự do), it is generally considered the main way for the people to choose what sort of government policies (chính sách của nhà nước) they will live under.

The ballot box indeed has great value. But it also has significant flaws (khiếm khuyết lớn). As a mechanism (cơ chế) for expressing (bày tỏ) political choice (lựa chọn chính trị), it leaves much to be desired. The individual voter almost never has more than a minuscule (nhỏ xíu, rất nhỏ) chance (cơ hội) of making a difference (tạo nên điều khác biệt) to the outcome of an election (kết quả cuộc bầu cử). And for that very reason, he or she has little incentive (động cơ) to become well-informed (đầy đủ thông tin) about the issues at stake in any election.

Voting with your feet – “foot voting” – is in many ways a superior alternative.

DBx: “Progressives” rightly value and praise freedom of expression. But the only acts that they regard as expressive are ‘voice’ acts – acts such as speaking, writing, the creation and display and performance of art, and, above all, voting. (I here overlook many “Progressives’” rising ambiguity toward – and in some cases outright hostility to – freedom of speech (tự do ngôn luận).) But we humans express ourselves also in ‘action’ ways. Two of the most important of our ‘action ways’ are contracting (that is, engaging in commerce) and migrating (what Ilya calls “foot voting”). “Progressives” are very skeptical of the first of these action-ways (with more and more conservatives now joining in on this skepticism). Many modern-day conservatives especially, but also large numbers of “Progressives,” are skeptical also – indeed, in many cases opposed – to the second of these action ways.

Of course voice-ways differ from action-ways, and at least some of these differences have relevance for law and policy. But great progress in our thinking will occur if we come to see more clearly that action-ways have significant expressive components.

Bài trước: Làm sao để phát triển năng lực quan sát?

"Put lead in his pencil" nghĩa là gì?

Photo by Andreea Ch from Pexels

"Put/have lead in one's pencil" (tiếng lóng) nghĩa là làm tăng sinh lực, khiến dương vật khỏe và dai sức hơn.

Ví dụ

Of these, only old Tom deflowered (cưỡng dâm) young owls. He evidently saw it as a kind of regeneration (phục hồi)– put lead in his pencil – a more eco-friendly form of Viagra.

“I couldn't make his penis smile. He would go with them, it would put some lead in his pencil.” He said he had become a utilitarian (người thực dụng), providing the greatest happiness for the greatest number.

Among those seeing us off at the station was our avuncular (như bác, chú) friend Wolfie Kodesh who, when the guard's whistle blew for departure, suddenly thrust into my hands a huge bag of salted peanuts while jokingly advising me that 'these will put lead in your pencil'!

Sergeant (trung sĩ) Wesley inquired. “Or are you gonna eat it raw like Colonel Newburgh and the senator?”

“Steak tartar?” the Chief of Staff (Tham mưu trưởng) asked, chuckling.

“Why not?” “It's guaranteed to put lead in your pencil, General,” the senator said.

Thu Phương

Bài trước: "Pencil me in" nghĩa là gì?

"Pencil me in" nghĩa là gì?

Photo by bongkarn thanyakij from Pexels

"Pencil me in" = ghi lại cho tôi -> nghĩa là sắp xếp cuộc hẹn, ghi chú lại sự kiện (có thể thay đổi vì bút chì dễ xóa). Cụm từ xuất hiện cuối những năm 1900. 

Ví dụ

"I'll send my man by for the hardware," I say on my way out. “And pencil me in for a shape-up tomorrow at 4.” Arsenal or not, Sam gives the best cuts in The Stuy.

It seemed like she'd been too busy lately to pencil me in, even for a “hallway status”— her clever catchphrase (khẩu hiệu) for casual chatting. Why must there be a catchphrase for everything?

"Next week I'm at wrestling camp. How about the following week?" She checks her calendar again. “I can do that," she says, and pencils me in. She gathers her briefcase (cặp tài liệu) and keys and rises to walk me back to the outer office.

“If those are potential wedding dates,” Duncan said over my shoulder, “I'm available, and I know for a fact that Miceli happens to be busy, so why don't you pencil me in?” I closed my little notebook and dropped it back in my shoulder bag.

Thu Phương

Bài trước: "Be not short of a penny or two" nghĩa là gì?

"Be not short of a penny or two" nghĩa là gì?

Nhà không có gì ngoài vàng. Photo by Michael Steinberg from Pexels

"Be not short of a penny (or two)" = không thiếu một xu -> nghĩa là giàu có, nhiều tiền đến chẳng buồn quan tâm.

Ví dụ

Anyway, she had to have it—they're not short of a penny or two, as you'll have guessed— couldn't, needless to say, take it home with them on a flight, so she asked to have it sent. Heaven knows what that cost, but it doesn't matter.

Dr Adamson was not short of a penny. In the context, her home's neglected appearance could only be either a tease or an arrogance (kiêu ngạo), a deliberate (có tính toán) challenge to the gentrification (cải tạo đô thị) on either side.

Because my Jimmy is a good man and if theres anything you need he'll spring for it and won't never say nothing. Even if its a lot of money he's not short a penny, long as it don't take away from our boys you see you got three brothers.

Thu Phương

Bài trước: "Not have a penny to bless yourself with" nghĩa là gì?