мальчик для битья - a whipping boy: “They use him as a whipping boy who answers all his sister-in-law’s mistakes and faults.”
маменькин сыночек - a mother’s boy / darling: “Andy is so spoiled by his mother, a real mother boy.”
манна небесная - manna from heaven: something that arrives unexpectedly as help for somebody having difficult times.”
марать руки - to soil/dirty one’s hands: “I wouldn’t dare to soil my hands doing any business with them.”
маскарадный бал - a fancy-dress ball: a ball where all the guests are dressed in costumes of historic or functional characters or anything else that takes their fancy
мастер на все руки - a Jack of all trades: “A Jack of all trades and a master of none.”
махнуть рукой - to give up on / to give up as hopeless: “We are not going to continue the discussion of this matter; we gave up the idea as hopeless.”
медовый месяц - honeymoonщтуньщщт
: “They could afford to spend their honeymoon on the islands.”
между молотом и наковальней - between the devil and the deep blue sea
между небом и землей - without a roof over one’s head
между прочим - by the way: “By the way, your phone’s been out of order, and I couldn’t reach you”
менять лошадей во время переправы - to change/ to swap horses in midstream/halfway across the stream: “It is always a mistake to change (to swap) horses in midstream.”
мерзость запустения - abomination of desolation: something very disgusting, regarded with aversion, an abominable thing
метать бисер перед свиньями - to cast pearls before swine: “I don’t think I will confess to this little man in black. Pearls before swine.”
методом проб и ошибок - by trial and error: “To find the correct solution to our problem we had to go by trial and error because nobody could give us advice.”
мертвый язык - a dead language: one the is no longer spoken today, such as ancient Greek, Latin, Sanskrit
мизинца не стоит - to have more (of something) in one’s finger than someone else has in his whole body: “Steve has more skill in his little finger than you have in your whole body, which isn’t saying much!”
милости просим - You are always welcome!
мир тесен - it’s a small world: “When I was in London I met my former colleague in Oxford Street. It’s a small word!”
мне наплевать - not to care a fig/not to give a fig for: “I think it’s a sickness to grieve too much tor those who never cared a fig for you.”
мозги как решето - a memory like a sieve: “When it comes to grammar, I have a memory like a sieve.”
мозги на месте (не дурак) - to have one’s head screwed on the right way: “Sofia was sure that her husband would take a wise decision; he had his head screw on the right way.”
молоко на губах не обсохло - to be still wet behind the ears: “He will be nu match for them; he is still wet behind the ears.”
молочные зубы - milk teeth: first teeth
молочные реки, кисельные берега - a land of milk and honey
моральная победа - a moral victory: a defeat that should by rights nave been a victory
моральная поддержка - moral support: “I am making my first speech at the meeting, I hope you will be there to give me moral support.”
мороз по коже продирает - to give one the shivers: “ It gives me the shivers to see how he drives his car. He is so careless.”
морочить голову - to pull someone’s leg: “Don’t you understand he is pulling his leg to amuse everybody here.”
Москва не сразу строилась - Rome was not built in a day: “That’s progress, - she said. - Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
мотать себе на ус - to make a mental note of: “Alan shook his head not knowing the answer making a mental note to the medic Rob had mentioned.”
мудрая как сова - as wise as an owl / a wise old owl: “Your aunt is as wise as an owl, you’d better listen to her advice.”
музейная редкость - a museum piece: “Jack is so proud of his old car, it is a true museum piece.”
муки сомнения - a nagging doubt: “He had a nagging doubt whether he should have let Gus go off alone to do a job that was too big for him - the job they ought to have done together.”
мурашки бегают по коже - to make one’s flesh creep: “It makes my flesh creep when I think about it.”
муху не обидеть - be unable to hurt a fly / to be unable to say boo to a goose: “He is timid, he wouldn’t say a boo to a goose.”
мыльная опера - soap opera: “Spencer’s mother in a floating negligee an matching robe made her appearance, her husband, in a velvet smoking jacket, following right behind. David felt as if he had stepped into a prime-time soap opera.”
мышиная возня - fuss over nothing: “All her preparations are just fuss about nothing. I am sure nothing will come out of it.”
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