Check out my companion project: An Idiom a Day (www.twitter.com/AVDemid)
Idiom(s) of the day: clear the air
My category (Russian-to-English translation): Несогласие (Disagreement)
Explanation(s):
Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idioms, 2004 (CCDI):
If you do something to clear the air, you deal openly with misunderstandings, problems, or jealousy, and try to get rid of them.
You can also say that the air clears, or talk about air-clearing.
Journalists sometimes talk about clear-the-air meetings or clear-the-air talks.
Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):
defuse or clarify an angry, tense, or confused situation by frank discussion
improve a difficult or tense situation by talking about worries, doubts, etc.
remove elements of hostility, tension, confusion, or uncertainty from the mood or temper of the time; remove the confusions or ambiguities from a conception or a problem
rid a situation of tension or discord by settling misunderstandings, etc
remove angry feelings, misunderstanding, or confusion.
calm down and remove a misunderstanding
Babylon (www.babylon.com):
purify the atmosphere, clarify things
remove the bad feelings between people
also clear the atmosphere : to remove elements of hostility, tension, confusion, or uncertainty
explain, talk about a problem openly
dispel differences or negative emotions
Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:
eliminate dissension, ambiguity, or tension from a discussion, situation, etc.
Translation(s):
CCDI:
Разрядить атмосферу; уладить недоразумение; внести ясность.
Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):
Babylon (www.babylon.com):
положить конец недоразумениям
Multitran (www.multitran.ru):
расставить все на свои места; развеять туман; выяснить отношения; внести ясность; положить конец недоразумениям; разрядить обстановку; устранить недоразумения
Examples:
CCDI:
I get angry and frustrated with Hannah’s spirited temperament, but I’m a great believer in expressing my feelings to clear the air.
Some groups in our community seem to suffer from discrimination. An independent inquiry could clear the air and sort out the problem.
After that the air cleared and we were fine, I really enjoyed working with him.
And extended air-clearing between George and Martha reveals the sham and drudgery of their lives.
He is determined to have a clear-the-air meeting with Murray this weekend and snapped yesterday: “I have to get to the bottom of this mess.”
Multilex (www.multilex.ru):
our talk ~ed the air наш разговор разрядил атмосферу;
Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):
‘The union statement has cleared the air, too,’ Tom continued. (K. S. Prichard, ‘Golden Miles’, ch. 41) — - Воззвание профсоюза тоже помогло разрядить атмосферу, - продолжил Том.
...the distinguished senator from Illinois had cleared the air in his usual fashion. (F. Knebel and Ch. Bailey, ‘Seven Days in May’, ‘Tuesday Morning’) — ...достопочтенный сенатор от штата Иллинойс внес, по обыкновению, полную ясность в этот вопрос.
it's time a few things were said to clear the air
the government announcement cleared the air of speculation and suspicion
The President's statement that he would run for office again cleared the air of rumors and guessing. When Bill was angry at Bob, Bob made a joke, and it cleared the air between them.
We had a big argument so I think it is time to clear the air.
Babylon (www.babylon.com):
had a massive argument with Sue yesterday, but at least it has cleared the air.
had a long meeting to clear the air
His statement will clear the air. It will prevent more confusion.
The group called a meeting to finally clear the air
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) v4.0:
c.I.1.c to clear the air: orig. to free from clouds, mists, or obscuring elements; now, chiefly, to purify from the sultry conditions which precede a storm; also fig.
c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 437 Þenne wyndis of treuþis shulden blowe awey þe heresyes, and cler þe eyrs of holi chirche, þat is now ful troble. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. viii. xvi. (1495) 324 By spredynge of his bemes the sonne clensith and clerith the ayre. 1885 Manch. Exam. 10 Sept. 5/4 His explicit declaration in reply to Mr. Parnell's speech‥has cleared the air.
Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:
The staff meeting was intended to help clear the air.
British National Corpus (BNC), Mark Davies (http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/): [clear] the air, total 47
And same as she says, she needs a row to clear the air , so picks on him and he just ducks.
The whole day had been a great strain and although they had attempted to resolve their differences and clear the air Rachel found herself dreading the prospect of working with David Markham on a permanent basis.
After a big row which cleared the air we decided to carry on.
If he wanted to smash a telephone or hurl invective it cleared the air and nothing further would be said.
Although the definitive Regulations have still to be introduced, the Government's long awaited Statement --issued in December --concerning the training requirements of the Food Safety Act 1990, has at least partly cleared the air.
The objection that the scientific revolution saw the separation of science from both religion and magic hardly clears the air, because religious beliefs played a role in the assault on magical practices, with hard-headed Protestants putting magic and Roman Catholic rituals in much the same category.
But he thinks, in present circumstances, that a straightforward test provides the best way of clearing the air.
Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), Mark Davies (http:// www.americancorpus.org/): [clear] the air, total 221
Bart, don't you think it's time to clear the air?
He tells me it’s a relief to be able to clear the air about his past mistakes.
Juliet had another reason: she wanted Penelope out of the way for a couple of weeks, so that she could clear the air between herself and Eric.
Don't you want to clear the air a little on this?
It would clear the air to say,' Look, we goofed.'
…the only way to clear the air is to have a full-blown investigation.
For a long pause he kept total silence except for one sustained piano chord, as if to clear the air of misinterpretation.
Clearing the air of crisis in any global hot spot probably would push down oil prices.
It was not about flirting. It was about clearing the air.
Some cultures believe in clearing the air by talking about problems.
Marquis, who irked Piniella after his first spring start when he said he'd rather' take my services elsewhere' than go to the bullpen, cleared the air with Piniella quickly, and that wasn't an issue in the spring competition, Piniella said.
My companion project: An Idiom a Day (www.twitter.com/AVDemid) :
We need to clear the air
I’ve had enough of this affair
I’ve given you my loving care
The way you treat me isn’t fair
I’m nearly driven to despair
You think you’re all that rare?
I bet it’ll pay to look elsewhere
There's plenty more fish, so there!
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий