Idioms describing people

1. Positive and negative qualities:

_ She does a lot of voluntary work; she has a heart of gold.
_ Don't expect any sympathy (n- cảm thông, đồng tình) from the boss; she's as hard as nails.
_ I'm sure Gerry will help you; he's as good as gold.
_ You won't find him very friendly; he's rather a cold fish.

Note also:
_ He's such an awkward customer. (difficult person to deal with)
_ She's a pain in the neck. Nobody likes her. (nuisance, difficult)
_ He gets on everyone's nerves. (irritates everybody)

2. People 'fast' and 'slow' qualities

_ I was too late to get on that course; I was a bit slow off the mark.
_ Tell him to hurry up! He's such a slow-coach.

3. How people relate to the social norm (quy tắt).
_ She's a bit of an odd-ball; very strange. (peculiar, strange)
_ He's really over the top. (very exaggerated (adj- thổi phồng, cường điệu) in behaviour)
_ He's round the bend, if you ask me. (absolutely crazy/mad)
_ My politics are very middle-of-the-road. (very normal)

4. Who's who in class? Idioms for 'people in the classroom'

What do we call ...
_ An irritating person who knows everything? (a know-all)
_ The person who is the teacher's favourite? (the teacher's pet)
_ Someone who thinks they are the best and says so? (a big-head)
_ The one who gets the best marks? (top of the class)
_ A peron who is very lazy? (a lazy-bones)