a vicious circle

порочный круг

Achilles' heel [ə'kɪliːz 'hiːl]

a weak feature of someone or something that could cause failure or be attacked
e.g. Your English grammar is your Achilles' heel.

appler un chat un chat

называть вещи своими именами

at random

наугад, наудачу

avoir du chien

иметь"изюминку"
"Elle a du chien"

avoir le bras long

to have influence

cryptic

mysterious as a cryptic message/note/comment

cut and dried

шаблонный, стандартный
e.g."I can't give you a cut and dried answer"

every bean has its black

и на солнце есть пятна
e.g. I'm sorry to tell you that your boyfriend isn't perfect-every bean has its black, you know.

go too far

перегнуть палку

guiding star

путеводная звезда

in extenso

полностью, в несокращённом виде

like a cat on hot bricks

как на иголках

navel-gazing

(inf.) the act of spending a lot of time thinking about your own problems

Pandora's box

a source of various unforseen troubles and evils

se croire sorti de la cuisse de Jupiter

to think a lot about oneself

serendipity

1. счастливая способность делать неожиданные открытия
2. интуитивная прозорливость

tip of the military spear

главная ударная сила
e.g "The US is a tip of the military spear in this operation"

to cut the Gordian knot

to solve a difficult problem

to get to know

to get better with other people
"I've got to know your brother yet"

to go down the drain

пропасть, уйти в трубу
e.g."All my attempts to help him went down the drain"

to stand up for yourself

постоять за себя
e.g. Being able to stand up for yourself, being independent and confident is important.

trial and error method

метод проб и ошибок

with flying colours

с большим успехом