Don't judge a book by its cover.

Đừng đánh giá con người qua bề ngoài.

Q: What is your opinion about the fact that people usually judge each other based on their first impression?

A: I think people shouldn't do that because we cannot judge a book by its cover.

She looked shy, but you cannot judge a book by its cover.

To make a bad situation even worse for someone, usually by reminding them of the pain or failure.

Don't twist the knife by mentioning his mistake again.

When she called him right after their breakup to say she was already dating his best friend, it was like she was twisting the knife.
Ngay sau khi chia tay, cô ấy gọi điện nói rằng cô ta đã hẹn hò với bạn thân nhất của anh ấy, điều đó giống như cô ấy đang xát muối vào vết thương vậy.

Losing the championship was bad enough, but seeing the opposing team's excessive celebration really twisted the knife.
Thua trận chung kết đã tệ rồi, nhưng việc nhìn thấy đội đối thủ ăn mừng quá mức thật sự là đang xát muối vào vết thương.

He was already feeling guilty about the argument, so her cold silence for the rest of the week just twisted the knife.
Anh ấy đã cảm thấy tội lỗi về cuộc tranh cãi, nên việc cô ấy giữ im lặng lạnh lùng suốt cả tuần còn lại chỉ càng xát muối vào vết thương thôi.

to fight or argue fiercely

The politicians lock horns during the debate.

The CEO and the Head of Finance are expected to lock horns over the budget for next quarter.

The two project leads frequently lock horns on how the backend framework should be designed, slowing down development.

The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition will likely lock horns in Parliament today over the new tax bill.

I really didn't want to lock horns with my neighbor about the property line, but I had to stand my ground.

Thắt lưng buộc bụng; chi tiêu tiết kiệm.

I've had to tighten my belt since I stopped working full-time.

Kể từ lúc không còn làm việc toàn thời gian, tôi phải chi tiêu tiết kiệm lại.

We had to tighten our belts when my husband lost hist job.

It's time to tighten your belt because expenses are rising.

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I count on my team to support me.