strike gold
To find gold.
Ted struck gold near an abandoned mine in California.
To find suddenly the answer to an old puzzle.
Неожиданно найти ответ на старый вопрос или решение старой проблемы.
Professor Brown's assistant struck gold when he came up with an equation that explained the irregular motions of a double star.
I think she has struck gold this time in her new job. It suits her perfectly!
Я думаю, она сорвала джек-пот с этой работой. Она ей подходит идеально!
take hold of
To grasp; to grip with the hands.
The old man tried to keep himself from falling down the stairs, but there was no railing to take hold of.
You should take hold of the railing as you go down those steep stairs.
The blind man took hold of my arm as I led him across the street.
throw cold water on
dash cold water on
pour cold water on
To discourage; say or do something to discourage.
We had high hopes of victory but our opponents soon threw cold water on them.
Henry's father threw cold water on his plans to go to college by saying he could not afford it.
you can't teach an old dog new tricks
It is very hard or almost impossible to train an older person to acquire some new skill. A proverb.
Пословица: старую собаку новым трюка не научишь.
You'll never teach your grandfather how to do his income tax on a personal computer. You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
- I’ve always walked to work by feet, I don’t want to take the bus.
- Ok, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
- Ok, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
- Я всегда ходил на работу пешком. Я не хочу ездить на автобусе.
- Ну ладно, бесполезно тебя исправлять.
- Ну ладно, бесполезно тебя исправлять.