back street
A street not near the main streets or from which it is hard to get to a main street.
We got lost in the back streets going through the city and it took us a half hour to find our way again.
bark up the wrong tree
To choose the wrong person to deal with or the wrong course of action; mistake an aim.
Совершить ошибку при выборе человека, с которым вести дела; выбрать ошибочный курс, стиль действий.
If he thinks he can fool me, he is barking up the wrong tree.
He is barking up the wrong tree when he blames his troubles on bad luck.
The police were looking for a tall thin man, but were barking up the wrong tree; the thief was short and fat.
The police are barking up the wrong tree if they think Johnny stole the car. He can't drive!
Полиция глубоко ошибается, если подозревает Джонни в краже машины. Он не умеет водить!
can't see the wood for the trees
can't see the woods for the trees
can't see the forest for the trees
To be unable to judge or understand the whole because of attention to the parts; criticize small things and not see the value or the aim of the future achievement.
Не видеть за деревьями леса. Не быть в состоянии понять ситуацию в целом из-за того, что все внимание уделено мелочам.
Teachers sometimes notice language errors and do not see the good ideas in a composition; they cannot see the woods for the trees.
The voters defeated a bond issue for the new school because they couldn't see the forest for the trees; they thought of their taxes rather than of their children's education.
We should think of children's growth in character and understanding more than of their little faults and misdeeds; some of us can't see the wood for the trees.
The new manager found the situation so complicated that he couldn't see the wood for the trees.
Новому менеджеру ситуация показалась такой запутанной, что он сумел разглядеть ее причину.
cross street
A street that crosses a main street and runs on both sides of it.
Elm Street is a cross street on Main Street and there is a traffic light there.
family tree
Ancestry.
My family tree can be traced back to the sixteenth century.
lit up like a Christmas tree
To be drunk.
On New Year's Eve Ned was lit up like a Christmas tree.
man in the street
The man who is just like most other men; the average man; the ordinary man.
The newspaper took a poll of the man in the street.
Politicians rarely care what the man in the street thinks.
Just interview a man in the street so we can hear public sentiment about the new law.
on easy street
Having enough money to live very comfortably; rather rich.
After years of hard work, the Grants found themselves on easy street.
Jim's novel was a success and put him on easy street.