Idioms PDF

## Chapter 2: Idioms Idioms are "a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of individual words (e.g. over the moon, see the light)." We have attempted to cover all the important "idioms & phrases to have a better understanding of these type of questions. **...

## Chapter 2: Idioms Idioms are "a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of individual words (e.g. over the moon, see the light)." We have attempted to cover all the important "idioms & phrases to have a better understanding of these type of questions. **A** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---| | Above board | Honest & Open | | Acid Test | Difficult Test | | Add fuel to the flame or fire | To make the situation worst | | At Sea, At a loss | Completely confused | | At your wit's end | Completely confused | | At cross purposes | At contrast/contrary | | Axe to grind | To behave selfishly | | A gentleman at large | An unreliable person | | At daggers drawn | Full of enmity | | A close fisted person | A miser | | At the first blush | At first sight | | Armed to the teeth | With weapons | | Add insult to injury | act in a way that makes a bad situation worse | | A bone to pick | A conflict to be resolved | | A Herculean Task | Very difficult work | | At the drop of a hat | Immediately | | A square deal | A deed full of honesty | | At odds | Contrast in thoughts | | Around the clock | All time | | All ears | Eager to listen | | Alive and kicking | Healthy and Active | **B** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---| | Bad Blood | Old enmity | | Bad Mouth | To make comments on other | | Beyond the pale | Unacceptable by society | | Bite the dust | Defeat badly | | Bird Brain | Foolish | | Blink of an eye | Immediately | | Bits and Bobs | Many small things | | By fits and starts | Irregularly | | By the book | According to the rules | **C** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---| | By and large | Commonly | | Bury the hatchet | To foretold enmity | | Broken reed | An unreliable man | | Bread and butter | An issue directly affect the people | | Bottom line | Net profit/result | | Bone of contention | Cause of conflict | | Blue blood | Belong to high family | | Blow hot and cold | Fickle minded | | Beck and call | Ready to serve | | Bear the Palm | To win reward | | Back the wrong horse | To support a person or thing that fails | | Call a spade a spade | In simple words/to tell the truth | | Carrot and stick | Policy of reward and punishment | | Carry the day | To become success | | Cast aspersion | To blame someone | | Curry favour | To flallery | | Cut above | Comparatively good | | Cross/Swords | To get enmity | | Come clean | To admit a mistake/crime | | Cliff hanger | An interesting situation | | Clean sweep | Clean victory | | Cat and dog life | Life full of Quarrel | | Cheek by jowl | Very closely | | Cloud nine | Extremely happy | | Crack of dawn | Early in the morning | | Cry over spilt milk | To regret uselessly | | Cook the book | To prepare false Accounts | | Chip off the old block | Same as parents | | Cock and bully story | A false story | **D** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---| | Down to earth | Practical and realistic | | Dead right | Completely right | | Die in harness | To die on duty | | Dog eat dog | TO set limits | | Draw the line | A tough competition | | Drive home | To highlight a point | | Dime a dozen | Very common | | Devil's advocate | To favour wrong | | Dark horse | An unexpected winner | | Dry Run | To Rehearsal | **E** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---| | Drive someone up the wall | To make angry | | Eat humble pie | To ask forgiveness | | Eagle Eyes | A keen observer | | At the eleventh hour | At the last moment | | Enough rope | To give freedom | | End in Smoke | To get failure | | Even keel | In balance | | Eye wash | A deception | | Eye for an eye | Tit for tat | | Eat your words | To admit mistake openly | **F** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---| | Face the music | To face consequences | | Fullness of time | At the correct time | | Fly a kite | To know public opinion | | Foul play | Mistake/Wrong act | | Fool's Paradise | Completely wrong thoughts | | Feather in one's cap | Any achievement | | Fair-weather friend | The friends of only good time | | Fat chance | Having no chance | | Flesh and blood | Close Relatives | | Flogging a dead horse | Try uselessly | | For the time being | For a short time | | Fall short of | To prove failure | | From scratch | since beginning | | Fight to the biter end | To fight till last | **G** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---| | Get the sack | To dismiss from the job | | Go a long way | To get success | | Greek to me | Out of understanding | | Gone fishing | Unaware about surrounding | | Grey area | Weak point | | Grease Someone's palm | To give bribe | | Go Dutch | To pay bill equally | | Gift of the gab | Expert in speaking | | Give the game away | To disclose secret | | Green-eyed monster | A jealous person | | Get a raw deal | To face humility | | Give it a shot | To try to do something | **H** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---| | Give one a piece of mind | To scold | | Go scot free | To escape from punishment | | Go off on a tangent | To charge the topic | | Have the last laugh | To get succeed at last | | Hue and cry | To make a noise uselessly | | Hold water | Correct and logical | | Have a way with words | Expert in using words | | Hard up | Lack of money | | High and low | Everywhere | | Hobson's choice | Having no choice in fact | | Hornets' nest | A big problem | | Hand to mouth | Very poor | | Hale and Hearty | Completely healthy | | High and dry | Alone and helpless | | Hop, skip and a jump | Very close | **I** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---| | In a fix | In difficult situation | | In the red | A situation of more expense than income | | In the good books of | Favourite of someone | | Ins and outs | Complete details | | In hot water | In a difficult situation | | In high spirits | In happiness | | In a nutshell | In brief | | In the long run | At last | | In apple pie order | Clean and in order | | In cold blood | deliberate and callously | | In saddle | Under control | **J** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---| | Jump to a conclusion | To conclude without thinking | | Jump on the bandwagon | To follow a fashion blindly | **K** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---| | Keep under wraps | to keep secret | | Knit brows | Tense and sad | | Kith and kin | Close relatives | | Kick the bucket | To die | | Give up the ghost | To be treated badly and unfairly | | Kick in the teeth | A quick & natural response | | Knee jerk reaction | To have patience | | Keep pants on | To keep at a distance | | Keep at bay | **L** | Idiom | Meaning | |---|---|