Idioms and Phrases - List 2

   Idioms and Phrases:

      LIST - [ 2 ]

  1. To be up to ( to be equal to, to be acquainted with )

   ** His work is up to the mark.

  2. To be up and doing ( to be actively engaged )

  ** If he wants to succeed in his mission, he must be up and doing.

  3. To be at a loss ( to be perplexed )

  ** Sunil was at a loss what to do in his case.

  4. To be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth ( to be born in a rich family )

  ** Pt. Nehru was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

 5.To be worthwhile (worth spending the time which the attempt would require)

  ** It is worthwhile to do something or the other than to sit idle.

  6. To be all ears ( to be an attentive audience )

  ** I was all ears when the Prime Minister made his speech.

  7. To be weak in the storey ( to be feeble-minded )

  ** He cannot be depended on. He is weak in the upper storey.

  8. To be at daggers drawn ( to be bitter enemy )

  ** Ram and Shyam were fast friends. But now they are at daggers drawn.

  9. To be at one's wit's end ( to greatly perplexed )

  ** When he saw the lion in the forest, he was at his wit's end.

 10. To be at the helm of ( to be at the main position )

   ** Manish is the head of the family. He is, therefore, at the helm of affairs.

 11. To be beside oneself with joy or grief (overwhelmed with joy or grief )

  ** To hear of his friend's bright success in the I.A.S. examination' Vijay was beside himself with joy.

 12. To be on the horns of a dilemma (to be in a fix )

  ** When asked for support, he was on the horns of a dilemma and could not understand what to do.

 13. To bear the brunt of ( to feel the full force of )

  ** The Indian Battalian had to bear the brunt of the German attack in the World War II .

 14. To beat about the bush ( to approach a matter in a round about way )  

  ** Please let me know the matter directly and do not beat about the bush.

 15. To beggar description ( to be indescribable )

  ** The beauty of the Taj is beggar's description.

 16. To bell the cat ( to lead in a danger )

  ** Everyone hates mafias but nobody dares to bell the cat.

 17. To bid fair ( to seem likely )

  ** He has topped the list of successful candidates. He bids fair to be a genius.

 18. To break the ice ( to break silence in conversation )

  ** Mohan broke the ice by asking his friend for a match-box.

 19. To blow one's own trumpet ( to indulge in self praise )

  ** Mr. Sen is in the habit of blowing his own trumpet.

 20. To breath one's last ( to die )

  ** His father breathed his last in peace.

 21. To burn the candle at both ends ( to spend money lavishly )

  ** He is ruining himself by burning the candle at both ends.

 22. To bear the palm ( to be victorious )

  ** In the Indo-Pak War of 1971,India bore the palm.

 23. To bring to book (to punish )

  ** At best, the thief was brought to book.

 24. To bury the hatchet (to put an end to old enmity )

  ** Let us bury the hatchet and be friends again.

 25. To be like a fish out of water ( to be in a disagreeable situation )

  ** His father stopped supporting him,then he was like a fish out of water.

 26. To back up ( support )

  ** If you back me up, I shall be able to face the difficulties.

 27. To bear in mind (to remember )

  ** You must bear in mind that only the hard work will succeed in the life.

 28. To be true to one's salt ( to prove faithful )

  ** The guard will not deceive me. He is true to his salt.

 29. To be the order of the day ( to be the fashion of the day )

  ** To ask for dowry has become the order of the day.

 30. To beat the air ( to make useless efforts )

  ** His words carry no weight. He is merely beating the air.

 31. To be in good books ( to be favourite )

  ** Nowadays none can harm him because he is in good books of his boss.

 32. To call in question ( to express doubt )

  ** Mr. Vajpayee's patrotism cannot be called in question.

 33. To call a spade a spade ( to speak in plain terms )

  ** People get offended when he calls a spade a spade.

 34. To cast pearls before swine ( to offer to a person a thing which he cannot understand or appreciate )

  ** If you talk of space flight to an uneducated man, you will simply cast pearls before swine.

 35. To pour oil on troubled water ( to make the situation calm )

  ** There was a quarrel between the two brothers. The father came and poured oil on troubled water.

 36. To chew the end ( to meditate on ome idea )

  ** Lal Bahadur Shastri was in habit of chewing the end .

 37. To come to a standstill ( to come to atop )

  ** Due to want of petrol. the car came to a standstill.

 38. To come off with flying colours ( to achieve distinction )

  ** Manik has come off with flying colours in M. A. examinations.

 39. To cut one's coat according to one's cloth ( to spend within the range of income )

  ** Everyone should cut his coat according to his cloth.

 40. To cry for the moon ( to desire for an impossible thing )

  ** To top the list of successful candidates is simply to cry for the moon for him.

 41. To come to light ( to be revealed )

  ** Mohan's guilt has now come to light.

 42. To cry over spilt milk ( to feel sorry for the past losses )

  ** To feel sorry for the past losses is simply to cry over spilt milk.

 43. To catch red-handed ( to catch in the very act )

  ** The thief was caught red-handed while he was breaking into the house.

 44. To come of age ( to attain maturity )

  ** You must look after your affairs yourself as you have come of age.

 45. To die in harness ( to die while working )

  ** Nelson died in harness while fighting.

 46. To dance attendance on a person ( to please a person by flattering him )

  ** Kawal always dances attendance on his boss.

 47. To do a yeoman's service ( to help in need )

  ** They did a yeoman's service by helping the persons in the drought- stricken area.

 48. To dig a grave of one's reputation ( to do something to destroy one's reputation )

  ** By joining the company of drunkards, he is trying to dig the grave of his father's reputation.

 49. To end in smoke ( to fail )

  ** He wanted to earn a lot of money, but all his plans ended in smoke.

 50.To eat one's words (to withdraw one's words )

  ** He promised to help me, but when the time of help came, he ate his words.

 51. To eat the humble pie ( to pocket an insult )

  * He had to eat the humble pie when he was defeated in the election.

 52. To fan the flame ( to excite the anger )

  ** His father turned him out of his house. But when he came back, his entrance fanned the flame of his father's anger.

 53. To fall flat ( to have no effect )

  ** The good advice of the parents fell flat on the son.

 54. To face the music ( to face a difficult situation )

  ** The notorious dacoit who was arrested by the police, is facing the music in the jail.

 55. To fall foul of ( to quarrel with )

  ** I do not want to fall foul of my neighbours.

 56. To feel the pulse ( to find out one's inner feelings )

  ** Smt. Indira Gandhi was a great politician. She had felt the pulse of her countrymen.

 57. To fight shy of ( to be shy )

  ** He fights shy of talking with girls.

 58. To follow suit ( to follow example )

  ** If you are sincere and punctual to your duty, your sub-ordinates will also follow suit.

 59. To follow the beaten track ( to be traditionalist )

  ** Most of our country-men follow the beaten track in every affair.

 60. To gain ground ( to succeed slowly and steadily )

  ** The separatists should not be allowed to gain ground.

 61. To get the upper hand ( to get the superior position )

  ** The two swimmers are trying to get the upper over each other in the swimming competition.

 62. To get into hot water ( to be in difficult and complicated circumstances )

  ** Vijay has picked up a quarrel with his boss. He has now got into hot water.

 63. To go to the wall ( to fare badly )

  ** The poorest have to go to the wall.

 64. To gird up the loins ( to be ready )

  ** Everyone should gird up the loins for service of motherland.

 65. To give up the ghost ( to die )

  ** The old man has given up the ghost this evening.

 66. To give the devil his due ( to give a bad man credit for his good deeds )

  ** The evil personrarely does a good deed. If he does so, please give the devil his due.

 67. To go with the tide ( to do as the others do )

  ** When in other countries, we should not impose our traditions on others. We should go with the tide.

 68. To go with a tail between the legs ( to go with a beaten cowardly look )

  ** When Shetty was surrounded, he had to go with a tail between his legs.

 69. To graese the palm ( to bribe )

  ** I could not get an appointment in the police department as I did not grease the palm of the recruiting officer.

 70. To go through the fire and water ( to undertake all sort of risks )

  ** Mahatma Gandhi went through fire and water to unite the Hindus and Muslims.

 71. To have an old head on young shoulders ( to be wiser than one's age )

  ** Priya has an old head on her young shoulders.

 72. To have too many irons in fire ( to be engaged in too many enterprises )

  ** He has no time to spare since he has too many irons in fire.

 73. To have an axe to grind ( to have some private end to serve )

  ** He visits his boss daily at his home. Perhaps he has an axe to grind.

 74. To harp on the same string ( to dwell upon the same subject repeatedly )

  ** He keeps talking of his family. By so doing he harps on the same string.

 75. To hit the nail on the head ( to speak to the point )

  ** He spoke on some national problems. Really, he hit the nail on the head.

 76. To have a thing at one's fingertips ( to know a thing thorohghly )

  ** He has all the formulae of the mathematics at his fingertips.

 77. To hold good ( to remain in force )

  ** The Hindu Code Bill is still holds good.

 78. To hold water ( to stand examination )

  ** This argument  does not hold water.

 79. To hunt with hounds and run with the hare (to play a double and deceitful game )

  ** No one should play a double game. It is not good to hunt with the hounds and run with the hare.

 80. To hang in the balance ( to remain undecided )

  ** The fate of Punjab is hanging in the balance.

 81. To hope against hope ( to hope even when  the case is almost hopeless )

  ** He has made no preparation for the examination yet he hopes against hope that he will pass.

 82. To have clean hands ( to be perfectly innocent )

  ** He has nothing to fear as he has clean hands.

 83. To hold one's tongue ( to stop talking )

  ** His father was speaking. So he had to hold his tongue.

 84. To have the gift of the gab ( to have a talent for speaking )

  ** Mr. Sharma has the gift of the gab, so he has risen in the eyes of the public.

 85. To hit below the belt ( to play foul )

  ** Please try to convince me, Do not hit below the belt.

 86. To have a finger in every pie ( to mendle in every affair )

  ** It is not a good habit to have a finger in every pie.

 87. To join the majority ( to die )

  ** Everyone has to join the majority one day or the other.

 88. To keep the wolf from the door ( to avoid starvation )

  ** He works day and night to keep the wolf from the door.

 89. To keep abreast of ( to go with the time )

  ** We must keep abreast of time.

 90. To kill two birds with one stone ( to succeed in two things by making one effort )

  ** To help the poor is to do both social and national service. It is just killing two birds with one stone.

 91. To keep another in dark ( to keep in ignorance )

  ** He does not say what he is going to do. He keeps another in the dark.

 92. To keep pace with ( to go with the same speed as others )

  ** India should keep pace with the other forward countries of the west.

 93. To laugh in one's sleeves ( to laugh secretly )

  ** When Mr. Sharma began to boast himself, I laughed in my sleeves.

 94. To leave one in lurch ( to desert a person in a difficult situation )

  ** When his friend needed help, he left him in lurch.

 95. To leave the beaten track ( to do something uncommon )

  ** I am a man of progressive views. So I want to leave the beaten track.

 96. To leave no stone unturned ( to use all possible means )

  ** He left no stone unturned to please his employer.

 97. To let the cat out of the bag ( to disclose a secret )

  ** Pakistan is supporting infiltrators, but it does not let the cat out of the bag.

 98. To lead a cat and dog life ( to be always quarreling )

  ** Ramesh and his wife are leading a cat and dog life.

 99. To lick the dust ( to come to humiliation )

  ** Ibrahim Lodi had to lick the dust in the first battle of Panipat with Babar.

100. To lend a hand ( to help )

  ** We should lend a hand to the poor.

101. To live from hand to mouth ( to lead the life of bare neccessities )

  ** Hari is a poor man. He lives from hand to mouth.

102. To make headway ( to make progress )

  ** Mohan is making headway in his life.

103. To make amends for ( to compensate  )

  ** The aggressive man made amendments for the harm he made to his enemy.

104. To make a mountain of a molehill ( to exaaggerate a thing ) 

  ** The enemy tried to make a a mountain of a molehimm to lower my reputation.

105. To make an ass of oneself ( to act foolishly )

  ** He made a mistake in the meeting and made an ass of himself.

106. To make both ends meet ( to live within one's income )

  ** He is a poor man. He hardly makes both ends meet.

107. To move heaven and earth ( to do one's best )

  ** I shall move heaven and earth to improve my division.

108. To nip in the bud ( to destroy at an early stage )

  ** He planned for a mischief but it was nipped in the bud.

109. To pay one back in one's own coin ( to give tit for tat )

  ** One day me misbehaved with me. I, too, paid him back in his own coin.

110. To pick holes in another's pocket ( to find fault with others )

  **   A mischievous man always tries to pick holes in another's pocket.

111. To play a second fiddle ( to be in subordinate position )

  ** Mr. Verma is not prepared to play a second fiddle to anyone.

112. To play one's trump card ( to use one's best chance of success )

  ** It is bad to play one's trump card to defeat others.

113. To put the cart before the horse ( to reverse the natural order )

 ** To teach multiplicatin before counting is to put the cart before the horse.

114. To play ducks and drakes ( to waste money )

  ** Do not play ducks and drakes otherwise none will help you in a rainy day.

115. To pocket an insult ( to bear an insult )

  ** He tried to befool his friend. But when the fact was discovered he had to pocket an insult.

116. To play the truant ( to be absent without leave )

  ** Most of our staff members play the truant.

117. To plough the sand ( to do something useless )

  ** Why are you ploughing the sand by helping the vagabond.

118. To pull one's leg ( to play a joke upon )

  ** Generally old students pull new students' legs.

119. To rain cats and dogs ( to rain heavily )

  ** It is raining cats and dogs.

120. To read between the lines ( to trace the hidden meaning )

  ** He has given me a notice. I am trying to read between the lines.

121. To rise to the occasion ( to prove worthy of expectations )

  ** After Indira's assassination, Rajiv Gandhi had risen to the occasion.

122. To run the gauntlet ( to expose oneself to criticism )

  ** If you do this work, you will have to run gauntlet.

123. To rub shoulders ( to mix up freely ) Raju can rub shoulders with any stranger.

124. To stem the tide of ( to check )

  ** Our government should try its best to stem the tide of terrorism.

125. To spread like a wild fire ( to spread rapidly )

  ** The bitterness between one community and another is spreading like a wild fire.

126. To stir a finger ( to make a least effort )

  ** He wants to pass I. A. S. examination only by stirring his finger.

127. To show a clean pair of heels ( to run away out of fear )

  ** The cowards show a clean pair of heels in the battle field.

128. To see eye to eye ( to agree )

  ** In the expenditure of the Boys' Fund amount, the Principal did not see eye to eye with the President.

129. To strike while the iron is hot ( to act at a favourable opportunity )

  ** Last night theft has occurred at his place. He should immediately lodge a report with the police, to strike while the iron is hot.

130. To set at naught ( to challenge, to disregard )

  ** If dharma is set at naught, nothing will exist in limits.

131. To turn over a new life ( to change for the better )

  ** The Principal has turned over a new leaf in the history of the college.

132. To throw cold water ( to discourage )

  ** He wanted to go to America, but his father threw cold water on his aspirations.

134. To turn a deaf ear ( to disregard )

  ** His father advised him to give up smoking, but he turned a deaf ear.

135. To turn the tables ( to reverse position )

  ** The invention of big sputniks had turned the tables in favour of Russia.

136. To take to one's heels  ( to flee )

  ** As soon as the thief saw the police, he took to his heels.

137. To take French leave ( to go away without permission )

  ** The clerk who was on French leave yesterday, has been punished.

138. To throw light upon ( to explain )

  ** In Ramcharit Manas, Tulsidas has thrown light upon the life of Ram.

139. To talk tall ( to boast )

  ** Kuldeep always talks tall.

140. To take aback (to astonish )

  ** I was taken aback to see the magician climbing up the rope hung in the air.

141. To take the bull by the horns( to make a bold attack on a dangerous thing )

  ** He faced the dacoits boldly and thus he took the bull by the horns.

142. To take anything to heart ( to take a thing seriously )

  ** Vimal is an intelligent boy. He took my advice to heart.

143. To wash dirty linen in public ( to reveal private affairs in public )

  ** You have been insulted by him but do not wash this dirty linen in public.

144. To win laurals ( to be victorious )

  ** A debate took place in the college. Naresh won laurels in it.

145. To wear one's heart upon one's sleeves ( to show one's innermost feelings to everybody )

  ** He is in the habit of wearing his heart upon his sleeves. It is a weakness in his personality.

146. To worship the rising sun ( to honour the man who is coming into power )

  ** The newly appointed Principal has taken over the charge. The staff have started worshipping the rising sun.

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