Frequently asked Idioms and Phrases
- Idiom – Grease the palm
Meaning – (to bribe)
Sentence – Kabir had to grease the palm of the officer in order to get driving license.
- Idiom – Nip in the bud
Meaning – to destroy in the very beginning)
Sentence – The bad habits of a child should be nipped in the bud.
- Idiom – Turn a deaf ear
Meaning – ( to not to pay attention )
Sentence – All the students turned a deaf ear to the teacher during moral science lecture.
- Idiom – Knit the brow
Meaning – (to frown)
Sentence – Employer always knits his brow at everything the employees do.
- Idiom – In a flutter
Meaning – (excited)
Sentence – Abhinav is in a flutter today because it is his first day at school
- Idiom – Fabian policy
Meaning – (policy of delaying decisions)
Sentence – It gets harmful for the management to follow fabian policy in every matter
- Idiom – By fits and starts
Meaning – (irregularly)
Sentence – Ram was penalised because he used to perform his job by fits and starts
- Idiom – At a loose end
Meaning – (unoccupied)
Sentence – Now-a-days Rachel is at loose end because she has left her job
- Idiom – Hang fire
Meaning – (remain unsolved)
Sentence – Most of the criminal cases remain hanging on fire for many years
Sentence – Most of the criminal cases remain hanging on fire for many years
- Idiom – Wind fall
Meaning – (sudden gain)
Sentence – Reshma got a wind fall when her uncle died
- Idiom -ABC
Meaning – (very common knowledge)
Sentence – Meera does not know ABC of law.
- Idiom – Blow hot and cold
Meaning – (having no stand)
Sentence – Sunil cannot be relied upon because he blows hot and cold in every matter.
- Idiom – Cock and bull story
Meaning – (untrue story)
Sentence – All the explanations given by Sita seem to be a cock and bull story.
- Idiom – Gall and wormwood
Meaning – (source of irritation )
Sentence – The acts of the children were gall and wormwood for her.
- Idiom – Herculean task
Meaning – (a tedious job)
Sentence – To clear judiciary examination is a herculean task for the aspirants.
- Idiom – Kith and kin
Meaning – (blood relatives)
Sentence – In the gloomy days we all seek support of our kith and kins.
- Idiom – Open and above board
Meaning – (very clear)
Sentence – He prefers to record open and above board point of view on every matter.
- Idiom – Queer fish
Meaning – (strange person)
Sentence – Ramesh is a queer fish, he cannot be trusted in confidential issues.
- Idiom – Rhyme or reason
Meaning – (rational cause)
Sentence – He was suspended from the job without any rhyme and reason
- Idiom – Between Scylla and Charybdis
Meaning – (choice between two unpleasant alternatives)
Sentence – Make wise decision so that you don’t fall between Scylla and Charybdis.
- Idiom – At dagger’s drawn
Meaning – (to have bitter enmity)
Sentence – Once who were best friends are now at dagger’s drawn.
- Idiom – Blue stocking
Meaning – (educated but pedantic lady)
Sentence – Her husband avoids her because she is a blue stocking
- Idiom – Draconian Law
Meaning – (extremely severe law)
Sentence – In Kashmir Draconian Law was imposed in order to subdue terrorist attack.
- Idiom – Eke out
Meaning – (supplement income)
Sentence – The students do part time jobs to eke out their income.
- Idiom – Damp squib
Meaning – (complete failure)
Sentence – Our visit to London for the project was a damp squib.
- Idiom – Hit below the belt
Meaning – (to strike unfairly)
Sentence – We should never hit the opponents below the belt.
- Idiom – In the red
Meaning – (suffer a loss)
Sentence – Most of the businesses went in red after demonetization.
- Idiom – Keep the pot boiling
Meaning – (earn hardly enough for living)
Sentence – One should earn at least to keep the pot boiling.
- Idiom – One’s Achilles heel
Meaning – (a week point)
Sentence – Her children were her Achilles’ heel.
- Idiom – Pyrrhic victory
Meaning – (victory at a high cost)
Sentence – India’s victory over POK will prove to be a pyrrhic victory.
- Idiom – A scarlet woman
Meaning – (a woman with loose morals)
Sentence – A woman working late at night should not be considered as a scarlet woman.
- Idiom – To set Thames on fire
Meaning – (to achieve something impossible)
Sentence – To trek on Himalaya’s is like to set Thames on fire.
- Idiom – Take somebody for a ride
Meaning – (to deceive a person)
Sentence – The shopkeeper took his customers for a ride by selling them fake goods.
- Idiom – White elephant
Meaning – (anything with less utility and more expenditure)
Sentence – The new BMW car has become a white elephant for the employer.
- Idiom – Wry face
Meaning – (disappointed look)
Sentence – Anil made a wry face when he learned that he has been disqualified from the match.
- Idiom – Hush Money
Meaning – (a bribe)
Sentence – Simran managed to escape from the cops by paying hush money.
- Idiom – Not born yesterday
Meaning – (worldly wise)
Sentence – I am not going to fall for your lies as I was not born yesterday.
- Idiom – Speck and span
Meaning – (neat and smart)
Sentence – Students should always be speck and span in their dressing
- Idiom – Milk and water
Meaning – (weak)
Sentence – The economy of India is milk and water in front of USA’s economy.
- Idiom – Uphill task
Meaning – (difficult task)
Sentence – Passing CLAT examination is an uphill task.
- Idiom – To assume airs
Meaning – (to pretend superiority)
Sentence – She is in the habit of assuming airs in the presence of her cousins.
- Idiom – To burn the midnight oil
Meaning – (to work up to late hours)
Sentence – Mahesh burnt the midnight oil for several days in order to complete the project before deadline.
- Idiom – To bury the hatchet
Meaning – (to make peace forgetting the past enmity)
Sentence – Indians and Pakistanis should bury the hatchet for the development and prosperity of both the nations.
- Idiom – To buy a pig in a poke
Meaning – (to purchase a thing without knowing its actual worth)
Sentence – One should always value money and never buy a pig in a poke.
- Idiom – To curry favour
Meaning – (to win favour by gifts or flattery)
Sentence – By giving presents to the officer, Himanshu tried to curry his favour.
- Idiom – To go on fool’s errand
Meaning – (to go on an expedition where only a fool can go)
Sentence – The key was in his pocket and he sent me on a fool’s errand to search the same in movie theatre.
- Idiom – To have feet of clay
Meaning – (full of faults)
Sentence – The answer sheets of the students had feet of clay.
- Idiom – To keep abreast of
Meaning – (not to fall behind)
Sentence – In this world of competition, it is very important to keep abreast of others.
- Idiom – To pour oil on troubled water
Meaning – (to rectify the matter)
Sentence – In the quarrel between the brothers, their mother poured oil on troubled water.
- Idiom – To show the white feather
Meaning – (to act as a cowardice)
Sentence – Anita showed white feather in the playground.
First published on April 26, 2021.
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Harshita Gulati
Contributing author
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