Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Idioms and Pfrases11111
Idioms and Pfrases11111
ssc2014
General English
www.ssc-cgl2014.in
Hoping against hope (To continue hoping, especially
when all grounds for hope is lost)
Even though she did badly in the exam, she is
hoping against hope that she will pass.
Behind ones back (In the absence of)
Modern friends praise you to your face and
condemn you behind your back.
To hit below the belt. (Unfair act)
Spreading a false rumour about someone is
hitting below the belt.
To build castles in the air (To make imaginary
schemes)
Those who simply build castles in the air hardly
achieve anything worth-while in life.
A bolt from the blue
(Something unexpected)
The news of his fathers death came to us like
a bolt from the blue.
To be in someones good books (To be favoured by
someone)
He is in the bosss good books ever since he
finalised an important deal.
To break the ice (To break the silence)
There was perfect silence in the hall; but when
the Chief Guest came, Mr Swamy broke the
ice by welcoming him.
By hook or by crook (By all means fair or foul)
The aim of the majority of the students is to
pass an examination by hook or by crook.
To blow ones own trumpet (To praise ones own
abilities and achievements)
People who blow their own trumpets are
disliked by others.
Blow hot and cold (Keep changing ones opinion)
Pakistan has been blowing hot and cold about
a peaceful solution of the Kashmir problem
since 1971.
A birds eye view (A general view or study)
This pamphlet gives a birds eye view of the
ethnic problem in Sri Lanka.
A bee in ones bonnet (To be obsessed by
something)
He always has a bee in his bonnet and is
therefore regarded as a crank.
To take the bull by the horns (To tackle a problem
boldly)
When the firm was making a loss he decided
to take the bull by the horns and fired some
staff, hired others, computerised the accounts
and streamlined the whole business.
www.ssc-cgl2014.in
www.ssc-cgl2014.in
To cross the Rubicon (To take a decisive step)
I have submitted my resignation. I have crossed
the Rubicon. There is no going back.
As cool as a cucumber (Very calm and controlled)
He kept as cool as a cucumber even when his
son was murdered.
To come off with flying colours (To succeed with
credit)
I honestly hope that my son will come off with
flying colours in the IAS examination.
To be led by the nose (to be easily influenced)
The new manager can be easily led by the
nose; you only have to flatter him.
A dark horse (A person of hidden qualities)
Our new Principal is a dark horse. No one
thought that he was so capable.
To flog a dead horse (To waste energy on some
already rejected activity)
He was flogging a dead horse when he tried to
revive the failed business deal.
A dogs life (A life of hard work)
An educated man who does menial work leads
a dogs life.
To be like a dog with two tails (To be very happy
and proud)
The father was like a dog with two tails when
his son won the first prize.
A dog in the manger attitude (A selfish attitude)
Mohan behaves with a dog in the manger
attitude. That is why he has not endeared
himself to his colleagues.
A dog in the manger (Person who does not allow
others to enjoy things which are not useful to
him)
He was like a dog in the manger at the party,
and spoiled it for us all.
Dog days (Hottest period of the year)
June and July are dog days in India.
A deadlock (A position when no progress can be
made)
The manager agreed to grant some
concession to the striking staff because he
wanted to break the deadlock.
To draw a blank (Get no result)
He drew a blank when he tried to find the error
in the accounts.
Sword of Damocles (An impending danger)
The possibility of a third world war is hanging
over our heads like a sword of Damocles.
www.ssc-cgl2014.in
A far cry (A long way)
Indias 120 for five wickets is a far cry from the
good score they wanted.
To go scot-free (To escape unharmed)
In our system, innocent people are punished
whereas the culprits often go scot-free even
after committing the most heinous crimes.
Gift of the gab (Fluency of speech)
A person without the gift of the gab cannot be a
successful teacher.
Greenhorn (A novice, an inexperienced person)
You cannot expect perfect work from a
greenhorn.
A hard nut to crack (A problem difficult to solve)
The Kashmir issue is really a hard nut to crack
for the U.N.O.
An iota of (Little of truth, doubt etc.)
Your statement does not have even an iota of
truth.
To iron out (To smooth out differences)
Let us iron out our differences and be friendly
again.
An iron will (Strong determination)
Trust in God and an iron will are essential for
success.
To keep the wolf from the door (To keep away
hunger and starvation)
The poor fellow has five children. He works
overtime to keep the wolf from the door.
To keep abreast of (To be in touch with)
Read the newspapers if you want to keep
abreast of the times.
Kith and kin (Friends and relations)
All my kith and kin left me in the lurch in my
predicament.
To leave no stone unturned (To do ones best, take
all possible effort)
I will leave no stone unturned to prove myself
worthy of your expectations.
Within a stones throw (Very close)
Arjun is very lucky; his school is within a stones
throw of his house.
Lock, stock and barrel (Completely)
The British left India lock, stock and barrel in
1947.
The long and the short (The main point)
The long and the short of the report is that the
clerk is at fault.
www.ssc-cgl2014.in
To rub salt in the wounds (To make a painful
situation more painful)
It is the way of the world that no one works for
healing your wounds they rather rub salt into
them.
Not worth ones salt (Quite worthless)
It was a mistake hiring Girish: as an employee,
he is not worth his salt.
Not letting the grass grow under ones feet (To act
swiftly and decisively)
He does not let the grass grow under his feet;
within two years of his appointment, the firms
profits have doubled.
A square meal (A full meal)
A square meal is a dream for millions of poor
Indians.
To stick to ones guns (To stand firm)
If a person has the spirit to stick to his guns, no
power on earth can make him yield.
To stand in good stead (To be useful)
My fathers advice stood me in good stead
when I started a business.
To steal a march (To gain advantage over)
I stole a march on him and frustrated his evil
designs against me.
A stumbling block (An obstacle)
If a person is determined to do something, he
can uproot any stumbling block on his way.
A square peg in a round hole (Misfit)
Roshan is only a matriculate. If you promote
him as an administrator, he will prove to be a
square peg in a round hole.
To make eyes at someone (To admire someone)
Even at a very early age, young Mohan spent
most of his schooldays making eyes at the
teachers.
To be up to the eyes (To be very busy)
Until the audit next month, I shall be up to the
eyes getting the accounts in order.
To throw dust in ones eyes (To deceive)
You cannot throw dust in my eyes. I know all
about the matter.
To take the wind out of ones sails (Deprive ones
argument of all force)
The Prime Minister took the wind out of the
oppositions sails when he exposed their
attempt to bring down the government.
Spread like wildfire (Spread quickly)
Rumours of Ashoks promotion spread like
wildfire through the office.
his
www.ssc-cgl2014.in
To turn the tables (To reverse the situation)
Mohan was beaten in the first two games, but
in the third one he turned the tables on his
opponent.
To sow ones wild oats (To indulge in youthful follies)
Those who sow their wild oats during their
college days usually make good husbands.
To pour oil on troubled waters (Solve a dispute
with tact)
After the boy was rude to the teacher his father
poured oil on troubled waters by apologising.
Take a leaf out of ones book (To imitate someone)
When she left school, she took a leaf out of
her sisters book and joined a computer class.
Break down (fail to work (machine)
I would have arrived earlier, but my car broke
down miles from a garage.
To cut the cackle (To stop delaying and take action)
It was a difficult job, but once we had decided
to cut the cackle and get going, it was done.
A bone of contention (A source of quarrel)
Kashmir is a bone of contention between India
and Pakistan.
A curtain lecture (A rebuke by a wife to her husband in
private)
A henpecked husband has to listen to a curtain
lecture from his wife almost every night.
Duck in a thunderstorm (Distressed)
When Harish failed the interview he returned
home like a duck in a thunderstorm.
To fan the flames (To make more intense)
The abuse hurled by Ram fanned the flames
resulting in a fierce fight between the two
parties.
To play second fiddle (To be a yes-man/flatterer)
This clerk plays second fiddle to his officer.
Above board (Open and honest)
All his business deals are above board.
To throw cold water over something (To
discourage something)
He threw cold water over our suggestion for an
outing.
To make both ends meet (To live within ones
income, often used in the negative)
Even with a good wage, nowadays it is difficult
to make both ends meet.
To pull a long face (To look sad)
Ever since he failed the exam, he has been
pulling a long face.
www.ssc-cgl2014.in
www.ssc-cgl2014.in
To put all ones eggs in one basket (To rely entirely
on one plan or scheme)
By investing all his capital in the project, he
was putting all his eggs in one basket.
To play fast and loose (To behave in an immoral
manner)
My brother plays fast and loose with every girl
he meets.
At a snails pace (Very slowly)
www.ssc-cgl2014.in
To make a mountain out of a molehill (To make a
big issue out of a small matter)
www.ssc-cgl2014.in
A thorn in ones side (A constant source of
annoyance)
His neighbours barking dog is a thorn in his
side.
A man of straw (A man of no substance; a symbolic
representative of power or office)
The new managing director is so much under
the chairmans thumb that he is a man of straw.
To play ducks and drakes (To behave inconsistently
especially when it is done intentionally to delay
something)
Dont play ducks and drakes with me. Tell me
what you intend to do.
Hide ones light under a bushel (To be genuinely
modest)
Hes very shy; he always hides his light under a
bushel.
To cross ones Ts and dot ones Is (To be very careful,
to be precise)
Mind you cross your Ts and dot your Is when you
write the exam. (Note: This idiom is usually
used when giving advice to others; Mind,
commonly used with this idiom, means
remember.)
Wearing ones heart on ones sleeve (Being openly
emotional)
It is easy to see when Anish is in love; he wears
his heart on his sleeve.
To rack ones brains (To think very hard)
No matter how hard I racked my brains, I could
not remember his name.
Make head or tail of something (To understand
something)
Sunils report was so complicated that I could
not make head or tail of it.
To paint the town red (indulge in noisy merrymaking)
The law students went out to paint the town red
when they had passed their exams.
Throw down the gauntlet (To issue a challenge)
By defying the manager, Satheesh effectively
threw down the gauntlet.
To end in smoke (To end in failure)
For all his expensive promotion, his business
venture ended in smoke.
To be in the blues (To be depressed)
Shushila was in the blues for a week after her
friend quarrelled with her.