IDIOMS AND PHRASES

1. A bed of roses comfortable

and easy work
2. A black sheep rogue
3. A bolt from the blue sudden
shock and sad event
4. A bone of contention cause
of dispute
5. A bottle neck hindrance
6. A fair weather friend
companion of good times
7. A far cry something very
difficult
8. A feather in ones cap
distinction
9. A fools paradise utopia
10. A golden mean middle
course between two extremes
11. A herculean task daring
deed.
12. A hornet nest cause of
trouble
13. A lame excuse greatest
share
14. A laughing stock an object
of ridicule

15. A rainy day a time of

difficulty
16. A lions share a major part
17. A red letter day a very
important day
18. A rolling stone a fickle
minded person
19. A shady deal a dishonest
and questionable transaction
20. A square deal a fair
bargain
21. A tall talk boasting
22. A turn coat one who
deserts his principles,
renegade
23. A white elephant
something very costly to
maintain.
24. A wild goose chase
fruitless work.
25. Above broad clear
26. All greek and latin beyond
understanding
27. The apple of discord cause
of dispute
28. All in all having full power

29. An axe to grind selfish

motive to serve
30. An open secret already
known
31. Apple of ones eyes very
dear
32. At a loss worried
33. At a stone throw very near
34. At daggers drawn with
enmity
35. At home in very strong
36. At large free
37. At ones fingers ends be
master of
38. At ones wit end worried
and confusion
39. At random aimlessly
40. At sixes and sevens
scattered
41. At the eleventh hour at
the last moment
42. Bad blood enmity
43. Bag and baggage with all
belongings
44. Bear the brunt of be the
main victim of

45. Beat about the bush say

indirectly
46. Beggar description difficult
to describe
47. Bell the cat lead in a
dangerous situation
48. Besides the mark
irrelevant
49. Block headed fool
50. Blot out erase or remove
51. Blow hot and cold be
favourable and unfavourable at
the same time
52. Blow ones own trumpet
to boast
53. Break the ice start
conversation
54. Bring to the books punish
55. Bury the hatchet make
peace, end enmity
56. By and by after a while
57. By fits and starts
irregularly
58. By hook or crook anyhow
59. By leaps and bounds
rapidly

60. Call a spade a spade speak

plainly
61. Carry the day be victorious
62. Catch red handed to catch
at the sp0t
63. Chicken hearted timid,
coward
64. Childs play easy work
65. Cut the Gordian knot to
solve a difficult problem
66. Die hard to refuse to
change
67. Die in harness die while on
duty
68. End in smoke come to
nothing
69. Ever and anon occasionally
70. Fall flat to be ineffective
71. Fall short decrease
72. Feel the pulse of know the
opinion
73. Flesh and blood body
74. Follow suit do the same
thing
75. From hand to mouth to
pass life in difficulty

76. Get into hot water be in

trouble
77. Get rid of be free
78. Get the wind of come to
know
79. Go to rack and ruin be
ruined
80. Grease the palm bribe
81. Hard and fast definite
82. High and low people of all
ranks
83. Hold good remain in force
84. Hue and cry in confusion
85. In a fix in confusion
86. In black and white in
writing
87. In cold blood mercilessly
88. In full swing very active
89. In lieu of in place of
90. In quest of in search of
91. In the nick of time just at
the right time
92. In the prime of quite
young
93. In vogue in fashion
94. Ins and outs full details

95. Keep company with to

associate
96. Kit and kin all relatives
97. Leave in lurch leave in
difficulty
98. Live fast live in luxury
99. Live from hand to mouth
pass life in difficulty
100. Loaves and fishes profit
101. A queer fish a strange
person
102. To pour oil on troubled
waters to pacify matters
103. A rainy day a time of
difficulty
104. A red letter day a very
important day
105. Root and branch entirely
106. A red rag to a bull cause
of anger
107. Rough and ready
unpolished manners
108. Red tapism official
formality
109. Round and corner near
110. A rolling stone one who

is not constant at one work

111. A royal road an easy way
to achieve an end
112. To smell a rat to suspect
something.
113. Snake in grass to be in a
state of fear
114. Shoulder to shoulder in
co operation
115. Safe and sound safely
116. To stand on ones legs to
be independent
117. To see eye to eye to
agree
118. Snake in the grass a
hidden enemy
119. A sheet anchor the chief
supporter.
120. To sail under flase
colours to try to deceive
121. Smooth sailing no
difficulty
122. Spick and span neat and
tidy
123. Swan song a last great
achievement

124. To stink fast to grow

worse and worse
125. A stiff necked person an
obstinate person
126. A short cut an easy way
127. To shut ones eye to
ignore
128. To see red to get angry
129. Street arabs homeless
and parentless person
130. Through thick and thin
under all circumstances
131. A slow coach a lazy
person
132. To sit on the fence to be
neutral.
133. From hand to mouth a
miserable existence
134. Fed up to be tired of
135. A fish out of water in an
uncomfortable existence
136. A fools paradise joy
based on false hopes
137. Face to face personally
138. To face the music to face
trouble

139. To fish in troubled water

to take advantage of others
trouble
140. To give a slip to escape
141. First and foremost very
important
142. A fly visit hasty and brief
visit
143. Foul play bad intention
144. A gala day day of
rejoicing
145. A fatal disease a disease
that causes death
146. To get the sack to be
dismissed
147. To go without saying to
be clear
148. Give and take mutual
cooperation
149. To go through fire and
water to make sacfice
150. To get into hot water to
get into trouble
151. To grease the plam the
bribe
152. To gain ground to

progress
153. To be a good hand at to
be expert
154. Hand to hand a close
fight
155. Hide and seek to deceive
156. High spirits to be very
happy
157. The high and low of all
ranks
158. Half hearted very healty
and sound
159. Hue and cry to raise
alarm
160. A hard nut to crack a
difficult problem to solve
161. Heart and soul with full
energy
162. A broken reed an
frustrated person
163. A bird eye view a general
view
164. To carry the day to
succeed
165. A begger description
difficult to describe

166. Birds of feather person

having same profession
167. To beat the hollow to
defeat completely
168. To bear the brunt of to
bear the consequences of
169. A bed of throns full of
sorrow and sufferings
170. A bed of roses full of joy
and pleasures
171. Between the deep and
devil sea between two great
difficulties
172. A bird of passage a
migratory person
173. To build the castles in
the air to form imaginary
scheme
174. Bread and butter
livelihood
175. To come to hand receive
176. A cock and bull story
imaginary story
177. A cool head a clam
judgement
178. To cry for the moon wish

for something impossible

179. Crocodile tears to show
false sorrow
180. To catch red handed to
catch while committing crimes
181. A child play something
very easy
182. To come of age be major
183. To carry fire and sword
to cause destruction
184. To cry over spilt milk to
reach crisis
185. To change hands to pass
from one person to another
186. A cry in the wilderness
useless cry
187. By fits and starts
irregularly
188. A dead letter no longer in
use
189. To dance to ones tune to
carry out orders
190. A dark horse a
competition of unknown
capabilities
191. Eye for eye tit for tat

192. A drawn game in which

no team wins
193. At random Aimlessly
194. At first sight at first
meeting
195. Above all more than
anything else
196. Above broad openly
197. At a discount declining
198. Apple of ones eye an
object of love
199. Apple pie order in
perfect order
200. At draggers drawn with
to be enemies
201. An axe to grind selfish
motive to serve
202. At ones wit end to be in
confusion
203. At an arm length very
near
204. Add fuel to the fire to
increase anger
205. At a stone throw very
near
206. As a matter of fact really

207. At all events positively

208. A feather in the cup a
very good achievement
209. At home in to be very
strong
210. All in all the most
important and powerful person
211. At sixes and sevens in
disorder
212. A man of iron a man of
strong will and determination
213. To show white feather to
show fear
214. At the eleventh hour at
the last moment
215. To rise like a phoenix to
start afresh from the lower
position
216. To meet ones waterloo
to meet ones defeat
217. High and low of all ranks
218. A man of letter scholar
219. To bury the hatchet to
make peace
220. To set the thames on fire
to do a heroic deed

221. To sound a red alert to

make alert
222. To beat about the bush
to talk about unimportant
things
223. A boon in disguise a
benefit in loss
224. A big shoot important
person
225. To play ducks and drakes
with to squander money
226. To die a dogs death
unheroic death
227. To break the duck to
begin
228. Rise form the ashes rise
form the low
229. My hands are full I m
very busy
230. To give someone a piece
of mind to scold
231. A bull in the china shop
an awkard position
232. To kick ones heels to
waste time
233. Make hay while sun shine

make best use of favourable

situation
234. To put the spoke in ones
wheel to disturb
235. Fancy price very high
price
236. Fair weather friend a
friend of good times
237. Hole and corner policy
improper policy
238. Cut no ice to make no
effect
239. Once and for all forever
240. Oily tongue one who
flatters
241. Hand in glove with close
friendship
242. To work like a dog to
work very hard
243. To keeps ones finger
crossed to wish good for
someone
244. To keep wolf away from
the door to keep off from the
poverty
245. To have several irons in

the fire to have many pieces

of work
246. A blue book a govt book
247. To feather in ones nest
rumour
248. Odds and ends various
articles
249. A hot line a direct
telephone line between the
heads of state
250. To read between the
lines to read the hidden
meanings
251. A mares nest a
discovery which looks valuable
252. To stand ones guns to
preserve when hardship
presses
253. To throw ones nose at
disgust
254. A ladys man a man of
women company
255. A bakers dozen thirteen
256. To turn the coat pass the
crisis
257. To rock the boat

unbalance
258. To chew the cuds to
muse on
259. A duck in the
thunderstorm distressed
260. Fair and square in a fair
way
261. A man of the world an
experience man
262. Midas touch ability to
succeed in all projects
263. To come down the world
to lose ones social and
financial position
264. A sleeping partner an
inactive business man
265. French leave absent
without permission
266. To cut both ends to
argue in support and against
267. An arm chair job an easy
and well paid job
268. Hammer and sickle
emblem of socialism
269. Null and void invalid
270. Back stair gossip gossip

among the servants

271. To bell the cat a very
difficult task
272. To bite the dust to
defeat
273. To be in a driving seat in
control
274. To cross the swords to
enter into a dispute
275. To cut a sorry figure to
create poor impression
276. To die in harness die
while doing job
277. To get into hot water to
be in difficulty
278. To go through fire and
water to pass the difficulty
279. To go to dogs to be
ruined
280. To keep ones card close
to ones chest to be secretive
281. To hit below the belt to
blow unfairly
282. To hit the jackpot to
make money unexpectedly
283. To jump to the

conclusion to arrive on a
conclusion without any
justification
284. To keep the ball rolling
to maintain progress
285. To let oneself go to allow
emotionally
286. To lead a cat and a dog
life to quarrel constantly
287. To make good to repair
288. To miss the bus to miss
the opportunity
289. To make ones blood cold
to frighten
290. To make both end meet
to earn more and more
291. To look through coloured
glass to see things not as they
are
292. To look black at
somebody to look him angrily
293. To bear a grudge to have
better feelings
294. By dint of by means of
295. By and by after
sometime

296. Bag and baggage

completely
297. To blow ones own
trumphet to speak loudly
about oneself
298. Back out to break the
promises
299. Bad blood enmity
300. Blue blood noble blood
301. The bury the ice to break
silence
302. By leaps and bounds
rapidly
303. To burn the candle at
both ends to waste ones time,
energy and money uselessly
304. By hook or by crook any
how
305. To burn the midnight oil
to work very hard till late
night
306. Below ones dignity
below ones position
307. Beside the mark not to
the point
308. A brown study dreaming

309. A burning question a

widely debatable question
310. A big gun an important
figure