Idioms & Phrases Meaning Usage Statements

Ron was in seventh heaven

in a very good mood; feeling when he was declared the
in seventh heaven
very happy winner of the All American
Golf Tournament.

After a strenuous day, Stacy

in the arms of Morpheus asleep was soon in the arms of
Morpheus.

When the economy is in the

sluggish; inactive; in low doldrums, small and large
in the doldrums
spirits businesses feel its adverse
effects.

The doctors have done

a situation that cannot be
everything possible for Sara,
in the lap of the gods controlled and depends only
so her recovery now is in the
on good luck
lap of the gods.

a period of warm weather

which sometimes happens in
early autumn | a successful or
Indian summer
pleasant period in someone's
life, especially toward the end
of their life

it's an ill wind that blows
nobody good
ivory tower
keep a stiff upper lip
keep the pot boiling
know the ropes
left holding the bag
a calamity for one person that
usually benefits somebody
else | there can be some good
in a misfortune for someone
or something
an imaginary location where
aloof academics are said to
reside and work
to be courageous or stoic in
the face of adversity
to keep going on actively
to stay informed of the details
of a situation or task
(i) to allow someone to take
all the blame (ii) to leave
someone appearing to be
guilty.
The students rejoiced that all
the classes were suspended
but the teachers were hard
pressed to complete the
lessons on time. It is an ill
wind that blows nobody any
good.
Dan demanded Ryan to come
out of his ivory tower and see
what the world is really like
Joan kept a stiff upper lip the
whole time her friend
discussed the recent demise of
her husband.
The main motive of every
daily wage worker is to keep
the pot boiling.
Megan is very confident about
taking up the reporter’s job as
she is familiar with the ropes
of trade.
Even though the problem of
water scarcity was all the
mayor's fault, Sam was left
holding the bag.

allow inactive problems to
let sleeping dogs lie remain so, to avoid stirring up
old hostilities
like Caesar's wife above suspicion
lily-livered cowardly
ready for the hardest
loaded for bear
problems, to be well prepared
the whole thing; entirely,
lock, stock, and barrel
completely
look a gift horse in the
to be critical of a present
mouth
Jane knew she should report
the accident that happened on
Christmas Eve but decided to
let sleeping dogs lie to avoid
complications.
When his subordinates
accused him of falsifying the
records, the CEO force Ross
to resign, saying, "Caesar's
wife must be above
suspicion."
Tom was always a lily-livered
boy who hides under his bed
till a fight is over.
On the eve of the war the
leader delcared that he was
loaded for bear and so were
his soldiers in command.
We lost everything—lock,
stock, and barrel— in the
recent fire that claimed
hundreds of houses and
several lives.
Joan knew that the car was not
in great condition, and that she
shouldn't look a gift horse in
the mouth but she couldnt
control herself from
commenting how bad it was.

to attempt to do something
make bricks without
without having the necessary
straw
materials
of the first water of the finest quality
away from the frequently
off the beaten track
traveled routes
on pins and needles anxious; in suspense
on tenter hooks in a state of painful suspense
on the popular side (of an
on the bandwagon issue); taking a popular
position
Ruth declared the she can't
make bricks without straw and
demanded that Ron give her
an electric drill to put the
shelves up.
The football season of 1997
featured one of the best games
of the first water.
As Mary and I were strolling
down fifth avenue, we found a
nice little Italian restaurant off
the beaten track.
Ross has been on pins and
needles all day, waiting for
Rachel to call with the news
about his job interview.
Till half time Reid and I were
on tenterhooks all through the
game, hoping against hope
that our team would win.
A lot of people who ignored
the movie earlier seems to be
jumping the bandwagon now
that it has won an Oscar.
 After the altercation with the
member of the jury, Rob
to be in trouble with someone
on the carpet suspected that he is going to
in authority
be on the carpet in the near
future for his rudeness.

Rose promised George that

she will be at the Grand
on the dot at exactly the right time
Central Station at noon on the
dot.

After the recent attack on the

British Governor, the police
on the qui vive On the alert, vigilant
have been warned to be on the
qui vive for terrorists.

We decided to go to the new

French Bistro on the seventh
on the spur of the without thinking, suddenly;
avenue on the spur of the
moment spontaneously
moment and ended up having
a wonderful time.

Once in a blue moon, Elle

on a very rare occasion; buys a fashion magazine, just
once in a blue moon
seldom to see what people are
wearing these days.

Just because the Real Madrid

because one good thing has
team won their last game but
one swallow doesn't ?happened, it is not ?therefore
one swallow doesn't make a
make a summer ?certain that a ?situation is
summer as they're still bottom
going to ?improve
of the league.

beyond one's depth; in a
out of one's depth situation that is too dificult to
handle
Paul was out of his depth in
that advanced calculus class
that he wondered how he was
going to pass his first
semester.

After the judge has fined me

heavily for my traffic
out of the frying pan into from a bad situation to a violation, I really got out of
the fire worse situation the frying pan into the fire as
my wife filed for a divorce
soon afterwards.

I knew that I was going out on

a limb by buying the villa but
in a dangerous or exposed
out on a limb I couldnt resist the beautiful
position
construction and peaceful
neighbourhood.

(i) The water authorities say

to pass the blame to someone
pass the buck
else; to give the responsibility
their drivers are causing
delays in the supply, but they
are just passing the buck
again. (ii) Joanna is always
passing the buck to Steve
when it comes to completing
the articles on time.

The evidence against Sam was

so strong that it would take a
Philadelphia lawyer a lawyer of outstanding ability
Philadelphia lawyer to get him
off.

In the murder case of the

popular actress, the defendant
plea bargain agreed to enter a plea bargain
with the prosecutor to reduce
the charges.

put the cart before the to have things in the wrong
horse order, do things backwards
a victory that is offset by
Pyrrhic victory
staggering losses
an important or significant
red-letter day
day
avoid humiliation or
save face embarrassment, preserve
dignity
a place populated with ruined
Skid Row alcoholics and other down-
and-out people
to wait before making an
sleep on it
important decision
Peter scolded Zooey for
putting the cart before the
horse as she ate all of her
dessert first before the main
course.
The advertisment was so
divisive that even though the
product was sold it was a
Pyrrhic victory for the
manufacturers.
Today was a red letter day in
our office as the company got
the most coveted mining
project of the decade.
On account of his social status
the management agreed to
accept his resignation rather
than fire him outright.
Denise's smoking was getting
so bad her family thought that
she was headed for the skid
row.
Beth was asked to sleep on her
moving to Tulsa for her new
position as the supply
manager by her boss.
 The adjudicator informed that
to disparage something that
sour grapes the losers' scorn for the award
you cannot have
is pure sour grapes.

The actress was livid that her

to do something that takes
publicist stole her thunder by
steal one's thunder attention away from what
leaking her wedding
someone else has done
announcement to the press.

Jonathan kept a stiff upperlip

to be courageous or stoic in
stiff upper lip despite knowing that his team
the face of adversity.
lost the final match.

Lisa announced that she was

whatever goods, skills, etc.,
going to take care of the entire
stock in trade are necessary to undertake an
packing as it was a stock in
activity of some kind
trade for her.

Shelly told him straight from

straight from the very direct, without
the shoulder that he is a bad
shoulder attenuation or embellishment
actor and had no real talent.

The project was her last song

a final accomplishment or
swan song as Winona was resigning
performance, one's last work
tomorrow
 to make major changes in an
activity that has already
swap horses in
begun; to choose someone or
midstream
something else after it is too
late
to confront a problem head-on
take the bull by the horns
and deal with it openly
take the wind out of one's
put one at a disadvantage
sails
a person used by another
a cat's paw person to carry out unpleasant
tasks
a symbol of honor and
a feather in one's cap
achievement
something which disappoints
by failing to deliver anything
a flash in the pan
of value, despite a showy
beginning
I informed Josh that I was
already baking a cherry pie
and that it is too late to change
horses in the middle of the
stream and bake an apple pie.
Amy decided to take the bull
by the horns by confronting
her boss about her promotion.
When the Pierman group
announced that they were
doing the same study as ours,
it took the wind out of our
sails
John was merely a cat's paw
of his selfish superior at
office.
After the amazing victory in
the state level championship,
it was a feather in our cap to
win the national level
championship as well.
Julie had hoped to be a big
film star, but her career was
only a flash in the pan as she
realized that good looks were
not enough to be a successful
actor.

a small but irritating flaw that
a fly in the ointment
spoils the whole
a cursory effort, for instance
a lick and a promise
at painting or tidying up
a deal or an offering that is
a pig in a poke foolishly accepted without
being examined first
a pretty (fine) kettle of a muddled or awkward state
fish of affairs
a pretty (fine) kettle of an alternative; a different
fish thing altogether
a deliberate misleading and
a red herring diverting of attention from the
real issue
The fly in the ointment of a
beautiful picnic was the
sudden outburst of rain, which
poured as soon as we sat down
for some snacks.
Rita knew that Tom’s word to
visit her during the weekend
was just a lick and a promise,
as he had a business trip to
Romania the same weekend.
I realize that the cashmere
sweater I ordered online is a
pig in a poke, as I can neither
feel the quality of the fabric
nor know if the sweater would
fit me.
By taking control of the
Sports Board, Phoebe found
himself in a fine kettle of fish
since nothing was in order and
even the staff were
disoriented.
Ryan’s route was a pretty
kettle of fish to the confusing
directions given by Maria to
reach Brownsville.
About half way through his
story it seemed like the driver
was the murderer, but that
turned out to be a red herring.
 The legal system in the
democracy remains a sacred
something too highly regarded
cow, despite increasing
a sacred cow to be open to criticism or
evidence that serious mistakes
curtailment
have been made in many areas
in the past.

Everyone in my office seems

a person whose character
a square peg in a round makes them unsuitable for the
hole job or other position they are
in
ambitious, competitive, and
dedicated to work, but I just
want to make a living, and so
feel like a square peg in a
round hole.

Paul is always considered a

someone who does or says
something that stops other
a wet blanket
people from enjoying
themselves
welfare wet blanket by the
sales team, since he is always
apprehensive of innovative
sales pitches that are
proposed.

The mall's new game centre,

a burdensome possession; recently completed at a cost of
a white elephant creating more trouble than it 12 million pounds, is proving
is worth a white elephant as it has
redundant games.

The wild terrains of the North

are an Achilles’ heel to the
Achilles' heel a weak or vulnerable factor country, as the neighboring
countries find it easy to attack
from those terrains.

(i) Mary always has an ax to

have a dispute to take up with
someone or, to have an
an ax to grind
ulterior motive| to have
private ends to serve.
grind about the performance
of Sam in his classes and they
argue about it over and over
again. (ii) The best reporting
is done by people who don't
have an ax to grind as they
focus on the truth.

trying to gain favor by gifts or
apple-polishing
flattery
to express that it is impossible
as broad as it is long to decide between two options
because they're equal
a difficult position from
behind the eight ball which it is unlikely one can
escape
an unpleasant fact that has to
bitter pill to swallow
be accepted
to be changeable or uncertain
blow hot and cold
about something
a highly valuable asset, stock,
blue chip
or property
There was no apple-polishing;
yet Pauline's boss regarded her
in very high esteem due to her
hard work.
John is behind the eight ball
again because he has not yet
started writing his assignment,
which is due tomorrow.
It was a bitter pill for Joan’s
brother to swallow when she
married his nemesis who gave
him such a hard time in
college.
I wish Ron would stop
blowing hot and cold about
moving in with Marlene, and
make up his mind about this.
To everyone’s intense
astonishment, the blue chip
stocks took another nose dive
in today’s trading.

to concern oneself with the
key issues of some matter or
get down to brass tacks
to focus on the immediate
business at hand
to break down social
break the ice
formality and stiffness
to earn money, particularly for
one's family; to be successful,
bring home the bacon
especially financially
successful
burn the midnight oil to work late into the night
to settle your differences with
bury the hatchet
an adversary
by whatever means
necessary—be they fair or
foulby whatever means
by hook or by crook necessary—be they fair or
foulby whatever means
necessary—be they fair or
foul
After spending way too much
time on an unfruitful
conversation, Sam suggested
that they get down to brass
tacks and decide who is going
to pay the bill.
Claire suggested that they all
begin by sharing a funny
anecdote to break the ice
before the actual training can
begin.
Ali decided to leave her
hometown, move to the city,
and get a job so that she can
bring home the bacon.
Having wasted much time
doing nothing, Joey decided to
burn the midnight oil and
study for the next day's exam.
Bob and I buried the hatchet a
long time ago and we are good
friends now.
With a resolve to pass the test
by hook or crook, Jamie
attempted to bribe the
examiner the day before the
exam.

a fanciful or impractical
castles in the air
notion or hope; daydream
a legal case or an event that a
lot of people become
cause célèbre
interested in | a notorious
person, thing or episode
a person or thing that derives
chip off the old block
from the source or parentage
to become disheartened or
cold feet timid, losing one's previous
enthusiasm or courage
a display of coldness or
cold shoulder indifference, intended to
wound
an action or event that finally
ends or destroys something
coup de grâce
that has been getting weaker
or worse
Talitha tells me that she has
planned out her whole career,
but as far as I can see it's all
just castles in the air.
Eventually the affair of the
famous actress and the
budding politician became a
cause célèbre that their
respective spokespersons had
to plead the media and the
public to respect the privacy
of the couple.
Everyone says that Miranda is
a chip off the old block, but I
think she very different from
her dad.
Louel was all set to give the
speech at the conference, but
she got cold feet at the last
second and was unable to
speak.
Naoki was upset about the fact
that the town council has
given the cold shoulder to her
proposal to build a swimming
pool.
Having ensured that the area
was fairly secluded, he
administered the coup de
grâce with a knife and
dropped the girl on the
pavement.

to put on an insincere show of
crocodile tears
sorrow
Draconian Code a very severe set of rules
to suppress or control one's
draw in one's horns feelings, especially of anger,
enthusiasm, or passion
a state of steadfastness,
especially with respect to
dyed-in-the-wool
one's political, religious, or
social beliefs
My fair-weather friend, Bill,
a person who is dependable in
stayed for lunch but he
fair-weather friends good times and not so in times
wouldn't help me with the
of trouble
yard work.
When the manager said that
the meeting was cancelled, the
employees pretended that they
were upset but the manager
realized that they were only
shedding crocodile tears.
The rules of the new game
show read like a Draconian
Code that the producers were
unsure whether or not the
participants would be able to
understand them, let alone the
viewers.
The town manager wanted to
raise the service taxes but
public outrage made him draw
in his horns.
Sally is a dyed-in-the-wool
feminist and expresses her
outrage at the treatment of
women in a vociferous
manner.
Sally is a dyed-in-the-wool
feminist and expresses her
outrage at the treatment of
women in a vociferous
manner.

matters have come to a crisis;
fat is in the fire
trouble is about to start
numbed by alcohol and
feeling no pain
feeling nothing; intoxicated
forty winks a short nap
from one place to another in
from pillar to post
an unceremonious manner
engage in an unnecessary and
gild the lily
usually wasteful activity.
to do something that is the
go against the grain opposite of what is usually
done
With the burning of the effigy,
the fat is in the fire, since the
mob is definetely expected to
turn unruly.
Toby drowned the bottle of
gin and tonic and fell off the
wagon feeling no pain.
I was exhausted mentally and
physically that I badly wanted
forty winks before I ventured
out.
The migrants were made to go
from pillar to post to complete
the formalities.
Miro felt that Sally was
beautiful the way she was and
for her wearing makeup would
just be gilding the lily.
It goes against the grain for
William to admit that he's
wrong but this time,
surprisingly, he apologized to
David.

to have power and control
have the upper hand
over someone or a situation
an apparently free choice that
Hobson's choice
actually offers no alternative
completely tricked or
hook, line and sinker
deceived
extremely skeptical and
I'm from Missouri
requires proof
take the straightest, shortest
in a beeline
route
in very good order; very well-
in apple pie order
organized
At half time, the French team
seemed to have the upper
hand, but Britain's two
consecutive goals turned the
tide in their favor.
We didn't really want to go to
that particular eatery, but it
was a case of Hobson's choice
as it was way past midnight
and our options were limited.
Despite being aware of his
unfaithful nature, Sarah fell
for Ryan’s story hook, line
and sinker.
"You won the lottery? Come
on, I'm from Missouri,"
exclaimed Karen.
After the baseball game, an
exhausted Billy walked into
the kitchen and made a
beeline for the cookies.
Violet's desk is always in
apple-pie order that it is hard
to lose anything placed on it.
 The President never got off
his high horse to realise that
to get off one's high to be less haughty and become
his words were extremely
horse humble
hurting and insulting for the
refugees.

to become angry or make The last minute call for the

to get one's back up
someone angry meeting put Joan's back up

Mary got the sack today from

Dunkin doughnuts as she
to get the sack dismissed from a job
racially abused their loyal
customer in the morning.

On the eve of his exams John

seem to have got up on the
to get up on the wrong to be in a bad mood; to seem
wrong side of the bed as he
side of the bed grouchy on a particular day
was grouchy and irritable the
whole day.

The team's ten year research

to come to no practical result;
to go up in smoke
spoiled or wasted
was turned down by the
committee as baseless and all
their hard work went up in
smoke

Despite having the solution

right at his fingertips, Steven
to have at one's fingertips readily available; accessible was worried sick about how to
convince his parents to go on
the field trip

to hit the nail on the head
to lay one's cards on the
table
to leave no stone
unturned
to lionize a person
to be happy because you do
to live in a fool's paradise not know or will not accept
how bad a situation really
to maintain the status
quo
to do exactly the right thing
to talk frankly; to be very
candid
to do everything that can be
done; to make every effort, to
try one's best
to make a big fuss over
someone
to maintain the ?present
?situation as it is
Mike hit the nail on the head
when he said that the youth
nowadays lack motivation and
dedication to succeed and that
technology has made them
lazy
Tim laid the cards on the table
when he admitted to Monica
that he cheated on her during
their ten years of marriage.
Shelly left no stone unturned
to finish her paper on
molecular science well before
the Christmas vacation
With people getting laid off
due to the fall in the economic
status of the country, Rita is
living in a fool’s paradise
thinking that she has complete
job security.
The present government
wanted to maintain the status
quo for the next five years of
their reign but the people
wanted some dynamic reforms
to happen.

to earn and spend equal
to make ends meet
amounts of money
to make the best of a bad adapt as well as possible to a
bargain bad situation
to pay the piper to bear the consequences
to pretend to be inactive,
to play possum
unobservant, asleep, or dead
to pour oil on troubled soothe or calm down
waters something or someone
to do a fair share of the work;
to pull one's own weight do one's share in a common
task
Shelly was already struggling
to make ends meet when her
owner annonced that he was
going to increased the rent
amount to 1%
Upon learning that he got
fired from his advertising job,
Simon decided to make the
best of a bad bargain by
travelling to France and
becoming a sous chef.
Rob tried to put off paying his
rent that month but he knew
that he will eventually have to
pay the piper.
I knew that my pet dog was
not really asleep but was just
playing the possum and I
proceeded to prod her again
and again.
Max was furious with Dave
for breaking his antique jar
that Jeremy tried to pour oil
on troubled water by taking
him put for a long walk
After being criticized for her
laziness Rose made up her
mind to pull one's own weight
in the upcoming group
project.
 to end one's ties to a particular
place; to get ready to move
to pull up stakes away from a place where one
has lived or worked for a long
time
to make a lot of trouble; to
to raise Cain
raise hell
to rub a person the wrong
to irritate someone
way
to rule the roost to be in charge, to be master
to show one's hand to reveal one's intentions
to do wild and foolish things
to sow wild oats
in one's youth
Following the displeasing
experiences of the week Annie
decided to finally pull up
stakes and leave for her
hometown.
I did not know that I was
raising Cane when I brought
home the stray cat but now I
realise that it was not worth
getting scratched everyday.
At the mention of his recent
divorce Ross' face turned
angry and Phoebe realised that
she had rubbed him the wrong
way.
In Georgia’s house it is her
aunt that rules the roost than
her parents.
After months of speculation
the actress finally decided to
show one's hand and revealed
that she was going to get
married.
Jane spend her college days
sowing her wild oats but once
she graduated she realised that
she has to take responsibility
and get a job.

to spill the beans
to split hairs
to strike while the iron is
hot
to take a leaf out of
someone's book
to take by storm
to take down a peg
to give away a secret or a
surprise
to make petty and
unnecessary distinctions
to take action at the right
moment
to copy something that
someone else does because it
will bring you advantages
to conquer someone or
something in a fury
to reprimand someone who is
acting too arrogant
We planned a surprise
birthday party for Heidi on
Thursday night but Becca
accidentally spilled the beans
and ruined the surprise.
Macy and Ryan decided not to
split hairs over who would
clean the cappuccino machine
and that they would take turns
to do it week after week.
After solving the customer's
PC related issues, Smith
decided to strike the iron
while it is hot by making a
sale of the new anti-virus
package.
I decided to take a leave out of
Fred's book and bunk the
horribly boring palaeontology
lecture today.
The pianist took the gathering
by storm by his exceptional
performance.
The protestors hoped that the
string of failiures in the recent
elections will take down the
attitude of the leader a peg or
two.

to take French leave
to take under one's wing
to tell tales out of school
to throw cold water
to throw down the
gauntlet
to throw the book at
someone
to go away without
permission
to help and protect someone
to tell secrets or spread
rumors
to criticize or stop something
that some people are
enthusiastic about
to challenge someone to an
argument
to charge or convict someone
with as many crimes as is
possible
Unable to cope with the rigors
of a call centre job, Roger
decided to take a French leave
from work and look for a job
change.
After her parents died in a car
crash, Anna’s grandmother
took her under her wings and
brought her up under her care.
Regina is notorious for telling
tales out of school and hence
Sandra asked Cady to stay
away from her.
The proposal to build a theme
park in the neighbourhood
was a good one but the
municipal authority
immediately threw cold water
on it by rejecting the idea
'No matter how much Ron
annoys me I will not throw
down the gauntlet with him'
announced Pete firmly.
Knowing that he is a habitual
offender, the judge decided
the throw the book at Sam in
the last hearing.

to manage to spend less
to tighten one's belt money; to use less of
something
to fight battles with imaginary
to tilt at windmills enemies; to fight against
unimportant enemies or issues
to do what one is expected to
to toe the mark
do; to follow the rules
to twist around one's
to control completely
finger
to upset the apple cart to mess up or ruin something
to cancel defects, to give a
to whitewash falsely virtuous appearance to
something
With the recent price rice for
all basic commodities, people
are really tightening their belts
and trying to manage
resources.
I thought that John was a
visionary but only later did I
realise that he was simply
tilting at the windmills.
No matter how hard she tried
Lily cannot toe the mark and
ended up getting fired from
her last job in a mere six
months.
Chris has such a charisma that
he can twist around one's
finger completely and make
them do what he wants.
By revealing to Susie about
her husband's infidelity, Tom
really upset the apple cart
There is no use trying to
whitewash the scandal
surrounding the President
because the media has already
published photos of his
indiscretion to the public.

meant as amusing and not in a
tongue in cheek
serious manner
to cause a reversal in
turn the tables
someone's plans
to discuss private or
embarrassing matters in
wash dirty linen in public
public, especially when
quarreling
to display one's feelings
wear one's heart on one's
openly and habitually, rather
sleeve
than keep them private
to pretend not to see
wink at something; to condone
something wrong
without purpose, order, or
without rhyme or reason
reason
I suspect that Claire's claim
that she is supportive of same
sex marriage was just a tongue
in cheek.
I went to Jane’s surprise
birthday party only to know
that my friends have turned
the tables on me and it was
actually a surprise birthday
party organised for me.
Annie always talks to
strangers about her most
personal problems and does
not care about washing one's
dirty linen in public.
Damian always tells people
how he feels and even though
many people take offence to
that he never fails to wear his
heart on his sleeves.
John tried to wink at her
presence but he knew that he
couldn’t ignore her for too
long;
Sam started to cry his eyes out
all of a sudden without
arhyme or reason.
 idle or absent-minded Ryan’s mother scolded him to
woolgathering indulgence in fantasy; stop wool gathering and to
daydreaming take the cattle out for feeding.

That truck has the ability to

worth one's weight in extremely valuable, very
weather the storm that it is
gold useful
worth its weight in gold