511

somethint Work up to something - (i) develop into o There seems to be no hope of recovering
something: these debts. I think we can write them off.
's trying b r The film works up to an exciting climax. (ii) regard something as being without value;
(ii) prepare to express something (e.g. wish, (a vehicle) not worth repair;
suggestion) o The car was completely written off after
r I didn't know at the time what he was the accident.
working up to. Then he asked me to Note: a write-off - The new comedy at the
move into his flat with him! Grand Theatre is a complete write.off so
w*p don't waste money on tickets.
Write something up (i) write a full account
Wrap something up - finalise/complete -
something: of something:
. They're going to wrap up the
. I've got a lot of lecture notes that need
negotiations this week. writing up.
. The aBreement was wrapped up at the
(ii) review (a film, a play) for publication:
last meeting. Note: a write-up - l've been asked to do a
write-up of the play for a local
Write newspaPer.
Write something off - (i) regard (a debt) as a
loss:

IDIOMS
English IS ery rl ch ln di oIr$ and consequentiy the mastery o f the language turns out to
p retty di fficul t for the for e gner e ry o ften his wn ting IS q u1 te ln accord ance
OII1IILd r bu t a rel v d oes S o und
th
di oma tic A careful S tud v IN the use o ( d loma tic
I
ons rn the C S€ o t his reading will be of grea he Whiie the S tu den ma leam the r
P v
use rn the P r o Per contex t, he sho uld take care no to be tempted to use them me rel
v
the sake o f usln8 them S uch an a tem P will onl make his lan guage pedan tic and
v
fural for the word id lom connotes a wav o t exP ress lon Pec uliar to a langua rather
8e
a mere col lection of useful Pfuases
Phrase ma be define d as a sou p of o rds
thou a s ubj ec t and a erb expressing an id ea ln a parti cular manne r
An attempt is, therefore, made here to present idiomatic expressions in natural context
are two varieties of dioma tic exPresslo ns hi ch may offer special diffi cul ti es the
phorical idi om and the PhI asal verb Th"y are seP a te Firs of all we shall d eal th
general idioms and phrases.

(A) A bed of thoms---{Fdl oI dilfoulties and

bad egg-{A worlhless fellow). The parson's
t son is a bad egg.
beast of burden{Ar animal lor carrying
s). The mule is the best beast of burden.
Bed of Rosee{i) (An altogetho ageeable
itbn ot situntion). 'A parochial life is not a
of roses, Mrs. Mann'. - Dickens
(Confonable and mjoyable). Nowadays a
ian's life is not a bed of roses
troubla). Shelley cried that his life was a bed
of thoms.
A bird of prey-{A biril that kills and eats other
creatures).Ttg eagle is a bird of prey.
A bird's eye vierr.-{A general acaunt). Maia
had a bird's eye view of the grand city from
her aparhnent.
A black aheep-{An ill-conducteil Wson; a
memfur of xcbty who b not considered
 5'18
I'm forbidden in the house. I'm
resryctabld.
looked upon as a black sheep - a pest, a
contamination.
A blank cheque{Permrss ion to dit uhat one
feels nece,sary with complete freedom) . He's given
me a blank cheque to carry out my plan.
A blue stocking-{ A woman who prides hersclf
on her learning). Sana was evidently a very
superior young lady and is known as a blue
stocking by her colleagues.
A bon vivant- (An epicure; one fond of good
liuing). Sir Charles Lyndon was celebrated as a
wit and bon vivant.
A bone of contention-{A cause of dispute).
Kashmir is still a bone of contention between
India and Pakistan.
A bookworm-{.A peren uho rends a lof). He is
a real bookworm - he reads ten books a week!
A bosom friend--{A oery intimate frimd). "5o I
have heard; but he is not quite bosom friend
enough with me to have told me all the
particulars. " A cock and brull slory-{An absud
A bottleneck - (i) A place where slowing
down or stopping progress occurs, especially
a narrow part of a road which becomes very
crowded with traffic:
o There's a bottleneck where the motorway
ends and the ordinary road begins.
o The strike has created a bottleneck in the
assembly deparhnent.
(ii)A sih.ration that stops a process or activity
from progressing:
a
o An unsatisfactory labour on the part of
employees is often a serious bottleneck for
the company.
A brainwave-{A sudden good idea). lt w^s a on (betted heavily on the favourite
llrainwave to come here for our holidays.
A breathing-spacelA short time in which one
can haoe a rest). I've only a breathing-space of
ten minutes before my next appointment.
A bright spark--{A aery lioely, cheerful person).
I've met his daughter - she's a bright spar(
isn't she?
A broken reedlAn unreliable perxn or thing).
You can't work with this t,?ewriter. It's a
.{d
broken reed.
A bull's eyelThc inner disk of a
yrrrounded by rings of inueasing
The Republicans had made a bull's eye,
were jubilant.
A burning questionlA question of
and etgerly discussed by, many pmplcl-
buming question in the office was who
be the next manager. !
A burnt offering-{ A meal, or a part af
which has been burrt). Her husband ate
through many bumt offerings
finally leamed to cook.
A busman's holiday--{A holiday
nmelhing similar to uhat one does in
The ioiner spent a busman's holiday
a fitted wardrobe in his bedroom-
A chip of the old block--{A chikl
chnracteristics of his fnther). "He will
chip of the old block, l'll warrant "
with a sidelong look.
hear some cock and bulls story the
about the horses not having run away
A cry in the wildemess-{A uoice
that is heeded by no one). O,tt
against corrupt officers have been
T
more than a cry in the wildemess.
A crying needl Something urgmtly
nolic( or attcntion). There is a crying
more hospitals.
A dark horse-{A competitor nbout
of winning thc world knows nothing).
was dipped pretty deep, and dutB
and the Derby my only chance so I
a dark horse won.
A dead letter--{Obsolete; something ,o
force; a rule neoer ottended to). Ttc
ready money was soon a dead letE
A dead-headJA person who obtoirs
into sn e tertainment without payiag
Poor, hopelessly abandoned loaferl
plainly the stamp of dead-head
shameless feahrres.

A dead-heat-{A contest uhere it is impossible to
decide who is the aictor). He was up in a
a target, momenu but he was already overlapped, and
ittuit although he made up the difference, it was a
eye, anl dead-heat, and they were in neck-and-neck.
A dog in the manager-{A xlfish man, who
refuxs to allow hb neighbour to enjoy enm uhat
he himself has no use for). Haider Ali neither
enjoys & park facility unto himself nor allows
his cousirl he is really a dog in ma-nager.
A double entendre-{A rem"ark cozsering a
concealed.mmning, uhich has generully a
questionable reference). An agreeable old
gentleman, who did not believe in anything
particular, and had a certain proclivity toward
double entendres.
A drop in the ocean{A oery smnll quantity
proportirnate to the whole). As compared with
the country, our village is merely a drop in the
ocean.
A fair crack of the whip{A /air and suffcient
period of ifiportance, dominance, efc.). Each of
three speakers was given a fair crack of the
whip.
A fancy price-{ A aery high price). I paid a
fancy price for this watch, as I liked it so
much.
A lar crylA long distance). Lahore is a far cry
from Karachi.
A feather in one's crp. lAn honour or
distinctian).
o My brother's recent victory in the. tennis
match is yet another feather in his cap.
o The new edition of this book is feather in
Publisher's cap.
A fignent of one's imaginatiort- (Sofiething
one has imagined and which has no rulity). Ott
uncle living in America talks about a figment
of his imagination.
A fish out of wate4A petsn who is pbced in
a position which is strange anil distasteii ta hirn).
. On luing job, le felt like a fish out of uatet
A fool's errandlone that has outcofie or
achieuement). If you are trying to negotiate
with him on this matter, you are simply going
on a fool's errand.
519
A fool's paradise-{Drmm world). For long I
lived in a fool's paradise, and then the hard
realities of life made me rehrm to earth to face
facts.
A forlorn hope-{A desperate arnture). He }riad.
not merely, as the French say, the courage of
his opinions; but his opinions became
principles, and gave him that gallantry of
fanaticism which made him always ready to
head a forlom hope.
A ghost of a chance{No chance at all). She
can't win. She hasn't the ghost of a chance.
A hard nut to crack-{A question diffcult to
soloe, a problan tough enough to resoloe; that
would inooloe ffirt or complexify). This plan
hrrned out to be a harder nut to crack than he
had expected.
A Herrulean lasklGrmt work). For a
weakling like her, climbing 100 steps was a
Herculean task.
A jack of all tradeslOne who does oaious tcts
simultaneously and pafectly, but is not skilletl in
anything particular). He is jack of all trades and
tries to overwhelm his colleagues.
A iailbird{Ore who b jailed again and again).
Saud is a jailbird; he has been in and out of jail
over six times.
A laughing stock-<efl object of fun and
ridicule). Rabia was a lauthint stock in her
a class-
A left-handed compliment{Oite w:,1 is
insincere or may haae a double meaning).cortld I
understand from his mischievous looks that
he paid me a left-handed compliment.
A lump sum-{A surn which includes nany
small items; a sfin gioen at one time to coaer
seoenl smaller Wymmts). The amounts asked
for should be granted in a lump sum to the
imperial Govemment.
A man of leftere--(A schobt). Ottt univercity
has produced many great men of letters.
A man of etrarr<A crcature @oloed fiom the
funcy, and wholly unlike the rul person; an uflreal
person; a dummy). Compared to their
illuskious predecessors, the country's leaders
seem to be mend of straw.

A narrow escape or shave--{A hair-brendth
o*y narrow margin). lt was a
escary; eseape by a
narow escape; the bomb exploded only
seconds afler I had taken cover.
'A nine days' wond,erlSomething
which causes
yeqt excitefient lor a short tirne and then b hend
of no more) - Govemment's accountabilitv drive
is nothing but nine days' wonder.
A queer fi.sHAn eccentric person). ,, Arrd,
v/hat sort of fellow did y;lr find Crawley,
uncle Tom?" "Such a queer fisi.r - so unlike
anybody else in the world!"
A rainy day-{Time of trouble anil dificulty).
They deposit part of the money in the savings
ban-k for a rainy day.
A raw deal{Haoe been treated unfairly or
raslily). He thinks he has got a raw from his
relatives.
A rad letter daylAn auspicious or a happy
doy).
. All being holidays, I feel as if I had none, as
.- they do in heaven, where ,tis all red-letter
days.
o Our Republic Day is a red-letter day for us.
A red rag to a bull{}Viat upecialty proookes
ancd irritates). George II hated books, and the
sight of one in a drawing room was as a red
rag to a bull.
A rough diamond-{A person with an
uruttractioe exterior ttsho possesses good qualities
of mirul anil heart). As for Warringtory that
rough diamond had not had the polish of a
dancing master and he did not know how to
I
r walb.
A shooting pain{Sharp pain coming and going
quichJy , or constant for a certain duration) . Afterl
had fallen from the high wa[ I felt a shootint
pain in my right leg.
A short cut-{A short route than by the main
rmd or palhway). Which is the short cut to the
hospital?
A slip of the pen--{A slight etor in witing). A
slip of the pen coot him his job.
A slow coach--{One who mooes or d.oes
emething oery slowly). She is a slow coach and
s20
can never attain her target.
A snail's pa.ce-{Very slowly). I rcadrcd,
market at snail's pace.
A squarr deaHA fair agreemmf). My old
plus 5,000 for your new car; I think that,s
square deal.
A squarr peg in a mund hole{A person
suitable
fot the title fte holds). The present MD
this company is like a square peg in a
hole.
A stick-in-the-mudlA slow percon
' uho
wholly without the s?iit of ateryise
adanture). This rusty-coloured one is
respectable old stick-in-the.mud.
A thom in the flesh{A caux of troubb
irritstion). Struggle of independence
Kashmir is a thom in India's flesh.
A wet blanket-{One who dixourages,
causes olhers to becofiE dishentteneit;
diseoungeneflt).
. At home, in the family circle, ambitim
too often treated with the wet blanlet.
. My elder brother is a wet blankeU he
permits me to do as I like.
A white lie{^An umcceptable lie). Whenl
I thought his poems were good, it was a
lie.
A wild goose chrce-{A foolish,
attempt). By telling his sons that there
treasure in their field, the old man put
on a wild goose chase.
A wolf in sheep's clothing:{.A
strongly feel Professor Faisal is a wolf
sheep's clothing.
A. B. C.lThe A B C of any subject -
rudinents; its elententary lotowledge).
farmers seem not at all inclined to obs€rve
very A B C of morality as regards the
of just debts.
Above all--{i) (Most hnryrtant). A
salesman must be friendly, dynamic
above all persuasive.
(ii) More than mything elx) He is above
honest vvorker.
Above board-{ Open; beyond suspicion)
 521

dealings are always fair and above board.

expectation.
td mini- Acquit Oneself{Llswlly lollowed by the All and sundry--{One without distinctio .
ad.aerbs well, ill, eti. or by an'adoefi
oeditably,- Finally., he invited
phrax such as urith cr;ilit, toith distinction all and sundry to partake
old car freely of the oaten cake and ale'that ie had
lhat's a meaning'achiae a result by one,s effurt or
himself brought from Ball),mena.
conduct). Considering its lack of training our
team has acquitted itself well.
All at once--{S uddenty)- I was walkirg
tfuough the park at lunchtime, when all a"t
Across the board-(Applying in all cases). They
once it started drizzling.
were awarded wage increases across the All in all (supreme; -alt-powerful; of tfu frst
board.
tmryrtance). The Prime Minister was all in all
After_a fashion{ tn a specifc way, but not
at Oxford.
walk and talk _after a
suitably). She can
All's fish that
fashion. comes to his net{Nof asry
particular or scrupulous). Everything is fish thai
After the fashion of--{In the styb ofl. She comes to Mr. Frey's net.
speals after the fashion of her teacher.
Alpha- and Omega{The beginning and the
Act the fooHDeliberately act in a
foolish erd). Here we have the beginning and the end,
n.unner, oJtflt uith the ideo of entertoining or
alpha and omega.
*yilg rn For goodness' sake stop acunj the Alter Ego-lOther xlf; one who is oery nenr and
fool; it annoys people.
dear to a person; an inxporable
After all.-{i) Whatever else may be friend). t am his
said alter ego - nay, he onJy sees what I choose to
against him: You must help him; afier all he is
show him, and through the spectacles, as it
your friend.
(ii) were, that I place on the bridge of his nose.
Nevertheless; when all things are An act of God-{A totally unexpected natural
considered: After all he was a mere mortal.
happening which could not haae beea forexen or
Against tlre grair--l'Vay difftcult to tto or accept
prnented). His house was not insured agairst
:olletltng as it conJlicts with one,s preoious ideas, acts o5.God such as flood and earthquakes.
beliefs or pinciples). We are compelled to
accept that their shategies will succeed, [Strictly a legal term, identifying e.,rents for
wtuch one can expect no legal compensation.l
whether it goes against the gmin or not.
Aid and abeF-{To A: TS"l. of mercHA perin who appears
prooide help and wlvn he b particularly needed, bringing help,
etcouragemmt in some or illegal actioity). His
bad.
umfurt, etu.). Just when we *e.e beloiing io
wile aids and abets trim in tris disironest feel really thirsty, Mrs. Jamit appeared, an
deeds.
angel of merry, with a pot of tea.
Air one's grievances-<Io express and discuss
An axe to grind{ A personal pecuniary interest
one's gritoances
optn@. Mlch of the ill_feeling
is caused by the fact that there are n6 tn a matter)- If the American politician is
always ready to grind an axe foi his fellow,
recognised means by which the workers can
the Neapolitan is no less convinced of the
at thea grievances. value of mufual accommodation.
Aladdin's L*p<i) A lamp which gave its An iron will-{To resemble iron; firm;
owrer, or rather the (person who ruUU"a it, unyielding). She is a woman of iron will.
everything he wished)
An old chestnut--{ An old joke, oftm no longer
(ii) Government is striving hard to bring
some iealthful changes in society. She has ni funny; a clicht. I did not find that comedian
funny. I'd heard all those old chesbruts before.
Aladdin's Lamp for magical change.
Answer back{Retort rudely (usually to a
All agog:{Iz a state of actiaity or restless reque6t, an instruction or a rebuke)1. ,Will you
expectatian). He found, the village all agog with fetch me the telephone directory pleasei, _
 szz

'Fetch it yourself!' He answered his elder why my brother has not come as yet.
brother back. At a premium{i) A thing sold at a
Any old how{Without any special care). Her price for behg short in supply:
desk is always terribly untidy - she iust o Flour is sold at a premium by
throws papers and letters into it as it is any officials
old how. (ii) Somethint wanted or needed but
Apple of discordlSomething which cauxs to get:
strife). The letter was her long contemplated . Real happiness and solace was
apple of discord, and much her hand trembled premium.
as she handed the document up to him. At a stone's lhrowlQuite near). My
Apple of one's eye-{A much-pized treasure; at a stone's throw hom my college.
something aery delicate and tendo) . Poor !.ichard At a stretch-<Continuously). He cannot
was to me as an eldest son, d:re apple of my for four hours at a stretch.
eye. At all costs or at any cost-<No mdffer
Arm in arm{Walking in frienrlly fashion toith cut may be). The rich lady was de
the arms linked). lt was an agreeable surprise to have the diamond necklace at all costs.
her, therefore, to perceive them walking up to At all evente-{WTrateoet nay happen). I
the house together arm in arm. reach my destination before evening
As a matter of course{n accordance with events.
normnl procedurd. It's no use running after the At arm's length-{Ai a cettain
clerk. You will get the pay order as a matter of aaoiding too great nearness or fumiliarity)
course. o If she would confide in me, if she
As bold as bnsslimpudrnt; uithout modesty even speak to me of it, I mitht lg
or shamd. something to convrnce her of
. Though Asif knows nothing about new folly. ...... .. but no, she never alludes "t
poliry method but he is as bold as brass. she keeps me at arm's length.
. She walked in late as bold as brass. . We must keep dishonest people at
As different ae chalk from cheese{Very length.
difuent). The two brothers are as dilferent as At bay--{On the ddensiae). Our dog
chalk ftom cheese in their behaviour. thieves at bay till we got up.
As dull as ditchwater-{Very boring or At best-{At the best genercus estinote)-
interesting). The lecture was as dull as new servant is at best a poor su
ditchwater. your earlier one.
As ha.rd as nails-{haoing a suntl health; well- At crack of dawn-{Very urly in the
builf). Though the old woman had suffered a We shall have to set out for the airport at
lot all through her lile but still she is as hard as of dawn.
nails. At daggels drawn-{.Af ennity). (i) Ttc
As mad as a haltet--{Dangerously insane). I brothers are nowadays at dagger's Ld
lnow him very well. He's a very good fellow with each other.
but as mad as a hatter. (ii) (bitterly hostile). Lord Shelburrr
As the crow flieelDirectly; without any always desired to keep the Bedford
deoiatbn lrom the stnight line to one's distance, and had been at daggers drawn
dntinatio ). How far is it from here to them, ever since their introduction
Nottingham? Twenty miles as the crow flies. Govemment.
At aloss-{Unable to underctand). I am al a loss At death's doo*4On the point of
 523

t.
surprised she recovered because the last time I bad shot.
at a higher Bag and Baggage-{With all one's belongings).
saw her I thought she was at death's door.
At hand{Close; nearby). tdhile working, he He has left Karachi with bag and baggage, as
Bovernment keeps his tools at hand. he intends to settle down in Islamabad.
Al home-{Pamiliar; on easy ierms). (i) There Balance of mind-{sanify). She killed her child
but difficult
was administratiory and more even thal while her balance of mind lvas disturbed.
admiration, in his eyes. It was a beautiful Be all over (someone) lTo trent Toith great
was at a
expression that I cannot define or Put into friendliness and affection). When she found out
words............ that made me feel at home he was quite famous, she was all over him.
My house is with him at once. Be at the bottom ollTo be the cause of (usually

cannot worl
lll) (Comfortable). I felt quite at home in my sotnething bad)l.l/Jhat's at the bottom of these
new surroundings. ndsfy rumou rs?
At large--1Free, not confined). The robbers are Be given carte blanche-{To be allowed
r uhat tb still at large. complete Ireedom to act as one thinks besl). He has
termined to At lengthJFo/ a considerable time; fully) He been given carte blanche to select the whole
costs.
explained the case to me at length. team.
). I mus At loggerheads{Haoing n quarrel, opposing Be in doldrums{Be in low spirifs). You look
€ning at an each other). They have been at loggerheads as if you were in the doldrums; pluck up
over their new map of the plaza. courage and go about your work without fear.
in distanc At randorr{Without any aim or order). The Be staring (someone) h lhe facelTo be oery
tv) robbers fired several shots at random and oboious or easy (for someone) ,o seel. I couldn't
iI she would escaped. see the book I wanted, although it was staring
I might do At sealto be disorganized or chaotic; at a loss). me in the face.
her of her
He is quite at sea; he does not know what to Bear fruit-{Produce fa,Jourable results). My
alludes to it do next. efforts at increasing the income have not yet
At sixes and sevens---(In disorder). tNhen I started to bear fruit.
le at arm's found everything in my room at sixes and Bear the Brunt--{Bear the main stress or burdell
sevens, I was sure my little sister had been (of a task, a contest, etc.)1. T:he Prime Minister
dog kept ttr 0rere. will have to bear the brunt of the Opposition
At stake-{I/t serious danger). My honour was attack on the policy of the Government.
atimate). Ow at stake; so I resigned. Bear the grudgelFeel a grudge ouer a long
substitute fc At the eleventh hou-{fusf in time and no period, and be unwilling to forget it). I always
fiore). Sit, have you no shame to come here at have a feeling that for some reason she bears a
in the morning the eleventh hour among those who have grudge against me (or sometimes bears me a
airport at cracl bome the heat and burden of the day? grudge).
Beat about the bush-{Talk around the point,
,. (i) The trrc (B) instead of coming direct to a subiect). We could
r's drawa Bad BloodlEnmity). Misunderstanding understand you better if you had said exactly
caused much bad blood between the two what you meant, instead of beating about the
lbume had friends. bush.
Bedford at a Bad debte-<Debrs of which thre is no hope that Beauty and tll.e Reastllnaely wonan with an
drawn with will mer be Wid). Amon9 his assets he had ugly male companiorz). Beauty and the beast was
on into tht included a number of bad debts. what they called us when we went out
Bad shot-{Wrong guess). We had expected walking together, as we used to do every day.
oJ dying). ft that Rehan will reach the semi-finals of the Beck and caltr-Always ready and uaiting to
Tennis championship this year, but it was a
 521
one
carry out (someone's) order or wishes. She always Bite one's tongue off-{Rrgret haoing xA
has plenty of men at her beck and call. nmething).I had no sooner made the remarl
Behind one'e backlWithout someone's than I could have bitten my tongue ofl
ktawledge or permission). He sbmetimes bullies Black and blue--lBlack nnd. blue marks on ll f Dbarn€
his sister behind his mother's back. body rxulting from beating or ftiffizg). The ftA h blq
Behind the Ecene-{Not in public). Much was was caught by the people and beaten blad ftr ot tlt
done behind the scene before an agreement and blue.
could be signed between the two parties. Black and white--/'Witten defnitely on ry la-
Below the belr-IOf a method of fghting, in ink). I have found it all out! Here is his nal
attacking, competing, etc., unfair; not following the in black and white.
accepted rules of fuhaoiour). I know Faraz is Black soureone's eyelBruise his eye by a tla,
iealous of famil, but I think it was a hit below so that it goes black). What started as
the belt to embarrass him in front of his argument finished with the two men blacti
-
girlfriend. each other's eye?
Better Half-{A man's wife; a complemmtary Blaze the tiaHWork hard for the prorygt -
term for a mariel unman ). "Polly heard it ,, said of ceiain beli$s or pinciples, orfor the Wonda
Toddle, ierking his hat over hb shoulder in the ofa caux).
direction of the door, with an air of perfect Bleed one white-<Exton all one's money).L
confidence in his better ha]f. unscrupulous swindler bled his victims wl-,
Between the devil and the deep sexlsubject Blessing in disguise-lsomething which q
to a double attack a position of peculiar danger in bad at frst but tums out uell). His missing t
u,nrfare). Pmr Dawson is between devil and plane was a blessing in disguise becau- I
the deep sea; if he chastise the child, its was hiiacked. :

mother scolds him; and if he tets it off, its Blind allaHAn with no
grandmother comes down on him.
enterprise futJ.
You're in a blind allay looking fortre- t
a job
Beyond questioft--(Able suspicion). Mr. Blind date{An ananged. meeting ktut@, ,a
Bashir's integrity is beyond question. pernns who haoe neto met Wrc). Sheila
Bird of a paseage-(One who shirts from place to {
John met on a blind date and have hated crd
place). Arriad deals in cu0ery and moves from other ever since. I
one aity to another; he is real bird of passage. Blink the fact-4lgnore thc lact). He f * fl
Bird-Eye vieur{A general oiew).The statue of
*.0" who choose to blink unpk=l|
the happy prince was fixed on a tall column of ;l.T
a city from where he had a bird-eye view of Blood and iron-lMititary computsion; u hl
his city. of armies). The blood and iron pol.iry of I{
Birde of a Feather{Persons of like taste . gave new life to Germany.
Birds of a feather flock together. Blood is thicker than water-(One hodd d
"t
s
Bite off more than one can chewlllnilertak more loyalty to people who are related to on
more than one finds onexlf able lo petfurm.
I
to othn people). I would prefer to girrc {
Urulertake a task that proaes tm ilifftcult for one). money to my friend rather than to my fl
The management thought that they could cow but blood is thicker than water. I
the workers into submission, but they soon Blow hot and cold{Consta ntly changc l
found out that they had bittm off more than mood from one of efihusiasm or interest io *l
they could chew. apathy or indilfermce). Even if she is in ftr{
Bite one's time--{Wait for a fawurable of the proposal now we can't rely cr {
Wortunity). We mustn't get impatienu if we the kind of person who bhl
bide our time the chance will come. i'.i'"i}:lii "
 525
Blow one's own trumpet--{B oast of one,s ozln
said achieaements or meits; praise oneselfl. He spent
rcmark almost half an hour telling us about himselt
and what he had done.-yes, he,s pretty good
on the at blowing his own trumpet.
thief Blue bloo+{Ans to1atic descent). It is the
black duty of the men of blue blood to ensure the
uplift of the masses.
wper Bolt from the blue-{,4n unexpected and
narne surprising nent). (1) The information that I
have been selected for a fellowship in UK was
a bolt from the blue. (2) The news of her
AI father's dea0r was a bolt from the blue.
Bone idle{Vary lazy). He could find a job but
he's bone idle.
Bread and b]uttex-{Mate al welfure; whnt
sustains life). Former pride was too strong for
present prudence, and the question of bread
and butter was thrown to the winds in revolt
Its at the shape of the platter in which it was
E5 offered.
Break the icelooercome rcsene: put peaple at
use with each other). There was an
embarrassing silence, until one of the men
broke the ice by offering the other a cigarette.
Break the news-<announce the news, uswlly
used only of bad or unwelcome rre:s). No-one
was anxious to break the news of the accident
to the iniured person's family.
Breathe a wordlSay the slightest thing). Don,t
breathe a word to anyone about this; it must
be kept a strict secret.
Bring down the house---(To appreciate with
An excellent presentation of his new
appbuse).
plan brought down the house.
Bring home-{Mnke one realise something. A
\risit to the slum areas of the town brought
home to me what poverty reaLly means.
Bring to light{To find: opa,ly expox). His
inquisitive nature brought everything to light.
Bring to mindJTo recall something). The grey
clouds in the sky brought to Wordswortht
mind his childhood memories.
Bum a hole in one's pocket{Money you want
to spend qtickly)- Whenever she gets her pocket
money, it starts buming a hole in her pocket.
Bum midnight oiHTo work or study uatit hte
at night). You must have been buming the
midnight oil to get the essay finished.
Bum one's fingerc-{Sttffer a loss or a rebuff
thtough rash or ill-considered action). He bwnid
his fingers badly in that deal. We all wamed
him against it, but he wouldn,t listen to u,
and then in the end he lost nearlv all the
money he had invested.
Bum th€ candle at both ends{Work all day
far into the nighl.I am not surprised that
and
he has had a breakdown. \4/hat can you expect
if you bum the candle at both ends?
Bury one's head in the sand{To aaoid trying
to d_eal uith a problem, danger, etc. by ignortig it
or deliberately knowing nothing about #j. He had
suspected for some months that his son was
taking drugs, but he had buried his head in
the sand and refused to admit it, even to
himseU.
By and bf-{Soon, aft.er a short uthile). By and
by the situation was normal again.
By and large{i) On the whole, considering
everything:
. By and large the speech was good though
it was too long.
(ii) To indicate that a statement is not
completely truq but is mostly true:
o Full accomplishment was by and large
achieved.
Ry diJil of-<As a ruult ofl. He has reached his
eminent pooition by dint of hard and honest
work.
By fair means ot louHBy hak or by crook; by
any meins). He has decided to pass thl
examination by fair means or foul.
By fits and statblspasmodica\; withoui
study ary_lication). By fits & starts the company
was finally able to begin business.
By fits and starlsliruegula y). If you work
by fits and starts, you will not succeed.
By hook or by crook-
(i) (By some means or other; through some
daice). Ow poliaoaru have made a 1ot of
wealth by hook or by crook.
 526

(ii) (By fair means or

foul). He wants to pass
the examination by hook or by crook.
By means otlBy using smething). Thieves
entered the house by means of a rope ladder.
By r€tum of post{By the oety next post). He
sent his reply to me by retum of post.
By the order of the day-{Sora ething which
happens frequently or commonly) . There is no job
security any more; suspension on flimsiest
grounds is the order of the day.
By the skin of one's teeth{Scarcely aooiding
Chain smoker {A person who smokes
continuously). My triend is a chain smoker-
Change one's tuneslAdopt tr
attitudd. At first he drreatened to
if we did not pay bill within a week, but
we pointed out that he might get hinuelf
trouble for overcharging, he soon
tune.
Cheek by iowl-{In close proximity). Hac
lav, cheek by jowl with life.
Child's play-{Somtthing uery eo-sy;

failure, dixstn, elc.). I just caught the train by denmrtLling no effort). lt's not a child's
the skin of my teeth. pass competitive examinations.
By word of mouth{Orally). We heard about Chips of the old block-{O/ likr
their bankruptcy by word of mouth. None has lbrahim and his wife are ill-natured
u/ritten to us about it yet. children are chips of the old block.
Close one's eyes to (somethingF{Ic
(c) (something, esp. something bla
Call a spade t
spadelSpeak plainly: sny closed her eyes to her
precixly what one means). He was the kind of misbehaviour.
person who always calls a spade a spade. Close shave{Naruow cscape lrom
Call a thing too far-{Go beyond reann). They misfortune). She had a close shave
carried the ioke too far and it resulted in she stepped into the road and w-
exchange of blows. killed by a truck.
Call attention tolDirect attefltion to: Druw Cold rrceptior-{ Utcking in
attentiin to). A notice displayed in the shop affection). The hockey team was
window called attention to the recent increase reception on their rehrm home.
in prices. Cold warlUnfriendly relatbtdti
Call to account-1Take to task, demand natio,ts but with no military
erplanation). The cashier was called to account cold w'ar between China and Rtr-ssie
for the shortage in the cash balance. its peak during the period of tlr
Carried awaf-{Oaercome by emotbn). Having Revolution of Mao.
an honest and sincere mind, he was not Come into li^elAgree). Just after a
carried away by a popular prejudice. from the boss, he came into line will
Carry weighF{Hcae infumce zo#h). What he Come on the scene-{To app);
says carries weight with the management. Syed Ahmad Khan came on lhc
Cast pearls before swine--(Ofier or express educational condition of the
*nething oaluable before an unoryrcciatiae was deplorable.
audience). It didn't tale me long to note that Come thick and fast-{To come
they were not the lovers of poetry, and my large number). The roof fell ard
talk about that very topic was like casting came thick and fast.
pearls before swine. Come to ciose quarters--{Cel irrb
Catch (eomeone) in the acHTo tliscooer contnct). Yol will realise the
(sofieone) doing xmething zurong..l The burglars financial di{ficulties only wtur
were caught in the act of climbing in through close quarters with us.
a window.

Come to light---(Be discooered). On scrutiny
many curious facts came to light.
Come to the point-<Speak plainly or directly,
aroid circumlocution) . May I request you not to
beat about the bush and come to the point?
Count not your chickens before they are
hatched--{Be sure that a thing is sctually in your
posxssion b{ore you speak of it as yours, or act as
if it were yours). He was guessing about the
salary even before getting iob. Counting his
chickens before they are hatched.
Crocodile tearelHyrycritical tears shed by an
unfeeling person). He laid all the blame of the
Fraser's rising upon his sory saying, with
crocodile tears, that he was not the first who
had an undutiful son.
Cross a bridge when one comes to it-{Not ,o
bother about a problem that is going to aise in the
future until it octually alfects one). Once we get
the money we'll have to work out how it is to
be allocated, but we'll cross the bridge when
we come to it.
Cupboard lov*-lAffectbn springing from an
interested motiue). A cupboard love is seldom
true, a love sincere is found in few.
Curtain lectures{Pioate adnonitbns giren by
a wiJe to her husba )- The curtain lecture
nakes a mournful bed.
Cut down on-{To do an actiaity less often).
o Save your money by cutting down your
exPenses.
r He had cut down on smoking.
Cut one's own throaHAct so as to ruin
on*Ifl. rNhen she signed the agreemenL she
didn't know she was cutting her own throat.
Cut the Gordian knot-{Soloe a difuult
problem by disregading conditions). She sought
a divorce from her husband, and thus cut the
Gordian knot.
(D)
Damocles' eword-<A swonl suspeailed by
single thrend, arul read.y to d.escend anil kill the
pr*n sitting bluo it). Foreign debt is
Damocles' sword on Pakistan's economy.
Dance attendance onlAttend on a person
527
constantly, with the intetltion of comply with all
his wishts). When he was rich most of those
who had danced attendance on him, deserted
him when he lost his money.
Day in, day out{To haryen eoeryilay ?uithout
any change and is perhtps boring). He worked
day in, day out, going to the market and
coming back, with never a break.
De taclolReal; haoing actual Wssession). lt
was, we believe; impossible to find, from the
Himalayas to Mysore, a single Govemment
u,hich was at once a Govemment de facto and
a Govemment de f ure.
Destined tolTa do something that is pre-
planned and zuill defnite\ happen). We believe
we are destined to bring a new political theory
into practice.
Dirt cheap--{.,{l an excessiuely luts pnce). Thirty
pounds a week. It is a dirt-cheap.
Discrction b the better part of valouHll is
uise not to take unnecessory nsks). I thought of
loining the fight to help him but decided that
discretion was the better part of a valour and
went away.
Dicpose of-{To get iil of; to lree oneself from).
Madame is ready to dispose of her horse and
carriage if a good price is offered.
Do(someone's) heart goodlTo gioe
(nmeone)
a feeling of plusurel.lt would do your
heart good to see the enthusiasm of these
young people.
Do yeoman's sewicelHelp in time of ilire
need). He has been doing yeoman's service by
giving leprosy patients treatmmt and work.
Dog cheap--lVery cheap). You got the fowls
dog cheap at forty dollar a dozen.
Dog one's lootslepslconstantly follut one, as
a dog follnos close its master's hcels:
irnportnately thrust one's presnce uW
sorneone).I regret having suggested that I
might be able to help him, forever since thm
a he has dogged my footsteps.
Dot and carry one{lnegularly ; spasmoilically).
a I was not new to violent death. I have served
His Royat Highness, the Duke of Cumberland.
and got a pulse went dot and carry one.
 52E
Dot on€'s i's and cros6 one's (slTo take great
ure ooer details). She makes a good organiser
because she is always careful to dot her i's and
cross her t's.
Doubledealing.{Duplicity; trickee. Ttrs
young lady was quite above all double-
dealing she had no mental reservation.
Draw the lirlre atlRduse to do or Wmit; set
Iirzils). This untruly behaviour cannot be
allowed; we must draw the line somewhere.
Drop a line{Sand a bri4 lettd or note). As
soon as I have any news, I'll drop you a line.
Drop in the ocean--{d mcage, negligible,
contribution when huge amount is needetl).
Whatever he gave to charity was merely a
drop in the ocean.
Dutch counge-{Courage thnt results from
indulgmce in strong drink). We cannot easily
believe that refractory patients are plied with
spirits to give them Dutch courage and induce
them to undergo operations.
(E)
Eat one's heart out--{To make onexlf ill by
being unhappy, by longing Jor nmething one
ca not haoe etc.), T}e little girl was eating her
heart out because she was not allowed to have
a dog.
Encroach on-{To gradually mooe ooa a piece of
land and coaer it). The grassy plot was
encroached on by the advancing wild wheat.
Every dog has his d,aylThe period of
e4oyraent alloued to any creature is a short one).
Fortune was ever accounted inconstanL and
each dog has but his day.
Every now and thetlFrequeatly, afer the
lapx of slart intentals). Every now and then a
countD.man would burst into tears.
Eye wesh--{Deceit, fickery). I know all his
frimdly talks are just eye wash; actually he
hates me.
Eye-opener-{Circurnstances, etc, thot bing
tttlightmment and surprix). Appointment of
army officcrs with district Nazirn is an eye
opener to politicians.
(F)
Face it out--(To fce the hostility couragm
The party members were ready to face it out
Face the musiclFnce trouble, o
repimand, or the unpleasant conxqumces of
conduct). There is no need for you to worrf
anlthing goes wront it is I who will have
al-
face the music.
Fair and squar,e-{Honesl). I believe that
man should be fair and square in his
Fall back upon-(To depmd on with
When he got old he had nothing to fall
upon.
Fall into a decline--.(To lox oigour). He
into a rapid decline and could not survive.
False pretences-{Act or behaaiour intendd
deceite pmple). He got the money bylon
pretences.
Family tree-{A chart shouing
ancxtry). My family tree shows that
originally came ftom a Rajput family but
married into a Jat family some 300 years ago,
Far from{Not at all; by no means).
Nauman, you say/ is not, strictly
handsome?" "Handsome! Oh no; far from
certainly plain."
Feel in one's bones--(To know by
uithout haoing any proofl. Everything
to be going well, but I could feel in my
that something was wrong.
Feel run dow*lFeel depressed or
He has been working very hard for tlre
two days and now he feels run down.
Feel the pulse{To recognize the
emotioas). A good leader can feel the
his people.
Feel up to{?o haoe a gud health
My father does not feel up to a long
today.
Few and tat betweenlTo occur
infrequmtly or to be oery uncommon). 17r
fashion dresses are few and far
unless you have to go to a posh area.
Fight tooth and nail-{To battle usilg full
and whole ammunition). Pakistan Army b
 529
ready to fight tooth and nail with the enemy.
Fish in troubled walenllaterfere in a quanel,
haping to gain paunal adoantage). When the
two parties fall out, Americans are always
anxious to fish in troubled waters; send their
agents to install the leader of their choice in
that country.
Flash in the pat-].A success that lasts a short
time). People expected her to become national
champion but it seems her initial success was
just a flash in the pan.
Flesh and BloodlHuman nature). He is no
exception in love; he is flesh and blood after
all.
Flog a dead hose{Wasle one's ffirts on
enething that is alrutly dec led.Th.ose who are
trying to persuade hirn to change his mind,
are actually flogging a dead horse.
Fly in ointmentlA minor incident thtt
interferx with one's enjoyment oJ emethin . lt
was a very pleasant evening, although Winny
being sick on the carpet was a fly in the
ointment.
Fly off at a tangenHSuddmly introduce a nao
or irrelannt topic into the discussion). lrst as we
thought we were gettin8 near a solution of
problem, he flew off at a tangent and started
talking about the in ustices he had suffered.
Follow in aomeone's foobteps-<Do as
someone else did beford. He has resigned from
his lob to follow in his father's footsteps and
become a politician.
Food for thought-{acfirates mind, especially
W nak ng you think about the ua! it uiU 4fect
future flents). The failure in exams gave the
boy food for thought.
For better or for worse{i) (Indisnlubly,
in maniage). Each believed and indeed pretty
plainly asserted, that they could live more
handsomely asunder; but, alas! They were
united for better or for worse.
(ii) (Whateou the rcsult rnay be). For better or
for worse we were now committed to our
course of action.
For good{For ner). My father intends
leaving Peshawar for good.
For nothing-{No rcal purrye). They fought
for nothing.
For the sake oflFor soma ne). A dog will
sacrifice his life for the sake of its master.
From the bottom of one'e heart-{ Sincerdy).1
wish you success from the bottom of my heart.
(G)
To gain ground-{To step ftruafil; accornpli* a
oictory or bn60. ln the recent examinations
ehmad has gained ground.
Generation FplThe difference between the
sttitudes oI young and old puple). The
generation gap often causes young boys and
girls run away from home.
Get cold feet--{Io be defeatetl dn the hands of
cmtardke). When the competition drew near,
he got cold feet.
Get down to one's work/business--{To
graaely stabilize it). The Eid is over nowl we
must get down to work again.
Get (something) across-{To be or make
(something) understoodl. The plan s€ems quite
clear to me, but I ,ust can't get it across to
anyone else.
Get hold of the wrong end of the
strcklMisunderstard). It appears you have
got hold of the $,rong end of the stick. You
should have filled in Form A" and Form B.
Get into hot water-<To be in a pretlicammt or
degrade at thc hands of stupidity). If you try to
persuade him to do something wron& you
will get into hot water.
Get off the track---(Be dioerted fion tfu nuin
subject of discussion). L€t's not get off the track.
We're talking about films, and not TV
programmes.
Get on one's nerteelAnnoy one to the extenl
of causing nennus iffitation). Tire constant
howling oI that dog gets on my nerves.
Get on someone's nerveellftitate grneofle).
It gets on my nerves when someone rants.
Get one's goaiHTo make a ponn angry; to
annoy nmmne). Since he refumed from the
markel he had been getting my toat.
Get out on the wrong side of the bed--(To
 530

stqrt the dny in a bad mood). You must have got G ive rise lo--iCattse to happen) . 'fhe stupidly)
out on the wrong side of bed of this moming - government's decision has Siven rise to head.
you're so grumpy! demonstrations all over the country. Go out
Get the better ofloaercome, defwt, win). My Give short measure--{To gitte less thnn tht unnecess

wife always gets the better of our quarrels' reEtired). This salesman is in the habit of the com
giving short m-easure. refugeel
Get the boot on the wrong fool'-{To mak a
mistake in intupretation, nnalysis, etc). l^ youl Give (someone) the benefit of the doubtl Go the
am not sure lvhether his story is true or not, stop at I
investigalion of this case you have got the
boot on the wrong foot. but l'll give him the benefit of the doubt. UneCOnr

Get the hang of (a story, an argument, cive the devil his duelalloto eTten the worst uP; v'/e

etc.F-{Gef the mltin idea; get the broad line of man credit for whnt he does a'ell). Danish was a have th
dmelopmcnt). I have read this paragraph straightforward and just young fellow; no Go the
through two or three times, but I still cannot respecter of persons, and always anxious to end, all
get the hang of it. give the devil his due. Go to
Get the sack-{To get notice to leatte the Give the game awaylRmeal someone's plansi- not bot
positio . Slle got the sack for being late on My wife was planning a surprise birthdar- Go to
daily basis. party for me, but my son Save the game awav. rri.lou
Get to the bottom of{To discotter the Give up the ghost{To die). Our armv ts tptoP
explanntion of tlr reel t'acts of h mystery etc.)).1'll ah,ays, ready to give uP the ghost. Gow
get to the bottom of this affair if it takes me a Go all lengths-{lJse nery effort). He is willinB
year! to go all lengths to further the cause of tree-
Get to the core of somethinglEmmine plantation.
ttnroughly).It took me a long time to get to the Go oy the booklFollow or administer rulr
core of the theft case, but ultimately I strictly). The excise inspector always went br
identified the culprit. the book and never broke a rule even once. peopk
Gill of gablThe ability to speak easily, Go in one ear and out the otherJ(O/ adz'trz'
'
confidently and in an influential way) . He has got instructions, etc.) nat to mnke anY Go
the gift of the gab and spells everyone around. impression.) I keep telling that child to
Give a good account of-{To ascertain one's harder but my words go in ear and out
skill or achicoement in any fel . He gave a good other
account of himself in the speech competition. Go like a bir&ltJsually used of
Give a person a piece/bit of one's mind--{To especillly motorcars). To run very fast
disclose your feelings opmly for someone or his smoothly - My car is ten years old but it
behaoiour, efc). When he yelled at me I gave like a bird.
him a piece of my mind. Go like a bombj
Give birth to--{Bing into the world; produce). (i) To move very fast - My car goes like
She gave birth to a female babY. bomb.
Give currency tolTo bting something into (ii) to sell extremely well; to be
progress: to funtanl from person to Person). I do successful
not know who gave currency to this Eossip. (iii) These pop-records go like a bomb;
Give ears tolPay attention). People at the top party is going like a bomb.
should think twice before giving ears to the Go of the deep end{Lose one's temPo;
complaints of their subordinates against one aery aiolent language nmething or
another, He'll go off the deeP end at the
Give ground{To withdruw).In sPite of strong provocation.
criticism the author refused to give ground. Go off one's head-{To behaae childishllt
 531

off his economic interests'

happen ). The stltpidlg. When he gets angry he goes
grven rise to head. (H)
Go out of one's way{Take extra pams
or
Hand and gtove / hand in gloveJTo
be
unhy.
trouble). Tl'te Managing Director
of
.t less thnn the i"""ii*ry help those ,t"triu ouorii*a b ench other) Whalever the
in the habit oI th" .o.pJt y *".,t out of his way to
U" they are hand and glove together'
.rt"'*ru
refu qees f rom Afghanistan' ttang by 11lt"i4---ll o be it a dangarous or
Go tie whole nigloo a thing completely:
not
of the doubt-l
it will itrtrl. After a serious accident' his life
oi,t notf-^rotrlrt)' In
the long run be "rti1au
v is true or not, 'lt* is hanging bY a thread'
patched
the doubt. ,n'"ao"otiiaur merely to have the roof H"r,"- oi"i. head -{lb look ashamed or
s eoen the roorst *" -"t *"il go the whole hog and o^ttirnttrdl. We all hung our heads when our
l;. Danish was a
"", ",
have the building entirely re-roofed'
k\ tde team lost in- the comPetition'
ung fellow; no Co itr" ,.,", of"all flesi\--{To expirc)' H""g i"g",t *-ti) ithingsl favourably match
savs anxious to end, all havl to go the way of al) flesh' io orl"" uriotn". ut d become agreeable
largely:
Co'to ttt" devii--{fo be deoastated)' He does . His nerv proiect does not hang together'
no1 bother about someone going
to the devil'
*meone's plans) . (ii)'ff(of individual) back each other:
Co io ,i".""-<r, b? aery ups?t' t'rightened or
rrprise birthday he did not . it all hang together, they can rebuild
rthe game away. ni*orr). Er"n in a critical situation' ",
this brolen Pilla r'
rr. Our army is 8o to Pieces. Happy mediunr-{ A sotisfttctory comptofl.tse
Go with crow&lFollow the
irtiuiin ,rtrr*"t) Most people who
the Po7ulot dislike
host. some teenagers
ooinion or There are
rt). He is willing fashion).
,.,**", und winter in Europe find spring a
lr cause of tree- il; hrt": independent tastes' but most o[ haoov medium.
them tend to go with the crowd' t i.i'""a fast--{Strirt) There are some hard
' administer rules Lo *ittt thl streanr{Do or think as the utJ turt ..,t"t in every rvalk of life' and we i
people dd Life is much easier for
always went by musl follow lhem'
^ri"rii "f go with the stream and do things
f"ipf""*i.i same string-{ fo discuss a
e even once. Ho- or, the a very
Ba,er-{(Of adaica, as everyone does. onrliculnr lopit' tontinuously) She has
ttt any lasting C. *iir,or, saying---(To be assumed as oalid)' hlrping on the same
a big rnouih and often goes without
[ri-l^J u"ii"g habit of
rt child to work He is string.
ear and out the saying. ,t,.i aovrn one's flag lciu in; surrender)'
Co irong-{Mr lfunctio ' Our camera has We are convinced that our cause is a
just one'
**y it'
times since we bought
*on" *rorig and we shall not haul dou'n our flag'
ed of machines, no
Looa ,*i."" needs no bush{A good thing
r very fast and matter how great the oPposition to us'
nouir* no oarntis(1nent; it comfiflds itselfl' lt
ir lf
rs old but it goes
*ine no bush''tis true rt".rt orr". tf,e coalJSe"a-ely reprimande '
U"'*" ,t ut gooa needs
this unpuncn.rality continues
we shall have to
that a good play needs no epilogue -
haul him over the coals'
wttn
GrasP the nettle---(To settle a cofiplextry a cause of
I car goes like a is always ready ff or," u f ott" lo pick-i.Haue
iie'nnd steaainess). Our team with you about
comptnintt.l've a bone to pick
lL to be very to grasP the nettle whatever the circumstances r'.rur behaviour YesterdaY'
mavbe.
o""'t loins-{To be prepored for tht lf"u"
'Ji,""a f"." like a fiddle--{Not to look (ht:"rJul
ke a bomb; The . Cl'J " Havinq lunch with her wasn't much
"p
deed). As the comPetition is Setting
nearer' you
,. ;r; ]!t"iusl sat"there v ith a tace like a fiddle'
one's tefiper; use must grid uP Your lions'
batked savinq nothing.
ing or someone). Co"u"ort diptomacy-{oiptotrnry .by
u"u"i t r,r.t tot- lsptdnl nbility' ck"ut:rneis lt1
at the slightest irilitorv tnrroisl. Many a time smaller countries skillftll) ' Mrs Farid has a kna' r'
of io sometUing
i;;;;"". forced by ihe gunboat diplomacyand for saying the right thing at the right time'
Uigl;", .o.,.t.i"t to serve their political
b* childishly or
 51?

Hornet's nesl
Have a skeleton in the closet/ cupboard the farmhouse heaved into sight.
(Haae a bad secrct). Mt. and Mrs. Aslam - Hedge one's bets -{To do something in order b
fmlish behav
lhe whole fan
seemed a perfect couple, but they had a prolect oneself jlom possible loss, criticism, etc.)-
Hue and cr;r-
skeleton in the closet. Both of them were We don't knou' which of them is going to be
up only after
involved in a murder case nearly ten years made manager so we'd better hedge our beG
and be nice to both of them.
Hush money
aBo.
Have bats in the belfry{To k lightly (but High and Dry-lOut of wntcr; in a dry plaq
ntttet e thal
black-market
old woman
harmlessly) insanel. The e€centric sqfe). Just u'here the Eastem curve begins
government s
was generally considered to have bats in the stands Kingscliff; a cluster of white cottaSq
belfry. fronted by a white beach, whereon some half-
Have butterflies (in one's stomachllTo leel a dozen of stout fishing-smacks are hauled up
In a bod
Jluttering sensation in one's insides as a result oJ high and dry.
marched in
neruousness) - She always has butterflies His days are numbered-aHe has only a shot
before she goes on stage. timt to liu). Waseem alone y?t bars the l^'at
In a iif$-{
Inanu
Have one's back to the wall{To in a uoy
be and Waseem's days are practically numbered-
a nutshell,
diffcult or desperute situation). He certainly has Hit the mark-<To achime/be unsuccessful it who helped
his back to the wall as he has lost his iob and what one strioes for). As an actress, she finallv
srugglers
cannot find another one. hit the mark.
lD a state
Have the advantage of (someoneF{?o Hit the nght nail on the headlTo correcfr hrnd in
recognise (someone) uithout being recognixd rationalize). The college principal hit the rigtl
avingmad
at the youn8 man
ofleselfl. St]le stared blankly nail on the head when he declared
In cold b
who had addressed her and said 'You have reformed rules of discipline for the students.
Hold a candle to-{To positiaely match with)-
o The
the advantage of me'.
which,
Have the best of bolhworlds--{To benefit from the w<.rrld of English drama no one can hold
cold
thc best features of
tlDo difercnt sets of candle to Shakespeare.
the cup
drcumstnnces). Womenwith children who do tlold aloof--(To aaoid getting associated . A mad
the job while staying at home are often oihers). Living in a society, it is not good
hold aloof. blood,
thought to have the best of both worlds.
Have the brass neck to do something{To be Hold no brief for{Nol to lule any reasn
sulfciently shameless and impulmt to (do support or to speak in faoour ofl. Cor.lrary Ef{erd m
6llir<,
something unacceptable)1, He had the brass neck what you obviously think, I hold no brief
any extremist organisation. deep
to suggest that I should resign.
Head or taiL{Any snse). I could not make Hold out a carrot-{To encourage someotv to
Are
head or tail of his account of the accident. something by promising a runard). The
held out the carrot of a new bicycle to due
Heap coals of fire on (someone's) head{To
mak komeone) sorry Iot uhat tW hou done by their son study harder.
being oery kind and forgioing to lhen}. I knew he Hold the baglTo be fully nccountable lr
had forgotten our miversary so I thought I particular duty). ln trc absence of her
would heap coals of fire on his head by she had to hold the bag of the house.
cooking a special dinner. Hold the stage--{?o *et the interest ol
spectators). Using his rhetoric abilities, he
rn
Hear a person out--{To listm the whole account
of someone or to let him haoe his xy). Before the stage for three hours. Sood
declaring his decision, the judge heard him Hold with the hare and hunt with
out. hounds-{To carry on good association with
Heave in sight-{To come into sight; to oryear) contradictory groups). He can easily hold
After we had i;een walking for about an hour, the hare and hunt with the hounds.
 533

Hornet's nest---(A disagreeable situatia . Her .In no time-JVery quickly ). He was able to
ing in order to foolish behaviour brought a homet's nest for finish his homework in no time.
citicism, the whole family. In one's favour-{For one's benef . He drew a
etc.) -

is going to be Hue and crylNoise). The govemment wakes cheque for two hundred rupees in my favour.
hedge our bets up only after people raise a great hue and cry. In one's tee,os--lBetueen 1j and 19 years of
Hush money-{Money paid to hush up nme age). He was in his teens when he lost his
in a dry place; t atter so that it does not become public). Most parents.
curve begins black-marketers pay hush money to In quest of--{In search ol). Man1, American
white cottages, govemment servants. hippies have come here in quest of spiritual
some half- peace.
(r) In season and out of season--{Al all lines,
are hauled up
In a body-{All togethei. The workers right or not). He hied to be humorous in
marched in a body to the manager's office. season and out of season.
only a short
bars the way
ln a jilfylVery soon ). I will be back in a jiffy. In the air-{Beirrg talked abott). The
possibility
numbered.
In a nutshell--{Ir bief; in a ?rord). To put it in o{ the railwaymen going on strikes is in the
t11
a nutshell, the film was about two children air.
who helped the police in arresting a gang of In the long r.rn__{ln the a7d). Truth rl.ill be
she finally
smugglers. victorious in the long run.
o correct ly In a state of nature-{Nckzd). The man was In the nick of timellust in time).
hit the right found in the cave in a state of nature, and o A motorbike came round the corner at high
declared the raving mad. speed and I stopped back over the
students. In cold blood--{Without ptssion; deliberately). pavement in the nick of time.
ch with). In
o The suggestion of such a contingency - o He reached the station in the nick of time.
can hold a which, of cours€, meant total failure - in In the same boatJln the xme, usually dfficult,
cold blood (without any passion) filled up position or circumstances). We'rc all in the same
ted uith the cup of the antiquary's indignation. boat as far as low wages are concemed.
not good to o A mad man has killed three persons in cold In the seventh heave*lExtremely happy).
blood, as they were asleep at the time. When she won the prize she was in the
my reason to In consequence ot_{As a result ofl. He seventh heaven.
Contrary to suffered much in consequences of his youthful In the twinkling of an eye{h an instant).
no brief for follies. The pickpocket took my purse and
In deep rvater---(I dificulfus or trouble). He disappeared in the twinkling of an eye.
to do found himself in deep v/aler when he took In the wake otlFallouing close upr'.').
The parents over the management of the firm. Shortage of all types of daily needs occurred
to make In due course-{At the prop$ time). The boys in the wake of the railwaymen's strike.
got promotio& in due course. Iron curtain-{An ideological barrier betaeen
fo, o In full swing- cipitalist ond socialist countries). Life behind the
mother, (i) (At its busiest; busy and thronged). The Iron curtain is supposed to be verv different
street market was in full swing. from life in the West.
t of the (ii) (In full operatrott). Our studies were hardly It is Greek to me-{It is quite incomprehensible
he held in full swing when there was a stril<e. to me).1 do not understand what you mean as
In good faitHTrusting). I lent him one your explanation is Greek to me.
with the thousand rupees in good faith when he
witll two needed money, but now he denies that he 0)
h.old with owes me anything. Join forces-{To make a bond so as to use joillt
 534
I Kith an
out this atttntion to, and keep oneself well informed about, invited
furce)- l-et us ioin forces and remedy
a
predicament. nll thnt is happening arcund one). If you keep Know a
your ear to the ground you'll soon find a new judge M
Join issue with-(To dispute with). He is ready
to join issue with him in this particular matter'
job. telling m
gun{To do something before etteryone Keep one's hand in-{To be prepared). He does from a h
Jump the
elx or before the proper or the riSht time). He singing practice on daily basis to keep his untrustu
began to ,umP the gun and discuss the hand in. Know
upcoming pclitical crisis. Keep one's head-{To stay composed).ln face corrunan
of great predicament he kept his head' deal wit
Jump the queue-{Pus}r oneself in lront of a
queue, in order to 4et on to a oehicle, or to qet Keep one's nose to the grindstone-{To arork proud ol
seraed with gnds, iznr). With such a
before one's hard persistently). An industrious student . He i:
long waiting-list or houses, it was suspected always keeps his nose to the grindstone. groul
thai some who had obtained them had only Keep one's temper-{Nol yet anqry). lt's . You r

done so by iumPing the queue. difficult to keep your temPer when People anst'
criticise you unfairlY.
(K) Keep one's wordlAbide by promises one hc
Keep a stiff upper lip-{To preserue your made; cnrry ott! undertakings or obliSation into
oalour , fortitude) . In the present era, one has to uhich one has entered). You may depend upcr
keep a stiff upper lip to accommodate oneself his doing what he says, for he is a person *'ho
in the smiety. always keeps his word'
Keep abreast of{To hnw all of the most recent Keep pace with-{Walk abreast). lt is diffiotl
t'acts about a subiect).
They were well abreast of to keep pace with all the developments L

the political situation. language teaching. H

Keep a firm hand on--{To monitor or check).
The teacher keeps a firm hand on her
students.
Keep a secrtt{Not tell anyone else). I dol't
think very high of him, but please keeP it a
secret.
Keep an eye (onF-{To untch oou) . Pleax keep
any eye on my luggage while I am away to
enquiry.
Keep an open mind--{To nnke no iudgefimt
regarding a particular subject of detnte). l^ tlis
regard, I have kePt an oPen mind.
Keep hold of{Not let go). You should have
kept hold of the horse's reins.
Keep house-{To run the home). My mother
Keep the pot boiling-{To earn Your
Nowadays, it is very hard for a poor persan t--Y ba
keep the pot boiling.
Keip to one's own line-{To take
unaided). She is a very confident woman
keeps to her own line.
Kick up (a row, a fuss, etc.)lMake a
row, a fuss, etc.). A crowd of youths outsi&
door was kicking up such a noise that
could scarcely hear our voice'
Keep your powder dry{To be PrePatd
urgent situatbd. ln face of terrorism,
government should keep its powder dry.
Kill timeloccuPY time while one is
somethin c to fil nl the tineso that one

keeps the house for us.
Keip in with a person--(To utablish a good
association with somune). It is good to keep in
with our neighbour.
Keep one's countenance---(Mn intain one's
countmancd. He is one of the few persons who
can keep countenance in critical situations.
Keep one's ear to the gro'and-{T o
get bored) There as no work for us to do
the pa pels and documents arn ved,
result that we spen t alm ost the whole
just kitling time. tn
Kiss the dust--(To exPerimce
executed). During the creation of
many Muslims kissed the dust in tlr
PaY against Hindus.
 535

Kith and ki*-lFriends and relationd. He office always late.

about,
invited all his kith and kins to his wedding. Leave high and dry--(?o be left in a dfficult
If you keep
Know a hawk from a handsaw.--(To be able to situation uith no one to help).'fhey pulled out
find a new judge behueen things fairly well - it's no use leaving their partners high and dry.
telling me he is a nice person). I know a hawk Leave someone in the lurch-{Irnae someone
. He does
from a handsaw and I think he is thoroughly when someone needs help). I had expected that
keep his untrustwortry. my friend would help me but when all my
Know all answersllo be in complete money had exhausted, he left me in the lurch.
. In face
command of a situation and perfectly able to Lend a hand{Help). Could you please lend
deal with any developments, especially if too me a hand h this matter?
To work
proud of this ability. Lend one's name lolAllow to it be q oted in
shrdent e He is the perfect person to organise the support or fu faoour ofl. That multinational
group - he knows all the answers. company has lent its name to the brush being
It'S
people
. You can't tell her anything - she knows all manufactured by us.
answers, Let sleeping dogs lie-{A saying, meaning
that one should not try to reform or improve a
one has (L) situation, people, etc. who might cause trouble
tion into Lame excuse-{Unsatisfactory reasons giaen to but are not doing so at present). I don't think
upon
who
defend one's conduct). Aril had gone to movie you should mention the fence to the
but when his father asked him why he did not neighbours -let sleeping dogs lie.
go to school, he gave a.lame excuse saying he Let slip through one's fingerc.{lox nn
difficult had gone to a friend. opportunity). The police guarded all the doors
ts in Laugh up one's sleeves-{To be smiling at the and did not let him slip throug! their fingers
bnck). He is in the habit of laughing up his this time.
keep).
sleeves, on hearing others' talk. Let the cat out of the baglThe xnet is
person to Lay bare{To display; expox). I laid
my knoun; the mystery is explained) . The cat's out of
feelings bare to him so no misunderstanding the bag now; it's no wonder they don't go
atction
develops. ahead, for they know nothing.
and Lay claim to---(To ask for an entitlefienl). When Lick one's wounds-{Feel aery sore and
the king died, his eldest son laid claim to the crestfallm after a smere defeat from which one has
t no$e, a throne. still not recoaered). When the party \as
e the Lay one's cards on the lable-{Rruenl one's recovered from its overwhelming defeat in the
that we true iflte ions). The talks between the union last election it will have to overhaul its
and the management could make no progress organisation. But that is something for future;
ttd for an because each side was reluctant to lay its cards at present it is still licking its wounds.
:Em, the on the table. Lick someone's bootr{To flatter (someone)
&} Lay the comer stone-{To make regular and do everything he or she wantsl. - She will
ifing: do
If you succeed in this you will be
beginntng). not join in our campaign for higher wages -
a does not laying the comer stone of all your future she is always too anxiouq to lick the boss's
t do until
fortune. boots.
I bith the
Lead by lhe aoselDominate or control a Like a ton of brick*llmmedintely and heaoily).
lmoming pernn). Th.ougl:. he is a very high official, Sana wanted to come with us, but her
Tabish often leads hirn by the nose. husband came down on the ideal like a ton of
lue; be
Learn one's lessorl-{R{orm after experiencing bricks.
htistan,
th.e consequences of fiistakes). He leamt his Like clockwork-{Very smoothly and uithout
ne fight lesson after losing his iob for reaching his faults or problems). Everything went like
 536

a virtu
clockwork. aa
is fruly
Like getting blood out of a stone- l(Usually Maiden "n"""*S)', firstcompkqN
'o'A fuftd tt
of obiining emething) oery difrcultl Cettln.g Mehreen's maiden speech was a ttre voters
my father to Pay for any'thing is like gettinB tailure. She cut a sorry figure by forgefting lql of ne
blood out of a stone! Pr"iII
Like one's brcad buttered on both sides-(To tru"-print oflTo nox, o ptorl. tQ allorva
uant to lioe, etc. in Sreat comfort or luxury)' " is making a blue-print of thal
architect
Anyone else would have thought it was a commercial Plaza I thn o
sood iob, but he likes his bread buttered on Make a bolt for it{Run away suddmlp' \ fo
both sides and he considered he was Siven too prisoners made a bolt for it when tle Sua{ arrrend
much work to do. wasn't looking. I
Like the back end ol a btslVery Make a clean breast ot-lTo male f*l FIe gavr
unattractiae). He is quite good-Iooking but his confnsion). (i) The iudge will give the convi* ! mderr
wile has a face like the back end of a bus' lieirter sentence il he makes a clean breasr d! tn e5
Lip-service{Ins incere expression of suppott) ' tri involvement. (ij) She resolved to male rl
When he was dismissed from his iob, his clean breast of it before she died' I ::
friends paid onlY liP service. Make a clean sweep-{To get rU of aeryfi
Loaves and fishes_{Mnterial gains)' People utlnecessrlry or unwintetl). Th"t"* manad eway '
suffer while ministers and leaders quarrel made a cl]ear, sweep of all the lazy P*Pb
{
among themselves for the loaves and fishes of the dePartrnent.
-l
office. Make a fool ollTrick him). \ort certainll c,fes a

Long hours{The hours like tm, elmel and made a fool of him by giving him the old bo{
tunlie, which require the Sreitest number of hevo
strokes of the clock). We dined at severy but our ilffI" 0,,--*r* re, makz aru..,") tnt -{I
talk continued to the long hours. made a hit everywhere' witrd
Look as if butter wouldn't melt in one's Make a mountain out of a mole-hilF{ byr
mouth-{To aryear oa! innocent, honest, blow an bsue or fleflt out of proportion)' Y{
resteclable, etc. usunlly imPlying that the srykn have only a small blister on your heel buld
belliates one is not thcse things). She sat there complain as though you broke y9* l"q'-l!l
looking as if butter wouldn't melt in her are you making a mountain out of molelr{
a
mouthl and I think I was the ordy person who uak" o -o.rih latHMake a unY face rc |
lrrew that she was responsible for the whole contemp . On seeing his one time or{
rnix-up. Rahim made a mouth at him. I
took blue-{Se sad or depressed)' He looked Make a noise aboutlTalk or complain in al
blue when he received the letter from his to get atte iod. lfls no use making a rril
sister. abJut the bad food we are served in the m{
Look on the bright side-{To be optirnistic; to- Make a place too hot for a person-{Io-a{
be hopefal and ansider the best features, of emeone'to quit dut to resentment W*M l -!{::, :
something) You must look on the bright side - ftin). Some of the club members made tl
after a[ you still have a job. place too hot for him that he stopped gt{
Lose heart{To become discoutaged)' Afler there. .:
more than fifty unsuccessfuI attemPts to 8et a Make a gceI.*lCtute an em

iob, he began to lose heart. situation by displaying emotion). He made

Lose one's touch-{To be unable to do something scene in the bar because his friend
as well as before)- He used to be good at cricket drinking too much.
but of late he has lost his touch'
 537

strong.
Make a virtue of necessity-{To pretmd thnt
one is freely and htppily doing something
one hns MakJ someone's blood boiHTo make

mayor was forced (someone) oery 0n8ry1. His behaviour really

arm fonri to do). Once the
- he made a made mv blood boil!
--.ete
'. ler bv tire voters to cut his budget,
cold{To
loudly Make someone's blood run t'ri9htell
uirru" of necessity and denounced
govemment. or horrifu Gomeond aery muchl' The terrible
scream made her blood run cold'
The
ilake allorvances for (someone) lTo judge
the (someone) less seoerely, or require (them) to do less Make the most ofJGei maximum adoantage
'uell,
fon). I have only two hundred rupees left
and
than othet peoplel' We must make
,. The I intend to make the most of it'
allo$,ances for Risham.
guard
Make amendsJTo do sontthing to improzie
the Make up one's mind-{Decide)' I can't make
up my mind whether to spend the vacation
at
,,inttion oft* doing sonething wrcng, stuPid'
futt etc.). He her i present to make amends home or in Abbotabad'
Eave
rict a
for his rudeness. Make way for_{.Allow lo pass)' The party
tof Uuf." exhibition of oneself-{To shoru workers rnade way for their Prcsident'
:..:ke a "o
uourself as stupid or disrePutlble by yout Mare's nest-{A false alarm, an unfounded
f,rnoriiurl. She always makes an exhibition of suspicio ' The lnterpol followed up the clue'
thing herself bv fighting with her neighbours' but it Droved to be a mare's nest'
ger fnf*. r-u/t"itnlneself-<To commit suic i'dd' Mark time-{To adopt a poliry of inaction;
le in Due to uiavourable circumstances' she tried neither go fortoard ttor 8o backward)'
to make awaY with herself' Businessrien are marking time for the present
ir,ly Make eves it-ltootl- louingly a ' She saw her and waiting for the market to become more
book husbani making eyes at another girl' stable.
Make havoc it-{To ruin or harm)' Tlte Mean business---(l\ (Be irt eonest)' I am
son8 advancement in the field of media has
made sure he means business this time'
havoc with the morals of the young people' 6i\ (To intmd to do something xrbus and
businesslikt; not to be iokin ' I could see
from
o Urt t uy while the sun shines-{To gel the
). You "
ist adaaitage oJ one's prospects)' As a head of the expression on her face as she came in that
"union,
but you the college you must make hay while she meant business.
Lrg. I /hY the sun shines. Measure swords against-{Try out one's
? Make it up with-{To resokte one's dis1dities strength against somebodfl' It's
useless to
*.r.r.e with him in politics; he is
as ln irnl. a" made it up with old fellows' and s'*o.ds
enemy/ now thev are friends again' very clever.
Make ' neither head nor tail of uelt halfway-( Compromix) ' The employees
in order something -{Fcil to Srasp the meaning)' I can wanted all their demands to be met' The
a noise make neiiher head nor tail of his write-uP manaqement eventually me t halfway by
mess about the Chief Minister's press conference accep;ng thee fourths of their demands'
o coerce last Saturday. Mute Ja fishlWholly silenf)' Miss Naheed
w Mot ,,o tor."" .b o:uHDo not htsitate or haoe hut screamed; but I Presume' her
de that anu "doubts about doing sonvthing unplusant-
or ^itht "
s#eks were stopped by the sight of an
80m8 iiificulil. I made no bones about criticizing her
enoEnous trorse-pistot which one of her
hosPitality. champions produied, who said, "No harm is
furrassing M"i" or,"'" marklBecome distinguished)' Sh.e intended vor, *'n*; but if You cry out we
L made a has made her mark in writing Poetry' **t g"d You," on which she suddenlY
log16 was Make one's Poin'-iPreseflt oPinbns became as mute as a fish'
conaincingly). He always makes his point

(N)
Nail one's colours to the mast{To firmly
declare one's principles as permanent). The
principat of our college concluded his speech
by salnng, "Me and my colleagues must nail
our colours to the mast."
Neat as a pin-<ysry neat and tidy). Everything
was as neat as a pin in the house.
Neck and neck--{.ken and clo*; clox togAher
ol hDo cornpetitors in a contest). If
newcomers
were to bring in the system of neck-and-neck
trading.
Never say die-<Don't despair). Tell him I bid
him never say die.
Nook and cotner-lEaerywhzre; eaery corner
arul opming). I reached for my dictionary in
every nook and comer, but could not find it.
Not fit to hold a candle tolNot g@d enough
to be compareil witD. Ow new manager is not
fit to hold a candle to the previous one.
Now and thet-lOccasionally; lrom time
liae). Now and then a car passed; otherwise
the two of us were all by ourselves walking
the moonlight.
. Null and void-llneffectioe). The Supreme
Court has declared our state's law on land
holding null and void.
(o)
Odds and ends-{Miscelbneous items or pieces).
My father does not like the house full of odds
and ends.
Ot ltte-lRecently). He has been rather
cheerful of late.
Of no avail-.-{O/ no use). My attempts
reform my brother were of no avail.
Of one's own accord{O/ one's otm lree will),
He has resigned his job of his own accord.
Of the firot wateF<Of the highcst quality).
(i) She was a beauty of the first $,ater;
(n) He is a television joumalist of the first
water about cars.
Olt nd o*llnegularly; fon tirne to time).
Waqqar comes to my house off and on.
Off hand-{Iz a careless or in an unhesitating
s38
tnay). I caraot write even a single line off
hand.
Once and for alllCompletely or fnally in sur:h
a uay as to end any doubt ot tolcertainty). They
had to be defeated once and for all.
On one's bended knees-{ln a aeru humble
submissiae manner). I will only forgive him
he comes to me on his bended knees and sa\s
he ls sorry!
o n the contrary{ On the 0 ther hand) I
servants supposed to serve the people; on
contrary they rule over them as if the
were their servants.
On the eve otlThe day before; just before)
unwilling bride escaped from her house on
eve of her wedding.
On the horns of a dilemmalln a
situation). He was on the homs of a
if he retumed into the house he must db
II
the flames, and if he came out the I
would shoot him dead.
to
On the rock{A break up of marriage
relationship). Their marriage is on the rock
can dissolve any moment.
On the spur of the moment-{Dore
preoious planning). My friend made
clever remarks on the spur of the
during the extempore debate.
On the v€rge otlon the point of; aery
She was on the verge of mental
when she leamt about the death of
husband.
Once for al[--{Finally). My father has told
once for all, that if I fail in my class, he will
to allow me to continue my studies.
Once in a blue moon-{hardly am). He
our place once in a blue moon.
Open secret--{Su Wosed.ly secret fact ,
many people).It's an open secret that the a
Minister is about to resign.
Out and out-JCompletely). He is out and
rascal.
Out of bounds-{Outside the permittd
limits). The cinema was out of bounds fr
boys from the local boarding school.
 539
Out of date--{yery okl; obslete). My father
wears out of date items of dress.
Out of harm's waylln a safe place).I put the
vase on a high shelf out of harm's way during
the children's party.
Out of one's mindlMat .
. He wants to climb the Everest without the
oxygen mask; he must be out of his mind.
o The news of his only son's death has made
him go out of his mind.
Out of order<No t in a working contlition) . Ov
ceiling fan is out of order.
Out of sorts-(Unzrell). I am out of sorts today
and intend staying at home.
Out of stock--{Not naailoble ftr sale). Our
physics textbook is out of stock in all the
bookshops of the city.
Out of the frying pan into the fire{From a
bad position into worse). I changed my iob
because it was not lucrative but soon I realised
ttrat I had iumped out of the frying pan into
the fire.
Out of the question-{Impossible, not to be
diseussed at all). We can't go out in this
weather. It is out of the question.
Out of the wood-{Out of diffculties). Olur
defence production has improved but we are
not yet out of the r rood.
Over and above-lBesides). Over and above
his clerical duty, Manzoor's father does some
odd iobs to make an extra permy.
Over and ovet agai*lFepeatetlly). O'tr
English teacher keeps telling us over and over
atain that hard and honest work will always
b€ar good fuuit.
Over head and eanlComplelely). He is over
head and ears in debt.
(P)
Paddle one's own canoe--{To rely on onexlf
abne). He is an outgoint person and believes
in paddling his own canoe.
Paint in tlowing colovalTo exVress ug*ly),
He has the habit of painting his achievements
in glowing colours.
Pass awaf-{Die). Amir's father passed away
last night.
Pass the bucklTransfer responsibility to
someone elsd. The head clerk made a wrong
entry in the register and tried to pass the buck
to a junior clerk.
Pave the waylMake conditions eas!. By
acceding to the employees' demands, the
management has paved the way for a cordial
employer-employee relationship.
Pay through the nose-{Pdy uery dearly).1 am
paying through the nose for my sin of leaving
the birthplace.
Pick someone's brainy]To ask (smeone)
questions in order to get ideas, infon ation, etc.
from him, which one can use oneselfl. You might
be able to help me with this problem - Can I
come and pick your brains for a minute?
Pin one's faith to-{To completely deperul on).lt
was the greatest mistake on my part to pin my
faith to him.
Plain sailing{A trouble-free courx of action).1
have passed the most difficult tests. From now
!t
ory it should be plain sailing throughout. iE
Play ducks and drakes with one's money-
(To laaishly spmd thc morcy). Mostly it happens
that the sons of the landlords play ducks and
drakes with their fathers' money.
Play havoc with (somethingF--lTo cause a lot
of damage to (nmething); to ruin (smethin l.
The rain played havoc with our garden party
arrantements.
Play one's trump card-{To nake ux of one's
fust ffirls whm all others haae fucome useless).
When he could not win the competitiory he
played his trump card of tetting the favours"
of his old teacher.
Play second fiddle to somebodHTake
second place).I cannot play second fiddle to Dr.
Rehman on this trip.
Play with firc--{Io rlo something dangrous or
risky). She knew she was playing with fire by
having an affair with a married man.
Plough a lonely furrowlTo toork withoul any
assistance). Sir Syed Ahmad l(han ploughed a
lonely furrow in the field of education.
 5,O
Pluck up couragelBecome braae). He finally
plucked up courage and werlt to the Surgeon.
Pocket an insult{To tolerate). He could not
pocket the insult and slapped on his face.
Point blank{Blantly; at close rsnge).
o He asked me point blank if I was thinking
of getting married secretly.
o He fired at point blank range.
Poke one's nose into-{fo meddle in others,
afliit . That woman has the habit of poking
her nose in the affairs of others. . -
Pour oil on troubled water:{To end a dispute
by your action or twrds). After a long quarrel
they called in their leader to pour oil on
troubled waters.
Preoenceof mindlAbility to think calrnly in a
crisis). A
major bus accident was averted
today because of the driver's presence of
mind.
Pros and co,ns-lArgummts for ond. against;
minute discussion). After a few pros and cors,
they bade her observe that her old lover was a
rich man, and if she were wise she would look
that way.
Pull a long face{Io look oery sombre)- He
pulled a very long face on not getting through
the exams.
Pull one's legrllnpose upon; try lor a jokc, to
make one belieoe smething thnt b untrue). He b
an innocent type of man; don't pull his leg.
Pull the chestnuts out of the fire{To take
control and rescue someone lrom a diffcult
situatbn). I am tired of pulling my sister,s
chestnuts out of the fue.
Pull the strings{Do something from behind; be
hifulen caux of action). The man, who pulled
the strings, is here, and you should meet him.
Put a bold face on somethinglTo show
braoery in). He has put a bold face on his
misconduct.
Put an end tc-lstop or abli\. me
govemment should put an end to the practice
of child labour.
Put one across on (someonefiTo deceioe or
play a trick on (sonuone)l- He thought he would
put one across on his friends by pretending
that he was going to get married.
Put one's hand to the plough-lTo begin an
nclirrity). Industrious students do not waste
their time, and readily put their hands to the
plough.
Put somebody in the picture-{ Keep someone
informed). I can't blame them, for they did
keep me in the picture about this deal.
Put the cat aurong the pigeoas--1To cause a
disturbance, especially suddenly).
If the workmen
don't Bet a pay rise it will really put the cat
among the pigeons. n
Put two and two tog€ther-{To rationalizc
logically). Amina is a clever girl, and can put
h^/o and two together.
Put words into one's mouth-{To irsfrur,
uhat to sny). After committing the crime, &le
murderer put the words into the mouth of an
innocent being.
(o
Quarrel with one's own toolslTo find fault
uith the work from which one makes a lioing; act
against one's oun interest). lt is foolish to
quarrel with one's own tools.
(R)
Rack one's brins--lMake moial fforts to
fitn!
an answer). Whenever I have a probler4 t
always sit down and rack my brains until I
think of a solution.
Rank and file-{The important well as tlc
humble people). The Prime Minister lra
appealed to the ranl and file in the country b
strengthen the nation's economy in ever;r
possible way.
Rat rucelCompetitiae struggle in utork). *b
dropped out of the rat race and retired to th
counfry.
Red tape-
(i) (Oficial formality and delays).
(ii) The delays in the administration of i
are largely due to red tape.
Red-tape-{z{ igid
obxraance of rulcs
regulations). Red-tape is largely responsible
our slow progress.
 54'l
Refuse to soil one's hands{To turn doum the
idea oJ committing a fud or disgraceful deed). He
refused to soil his hands by assisting them in
theft.
Render an account of-{To gioe details for)-
Everyone has to render an account of his work
in the annual report.
Rest on one's oar*<To stop working
for a time
and haae a rest). After working hard lor the
whole day, she is now resting on her oars.
Ring a bell-{Ren ind nmething oaguely;
nwakm a memory). Dr. Zarn? The name rings a
bell. Is he not the same man who gave a talk in
Lions' Club last Monday.
Rise to the occasion-{To show that one is able
and. ztigorous, etc. that is required
for a particular
time). Our arrny will surely ris€ to the occasion
in case of an emertency created by outer
forces.
Road test{Rocd worthiness of a aehicle). All
old model cars should have regular road tests.
Rock the bo{-<Dbturb a gd anangemmt).
We are working well and making profits. Let,s
not introduce any change and rock the boat.
Root and branch{To remooe or destroy
compktely). We should remove the ugliness
from our socie$r root and branch.
Round the clock--{The whole day and the whole
night). lf we are to get this book published
we'll have to work round the clock.
Rub shoulders (with) -{Be assciated with).
Mr. Nawaz has rubbed shoulders with the
treat personalities of the country.
Rule something out-<To eliminate). yott
should rule out all poosibilities of getting the
solution to the problem.
Run amuck-{z/l of brutal rage). The lion ran
amuck.
Run an enant{Do work for). Sana often runs
errands for his mother, like posting letters and
buying vegetables.
Run short-{Io haoe an inadEuate anount).
The markets are running short of flour,
nowadays.
Run riot-<Act uithout rcstnint). He seems to
let his imagination run riot.
Rush to a conclusion{To make an inference
quicHy). Belore rushing to the conclusions,
weigh all pros and cons of this matter.
(s)
Save one's facelTo aooid embanassmenL
disgrace or loss of srafr..s). After his failure in the
exams he is trying to save his face.
Save one's ekin-{To sidestep due to
feafulrcss,
risk, injury, elc.). In the face of crisis, everyone
tries to save his skin.
Scrape a living-(To eam that would only eruble
you to lioe on). Owing to low mears, he is just
scraping a living.
Scratch the surfaceJTo deal n topic but not
with intensity or carefulness). The principal
merely scratched the surface of the topic.
Screw up one's cotragelTo enduaoar). He is
very coward and needs to screw up his
courage before entering the jungle.
See with half an eyelTo see uithout
dificulty). Anyone could have seen with half
an eye that she was upset.
Sell something for a song{For a aery tittle
amounl). Risham sold her new dress for a
sont.
Serve one's needelMeet one's requiremmts).
This car should serve his needs well.
Serve one's lime--/.To work as an apprentice
for
an agreed number of yetrs). The boy was served
only half his time.
Set an example-{To establish as a modeD. We
must s€t an example for the children.
Set measure tolLimit).I advised him to set
measures to his ambitions.
Set one's heart on (somethingF{To aanf
Gomething) aery muchl.
o He had set his heart on winning the prize.
. He had his heart set on winnint.
Set the heather on fire{To caux a grat detl
of general interest and excitemmt). His book is
rather dull - I don't think its publication will
set the heather on fire.
Set the Thames on firc--(To do something
extraodinary), He set the Thames on fire by
running a successful exhibition.

Show one's facelApryar in publid. After his
irresponsible behaviour yesterday he dared
not show his face again.
Show oneself in one's true colours-{To slour
or express one's real chnracter, opinion etc.). He
pretends to be very Senerous, but he showed
himself in his true colours when he refused to
give money in charity.
Sick at heart{Vary nnowful and unhappy). By
evening they knew that there was no more
hope of finding the men alive and, sick at
heart, they gave up the search.
Sit on the fencelremnin uncommitted). Mo6t
of the students are unwilling to comment on
exam reforms and prefer to sit on fence.
Sleeping partner{A person who proaides n
share of capital of a business but does not share in
the fianagement). Mrs. |ami, who has invested
two million rupees in the firm, is a sleephg
partner; she is now too old to attend any
business matter.
Slip one's mind-{Forgef). He asked me to
post a letter for him but it completely slipped
mymind.
Smell a rat-{Suspect something fshy). I could
not believe his story. I seemed to smell a rat.
Snake in a grass{d treacherous Peten). Don't
reveal your secrets to her; she's a snake in the
grass.
Snap one's lingers allTo show tlisrespect for).
The wealthy people usually snap their fingers
at the poor.
Sour grapes-{Di*ppointment). He says
doesn't vvant to become a doctor. I think i(s
case of sour grapes.
Sow one's wild oats-lEnjoy a life of pleasure
while young).T\at chap is iust 20. l.et him sow
his wild oats and he'll soon settle down.
Speak one's mindJ'Reoer,ls one's tsiaus
franVy) . Kiran is very frank and always speaks
his mind even if it upsets people.
Spin a yam{To nanate a story). She is an
expert in spinning a yam.
Split hair--{Serue as a strong testimony to). lt
speaks volumes for his labour that he has built
512
so large a company without anybod/s tt{l
Standing orders_{lnstrucl ions which rtfl
force until reputed by the appropriate autq
I have standing orders with my typist bl
all the papers you gave him. I
Start from scratch-{Sfdr, y'om the Wi4
My father started thls business from scre{
Status quo-{T?r Wsition in ,uhi"r, I
actually are; the present situation of fl
was hardly Loo much to assume that el
further thought, a little more consideratl
future probabilities, would have led {
maintenance of the status quo. I
Steal a marth on somebod;t- & * d
by doing nmething earlin than exry$
::1fi":'rxH"Ifi: f liliili
stole a march on them by putting a
Hl
simil{
on the market last week. I
irti,?,,",1"f u". "",il"",ff : rr'J#t
st{
fromervice the deputV Librarian
Stick to one's guns---{ inslsf on one's fl
him that tre was
;T i;H"Jri}*:rd
Stir up a nest of homets-{To nok
q!
come out suddmly). The gatekeeper stirrrl
nest of hornets by not letting the boys in I
Stir up trouble--(Cause or fonnt bl
Some peopie aiways rry to stir up troub{
Storm in a tea cup-{At ?xagSoatd i4
he The alleged scandal was iust a s{
a teacup.
fr",",',*l;:ffi,tr:;;:i:";ffi
attmtion ol othenl-l
or to hide it fron the
was trouble a few years ago about so{
stealing our office equiPment, but it rl
swept under the carPet and we never I
illlit",lt i"".- ro wi, eoetythiS
swimmer swept the board at the OtY{
winning seven gold medals. I

t (r)
[Take aback{To surprise or astonish). Madame
said no, with such a determined and
[Mushtaq
[resolute ill-temper that Mr. Mushtaq was
pearly taken aback.
[fo -q"e uplTo leaoe). I cannot give up
F-ok-9.
F*e (one's) cue frour (somebodyF (Follozu
lomeone's example)- I had never used knife and
prk before but I took my cue from my host.
p:ke (someone's) mind off (somethingF
pTelp nmeone stop thinking about sonethini). I
lmk him to a movie to take his mind ofi his
lmpending examination.
]eke a leaf out of someone,s book-
lryane's I
took a leaf out of my
example).
lther's book when I started taking moming
lalk every day.
Take measures---(To uork in accord.ance to the
e). They took hard measures agairut the
breaker.
ake one's cue from (someone)-{To copy
(nmeone)
is reacting to a situation, etc.l.
iking our cue from Bilf we all tried to look
rised at what Susan was saying.
e one's time
(Act leisurely). You can take your time to
complete this job.
(Go at the speetl you like), Please take your
time to do this work; I am not in a haste.
e/carry coals to Newcastle-{To
h n8 to a pla ce wher e here s a ready a
,f T a k m8 flo wers fo r her ts ta k ln co a is
8 The ganre is worth the candle--{A unrk is not
Newcastle - her garden is full of flowers.
the hind leg off a donkey-JTo talk a
t deal and for a long time). I like this little
but she would talk the hind leg off a
yl
the plunge{To be detennined to Wrform
tlifitult or risky task straight away). Ttre
er took the plunge and continued
ring the deepest cores of the planet
I apartJTo recognix thc difference betweett;
tinguish).I cannot tell the twins apart.
its own tale-{Io make it easy to see what
543
.has happmed). The demolished plaza tells its
own tale.
Thank one's stars--{Be luclcjr). He should
thank his stars that he escaped uninjured.
That beats the Dutch-{Thal is astonishing).lt
beats the Dutch how the thief got through so
small a hole.
The aftermath{The situation etc-
resulting
frotfl an important, especiatly unpleasant eoentl.
The country is still recovering from the
aftermath of the war.
The breath of one,s nostrils---( Something as
aaluable as life itselfi. The novels were
discussed in the society whose flatteries were
as the breath of his nostrils.
(Follow
The curtain falls-{The performance closes; the
sccne comes to an end), Here the conversation
ought to have ended; the curtain ought to
have fallen at this point. What followed was
-
weak - very weak.
The end of the line/road{The point beyontl
the
which one can no longer continue or suntioe). A
management spokesman said that another
strike might well mean the end of the road for
the company.
The fair sexlWomet). He has very little
success with the fair sex-
The game is not n orth the candle-
I
O) (fhc project is too dificult, troublesome etc. I
for thc adaantages it wouhl bing).I don,t work
lnke overtime because, with the amount of tax I
have to pay, the game isn't worth the candle.
crea
raofth the flort it requires). As his old bicycle a
was costing too much on repairs, he decided
I
that the game was not worth the candte. So he
bought a new one.
The gift ol the gablFlumcy; leadiness of
speech): Very few of our leaders have the gift
.rf the gab.
The ins and out of something-{fs zu}role
ztorking; the detnils of anything. Now so many
things come contrary in the countless ins and
outs that the laws of the Crippses sometimes
failed in some l'ot or title.
 544
The last shaw.{An addition to a task, burdeq
ete. that mnlces it intolerable; the ultimate
prooocatbn). When the waiter brought him
cold soup, it was the last straw so he
complained the manager.
The lion's sharc'.{The largest Wrtion of
anything). She retained the lion's share of
sweets for herseU and gave only one sweet to
each.
The long and the short--{A bri$ account;
summary)-The long and the short of this
matter is that we must elect the office bearers
of our association afresh.
The man in the street-<Permn lookd upon as
represmting the interests of ordinary people).
What has the man in the street got in 60 years
of independence in this country?
The olive brancLlOlfer of peace).'fhe braeli
revolutionaries are not prepared to hold out
the olive branch to Palestine.
The Primmse Path-1The pleasant arul alluing
road which leads to destructi.on)- General is
leading the Primrose Path.
The salt of the eall.lft-{The wholesome portion of
a community).It was one of Nazi rules to strut
up and call you the salt of the earth.
The small houn--(Ttre morning hours after
mdrright). He retumed from the joumey in the
small hours.
The sweat of one'e brow-< Hanl labour). ln
this practice, indeed, he imitated some of the
mo6t renowned geniuses of the age, who have
l6rboured in secret with the sweat of the brows
for many a repartee.
Throw cold water (onF--(dis courage). She
threw cold water on my scheme.
Throw down the gauntlet-{To offer a trial td.
Our leader threw down the gauntlet, but
nobody could face it.
Thrcw dust in the eyes oflTo delud.e). Don,t
try to throw dust in my eyes. I will not trust
you.
Throw one's bread upon the water-<?o
puform a rcble deed danoid of any erpectl.tions,
but aftmoards can get any unanticipated gain).
Those who fight for a good cause; they throw
their bread upon the water.
Tip of the iceberg-{A small eoiilefi Wrt
I am
aspect of something largely hidden).
that these few reported cases of the
might only be the tip of the iceberg.
To act up lo-<To promise or profess - to
in a suitable way, considering what promixs
proJxses one has nude; to
fulfil uhat one
or profesxs to regard as a duty).lt isn t
sailors and fuhermen that one finds
blackguardism. They have their code, such
it is, and upon the whole I think they act up
ir.
To add fuel to t}|.e firc.-/.To make
worx). My father was angq, with me
my result. My request for pocket
added fuet to the fire of his anger.
To all appearanceslSeemingly)- To
appearances he is not guilty.
To and fro{In opposite directions).
watchman kept walking on his boat to and
To bark up the wrong treelTo be
ns to one's target or the ways of acquiing
Regarding the new proiect, he is very
and barking up the wrong tree.
To be at one's wil's endlTo be too
knou uthat to do). When I saw a snake in
room, I was at my wit's end.
To be born with a silver spoon in
mouth{To k bom of a rich family).
Azam was bom with a silver spoon in
mouth.
To be caught nappinglTo fu
unawares). When India attacked our
our armed forces were caught napping.
To be caught red-handedl&ught whilc
something wrong). One of the thieve
caught red-handed as he was trying to
through awindow.
To be dead certairt-{To be ztery swe). I
dead certain of my brother's arrival today.
To be ill at ease--{In an unquiet state;
(i) But the general is ill at ease; he carurt
that infemal anonymous letter out of his
(i1) (Uncomfortable). The naughty boy
quite ill at ease before the principal.
 545

To be in the clouds{To dream of what is given ball to a very large amount.

euident patt or impracticable; to build castles ir the air). Since his (ii) (Remember). He did not bear in mind my
. I am afraid retum from America, Arthur has been in the waming about his bad company that's why he
of the disease clouds. had to suffer.
To be on the wane--{Declizilg). Mr. Sohail's To bear wilh-{Agre4 support). I made a
- to behaoe influence is on the wane no$/. truthful statemen} so I was sure my friend
promises or To be one's on last legs-{To be about to fall, would bear with me at the time of the inquiry
one protnses end, or couapsd.lt was clear to everyone that into the incident.
It isn't among the government t^/as on its last legs. To bear the lion in his den--{To attack a
finds genuine To be run over--{To be crushed). A dog ran dangerous or much-feared person boldly in his own
code, such as over by a car. quarterc). Miss Uzma returned to the inn for
they act up to To be under a cloud-{i) To be in disgrace, or Iunch, and then prepared for her momentous
out of the public favour: Mr. Elahi has been visit to the rectory; for she had resolved to
flake rnatters under a cloud ever since he was caught bear the lion in his den.
me about manufacturing spurious drugs. To beat a retreat-{?o run away from a talk).
money (ii) Under suspicion: He is living under a We beat a hasty retreat when we heard the
cloud ever since he was dismissed for car.
). To all dishonesty. To beat the air4To struggle in oain). "!b fig)tt
(iii) Depressed, sad; She has been under the I, not as one that beateth the air'. - St. Paul
. The cloud of depression since her aunt died. To beggar desciptio*lDificult to descibe).
to and fro. To be up and doing-{To be actiae; doin . We The beauty of the Badshahi Mosque as a
be misgutuled should be up and doing if we want the beggar description.
acquiring it). country to pro6per. To bell the cat{i) (To do xmething islcy or
very excited To be up in arnrs-{To ise in reooll). Workers dangerous). All of us a$eed that we should
eveqrwhere are up in arms against the give the Principal a list of our demands as well
tm puzzled to management for higher $,ages and better as the notice of strike, but no one was willing
snake in my service conditions. to bell the cat.
To be well-to-do-<To be wealthy). My father is (ii) (At great perxrml risk, to render a common
in one's quite well-to-do. foe harmless fur eoi). All the members of the
Quaid-e. To be wide awake{To be quite alert). I was trade union agreed to put their demands to
spoon in his wide awake all night after I had been the factory authoritiet but &'ho will bell the
awakened by my dog. cat.
be caught
To be worth wlnile--{Worth the time or trouble To bid adierr{To say furatell). At last time
our country, inaolaed). Buying or building a house came to bid adieu to my relatives and friends;
nowadays does not seem to be worth-while. before I boarded the ship-
while doing To bear a charmed life<To escape death in To bid fdr--lpromi*s).The business deal bids
thieves was almost a miraculous manner). Up and down the fair to be very profitable to us.
to escap€ ladders, upon the roofs of buildings, over To bid one's line-{Waiing for a faoourable
floors that quaked and trembled with his opportunity). He is only biding his time, and
sure). I am weight, under the lee of falling bricks and then he will take his revenge.
today. stones, in every part of that great fire was he; To bite one's lipr{Io shoto signs of tlisgust
restless). but he bore a charmed life, and had neither and mortifcntiotr). The advocates on both sides
cannot get rratch nor bruise. are altemately biting their lips to hear their
of his head. To bear in min4{i) (To remembr; reallect) - lt conllicting misstatements and sophisms
boy felt will be bome in mind that Mr. Aubrey had exposed.
To bite the bullet-{To endure in a difficult
 546
to fnc( a drficult situation braaely). He
situntion;
was determined to bite the bullet and to
redesign the plan.
To bite the dustlTo fill in baltld. That day
three thousand Saracens bit the dust.
To blaze the trail-{To break new groutrd). ln
poetry, all over the sub-continent, Allama
Iqbal blazed the trail.
To blow one's own trumpet{To praise ontself
highly in public). O:.:.r Union president is
boastful; and is constantlv blowing his own
trumpet.
To break down-{To begin to cry). After
Socrates had drrrnk poison, his friends broke
dora n.
To break into--"{Io mnke a forccd entry).
Thieves broke into my friend's house last
night.
-fo break the back ot neck otlTo
finish the
lurdest pnrt of a task). I always try to break the
back of (finish the hardest part o0 my day's
work before lunch.
To break the ice{To sfarf disrrrssicn). Two
strangers sat together for a long time before
one of them broke the ice.
To break the news-{To disclose tlu neus). 1l
was not easv to break the news of her son's
death to her.
1'o breathe one's last---(?o die). The old man
breathed his last peacefully.
To bring about{To cause to hnwcn; to assist irl
uccomplishing). There are many who declare
that they would be willing to bring about an
Anglo.Russian alliance upon the terms of
giving Russia her head in the direction of
Constantinople.
To bring to book--(To call to accourt; to accusc
of n fault or o crime). Be careful otherwise you
will be brought to book.
To bring tp-{To look nfter). He has to bring
up a large family.
To build castles in lh.e air-{To think oJ
inngimry schenes). Children love to build
castles in the air.
To b urn one's boats-(Io leaae no means of
rttreit; to oct irrroocnbly). He took the chan
perforated cardboard and tore that likewise c
into small pieces. "Now I have bumed my The
boats with a vengeance" (certainly left mysell hant
no way of retreat), he added grimly. happ
To bury the hatchet{to cease fghting). We all To
want India to burv the hatchet and live in WfE
peace with us.
To call a spade a spade-{To spmk bluntly or
cit,?r'llv ns on( thinks). Honesty and boldness Apr
enable a man to call a spade a spade. ficrl
To call in question-1To dottbt or qtrcstion)- A.el
Riaz's honesty has been called in question.
To call names-{To spenk tlisrtspactfitlly to or af
n persotr). When he called his mother names
her father gave him a sever punishment.
To call to account-JTo cefisurc; to d.emand at
explnnation from). She can't call Ensip
Bloomington to account; can she?
To carry anything loo larlTo exceed
proper bounds in onything). He is in habit
carrying each private matter too far.
To carry conviction{To be conaincing or
to beliettel. His account of the incident was
full of dramatic emotion to carry convictiorL
To carry one's poinl.{To succeed in one's
They were bent upon placing their
Littleton in the Speaker's chair; and they
carried their point triumphantly.
To carry out{?o put inlo action). ln the
everyone has to carry out the orders of
superiors.
To carry the day{To win a trictory; to
superior).
r When such discussions arise,
generally carries the day and should do
. Our football team carried the day
playing an exciting game.
To carry the torch--tShow loyalty to a cau*
person). He has been carrying the torch 6r
organization since its establishment.
To catch a Tartar---{To deal with t oery
opponent). The rulers of India try to su
the people of Kashmir but they don't
that they are trying to catch a Tartar.
 547

the To change front{i) In military, to change the family. That's why she came to her so, I
lse course of a line of attack: suPPose,
my . The commanding officer had to change To cry for the moon-{To ask for something
myself front on account of unexpected impossible). The desire of a farmer's son to
happenings. become eminent in a democratic country is not
. We all (ii) To take up a new line of dispute: a cry for the moon.
live in o When he found himself overpowered by To cry from the housetopJTo anno nce the
heavy arguments, he changed front. public). Cabriel, rousing himself now and
ntly or (iii) To modify one's approach or values: again to listen, heard nothing that might not
dness o A person who has the habit of changing have been cried from the housetops.
front is not trustworthy. To cry over spilt milk- (i) (To spend tine in
tion) To change hands-*(To go into possession of useless r(grcts). What's done, Sam, can't be
anotha . And so they haggled on for a little undone; there is no use in crying over spilt
to or of longer, but at the end of the interview Dandy milk.
names had changed hands, and was permanently (ii\ (To coruplnh nbout somethiflg that is beyond
engaged as a member of Mr. Punch's any cure). M:lik's children are spoiled because
ntl travelling company. they were never gir.en proper attention and
Ensign To check or nip in the bud-(To destroy at an now- the parents are crying over spilt milk.
etrly age; to lose no time in suppressing). To cry wolf--{To raise a lalse alarm). In
tltc Guessing his intentions, she had resolved to Pakistan politicians' habit of crying wolf cost
habit of check them in the bud. them heavy.
To chop ltp-{To meet suddenly)- I know not To curry favour--{i) (To use mcan arts to
0f easy what my condition would have been if I had obtnin patronage). Many changed their religion
was too chopped upon) them. to curry favour with King James.
on. To come into torcel'of a lau or regulation' to (ii\ (To Jlnttcr to gnin Jaaour). Some clerks and

ane's aim) begin to be mforced). The law making paper peons try to curry favorrr with their superiors
friend money no longer legal tender comes into force doing odd jobs for them.
they had next July. To cut a figure-(Mnke oneself prominent; to do
To come of age-{To rench the age of tuenty- something to attrnct noticd. lt seems my
the army. one, whet the law permits a man to finnage his entertainer was all this while only the butler,
I own afrairs). She was now nearly twenty-three. u,ho in his master's absence had a mind to cut
ders of his
Having, when she came cf age, succeeded to a figure.
to prcae her late modrer's possessiors, she was To cut dead--{l o reftse to recoynise an
independent both by age and by income. acqudintnnce in public). She would cut her
money To come to a head--{Reach a critical point). dearest friend dead if misfortune befell her, or
do so. Within weeks matters came to a head, and the the world tumed its back upon her.
day after two brothers decided to live separately. To cut one shortllntefiupt anothtr while
To come to grief- (i) (To be ruined; to fnll Tom pulled himself together, and
speaking).
g ciuse or a completely). He is rash in his actions, and began an explanation; but thc colonel cut him
for his careless in dealing customers; he will come to short.
grief soon. To cut one's coat according to one's
powerful (il) (To fail). Hehas come to grief through his cloth{7b tcgtlate one's expenses by one's
to suppress laziness and folly. incone). "Debt is dishonest," said he. "We can
don't know To come to a peson-{To lnum npon him; to all cut our coat according to our cloth".
make adoances to him). l,ady Mansfield's maid To dance and pay the piper{To labour to
says there's a grand title or something in the nnd hntte lo incrLr expense of the
omtLst,
 548
etttertainment besided.l'll either teach in the
school once a week, or give you a
subscriptioni but i am not going both to dance
and pay the piper.
To dance attendance on a person-{To be
ready to do whateoer the percon wants). Some
people dance attendance on their superiors in
the hope of getting promotion.
To dance upon nothing-{To get hanged). lf
you do not take care, you will soon dance
upon nothing.
To deal in-{To sell; to da business in). My
uncle deals in cloth.
To deal with{To trcat). I kJ.ow how to deal
with cheats.
To die by inches-{To die slowly; to waste away
shwly but swadily). At the time, a sudden death
always seems something very strange and
horrible, like a murder; although probably
most of us, if we could choose, would rather
prefer to be killed at a blow than die by inches.
To die in hamess-{?o expire while still at
worA. Qaatd-e-Azam died in harness.
To die hard{To stop working uith a yeat
forf). The preconceived notions die hard.
To die out={To becofie extinct). Numerous
species of animals are dying out.
To die with one's boots o --1To die duting a
fghl. His family remained oblivious of the
fact for a long time that he died with his boots
on.
To dip in gafHTo nuke oery brtter). The
famous Shakespearean critic Malone was the
object of his special aversiory which was mo6t
cordially reciprocated, and often had they
transfixed one another with pens dipped in
8all.
To dispense with{To gbe away; to do
without). I cannot dispense with my personal
assistant.
To dispose orlTo xll offi. He disposed their
blanket off to an American.
To do away with{i) To get rid of:
. The govenrment sensibly did away with
the political crisis.
(ii) To assassinate:
. The hooligan lost no time in doing away
with his victim.
To do one's level best-{To exert oneself to thc
utmost of one's power). He did his level best to
get me the post.
To dog-ear book--{To turn down the corners of
its pages so that they resenble a dog's urs). He b
in habit of spoiling his books, tuming it dog-
ear and high-lighting contents.
To drag in by the head and the
shouldersJTo introduce abruptly nnd without
suficient cause). We have enough to do to
think of ourselves in these days, without
dragging in the absent by the head ard
shoulders.
To draw a blank-(?o gain nothing). After a
long struggle to persuade his friend on a
matter, he drew a blank.
To draw rein-{To stop; to come to a halt). O^
seeing the snake, the rider drew the ratE Id
suddenly. II
To draw the long bow{To ooerstate). Do
trust his story he has the habit of drawing
long bow.
To draw up-{To mnke a plane). He las
up a plan for our new business.
To drive atlTo imply or suggest). I could
understand what you were driving at
took the whole idea wrongly.
To drive into a corner--(?o place someone m
sihlation thot cannot be easily aaoided). She
her neighbour into a comer.
' To eat dirt--{To submit to insalf). Though
bow before a calf, is it not a golden
Though they eat dirt, is it not dressed by
French cook?
To eat humble pie--{To accept a
position; to be humbled into a position of
The strikes had to eat humble pie wh€xl
unfaimess of their demand was exposed
the management.
To eat one's mutton-{ro dine). Wrll yqr
your mutton with me today?
To eat one's words{To withdrau all thst
has sid). The lawyer made the witness eat b
own words during croes-examination in
 549
court.
To end in smoke.{To nd without being
fulflled). After the death of his father, Ali,s
hopes of higher studies ended in smoke.
To fall between two stools-<To adopt two
plans of action, and. to fail; to lose onexf by
trusting to two suworts instead of boldly choosing
a single one) . What on earth should she do? FalI
to the ground between two stools? No, that
was a man's trick, and she was a woman,
every inch.
To fall flatJTo haae no fiect). My advice fell
flat upon Mubarik.
To fall foul ot-..-/.To get annoyed; to become
displeased) . I wtll never like my superiors to fall
foul of me through my folly or dishonesty.
To fall in love witln-{To become enamoured ofl.
On our first acquaintance I clearly saw that he
was not disposed to pay court to my fortune,
and I had also then coolness of iudgnlent
sufficient to perceive that it was not probable
he should fall in love with me.
To fall on one' feetJTo meet with unexpected
good-luck) . I had certainly fallen on my feet.
To fall short--{To be less; to decrease). We fell
short of money when we were shopping.
To fan the flame-{To m.ake mnre angry). Hb
rudeness farured the flame of my anger.
To feather one's nest{i) (To prooide fur one's
uan permnal comlort and interest; to lay by money
for onexlfl. You have forgot this, have you,
now you have feathered your nest?
(iil (To nalce oneself rich or strong in position).
Our leaders have no thought for the people;
all their energies are directed towards
fwtheing their own nests.
To fight ehy of{To aooid).If you fight shy of
him, miss, you may remember this, that you
will fight shy of me at the same time.
To find fault witHTo Dhne). Saqib has the
bad habit of finding fault with everyone.
To get---(i) To buy:
. I am going to get a new dress.
6i) To bring:
o Go and get a cup of tea.
(iii) To attain:
. A tood student gets good results.
(iv) To accept or collect:
o She's getting Rs.10,000/- per month as a
salary.
(v) To happen to:
. It's getting late.
(vi) To comprehend:
. I cannot get what you want to imply by
this conversation?
(vii) To reach:
o I hope she would get in time here.
To get rid otlTo dispox ofl. I want to get rid
of my old car.
To give the back-{To leaoe or quit). Had even
obstinate himsell but felt what I have felt of
the powers and terrors of what is yet unseery
he would not thus lightly have given us the
back.
To give up or yield up the ghosF-{To dis).
You do not tell me that Carswell is applying
for the Hebrew chair. He has not a ghost of a
chance.
To give vent toJ.To express; to ghte tn outlet).
I
She gave vmt to her pent-up feelings the
moment I spoke a few words of sympathy for
her.
To go back on a person--{Io betny). l,ll not
go back on you, in any case.
To go to the bar[-{To become ilebauched; to sink
ittto Woefiy and disgrace). He went, as the
common saying expressively phrases it, to the
bad.
To go to the dogs-(Deteriorale oery badly; used a
of persons, organixtions, institutiots erc,). Since
he took to drink and gambling he had gone to
the dogs.
To grease the palsr{To brjbe). Nowadays
one cannot get anything done without
greasing the palm of somebody or other.
To have a bee in one'abonnel--4To be cmzy in
a ce*ain direction). I don't understand my
brother; he has a bee in his bonnet.
To heve a finger in the pie-{To fu mird up in
any ofiab), The recmt political development
 550

shows that army have a finger in the pie.
To have all one's eggs in one bask etjTo risk
all ofle's gmd.s in the sane oenture; to haae
eaerything depndent on the secuity of one
particular thing or undertakirg). I know your
happiness depends on her. All your eggs are
in that one basket.
To have at one's finge/s tips or ends--{?o be
able to reryat or use without any trouble). He had
Greek at his finger's tips.
To have many irons in the fire{To lazre
,naflV orojects carrying on ot one time). And then
he tells what other literary irons are in the fire.
To have nc backbone--{To lack strength oJ
charactu). Many of our leaders trave no
backbone; they do not enioy the trust and
confidence of the people.'
To hit the nail on the tlead-{To speak
appositely; to touch the cxact point in question; to
state the plain truth or the rcal fact about a
sitwtit . He presented his argument so well
that it hit the nail on the head.
To hold a brief for-1To try to justifu, or defend
somcone's aetions).I do not hold a brief for the
strikers, but I feel that the government ought
to fulfil most of their demands.
To hold good-{To be oalid). your argument
does not hold good in my case.
To hold in check-{To lestrain; to eontrol). We
should find dilficulty in supplying an army of
eight thousand men at Kandhar, which would
be sufficient to hold in check, the advance of
one hundred thousand Russians from the
Caucasus.
To hold one's owftito contend. successfully; to
ruintain uhat one b struggling for)- He is a
skilled debater, and can hold his own against
any opponent.
To hold one's tongue--{To keep quiet)- I told
him lo hold his tongue while I advocate him.
To hold out{To offet resistance; not to surcumb
or yiekl). The heroic little band held out for six
days against overwhelming odds.
To hold water-{To bear clox inspection) . -f ales
had gone about respecting her; nothing very
tangible and perhaps they would noi have
held water To knor
To keep another in tl:re dark-1To keep him b,rlttcre+
ignorance of an eaenf). She was now resolved intf7es,ts,
keep Harriet no longer in the dark. tgtrds
To keep body and soul together-<?o [Ercllria
Ir/c). My eamings are so miserable that d.te his b
scarcely suffice to keep body and To ley h
together. fle dLe(
To keep dark about anything--{To b8edEr
secrecy about it). If you will fight me, I,ll IrGl dis.
dark about it. Iead
To keep on e' s h ead a bove
otlt's position). He writes heh
articles
ne\.vspapers/ teaches English part-time, tc.d
the sitar, and thus keeps his head above
To keep the ball rolling{To keep
conoersation going; to preoent an u lct b
lrom flngging). If the Spaniards had not Crl
two armies lately we should keep the
rolling for another vear. 6
To keep the wolf from the dooF<To ,r H
postton to get two ,nuls a day). He is too lE
keep the wolf from the door.
To keep up appearance-lTo behaoe in a
utay before others). Lots of people keep
lit rr
appearances by wearing smart clothes
Ti!e
spending little on food. -
To kick the bucket--{To did. Mr t lIYc
kicked the bucket last night.
To kick up dust-{To carry on a
d tscusst on A mongs the m an uscrip riches
the Bodleian, the re as a coPy of a certain
chronicler about whose very name there
been a considerable amouni of leamed
kicked up.
To kill two birds with one stone-{Io
ltDo fes u ls wt h one expmd tu re of
he Prng his one time enemy the
k il led two b irds th one S tone
To know how rnany beans make fi
sngacious; to be uorld.ly-wise). I was a fool
didn't know how many beans made five.
To kn ow no bounds{To be without sny
or end). My joy kttew no bound S hen I
that I had topped in my class.
 55r

To know on which side one's bread is a life in the current society, one has to look
) kea him in
butter€dJTo be well atoare of one's oun through roserolourcd glasses.
intercsts, to be fi l of znrldly wisdom as far as To loose herrHTo b dixouraged) . We should
I resolved to
regards onexlf). "Pshaw!" answered his never lose heart, however trying the
'To sustain
mercurial companiory "he knows on which circumstances.
that they
side his bread is buttered." To loosen the purse strings-{?o raise
To lay heads together--(To consult together). expmxs). Since they got rich, they have
and soul The directors of the company laid their heads loosened their purse's strings.
together to find a way of saving the company To make a ca(e paw otlTo use as a mere tool).
Jo preserve from disaster. She's made a cat's paw of you; that's plain
l:, r'rr Leep
To lead a dog's life{To pass a mi*rable enough.
existencd. He is afraid to call his soul his own, To make a clean brcast ollTo confess; admit).
Mnintnin
and he leads the life of a dog. The accused made a clean breast of hi-s guilt in
les for
To lead a penton a dance-{To cause him the court.
e, plays
unnecessary trouble). You gave me the wrong To make both ends meet{To }raae two square
e water.
address, and have led me a dance. meals a day). My neighbour is too poor to make
ketp n
To let bygones be bygones-{To ignore the both ends meet.
a t I
not lost Wst). Can'a we let bygones be bygones and To make {aces-<To contort the counterumcc)-
start afresh? One of the pupils, a mischievous little fellow,
the ball
To let the cat out of the bag---(To tlisr;losr- a was making faces at the master from the back
xcret). He foolishly let the cat out of the bag seat-
. - .ir t(r
when he was drunk and brought disgrace To make fish of one and flesh of
upon himself. another--{To treat tuo percons in d,ifrercnt
I xemltl
To lick the dust{To fall in battle). His fashbns; to show partiality). I mean to show no
enemies shall lick the dust. favouritism; all the class will receive the same
!:ep up
To lie with any one-{To be the duty of any treatment. I do not mean to make fish of one
and
on ). The burden of proof lies with the accuser. and flesh of another.
To live a cat and dog life--{Io lioe a life of To make fun of--{To ridicule). "|s the girl
Iawad
petty qunnels and bickering). Shan and his wife making fun of me?" he thought.
are leading a cat and dog life and both are To make light of-{To taeat as if not sriou .
miserable. He is a brave man who makes light of his
es of
n old
To load the dice{To gfue someone an hardships.
undxensed beneft by your act). The party has To make oneeelf at home-{To feel as if one
t has
loaded the dice against Ahmad on the hands were ia one's oum house). "Do untie your
dust
of favouritism. bonnet-strings, and make yourself at home,
To look daggere--(To look angrily). The man, Miss Nipper, please," entreated Jemima.
who was hit by my scooter, looked daggers at To male ouF-{To understand).1 cannot make
By
me. out anythint of what he has written.
an
To look fon{To xarch fur). I am looking for To make roon foHGiue up Wsition in faaour
my watch which I have mislaid somewhere. of somane). Tlre old and the incompetent must
Tob To look for a needle in a haystack--(Io searct make room for the young.
, and
for something that is had to fnd). To hope to To make your blood cteeplTo fll you with
find out the book where he placed it is like awe and termr). Jirmy Oates, the cobbler's
looking for a needle in a haystack. daughter, being more imaginative; stated not
To look through rose-coloured glasees--(To only that she had seen the earrings too, but
keep a positiae skle of the things in mind).To lead,
 552
also drat they had made her blood creep.
To move heaven and earth{To mnke mery
possible effort). He vowed that he would move
heaven and earth to finish the proiect on
schedule.
To move heaven and earth-{To try one's
uhnost). He moved heaven and earth to trace
his lost son but in vain.
To nip in the bud-{To sfop something before it
can grow_). The Press criticised the PBCC for
not doing enough to nip match fixing in the
bud.
To one's heart's content{As much as one
wbhes). I played the game to my heart's
content.
To pass for-{To appear, to pretend to look like).
The stranger to our city passed for a yourself.
businessmary and cheated several persons.
To pick a quarrel-{To start a quarrel). I do not
like to pick a quarrel with anyone.
To pick one's pocket{To seal from one's
pockel). Someone picked my pocket last
month.
To play first fiddle{To take the lead in
anything). Tom had no idea of playing first
fiddle in any social orchestra.
To play second fiddle{To takc a subordinnte
position). I like to lead; I do not like to play
second fiddle to anyone.
To play the game-{To play one's part fai y).
Life teaches us that if we don't play the game,
others also will not.
To play truant-{To keep away from school
uithout the knowledge of one's parcnts). Once I
was caught playing truant from school, I
promised that I would never do that again.
To play with edge toolslTo spott urth what is
dangerous). You iest; ill jesting is playing with
edge tools.
To put in a word lorlSay fimething
faaournble to). Had my boss not put in a word
for me I might not have been promoted.
To put in-{Coztribule; add). He has put in
very little work.
To put off{To postpone). Do not put off till
tomorrow what you can do it today.
To put out{To extinguish). He has put out
the candle.
To put the cart before t}:.e horselTo pttt the
turong thing frst). To begin physics at this
stage is to put the cart before the horse: Studv
geometry first.
iTo
To put the proof try in pructice).
test; to
My paper gives a timorous writer an
opportunity of puttin8 his abilities to the
proof.
To rain cats and dogs{To rain heaztily). "Bttt I h
it'll perhaps rain cats and dogs tomorrow, as it
did yesterday, and you can go," said Godfrev.
To run down--{To blarne; to condeffin). lt is far
easier to run down others than to do better
To run overJTo check). He ran over the
figures quickly.
To say boo to a goose-JA test of courage: e
mnn who cannot say boo to be despised for hL.
timidity). He looks as fierce as a tiger, as much
as to say, "Say boo to a goose, if you dare" (it
will take a bold man to address me).
To say ditto to-1To acquiesce in; to accept lhr
conclttsiorrs or arrangements o/ ofhers). Nadeem
always says ditto to his senior clerks.
To say grace-{To ask the dioine blessing beJort
commencing a meal). lqbal, having said grace.
pauses for an instant and looks around.
To show a clean pair of heels (i) (To run oft.
These maroons were runaway slaves who had
bid a sudden goodbye to bolts and shackles,
whips and rods, and shown their tyrants a
clean pair of heels.
(ll) (To escape).The thieves showed a clean pair
of heels when our two dogs went barking fr
them.
To stare in the face-{fo threaten; to be ready
oaeruhelm). Is it possible for people withot
scruple to offend against the law, which tlerr
carry about them in indelible characters,
that stares them in the face whilst they
breaking it?
To st€al a march on-{To go ahead). OU
 553

cd"y country has stolen a march on many opportunity s/ip). A resourceful man will
has put out developing countries in respect of industrial always take time by the forelock.
p rod uction. (ii) (to artoid delay; to be on the alert for eoery
hf--{To put the To steer clear ofJTo keep auay safely). I aztailable opportunily). Time flies here with such

fhysics at this always try to steer clear of bad company. a frighttul rapidity that I am compelled to
fre horse: Study
To strain at a gnat-<To make dfficulties about seize occasion by the forelock.
something insignificant). You are just the chap To take to one's heels-{To run away). The
try in practice). to strain at a Bnat and swallow a camel. bad character took to his heels when some
writer an To strike rvhile the iron is hot{A straw is the people ran after him.
lities to the symbol of uhnt is worthless). "Bill Gates believes To talk shop-{To talk about one's busine.ss). lt
in striking while the iron is hot considering his is improper to talk shop at tea or dirurer
huoily). "Bnt life time experiences and success of his parties.
,asit company Microsoft. To tell upon{To ruin). Hatd work has told
said Godfrev To take (a thing) amiss-{To be ffinded at) upon his health.
r). It is far You will not take it amiss if I take a cousin's To the backbone-lThoroughly; staunchly;
to do better privilege. essentially). They told him solemnly they
To take effect-{To opelate; to act ns intmded). hoped and believed they were English to the
ran over the The medicine took effect, and the patient fell backbone.
into a sound sleep. To throw cold water uponJ?o discourage to
of courage; a To take away one's breathJlo cause surprise prnent something ftom being done). My lather
sed his or consternation). Quaid-e-Azam was so polite, has thrown cold water upon my proposal for
for
tiger, as much so surprising so fluent, that he completely spending the summer vacation at Kaghan.
vou dare" (it took away Bessant's breath, and when he To throw daylight upon-{To reoeal; to display
). finally requested permission to deliver a to oial). Mlur.der of Benazir Bhutto, and the
to iccept the valedictory oration to all the young mery Miss wrong being done at Liaquat Bagh
Nadeem Bessant, without thinking what she was doing, Rawalpindi might never have had daylight
granted that permission. thrown upon it.
llessing before To take by storm-<To capture after a suddnt To throw dust in a man's eyes-{To try to lead
said grace, attack). Our forces took the enemy stronghold someone astray). All of these knew whether Mr.
nd by storm. John was launching thunderbolts or throwing
(To run olfl To take French leave-{To go off seuetly, dust, and were well aware that he had quite
who had uithout notice or warning; fo elope). You must taken up with the latter process in the Beckley
shackles, take French leave and run away with your case.
tyrants a charming wile for six months. To throw mud at-{To abuse; to speak nil ofl. A
To take the Bull by the Horns (i) (To attack woman in my position must expect to have
a cleanpair something funnidnble in a bold and direct fashion). more mud thrown at her than a less important
barking for Happening, therefore, to meet Monckton one person.
windy moming when he was walking into To tread upon the heelslTo fullow closely).
b be reidy to Kings cliff to keep an appointment, he One woe doth tread upon another's heels
without resolved to take the bull by the homs. (follow another closely).
which they (ii) (To deal with a diffcult problern or situation To try one's luck--{To see il he uould get
ters, and boldly). The poor boy was always troubled by success). My father has started another
they are the big boy. So one day he took the bull by the business to try his luck there.
homs and gave a sound thrashing to the To furn one's back upon-{To desett; to
dcad). Out rascal. forsake). Atter the death of Liaquat Ali Khan
To take time by the forelock{i) (Not to let an
 554
rest of the leaders tumed their back upon the
integrity of the country.
To tum one's coatlTo change to the owosite
party).'ftus is not the firct time he has turned
his coat.
To tum over a new leaf--(To change for the
better). Alter his marriage he gave up bad
company and tumed over a new leaf.
To turn the tables-{To pay back in the same
coin effectitsely and with success). Critics wrote
against Blron; then he tumed the tables by
ridiculing his critics in a poem.
To weather the storm--{To face a diffculty
successfully). Our country has successfully
weathered many a political storm.
To whip the devil round the postlTo eoade
rules or proaisions). It is asserted, indeed, in
some quarters of Tribal Areas of Pakistan the
miscreants whipped the devil round the post
by denying the prescribed laws of the land.
Tread on (someone's) corrrs-{To hurt
(someone's) feelingsJ. He is very tactless and is
always treading on other people's corns.
Try to make bricks without straw-<To try to
do a piece of work uithout the rnaterials, tool, etc.
necessary for if). Trying to prepare a statistical
,:
report with the scanty information available
was like trying to make bricks without straw.
Turn a blind ey€ (to something'SlTo pretend
not to see ot notice (something)). Because he
works so hard, his boss tums a blind eye
when he comes in late.
Turn a deaf ear tolTo refuse to listen to). The
Registrar tumed a deaf ear to the dismissed
employees' request for reinstatement.
Turn one's nose at--{Sconr at, treat with
contanpt). No one should turn his nose at the
poor people's way of life.
Turn over a new leaf--{To commmce a neu)
cource of life; to ifiprooe in conduct). Thery in a
private postscript, he condescended to tell us
that all would be speedily settled to his
satisfactiory and we should tum over a new
leaI.
Tum tail_{Raz away in a cowardly way).
tail
Seeing the armed gang, the police hrrned
Tum turtle--{To capsize). ln an accident, 0r
car after colliding with a footpath turrEd
turtle.
(u)
Under a bushel-{ Secretly; tuithotrt otfus
knowing it). Ah, you can't give a dinner unda
a bushel.
Under a cloudJltr disgrnce). Though Cacr
was not, for various reasons, to h
pronounced a tyrant, Cicero advised that L
should be buried privately, as if his name rr
under a cloud.
Under aegis of (someoneF{Wlth the (mod t
ffunncial) support of (someone)l. This corxtr
rvas under the aegis of the British goverM:ra
Under consideration--{Beirg tok -
My applicatiat t
nccotort; beirtg looked into).
my boss lor a long leave is shll rm&
consideration.
Under fire-(To do something dangerrc I
risky). She knew she was playing with firel
having an affair with a married man. l
Under lock atd keylSafely locked oaql-l
-rl
keep all my valuable paperi under lod
k"y. i
Under one's breath{In a whisper). ffe srl
under his breath. I
Under one's thumb lUnder one's co{
controll. Amjad is under his wife's thumb- 1
Up to one's eyes in (somethinBl{Aqi
inaolted in (sompthin l.She is up to herfl
school work just at the moment - the a{
are next week. q
Up to the chin----tV'cry busy unth- {
inaolued in something, guilty ofl. He has bGd
chin in getting loans rru
[l"J..tn" !
Ups and downs---{ Changes in fortuntt. l{
sees many ups ard downs in his life. I
Upset the applecart--{ fo spott plan'. {
progress. etc.). The football team u-ete {
very well but their best player upca I
applecart when he got his leg fractured t
Upsides with (a personF{On an eqd. !{
 555

tumed tail. with). The upset price was one pound an acre, making every decision with an eye to the main
accidenL the since my new trap has arrived. chance.
tpath turned With flying colous-<i) (honourably;
(v) triumphantly). He at last got his degree with
Vicious circle{S tate of afrairs in which a cause flying colours.
produces an efrect which itxlf produces the (ii) (With ease and great success) . He passed his
uithout others oiginal caux). The vicious circle of poverty is exams with flying colours.
a dinner under seriously hitting our economy. With high handllmperiously; anogantly).
(w) Hugo Chavez would have carried his mission
gh Caesar with a very high handif he had not been
ns, to be Wash dirty linen in public-{Discuss personal disconcerted by the very unexpected
vised that he untters of a scandalous or unpleasant nnture before
demonstrations with which it had been
his name was strangeri. It's ridiculous that the bureaucracv received.
is sleeping over such a grave matter while the
dtty [nen of the society is washed in public.
With one foot in the grave-4Very feeble;
haping but a short titne to litte).\t is sometimes
Wave the bloody shirt-{To stir up the
the fate of a poet to succeed, only when he has
antagonism by waoing the blootl-stained shirts oJ
one foot in the grave.
the killed onesin the face of the enemy).To wave
With one's eyes open-{With full awareness of
the bloody shirt in the face of the enemy is to
ffin,flt incite them to baftle again.
What the doctor ordered-{The aery thing thltt
what one is doing). I know what the iob would
involve - I went into it with my eyes open.
With open ams-{Wam y; affectiorutely).
is needed). At this moment a cup of tea is just
dangerous or
what the doctor ordered.
. His uncle with open arms received him in
with fire by
When all is said and donelConsid.ering all
.
England.
The American President was welcomed
I
away). I the facts). When all is said and done I suppose
with open arms.
er lock and she's lucky to be offered a iob at all.
When the balloon goes uplWhen the trouble
Within an ace of--<Very nenr to). He was
within an ace of success.
). He swore starts; when * ething expected (oftn fired) takes
placel. He's always getting us into trouble, but
Work like a Trojan-{?o exert vourseY
aigorously). kr the present era, one has to work
s cornplete he's never here when the balloon goes up.
like a Trojan or he will be left behind.
thumb White elephant--{A rare, expmsiae possession
Deeply that is a financial burdan to naintain). The old (Y)
her eyes in ashtray, shaped like a unicom, is a sort of You can't both have your cake and eat
white elephant in our house. it-Slave-holders in rebellion had alone
- the exams
Win one's laurels-{ftn }onorr). He won his among, mortals the privilege of having their
toith, deeply laurels in literature. cake and eating it.
has been in I,Yishful thinking{Unrealistic thinking baxd
from his on hopu rutho than ficts). I know it may b€ (z)
wishful thinking but I believe the publshers Zero hortr-{The time at which something as
'). A man will accept my manuscript. military operation is planned to begin). T}re
With a view to{In ordsr to). He constructed a soldiers waited until zero hour in order to
, obstruct model with a view to make the building of a attack the enemy.
were doing house a planned thing.
upset the With an eye to the main chance--{hinking
about one's own chances ol getting Woft (out of
I footing
xmething). He became a millionaire by
 s56

IDIOMS
(FRoM CSS pApERs)
1. A cry in wilderness (Voice of protest 10. Flavour of the month: (Someone r
that is heeded by no one) something that has suddenly becomc
Our complaints against corrupt officers very popular, but may not rerrtai!
-have been nothing
more than a cry in the popular for a long time;)
wildemess.
2. Look your age (to seem as old as you
Pop songs are sudcienly tl.re flavour oi:*
month.
really are and not younger or older) 11. Zero Hours: (esp, contract o?
She look of her age. agreement)The expression (or nit hoursr
3. All that iazz (things like that) Contract "is not legally defined
How is it goint? you know love, life and Unemployment gives a spur to z:::
all that jazz. hours contracts among desperate workers.
4. An uphill task (a struggle that is 12. Gloom and doom: (The feeling tlrr
difficult to win and takes i lot of effort situation is bad and is not likelv f
over a tong period of time). improve;)
a) To solve Kashmir problem is an There has been so much gloom and J.r=
uphill task. that I think that we should provide as sm:ie
b) It,is an uphill task to get through 13. To pig out: (to eat a lot,
CSS exams. The kids dream of staying up late a-r:
5. Evil genius (a person or spirit who is pigging out in junk food.
thought to have a bad influence over 14. Bag people: (Homeless people)
you) The earthquake in
a) They are evil genii to let you down
Northern Area. i
Pakistan tumed many dwellers to bag peo:.t-
in the meeting. The earthquake in Northem Area-. j
b) F.asputin was so evil genius that he Pakistan tumed many dwellers to bag peqb
easily shattered the empire of the 15. Compassion fatigue: (Fatigue, emotiel
Czars. distress, or apathy resulting from th
5. Point-blank (flatly; at close range) constant demands of caring for otherr r
He fired at point blank range. trom constant appeals from charitiesl
7. Under the auspices of (with the help or The social workers do not los€ :E:
support o0 courage because of compassion fatigue.
_ The community centre was set up under 16. No to mince matters: (No to ,n;-
the auspices of a federal govemment. matters also, mince words. To
8. Go down (to fall to the ground) moderating or restraining rt-
a) She tripped and went down with a language to be polite o. aroid gi.ir3
b*P. offense, be blunt.)
9. To put the lid on: (If something that He is not a good colleague as he a_:.:!G,
happens puts the lid on a plan, it iauses says no to mince matters of his fellorr s :a-
the plan to fail) enhance them before seniors.
Chairman's resignation put the lid on the
whole project.
 557

SOME SOLVED EXERCISES

From The Previous Papers of Competitive Examinations
Federal Public Service Commission Competitive Examination for Recruitment to
eone or Posts in B.P.S. -17, Under the Federal Govemment
y become EXERCISE I
not remain
Use FIVE of the following idioms in sentences to make their meaning clear:
vour of the 1. blow one's top 2. a cock-and - bull story.
3. find one's feet. 4. call it a night.
tract or 5 the tip of the iceberg. 5. below par.
nit hours) 7. from pillar to post. 8. hands up.
9. tum some one in. 10. by and by.
r to zero
kers.
ANSWERS
ling that
likely to Blow one's toplFly into a rage; lose one's composure).If she discusses this topic one more time
with me, I am going to blow my top.
and doom A cock and bull slory-JAn absurd tale). I did hear some cock and bulls story the other day about
as smile. the horses not having run away at all.
Find one'g leetlTo estnblish one*lf confiilmtly in a nru situation). He found the new proiect
late and difficult at firct but he soon found his feet.
Call it a night-{To stop what one has been doing, for the remainder of the nighg. I called it a
) night and decided to go to bed early.
Areas of Tip of the iceberg-{A sna eoae wrt or aspect of xmething largely hidden) . I am afraid that these
people few reported cases of the disease might only be the tip of the iceberg.
Areas of Below par-{i) To be below the usual or expected standard:
g people. His performance yesterday was definitely below par.
emotional (ii) To be slightly ill:
from the
Do you mind if we put our meeting off till tomorrow? I'm feeling a bit below par today.
others or
ties)
Fron pillar to poet-{From one place or thing to another in rapid succession). Ahrnad couldn,t
stick to one project and was always dashing from pitlar to post.
lose their
Hand.e up (in hormrl-{to be shocked, to raise one's hands in frigh$. The girl threw her hands up
in horror when she saw two men ruming towards her.
lo mince
To not Turn someone in - (i) Hand in submit something:
one's . He is a hard working student. She tums in two essays a week.
giving (ii) abandon something:
o He has a part-time iob at a garage but he's having to turn it in because they want to
he always replace him with a full-time mechanic.
rather By and by{Smn , afer a shon while). By and by the situation was normal again.
 558

From The Previous Papers of Competitive Examinations

Federal Public Service Commission Competitive Examination for Recruitment to
Posts in B.P.S, -17, Under the Federal Government
EXERCISE 2
Use FIVE of the following in sentences to make their meanings clear:
1. To carry the cross 2. To kick the bucket.
3. To push to the wall. 4. To read between the lines
5. To be at daggers drann. 6. To stand on ceremony
7. From the horse's mouth 8. To throw down the gauntlet
ANSWERS
To carry the croee- (Something that you must continue uith eaet though you are suffeing)
after my sister's children is my cross to carry.
To kick the bucketlTo die). Mr.Jawad kicked the bucket last night.
To push to the wall{to place in a desperate or extreme position). By exterminating me from
job, my boss has pushed me to the wall.
To read between the lines-{Io discorer tht concrnkd mennint out of a Tlritten or spokn fi tc -
has very sharp wits and can easily read between the lines.
To be at daggers drawn{bitterllt hostilc). Lord Shelbume had always desired to keep
Bedfords at a distance, and had been at daggers drawn with them, ever since their
into the Govemment.
To stand on ceremonylTo insist on formalit .There ts no need to stand on ceremony.
Throw down the gauntlet--(To ffir a trial Io). Our leader threw down the gauntlet, but
could face it.
From the horse's mouth---(From a relinble source, on the best authority).1 have it from the
mouth that he plans to retire next month.
From The Previous Papers of Competitive Examinations
Federal Public Service Commission Competitive Examination for Recruitment
Posts in B.P.S. -17, Under the Federal Government
EXERCISE 3
Make sentences with the given Idiomatic phrases so that their meanings become
1, take aback 2. take after
3. take for 4. take ill
5. take off 6. take over
7. take to 8. take to task
9. take to one's heels 10. take with a grain or pinch of selt a

.fu\SWERS
Take aback--"(To surpi* or astonish). Madam Mushtaq still said no, and said it, too,
determined and resolute ill-temper that lv1r. Mushtaq was clearly taken aback.
Take after-resemble (one's parmts or grandparents etc.)
 559

. He takes after his grandmother; she had red hair too.

tment to . My father was forgetful and I take after him; I forget everythinS.
Take for-attribute wrong identity or qualihes to someone:
. I took him for his brother. They are extremely alike.
. Do you take me for a fool?
Take ill{i) To become sick:
. The girl took ill during her holidav and had been hospitalized for a week.
(ii) To be hurt by someone:

! r He took ill at his admonition and did not accept his offer.
Take off - (i) aircraft etc. leave the ground:
. There is a spectators' balcony at Karachi airport, where people can watch the planes
taking off and landing.
). Looking r Did the flight take off on time?
(ii) (informal) leave in a hurry:
o Rizwan took off for Toronto as soon as term ended.
me from the
(iii) imitate someone for amusement:
mntter). He
. Babur's speciality at parties is taking politicians off.
Take over (something){To lak control of something or to take command of sonething). A latge
foreign company took control of ours last week.
keep the
Take to---(i) To get addicted to:
uction
o Since the day he got a bad company, he had taken to drugs.
(ii) To start or begin: t
t nobody After a long and hard struggle to get a iob, he has taken to a home industry.
Take to task-{To reprimand). The students were taken to task for the breakage of the
the horse's windowpanes of the classroom.
Take to one's heels{To nm awny). The bad character took to his heels when some people ran
after him.
Take with a grain or pinch of salt-(Nof to takr the words of someone xriously). You can take
ent to everything that your teacher says with a grain of salt.
From The PreviouE Papers of Competitive Examinations
I
Federal Public Service Commission ComPetitive Examination for Recruitment to I
clear': Posts in B.P.S' -17, Under the Federal Govemment
I
EXERCISE 4
Use the following in your own sentences to bring out their meaning
1. Kick the bucket 2. Bolt from the blue
t
3. Put your foot down 4. Worth your salt
5, Down the drain 6, All ears
7. Swan song 8. Cheek by lowl
th such 9. In a nutshell 10. Give me five
 550

Todnwl
ANSWERS Iccr and r

Kick the bucket-<To die). Mr. Jawad kicked the bucket last night. A.Ldctor
Bolt from the blue-{An unexpected and stLrprising eoent).
o The information that I have been selected for a felrowship in UK was
a bort from
blue.
. The news of her father,s death was a bolt from the blue. 6rist
P u your foot d own Ir dr
-(i Take a firm s tand OI o be firm abou some thing:
She pu her foot down and SA id we could no
qrr
8o o the p a rty
i) d o ob ec to some thin c S trongl to IC fuse o d o S omethin OI
v, c o a 1I ow so me thing to h
M v s IS te r fina llv p u heI foot d own and S toP pe d pa ym for the
8as for her da
CA I

Worth your salt-(i) Respectable; efficient and capable:

r Ftr:
e Any lawyer worth his salt shourd be aware of the latest modifications
in taxation.
o No judge worth his salt would attempt to influence the jury.
(ii) Deserving of one's wages or salary:
r We couldn't find an assistant worth his salt.
Down the drain-{Inst ol ussted; sqltandered).
. Buying new crockery when they can,t take it with them is pouring money
iust dor,rrr
drain.
o I'm alraid I'm going to be out of a job, and my 12 years of experience will
be doun
drain.
r We cannot afford to let our train system go down the drain.
All ears{Kee, to henr something, listening carefu yl.
. "Of course I want to know-I,m all ears!,,
. My brother was all ears last night when I discussed about starting a new
busines.
Swan song--{A /a ranell or finnl appenrance, action, or uork bdore
death or rethement)-
o The actor's swan song was his splendid performance in his last movie.
. I'm quitting the iob tomorrow; this project was my swan song.
Cheek by Iowl{In close protimity). Here they lay, cheek by
Jowl with life.
In-a nutshell-{Iz ltri4; in a unrd)-To put lt in a nutshell_the
film was about two childrea
helped the police in aresting a gang oismugglers.
Give me five{Hit me with your hand to shou thot you ue happy alaut
something)-,,Give tc
said after I scored a goal in the game. thr
From The previous papers of Competitive Examinations I
Federal Public service commission Competitive Examination
for Recruitmerrt
Posts in B,p.S. -17, Under the Federal Govemment

EXERCISE 5
Use any, FIVE of the following in your own smtences to bring out their meaning:
1, To bring grist to the mill. 2. Set one,s cap at
 561

3. To draw the long bow, 4. To send a person to Coventry

5. Beer and skittles. 6. The acid test
7. A skeleton in the cupboard. 8. To discover a mare'g nest

bolt from the ANSWERS

To bring grist to/for the mill-(sornefft ing that yolt cnn rLse
was grisl for the mill of the salesmen.
for yotu adoantage). The information
set one's cap atlPurxLe someon-e romanticany; to make obaious eforts
to attract a particurnr mnt). we
were wrong to think that Maria had set her cap for
John.
to happen: To draw the long bow-{To lie or exaggerate in telling stories). He,s
sure to dra&, the lr..:r].a1y en
daughter's !runting the lion.
To send a percon to Coventry- (To punish someone tor disloyalty to
his companions or
workmates by refusing to speak to him; Lo ostracize, or systematicaily
ig.ore). The group decided
ation. to send to Coventry the dishonest members.
Beer and skittles-(i) Fun; pleasure:
. It has not been all beer and skittles while you were away
(ii) A situation or arr activity that has unpleasant as well as pleasant parts.
r lt's not all beer and skittles, this job. It,s hard work.
down the The acid testlA rigorous test sil'i g nn innntL<tabrt resurt or npprnisal
of the qurrity or toorth of
somethinst.
o Exposure to bright sunlighl is the acid test for showing this fabric won,t
down the
' The new show was we, received but viewing figures for the next
real acid test.
fade.
episode will be the I
e The first week was an acid test of our faith in the new office manager.
A skeleton in the cupboard{i) A family scandar that is conceared
to avoid public disgrace:
eis.
o Most families have one or hyo skeletons in the cupboard.
. My cousin was sent to jail for looting a woman_thaf,s our family skeletor. in
the
cupboard.
(ii)Any embarrassing, shameful, or damaging secret:
. If you want to be a successful politician, yon can,t afford to have too many skeletons
in
your cupboard.
who . Once the investigation started, several skeletons fell from the cupboard.
To discovera mare,s testlTo fnd oLLt a aery confttserL sinntion). The
It five!" I
mare's nest that scarcely anvone can comprehend.
law on restrictive trade is a

From The previous papers of Competitive Examinations

Federal Public service Commission Competitive Examination for
to Recruitment to
Posts in B.p.S. -17, Under the Federal Government

EXERCISE 6
Use any FIVE of the following in your own sentences to bring out their meaning:
1. Keep one's nose to the grindstone 2. Throw someone for a loop
3. Letter perfe.t 4. Off the wall
 s62
. She ha
5. Out to lunch 6. Salt something away . I gu€s
7, Take someone to the cleaners 8. Wear the pants in the family

federal Put
ANSWERS
To keep one's nos€ to the grindstonelTo work hard persistently). An industrious student always
keeps his nose to the grindstone.
Throw someone tor aloop--{To upset or conftse or shock someone). myFTVE
o He threw me for a loop when he said he was quitting his iob. Triddle v
o The news of the assassination of Beruzir Bhutto knocked the whole nation for a loop. Illhitlde ev
. Being fired without any warning threw me for a loop. Givc somr
Letter pefiecHPofect in nery iletail, like a ma:hine-pinted alphabet). "How did you do in lcsctting r

theory test?" "It was letter-perfect".

Off the wall--(i) Eccentric, extremely unconventional; to be very different from other PeoPle
things:
r The mere idea of opening a plaza on this place is off the wall. vr'ith-
o The recent remarks by our boss were very much off the wall.
. He has been always considered off the wall by most of his relatives. qp (som(
(ii) Without foundation; ridiculous:
o The accusation of theft on me is really off the wall.
(iii) Exhibiting bizarre behavior; crazy:
. They were sent to the lail because of their off-the-wall friends. ilqr-
I Out to lunch-{i) Not working effectively; not giving your attention to what you are doing: Cotrel
. The supervisor is out to lunch. He's not helpful. noahi
(ii) To be behaving in a very strange or silly way: Osrt
. The conversation we had with him this moming suggests that he's not entirely out
lunch.
*(
(iii) Lacking good mental judgment:
t-r
idiot, and even a five year old can tell she's out to lunch.
She's clearly an
Salt sonething away{To save something, esp. monep for use at a later time).
. It's not easy paying a mortga8e, raising a child, and salting away enough moner'
your retirement. r i:3r----i i
. He has been working there for seven years and has been able to salt away quite a
money.
Take someone to the cleaners-{To cheat someone of money).
. Some people say the company took them to the cleaners by charging double for
services.
. He was taken to the cleaners when he decided to buy the series of books frm
salesman.
Wear the pants in the familylBeing in charge in a matiage or a fanily; especially refas to
who are dominnnt m:er their husbands).
 s63

. She has the best-paid iob and she also rvears the pants in the family.
. I guess we know who wears the pants in that family.
From The Previous Papers of Competitive Examinations
Federal Public service Commission Competitive Examination for Recruitment to
Posts in B.P.S. -17, Under the Federal Government

EXERCISE 7
Use any FIVE of the following in your own sentences to bring out their meaning:
1. Twiddle with 2. Vamp up
3. Whittle away 3. Winkle out
5. Give someone the bum's rush 6. loom large
7, Besetting sin 8. To hang fire
ANSWERS
Twiddle with-{Manipulate, ns in a neruous or unconscious manner). He haziddled with his thumbs
while waiting for the interview.
Vamp up (something){To make something seem newer and more exciting by adding something to it)-
It's basically the same music but they've vamped it up with some new songs.
vamp (somethingl up-{To mnkt something nore exciting). The dress is simpre and elegant, but
you could vamp it up for the party with some dazzling jewellery.
Whittle away-{To mal<e something gradually smalle r or less importint).
. College is so expensive, after two years, my fund would whittle away to almost I
nothing.
. Over the past year, we've whittled away at our debts_
Winkle out-{To obtain or fnd something or someone with dfficulty). Ultimately, I managed to
winkle the truth out of him.
Give someone the bum's rush--(i) To throw them out by force:
. The photographer was given the bum's rush by two policemen guarding the office.
(ii) To dismiss them abruptly, roughly or rudely, from a iob, etc.;
r When they asked me to quit the job I felt as I'm getting the bum s rush.
Loom large--(i) A subject that makes people thinl or worry a lot:
o The threat of unempiol'rnent looms large in the life of the people.
(ii) To be important:
r Education looms large in my family's historv.
(iii) Something that causes worry:
o The threat of tragic events loomed large over our voyage.
Besetting sinloamahelmed by the sense of rurongdoing). I have experienced a victory over the
besetting sin of anger and resentment.
To hang fire-{To delay taking action; procrastinate).
. The advertising campaign is hanging fire until they decide how much to spend on i:.
 564

. "They are people who hung fire even through the bloody days of the Hungarian
Revolution". (Mark Muro)
From The Previous Papers of Competitive Examinations
Federal Public Service Commission Competitive Examination for Recruitnent to
Posts in B.P,S. -17, Under the Federal Government

EXERCISE 8
Use ONLY FIVE of the following in sentences, which illustrate their meaning:
1, To put the lid on 2. Flavour of the month
3. Zero hours 4. Gloom and doom
5. To pig out 6. Compassion fatigue
7. No to mince matters
:

ANSWERS
To put the lid on--(i) To stop something from increasing; to suppress something:
. Diplomats hope to put a lid on rising tensions between the two countries.
o I don't know how but we'll have to put the lid on that rumour about her.
(ii) Stop complaining:
. Put a lid on it, Jeff, would you please?
(iii) T6 qrli"1 6o-r].
. "You kids, put a lid on it, your father is sleeping,,.
ITi T
a Flavour of the mofih-{'The most popular person at s particular time)-
o Ahmad is certainly flavour of the month with the boss.
. Role-playing games are suddenlv the flavour of the month.
Zero hour{The thte at which sornething as militnry opoation is planned to lrgin). The soldier<
waited until zero hour in order to attack the enemy.
Gloom and doomlThe Jeeling that a situlttion is bad and is not likely to inlptooe). There's been so
much gloom and doom here, I think we should try to smile for while.
To pig ouHTo ett a lot)-
Our kids, dream of staying up late and pigging out on iunk food. '
c om Passr on fa tigue--{A uen rtness and dimin ishlng publ lc response to frequent requests fo, chnriF"
M an v mericans ha ve com P assron "J fa tigue-tired ou t th all the repeated calls to d o good
No to mince matters-<Coflfrol or resttain one's language to be polite or aooid gioing offmce). Not b
mince matters, I feet he should resign.
-r