Idioms – Past Papers

1. Smash hit: an outstanding success

2. Murphy’s Law: when anything can go wrong, it will
3. Place in the sun: a dominant or favourable position
4. Wooden spoon: a prize given to one who finishes last in a contest
5. Go bananas: go insane
6. Beard the lion in his den: to confront risk or danger head on
7. Groan inwardly: feel dismayed by something but remain silent
8. Chicken out: to cower; shy away
9. Itching palm: a desire for money; greed
10. The primrose path: easy life full of pleasure but bad for one
11. Break one’s fall: to cushion a fall; to lessen the impact
12. Wash one’s hands of: to end one’s association of someone or something
13. To become reconcile to: to forgive, accept, or make peace with someone or a situation
14. To militate against: to work against something or someone
15. To be cognizant of: have information about something
16. Wages of sin: results or consequences of evildoing
17. To bring grist to the mill: to be a source of profit; to bring profit
18. With one’s tongue in one’s cheek: in a way that is not serious, although it appears to be
19. To keep one’s fingers crossed: to hope for a good outcome for someone or something
20. A storm in the teacup: disproportionate reaction of anger over a trivial matter
21. To talk through one’s hat: to brag or exaggerate; to talk nonsense
22. Hum and haw: to avoid giving an answer by speaking unclearly
23. To let the grass grow under one’s feet: waste time by delaying doing something
24. Penny wise and pound foolish: unwise because doing sth small now would prevent
much trouble later
25. The milk of human kindness: natural kindness and sympathy shown to others
26. A rule of thumb: a suggested method or guideline
27. Out and out: overall dimension
28. To wash one’s dirty linen in public: expose private matters to public view
29. To pay through the nose: to pay too much for something
30. To lose face: to lose status; to become less respected
31. Wool gathering: indulging in wandering fancies and purposeless thinking
32. Under the harrow: under distress, affliction or oppression
33. Cold comfort: slight or no consolation
34. A gold digger: a person who cultivates personal relationship in order to attain wealth
35. Walk with God: to live according to the doctrine of faith; in obedience to faith
36. On the thin ice: in a risky or uncertain situation
37. A queer fish: strange personality
38. Unearthly hour: unreasonably early or late; at an inappropriate time
39. To eat one’s words: to admit that something you said before was wrong
40. Dog in the manger: someone who keeps something that he doesn’t want just in order to
avoid someone else using or enjoying it
41. A close shave: a narrow escape
42. A Freudian slip: an error in speech that reveals repressed thoughts or feelings
43. A Gordian knot: a complicated problem that can only be solved with creative thinking
44. A cog in the machine: sth functionally necessary but small within a large organization
45. A sugar daddy: wealthy, older man who gives expensive gifts to younger people in
return for sexual favours or companionship
46. A wet blanket: someone who ruins other people’s fun
47. Make for: to result in; to cause something
48. Yeoman’s service: service that is good enough, but in no way extravagant
49. Discretion is the better part of valour: it is good to be brave, but better to be careful
50. A casting vote: the decisive vote casted after a tie in the results of some poll
51. Look down upon: consider someone or sth inferior than one
52. Iconoclast: someone strongly opposing generally accepted beliefs
53. Out of the wood: out of difficulties, danger or trouble
54. A swan song: a final accomplishment or performance; one’s last work
55. Leave in the lurch: to leave someone waiting for or anticipating your actions
56. Hard and fast: strictly adhered to; strong, binding or clearly defined
57. Weather the storm: to experience something and survive it
58. Bear the brunt: to withstand the worst part of something, such as an attack
59. Meet halfway: to compromise with someone
60. Turncoat: one who traitorously switches allegiance
61. Where the shoe pinches: where trouble or stress originates
62. Blow one’s tops: to lose one’s temper; to get made quickly
63. A cock and bull story: an unbelievable tale that is intended to deceive; a tell tale
64. Find one’s feet: become aware of what one wishes for and can do best in life
65. Call it a night: to stop working for the rest of the night
66. The tip of the iceberg: only a little visible part of something much bigger that is hidden
67. Below par: not as good as desired; below average
68. From pillar to post: from one place to another; from one person to another (gossip)
69. Hang up: to cut a call; an impediment of some kind, emotional or psychological
70. Turn someone in: to take or report someone to the police or authority
71. By and by: at some time in the future
72. Twiddle with: to play with something using one’s fingers
73. Vamp up: to refurbish, improve or embellish something
74. Whittle away: to cut or carve something away
75. Winkle out: remove or displace from a position
76. Give someone the bum’s rush: to hastily and forcefully remove someone from a place
77. Loom large: to be of great importance, esp. in the face of an upcoming danger
78. Besetting sin: a fault to which a person or an institution is especially prone
79. To hang fire: delay or be delayed in taking action or progressing
80. Keep one’s nose to the grindstone: work hard and continuously
81. Throw someone for a loop: surprise or astonish someone; catch someone off guard
82. Letter perfect: accurate to the smallest verbal detail
83. Off the wall: eccentric or unconventional; angry; without basis or foundation
84. Out to lunch: unaware of or inattentive to present conditions
85. Salt something away: secretly store something, esp. money
86. Take someone to the cleaners: inflict a crushing defeat on someone
87. Wear the pants in the family: be the dominant one in the family
88. Set one’s cap at: to choose something as a goal
89. To draw the long bow: to exaggerate in telling stories
90. To send a person to Coventry: to exclude someone from a group (of friends)
91. Beer and skittles: enjoyment or pleasure
92. The acid test: a conclusive test
93. A skeleton in the cupboard: an embarrassing or shameful secret
94. To discover a mare’s nest: a very confused situation
95. Kick the bucket: to die
96. Bolt from the blue: a sudden surprise
97. Put your foot down: to assert something strongly
98. Worth your salt: worth what it costs to keep one
99. Down the drain: wasted or lost
100. All ears: ready and eager to hear what one has to say
101. Cheek by jowl: positioned very close together
102. In a nutshell: in summary; precisely
103. Give me five: high five; greeting with a slap on hand
104. Take aback: surprise; shock
105. Take after: to resemble a close, older relative
106. Take to task: to scold or reprimand someone
107. Take to one’s heels: to begin to run away
108. Take with a grain/pinch of salt: to consider something to be not completely true
109. The teeming meanings:
110. To push to the walls: to put someone in a defensive position
111. To read between the lines: to try to understand what is meant by something that is not
written explicitly or openly
112. To be at daggers drawn: angry or ready to fight or argue with each other
113. To throw down the gauntlet: declare or issue a challenge
114. To be a Greek: incomprehensible; not understandable
115. To stand on a ceremony: to hold rigidly to protocol or formal manners
116. From the horse’s mouth: from an authoritative or dependable source
117. To carry the cross: to take heavy burden of sorrow