IDIOMS WITH MEANINGS USED IN SENTENCES

IDIOMS MEANINGS SENTENCES

Can’t make heads or Not be able to understand She talks and talks but I can’t
tails out of something something make heads or tails out of it.
Have a good head on Be intelligent Mary does not do well in
your shoulders school, but she got a good
head on her shoulders.
From head to toe Dressed or covered in something The dog was covered in mud
completely from head to toe.
Get your head above Keep going in life despite many He finally got his head above
water difficulties water and was able to get a
good breath.
Bury one’s head in the Ignore something completely Ali you can’t bury your head
sand in the sand about your health-
please, make an appointment
with your doctor and get that
rash checked out.
Drum something into Repeat over and over until someone The teacher tried drumming
someone’s head learns something the material into their heads
before the exam, but he was
still concerned they were not
getting it.
Piece of cake Something very easy Winning that debate
competition was a piece of
cake for Amna
Have bigger fish to fry Have more important things to do I want chris to help me with
this project, but he claims he
has bigger fish to fry right
now
Like two peas in a pod Nearly identical, very similar Maria and Jane are identical
twins. You cannot tell the
difference between them.
They are as alike as two peas
in a pod.
Hard nut to crack A difficult problem or a difficult Congratulations on restoring
person your antique car. I will bet
that was a hard nut to crack.
Cry over spilt milk To be unhappy because of past I know you did not mean to
event which can’t be changed now break my phone, so there is no

TYPED BY: SYED ALI HAIDER CLASS6TH-B SUBJECT: ENGLISH

 IDIOMS WITH MEANINGS USED IN SENTENCES

use crying over spilt milk

now.
Food for thought Something that makes you think The solicitor’s advice gave me
carefully food for thought.
Pie in the sky Something unrealistic that can’t be We want to make sure it is not
achieved pie in the sky.
Couch potato A lazy person who watches too Ali is a gymnast and you are a
much couch potato do not dream
about her.
Tough cookie A very determined person She had a difficult childhood,
but she is a tough cookie. I
know she will be a success
Cool as a cucumber A person who is able to remain My boss is as cool as a
calm cucumber even when he
speaks in front of hundreds of
people.
Frog in the well Narrow approach My aims are high in life,
therefore I cannot be a frog in
the well
Lion’s share The biggest part or portion My sister grabbed the lion’s
share of the pizza
Hold your horses Wait/ be patient/ no hurry We are getting late to go to
the ceremony and mom is still
yelling,” Hold your horses”
Let the cat out of the To reveal a secret Aslam had let the cat out of
bag the bag, she had no option but
to confess
Go to the dogs Poor quality/ very bad The country is going to the
dogs
Wild goose chase To waste time Physicist searching for
hypothetical particle may be a
wild goose chase
A blessing in disguise Something awful that somehow Being omitted from the world
leads to something wonderful is cup squad was a blessing in
said to be a blessing in disguise disguise
An act of Allah An event is an act of Allah if not The flooding was surely an act
caused by humans and cannot be of Allah
stopped by humans

TYPED BY: SYED ALI HAIDER CLASS6TH-B SUBJECT: ENGLISH

 IDIOMS WITH MEANINGS USED IN SENTENCES

In seventh heaven The idiom in seventh heaven means After I was given my first
“ in a blissful state of mind or ideal camera I was in seventh
situation” heaven
Gospel truth Something is gospel truth if it is I did not take your ring, and
believed to be absolutely real and that is the gospel truth
right
Scared cow A sacred cow is a very special The old government program
person or thing that many people has become a sacred cow
do not want criticized
Start from scratch To start from the very beginning I started the game from
scratch
Fresh start To begin again After the past disputes
between the two countries,
both sides decided to make a
fresh start by agreeing to trade
with each other again
A flying start Very successful She has got to a flying start in
a new job.
Start with a clean slate Forget the past and begin again I know things have not been
great between us, but I am
willing to forget what
happened and start with a
clean slate
A false start Begin before the announcement She had finally found a job
she liked after various false
starts
Jolt to a start Start and stop something The horses jolted to a start,
throwing everyone in the
carriage off balance
Kick-start Start the engine He kick-started the motor and
zoomed up the hill
Busy like a bee A person who has as lot of work to Whenever I call her, she is
do always busy like a bee
Butterflies in stomach When one is really nervous about Tomorrow is my first day at
something school, I have butterflies in
my stomach.
Go on a wild goose To do something pointless Michael end up on a wild
chase goose chase trying to find
rental house of her dream

TYPED BY: SYED ALI HAIDER CLASS6TH-B SUBJECT: ENGLISH

 IDIOMS WITH MEANINGS USED IN SENTENCES

Hold your horses To wait a moment We are getting late to go to

the ceremony and mom is still
yelling, “Hold your horses”
Black sheep A member of family or group who John is black sheep in our
is regarded as a disgrace to it family
A beacon of light A role model Samina’s struggle is a beacon
of light for every woman in
the world
High-flier Potential to do very well A high-flier who excels in
business and in sport is perfect
for you
Howling success Huge success For having such a limited
budget, their play turned out
to be a howling success
Set your sight on Decide to do something She is set her sight on an
something successfully Olympic gold
Sow the seed for Positive actions for help In this way he sowed the
success seeds of his own success
There is light at the Hope for difficult period I am happy that you have at
end of the tunnel least shown us a light at the
end of the tunnel
The sky is the limit Continuous effort He is so brilliant he can do
anything-the sky is the limit.
Fingers crossed Action for good luck Good luck with your test
tomorrow, I will have my
fingers crossed
Let the cat out of the To reveal a secret Tim let the cat out of the bag
beg about my surprise birthday
party
Cat nap A short sleep If your workplace had a rest
room consider taking a cat nap
at lunch time if you really
need to catch up on sleep
Would not hurt a fly Describing someone who is non- He is such an innocent little
violent and peaceful child, he could not hurt a fly
Fish out of water Someone very un comfortable in a Our new teacher looked like a
situation or environment fish out of the water, nobody
was aware of the issue

TYPED BY: SYED ALI HAIDER CLASS6TH-B SUBJECT: ENGLISH

 IDIOMS WITH MEANINGS USED IN SENTENCES

Poetry in motion Purpose of elegant movement She speaks so fluently that it

seems like poetry in motion
Drama queen Exaggerated/ over reaction Since I was an only child, my
mother tended to be a bit of a
drama queen about anything
happening in my life
Get the picture No further explanation Ali never tells you the whole
story but you always get the
picture
Blank canvas Empty space for new things Adam stumbles and falls dead
with his bloodied face on a
blank canvas
Flimflam artist Steals money from people with a Is he a flimflam artist who
trick talked about reducing
government while actually
expanding it?
State of the art Great masterpiece We have state of the art stuff.
Stage whisper A loud whisper on a stage, meant to I have had more than I can
be heard by the audience stand “ she complained in a
stage whisper.”
Under siege To be under a lot of pressure The president came under
siege for his tough decisions
Getting out of hand Getting out of control Two men in the club had an
argument that got out of hand
and the police were called
Missing the boat It is too late and all opportunities He missed the boat when he
are lost did not apply for the job in
time
At odds To disagree about something They are at odds over the
funding of the project
Ride high To be quite excited, happy and/or They were still riding high
successful after their election victory

TYPED BY: SYED ALI HAIDER CLASS6TH-B SUBJECT: ENGLISH