GENERAL ENGLISH
IDIOMS AND PHRASES MEANING EXAMPLES
1.To
throw dust in someone’s eyes
|
To
deceive
|
a
prisoner escaped from jail, throwing dust in the security guards’ eyes.
|
2.To
split hairs
|
To
find fault with
|
He
splits hairs of my every achievement.
|
3.The
swing of the pendulum
|
The
movement of public opinion from one extreme to the other
|
Candidates
have to face the swing of the pendulum the election.
|
4.Cream
of the crop
|
The
best
|
Pooja
is the cream of the crop in this college.
|
5.To
try one’s hand
|
To
test one’s skill or aptitude for
|
He
tried his hand at business.
|
6.To
be nobody’s fool
|
To
be wise
|
Ram’s
father is sure that he is nobody’s fool.
|
7.To
turn a deaf ear
|
To
refuse to help, to refuse to listen and consider
|
He
turned a deaf ear to my request.
|
8.To
blow one’s own trumpet
|
To
boast
|
Our
MLA blows his own trumpet but we know the reality.
|
9.To keep the ball rolling
|
To continue work
|
The workers’ leader requested the workers
to keep the ball rolling.
|
10.To have a crush on
|
Be in love with
|
Miss rima has a crush on raman.
|
11.At one’s finger tips
|
Complete knowledge
|
All the formulas of Mathematics are at
his finger tips.
|
12.Blue blood
|
Alleged superiority by reason of birth
|
Jawaharlal Nehru was a man of blue
blood.
|
13.To fall on one’s feet
|
To be fortunate; to get out of a
difficulty successfully
|
Some people always seem to fall on
their feet.
|
14.To be all legs
|
To be a tall and very thin person
|
Mr Rajan is all legs because of
tuberculosis
|
15.Like an oven
|
Very hot
|
The environment is like an oven today.
|
16.To separate the wheat from the
chaff
|
To distinguish valuable persons or
things from worthless ones
|
We should separate the wheat from the
chaff in our society.
|
17. To force the issue
|
To compel decision on some matter
|
The principal forced the issue without
knowing the views of the members of
the management committee.
|
18. To fight fire with fire
|
Return like for like
|
The policy of fighting fire with fire
should be avoided.
|
19. To move Heaven and Earth
|
To make maximum efforts
|
He moved Heaven and Earth to win the
gold medal.
|
20. In the blues
|
Depressed
|
After the marriage of his girls friend
he is in the blues these days.
|
21. To smell a rat
|
To be suspicious
|
I smelt a rat in the bargain that Mr.
Singh made with my brother.
|
22. To separate the sheep from the
goats
|
To separate good persons from bad ones
|
You should be wise enough to separate
the sheep from the goats.
|
23. The golden rule
|
A very important rule of conduct
|
Hospitality is the golden rule of
life.
|
24. French leave
|
Absence without permission
|
The clerk is enjoying French leave
today.
|
25. To take the long view
|
To consider events, affairs, etc. in a
long time in the future, rather than, the immediate situation
|
The Finanace Minister took the long
view of the unemployment problem.
|
26. To pay off old scores
|
To take revenge
|
The way he is treating his colleague,
it seems that he is paying off old scores.
|
27. Oily tongue
|
Flattering words
|
Arun often wins over the enemies by
his oily tongue.
|
28. To cast pearls before swine
|
To offer valuable things to persons
who cannot appreciate them
|
The famous singer sang a classical
song in the function of the political leaders but it was like casting pearls
before swine.
|
29. Close shave
|
A narrow escape
|
He had a close shave in an accident
yesterday.
|
30. Like a knife through butter
|
Very easily
|
She got her work done like a knife
through butter.
|
31. A name to conjure with
|
A very influencial name
|
Amitabh Bachchan is a name to conjure
with.
|
32. To touch the right chord
|
To appeal cleverly to somebody’s
feelings
|
She touched the right chord and made
the disappointed children happy.
|
33. Run of the mill
|
Ordinary
|
He lives in a run of the mill house.
|
34.To cry halves
|
To claim an equal share
|
She cried halves in her husband’s
property.
|
35. To come down/back to Earth
|
To stop daydreaming; return to
practical realities.
|
Julie was dreaming of becoming an
actress but now she has come down/back to earth.
|
36. To make great strides
|
To improve quickly
|
The students of this class are making
great strides in all subjects.
|
37. The light of one’s eyes
|
Very dear
|
Every child is the light of its parents’
eyes.
|
38. To take the bull by the horns
|
To face a difficulty or danger boldly
|
Whenever he finds himself in trouble,
he takes the bull by the horns.
|
39. To tread upon eggs
|
To walk or behave cautiously
|
The wise tread upon eggs to lead a
peaceful life.
|
40. Pros and cons
|
Arguments for and against something
|
The pros and cons of the strike were
discussed in detail.
|
41. To kick the bucket
|
To die
|
Mr. Verma kicked the bucket after long
illness.
|
42. A cat and dog life
|
A life in which parents are
constantly quarrelling
|
My neighbour is leading a cat and dog
life.
|
43. To wash one’s dirty linen in
public
|
To discuss in public one’s personal
scandals or domestic difficulties
|
We should not wash our dirty linen in
public.
|
44. To live in a fool’s paradise
|
To live in a state of carefree
happiness that cannot last
|
She is living in a fool’s paradise
these days.
|
45. To fall flat
|
To have no effect
|
The principle’s speech fell flat on
the students.
|
46. Fit as a fiddle
|
In a very good physical condition
|
This child is fit as a fiddle.
|
47. A bed of roses
|
An easy, comfortable situation
|
Life is not a bed of roses.
|
A bull’s eye
|
The centre of the target
|
To get a government job is a bull’s
eye for an unemployment youth.
|
48. The halcyon days
|
Peaceful days
|
The days I spent in my village were
the halcyon days of my life.
|
49. In the long run
|
Ultimately
|
Honesty wins in the long run.
|
50. A standing joke
|
A continuous subject for mirth or
ridicule
|
His son-in-law is a standing joke in
the village.
|