fine english grammar: Idioms And Phrases

Some interesting idioms and phrases along with their meanings and usage are listed below .:----

LIST [ 1 ]

1. A feather in one's cap ( a new honour )

** He has won another medal. It is a feather in his cap.

2. At home in ( familiar with )

** Mr. Tiwari is at home in English.

3. At large ( at liberty )

** His dog being at large bit his friends.

4. At odds ( in conflict )

** The Principal and the manager are at odds these days.

5. At sea ( perplexed )

** When my younger brother was falsely involved in a case, I was at sea.

6. At stake ( in danger )

** If you do not keep your word, your fame will be at stake.

7. At the eleventh hour (at the last moment )

** It is not a good habit to do any work at the eleventh hour.

8. Between the devil and the deep sea ( between two equal dangers )

** Mr. Gyan was asked either to resign his post or to turn the refuge out of his house . He was between the devil and the deep sea.

9. From pillar to post ( from one place to another )

** An unemployed man has to run from pillar to post in search of a job.

10. Ill at ease ( restless )

** His wife is annoyed at his activities. So he is ill at ease.

11. In a nutshell ( in short )

** I can explain in a nutshell.

12. In case of ( under certain condition )

** In case of sickness, he will not be able to act in the play.

13. In full swing ( at its peak activity )

** The cllege is now running in the full swing.

14. In quest of ( in search of )

** He went to market in the quest of his friend.

15. In the air (under consideration )

** The proposal to grant high salary grades is still in the air.

16. In the dumps ( in low spirits )

** Owing to several hardships, Kiran is in the dumps these days.

17. In the heart of ( in the centre of )

** Jama Masjid is situated in the heart of Delhi.

18. In the nick of time ( just at the right time )

** He reached the office in the nick of time.

19. In the nick of time ( just in time )

** Bihari reached the meeting in the nick of time.

20. In the teeth of ( in the face of )

** He could do nothing in the teeth of danger.

21. In view of ( considering )

** In view of his qualifications, he must be selected for the job.

22. In vogue ( in fashion )

** Steel utensils are now in vogue.

23. Instead of ( in place of )

** One may offer Hindi Literature instead of Sanskrit.

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LIST - [ 2 ]

1. To be up to ( to be equal to, to be acquainted with )

** His work is up to the mark.

2. To be up and doing ( to be actively engaged )

** If he wants to succeed in his mission, he must be up and doing.

3. To be at a loss ( to be perplexed )

** Sunil was at a loss what to do in his case.

4. To be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth ( to be born in a rich family )

** Pt. Nehru was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

5.To be worthwhile (worth spending the time which the attempt would require)

** It is worthwhile to do something or the other than to sit idle.

6. To be all ears ( to be an attentive audience )

** I was all ears when the Prime Minister made his speech.

7. To be weak in the storey ( to be feeble-minded )

** He cannot be depended on. He is weak in the upper storey.

8. To be at daggers drawn ( to be bitter enemy )

** Ram and Shyam were fast friends. But now they are at daggers drawn.

9. To be at one's wit's end ( to greatly perplexed )

** When he saw the lion in the forest, he was at his wit's end.

10. To be at the helm of ( to be at the main position )

** Manish is the head of the family. He is, therefore, at the helm of affairs.

11. To be beside oneself with joy or grief (overwhelmed with joy or grief )

** To hear of his friend's bright success in the I.A.S. examination' Vijay was beside himself with joy.

12. To be on the horns of a dilemma (to be in a fix )

** When asked for support, he was on the horns of a dilemma and could not understand what to do.

13. To bear the brunt of ( to feel the full force of )

** The Indian Battalian had to bear the brunt of the German attack in the World War II .

14. To beat about the bush ( to approach a matter in a round about way )

** Please let me know the matter directly and do not beat about the bush.

15. To beggar description ( to be indescribable )

** The beauty of the Taj is beggar's description.

16. To bell the cat ( to lead in a danger )

** Everyone hates mafias but nobody dares to bell the cat.

17. To bid fair ( to seem likely )

** He has topped the list of successful candidates. He bids fair to be a genius.

18. To break the ice ( to break silence in conversation )

** Mohan broke the ice by asking his friend for a match-box.

19. To blow one's own trumpet ( to indulge in self praise )

** Mr. Sen is in the habit of blowing his own trumpet.

20. To breath one's last ( to die )

** His father breathed his last in peace.

21. To burn the candle at both ends ( to spend money lavishly )

** He is ruining himself by burning the candle at both ends.

22. To bear the palm ( to be victorious )

** In the Indo-Pak War of 1971,India bore the palm.

23. To bring to book (to punish )

** At best, the thief was brought to book.

24. To bury the hatchet (to put an end to old enmity )

** Let us bury the hatchet and be friends again.

25. To be like a fish out of water ( to be in a disagreeable situation )

** His father stopped supporting him,then he was like a fish out of water.

26. To back up ( support )

** If you back me up, I shall be able to face the difficulties.

27. To bear in mind (to remember )

** You must bear in mind that only the hard work will succeed in the life.

28. To be true to one's salt ( to prove faithful )

** The guard will not deceive me. He is true to his salt.

29. To be the order of the day ( to be the fashion of the day )

** To ask for dowry has become the order of the day.

30. To beat the air ( to make useless efforts )

** His words carry no weight. He is merely beating the air.

31. To be in good books ( to be favourite )

** Nowadays none can harm him because he is in good books of his boss.

32. To call in question ( to express doubt )

** Mr. Vajpayee's patrotism cannot be called in question.

33. To call a spade a spade ( to speak in plain terms )

** People get offended when he calls a spade a spade.

34. To cast pearls before swine ( to offer to a person a thing which he cannot understand or appreciate )

** If you talk of space flight to an uneducated man, you will simply cast pearls before swine.

35. To pour oil on troubled water ( to make the situation calm )

** There was a quarrel between the two brothers. The father came and poured oil on troubled water.

36. To chew the end ( to meditate on ome idea )

** Lal Bahadur Shastri was in habit of chewing the end .

37. To come to a standstill ( to come to atop )

** Due to want of petrol. the car came to a standstill.

38. To come off with flying colours ( to achieve distinction )

** Manik has come off with flying colours in M. A. examinations.

39. To cut one's coat according to one's cloth ( to spend within the range of income )

** Everyone should cut his coat according to his cloth.

40. To cry for the moon ( to desire for an impossible thing )

** To top the list of successful candidates is simply to cry for the moon for him.

41. To come to light ( to be revealed )

** Mohan's guilt has now come to light.

42. To cry over spilt milk ( to feel sorry for the past losses )

** To feel sorry for the past losses is simply to cry over spilt milk.

43. To catch red-handed ( to catch in the very act )

** The thief was caught red-handed while he was breaking into the house.

44. To come of age ( to attain maturity )

** You must look after your affairs yourself as you have come of age.

45. To die in harness ( to die while working )

** Nelson died in harness while fighting.

46. To dance attendance on a person ( to please a person by flattering him )

** Kawal always dances attendance on his boss.

47. To do a yeoman's service ( to help in need )

** They did a yeoman's service by helping the persons in the drought- stricken area.

48. To dig a grave of one's reputation ( to do something to destroy one's reputation )

** By joining the company of drunkards, he is trying to dig the grave of his father's reputation.

49. To end in smoke ( to fail )

** He wanted to earn a lot of money, but all his plans ended in smoke.

50.To eat one's words (to withdraw one's words )

** He promised to help me, but when the time of help came, he ate his words.

51. To eat the humble pie ( to pocket an insult )

* He had to eat the humble pie when he was defeated in the election.

52. To fan the flame ( to excite the anger )

** His father turned him out of his house. But when he came back, his entrance fanned the flame of his father's anger.

53. To fall flat ( to have no effect )

** The good advice of the parents fell flat on the son.

54. To face the music ( to face a difficult situation )

** The notorious dacoit who was arrested by the police, is facing the music in the jail.

55. To fall foul of ( to quarrel with )

** I do not want to fall foul of my neighbours.

56. To feel the pulse ( to find out one's inner feelings )

** Smt. Indira Gandhi was a great politician. She had felt the pulse of her countrymen.

57. To fight shy of ( to be shy )

** He fights shy of talking with girls.

58. To follow suit ( to follow example )

** If you are sincere and punctual to your duty, your sub-ordinates will also follow suit.

59. To follow the beaten track ( to be traditionalist )

** Most of our country-men follow the beaten track in every affair.

60. To gain ground ( to succeed slowly and steadily )

** The separatists should not be allowed to gain ground.

61. To get the upper hand ( to get the superior position )

** The two swimmers are trying to get the upper over each other in the swimming competition.

62. To get into hot water ( to be in difficult and complicated circumstances )

** Vijay has picked up a quarrel with his boss. He has now got into hot water.

63. To go to the wall ( to fare badly )

** The poorest have to go to the wall.

64. To gird up the loins ( to be ready )

** Everyone should gird up the loins for service of motherland.

65. To give up the ghost ( to die )

** The old man has given up the ghost this evening.

66. To give the devil his due ( to give a bad man credit for his good deeds )

** The evil personrarely does a good deed. If he does so, please give the devil his due.

67. To go with the tide ( to do as the others do )

** When in other countries, we should not impose our traditions on others. We should go with the tide.

68. To go with a tail between the legs ( to go with a beaten cowardly look )

** When Shetty was surrounded, he had to go with a tail between his legs.

69. To graese the palm ( to bribe )

** I could not get an appointment in the police department as I did not grease the palm of the recruiting officer.

70. To go through the fire and water ( to undertake all sort of risks )

** Mahatma Gandhi went through fire and water to unite the Hindus and Muslims.

71. To have an old head on young shoulders ( to be wiser than one's age )

** Priya has an old head on her young shoulders.

72. To have too many irons in fire ( to be engaged in too many enterprises )

** He has no time to spare since he has too many irons in fire.

73. To have an axe to grind ( to have some private end to serve )

** He visits his boss daily at his home. Perhaps he has an axe to grind.

74. To harp on the same string ( to dwell upon the same subject repeatedly )

** He keeps talking of his family. By so doing he harps on the same string.

75. To hit the nail on the head ( to speak to the point )

** He spoke on some national problems. Really, he hit the nail on the head.

76. To have a thing at one's fingertips ( to know a thing thorohghly )

** He has all the formulae of the mathematics at his fingertips.

77. To hold good ( to remain in force )

** The Hindu Code Bill is still holds good.

78. To hold water ( to stand examination )

** This argument does not hold water.

79. To hunt with hounds and run with the hare (to play a double and deceitful game )

** No one should play a double game. It is not good to hunt with the hounds and run with the hare.

80. To hang in the balance ( to remain undecided )

** The fate of Punjab is hanging in the balance.

81. To hope against hope ( to hope even when the case is almost hopeless )

** He has made no preparation for the examination yet he hopes against hope that he will pass.

82. To have clean hands ( to be perfectly innocent )

** He has nothing to fear as he has clean hands.

83. To hold one's tongue ( to stop talking )

** His father was speaking. So he had to hold his tongue.

84. To have the gift of the gab ( to have a talent for speaking )

** Mr. Sharma has the gift of the gab, so he has risen in the eyes of the public.

85. To hit below the belt ( to play foul )

** Please try to convince me, Do not hit below the belt.

86. To have a finger in every pie ( to mendle in every affair )

** It is not a good habit to have a finger in every pie.

87. To join the majority ( to die )

** Everyone has to join the majority one day or the other.

88. To keep the wolf from the door ( to avoid starvation )

** He works day and night to keep the wolf from the door.

89. To keep abreast of ( to go with the time )

** We must keep abreast of time.

90. To kill two birds with one stone ( to succeed in two things by making one effort )

** To help the poor is to do both social and national service. It is just killing two birds with one stone.

91. To keep another in dark ( to keep in ignorance )

** He does not say what he is going to do. He keeps another in the dark.

92. To keep pace with ( to go with the same speed as others )

** India should keep pace with the other forward countries of the west.

93. To laugh in one's sleeves ( to laugh secretly )

** When Mr. Sharma began to boast himself, I laughed in my sleeves.

94. To leave one in lurch ( to desert a person in a difficult situation )

** When his friend needed help, he left him in lurch.

95. To leave the beaten track ( to do something uncommon )

** I am a man of progressive views. So I want to leave the beaten track.

96. To leave no stone unturned ( to use all possible means )

** He left no stone unturned to please his employer.

97. To let the cat out of the bag ( to disclose a secret )

** Pakistan is supporting infiltrators, but it does not let the cat out of the bag.

98. To lead a cat and dog life ( to be always quarreling )

** Ramesh and his wife are leading a cat and dog life.

99. To lick the dust ( to come to humiliation )

** Ibrahim Lodi had to lick the dust in the first battle of Panipat with Babar.

100. To lend a hand ( to help )

** We should lend a hand to the poor.

101. To live from hand to mouth ( to lead the life of bare neccessities )

** Hari is a poor man. He lives from hand to mouth.

102. To make headway ( to make progress )

** Mohan is making headway in his life.

103. To make amends for ( to compensate )

** The aggressive man made amendments for the harm he made to his enemy.

104. To make a mountain of a molehill ( to exaaggerate a thing )

** The enemy tried to make a a mountain of a molehimm to lower my reputation.

105. To make an ass of oneself ( to act foolishly )

** He made a mistake in the meeting and made an ass of himself.

106. To make both ends meet ( to live within one's income )

** He is a poor man. He hardly makes both ends meet.

107. To move heaven and earth ( to do one's best )

** I shall move heaven and earth to improve my division.

108. To nip in the bud ( to destroy at an early stage )

** He planned for a mischief but it was nipped in the bud.

109. To pay one back in one's own coin ( to give tit for tat )

** One day me misbehaved with me. I, too, paid him back in his own coin.

110. To pick holes in another's pocket ( to find fault with others )

** A mischievous man always tries to pick holes in another's pocket.

111. To play a second fiddle ( to be in subordinate position )

** Mr. Verma is not prepared to play a second fiddle to anyone.

112. To play one's trump card ( to use one's best chance of success )

** It is bad to play one's trump card to defeat others.

113. To put the cart before the horse ( to reverse the natural order )

** To teach multiplicatin before counting is to put the cart before the horse.

114. To play ducks and drakes ( to waste money )

** Do not play ducks and drakes otherwise none will help you in a rainy day.

115. To pocket an insult ( to bear an insult )

** He tried to befool his friend. But when the fact was discovered he had to pocket an insult.

116. To play the truant ( to be absent without leave )

** Most of our staff members play the truant.

117. To plough the sand ( to do something useless )

** Why are you ploughing the sand by helping the vagabond.

118. To pull one's leg ( to play a joke upon )

** Generally old students pull new students' legs.

119. To rain cats and dogs ( to rain heavily )

** It is raining cats and dogs.

120. To read between the lines ( to trace the hidden meaning )

** He has given me a notice. I am trying to read between the lines.

121. To rise to the occasion ( to prove worthy of expectations )

** After Indira's assassination, Rajiv Gandhi had risen to the occasion.

122. To run the gauntlet ( to expose oneself to criticism )

** If you do this work, you will have to run gauntlet.

123. To rub shoulders ( to mix up freely ) Raju can rub shoulders with any stranger.

124. To stem the tide of ( to check )

** Our government should try its best to stem the tide of terrorism.

125. To spread like a wild fire ( to spread rapidly )

** The bitterness between one community and another is spreading like a wild fire.

126. To stir a finger ( to make a least effort )

** He wants to pass I. A. S. examination only by stirring his finger.

127. To show a clean pair of heels ( to run away out of fear )

** The cowards show a clean pair of heels in the battle field.

128. To see eye to eye ( to agree )

** In the expenditure of the Boys' Fund amount, the Principal did not see eye to eye with the President.

129. To strike while the iron is hot ( to act at a favourable opportunity )

** Last night theft has occurred at his place. He should immediately lodge a report with the police, to strike while the iron is hot.

130. To set at naught ( to challenge, to disregard )

** If dharma is set at naught, nothing will exist in limits.

131. To turn over a new life ( to change for the better )

** The Principal has turned over a new leaf in the history of the college.

132. To throw cold water ( to discourage )

** He wanted to go to America, but his father threw cold water on his aspirations.

134. To turn a deaf ear ( to disregard )

** His father advised him to give up smoking, but he turned a deaf ear.

135. To turn the tables ( to reverse position )

** The invention of big sputniks had turned the tables in favour of Russia.

136. To take to one's heels ( to flee )

** As soon as the thief saw the police, he took to his heels.

137. To take French leave ( to go away without permission )

** The clerk who was on French leave yesterday, has been punished.

138. To throw light upon ( to explain )

** In Ramcharit Manas, Tulsidas has thrown light upon the life of Ram.

139. To talk tall ( to boast )

** Kuldeep always talks tall.

140. To take aback (to astonish )

** I was taken aback to see the magician climbing up the rope hung in the air.

141. To take the bull by the horns( to make a bold attack on a dangerous thing )

** He faced the dacoits boldly and thus he took the bull by the horns.

142. To take anything to heart ( to take a thing seriously )

** Vimal is an intelligent boy. He took my advice to heart.

143. To wash dirty linen in public ( to reveal private affairs in public )

** You have been insulted by him but do not wash this dirty linen in public.

144. To win laurals ( to be victorious )

** A debate took place in the college. Naresh won laurels in it.

145. To wear one's heart upon one's sleeves ( to show one's innermost feelings to everybody )

** He is in the habit of wearing his heart upon his sleeves. It is a weakness in his personality.

146. To worship the rising sun ( to honour the man who is coming into power )

** The newly appointed Principal has taken over the charge. The staff have started worshipping the rising sun.

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LIST - [ 3 ]

1. A blockhead ( a thick headed person )

** He cannot understand the minute details of this problem. He is a blockhead.

2. A doubting Thomas ( A skeptic person who needs a tangible evidence to believe )

** My boss is a doubting Thomas, there is no point trying to convince him.

3. A feather in one's cap ( a new honour )

** He has won another medal. It is a feather in his cap.

4. A Mentor ( an experienced and trusted advisor )

** Mr. Pratap Sharma is working as a mentor to this locality.

5. A moot point ( one about which there is uncertainty )

** The question of Kashmir is still a moot point.

6. A quixotic project ( foolish scheme )

** A quixotic project like this is found to fail in the long run.

7. A swan song ( last act, final appearance )

** This building turned out to be the swan song of the Victorian architecture.

8. A white elephant ( something precious )

** The lavish expenditures of our ministers have become white elephant for our country.

9. Arcadia ( a place of natural beauty and simple life )

** Keats has reffered to Arcadia in several of his poems .

10. Bilingsgate ( a fish-market in London where foul and abusive language is spoken )

** Do not make this place a Billingsgate.

11. Black-hearted ( evil man )

** Iago was a black-hearted man.

12. Camouflage ( disguise of ships and guns etc. )

** He wants to serve the purpose under the camoufage of his pitiabe condition.

13. Cat's paw ( person used as a tool by another )

** I refused to be a cat's paw of my husband.

14. Colossal ( huge,Colossal of Rhodes )

** Pt. Nehru was a colossal among the great men of India.

15. Don Quixote ( cynial )

** My supervisor is a man of whimsical nature. He has Don Quixote schemes in his mind.

16. Eldorado (an unattainable goal in life )

** He is always aiming at an eldorado. But he can never succeed.

17. Epicurean ( one who is given to pleasures )

** He is leading a epicurean life.

18. First water ( highest grade )

** He is a fool of first water.

19. Fool's paradise ( thought that is unlikely to last )

** Mohit is not practical and so he often lives in fool's paradise.

20. Good Samaritan ( person who helps the needy )

** There are still some good samaritans in the world.

21. Hanky-Panky ( underhand dealing )

** No hanky-panky, be straight in your dealing.

22. Helter-skelter ( in confusion )

** Seeing the police, the crowd ran away helter and skelter.

23. High and dry ( rejected )

** Kabir was left high and dry by his friends when he lost all his money.

24. High time ( time beyond which no delays should be made )

** It is high time the government should be bold to face the extremists.

25. Highway man ( a robber )

** Karriappa was looted by a highway man.

26. Hobson's choice ( no choice at all )

** One has only Hobson's choice in this college; either offer General English or leave it.

27. Ill at ease ( restless )

** His wife is annoyed at his activities. So he is ill at ease.

28. Jaundiced eye ( prejudiced )

** Parents with a jaundiced eye cannot understand their children.

29. Lilliputians ( pettiness in any shape )

** It is the age of Lilliputians, giants have passed away.

30. Long and short ( main point )

** The long and short of the Prime Minister's speech is that integration is the need of the hour.

31. Lotus-eater (one who lives in the world of dreams )

** Thomas Chatterton was a lotus eater.

32. Man of parts ( talented )

** Ravindra Nath Tagore was a man of parts.

33. Monkey's money ( kind, not cash )

** He is ready to pay his friend in monkey's money .

34. Null and void ( of no legal value )

** The M. P.'s election has been declared to be null and void.

35. Oily tongue ( a flatterer )

** He has an oily tongue and so I cannot depend upon him.

36. On the rock ( tormented )

** The criminal was put on the rock. He disclosed all the secrets.

37. Open fire ( start shooting )

** The police opened fire and killed two hard core terrorists.

38. Panacea ( a universal remedy )

** I have a panacea for al the ills of the society.

39. Pandora's Box ( a valuabe gift which proved to be an evil )

** He gave me a purse. Inside it. there as a ring stolen by him from some place. Thus, the purse proved a Pandora's Box for me.

40. Pillar to post ( from one place of shelter to another )

** The poor student was driven from pillar to post for justice.

41. Roland for Oliver ( tit for tat )

** India has proved against Australia, to be a Roland for Oliver in cricket.

42. Seventh heaven ( A place of extreme happiness )

** He is a very rich man. He is always living in seventh heaven.

43. The flower ( the best part of )

** I have lost the flower of my property in a case.

44. The Herculean task ( work requiring great efforts )

** He could finish the Herclean task of compiling the dictionary.

45. The salt of the earth ( the best people of the earth )

** Smt. Indira Gandhi was the salt of the earth.

46. To burn the midnight oil ( to study late in the night )

** Milton burned the midnight oil and became blind at the age of forty-five.

47. To cut the Gordian knot ( to solve difficulty )

** Wisdom helps a man to cut the Gordian knot.

48. Utopia ( imaginary schemes )

** Many people consider Gandhiji's idea of Ram Rajya as a Utopia.

49. Waterloo ( final defeat )

** Brutus met his Waterloo in Philippi.

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