Idioms & Phrases
|
Meaning
|
Rank and File
|
Ordinary People
|
Out of the wood
|
Free from difficulties
and dangers
|
Under his thumb
|
Under his control
|
To get rid of
|
Dispose of
|
To play ducks and
drakes
|
To act foolishly or
inconsistently
|
To take the bull by the
horns
|
To tackle a problem in
a bold and direct fashion
|
Rain cats and dogs
|
Rain heavily
|
To move heaven and
earth
|
To make a supreme
effort
|
No avail
|
Without any result
|
Make a clean breast of
it
|
Confess – especially
when a person has done a wrong thing
|
The pros and cons
|
The various aspects of
a matter in detail
|
Out of the question
|
Impossible
|
Out of the way
|
Strange
|
Show a clean pair of
heals
|
Run away
|
Sitting on the fence
|
Hesitate between two
decisions
|
Spread like wild fire
|
Spread quickly
|
The gift of the gab
|
Talent for speaking
|
Throw out of gear
|
Disturb the work
|
Take to one’s heels
|
Run away
|
Tooth and nail
|
With all one’s power
|
Take a leaf out of
one’s book
|
Imitate one
|
Read between the lines
|
Understand the hidden
meaning
|
Smell a rat
|
Suspect something foul
|
To make both ends meet
|
To live within one’s
income
|
Nip in the bud
|
Destroy in the early
stage
|
Stick to one’s guns
|
Remain faithful to the
cause
|
To eat humble pie
|
To apologize humbly and
to yield under humiliating circumstances
|
Put the cart before the
horse
|
Put or do things in the
wrong order
|
To all names
|
To abuse
|
On tenterhooks
|
In a state of suspense
and anxiety
|
Wash one’s dirty linen
|
Discuss unpleasant in
public-private matters before strangers
|
To bell the cat
|
To face the risk
|
Kill two birds with one
stone
|
To achieve two results
with one effort
|
Take one to task
|
Rebuke
|
To blow one’s own
|
To praise one’s own
trumpet achievement
|
Turn a deaf ear
|
Disregard / ignore what
one says
|
Turn over a new leaf
|
Change for the better
|
Make up one’s mind
|
Decide
|
Pay off old scores
|
Take revenge
|
To cut a sorry figure
|
To make a poor show
|
With a high hand
|
Oppressively
|
Play second fiddle
|
Take an unimportant
part
|
Through thick and thin
|
Under all conditions
|
Put a spoke in one’s
wheel
|
To upset one’s plans
|
To burn one’s boats
|
Go back on a decision
|
To beat about the bush
|
Talk irrelevantly
|
To burn candle at both
ends
|
To waste lavishly
|
Take one to task
|
Rebuke
|
To build castles in the
air
|
Make imaginary schemes
|
Once in a blue moon
|
Something that happens
very rarely
|
Piece of cake
|
Something that is easy
to understand or do
|
Spill the beans
|
To disclose a secret
|
Mean business
|
Being Serious or
Dedicated
|
The best of both worlds
|
The benefits of widely
differing situations, enjoyed at the same time
|
To be in the doldrums
|
To be in low spirits
|
To sit on the fence
|
To remain neutral
|
Make a face
|
To show dislike or
disappointment through facial expressions
|
To pour oil on troubled
waters
|
To make peace
|
To put in a nutshell
|
To say in a few words
or to make something concise
|
Open the floodgates
|
Release something that
was previously under control
|
Out of the blue
|
Happen unexpectedly
|
Out on a limb
|
Do something
risky
|
Over the Top
|
Totally excessive and
not suitable for the occasion
|
Pen is mightier than
the sword
|
Words and communication
have a greater effect than war
|
Push one’s luck
|
Trying to obtain more
than what one has
|
Reap the harvest
|
Benefit or suffer as a
direct result of past actions
|
Roll up sleeves
|
To get yourself
prepared
|
See eye to eye
|
To be in agreement with
|
Shot in the dark
|
A complete guess
|
Sink your teeth into
|
Do something with a lot
of energy and enthusiasm
|
Take with a grain/pinch
of salt
|
To doubt theaccuracy of
information
|
Skating on thin ice
|
Do or say something
risky
|
Tight spot
|
A difficult situation
|
Strike while the iron
is hot
|
To act at the right
time
|
Take the plunge
|
Venture into something
of one’s interest despite the risks involved
|
Take a nosedive
|
Rapid drop or decrease
in value
|
Think the world of
|
Admire someone very
much
|
Stand in a good stead
|
To be useful or be of
good service to someone
|
Take a back seat
|
Choose to be less
important in a role
|
Wave a dead chicken
|
Do something useless
|
Whale of a time
|
Enjoy a lot
|
Wrap one’s brain around
|
Concentrate on
something to understand
|
Zero in on something
|
Focus all attention on
one thing
|
On Account of
|
Due to
|
On no account
|
Not for Any Reason
|
The Heel of Achilles
|
A Weak Point
|
To assume airs
|
To affect superiority
|
To stand aloof
|
To keep to oneself and
not mix with others
|
To lead to the altar
|
To marry
|
To Upset the Apple Cart
|
To disturb the peace
|
To take up arms
|
To fight or go to the
war
|
To Grind
|
To have some selfish
objective in view
|
To break the back of
anything
|
To perform the most
difficult part
|
To backbite a person
|
To speak disguise about
someone
|
To cause bad blood
|
To Cause Enmity
|
To keep the ball
rolling
|
To keep things going
|
To hit below the belt
|
To act unfairly in a
contest
|
To bite the dust
|
To be Defeated in
Battle
|
One's bread and butter
|
One's means of
livelihood
|
To breadth one's last
|
To Die
|
To make bricks without
straw
|
To attempt to do
something without proper materials
|
To kick the bucket
|
To die
|
To burn the candle at
both ends
|
To expend energy in two
directions at the same time
|
To Catch one's eye
|
To attract attention
|
To take the chair
|
To preside a meeting
|
She is no chicken
|
She is older than she
says
|
To pick and choose
|
To make a careful
selection
|
To square the circle
|
To attempt something
impossible
|
To be cock sure
|
To be perfectly sure or
certain
|
To throw cold water
upon anything
|
To discourage efforts
|
Off color
|
Not in the usual form
|
To commit to memory
|
To learn by heart
|
Too many cooks spoil
the broth
|
Where there are more
workers than necessary
|
Up to date
|
Recent
|
To step into dead man's
shoes
|
To come into an
inheritance
|
To throw dust in one's
eyes
|
To try to deceive
someone or mislead someone
|
To set the Thames on
fire
|
To do something
sensational or remarkable
|
To jump from a frying
pan into fire
|
To come out of one
trouble and get into a worse
|
To die in harness
|
To continue at one’s
occupation until death
|
Make hay while the sun
shines
|
Take advantage of all
opportunities
|
To move heaven and
earth
|
To exert all efforts
|
One swallow does not
make a summer
|
It is unreliable to
base one's conclusions on only a single test or incident
|
Yellow press
|
Newspapers which
publish sensational and unscrupulous stories and exaggerates the news to
attract readers.
|
To balance the books
|
To make certain that
the amount of money spent is not more than the amount of money received.
|
To cook the books
|
To modify financial
statements
|
To get the sack
|
To be dismissed from
your job
|
To be snowed under
|
To be very busy
|
To work your fingers to
the boneOrTo sweat blood
|
To work really hard
|
Not a spark of decency
|
No Manners
|
Speak of the devil!
|
This expression is used
when the person you have just been talking about arrives
|
Whole nine yards
|
Everything. All of it
|
Your guess is as good
as mine
|
To have no idea about
anything
|
