Idioms

Question 1

To break the ice

Answer 1

It’s not always easy to break the ice at a formal meeting.

Question 2

Nip in the bud

Answer 2

Many serious illnesses can be nipped in the bud if they are detected early enough.

Question 3

See eye to eye with

Answer 3

Completely agree

He and his father see eye to eye on most things.

Question 4

For good

Answer 4

He left Pakistan for good.

Question 5

Tamper with

Answer 5

change or touch to damage

Someone tampered with the lock.

Question 6

The small hours

Answer 6

She returned in the small hours

Question 7

Keep up appearances

Answer 7

They spend all they have to keep up appearances.

Question 8

Prima facie

Answer 8

first impression

There is prima facie evidence that he was involved in the fraud

Question 9

Blow one’s top,

Answer 9

Become very angry

Dad is going to blow his top when he sees that I wrecked his car!

Question 10

cock and bull’s story

Answer 10

complicated, false, or unbelievable story

I don’t believe one bit of your cock and bull story.

Question 11

Find one’s feet

Answer 11

adapt, adjust

I’m new to this city, so I’m still finding my feet.

Question 12

Call it a night

Answer 12

stop working and have a rest.

I’m too exhausted, so I’m calling it a night.

Question 13

The tip of the iceberg

Answer 13

a small part of a bigger situation

The manager-employee problems in this company are just the tip of the iceberg.

Question 14

Below par

Answer 14

worse than expected

poor nutrients can leave you feeling under par

Question 15

From pillar to post

Answer 15

to move from one place to another with no purpose and direction

People who run from pillar to post are the most impatient of people.

Question 16

Hang up

Answer 16

hang from hook, end phone call.

1. Thanks,’ she says and hangs up.
2. Your dressing gown’s hanging up behind the door.

Question 17

Turn someone in

Answer 17

surrender, deliver

The man responsible for the crash turned himself in the day after the accident.

Question 18

By and by

Answer 18

eventually, in the end

She will be better by and by.

Question 19

The teeming meanings

Answer 19

Give multiple meanings

During the lecture, the professor gave the teeming meanings on the topic.

Question 20

To kick the bucket

Answer 20

His grandmother kicked the bucket last night.

Question 21

to push to the walls

Answer 21

to force someone into a position where there is only one choice to make

Increasing financial pressures are pushing Tom to the wall.

Question 22

To read between the lines

Answer 22

obverse carefully.

Reading between the lines, I think he needs money.

Question 23

To be at daggers drawn

Answer 23

be bitterly hostile towards each other

She and her sister are at daggers drawn.

Question 24

To throw down the gauntlet

Answer 24

issue a challenge.

he threw down the gauntlet to cabinet colleagues

Question 25

To be a Greek

Answer 25

not understandable at all

International relations is all geek to me.

Question 26

To stand on ceremony

Answer 26

be formal.

Please sit down and make yourself comfortable, we don’t stand on ceremony here.

Question 27

From the horse’s mouth

Answer 27

From a reliable source, on the best authority.

I have it from the horse’s mouth that he plans to retire next month.

Question 28

To carry the cross

Answer 28

To handle a difficult responsibility or burden on one’s own

I can’t help you with it. You’ll just have to carry your own cross.

Question 29

To fall back on something

Answer 29

If I lose my job, I’ll have nothing to fall back on

Question 30

To fall through

Answer 30

fail

Our plan fell through due to a lack of money.

Question 31

On right earnest

Answer 31

seriously

Concerned authorities should take up the matter of human rights on right earnest.

Question 32

Vested interests

Answer 32

personal interests

He has a vested interest in Mona leaving the firm

Question 33

Meaningful Dialogue

Answer 33

The global summit will encourage meaningful dialogue on the issue.

Question 34

Turn to Account

Answer 34

to use or get profit from

I had so little to offer, nothing to turn to account.

Question 35

To beat the air

Answer 35

To argue with him is like beating the air.

Question 36

To break the lance with

Answer 36

To engage in a competition

He must break a lance with the glorious Imam, and start a school of his own.

Question 37

To fall foul of

Answer 37

Unfair or treacherous action, especially involving violence

The police suspected he had met with foul play.

Question 38

To keep open door

Answer 38

hostile

He always keeps an open door for everyone.

Question 39

To put out of countenance

Answer 39

uneasy, ashamed

I made a big mistake at work today, and it really put me out of countenance.

Question 40

Got up to kill

Answer 40

????

Question 41

To have a finger in the pie

Answer 41

har cheez mai tang arana

Sally always wants to have a finger in the pie.

Question 42

When all is said and done

Answer 42

after considering or doing everything

It won’t be easy, but when all is said and done, we’ll be glad we did it.

Question 43

An axe to grind

Answer 43

he is a selfish man and he always has an axe to grind in every situation.

Question 44

Turn a new leaf

Answer 44

start over

She promises to turn over a new leaf if we give her one more chance.

Question 45

Burn the candle at both ends

Answer 45

go to bed late and get up early.

To finish this massive work, we must have to burn the candle at both ends Source: theidioms.com

Question 46

Leave in the lurer (lurch)

Answer 46

leave someone helpless

You left me in the lurch when I needed you the most.

Question 47

Goes without saying

Answer 47

self-evident

It goes without saying that success is the product of hard work.

Question 48

Like a red rag to a bull

Answer 48

something that makes a person very angry

Mentioning his old girlfriend’s name in front of his wife is just like showing red rag to a bull.

Question 49

Not a leg to stand on

Answer 49

With no chance of success

After the police caught him, he didn’t have a leg to stand on to prove his innocence.

Question 50

Under the thumb of

Answer 50

under the influence of

She is under the thumb of her husband.

Question 51

The writing on the wall

Answer 51

a clear sign of the situation

No one told him he was going to be fired, but he could see the writing on the wall.