PHRASES / IDOMS Flashcards
What does ‘Cold war’ mean?
Mutual bad relations.
There should not be cold war among super powers of the world.
What is ‘Red tapism’?
Too many official formalities.
Many development projects are held up due to red tapism.
What does ‘Sharp practice’ refer to?
Cunningness in legal profession.
No lawyer can become renowned by adopting sharp practice.
What does ‘Hand in glove’ mean?
To conspire with someone.
I am hand in glove with my business associates.
What is a ‘Big gun’?
An important person.
My brother is a big gun in Delhi.
What does ‘Out of date’ mean?
Not prevailing.
Multicoloured shirts have become out of date.
What does ‘In hand’ mean?
Under control.
In Allahabad, law and order situation is in hand now.
What does ‘Out of question’ mean?
Impossible.
My success in U.G.C. examination is out of question.
What does ‘By degrees’ mean?
Gradually.
She is recovering from a prolonged illness by degrees.
What does ‘At random’ mean?
Not in order.
He checked the coins at random, that’s why I did not rely.
What does ‘At the outset’ mean?
Beginning.
One should work very hard at the outset of his career.
What does ‘Of course’ mean?
Naturally, as is or was to be expected, admittedly.
Of course, she will guide me.
What does ‘First and foremost’ mean?
Most important.
My first and foremost duty is to take care of my ailing mother.
What does ‘In response to’ mean?
In reply to.
In response to your advertisement, I have come to see you.
What does ‘In lieu of’ mean?
Instead of.
You can write definitions in lieu of numericals in the science paper.
What does ‘In spite of’ mean?
Notwithstanding.
In spite of hard work he could not succeed.
What does ‘In view of’ mean?
Having regard to.
In view of communal riots, the city market was ordered to be closed.
What does ‘With a view to’ mean?
With the aim of attaining, with the hope of.
He went to U.S.A. with a view to set up a branch office of his company.
What does ‘Call off’ mean?
Cancel.
The strike has been called off.
Call For
Demand for
Deal in
Trade in
Deal with
Discuss with
Do away with
Give up
Lay down
Sacrifice
Look into
To examine
Set aside
To postpone
Strike off
Cancel
Kith and kin
Blood and close relatives
Null and void
Ineffective
Hard and fast
Definite
At logger head
Terms of hostility
At ones fingertips
To be thoroughly familiar with
For a rainy day
Precaution for emergency
To be in good books of
To be in kind favour
By leaps and bounds
Very rapidly
Bone of contention
Cause of quarrel
Black sheep
Undesirable
Capital punishment
Death penalty
To be caught red handed
To be caught while committing the crime
To die in harness
To die while on duty
Corporal punishment
Bodily punishment
Fair play
Just dealing
Hush money
Bribe given for conceding secrets
To make both ends meet
To live within one’s income with difficulty
To hang in balance
To remain undecided
A Himalayan blunder
A serious mistake
To wash dirty lien in public
To expose private affairs in public
A man of letters
A learned man
A red letter day
A historic day
White lie
Falsehood
Lions share
Biggest share
Pros and cons
Advantage and disadvantages
Pandoras box
Source of all evil powers
Part and parcel
An essential part
Maidens speech
1st speech
9 days of wonder
A short lived glory
Under the thumb of
Under the authority of someone
By and large
On the whole
A Tower of strength
Chief support
To go back on
To withdraw
A dogs life
A hand phase of life
A rule of thumb
Governess of general rule
A smoke in the grass
A deceptive person
Apple of Discord
A cause of jealousness
Appear out of no where
A sudden appreance
Acid test
A tough task
Have a heart
Charitable
A drop in ocean
A very little amount
A black sheep
Bad character
Below the belt
Not fairly
Behind the bars
Lodged in jail
Fish out of water
Not comfortable
Beat about the bush
Avoidance of straight answer
Bit by bit
Piecemeal dealing
Behind the times
Backward
Be in ones blood
Inherently
Blue blood
Originally Aristocratic
Be at the bottom of
To be the root cause of
Bad blood
Anger
Bear fruit
To yield positive result
Break into laughter
To laugh
Cast a spell on
To explain
Chicken hearted
Lack of courage
Clear the decks
Get ready for action
Child’s play
Most easy
Call it a day
Retirement
Crocodile tears
Pretending
Down in mouth
Discouraged
For the time being
Temporarily
From bottom of one’s heart
Wholeheartedly
High time
Most appropriate time
In a jiffy
Very soon
In no time
At once
In the lime light
In the full glare of publicity
In the heat of moment
Emotional force, without pause for thought.
In hot water
Difficulty, trouble or disgrace.
In any case
In any situation.
Jut around the corner
Very near.
Keep an eye on
To be watchful.
Keep eyes open
To be sensitive.
Keep up spirit
To remain courageous.
Keep an open mind
Wait till all facts are known.
Loose one’s life
End one’s life.
Last resort
Having no option.
Live from hand to mouth
A very hard life.
Lame excuse
No excuse.
Make headway
To progress.
Make up mind
Decide.
Maiden speech
A speaker’s first speech.
Nine times out of ten
Almost always.
Off hand
A careless way.
On account of
For reason of.
On a knife edge
A very difficult situation.
On the dot
At appropriate time.
On the square
Above the board.
Put an end to
To complete.
Prepare a ground
To create good situation.
Plain sailing
Very easy.
Pillar to post
Struggle.
Rob Peter to pay Paul
To borrow money to pay to another.
Salt of the Earth
A very honest person.
Spring to mind
Think immediately.
Stand to reason
Be logical.
Sit on ones hands
Idleness, take no action.
Step by step
Slowly.
Sooner or later
Some future time.
To the best of one’s ability
To make best efforts.
Take the bread out of person mouth
To make someone unemployed.
To pay lip service
Pretending to be good.
To put a fight
To contest.
To feel blue
Miserable.
To take heart
To be encouraged.
To speak ill of
To defame somebody.
Tooth and nail
With whole energy.
To double cross
To cheat.
To beat around the bush
Not replying to the point.
To loose ground
To become unacceptable.
What does ‘with bad grace’ mean?
Unhappily.
What does ‘upper crust’ refer to?
High social crust.
What does ‘to bell the cat’ mean?
A great risk.
What does ‘to be on tenter hooks’ mean?
A state of painful suspense.
What does ‘two and two make four’ signify?
Just not to be controverted, obvious.
What does ‘to have a narrow escape’ mean?
Just manage to avoid danger.
What does ‘to hold water’ mean?
To be sound.
