idioms and phrases - G 2

List - 2

 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.

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