Friday, April 5, 2013

idioms and phrases - G 7


List - 7



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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idioms and phrases - G 6


List - 6



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.

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idioms and phrases - G 5


List - 5



 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.


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