| A bad egg |
a worthless |
He comes of a noble family but he himself is a bad egg. |
| A big draw |
a huge attraction |
The match between India and Pakistan is always a big draw. |
| A bit/piece of one's mind |
to scold |
My father wrote to my brother giving a piece of his mind about his insulting conduct. |
| A blue stocking |
educated but pedantic lady |
No body likes to mix with her because she is a blue stocking. |
| A bolt from the blue |
sudden or unexpected shock |
The news of her husband's death in the air crash came to her as a bolt from the blue. |
| A bone of Contention/an a |
cause of quarrel |
Since India got independence, Kashmir problem has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. |
| A book worm |
a person in the habit of pouring over books |
He has no time for social activities because he is a book worm. |
| A bull in a China shop |
one who causes damage |
Most of the leaders of the freedom struggle proved bulls in a China shop. |
| A chip of the old block |
resembling one?s parents in habits |
My friend is quite helpful like her father, so she is a chip of the old block. |
| A damp squib |
complete failure |
The visit of our Foreign Minister to China proved a damp squib on border issue. |
| A dare devil |
a fearless person |
Only a dare devil can challenge the city mafia and bring them to their knees. |
| A die-hard |
persistent in struggle |
He is a die-hard person and will not easily surrender. |
| A dog in the manger |
a person who prevents others from enjoying what he can not |
By disrupting parliament session the Congress is following a dog in the manger policy. |
| A fair weather friend |
selfish friend |
A fair weather friend will never stand by you in difficulty. |
| A flash in the pan |
sudden success |
The success of Indian cricket team is never constant and steady. It is generally a flash in the pan. |
| A gentleman at large |
an unreliable person |
We must not believe a gentleman at large. |
| A good Samaritan |
one who helps strangers |
He is a good Samaritan because he always comes to the help of the old and the children in difficulties. |
| A good turn |
an act of kindness |
He did men good turn by recommending me for the post of Vice- president. |
| A great hand |
expert |
He is a great hand at organizing social parties. |
| A green horn |
inexperienced |
Though a green horn in political field, he appears to have a bright future. |
| A jaundiced eye |
prejudice |
You must not evaluate the success of your rivals with a jaundiced eye. |
| A leap in the dark |
to take a risk deliberately |
You must not leap in the dark by entering the business without experience. |
| A lion's share |
large part |
Generally the sons as compared to daughters have a lion s share of their mother?s affection. |
| A man of letters |
a literary man |
Inspite of being a successful politician, Churchill was a man of letters. |
| A man of parts |
a man of qualities |
Our Principal is a man of parts and is respected by all and one. |
| A man of straw |
a weak person |
The king being a man of straw, his orders were often disobeyed. |
| A mare's nest |
a false invention |
The involvement of teachers in the scheme proved to be a mare?s nest. |
| A moot point |
a debatable point |
The question of abolition of child marriage is a moot point as far as Muslim religion is concerned. |
| A past master |
an expert |
He is a past master in befooling the people with his oily tongue. |
| A quixotic project |
foolishly ideal |
Being not worldly wise he wasted his money in quixotic projects. |
| A red herring |
something to distract attention |
The demand of inquiry into his conduct is just a red herring as there is no truth in it. |
| A red rag to a bull |
anything that provokes |
The law against the dowry system is, for the greedy persons, like a red rag to a bull. |
| A Scarlet woman |
a woman with loose morals |
Being a scarlet woman she is looked down upon by her neighbors. |
| A shop lifter |
one who steals from the shop |
A shop lifter often visits a shop as a customer. |
| A shot in the arm |
encouraging |
A victory in Kargil war proved a shot in the arm of our Defence Forces. |
| A small fry |
insignificant person |
Who cares for him, he is a small fry in the office. |
| A snake in the grass |
a secret enemy |
The country is always betrayed by the snakes in the grass. |
| A Spartan life |
life of ascetic |
Swami Vivekanand led a Spartan life for promoting health of mind and body. |
| A stalking horse |
pretence |
The trade union's seemingly rightful demand is only a stalking horse to blackmail the management. |
| A tall order |
something difficult |
It is a tall order to check population explosion in India. |
| A turn coat |
one who changes political affiliations |
Anti-defection bill is aimed at checking the evil practices indulged in by turn coats. |
| A wet blanket |
any person that dampens enthusiasm |
The principal proved a wet blanket while the students were on picnic. |
| A wide berth |
keep from |
We should give a wide berth to bad characters. |
| A wild goose chase |
unprofitable |
All the efforts of the government to remove illiteracy in India is like a wild goose chase. |
| A wind fall |
sudden gain |
The legacy left by his uncle proved a windfall for Arnav. |
| Above all |
before everything else |
Above all, he is blunt & dare devil. |
| Above board |
honest & straight forward |
He is known for his above board conduct. |
| After one's own heart |
to one?s liking |
When Deepa met a man after her own heart, she got married to him. |
| All in all |
most important |
As he was the only son in a big family, he was all in all in his home. |
| An eye wash |
a pretence |
My friend?s promise to help me just proved an eye-wash. |
| Apple - pie order |
in perfect order |
On the eve of inspection everything was kept in apple-pie order. |
| Argus eyed |
careful observant |
As a politician, he is Argus eyed and never overlooks even a small matter. |
| As fit as a fiddle |
strong and healthy |
He has recovered from illness and now he is as fit as a fiddle. |
| At a loose end |
unoccupied, idle |
Now a days he is at a loose end because he has wound up his business. |
| At close quarters |
close examination |
Many of my friends proved selfish at close quarters. |
| At cross purposes |
have conflicting intentions |
How can there be peace in their family when husband and wife at cross purposes. |
| At logger heads |
to be at strife |
The partners of our firm are at logger heads these days. |
| At odds |
in dispute |
The members of the group were at odds over the selection procedure. |
| At one's fingertips |
complete knowledge |
All the rules of synthesis are at his fingertips. |
| At one's wits? end |
perplexed |
Sohan was at his wits end to find that his younger brother has taken poison. |
| At random |
aimlessly |
The militants fired at random killing a lot of innocent persons. |
| At sixes and sevens |
in disorder |
There was a robber in our neighborhood last night and when I entered the house to inquire everything was at sixes and sevens. |
| At the spur of the moment |
at the exact time |
In the interview we must reply at the spur of the moment. |
