| To be lost in the clouds |
confused |
My psychology teacher is often lost in the clouds as she sometimes is unable to explain the questions clearly. |
| To be ill at ease |
uncomfortable |
A student is often ill at ease when he has to see the Principal after he has done something wrong. |
| To be born with a silver |
to be born in a rich family |
My friend does not have to worry about spending any amount of money as she is born with a silver spoon in her mouth. |
| To be up and doing |
active |
A laborer should he up and doing daily if he has to earn his living |
| To be fit to hold a candl |
match for, equal in quality |
He is the son of a famous, writer but he is not fit to hold a candle to his father. |
| To be under a cloud |
to be under suspicion |
His secret connections with the smugglers have brought him under a cloud. |
| To be at daggers drawn |
to have bitter enmity |
The quarrel between the two real brothers has grown more bitter now and they are at daggers drawn. |
| To be at large |
abscond, to keep unchained |
People keep their dogs at large at night. |
| To eat humble pie |
to apologize |
Inspite of his constant bragging he lost the match and had to eat humble pie. |
| To be not worth one's sal |
not deserving |
We should not help the persons who are not worth their salt. |
| To make both ends meet |
to live within one?s means |
As my uncle has to bring Up five children, he finds it difficult to make both ends meet. |
| To lose ground |
fail to keep position |
The belief in prophecies and horoscopes is losing ground these days. |
| To play fast and loose |
repeatedly change one?s attitude |
No one can trust Rohan as he is used to playing fast and loose with his . friends. |
| To take to task |
punish, ask for explanation, to scold |
I took my younger sister to task for not obeying her elders. |
| To turn a deaf ear |
not to pay attention to, refuse to listen |
All the party members turned a deaf ear to their leader. |
| To be at sea |
applied to a person confused |
My sister is quite at sea in Maths; she cannot solve a |
| To be in a fix |
In a dilemma |
The whole police department is in a fixed about the threating letters written by the kidnappers. |
| To be in the good hooks |
to be in favour with a person |
Sunita?s brilliant success in her final examination has led her to be in the good books of her teachers. |
| To be on the carpet |
to be under consideration |
What is oh the carpet these days is in the news papers. |
| To eat one's words |
take a statement back |
I warned my friend to be very careful in her speech otherwise she will have to eat her own words. |
| To gain ground |
to succeed slowly & steadily |
The belief in the abolition of dowry system is gaining ground. |
| To be in tune |
in a mood |
The teacher asked the students if they were in tune for study. |
| To be on its last legs |
about to collapse |
In many sections of Indian society the system of child marriage is on its last legs. |
| To be out of sorts |
to be unwell |
Sohan had been out of sorts the whole day and could not do his office work properly. |
| To be at loggerheads |
to be hostile |
Seema & Meena, the two best friends, are now at loggerheads. |
| To bear the brunt of |
to bear the main shock of |
The poor have to bear the brunt of increasing prices. |
| To bell the cat |
to take first step at personal risk |
Many people can boast of their bravery, but very few can bell the cat. |
| To blow one's trumpet |
to praise oneself |
No one likes to talk to those who are always blowing their own trumpet. |
| To break the news |
to give bad news |
He broke the news of her husband?s death very gently so as to lessen the intensity of the shock. |
| To bum candle at both end |
squander |
After the death of his father he is bunting the candle at both ends. |
| To burn a hole in one's p |
money spent quickly |
Money given to a spendthrift only bums a hole in his pocket. |
| To bury the hatchet |
to make peace |
India and Pakistan must bury the hatchet to bring about peace to the region. |
| To carry matters with a h |
to deal with a person strictly |
The owner of the industry carried matters with a high hand and expelled two workers who were caught doing mischief in the office. |
| To pour oil on troubled w |
to pacify the matter |
The two good friends exchanged hot words but the intervention of their teacher poured oil on troubled waters. |
| To dip one's wings |
to weaken the power |
My elder sister is very ambitious but my mother will surely clip her wings. |
| To come home to |
to understand |
Seema wanted to be a teacher in the college but soon it came home to her that she was not fit for the job as she was only a graduate. |
| To come to a standstill |
come to a sudden stop |
When we were going to Mussourie yesterday, our car came to a standstill right in the middle of the journey. |
| To come off with flying c |
to come out successfully |
The final football match was very crucial but finally we won and came off with flying colours. |
| To cross one's mind |
to occur to oneself |
In the examination hall it crossed my mind that I had left my pen outside on the table. |
| To cry for the moon |
to wish for some thing impossible |
The hope of winning the lottery amounting to lakhs of rupees is simply crying for the moon. |
| To curry favour with |
win favour of somebody |
Neena gave a lot of costly presents to her science teacher to curry favour with him. |
| To dig the grave |
to tarnish, to destroy |
By taking a side of the culprit he dug the grave of his reputation. |
| To draw the long bow |
exaggerate |
In calling him the best politician of the world, his followers draw the long bow. |
| To end in smoke/fiasco |
come to nothing |
He spoke a lot about his new film but it all ended in smoke and it flopped on box office. |
| To add fuel to the flame |
to make matter worse |
The attempt to suppress the agitation of the strikers only added fuel to the flame. |
| To pay off old scares |
to take revenge |
The way he is treating his younger brother makes it quite obvious that he is paying off old scores. |
| To sit on the fence |
not to commit oneself |
When his party split into two, Ramesh was accused of sitting on the fence. |
| To hope against hope |
hope inspite of disappointment |
Sohan's case is very weak and everybody knows that finally he will lose, but he is still hoping against hope. |
| To have an axe to grind |
to have a selfish interest |
Reema is very selfish but the way she is being polite with everyone gives the impression that she has an axe to grind. |
| To have gift of the gab |
art of speaking |
Meena is not highly qualified but she has the gift of the gab. |
| To throw out of gear |
not working properly |
Many of our small scale industries have been thrown out of gear because of lack of finance. |
| To take to heels |
to run away |
The students making mischief took to their heels on seeing the Principal. |
| To beat about the bush |
to talk in a round about manner |
We should always come to the point and should not beat about the Bush. |
| To build castles in the a |
to make visionary schemes |
Many people who live in dreams build castles in the air and do not succeed in life. |
| To break the ice |
to speak first after prolonged silence |
In the meeting Rajesh broke the ice and suggested the plan to solve the problem. |
| To bring to book |
to punish, to call to account |
The manager was brought to book for his neglect of duty. |
| To be at the bottom of |
to be mainly responsible for |
It was found later that Shanu was at the bottom of the whole trouble. |
| To call a spade a spade |
to speak plainly |
People often get angry when one calls a spade a spade. |
| To carry the day |
to win a victory |
After initial setback India carried the day in the test match against Pakistan. |
| To cut a sorry figure |
to give a poor show |
The speaker cut a sorry figure in the meeting. |
| To cry over spilt milk |
repent |
Careless students often have to cry over spilt milk during the exams. |
| To cut one's coat accordi |
to live within one?s means |
A wise man always cuts his coat according to his cloth if he wants to be successful in his life. |
| To fish in troubled water |
to take advantage of the trouble of others |
Shrewd businessmen fish in troubled waters when there is scarcity of things. |
| To follow suit |
to act in a like manner |
If you do not obey your elders and commit sins, your children will follow suit. |
| To get off scot free |
to escape without punishment |
A murderer can also very easily get off scot free for lack of evidence. |
| To grease the palm of |
to bribe |
Now a days if you want to get your work done, you will have to grease the palm of someone or the other. |
| To gird up the loins |
to prepare for hard work |
Indians must gird up the loins to face any foreign attack on their country. |
| To hit below the belt |
to strike unfairly |
We should always face the enemy boldly and never hit him below the belt. |
| To hold one's longue |
to keep quiet |
We should always hold our tongue before our elders. |
| To keep body and soul tog |
to maintain life |
These days because of rising prices it is difficult to keep body and soul together. |
| To keep at an arm's lengt |
to keep at a distance |
Selfish people should always be kept at an arm?s length. |
| To keep the wolf from the |
to avoid starvation |
In India millions of people struggle hard to keep the wolf from the door. |
| To laugh in one's sleeves |
to laugh secretly |
The students laughed in their sleeves at the teacher?s ignorance of the subject. |
| To leave no stone unturne |
to make all possible efforts |
The minister assured the poor that he shall leave no stone unturned to uplift their condition. |
| To look sharp |
to make haste |
Look-sharp, the bus is moving. |
| To make a clean breast |
to confess |
When asked by the magistrate sternly, the thief made a clean breast of the whole crime. |
| To make amends |
to give compensation |
The government made amends to the family for the loss of their earning member in the war. |
| To make the most of |
to utilize time |
Students should make the most of their time if they want to get an administrative job. |
| To move heaven and earth |
to try utmost |
Ramesh moved heaven and earth to gain his end but failed. |
| To make sure |
to ascertain |
We went to the office to make sure if our exams would start in the next week. |
| To make neither head nor |
not to understand |
The teacher spoke so rapidly that the students could make neither head nor tail of his lecture. |
| To be nipped in the bud |
to destroy in the very beginning |
The evils of the society must be nipped in the bud. |
| To play second fiddle to |
to play a subordinate part |
A self-respecting man can never play second fiddle to anyone. |
| To rise to the occasion |
to act as the occasion demands |
To face critical situations boldly you should rise to the occasion. |
| To run short of |
shortage |
These days due to some financial crises my friend is running short of money. |
| To smell a rat |
to be suspicious |
I smelt a rat in the bargain that my uncle made with my father. |
| To shed crocodile tears |
to show false sorrow |
The mother shed crocodile tears on the death of her step daughter. |
| To split hair |
to indulge in over refined arguments |
We should not try to split hair in our arguments with our elders. |
| To stand in good stead |
to be helpful in need |
During the time of distress the advice of elders always stands in good stead. |
| To show white feather |
to show cowardice |
Brave people never show white feather in the face of difficulties. |
| To throw cold water |
to discourage |
Instead of encouraging me my business partner threw cold water on my plans. |
| To turn over a new leaf |
to be entirely changed |
After the sudden death of his father Rajesh turned over a new leaf and took all the responsibilities of the family on himself. |
| To turn the table |
to reverse the condition |
A batsman often turns the table on the opposite team by his good batting. |
| To win laurels |
to win distinction |
Dr. Tagore won laurels in the world of literature. |
| To be at a loss |
to be unable to decide |
I am at a loss to know what to do. |
| To breathe one's last |
to die |
He breathed his last in the prime of his life. |
| To call names |
to abuse |
Neeta called me names, so she was severely punished by the teacher. |
| To die in harness |
to die while on the post |
Sardar Patel died in harness. |
| To fall flat |
to have no effect |
The minister?s speech fell flat on the audience. |
| To go to the dogs |
to be ruined |
The rich industrialist will go to the dogs because of his son?s bad habits. |
| To haul over the coals |
to take to task |
She was hauled over the coals by her parents for her misconduct. |
| To fight shy of |
to attempt to avoid a thing or person |
I generally fight shy of confronting my elder sister as she is in the habit of making sickening comments. |
| To fly in the face of |
to defy |
It is disobedience on their part to fly in the face of the orders of the Principal. |
| To get oneself into a mes |
to drift into trouble |
Due to sheer ignorance, Vijay seems to have got himself into a mess in his office. |
| To give a wide berth |
to avoid |
We should always give a wide berth to all selfish and mean persons. |
| To have one's finger in e |
to partake of something |
My best friend likes to have her finger in everyone?s pie as she is in the habit of meddling with the affairs of others. |
| To let the cat out of the |
to disclose |
Sunita has, at last, let the cat out of the bag, by confessing that she had stolen her brother?s money. |
| To rend between the lines |
to understand the hidden meaning |
If her essay is read between the lines, we will find that she has made comments against the Government. |
| To rule the roost |
to dominate |
Today the rich rule the roost. |
| To see eye to eye |
to agree |
Neema could never see eye to eye with her elder brother. |
| To set store by |
to value |
I have always set store by my father?s opinion. |
| To snap one's fingers at |
to show contempt |
The industry owner feels that he may snap his fingers at the demands of his workers, but he is greatly mistaken. |
| To speak volumes for |
to have abundant proof |
The amount of sacrifice made by Reena's friend speaks volumes for her true love for her friend. |
| To steal a march |
to get ahead secretly |
Rohan stole a march on my brother in business and is very rich today. |
| To steer clear of |
to avoid |
Everyone, if possible, should steer clear of selfish people. |
| To take up the cudgels |
to support or defend |
One of my lawyer friends took up the cudgels on my behalf to defend me. |
| To turn up one's nose |
to take lightly with contempt |
Meena has failed twice in her class and yet she turns up her nose at my advice. |
| To turn the comer |
to pass a critical stage |
After long illness at last my friend turned the comer and was completely out of danger. |
| To have blue blood |
aristocratic blood |
Though my friend has blue blood yet her conduct is very mean and vulgar. |
| The Fourth Estate |
the press |
The newspaper is regarded as the Fourth Estate of the state. |
| The halcyon days |
peaceful days |
The days we spend in our school are the halcyon days of our life. |
| To have an iron will |
strong will |
If we have to live among the mean and selfish people we must have an iron will. |
| To pull a long face |
to look sad |
Seema pulled a long face when she was scolded by her teacher for her carelessness. |
| To hold out an olive bran |
offer of peace |
The terrorists are not prepared to hold out the olive branch to the Government of India. |
| The swan song |
last creation |
Lament was the swan song of Shelley. |
| Tall talk |
exaggerate the matters |
No one likes to be in the company of Neema as she always indulges in tall talk. |
| To add a new feather in o |
additional success |
His success in his M.A. exams has added a new feather in his cap. |
| To live in a fool's para |
false hope |
My brother is living in a fool?s paradise if he thinks that he can be a rich man without working hard. |
| To have feet of clay |
full of faults |
The C.B.I. inquiry has revealed that many ministers have feet of clay. |
| To be at a stone's throw |
very close |
My friend's house is at a stone's throw from mine. |
| The ins and outs |
secrets |
The servants are generally familiar with the ins and outs of the family. |
| Tooth and Nail |
violently |
All the students revolted tooth and nail for the partiality of the teachers towards some students. |
| To eke out |
supplement income |
To eke out. his income he also works as a part time accountant in the evening. |
| Throw a spanner |
to be defeated |
When the wrestler could not resist the opponent, he had to throw the spanner. |
| To bum one's boats |
point of no return |
We have burnt our boats by declaring that we are not going to sign C.T.B.T. |
| To meet one?s Waterloo |
to face final defeat |
Tipu Sultan met his Waterloo in the fourth battle of Mysore. |
| To hang fire |
remain unsolved |
Kashmir problem has been hanging fire for the last fifty years. |
| To play truant |
to be absent from duty Without permission |
It is very bad habit the employees to play truant from office. |
| To hit the nail on the he |
to do the right thing at the right time |
He hit the nail ?on the head by resigning his job. |
| To be upto |
to be equal to |
He is upto all the tricks of the trade to grind his own axe. |
| The cloven hoof |
the evil intention |
The Chinese showed the cloven hoof in 1962. |
| To give a good account of |
to act creditably |
As the eldest son of his family he gave a good account of himself when calamity befell the family. |
| To assume airs |
to pretend superiority |
The rich are in the habit of assuming airs in the presence of their poor relations. |
| To take up arms |
to fight |
The tribals of this region have taken up arms against the government. |
| To bite the dust |
to be defeated |
Pakistan had to bite the dust in the finals of the World Cup. |
| To brow beat |
to bully |
The President of the college union always tries to brow beat the students opposed to him. |
| To knit the brow |
to frown |
Her mother-in-law always knits the brow at everything she does. |
| To kick the bucket |
to die |
He kicked the bucket after long illness in the prime of his life. |
| The sword of Damocles |
facing imminent danger |
A sword of Damocles is always hanging over the head of a soldier in the event of war. |
| To give the devil his due |
give credit to a worthless person for his good qualities |
We should give the devil his due for his good qualities. |
| To be in doldrums |
to be depressed |
After his failure in the examination he is in doldrums these days. |
| To sail under false colou |
a hypocrite |
We should not believe our leaders because they sail under false colours. |
| To play to the gallery |
to gain cheap popularity |
The speeches of our leaders are not sincere; they are intended to play to the gallery. |
| To have too many irons in |
doing many things at a time |
He is fickle minded and has too many irons in the fire. |
| To make light of |
not to care |
He is in the habit of making light of the advice of his parents. |
| To come to a pass |
a difficult situation |
The things have come to such a pretty pass that he is financially ruined. |
| To plough the sands |
futile labour |
He can not make money because he appears to be ploughing the sands. |
| To ride rough shod over |
to treat in a high handed fashion |
Don?t ride rough shod over a person when he is down and out. |
| To take with a pinch of s |
to accept with doubt |
Everybody takes Rahul's problems with a pinch of salt because he is an unreliable person. |
| To save one's face |
to avoid disgrace |
He is giving lame excuses to save his face because he could not qualify the examination. |
| Turn a hair |
show any reaction |
Although his friends provoked him against Rohit, he did not turn a hair and remained calm. |
| To bum one's fingers |
to get into trouble |
Those who interfere in the affairs of others, normally they bum their fingers. |
| Tall stories |
exaggerated stories |
Since he retired from Army, he has been famous for his tall stories which regale the villagers. |
| Take the floor |
make a speech |
When the Prime Minister took the floor in the cabinet meeting there was pin drop silence. |
| Take lying down |
accept insult |
It is impossible for me to take his remarks lying down. It amounts to meek surrender. |
| To set Thames on fire |
to achieve something impossible |
Qualifying Civil services examination for you is like setting Thames on fire. |
| To turn to account |
turn to advantage |
The brave turn their failures to account. |
| To take heart |
feel bold |
You must take heart and face life boldly. |
| To take to heart |
feel excessively |
He took his failure to heart and lost interest in worldly affairs. |
| To hold in leash |
to restrain |
As a responsible leader of a party you must hold criticism of party workers in leash. |
| Take bull by horns |
to meet the danger boldly |
You can succeed in life only if you have courage to take bull by horns. |
| To go the whole hog |
to do something thoroughly |
You will have to go the whole hog to come out of this mess. |
| To hold a brief |
to defend someone |
It is very improper for parents to hold a brief for their children who are in the wrong. |
| Through and through |
entirely |
He was drenched in the rain through and through. |
| To keep one?s fingers cro |
to wait expectantly |
We had to keep our fingers crossed till the last ball was bowled. |
| To wash hands of |
to have nothing to do |
I have washed hands of your affairs because you do not take me seriously. |
| To pass the buck |
to blame each other |
Political parties pass the buck on to one another for failure on economic front. |
| To and fro |
forward and backward |
He was strolling in the garden to and fro. |
| To flog a dead horse |
to revive interest in old matters |
The rivals always flog a dead horse to insult their enemies. |
| To blaze the trail |
to start a movement |
Surinder Nath Baneerjee blazed the trail of Indian National Movement. |
| To get into a scrape |
awkward situation |
He got into a scrape when his wife refused to let him help his sister. |
| To lead up the garden pat |
to cheat |
The traders lead the credulous customers up the garden path by assuring them of warranty. |
| To fall foul of |
to quarrel |
They were once bosom friends but now they have fallen foul of each other. |
| To let the grass grow und |
to delay the matters |
We are bound to suffer if we let the grass grow under feet by postponing action. |
| To the back bone |
thoroughly |
We need leaders who are selfless to the back bone. |
| To take wind out of anoth |
to gain advantage by anticipation |
Farsighted Generals can win war by taking wind out of enemy?s sails. |
| Throw down the glove |
to challenge |
China has thrown down the glove by not recognizing Sikkim as part of India. |
| To keep the pot boiling |
earn hardly enough for living |
He is earning only to keep the pot boiling. |
| To cock a sanook |
to show impudent contempt |
Shee is so proud of her wealth that she always cocks a snook at the acts of her husband. |
| To throw up the sponge |
to surrender |
He never threw tip the sponge and at last got over his financial problems. |
| Take leaf out of somebody |
to emulate |
The young should take leaf out of great men?s books. |
| To get into hot waters |
get into trouble |
He got into hot waters by marrying a girl of another caste. |
| To wrangle over an ass' s |
to quarrel over trifles |
Their long friendship ended because they wrangled over an ass? shadow. |
| To put a spoke in a wheel |
to obstruct |
He would not like me to succeed; so he always put a spoke in a wheel. |
| To have a brush with |
to have encounter |
Our Principal had a brush with the Vice chancellor over the appointment of a lecturer. |
| To give currency |
to make publicly known |
The Government has refused to give currency to a number of scams. |
| To mince matters |
hide the truth and pretend |
Tell the truth to your parents because it does not pay to mince matters. |
| The carrot and stick poli |
reward and punishment |
A successful businessman follows the carrot and stick policy towards his employees. |
| To rest on one?s laurels |
complacent, self satisifed |
Ambitious persons never rest on their laurels because they dream of unending achievements. |
| To get down to brass tack |
to deal with the matter straight |
In stead of wasting time in discussion, please get down to brass tacks. |
| To send about one's busin |
to dismiss |
His employers sent him about his business when he behaved insolently. |
| To rock the boat |
upset the balance |
If your party withdraws the support from the Government, it may rock the boat. |
| To stand ones ground |
remain firm |
He did not yield to pressure and stood his ground till the end. |
| To take people by storm |
to surprise unexpectedly |
The successful launching of GSLV-1 took the nation by storm. |
| To play ducks and drakes |
to squander money |
After the death of his father he got into heavy debt by playing ducks and drakes with money. |
| To give one a long rope |
to let some one commit mistakes |
He never gives his employees a long rope. |
| To take somebody for a ri |
to deceive a person |
The traders take the customers fora ride by selling fake foreign goods to them. |
| To throw a spanner |
to sabotage a plan |
He refused to finance my project and so threw a spanner in it. |
| To come in handy |
to be useful |
Take some woollen clothes. They may come in handy in Shimla. |
| To feather one's own nest |
to provide first for one self |
Our leaders are busy feathering their own nests and have no concern for the poor. |
| To keep abreast of |
not to fall behind |
It is very important for the young persons to keep abreast of political developments in the country. |
| The last straw |
the final trial of patience |
The Rowlet Act was the last straw on the Camel's back and the whole India rose in protest against the British rule. |
| To wear the trousers |
dominant |
It is Leena who wears the trousers and her husband simply obeys her. |
| To hold somebody to ranso |
to demand concession by making some one captive |
It is a pity that a handful of militants are holding the nation to ransom. |
| The wee hours |
at dawn |
The old couple was murdered in tine wee hours of the day. |
| Turn the corner |
pass the crisis |
The doctor says that the patient has turned the corner. |
