IDIOM IDIOMS/PHRASES

IDIOMS/PHRASES
S/PHRASES MEANINGS

(1) Man of iron  a man of strong will power or determination

(2) Man of letters  scholar, a learned person
(3) Man of straw an insignificant person, a person who is
weak and easy to defeat
(4) To play ducks and drakes to squander or waste money
(5) High and dry isolated, stranded, without help or hope of
recovery
(6) To read between the lines to understand or detect the real meaning
form the apparent meaning
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(7) Beat about the bush to talk about unimportant things, to delay
or avoid talking about something
unpleasant
(8) Burn the midnight oil to work late into the night
(9) Couch potato a lazy person
(10) Cold shoulder to ignore or dismiss someone
(11) Have a blast to enjoy oneself, to have a good time
(12) Hit the road to leave
(13) From A to Z covering a complete range; comprehensively
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(14) Let the cat out of a bag to reveal a secret

(15) To pull somebody’s leg to tease someone by trying to
make him believe something that is
not true.
(16) To put the cat among the pigeons to create disturbance and cause
trouble
(17) Spill the beans to reveal someone’s secret
(18) Under the weather to feel sick or poorly
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(19) Pay the piper/face the music
(20) Take to task
(21) A blue book
(22) A close shave
(23) Far and away
(24) fair-weather friends
(25) Make hay while the sun shines
face the results or consequences
for something you have done
to reprimand or scold someone
a government report
a lucky escape
certainly
friends only in good days
to make best use of the favourable
opportunities
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(26) To show white feathers
(27) A feather in the cap
(28) Achilles heel
(29) A good Samaritan
(30) To rise like a phoenix
(31) To meet one’s waterloo
(32) To have cold feet
(33) To raise a dust
MEANINGS
to show fear
a very good achievement
weak point
a really kind man
to start afresh from a low position
to meet one’s defeat
to be reluctant
to create confusion
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(34) To bring home the bacon to be successful

(35) A red letter day an important day
(36) Hand in glove close friendship
(37) To work like a dog to work very hard
(38) Far and wide all around
(39) At stake in danger
(40) To set the Thames on fire to do a heroic deed; to do
something remarkable
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(41) To have several irons in the fire
(42) At crossroads
(43) A cry in the wilderness
(44) A boon in disguise
(45) To paint the town red
(46) Bone of contention
(47) A hot line
MEANINGS
so many engagements at a time
to be in confusion because of many
choices
an irrelevant effort
a benefit in loss
to celebrate noisily in public places.
cause of quarrel or dispute
direct telephone line between
heads of states
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(48) Rise from ashes to rise high from low

(49) Odds and ends various articles
(50) To burry the hatchet to make peace; to settle your
difference
(51) To give someone a piece of mind to scold
(52) My hands are full I am busy
(53) Through thick and thin under all circumstances
(54) Rank and file common man
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(55) To explore every avenue
(56) To get away with
(57) All agog
(58) In a flutter
(59) A cuckoo in the nest
MEANINGS
to try every method
to escape
in a state of excitement
in a state of nervousness
a child whose parentage is doubtful
and many therefore not belong by
blood to the family
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(60) To bring one’s eggs to a bad market
(61) A storm in the tea-cup
(62) A soft spot/ a soft corner
to fail in one’s plans because
one goes to the wrong
people for help
a lot of excitement and
discussion about a trivial
matter
a liking or fondness for
something or someone
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(63) A close fisted man a mean or stingy man

(64) Forty winks short sleep
(65) French leave absence without permission
(66) A henpecked husband one who is dominated by his wife
(67) A hot potato an issue that is awkward or
embarrassing to deal with
(68) An ivory tower a place or state of life that is out of
touch with people and reality
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(69) An armchair job a regular job which is considered

easy and well-paid
(70) Backstairs gossip gossip among servants
(71) Hammer and sickle the emblem of socialism
(72) Null and void invalid, without legal effect
(73) Meek and mild gentle and quiet
(74) Fair and square in a fair way
(75) All the same nevertheless, but, yet
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(76) A man of the world an experienced man, often with a

cosmopolitan background
(77) A lady’s man a lover of women’s company
(78) To rip up old soars to revive a quarrel which was
almost forgotten
(79) Foam in the mouth to be in extreme hatred
(80) Midas touch ability to succeed in all projects
(81) To cut both ends to argue in support of both sides of
the issue
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(82) To run in the same groove advance in harmony

(83) To chew the cuds to muse on; think deeply
(84) To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve expose one’s innermost feelings
to others
(85) To keep the pot boiling keep the controversy alive
(86) A duck in a thunderstorm distressed
(87) To make both ends meet to live within one’s income
(88) Within a stone’s throw nearby; at a short distance
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(89) To burn one’s finger
(90) Worth his salt
(91) To feather one’s own nest
(92) Fish out of water
(93) Gift of the gab
(94) To crow over
MEANINGS
to get oneself into unexpected
trouble by interfering in the
concerns of others.
to be efficient and effective
to make money unfairly
uncomfortable situation
talent for speaking
to exult in triumph
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(89) To burn one’s finger
(90) Worth his salt
(91) To feather one’s own nest
(92) Fish out of water
(93) Gift of the gab
(94) To crow over
MEANINGS
to get oneself into unexpected
trouble by interfering in the
concerns of others.
to be efficient and effective
to make money unfairly
uncomfortable situation
talent for speaking
to exult in triumph
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(95) In high spirits
(96) To leave no stone unturned
(97) Fight tooth and nail
(98) Hot goods
(99) To put one’s foot down
(100) A hard nut to crack
(101) To be as good as one’s word
MEANINGS
very happy; cheerful
to use all practical means
to use a lot of effort to oppose
someone or achieve something
stolen goods
to be determined, not to yield
a difficult problem
to be fully dependable
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(102) To look high and low
(103) To lose heart
(104) To rub salt into the wound
(105) To call a spade a spade
(106) To hit the bottle
(107) To get in a lather
MEANINGS
to look for in every possible place
to loose one’s courage or
confidence; disappointment
to make an unpleasant situation
even worse
to speak frankly and directly
to drink a lot of alcohol
to become unnecessarily upset