English Idioms: 30 Most Important Idioms
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IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS: NICL exam- 2015 and other competitive exams are incomplete without idiomatic expressions. Here I am providing some interesting and useful idioms for upcoming exam.
1.
ABC - elementary knowledge
- I do not know even the ABC of
French.
2.
Alpha and Omega - the beginning and the end
3.
At a stone’s throw - near
- My school is at a stone’s throw
from my home.
4.
By hook or by crook - by fair means or foul
- These days students want to get
though the exams by hook or by crook.
5. To break down - to fail in health
- His health has broken down due
to overwork.
6.
To break the ice - to speak first, to start a conversation
- The President broke the ice and
the meeting began.
7.
A burning question - an important question of the day
- Disarmament is the burning
question of the day.
8.
To the backbone - thoroughly
- He is a patriot to the
backbone.
9.
By dint of - by means of
- Shri LalBahadurShastri became
the Prime Minister of India by dint of hard work.
10.
To cut a sorry figure - to produce a poor impression
- As he spoke without
preparation, he had to cut a sorry figure.
11.
A cock and bull story - an assumed tale
- Ramesh is a liar, he could not
impress me with his cock and bull story.
12.
Crocodile tears - false tears
- The step mother shed crocodile
tears on the death of the child.
13.
To end in smoke - to come to nothing
- All his efforts to succeed in
the I.A.S. exam have ended in smoke.
14.
To face the music - to face cosequences
- You will have to face the music
now for all you have done.
15.
Fair and square - honest
- Sham is fair and square in his
dealings.
16.
A fish out of water - a position which is strange and distasteful
- Rahul felt like a fish out of
water when he found that he was an unwelcome guest.
17.
To get into hot water - to get into some difficulty
- He often get into hot water
with our parents for not studying asa much as they want us to.
18.
Hard and fast - definite
- There are no hard and fast
rules to win the game.
19.
To hit the nail on the head
- do the exact thing
- She passed the exam by hitting
the nail on the head.
20.
To hold one’s tongue - to be silent
- His father asked him to hold
his tongue and not to talk so much.
21.
To jump to the conclusion
- to arrive at a conclusion
- What makes you jump to the
conclusion that Ria is to be blamed in this matter.
22.
Kith and kin - relatives
- All his kith and kin were
present at the time of his wedding.
23.
To keep at an arm’s length
- to keep at a distance
- Keep the bad characters at an
arm’s length.
24.
To kill two birds with one
stone - to achieve two tasks with one
effort
- By marrying the rich lady, the
jobless young man killed two birds with one stone.
25.
Man of iron - strong minded man
- Sardar Patel was a man of iron
26.
Man of letters - a literary man
- Vikram is a man of letters.
27.
To nip in the bud - to destroy at an early age
- The rebellion was nipped in the
bud.
28.
A nine days wonder - short lived
- Beauty is a nine days wonder.
29.
A Narrow escape - saved with great difficulty
- Our bus tyre got puncture and
we had a narrow escape.
30.
To play truant - to be absent without leave
- Tanya usually plays truant in
the school.
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