Miscellaneous Idiomatic Expressions:
| A bed of roses (a comfortable position), A bed of thorns (an uncomfortable position) | Life is not a bed of roses; on the contrary, it is a bed of thorns. |
| A bone of contention (cause of quarrel) | This watch is a bone of contention between two brothers. |
| A fish out of water (out of one’s element) | Without my companions, I feel like a fish out of water. |
| A man of word (a trustworthy man) | Our headmaster is a man of word. |
| A man of letters (a man well-read in literature) | Our headmaster is a man of letters. |
| A man of the world (a man who is experienced in the ways of the world) | Being a man of the world he can guide the young men. |
| An apple of discord (cause of quarrel) | This piece of land was an apple of discord between the brothers. |
| A yes-man | A minister should not allow only yes-men to gather around him. |
| A right-hand man (a capable helper or assistant) | Our drawing master is the right-hand man of the headmaster. |
| A layman (one who is non-professional or inexpert) | So far as law is concerned I am a layman. |
| A close-fisted man (a miser) | Your uncle is a close-fisted man; he does not want to spend even a penny. |
| A white elephant (a very costly luxury) | An English wife often proves a white elephant for an Indian husband. |
| A white lie (a false statement, a well-meant falsehood) | He told a white lie that he had no money. |
| A red-letter day (an important day) | The 15th of August is a red-letter day in the history of India. |
| A dead letter | (a) (without any address) The letter you wrote yesterday was a dead letter because you never gave the address. (b) (law no longer observed) The law about the child-marriage is a dead letter now. |
| A black sheep (an ill-mannered or disreputable member of the society) | Mr Sohan is the black sheep of our class. |
| A narrow escape (a hair-breadth escape) | He had a narrow escape from being burnt alive. |
| A thorn in one’s side (source of trouble) | This boy has been a thorn in my side ever since he came to our house. |
| A windfall (unexpected good fortune) | Mohan had a windfall and suddenly became rich. |
| A back number (earlier issue of a magazine, anything out of date) | Mr S. C. Gupta who was once the chief secretary is a back number now. |
| A bird’s-eye view (a general view or impression) | While flying in an aeroplane we got a bird’s-eye view of the city. |
| A burning question (a question which is hotly discussed) | The teaching of Hindi is a burning question in Punjab. |
| A dog-in-the-manager policy (a selfish policy) | He neither uses the pen himself nor allows me to use it; he simply follows the dog-in-the-manager policy. |
| A sleeping partner (a partner having no active interest in business) | Rashid is only a sleeping partner in our firm. |
| A lump sum (paying down at once) | I have paid my dues in a lump sum. |
| All in all (of the greatest importance) | When the headmaster is away our head clerk is all in all in the school. |
| All and sundry (everybody) | The manager of the new cinema hall invited all and sundry to the show. |
| An axe to grind (have some selfish motive) | In this matter, he has an axe to grind. |
| An eye for an eye (revenge) | There are many uncivilized tribes in Africa which still believe in the formula- an eye for an eye. |
| An old hand (an experienced man) | Our head clerk is an old hand. |
| As a rule (generally) | As a rule, the late-comers are fined. |
| At a stone’s throw (nearby) | Our school is only at a stone’s throw from our house. |
| At a loss to understand (to lose one’s wits) | I am at a loss to understand why he has come to me just now. |
| At all costs (cost what it may) | I have to support him at all costs. |
| At daggers drawn (in a state of bitter hostility) | The two parties have been at daggers drawn for the last three years. |
| At home | (a) (at one’s ease) He feels quite at home in the school. (b) (expert, familiar with a subject) He is quite at him in mathematics. (c) (reception of visitors at a feast) We were invited to an at home by our friend. |
| At length | (a) (after some time) At length he was successful. (b) (in detail) He explained his case to me at length. |
| At one’s wit’s end (fail to understand what to do, get puzzled) | On reading the question paper he was at his wit’s end. |
| At the root of (at the bottom of) | Your son is at the root of all this mischief. |
| At the point of death (about to die) | His great grandfather is at the point of death. No medicine can cure him now. |
| Bag and baggage (with all the belongings) | The servant left our house bag and baggage. |
| Beside the mark (not to the point) | Your answer was beside the mark. |
| Bell the cat (undertake a difficult task of facing an enemy on behalf of all the community) | Although the students were tired of the bully, yet none of them knew how to bell the cat. |
| Birds of a feather (persons of the like taste) | Birds of a feather flock together. |
| Blow one’s own trumpet (sing one’s own praise) | Although self-praise is no recommendation, yet Rashid does not stop blowing his own trumpet. |
| Bread and butter (livelihood) | The question of earning our bread and butter is a difficult one. |
| Burn the candle at both ends (spend extravagantly) | If he goes on burning the candle at both ends, he is sure to be ruined. |
| Bury the hatchet (forget old enmity) | Mohan and Rashid have buried the hatchet and are friends once more. |
| Build castles in the air (make impracticable schemes) | It is foolish to build castles in the air. |
| By fits and starts (irregularly, at intervals) | As he is not regular and works by fits and starts, he cannot get through the examination. |
| By hook or by crook (by any means, fair or foul) | I have made up my mind to defeat him by hook or by crook. |
| Break the ice | We were sitting silent for a few minutes. Then my friend broke the ice by giving a message from my brother. |
| Carry tales | Do not trust him because he carries tales to other people. |
| Crocodile tears (pretended sorrow or grief) | His stepmother shed crocodile tears over his failure. |
| Diamond cuts diamond (of persons well-matched in wisdom and cleverness) | Your brother and I are equally clever. Neither can get the upper hand of the other because diamond cuts diamond. |
| Drastic action (strict action) | The government took drastic action against those who disturbed the peace of the country. |
| End in smoke (be of no use) | All his efforts to win the first prize have ended in smoke. |
| Fair play (opposite of foul play, honest dealings) | We believe in fair play and no favour. |
| Fair sex (women generally) | Men should respect the fair sex. |
| Fair Weather Friend (a friend who leaves you in difficulty) | Do not trust Rashid, because he is only a fair-weather friend. |
| Find fault with (pick holes in another’s pocket, criticise others) | It is not proper for us to find fault with others. |
| For the time being | You should be contended with this job for the time being. |
| From hand to mouth (with difficulty) | In these hard times, most of us live from hand to mouth. |
| From bad to worse (getting still worse) | The condition of the patient grew from bad to worse. |
| From door to door (one house after another) | The beggar went from door to door, but nobody gave him any alms. |
| Give one the cold shoulder (treat without any sympathy) | When I went to see a rich relative of mine, he gave me the cold shoulder. |
| Give a dog bad name and hang him (first to find fault with a person and then try to punish him) | He first found fault with his servant and then dismissed him. It is just like giving the dog a bad name and then hanging it. |
| Golden opportunity (a highly favourable opportunity) | He missed the golden opportunity of joining the army. |
| Golden age (a period of purity, brightness and prosperity) | The Gupta period is known as the Golden age in the History of India. |
| Golden Jubilee | Golden Jubilee of a person or an institution is celebrated at the end of the fiftieth year. |
| Silver Jubilee | Silver Jubilee is celebrated at the end of the twenty-fifth year. |
| Hand in glove with, Hand and glove with (on very intimate terms) | Rahim and Karim are hand in glove (or hand and glove) with each other. |
| Hand and foot | The dacoit bound the rich man hand and foot and threw him into a well. |
| Hard and fast (strict, fixed) | There are no hard and fast rules for writing an essay. |
| Hard up (to feel the want of money) | As he has spent a lot of money on his marriage, he feels hard up now. |
| Have too many irons in the fire (do many pieces of work at one time) | Rashid has too many irons in the fire these days. |
| Have one’s own way (do as one pleases) | I will not allow you to have your own way in this matter. |
| Have no mind | I have no mind to go to the cinema today. |
| Have one’s hands full (be fully occupied) | I have my hands full these days. |
| Heart and soul (wholeheartedly) | You must put heart and soul into the work if you want to be successful. |
| Heart to heart (frank) | My friend and I had a heart-to-heart talk. |
| Head I win, tails you lose (I will always be a gainer) | If you come to my place you have to feed me, and if I go to your place, I will be your guest. So it is a case of- heads I win and tails you lose. |
| Head and shoulders above (much above) | Rashid is head and shoulders above other players of hockey. |
| Hits below the belt (take undue advantage of play foul) | While playing a game we should not hit below the belt. |
| Hue and cry (a noise) | On seeing a thief the people of our ward raised a great hue and cry. |
| In black and white (in writing) | Please give me in black and white what do you want to say. |
| In a fix (in a confused state) | In the examination hall, I was in a fix which question to do first. |
| In the twinkling of an eye (in no time) | He can do this work in the twinkling of an eye. |
| In the run | Sourav is also in the run for this post. |
| In hand | I have much much work in hand these days. |
| In demand (much sought for) | Standard English Grammar and Composition is much in demand these days. |
| In due course (at the proper time) | You will also get a promotion in due course. |
| Ins and outs (the full details) | He does not seem to know the ins and outs of the matter. |
| Jack of all trades (one who can do many things) | Gourav is a jack of all trades but master of none. |
| Kith and kin (very near relatives) | It is our kith and kin who are the first to grow jealous of our prosperity. |
| Lend a hand (help) | His son lends him a hand in ploughing the field. |
| Lion’s share (the major portion) | His elder brother got the lion’s share of the ancestral property. |
| Lose heart (to be discouraged) | You should not lose heart even if your efforts have borne no fruit. |
| Look blank (look puzzled) | When I put a question to him, he looked blank. |
| Make a mountain of a molehill (give importance even to ordinary things) | To attach any importance to his absence from the meeting is to make a mountain of a molehill. |
| Mind one’s own business (attend to one’s own work) | If everybody minds his own business, the country will make rapid progress. |
| Next to nothing (nothing at all) | He got next to nothing in this business. |
| Nip in the bud (put a stop to something in the very beginning) | To nip the evil in the bud is a well-known saying. |
| Null and void (no longer applicable) | This rule is null and void now. |
| A narrow escape | He had a narrow escape from being run over by a car. |
| Odds and ends (miscellaneous articles) | His study room is full of odds and ends. |
| Of one’s own sweet will (of one’s own accord) | He is helping the poor of his own sweet will. |
| Of no avail (of no use) | All his efforts to win the first prize were of no avail. |
| Off one’s head (half-mad) | Do not talk to him, because he is off his head today. |
| On pins (uneasy) | I am feeling on pins today. |
| One’s better half (one’s wife) | One must pay due regard to one’s better half. |
| On good terms (on friendly terms) | Rashid and Rahim are on good terms these days. |
| On no account (in no case possible) | On no account he will help you. |
| Out of question (out of consideration) | Your success in this examination is out of question. |
| Over head and ears (completely) | Your brother is over head and ears in debt. |
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