100
Important Idioms
English (Precis &
Composition)
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100 Important Idioms
IDIOMS MEANINGS
1. To add
insult to injury; To intensify a person
2. To be born
with a silver To be born in a rich family Spoon in one’s mouth;
3. A bolt from
the blue; An expected disaster
4. To blow one’s
own trumpet; To boast
5. A bone of
contention ; Cause of quarrel
6. To burn one’s
fingers ; To suffer
7. To beat
black & blue ; To beat mercilessly
8. To cast an
aspersion ; To bring discredit
9. To cry over
spilt milk ; To feel sorry for what has happened
10. To cut a
sorry figure ; To make a poor impression
11. To die in
harness ; To die while doing one’s duty
12. To end in
smoke ; To fail
13. To go to
the dogs ; To be ruined
14. To hang in
the balance ; To remain undecided
15. To hit the
nail on the head; To do the right thing at the right time
16. To hold
water ; To sound logical
17. To live no
stone unturned ; To try one’s level best
18. To live
from hand to mouth ; To live with great difficulty
19. To make up
one’s mind ; To decide
20. To see eye
to eye with ; Agree
21. To play
ducks and drakes ; Waste
22. To put the
cart before the hors ; To do a thing in a wrong way
23. To have too
many irons in the fire ; To have too many things in hand
24. To read b/w
the lines ; To try to understand the hidden meaning
25. To turn
over a new leaf ; To change for the better
26. To take the
bull by horns; To face difficulties boldly
27. To win
laurels ; To distinguish oneself
28. At daggers
drawn ; At enmity or fighting
29. Blake and
white ; Written
30. By leaps
and bounds ; Very fast
31. In cold
blood ; deliberately
32. Laid up
with ; Confined to bed
33. Ins and
outs ; Full details
34. A black
sheep ; Scoundrel; a bad person
35. A cock and
bull story ; An absurd tale
36. A gala day
; A day of festivity; a holiday with rejoicing
37. A hard nut
to crack ; A difficult person or problem to deal with
38. A turn coat
; One who changes one’s opinion or party
39. A fool’s
paradise ; In a state of happiness founded on vain hopes
40. Beat a
retreat ; To retire before the enemy
41. To be on
the horns of a dilemma; To have a choice b/w two equal evils
42. To beat
about the bush ; Approach a subject in a round about method
43. Bury the
hatchet ; To make peace
44. By fits and
starts ; Irregularly
45. Capital
punishment ; Death sentence
46. By hook or
by crook ; By fair or foul means
47. Eat humble
pie ; To face humiliation
48. Hit below
the belt ; To act unfairly
49. In apple
pie order ; In perfect order
50. Leave one
in lurch ; To desert in difficulty
51. To make a
clean breast of ; To confess fully one’s faults
52. To nip the
evil in the bud ; To destroy an evil in early stage
53. Pick holes
in another’s coat ; To find fault with another
54. Scot free ;
To go unpunished
55. Smell a rat
; To have a reason to suspect
56. Through
thick and thin ; Through every difficulty
57. True to one’s
salt ; Faithful to one’s master
58. To turn the
corner ; To begin to improve
59. With a
grain of salt ; To accept a statement with doubt as to its complete true
60. Worship the
rising sun ; To respect one rising in power
61. A Herculean
task ; An extremely difficult or dangerous task
62. A fish out
of water ; In a wrong place
63. A leap in
the dark ; An act of which we can’t force consequences
64. A thorn in
one’s side ; A constant source of annoyance
65. To be at
one’s beck and call ; Under one’s absolute control
66. Bread and
Butter ; Means of subsistence
67. Burn one’s
fingers ; To get into trouble
68. Burn the
candle at both ends; Use up too much energy
69. To cut the
Gordian knot ; To solve the difficulty
70. Cut and
dried ; Ready-made
71. Feather one’s
own nest ; To make money by unfair means
72.
To fish in troubled water ; To do something
under very unpromising circumstance
73. To give
oneself airs ; Affected manners
74. To give the
devil his due ; To allow even a bad man the credit due
75. To hang by
thread ; To be in a critical condition
76. A henpecked
husband ; A man habitually snubbed by his wife
77. Hush money
; Money given as a bribe to hush or make one keep silent
78. Kick up a
row ; Make a great noise
79. To let the
cat out of the bag; To reveal a secret
80. Null and
void ; Not valid; of no effect
81. On the spur
of the moment; At once
82.
Pay one back in one’s own coin ; To treat in
the same way as one has been treated
83. Put in cold
storage; To forget or neglect something
84. Pull wires
; To manage the show by secret Influence
85. Read b/w
the lines ; To hit at the real meaning
86. Sit on the
fence ; To avoid taking sides; to remain neutral
87. A square
deal ; Justice
88. Sword of
Damocles ; Treating danger
89. To take up
the gauntlet ; To accept the challenge
90. To eat one’s
heart out ; To suffer silently, bitterly
91. B/t the
devil and the deep sea ; B/w two dangers equally harmful
92. A sweet
tooth ; A liking for sweetmeat
93. A dark
horse ; An unknown person
94. A
bottleneck ; Anything that cause delays
95. To put one’s
foot down ; To show determination
96. A wet
blanket ; A grumbling, depressing person
97. To throw up
the sponge ; To acknowledge defeat
98. A feather
in one’s cap ; Something to be proud of
99. A red
letter day ; An auspicious day
100.
Bag and baggage ; With all one’s belongings
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