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Important Idioms and phrases
- To show white feathers- to show fear
- A feather in the cap- a very good achievement
- A good Samaritan- A really kind man
- To rise like a phoenix- to start afresh from a low position
- To meet ones waterloo- to meet once end
- To have cold feet- To be reluctant
- To raise dust- to create confusion
- To bring home the bacon- to be successful
- To carry the day- to win after a long effort
- To stick to one’s gun- to maintain one’s point against all opposition
- Come cap in hand- very humble
- Man Of iron- a man of strong will power
- Man of straw- insignificant
- Man of letters- scholar
- To have several irons in the fire- so many engagements at a time
- At a low key- at reducing
- At cross roads- be in confusion because of many choices
- At stake- in danger
- To die a dog’s death- unheroic death
- To fire on all cylinders- to exert with all force
- To break the duck- to begin
- To play ducks and drakes- to squander money
- A big shot- important person
- A boon in disguise- a benefit in loss
- A cry in the wilderness- an irrelevant effort
- To beat about the bush- to talk about unimportant things
- To sound a red alert- to make alert
- Rise from ashes- to rise high from low
- To put the cat among the pigeons- to be placed in a wrong situation
- Cut the Gordian knot- to perform a difficult task
- To talk shop- to talk nonsense
- To turn a deaf ear- to disregard
- To gain ground- to become more general
- Through thick and thin- under all circumstances
- To have finger in the pie- to do something in an affair
- To have one’s heart in the right place- to be kind
- To give someone a piece of mind- to scold
- My hands are full- I am busy
- To kick up a row- to make great noise and fuss
- To bury the hatchet- to make peaceoor surprising thing
- To set the thames on fire- to do some markable or surprising thing
- High and dry- isolated, stranded
- To be at the end of one’s tether- to have no resources left
- Odds and ends- various articles
- A hot line- direct telephone lines between heads of state.
- To shoot a line one’s success- to exaggerate about
- To read between the lines- to understand more than the actual words
- To feather one’s rest- to provide money even dishonestly
- To black-ball- prevent from doing something
- To be in the black- to be in the credit
- A blue book- a government report
- To paint the town red- to celebrate noisily in public places
- To make no bones about something- to do or say a thing openly if it is unpleasant
- Pull the wool over some body’s eyes- to deceive
- To have several irons in the fire- to have many tasks or many pieces of work
- To keep one’s fingers crossed- to remain anxious wishing good for somebody
- To keep the wolf away from the door- to keep off poverty from oneself
- A red letter day- an important day
- To work like a dog- to work very hard
- To foot the bill- to make payment
- Bone of contention- cause of quarrel
- To beggar description- beyond description
- To play a second fiddle- to act as a subordinate to do the secondary role
- Cut no ice- to make no effect
- Under a cloud- to be in a bad book
- Once and for all- forever
- Oily tongue- one who flatters
- Hand in glove- close friendship
- Hole and corner policy- improper policy
- Far and wide- all around
- Far and away- certainly
- Fair weather friends- friends only in good days
- In deed- really
- Face value- superficially
- Fancy price-high price
- Stick ones neck out- to take risk
- To put a spoke in one’s wheel- to disturb
- Brown study- in reverie
- Moot point- controversial point
- To plough a lonely furrow- to do without anybody’s help
- Bring home- to emphasize
- Make hay while the sun shines- to make best use of the favorable opportunities
- Rank and file- common man
- Talk through one’s hat- talk nonsense
- To lead one by the nose- to cause to follow blindly
- To explore every avenue- to try every method
- At the drop of a hat- for no reason at all
- To kick one’s heels- to waste time
- To smell something fishy- to feel that there is something wrong
- To get away with- to escape
- All agog- in a state of excitement
- Adam’s ale- ordinary water
- One’s cup of tea- what one likes and can do well
- In a flutter- in a state of nervous excitement
- A chip of the old block- characteristics of one’s ancestors
- A close shave- a lucky escape
- Blow hot and cold- to be inconsistent
- A bull in the china shop- an awkward, tactless or clumsy person
- To have the floor- to make a speech
- A case in point- an illustrative case connected to the subject of discussion
- The cock of the walk- the most dominating person in the group
- A cuckoo in the nest- A child whose parentage is doubtful and may therefore not belong by blood to the family
- Feet of clay- to be weak or cowardly
- A flash in the pan- something which lasts only for a short time; an effort or partial success which soon turns into failure
- A mare’s nest- a discovery which looks valuable or promising but which turns out to be worthless
- A pig in a poke-an article which was brought without previous inspection and which turns out to be worth much less than what one paid for it
- A skeleton in the cupboard- a past event which is kept secret by a family /something embarrassing or shameful
- A fair crack of the whip- a period of importance
- To hold something in leash- to restrain
- To wrangle over an ass’s shadow- to quarrel over trifles
- To snap one’s fingers- to become contemptuous of
- To stand to one’s guns- to preserve when hardships press
- To take people by storm- to captivate them unexpectedly
- To throw up the sponge- to surrender or give up a contest
- To catch somebody on the hop- to catch somebody off guard
- To spill the beans- to reveal secret information
- To bring one’s egg to a bad market- to fail in one’s plan because one goes to the wrong people for help
- To give/get the bird- to send away
- To throw up one’ nose at a thing- to treat it with contemptuous dislike or disgust
- To split hair- to indulge in over-refined arguments
- A lady’s man- a lover of women’s company
- To draw a bead upon- to take aim at
- Foam in the mouth- to be in extreme hatred
- To rip up old soars- to revive a quarrel which was almost forgotten
- A baker’s dozen- thirteen
- To oil the knocker- to tip the office boy
- To cool one’s heels- to be kept waiting for some time
- To play to the gallery- trying to get appreciation from least intelligent people
- To clinch the issue- decide
- To turn the comer- pass the crisis
- To rock the boat- upset the balance
- Shop lifter- a thief in the guise of a customer
- To scream blue murder- make a great deal of noise and object vehemently
- To run in the same groove- advance in harmony
- To chew the cuds- to muse on
- To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve- expose one’s inner most feelings to others
- A duck in a thunderstorm- distressed
- To lead others up the garden- to deceive others
- To keep, the pot boiling- keep the controversy alive
- To heap coals of fire on one’s head- put one to shame
- To cut both ends- to argue in support of both sides of the issue
- Midas touch- ability to succeed in all projects
- Lynch law- law of mobs
- To come down in the world- to lose one’s social and financial position
- A man of the world- an experienced man, often with a cosmopolitan background
- All the same- nevertheless, but, yet
- Cut and dried- settled, decided
- Fair and square- in a fair way
- Free and easy- casual, unworried, unconcerned
- Meek and mild- gentle and quiet
- Null and void- invalid, without legal effect
- Rough and ready- not exact, only approximate
- Short and sweet- brisk, without delay
- Cloak and dagger- like a spy
- Hammer and sickle- the emblem of socialism
- Hammer and tongs- with all one’s strength
- Hole and corner- secret
- Run-of-the mill- an average, ordinary, unexciting
- An armchair job- a regular job which is considered easy and well paid
- Backstairs gossip- gossip among servants
- A close fisted man- a mean or stingy man
- A curtain lecture- the scolding of a husband by his wife in private
- Elbow room- room on opportunity to move and act freely
- Forty winks- short sleep
- French leave- absence without permission
- The golden handshake- a large sum of money given to a man of high position when he retires from his employment
- A henpecked husband- one who is dominated by his wife
- A hot potato- an issue that is akward or embarrassing to deal with
- An ivory towel- a place or state of life that is out of touch with people and reality
- A latchkey child- a child who returns from school etc. to an empty house because both parents are working
- A sleeping partner- a business partner who provides a share of the capital and therefore owns shares in the business but who does not take an active part in managing it
- A soft spot- a liking or fondness for something or someone
- Soft soap- flattery
- The bill of fare- the menu
- A drug on the market- goods on the market for which there is no hope
- A storm in the tea-cup – a lot of excitement and discussion about a trivial matter
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