Beat about the bush| Fight shy of something | yeoman service | To cut a sorry figure| butterflies in my stomach| Work against time| In high dudgeon| By the skin of my teeth| To go the whole hog| Feel his pulse| Taken to task| Have something up your sleeve| Ruled the roost| Eat humble pie| Cock sure| Dog in manager| Give up the ghost| Have a brush with| Hit the nail on the head |Fall flat Cheek by jowl.
Beat about/around the bush
Meaning:-- to talk about something for a long time without coming to the main point
Mind Tricks:-
Usages:-Beat means to avoid and the bush means thickly plants. Beat around/ about the bush means avoiding someone or something rounding the bush.
- Stop beating about the bush and tell me what you want.
- Don't beat about the bush, just tell me where is my brother is.
Fight shy of something
Meaning:-- Unwilling to accept something or do something and try to avoid it
- to attempt of avoid a thing or a person
- Successive governments have fought shy of such measures.
- He fights shy of parties.
yeoman service
Meaning:-- excellent service
- efficient or useful help in need
Mind Tricks:-
Usages:-Yeoman is someone who does very hard work.
- The minister has performed yeoman service.
To cut a sorry figure
Meaning:-- to be ashamed
- to create a bad impression
- Leader cuts a sorry figure in his service.
- He cuts a sorry figure in his speech.
Had butterflies (in my stomach )
Meaning:-- to have a nervous feeling in your stomach before doing something
- She always has butterflies in her stomach before a test.
- I get buffer-flies in my stomach.
Work against time/clock
Meaning:-- to work very fast because you know you only have a limited period of time to do something
- Scientists were working against the time to collect specimens before the volcano erupted again.
In high dudgeon
Meaning:-- in an angry or offended mood and showing other people that you are angry
- Slamming the door in his face, she drove off in high dudgeon.
- Minister got down in high dudgeon.
By the skin of teeth
Meaning:-- If you do something by the skin of your teeth, you only just manage to do it
- Just succeed in doing something
Mind Tricks:-
By an amount equal to the thickness of the skin on one's teeth.
Usages:-By an amount equal to the thickness of the skin on one's teeth.
- He escaped defeat by the skin of his teeth.
- We win by the skin of our teeth.
To go the whole hog
Meaning:-- to do something thoroughly or completely
- I don't know more about this system, I think I should to the whole hog.
- It was going to cost so much to repair my computer, I thought I might as well go the whole hog and buy a new one.
Feel the pulse
Meaning:-- to try to know someone's views
- Reporters try to feel the pulse of public on voting.
- Teachers should feel the pulse of students.
Take to task
Meaning:-- to criticize somebody strongly for something they have done
- The local newspaper has been taking the city council to task over its transport policy.
- The teacher took Mohan to task for his bad behaviour.
Have something up one's sleeve
Meaning:-- to keep a plan or an idea secret until you need to use it
Mind Trick:-
Sleeve means a part of a piece of clothing that covers all or part of your arm. Sleeve may be very useful to hide chits in the exams.
Usages:-Sleeve means a part of a piece of clothing that covers all or part of your arm. Sleeve may be very useful to hide chits in the exams.
- USA have something up their sleeve.
- I have something up my sleeve.
Ruled the roost
Meaning:-- to be most powerful member of a group
- to be the boss or manager
Mind Trick:-
Roost means a place where birds sleep.
Usages:-
- My mom rules the roost at my home.
- Our new office manager really rules the roost.
Eat humble pie
Meaning:-- to say and show that you are sorry for the mistake that you made
Origin:-
Usages:-From a pun on the old word umbles, meaning 'offal', which was considered to be food for poor people.
- You made a mistake and I hope you have to eat humble pie.
- You should eat humble pie.
Cock-sure
Meaning:-- very sure and certain
- marked by overconfidence; to sure
- You are always so cocksure about everything.
- His cocksure assertion that he could bed any woman of his choice.
Dog in the manger
Meaning:-- a person who prevents others from enjoying what he cannot
Mind Trick:-
Manger means a long open box that horses and cows can eat from.
A dog in manger does not allow to eat from manger as you can see in the picture.
Usages:-
Manger means a long open box that horses and cows can eat from.
A dog in manger does not allow to eat from manger as you can see in the picture.
- Stop being such a dog in the manger and let your sister ride your bike if you are not using it.
Give up the ghost
Meaning:-- die, pass away
- to stop working (of a machine)
- He gives up the ghost.
- My car finally gave up the ghost.
Have a brush with something
Meaning:-- to have encounter
- to have an experience with something
- I have a brush with death.
- Our reporters have a brush with real robbers.
Hit the nail on the head
Meaning:-- to do the right thing at right time
- to do something in the most effective and efficient way
- Team India has won the match, captain Dhoni hits the nail on the head.
- Police has caught the robbers, they hit the nail on the head.
Fall flat
Meaning:-- to have no effect
- fail to amuse somebody
- Without Jam, the whole evening would have fallen flat.
- Your acts have fallen flat.
Cheek by jowl
Meaning:-- close together, very close to somebody or something
- side by side
Mind Tricks:-
Jowl means the lower part of somebody's cheek when it is fat and hangs down below their chin. And jowl hangs side by side near your neck.
Usages:-- The guest, packed cheek by jowl, parted as he entered.
- Two cars are cheek by jowl on the finishing line.
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