Idioms/Phrases for SSC Exams- 4

Beat about/around the bush

Meaning:-

to talk about something for a long time without coming to the main point

Mind Tricks:-

Beat means to avoid and the bush means thickly plants. Beat around/ about the bush means avoiding someone or something rounding the bush.

Usages:-

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

Usages:-

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:-

Yeoman is someone who does very hard work.

Usages:-

The minister has performed yeoman service.

To cut a sorry figure

Meaning:-

to be ashamed
to create a bad impression

Usages:-

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

Usages:-

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

Usages:-

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

Usages:-

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:-

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

Usages:-

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

Usages:-

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

Usages:-

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:-

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:-

From a pun on the old word umbles, meaning 'offal', which was considered to be food for poor people.

Usages:-

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

Usages:-

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:-

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)

Usages:-

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

Usages:-

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

Usages:-

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

Usages:-

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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