Idioms for SSC exams -5

Pulled all the stops out | Developed cold feet |A damp squib| Hot on the heels of | Ins and outs| To talk through one's hat |To take with a grain of salt |Off and on| Take to one'e heel| To keep up one's appearances |To turn over a new leaf|  Dark horse| On the cards| To cast aspersions |Come of with flying colours |Hay white the sun rises |Puts a spoke in one's wheel| Hold a brief for another |Out of the frying-pan into the fire|
                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                        

Pull all the stops out/ pull out all the stops 

Meaning:-

• to make every effort to achieve something
• to make the greatest effort possible to achieve something
                                                                       

Mind Tricks:-

Here pull refers for throwing away and the stops means obstruction. So pull all the stops out means throwing your all the obstruction away.

Usages:-

1. Candidates are pulling out all the stops to get the job.
2. Leaders decided to pull out all the stops and campaign in every state.

                                                                                                                                            

Developed cold feet/ Get or have cold feet

Meaning:-

• became nervous
• to suddenly become nervous about doing something that you had planned to do
                                                                        

Mind Tricks:-

Here cold feet means due to some hesitation you are not able to move your feet.

Usages:-

1. We were get cold feet, when we decided to go for foreign.
2. She would be getting cold feet.

                                      

A damp squib

Meaning:-

• totally unimpressive
• an event that is disappointing because it is not as exciting or impressive as expected
• an event which people think will be exciting but which is disappointing when it happens

Mind Tricks:-

 Squib means a small firework and Damp means wetness. You were very happy with your crackers but you suddenly get disappointed when you see a damp squib.

Usages:-

1. The celebrations were a bit of a damp squib.
2. His day's performance turned out to be a damp squib.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Hot/hard on the heels of something

Meaning:-

• very close behind something or somebody, very soon after something 
• closely following

Mind Tricks:-

Here hard or hot means putting a lot of effort or energy into an activity and heel means bottom of a shoe. If you are putting a lot of effort on  someone's heels means you are following that one very closely.

Usages:-

1. He ran ahead, with the others hot on his heels
2. He came hot on the heels of his brother.

                                                                                                                                                                                      

Ins and outs of

Meaning:-

• details and complexities
• all the details, especially the complicated or difficult ones 

Usages:-

1. Mango man does not understand the ins and outs of  politics.
2. Candidates should know ins and outs of terms and conditions.

To talk through one's hat

Meaning:-

• to talk nonsense
• to say silly things while you are talking about a subject you do not understand

Mind Tricks:-

Hat has two meanings 1. a covering make to fit the head and 2. a position or role in an official or professional role, when you have more than one such role, an informal term for a person's role. If you talk other than your hat you would talk nonsense because you don't know much on other subjects.

Usages:-

1. Why are you talking through one's hat.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

To take (something) with a grain of salt

Meaning:-

• accept with misgiving
• to accept something  maintaining a degree of doubt on its truth

Mind Tricks:-

The idea comes from the fact that food is more easily swallowed if taken with a small amount of salt. Pliny the Elder translated an ancient antidote for poison with the words 'be taken fasting, plus a grain of salt'. - www.phrases.org.uk

Usages:-

1. He takes food with a grain of salt.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Off and on

Meaning:-

• occasionally                                                                        

Mind Tricks:-

Sometime off and sometime on means it does not happen regularly but occasionally.

Usages:-

1. We slept off and on last night.
2. We would go to school off and on.

                                                                                                                   

Take to one'e heel/ Take to your heels 

Meaning:-

• to run away
• to run away from somebody/something

Mind Tricks:-

Take a run = Take a heel

Usages:-

1. Robber had taken to one's heel when police came.

                                                                                                                                            

To keep up one's appearances

Meaning:-

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

Mind Tricks:-

To keep up one's appearances means to talk means you are talking only one thing that you are interested more .

Usages:-

1. He is in a habit of keeping up one's appearances.                        

Turn over a new leaf  

Meaning:-

• to work on a novel idea
• to change your way of life or work to become a better, more responsible person

Mind Tricks:-

Leaf means a sheet of paper. So when you start working on new idea, you would need a new sheet of paper.

Usages:-

1. He has forgotten his past life and turning over a new leaf.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Dark horse

Meaning:-

• an unexpected winner                   
• someone or something whose abilities, plans, or feelings are little known to others                        

Mind Tricks:-

This phrase comes out from horse race. In dark we can neither see nor suspect anything.

Usages:-

1. It is difficult to predict who will win the prize- there are two or three dark horses in the tournament.

  

On/In the cards

Meaning:-

• anticipated, likely to happen                         
• in future                                              

Mind Tricks:-

Your name in the card means something will happen to you in near future.

Usages:-

1. I am expecting some holiday on the cards.
2. I would become a leader in the cards.

To cast aspersions on

Meaning:-

• to make unpleasant remarks                                                          

Mind Tricks:-

 Aspersions means critical or unpleasant remarks.

Usages:-

1. Don't cast aspersion on me.
2. Parties are casting aspersion on each other.

Come off with flying colours

Meaning:-

• achieve creditable success
• to be victorious

Mind Tricks:-

The phrase's origins relate to ship flags. Flying colours refer Flag. When soldiers achieve creditable success, they would come with flying colours or flying flags.

Come Off -  to take place, to happen 

Usages:-

1. Ram has been finally selected as he come off with flying colours.

Make hay white the sun rises

Meaning:-

• take benefit of condition
• to do something while the situation or conditions are right

Mind Tricks:-

Hay means grass that has been cut and dried (Here White means to dry.)and is used as food for animals, here hay stands for food.So every one should make a hay while the sun shines.

Usages:-

1. Our leaders know how to make hay white the sun rises.
2. Police makes hay white the sun rises.

Puts a spoke in one's wheel

Meaning:-

• to obstruct one's progress
• to prevent somebody from putting their plans into operation 

Usages:-

1. We should not put a spoke in somebody's wheel.
2. I do not know why he puts a spoke in one's wheel.

                                                                                                                                                     

Hold a brief for another

Meaning:-

• to speak on another's behalf
• to support or be in favour of somebody or something

Mind Tricks:-

Brief means to give somebody information about something.

Usages:-

1. Public hold a brief for Congress party.
2. We should hold a brief for good people.

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