Idioms and Phrases

Idioms and its uses sl 1 2 3

idioms ABC Above all Achilles heel

meanings primary knowledge more than anything else weak point

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After all

Anyway; in spite of everything

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A penny for your thoughts

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All on a sudden All but All in all Apple of discord

I notice you are thinking about something; I would be happy to know about what you are thinking. Suddenly Nearly Supreme Matter of disputes

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As if As it were

As it would be Like

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As usual

Habitually

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At a loss for words At all At all events At a low ebb At arm’s length At a stretch At ones finger ends

Unable to speak Primarily In all cases Declining At a distance Without break Ready at hand

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All and sundry At home At large

everyone Skilled / comfortable Free

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At last At least At ones wits end

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At random

After a long wait At the lowest Puzzled/at the limit of one’s mental resources Without any aim

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At sixes and sevens

Scattered

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In danger According to ones wishes

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At stake At one’s own sweet will At the eleventh hour Bad blood Bag and baggage

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Beat about the bush

Talk irrelevantly

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Bed of roses Birds of same feather

Comfortable condition Persons of similar nature

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Beat black and blue

Beat severely

At the last moment Ill feeling With all belongings

Idioms in use The book claims to be a guide to the ABC of cooking. He was very brave , but fear of spiders was his Achilles heel. Mary had planned to go to the bank first, but she came here after all. I will give you a penny for your thoughts.

I felt a sharp pain on my left chest all on a sudden. All in all , I am glad that I visited Oxford. The only property they had , was their apple orchard, but it appeared as an apple of discord to Mr. Reckman’s family. He smiled innocently as if he had done nothing. He kept the money in the right place as it was kept before. The boy ran to the school as usual forgetting the punishment waiting for him. He was at a loss for words as he was over surprised. He didn’t know about the incident at all. He was the active person in all cases. His business was running at a low web. He lives at arm’ length from my house. He has wonderful energy to work hard at a stretch. All the information on this case was at police’s finger ends. Cold drinks were e served to all and sundry. He is very much at home with my parents. At midday the day after the robbery, the thieves were still at large. At last the hostages were released. I am at my wit’s end trying to solve this problem. The gunman walked into the crowded restaurant and fired at random. The room was always at sixes and sevens when the girl came home. I have everything at stake on this gamble.

We don’t worry about death until the eleventh hour. Sally showed up at our door bag and baggage one Sunday morning. The old man was beating about the bush for a long time in the meeting. Life is not a bed of roses. His friendship with Meg tells us birds of same feather folks together. His father was so crazy at his result that he bet him black and blue.

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Black sheep

Person of bad character

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Beggar description

Cannot be described

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A bolt from the blue

Something quite unexpected

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By all means By and by

In all possible ways Soon

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By the by By chance By no means By hook or by crook By far

In course of talking By accident/without cause/randomly Absolutely not By any means, legal or illegal. In all respect

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By leaps and bounds

Very rapidly

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By and large Big gun Bird’s eye view

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Book worm

Generally/ usually A leading man A rough idea/ a brief survey on something One who always reads books only

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Bosom friend Bring to light

Intimate friend Make open

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Bring to book Build castles in the air

Punish Indulge in idle vision

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Burning question

Matter of strong debate

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Breathe ones last

Die

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Call it a day

To leave work and go home/to say that a day’s work has been completed

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Call of nature

The need to go to the lavatory

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Call a spade a spade Carry the day

To speak plainly Win victory

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Catch red handed Cats and dogs Carte blanche

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Cock and bull story Crying need

Catch with the stolen articles Very heavily Complete freedom to act or proceed as one pleases. Absurd story Urgent need

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Crocodile tears

Pretended cry

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Carry a torch (for someone) Dead against

To be in love with someone who does not return love. Bitterly against

Devil may care attitude Dead of night End in smoke

A very carefree attitude.

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Midnight Fail

In that scholar family Mr. Robin was nothing but a black sheep. His present condition was beggar description because of his luxury. The news of his father’s death was a bolt from the blue to the son. He tried to save his son by all means but he couldn’t . My mother will return home by and by , she will complete her shopping. By the by , he was also running his father’s business. We met by chance and we are now the best friends ever. I am by no means angry with you. I will get the job done by hook or by crook. He is a man of great heart and by far he deserves the position. The profits of my company are increasing by leaps and bounds. By and large rose bushes need lots of water. He is a big gun in his locality. From the highest tower of the town we got a birds eye view of the town’s size. He is regarded as a book worm of his family as he never cares of anything around him. Sara and Lucy are bosom friends from their childhood. At last the victim brought light on the mysterious happening. He was brought to book for his evil activities. The man didn’t work at all rather he loved to build castles in the air. It is a burning question of all time whether boys are better than girls. The destitute old woman breathed her last at the lap of her only daughter. They are not engaged any more. They called it a day There was no interval in the meeting to take account of the call of nature. I believe it’s time to call a spade a spade . Manchester carried the day by having another goal in the second half. The thief was caught red handed by the security guard. It is raining cats and dogs at the last of the winter. We were given carte blanche to choose the color scheme. He is a master of cock and bull story. It was a crying need for the family to have one thousand dollar for the treatment of the baby. Nobody was moved to see the crocodile tears of the mother who killed her own daughter. John is carrying a torch for Jane. He was dead against sending his daughter to rehearse dancing. You must get rid of your devil may care attitude if you want to succeed. At the dead of night the girl came home. All his efforts ended in smoke at last.

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Fall flat Fight shy Fallen in troubled water Fishing in troubled water Far and wide Flesh and blood

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For good From hand to mouth

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From A to Z Gala day Get rid of Hard and fast Hard nut to crack Head and ears Heart and soul Hold water Hold good Hue and cry Hush money Household word In a fix In fine In full swing In time In order to In lieu of In black and white In cold blood In no time In the nick of time Ins and outs In a nutshell In a hurry In the mean time In ones teens

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In the long run In vain Irony of fate Lion’s share Lame excuse Kith and kin Maiden speech Man of letters Man of straw Make both ends meet Nip in the bud Null and void Now and then Of course On the contrary On the wane

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Have no effect Avoid In an uneasy situation Taking advantage of disturbed situation Everywhere A living human body with its natural limitations. Forever, permanently Live by hard labor From the beginning to the end A day of festivity Be free from Rigid A difficult problem Complete With all energy Be effective Apply A noise Bribe money Familiar name In a difficult situation In conclusion In full activity In proper time With the object of Instead of In writing Without provocation Soon In the right time Full details Very briefly Very quickly In the time between Between thirteen and nineteen years age Ultimately Fruitless By bad luck Major part Bad plea Near relatives First speech Scholar person Worthless person Live with means Destroy in the initial Invalid Occasionally Certainly Just opposite Declining

After a lot of rebuke from her mother, the girl falls flat. He started fighting shy his father after that incident. When all his relatives were asking him the same question again and again, he was fallen in troubled water. He became a very rich person when he started fishing in troubled water. Far and wide the man was searching for his wife. This cold weather is more than flesh and blood can stand. I finally left home for good. Most of the people of our country live from hand to mouth. From A to Z of his career he was a complete honest man. Eid day is a Gala day for the Muslims. At last my friend was able to get rid of that lunatic lady. There is no hard and fast rule in preparing this dish.

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On the whole Out of date Out of the wood Out of doors Out of order Out of temper Part and parcel Pros and cons Rank and file Red letter day Red tape Read between the lines Round the clock Set free Slow coach Slip of the pen Slip of tongue Square meal Stone’s throw Take to heart Three R’S To and fro Take one to task Tooth and nail Through thick and thin To the backbone To the contrary To the letter Turn over a new leaf Turn a deaf ear to Turn down Up and doing Ups and downs White elephant Weal and woe Widow’s mite

Generally speaking Out of fashion Free from danger Out side Defective Angry An integral part Details Common men Memorable day Official formalities Understand the significance Twenty four hours Liberate One who is lazy Slight mistake in writing A slight mistake in speaking Full meal Within a very short distance Cut to the quick Elementary education Hither and thither Rebuke Strongly Through all difficulties To the core Against what someone had said In all details Begin a new phase of life Pay no attention Refuse Active Rise and fall A costly unprofitable undertaking Joy and sorrow Small contribution of a poor person