CLAT UG: Idioms & Phrases
Here is a list of idioms and phrases prepared especially to help the students who are willing to crack CLAT UG.
Here is a list of idioms and phrases prepared especially to help the students who are willing to crack CLAT UG.
"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.".....................................................Anthony J. D' Angelo
CLAT UG: Idioms & Phrases
1. A blessing in disguise - A good thing that seemed bad at first
2. Comparing apples to oranges - Comparing two things that cannot be compared
3. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree - Children are very similar to their parents.
4. Decked up – Put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive
5. Do something at the drop of a hat - Do something without having planned beforehand
6. Get something out of your system - Do the thing you have been wanting to do so you can move on
7. On the ball - Doing a good job
8. Cutting corners - Doing something poorly to save time or money
9. Take it with a grain of salt - Do not take something very seriously
10. Cut somebody some slack - To not be so critical
11. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch - Do not count on something good happening until it has happened
12. Hang in there - Do not give up
13. The whole nine yards - Everything, all the way
14. The best thing since sliced bread - An outstanding invention
15. Get out of hand - Get out of control
16. Hit the nail on the head - Get something exactly right
17. Get a taste of your own medicine - Get treated the way you have been treating others
18. Kill two birds with one stone - Get two things done with a single action
19. Let the cat out of the bag - Give away a secret
20. Spill the beans - Give away a secret
21. Hit the sack - Go to sleep
22. Break a leg - Good luck
23. Every cloud has a silver lining - Good things come after bad things
24. He has bigger fish to fry - He has bigger things to take care of than what we are talking about now
25. The best of both worlds - An ideal situation
26. There is a method to his madness - He seems crazy, but he is clever
27. Your guess is as good as mine - I have no idea
28. Live and learn - I made a mistake
29. Give someone the cold shoulder - Ignore someone
30. The devil is in the details - It looks good from a distance, but when you look closer, there are problems
31. Bite your tongue – To avoid talking
32. It’s not rocket science - It’s not complicated
33. There are other fish in the sea - It’s ok to miss this opportunity. Others will arise.
34. It’s raining cats and dogs - It’s raining hard
35. Miss the boat - It’s too late
36. Beat around the bush - Avoid saying what you mean, usually because it is uncomfortable
37. The ball is in your court - It’s your decision
38. By the skin of your teeth - Just barely
39. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it - Let’s not talk about that problem right now
40. To make matters worse - Make a problem worse
41. Break the ice - Make people feel more comfortable
42. A penny saved is a penny earned - Money you save today you can spend later
43. That’s the last straw - My patience has run out
44. There’s no such thing as a free lunch - Nothing is entirely free
45. On thin ice - On probation. If you make another mistake, there will be trouble.
46. Birds of a feather flock together - People who are alike are often friends
47. Good things come to those who wait - Be patient
48. Take a rain check - Postpone a plan
49. Put something on ice - Put something on hold
50. Once in a blue moon - Rarely
51. Slow and steady wins the race - Reliability is more important than speed
52. Saving for a rainy day - Saving money for later
53. Under the weather - Sick
54. Easy does it - Slow down
55. A dime a dozen - Something common
56. Go back to the drawing board - Start over
57. Call it a day - Stop working on something
58. Actions speak louder than words - Believe what people do and not what they say
59. Throw caution to the wind - Take a risk
60. Bite off more than you can chew - Take on a project that you cannot finish
61. Look before you leap - Take only calculated risks
62. A penny for your thoughts - Tell me what you’re thinking
63. Make a long story short - Tell something briefly
64. You can say that again - That’s true, I agree
65. The elephant in the room - The big issue, the problem people are avoiding
66. The early bird gets the worm - The first people who arrive will get the best stuff
67. He’s a chip off the old block - The son is like the father
68. Latin and Greek– Unable to understand
69. Better late than never - Better to arrive late than not to come at all
70. Like a chicken with its head cut off– To act in a frenzied manner, crazily
71. Don’t cry over spilt milk - There’s no reason to complain about something that can’t be fixed
72. So far, so good - Things are going well so far
73. It isn’t over till the fat lady sings - This isn’t over yet
74. You can’t judge a book by its cover - Don’t judge something by the way it appears
75. Play devil’s advocate - To argue the opposite, just for the sake of argument
76. Barking up the wrong tree - To be mistaken, to be looking for solutions in the wrong place
77. Go on a wild goose chase - To do something pointless
78. Bite the bullet - To get something over with because it is inevitable
79. To get bent out of shape - To get upset
80. A picture is worth 1000 words - Better to show than tell
81. Pull someone’s leg - To joke with someone
82. Add insult to injury - To make a bad situation worse
83. Let someone off the hook - To not hold someone responsible for something
84. Rain on someone’s parade - To spoil something
85. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you - Treat people fairly. Also known as “The Golden Rule”
86. Give someone the benefit of the doubt - Trust what someone says
87. Wrap your head around something - Understand something complicated
88. Costs an arm and a leg - Very expensive
89. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush - What you have is worth more than what you might have later
90. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket - What you’re doing is too risky
91. Pull yourself together - Calm down
92. Get your act together - Work better or leave
93. You can’t have your cake and eat it too - You can’t have everything
94. Time flies when you’re having fun - You don’t notice how long something lasts when it’s fun
95. No pain, no gain - You have to work for what you want
96. Ignorance is bliss - You’re better off not knowing
97. It takes one to know one - You’re just as bad as I am
98. Don’t give up your day job - You’re not very good at this
99. There is no such thing as a free lunch - Things that are offered for free always have a hidden cost
100. It takes two to tango - Some actions need the participation of two persons
101. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link - If one member of a team doesn’t perform well, the whole team will fail.
102. A blessing in disguise – An misfortune that eventually results in something good happening later on.
103. A chip on your shoulder – Being upset about something that happened in the past
104. A damp squib – Complete failure
105. A dime a dozen – Anything that is common and easy to get
106. A man of straw – A weak person
107. A mare’s nest – A false invention
108. A picture paints a thousand words - An image of a subject conveys its meaning or essence more effectively than a description does.
109. A piece of cake - Something easily achieved
110. A piece of cake – Something is very easy.
111. A snowball effect - The aspect of momentum in every event and how they build upon each other
112. A taste of your own medicine – When you are mistreated the same way you mistreat others
113. A toss-up – A result that is still unclear and can go either way
114. An eyewash – Misleading or deceptive statements
115. At sixes and seven – Persons who are having different opinions
116. At the drop of a hat – Willing to do something immediately
117. Back against the wall - Stuck in a difficult circumstance with no escape
118. Be hand and foot - In all possible ways; by all means
119. Bear the palm - Be victorious
120. Beat around the bush - To avoid talking about what’s important
121. Bed of roses - An easy, comfortable situation.
122. Bend over backwards - Do whatever it takes to help, willing to do anything
123. Between the cup and the lips – On the point of achievement
124. Bite off more than you can chew – To take on a task that is way too big to handle
125. Bite the bullet – Decide to do something unpleasant that you have avoiding doing.
126. Bite your tongue – To avoid talking
127. Bits and Pieces– small things of different types
128. Blow hot and cold - Alternate inconsistently between moods and actions
129. Boil the ocean - Taking up an almost impossible or overly ambitious project
130. Break a leg – Means ‘good luck’ (often said to actors before they go on stage).
131. Break fresh/ new ground - Doing something that has never been done before
132. Burn your boats/bridges - Doing something that makes it impossible to go back to the original state.
133. Call a spade a spade– Straight talks
134. Call it a day – Stop working on something
135. Can’t cut the mustard– Someone who isn’t adequate enough to compete or participate
136. Cast a shadow on - Spoil or let down
137. Cast iron stomach– Someone who has no problems, complications or ill effects with eating anything
138. Cut corners - Doing something in an easier and least expensive manner
139. Dog days of summer– The hottest day of the summer season
140. Doing the rounds – to be passed from one person to another
141. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch– Don’t rely on it until you sure of it
142. Don't put all your eggs in one basket - A piece of advice which means that one should not concentrate all efforts and resources in one area.
143. Eat like a horse - Eating too excessively
144. Ever and anon– Now and then, occasionally
145. Field day– An enjoyable day or circumstance
146. Fool’s errand - Useless undertaking
147. For the time being - Temporarily
148. From the horse’s mouth - From a reliable source
149. Get your act together - Get organized and do things effectively
150. Get your walking papers - Get fired from the job
151. Getting a taste of your own medicine – Being treated the same unpleasant way you have treated others.
152. Giving someone the cold shoulder – To ignore someone.
153. Good things come to those who wait - To have patience
154. Gray matter - Intelligence
155. Hear it on grapevine - To hear rumours about something or someone
156. Hit the sack - Go to sleep
157. Keep an ear to the ground - Staying informed and updated about everything
158. Kick the bucket– Die
159. Know the ropes– To understand the details
160. Left out in the cold - Being ignored
161. Let someone off the hook– To allow someone, who has been caught, to not be punished
162. Let the cat out of the bag – To accidentally reveal a secret.
163. Like a chicken with its head cut off– To act in a frenzied manner, crazily
164. Lock and key - In a safe place
165. No pain no gain – You have to work hard for something you want
166. On cloud nine- Being very happy
167. Once in a blue moon – An event that happens infrequently.
168. Put off – an evasive reply, to delay doing something, especially because you do not want to do it
169. Put the best foot forward - Start impressively
170. Rise and shine - Wake up and get out of bed promptly
171. Rome was not built in a day - Important work takes time
172. Run around in circles - Putting efforts into something that is not a worthwhile result
173. Scrape the barrel - Making the most of the worst situations or things because you can’t do anything about it
174. See eye to eye – This means agreeing with someone.
175. Sell like hot cakes - Quick sellout
176. Sixth sense - A supposed power to know or feel things that are not perceptible by the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
177. Smell a rat - To sense that someone has caused something wrong
178. Speak of the devil – This means that the person you’re just talking about actually appears at that moment.
179. Stealing someone’s thunder – Taking credit for someone else achievements.
180. Stick one’s neck out - To take a risk
181. Takes a beating – to be damaged because of performing badly or being criticized
182. The ball is in your court one needs – To take some action to keep something going
183. The best of both worlds – This means you can enjoy two different opportunities at the same time.
184. The elephant in the room – A matter or problem that is obviously of great importance but that is not discussed openly.
185. The last straw – The final source of irritation for someone to finally lose patience.
186. Through thick and thin - Under all circumstances, no matter how difficult
187. Tie the knot - To marry a mate
188. To add insult to injury – To make a situation worse.
189. To cost an arm and a leg – Something is very expensive.
190. To cut corners – To do something badly or cheaply.
191. To feel under the weather – To not feel well.
192. To hit the nail on the head – To describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem.
193. To kick the bucket - To die
194. To kill two birds with one stone – To solve two problems at once.
195. To make a long story short - Used to end an account of events quickly
196. Turn a blind eye - Pretend not to notice.
197. Up in arms - Being grumpy or angry about something
198. Wet one’s whistle - Have a drink
199. When pigs fly – Something that will never happen.
200. Your guess is as good as mine - I do not know
Important Links
Law Library: Notes and Study Material for LLB, LLM, Judiciary, and Entrance Exams