English Quiz: Important Idioms and Phrases

Important Idioms and Phrases:

Idioms and Phrases starting with alphabet “A”

Idioms	Phrases
Above all	Chiefly, mainly
An Adonis	a very handsome man
An apollo	a man with perfect physique
Apple Pie Order	in perfect order
The apple of discord	reason of quarrel
Arcadian life	blissful, happy, rural life
As you make your bed, so must you lie on it	you will have to bear the consequences of your mistakes or misdeeds
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush	having certain which is certain is better than taking a risk for more
A Dime & Dozen	Anything that is easy to get
A chip on Your shoulder	Being upset for something that happened in past
A house divided against itself cannot Stand	Everyone involved must unify & function together or it will not work out
A Leopard can’t change his spots	you cannot change who you are
A Penny saved is a Penny earned	by not spending money, you are saving money
At wit’s End	Not Knowing what to do
A Piece of Cake	task that can be done easily
A close fisted man	a miser
at loggerheads	Disagreeing on everything
A picture paints a thousand words	a visual perception is far better descriptive than words
At the eleventh hour	at the last moment

Important Idioms and Phrases starting with “B”:

Idioms & Phrases	Meaning
Be in a tight corner	in a difficult situation
behind one’s back	in the absence of one (without one’s knowledge)
Bring to light	Disclose
Burn the midnight oil	work or study hard
By leaps and bounds	Rapidly
By word of mouth	By spoken message
Between the devil & deep blue sea	Between two dangers
Back to square one	having to start all over again
Back To The Drawing Board	When an attempt fails and it’s time to start all over
Barking Up The Wrong Tree	A mistake made in something you are trying to achieve
Beat a dead horse	To force an issue that has already ended
Beating Around The Bush	avoiding main topic and not speaking directly of the issue
Bend Over Backwards	willing to do anything it takes to help
Bite your tongue	to avoid talking
Between a rock and a hard place	Stuck between two very bad options
Bite off more than you can chew	To take on a task that is way to big
Blood is thicker than water	The family bond is closer than anything else
Buy a Lemon	the vehicle which constantly gives problem and breaks down continously
Blue moon	a rare event or occurence

Important Idioms and Phrases Starting with “C”:

Care killed the cat	don’t fret and worry yourself to death
Chicken- hearted	timid, weak
Close fist	Mean
chip Off the old block	one is as good as one’s father
Chew the cud	to discuss the matter in a ponderous way, can be reminiscing
Cock and Bull Story	An unbelievable tale
Cut to the Chase	Leave out all the unnecessary details and just get to the point
Curiosity Killed The Cat	Being Inquisitive can lead you into a dangerous situation
Cry Wolf	Intentionally raise a false alarm
Cry Over Spilt Milk	When you complain about a loss from the past
Crack Someone Up	To make someone laugh
Can’t Cut The Mustard	Someone who isn’t adequate enough to compete or participate
cut your cloth according to your income	live in your income

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “D”:

Donkey’s year	a very long year
Double- dealing	Deceiving
Dutch Courage	courage gained after having alcohol
Drink like a fish	drink very heavily
Don’t put all the eggs in one basket	Don’t put all your resouces in one possibility
D oozy	Outstanding
Dog days of summer	Hottest days of summer season
Don’t Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth	When someone gives you a gift, don’t be ungrateful
Dead ringer	100% duplicate
Dark horse	One who was previously unknown but is now prominent

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “E”:

Evil days	A period of misfortune
Eagle eye	Quick to discover
Every Dog has his day	sooner or later, every one has his share of good fortune
Empty vessels make the most noise	those who know or have little knowledge often shout the loudest
Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining	Be optimistic, even difficult times will lead to better days
Excuse my French	Please forgive me for cussing

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “F”:

Fuddy-duddy:	An old-fashioned and foolish type of person.
From Rags To Riches	To go from being very poor to being very wealthy
Full Monty	“the whole thing” or “completely nude”
Flip The Bird	To raise your middle finger at someone
Foam at the Mouth	Being enraged and show it
Flash In The Pan	Something that shows potential or looks promising in the beginning but fails to deliver anything in the end
Field Day	An enjoyable day or circumstance
Finding Your Feet	Being comfortable in whatever you are doing
Finger licking’ good	A very tasty food or meal
Feeding Frenzy	An aggressive attack on someone by a group
From hand to hand	From one person to another
Foul play	cheating

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “G”:

Good wine needs no bush	there is no need to advertise something good
Get Your Walking Papers	Get fired from a job
Get Down to Brass Tacks	To become serious about something
Get Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed	Someone who is having a horrible day.
Go Out On A Limb	Put yourself in a tough position in order to support someone/something
Go The Extra Mile	Going above and beyond whatever is required for the task at hand.
Graveyard Shift	Working hours from about 12:00 am to 8:00 am. The time of the day when most other people are sleeping
Go Dutch	Splitting bills

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “H”:

Hit The Sack	Go to sleep
Hit The Nail on the Head	Do something exactly right or say something exactly right.
Hit The Hay	Go to sleep
High on the Hog	Living in Luxury
Have an Axe to Grind	To have a dispute with someone.
He Lost His Head	Angry and overcome by emotions
Head over heels	Very excited, joyful
Hell in a Hand basket	Deteriorating and headed for complete disaster.
Haste Makes Waste	Quickly doing things results in a poor ending

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “I”:

In high spirits	Very happy
In a nutshell	By summing up the words
If wishes were horses, beggars might ride	if all people’s wishes came true every body would be rich
Icing On The Cake	When you already have it good and get something on top of what you already have.
Idle Hands Are The Devil’s Tools	You are more likely to get in trouble if you have nothing to do
In The Heat Of The Moment	Overwhelmed by what is happening in the moment
It Takes Two To Tango	A two person conflict where both people are at fault.
Its Anyone’s Call	A competition where the outcome is difficult to judge or predict

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “J”:

John bull	An English man
Jay walk	Crossing the road without using crossing
Joshing me	Tricking me

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “K”:

Know the Ropes	To understand the details
Knee Jerk Reaction	A quick and automatic response
Keep your chin up	To remain joyful in a tough situation
Keep An Eye On Him	Carefully watching on someone

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “L”:

Loose cannon	Someone who can cause damage if not kept in check
Like a chicken with its head cut off	To act in anger
Level playing field	A fair competition where no side has an advantage
Let The Cat Out Of The Bag	To share a secret that wasn’t suppose to be shared
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie	To avoid restarting a conflict
Lend Me Your Ear	To politely ask for someone’s full attention.

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “M”:

Move Heaven and earth	Try one’s best to achieve something in life
Make hay while the sun shines	take advantage of all opportunities
Make Both ends meet	To make expenditure own limit as per income
Man of Straw	A very weak person
Mother Wit	Common sense
Midas Touch	Who has extraordinary power to make everything profitable
Make No Bones About	To state a fact so there are no doubts

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “N”:

Never cross the Bridge until you come to it	don’t anticipate difficulties
Not to know a B from a bull’s foot	to be ignorant of even the simplest things
Nig-Nag	Poking to irritate someone
Nook and corner	At each and every place
No love lost	Who has no love in his/her life

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “O”:

On and On	Continue on same thing or process
Oily tongue	Language try to please someone

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “P”:

Pandora’s box	A box full of difficulties
Play Ducks and Drakes	To Waste money on un-usable articles
Pulling one’s leg	To make fun of other person
Poison someone’s ears	To speak to someone against a person
Putting the cat among the pigeons	An unliked statement by no of persons

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “R”:

Royal Road	Easy way
Red Tapism	Official formalities
Red handed	Man caught while committing a crime
Rain like cats and dogs	Heavy raining

Idioms and Phrases Starting with “S”:

Stone’s throw	Very near
Steal a march	Get an advantage by secret means
Stand on one’s own legs	Independent
Snake in grass	Secret enemy
Smell a rat	To suspect
Slip of tongue	Spoken without understanding
See red	Very angry
Shoulder to Shoulder	Very fast friend or relative in difficult time

Important Idioms and Phrases Starting with “T”:

Throw cold water Upon	To Discourage someone
Tooth and Nail	Very hardly/Violently
To have an axe to grind	to have some selfish objective in view
To take up arms	to fight, to go to war
To cause bad blood	to cause rancor
To build castles in the air	To day dream
To lead to the altar	To marry

Important Idioms and Phrases Starting with “U”:

Uphill task	Very difficult task
Up and Down	Good and Bad time

Important Idioms and Phrases Starting with “W”:

White elephant	Very expensive but of no use
Wet Blanket	Spoils the enjoyment
Word for Word	Reply in same manner
Wild goose chase	Useless search

THANK YOU!!!