2nd Year English Most Important Idioms

 2nd Year English 

Most Important Idioms

ABOVE BOARD:

All his business with others is above board.

AT LENGTH 

At length they won the match.

A ROLLING STONE:

A rolling stone gathers no moss.

A WHITE ELEPHANT:

This old car is just a white elephant to us.

AT LARGE:

The thief was at large.

ALADIN’S LAMP:

I do not have an Aladdin’s lamp to build a house.

A LAUGHING STOCK:

He is the laughing stock of our school.

A LAME EXCUSE:

Your illness is a lame excuse for leave.

A MAN OF LETTERS.

My teacher is a man of letters.

A RED LETTER DAY:

The 14th of august is a red-letter day for us.

A RAINY DAY:

We should save money for a rainy day.

AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR:

He reached the station at the eleventh hour.

ALL AND SUNDRY:

He invited all and sundry to the party.

AT DAGGERS DRAWN:

The two parties are at daggers drawn.

A WILD GOOSE CHASE.

His search for the car is only wild goose chase.

A MAIDEN SPEECH:

We liked his maiden speech in the assembly.

BY HOOK OR BY CROOK:

He wants to pass the exams by hook or by crook.

BRING UP:

He was brought up in a noble family.

BY FITS AND STARTS:

They fail because they study by fits and starts.

BURNING QUESTION:

Kashmir is a burning question for us.

BETWEEN TWO FIRES:

A wise man always avoids being between two fires.

BY AND LARGE:

By and large, I am happy with my life.

BREAK INTO / IN:

The thieves broke into his house last night.

BREAK WITH:

Do not break with your friends.

BACK UP:

She refused to back up his plan.

BETTER HALF:

His better half is a teacher.

BREAK THE ICE:

He started talking to break the ice.

BAG AND BAGGAGE:

He left the house with bag and baggage.

BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL:

Many students burn the mid-night oil near the examination.

BREAK THE NEWS:

I break the news of his father’s death to her.

BREAK OUT

Bird’s flue broke out in our city.

BRING IN

My job does not bring in much but I enjoy it.

BED OF ROSES

Life is not a bed of roses.

CARRY THE DAY 

Ali carried the day in local election.

CUT A SORRY FIGURE

He cut a sorry figure in the interview.

COME OFF

This label will soon come off.

CUT OFF

He cut a branch off the tree.

HEART AND SOUL

He loves me heart and soul.

KITH AND KIN.

We should love our kith and kin.

TOOTH AND NAIL

He fought tooth and nail. 

LOOK FOR

We look for sincere friends everywhere.

PUT DOWN

The revolt was put down with an iron hand.

UNDER A CLOUD

Ali was under a cloud.

UPTO DATE

We like up-to-the date styles of clothes.

PUT ON

He put on new clothes for the party.

HARD AND FAST

These are the hard and fast rules of the games.

PUT OFF

I may put off my visit to Lahore.

FOR GOOD

He left the city for good.

PART AND PARCEL

Religion is a part and parcel of our life.

MAKE UP

He is trying to make up for the loss in the business.

TURN UP

Their guests will turn up soon.

FAIR PLAY

We want to have fair play everywhere.

IN A FIX

He is in a fix about his marriage.

LOOK AFTER

Razia looks after this girl.

OUT AND OUT

He is out and out gentleman.

GET THROUGH

You will get through the examination.

MAKE GOOD

You must make good this loss.

SEND FOR

I have sent for the doctor.

TAKE AFTER

Ali takes after his father.

NIP IN THE BUD

Evil habits must be nipped in the bud.

TO TAKE TO TASK

Father took his son to task.

TO BRING TO BOOK

The government should bring to book all corrupt people.

TO GET WIND OF

She may get wind of your plans from your friends.

GET ABOUT

They get about in their car easily.

TO GET RID OF

I want to get rid of old car.

TURN OVER A NEW LEAF

Let us turn over a new leaf and begin a new life.

SEE OFF

We went to the station to see mother off.

FOR THE SAKE OF

We should work hard for the sake of country.

THROUGH THICK AND THIN

He will be with you through thick and thin.

RED TAPE.

Red tape is a curse in a society

GIVE UP

He did not give up smoking.

GIVE AND TAKE

Life is a matter of give and take.

IN FULL SWING

The summer is in full swing.

TO TAKE A FANCY TO

Everyone will take a fancy to the film

TO CATCH RED HANDED

The thief was caught red- handed.

UP TO THE MARK

Your book is not up to the mark.

ON THE EVE OF

He worked hard on the eve of examination.

END IN SMOKE

All of his efforts ended in smoke.

RUN OVER

The train ran over the bus.

TURN DOWN

He turned down your request.

TURN OVER

Please, turn the page over.

IN BLACK AND WHITE

I have all their planes in black and white.

BAD BLOOD

There is no bad blood between the two brothers.

BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS

We can progress by leaps and bounds if we work hard.

A BLACK SHEEP

He is the black sheep of the family.

A MAN OF PARTS

Allama Iqbal was a man of parts.

CHILD`S PLAY

It is not a child’s play to write a book.

NOW AND THEN

We meet our school friends now and then.

GIVE IN

I will not give in to him.

PUT ASIDE /BY

CALL A SPADE A SPADE

Call a spade a spade, and tell the truth.

AN AXE TO GRIND

Every politician has an axe to grind.

ON THE HORNS OF DILEMMA

I am on the horns of dilemma, to stay in the city.

PUT OUT

Please, put out the candle.

A SNAKE IN THE GRASS

Ali is the snake in the grass.

A BOLT FROM THE BLUE

The loss of his job was a bolt from the blue.

STORM IN A TEA CUP

His protest is only a storm in a tea cup

SET IN 

The rainy season has set in.

COME OF

I applied for a job many times but nothing came of my efforts.

WITH OPEN ARM

They welcomed their guests with open arm.

TURN A DEAF EAR TO

The office turned a deaf ear to my request.

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