LEARNING IDIOMS

Idioms Are The Vanity-Case of A Language, Each With A Beauty of Its Own, Distinct And Special, But Applicable To Not All and Sundry, As Is True of Cosmetics.
Idioms are a special way of conveying a particular meaning in a particular situation. Every language has its own idioms, which are used to embellish creative expression and to lend it a distinct flavour. Since the cultural contexts in many cultures are equivalent in terms of meaning, you will find plenty of idioms in different languages, which carry almost the same meaning, which points to the universality of human thought in similar situations. Since idioms carry special meanings, which are different from the meanings of their components in general, it is important not to use an idiom in a particular context unless one is absolutely sure of its meaning and import. Herein follows a selection of the most important idioms in the English language. Each idiom is followed by its meaning and a sentence to illustrate its usage in a particular context. After going through them and gaining a preliminary grasp of their meaning and usage, try to use them in sentences of your own. This will serve to implant their meanings in your mind on a permanent basis. You can ask your instructor whenever in doubt about the usage of any particular idiom. Once you gain mastery over these, you can definitely use them to embellish your creative expression while writing an essay or paragraph, prcis etc. Certain tests on idioms require you to find out the best possible way of using a particular idiom. You will be given an idiom and will be suggested four different sentences illustrating the use of that particular idiom. You are supposed to select the choice, which correctly illustrates the use of that idiom. Alternatively, you may be given an idiom along with four possible meanings thereof as answer choices. Obviously, you have to select the best possible meaning out of the choices given to you. Some seldf0-quizzes have been given at the end to help you assess yourself on the knowledge of idioms. You may use them to evaluate yourself once you have learnt all these idioms.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

1. To burn ones boats (or bridges): to take an irreversible decision, to leave no way to escape a situation: A. by signing the WTO accord, India has burnt its boats behind itself because it will have to compulsorily follow the regulations framed by the accord. B. When Asmita became a nun, she burnt her boats behind herself. 2. To meet ones Waterloo : a decisive or final defeat : The Australian Cricket Team had been on a winning spree for long, but at the hands of the Indian cricket team, it met its Waterloo thanks to excellent team-play by the Indian team. 3. Beat black and blue: beat severely: The thief was caught red-handed by the colony residents and was beaten black and blue before being handed over to the police. 4. Above Board: honest, beyond doubt or question: You may not agree with his plans, but you cannot doubt his sincerity of approach, it is above board. 5. All and sundry: everyone without exception: The musical concert was not meant for the elite few, it was thrown open to all and sundry. 6. Apple of ones eyes: centre of love, affection, and ones favourite: A. Every child is the apple of its parents eyes. B. Since he was the star performer of the school in virtually every activity, he was the apple of the teachers' eyes. 7. All agog: full of excitement: The city was all agog yesterday because a beauty contest was being held in the city hall. 8. Apple of discord: cause of enmity, dispute: This old building has been the apple of discord between the two brothers for long. 9. At an arms length: at a distance away: You must keep notorious characters at an arms length from you because they tend to spoil your reputation also. 10. To clean the Augean stables : to perform a great cleansing job : If the BJP wants to regain its old

image of being a party with difference, it will have to clean the Augean stables of defence scams unearthed by the media recently. 11. All Greek: beyond comprehension: I am not acquainted with computers at all, so any article on this topic is all Greek to me. 12. Bag and baggage: completely: He has no intentions of returning to this place, so he has left the city bag and baggage. 13. Bad blood: ill-will, enmity, spite: There has been bad blood between India and Pakistan for close to 50 years now. 14. Body and soul: thoroughly, completely: He immersed himself in his new job body and soul because he was keen to prove his credentials to his new boss. 15. To hit below the belt: unfair attack: Attacking the personal life of a candidate during election is certainly hitting below the belt, one should talk of politics. 16. To give wide berth to: to keep away: You should give a wide berth to such disgraceful people. 17. Between Scylla and Charybdis: between two great dangers: A soldier on the front has to fight and be killed or give up and face a court-martial; he is literally between Scylla and Charybdis. 18. A bird of passage: a roaming or wandering person: 19. A birds eye view: a general or panoramic view: The Monkey Point in Kasauli can give you a birds eye view of Chandigarh. 20. Birds of a feather: like-minded, similar people: Birds of a feather always flock together. 21. Jump the track: To change from one thought to another without plan: Magroor was doing his maths homework but his mind kept jumping the track about the new boy in the class. 22. A piece of mind: scolding: The mischievous students were given a piece of mind by the College Principal.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

23. Helter-skelter : here and there : The rioting mob ran helter-skelter when the police came on the scene. 24. A black sheep : dishonourable, disgraceful person : A single black sheep in a profession is enough to defame the whole professional community. 25. Blue blood : royal ancestry : Prince Charles of England has blue blood running in his veins. 26. To make ones blood creep : become very scared : Horror movies like Darwaaza make my blood creep. 27. To draw the long bow: To exaggerate the things: When he referred to the tiny meeting hall as an auditorium, I felt he was really drawing the long bow. 28. Bread and butter : basic needs of life, roti, kapda aur makaan : He got his bread and butter by working as a roadside vendor, but managed to add a bit of jam by working as an orchestra singer. 29. To make a clean breast of : make an honest confession of ones wrongdoings : The fear of torture at the hands of the local police forced him to make a clean breast of his crimes in the past. 30. To burn ones fingers : suffer losses : Millions of shareholders have burnt their fingers in the recent stock-market scam, in future they will think hundred times putting their hard-earned money in stocks. 31. To burn the candle at both ends: spend lavishly, wastefully: Burning the candle at both ends will empty even the biggest treasure, you must be cautious. 32. To bury the hatchet: forget old enmity : India and Pakistan should now bury the hatchet and start living like friendly neighbourers. 33. A brown study : daydreaming or reverie : Many students indulge in a brown study during their college classes. 34. By and by : slowly : There is no instant solution for such problems, the situation will improve by and by. 35. Beside the point: off the subject or point : What you are saying is beside the point, it will not carry any

weight with the magistrate when he hears the case. 36. A bed of roses : a pleasant position, job or place : After the back- breaking work of an army trainee for two yeas, the short leave seemed to him like a bed of roses. 37. To beat a retreat : leave hurriedly : When the police came on the scene, the mischievous elements beat a retreat. 38. Keep ones shirt on : Be patient, calm down : On hearing about his indiscreet remarks, she became angry, but her mother advised her to keep her shirt on. 39. To turn ones back upon : refuse to help (in times of need) : We should never turn our back on our friend in times of need. 40. To keep up appearances : to maintain proper outward appearance, seemly appearance : Huge losses in business have rendered him poorer, but he still moves in a car and tries to keep up appearances as before. 41. To sow wild oats: commit wild, foolish mistakes at young age: Though he must have sown his wild oats as a teenager, but now he is quite sensible and rational. 42. To cross the Rubicon: To take a final decision: By deciding to join the army as an officer, he has crossed the Rubicon because he cannot opt out of it on his own. 43. On the cards: about to happen: A common test for admission to all engineering colleges called NEST is on the cards, as proposed by the Ministry of Human Resources Development. 45. A cat and dog life: a fighting or quarreling life: Many married couples lead a cat and dog life, which is the most unfortunate thing. 46. To catch napping : to take advantage of someones temporary carelessness : India was caught napping by Pakistan during the Kargil war because the Indian intelligence agencies had failed to warn the

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

defence forces regarding the Pak build-up along the border. 47. To chew the cud : to think or deliberate over something : The complex issue of poverty in India requires all of us to chew the cud over it. 48. Chicken-hearted person : a weak-hearted person : You cannot expect chicken-hearted people like him to defend the borders of the country 49. Cats paw : a pawn, a person used by others : The young leader did not realize that the party seniors were using him as a cats paw against the opposition by putting him in the forefront. 50. Under a cloud : under suspicion : After the match-fixing scandal, the reputation of most cricketers in India is under a cloud. 51. Turncoat : who changes ideologies or parties often, a defector : Dr. Subramanyam Swami has been a turncoat from the beginning; initially he was in the Congress, later he went obvert to the BJP and now he is the chief of Janata Party. 52. To come to grief : to regret : People who do not pay heed to their elders advice often come to grief later on. 53. To cool ones heels : to wait : We had to cool our heels for four hours when we went to meet the President of India. 54. To count upon : rely on, bank on : You cannot count on such opportunistic friends in times of need. 55. To cross ones mind : to come to mind : As soon as I stepped out of my house, it crossed my mind that I had forgotten my keys at home. 56. As the crow flies : straight-line or radial distance : The crow-fly distance between Delhi and Chandigarh is just 180 Km. 57. Crocodile tears: false sympathy : Most politicians are hardly bothered about the plight of the common people; the sympathy they show for them is nothing but crocodile tears in reality. 58. To take up cudgels : To stand up against authority \ fight injustice : The Students Union has decided to

take up cudgels against the fee-hike by the university authorities. 59. To give the cue : to give hint : He, being a secretive person, did not give us the slightest cue about his future plans. 60. A cock and bull story : a concocted or fabricated story :He is a born liar, I never believe his cock and bull stories about other people. 61. To curry favour : to try to please or ingratiate someone to get a favour : The new trainee tried to curry favour with his boss in order to get an early confirmation of his appointment. 62. To look daggers : to stare angrily : Rini looked daggers at the roadside Romeo who had tried to puncture her scooter in the parking lot. 63. At daggers drawn : ready-to-fight : The erstwhile USSR and the USA had been at daggers drawn with each other during the cold war era. 64. The sword of Damocles : an ever-present, constant danger : The fear of examinations hangs over most students heads like the sword of Damocles. 65. To dance attendance upon : serve / help somebody in a flattering way : Chandu must be hoping for some favour from his boos, thats why he is always keen to dance attendance on the boss orders. 66. To go to dogs ( or to go to seed) : to be ruined : The Indian sports has gone to dogs due to excessive political interference, lack of training facilities and an indifferent government policy. 67. To play ducks and drakes : to squander away resources, to use resources wastefully : Many young people often play ducks and drakes with their parents hard-earned money because they do not realize its worth. .68. Elbow room : freedom for thought or action : Most teenagers squabbles with their parents revolve around getting more elbow room for themselves which the parents are not ready to give. 69. To have ones all eggs in one basket : to stake all resources on one thing : He is a wise fellow and therefore never puts all his eggs in one basket.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

70. At the eleventh hour : at the last time, in the nick of time : Many candidates start their preparations for competitive tests at the eleventh hour and this most often leads to failure. 71. Blaze a trail : To be a pioneer in a new field or activity : Sigmund Freud, by proposing an altogether new theory of psychoanalysis, blazed a new trail in the treatment of mental disorders. 72. Blind alley : A narrow street, which has only one entrance and no exit, a way to nowhere : Tara Chand thought of a novel way to solve the complex equation given by his teacher, but in the end, the new method proved to be a blind alley. 73. Blind leading the blind : Ignorant people trying to explain it to other ignorant people :Tanya doesnt know the basics of computers and she is trying to explain computers to the students, a case of the blind leading the blind. 74. Blow hot or cold : Continually change ones mind about something : You cannot be sure about his viewpoint; due to his capricious nature, he is always blowing hot and cold. 75. Blow the lid off : To reveal the truth about a secret : It was Sucheta Dalal once again, who blew the lid off the Big Bull Story regarding Ketan Parekh and his accomplices. 76. Blue-eyed boy : Favorite : Since Rajat was the blue-eyed boy of the College Principal, he has been accorded many concessions and privileges. 77. Break new ground : Do something that has not been done before: Dr. Manmohan Singh, by initiating the economic reforms programme, literally broke new ground in the field of economic planning and management. 78. Breakthrough: An innovative invention: The completion of the Human Genome Project, which details the entire gene sequence of humans, has been described as a big scientific breakthrough, on par with mans landing on the moon. 79. Breathe down ones neck : To follow closely, watch every action : The servant was not too happy

with his master because of a meagre salary and the fact that he was always breathing down his neck. 80. Breathe ones last: Die, cease to exist: The patient breathed his last yesterday after the protracted illness. 81. Bring a lump to ones throat : Make one feel very emotional : Listening to his sad story for over two hours brought a lump to my throat, I felt like crying over his plight. 82. Broad daylight :(in) full light of day :The most surprising aspect of the whole thing was that he was beaten in broad daylight and yet nobody raised a finger. 83. Build castles in the air : To make impossible or impractical plans : He does not have any acting or singing talent, still he says he will try his luck in Bollywood, he is simply making castles in the air. 84. Bull in china shop : A person who clumsily says or does something to anger others or upset plans : We were on the verge of making the Principal accede to our request for a trip, but all of a sudden, the union leader entered the room like a bull in a china shop and constrained the Principal to say no to our proposal. 85. Burn a hole in ones pocket : To make one want to buy something : The Rs. 100 prize he got at the function burnt a hole in his pocket and he hurriedly went to the chocolate shop to blow it up. 86. Burn the candle at both ends: To spend resources lavishly: Mnay young people burn the candle at both ends with their parents hard-earned money and regret later. 87. Burn the midnight oil : To study late at night : Those appearing for tough competitive tests like the IIT-JEE, CAT and others have to literally burn the mid-night oil in order to succeed. 88. Burst at the seams : To be too full or too crowded : I tried to find a room in the already-packed compartment, which was bursting at the seams. 89. Butterflies in ones stomach : A queer feeling in the stomach caused by nervous fear or uncertainty :

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

Appearing for ones first interview can really give butterflies in ones stomach. 90. By dint of : By the exertion of : He was able to climb the corporate ladder by dint of sheer hardwork and dedication. 91. By fits and starts : With many stops and starts, irregularly : If you work by fits and starts, I am afraid you will not be able to complete it in time. 92. By leaps and bounds : With long steps : The Indian softwarea indsutrty hads grwon by leaps and bounds in the past ten yearas. 93. By the skin of ones teeth : By a narrow margin, barely : She passed the test by the skin of her teeth. 94. Beat about the bush : To talk about things without giving a clear answer : In a job interview, you must not beat about the bush, it is likely to give a wrong impression about your honesty. 95. Arm and leg : An exorbitantly high price that must be paid for something that isnt really worth it : These days, we have to pay an arm and leg for getting treatment in a hospital 96. By the sweat of ones brow : By hard work : Lal Bahadur Shastri was born in a poor family, yet he was able to become the Prime Minister by the sweat of his brow only. 97. By virtue of : On the strength of : The Cyano Cyberspace Company was awarded the prestigious project by virtue of its technological superiority over its competitors. 98. Call a spade a spade : To speak bluntly, call a person or thing a name that is true but not polite : Those people who are in the habit of calling a spade a spade are not liked by many, this is the age of hypocrisy. 99. Call it a day : To stop for the day, quit : Since I had already put in 14 hours of work, I decided to call it a day. 100. Call the shots : To give orders : A capable leader knows how to call the shots and get the work done from others.

101. Can of worms. A complex problem : Lets avoid the topic of American dominance over other countries, it is a different can of worms, which demands thorough analysis. 102. Not see the woods for the trees : To criticize small things and ignore the future achievements : Our educational system is such that the teachers often put more emphasis on memorization of facts and overlook creativity among students, thus not seeing the woods for the trees. 103.Carrot and stick : The promise of reward and threat of punishment : Traditional management theories advocate a carrot and stick approach to managing human resources in an organization. 104.Carry a torch : To show great, unchanging loyalty to a cause / person : Despite the fall of communism in most parts of the world, many communists still carry a torch for it. 105.Carry coal to Newcastle : To do something unnecessary : Sending mangoes to Saharanpur for sale is just like sending coals to Newcastle. 106. Come to grief: Meet trouble, disappointment or ruin: Those youngsters who do not pay attention to their parents' advice often come to grief. 107. Carry out : To put into action : The economic reforms outlined by Dr. Manmohan Singh require us to carry out many corrections in the economic functioning of the country. 108.Carry the day : Win completely : India carried the day in their cricket match against Australia thanks to fine bowling by the young sensation Harbhajan Singh. 109. Cart before the horse : Things in wrong order; something backwards or mixed up : Engaging a caterer and a tentwallah before even the match has been fixed up for the girl is like putting the cart before the horse. 110. Case in point : An example that proves something or helps to make something clearer : Revolutions, people say, eat up their own children. A case in point is the glasnost and perestroika initiated by

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

Gorbachev in early 1990s, which changed the socio-economic face of Russia forever, but dislodged him from power. 111. Cast a spell over : Fascinate, hold someones complete attention : Hrithik Roshan has cast a spell over the young generation by acting in just one movie Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. 112. Cast pearl before swine : To waste good acts or valuable things on someone who wont understand or be thankful for them : Giving a lecture on truthfulness and honesty to a politician is like casting pearls before a swine, Ill never do that. 113. Catch someone with his/her pants down : Find someone in an embarrassing and undignified position : The CBI caught the officer with his pants down while he was demanding a Rs. 1-lakh bribe to get the partys work done. 114. Catch-22 : a paradoxical situation, a regulation or situation that is self-contradictory or that conflicts with another regulation : The catch-22 of many educated unemployed youth is that the employers require job experience as a necessary condition for employment, but the only way to get job experience is to get a job. 115. Change colour : Become pale with fear : The showroom owner changed colour as soon as he spotted the Income-tax authorities entering his shop for a raid. 116. Change of heart : A change in the way one feels about something : Initially, the BJP was perceived as a fundamentalist party, but slowly there has been a change of hearts among people and they have started regarding it more kindly. 117. At a standstill : Not moving : Ever since the demise of the dynamic Chairman, all activities in the company are at a standstill. 118. At cross-purposes : With opposing meanings or aims : Ver often, different government department work at cross-purposes, leading to wastage of money, resources and time.

119. At ones beck and call : Ready and willing to do whatever someone asks : I am always at your beck and call, just call in case you need my services. 120. At the drop of a hat : Without waiting : Most Opposition leaders criticize every government step at the drop of a hat, without thinking of its meaning. 121. Aunt Sally : Some one or something that is always being blamed : The increasing population of India is often used as the Aunt Sally for all the problems that plague it, but the reality is much more complicated. 122. Babe in the woods : A person who is experienced or innocent in certain things : You may be very smart and shrewd, but you cannot befool him for he is no babe in the woods. 123. Bang on time : Very punctual : He has the reputation of being bang on time at every function to which he is invited; so much so that you can set your watch by his arrival. 124. Bank on : To depend : You cannot bank on such opportunistic friends to help you in times of need. 125. Beef up : To make stronger by adding personnel or equipment : The local police is beefing up security in the city in view of the forthcoming visit of the President. 126. Beggar description : Be impossible to describe properly : The beauty of the great Mughal monument Tajmahal on a moonlit night beggars description, so say the visitors. 127. Chapter and verse : Giving all the reasons for something or source of something :When the teacher asked the student the reason for his 15-day absence from school, the student gave the chapter and verse for it. 128. Cheek by jowl : Adjacent, Often with reference to contrasting things : Abject poverty exists cheek by jowl with stinking luxury in the big bad city of Bombay.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

129. Chew the fat : To talk together in an idle manner, friendly chat : The three of us often used to chew the fat in the canteen after office-hours. 130. Chicken feed : A very small sum of money : The department had asked for a generous grant of Rs. 100 Crore for its next budget from the government, but what is really got was simply chicken feed.- a grant of Rs. 2 Crore. 131. Chicken-livered : Easily scared : One cannot expect chicken-livered people to defend the borders of the country. 132.Clear the decks : Make everything ready so that things can be done :The Supreme Court, by dismissing all objections against the construction of the Narmada Dam, has cleared the decks for restarting work on it. 133. Cliffhanger : A sports event or a movie in which the outcome is uncertain to the very end :During the Indo -Pak cricket match in Karachi, there seemed to be a changing tilt every half an hour in favour of either of the teams ; it was a real cliffhanger game. 134.Close shave : Narrow escape : By sheer luck, he had a close shave in an accident, which killed all other occupants of the vehicle in which he was traveling. 135. Cock a snook at : Show ones disrespect for : Many young people cock a snook at their elders advice, they realize its worth much later. 136. Cold comfort : Not much consolation : Getting an unemployment allowance of Rs. 150 per month after failing to get a job for 3 years continuously is nothing but cold comfort for a jobless person. 137. Cold feet : A loss of courage or nerve; a failure or loss of confidence in oneself : The students union leader was exhorting the students to go on a strike against the fee hike, but when the Principal came on the scene, he developed cold feet and was not able to utter a single word.

138. Cool as a cucumber : Very calm and brave; but not nervous : I was surprised to see a person as cool as cucumber in the face of such grave problems like a failed business, divorce and social ostracism. 139. Crackpot : An eccentric or crazy person : Osho Rajneesh was initially regarded by the Indians as a crackpot, it took a while for them to realize his true genius. 140. Cream of the crop : The best of the group; the top choice : The students who have been chosen to represent the country at the International Physics Olympiad represent the cream of the crop as they have been chosen after rigorous all-India tests and interviews. 141. Come to grips with : To get hold of in close fighting, tackle : If we really want to take India forward, we have to come to grips with the pervasive problems of illiteracy, unemployment and corruption. 142. Cry over spilled milk : To cry or complain about something : It is little use crying over spilled milk now, we must try to ensure that such things do not reoccur in future. 143. Crack down.: To enforce laws or rules strictly : In a major anti-corruption initiative, the government has decided to crack down on corrupt officers and dismiss them straightway. 144. Cut above : A bit better than : Companies try to add as many features as possible into their sales plans so as to become a cut above the others (rest). 145. Cut ice : To make a difference; make an impression : The arguments given by him in favour of going to Bollywood did not cut any ice with his parents and they did not budge at all. 146. Cut ones cloth according to ones cloth : Try to do only what is possible with the resources available : Cutting ones coat according to the cloth is always a sensible policy. 147. Act ones age : Behave responsibly : You must not indulge in such childish pranks, you are grown up and must act your age now.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

148. Cut up : To hurt the feelings of, wound : The senior party leader felt cut up on being denied an assembly ticket by the party high command and therefore thought of resigning from the post. 149.Cut ones teeth : Start to learn a job or skill : You cannot expect him to be an expert at accounting because he is still cutting his teeth in this profession. 150. Against time : As a test of speed or time : One has to work practically against time in a competitive test in order to succeed. 151. Wash ones dirty linen in public : To talk about ones private quarrels : Washing your opponents dirty linen in public is against the accepted norms of election campaigning. 152. After someones blood : Anxious to punish : The opposition parties are after the governments blood in the tehelka case. 153. Above all : Of first or highest importance; most especially : He has many positive qualities in him, but above all, he is absolutely honest. 154. Alive and Kicking : Alive and in good health : Everybody feared that none will be able to survive the accident, but to everyones surprise, the lone baby in the car was alive and kicking. 155. All ears : Very eager to hear : When the chief guest rise to address the audience, everybody in the hall was all ears. 156. Cup of tea : Something one enjoys or does well; a special interest : Teaching is not everybodys cup of tea, it requires special aptitude and abilities. 157. Come a cropper : To fail : Despite all the high hopes raised regarding Indias Light Combat Aircraft, it has come a cropper so far. 158. Creature comforts : Physical needs of a person; physical things which one make comfortable :Creature comforts like food, clothes and housing are indispensable to all. 159. Cut corners : To take a short way ; save money : A. Cutting corners on the road may cut one life short forever, one should follow the traffic rules.

B. You should not cut corners while building a new house, it can cost you dear in the long run. 160. About time : Finally, but later than it should have been : It is about time that we enforced the family planning norms in a stringent manner to control the booming population. 161. Achilles heel : Weak point : I have always scored poorly in mathematics because it has been my Achilles heel since childhood. 162. At a loose end : With nothing to do : Ever since he has retired from active service, he feels quite bored because he is at a loose end these days. 163. Bide ones time : To await an opportunity :You should be careful about your opponents because they have not disappeared, rather they are biding their time to mount an attack on you. 164. Big frog in a small pond : An important person in a small place : As the Managing Director of the small finance firm, he was a big frog in a small pond ; but he had no experience of working in big organizations. 165. Big head : Haughty, arrogant : Nobody in the office really likes Nathu Prasad because he has got such a big head that he considers others to be simply idiots. 166. Come full circle: To be completely opposite in belief or action from ones starting point: The Congress which used to oppose the free economy model earlier has now come full circle and ahs started pursuing it vigorously. 167. Come of age : Reach twenty one year of age, become mature : The Indian voter always votes for a party which seems likely to deliver the goods, in a sense, his political experience has made him wiser and he has really come of age now. 168. Cook up : To plan and put together : Nobody really believed the servant when he rattled off the story cooked up by him to explain the absence of gold ornaments in the almirah locker. 169. Couldnt care less : To be indifferent; not care at all : The students couldnt care less about the chief

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

guests speech, they kept on whispering throughout the address. 170. Create a scene : Cause a commotion : Lets not create a scene here in the bazaar, its better to solve the problem across the table. 171. Crunch comes / it comes to the crunch : The important, vital point comes for decision : When it came to the crunch on how to deal with the declining profit situation, the company decided to sack onefourth of the employees. 172. Cut and dried : Decided or expected beforehand; following the same old line; doing the usual thing : The function witnessed many cut-and-dried speeches by the same old bunch of politicians. 173. Cut down to size : To prove that someone is not as good as he thinks : By refusing to buy the Supercomputer under pressure, India cut the USA down to size. 174.Cut the ground from under someone: Suddenly put someone in a position where he cannot argue or resist: She denied having any involvement with the man, but her mother cut the ground from under her by showing her photographs depicting her with the man. 175. Across the board :including everyone, everything : The government has decided to impose an across the board Gujarat Earthquake surcharge of 2 percent on the Income Tax payable to it. 176. Add fuel to the fire : To make a bad matter worse by adding to its cause : Gimmis mother was already annoyed with her academic performance, she added fuel to the fire by saying that she wanted to marry a boy of her choice. 177. Add insult to injury : To hurt someones feeling after doing him harm : Ramdeen added insult to injury by calling Nadu a dog after thrashing him severely. 178. Against the grain : So as to annoy or trouble : Committing acts of treachery went against the grain of the brave and patriotic soldier.

179. All in all : Taking everything into consideration, overall : He does have many negative points along with some positive ones, but I feel that all in all, he is a nice person. 180. As thick as thieves : Very friendly : The two friends were on bad terms with each other until recently, but they are as thick as thieves now after starting a partnership business. 181. Back to square one : Back to the situation at which one started : He had made big money as a stock investor by staring from an humble position, but after the recent stock-market crash, he is back to square one. 182. Bakers dozen : 13, roughly a dozen : How many pieces do you need, Sir ? Oh! Make it a bakers dozen, He replied. 183. Bat an eyelid : To show surprise : As I went on telling the sensational story in all its details, he did not bat an eyelid as if it did not affect him in any way. 184. Beat ones head against a wall : To struggle uselessly against something that cant be beaten or helped : Trying to teach a hardened criminal the values of humanity is like beating ones head against a wall. 185. Beg the question : avoid or not answer a question : His speech still begs the question whether the condition of compulsory attendance at all lectures has been waived or not. 186. Better half : Ones marriage partner (mostly refers to wife) : Look ! She is my better half said Johnny to Patwant, pointing to a petite, young lady. 187. All hell break loose: Great confusion or anger: When the airlines announced that the aircraft was scheduled to take off eight hours behind schedule due to a technical fault, all hell broke loose in the airport lounge. 188. All told: Including everything / everyone: There were not more than 20 people at the function, all told. 189. As black as thunder: Furious, very angry: When the shop-owner found that the servant had

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

decamped with the money given to him for official purposes, he was as black as thunder. 190. As luck would have it: By chance, luckily or unluckily: As luck would have it, the earthquake occurred at daytime and not many people were sleeping, otherwise the damage would have been colossal. 191. At a loss: Puzzled, uncertain: I was at a loss for words when I spotted the strange scene. 192. At close quarters: From a short distance, closely: He can never sympathize with the elderly, because he has never seen their pitiable plight from close quarters. 193. At length: In detail: You must study the document at length in order to understand its implications for all of us. 194. At odds: Conflicting, in disagreement: The boy developed a liking for the girl, but later on found that many of his ideas were at odds with hers. 195. At ones wits end: Puzzled, confused as to how to solve a problem: In order to overcome his bad situation, he had tried all possible means, but having failed, he was at his wits end. 196. At sixes and sevens: in confusion, disorder: The traffic on the road was at sixes and sevens after the ghastly accident. 197. At sea: bewildered, confused, lost: Since he was new to the office, he was at sea regarding where to find which file. 198. At pains: Making special effort: The young officer was at pains to explain the merits of his proposal to his seniors at the meeting. 199. At the bottom of: Responsible for something bad or criminal: The colony residents wonder who is at the bottom of the recent spate of thefts and burglaries in the area. 200. At the eleventh hour: At the last time: The condemned criminal got relief at the eleventh hour when his mercy petition was accepted by the President an hour before his hanging

201. An axe to grind: A selfish motive, personal interest : In suggesting the use of Over-Head Projector in classroom to the Principal, the teacher had an axe to grind because her husband used to sell such equipment. 202. Back and forth: Backwards and forward: The chair has been made in such a way that it can rock back and forth. 203. Bad blood: Anger, ill will due to past relations: There has been a great deal of bad blood between India and Pakistan. 204. Bad Patch: A difficult, unlucky period: We must help him because he has hit a bad patch for no fault of his. 205. Bag and baggage: Completely, with everything: The erring hostlers were thrown out of the hostel bag and baggage by the strict Hostel Warden. 206. Birds and bees: Facts about sex and birth: An NCERT committee has recommended the teaching of birds and bees in the school syllabi at the high school level. 207. Bite off more than one can chew: To try to do something beyond ones ability: By deciding to become the producer-director-script-writer-lyricistcomposer-singer, Himesh Reshamiya has bitten off more than he can chew. 208. Black and white: In writing: He insisted on having the agreement in black and white so that nobody could backtrack on it later. 209. Black sheep : Dishonourable, discreditable person : Dr. Khanna is the black sheep of our citys medical frtaernity, he is always in some kind of trouble with his patienst due to wronmg disgnosis, overcharging or law suits. 210. Blow over: To end with little or no bad effect: Everybody feared that the falling space-station MIR would create great havoc wherever it landed, but luckily the crisis soon blew over because it hurtled into the Pacific Ocean.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

211. Body blow: Severe blow, shock: Failure in the preliminary audition dealt a body blow to his ambitions of becoming a singing star in Bollywood. 212. Boil down: Basically, mainly: The whole debate now boils down to a simple question: whether people should take the things as they are or try to change them. 213. Bolt from the blue : Sudden, intense shock : The new of his fathers untimely death was like a bolt from the blue for him. 214. Bone of contention : Reason for quarrel, dispute : Kashmir has been the bone of contention between India and Pakistan for the past half a century. 215. Born with a silver spoon in mouth: Born in rich, luxurious atmosphere: Those born with a silver spoon in mouth can never realize how difficult it is to earn a living by hard work. 216. Bad patch: Difficult time: I' ve hit a bad patch recently and I want a loan to support myself. 217. Brazen it out: Act as if one was not guilty: The thief was caught red-handed, yet he brazened it out by saying that the stolen money belonged to him. 218. Break even : Have no profit or loss : Sony expects to break even this year after suffering 8 consecutive years of losses. 219. Bring down the house : To make an audience start clapping, laughing : The comedians speech was very funny and it brought the house down. 220. By all means : Certainly :By all means, he is the best singer in the college. 221. By a long shot :By a big difference :He performed better than others, by a long shot. 222. By and large : Mostly, usually : By and large, this area has not witnessed such burglaries and thefts in the pats. 223. By default : Because of a lack of other possibilities: Since he was the only one who had applied for the post, it went to him by default.

224. By hook or by crook : By any means, by honest or dishonest means : People try to become successful these days by hook or by crook. 225. Call attention to : Draw someones attention : The newspaper article called attention to the sorry state of affairs regarding cleanliness in the town. 226. Dressing down: Scolding: The mischievous student was given a dressing down by the class teacher. 227. Call names: Unkind words, abuses : The Opposition leader did not hesitate to call the Prime Minister names. 228. Call ones bluff : To ask somebody to prove his claim : The shopkeeper claimed that the bread was fresh, but II doubted it, so I called his bluff Show me the manufacturing date . 229. Chips off the old block: A person very much like his parents : From his looks and acts, one can make out that he is a chip off the old block. 230. Clip ones wings: To prevent ones success, to limit someone: Since the new manager tried to dominate the organization, the Chairman soon clipped his wings by ordering that all decisions were to be approved by the Chairman. 231. Cold shoulder: dislike or look down upon a person: The Club Council turned a cold shoulder to the members request for joining the club. 232.Cold war: A war without shooting or bombing, psychological tension and conflict: The cold war between the USA and Russia ended in early 1990s. 233.Come a long way: Make great progress: We have come a long way during the past 50 years when we had started as a small school in a one-room apartment. 234. Come-back: A successful re-appearance: Kapil Dev has decided to stage a come-back to the world of active sports after being cleared in the Hansiegate scandal. 235. Come to ones senses: To think clearly, act sensibly: The accident gave him such an intense

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

shock that he could not come to his senses even three hours after it. 236. Common ground: Shared beliefs, ideas or ways of working: The two friends soon alienated from each other as they had little common ground between themselves. 237. Contradiction in terms: Contradictory expression: For me to speak on the topic honest politicians seems to be a contradiction in terms. 238. Count ones chickens before they are hatched: To depend on getting a benefit before one actually has it: When Jantu told his father he would be made the College President, his father advised him not to count the chickens before they were hatched. 239. Cry wolf: To raise a false alarm: If you cry wolf every now and then, a genuine call for help by you is likely to be ignored by most people. 240. Cut the ground from under someone: Put someone in a position in which he cannot argue or resist: The candidate kept on denying the charges of copying, but the flying-squad inspector cut the ground from under him by showing him his handwritten notes found in his desk. 241. Damp squib: Something eagerly expected, but turns out disappointing: Sonia Gandhis Bangalore rally was touted as a rally with a difference, but in the end it turned out to be a damp squib. 242. Darby and Joan: Old, contented couple living together: It was a pleasant surprise to meet Ranus old parents, they area real Darby and Joan couple. 243. Dark horse: A relatively unknown, but potentially meritorious person: Not much publicity was given to Fardeen Khans first movie, but he has proved himself to be a dark horse by putting up a superb performance. 244. Dash ones hopes: Cause one to lose hope: His failure in the preliminary round of the quiz dashed his hopes of coming home with the winners trophy. 245. Dawn on: To become clear: It soon dawned on him that he would not be able to pass the test by

studying for 2-3 hours everyday, he will have to work really hard for it. 246. Day in and day out: Regularly, consistently: Sachin plays excellent cricket day in and day out. 247. Dead tired: Extremely tired: I was dead tired after putting in more than 14 hours of sheer hard work. 248. Deep water: Serious problem or difficulty: When the Vice-Principal acted as Principal for a temporary period of 15 days, he found himself to be in deep water as he never knew the complexities of the job. 249. Deliver the goods: To succeed: He has failed to deliver the goods as the new Chairman of the club. 250. Die is cast: Irrevocable situation, unchangeable: Since you have entered the examination hall, you will have to sit for the test, the die is cast now. 251. Die with boots on: To die while in active service / job: Chinnis father did not like retiring from his profession, he preferred to die with boots on. 252. Dime a dozen: Commonplace, easy-to-get, of little value: Getting a BA in the olden days was a rare honour, but today BAs are a dime a dozen. 253. Do way with: Stop, end: The Municipal Council plans to do way with the system of depositing water bills at the cash counters. 254. Do credit to : To add to someones reputation : His selfless social work has done great credit to his company. 255. Dog-eat-dog : Ready to fight and hurt others to get what one wants : In these days of one-upmanship, people try to achieve their goals in a dog-eat-dog manner. 256. Dog in the manger : Someone, who prevents others from having something, because he himself cannot have it : Since Gunita was not invited to the function, she tried to get it disrupted, she is a real dog in the manger. 257. Dogs life : Miserable, unhappy life : He led a dog s life while he was in jail.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

258. Done to death : Used or done many times: This is the 30th time that I am listening to this song on this show, it is being done to death by the channel. 259. Down in the dumps : Sad, discouraged : He was down in the dumps as soon as he heard the news of his failing the all-important scholarship test. 260. Down the drain : Lost, wasted : Many young people send their parents hard-earned money down the drain as they us it on movies, disco, parties and fashionwear. 261. Down-to-earth : Showing commonsense, practical : He does not believe in having fancy plans, his approach is quite down-to-earth. 262. Draw a blank : To obtain nothing, negative results after effort : Chinmaya contacted all his friends for financial help, but drew a blank everywhere. 263. Dressed to kill : Wearing ones best clothes, so as to impress someone : There must be something special today, Bankotra is dressed to kill. 264. Dry run : Rehearsal, trial attempt : The new missile will be launched next week, but the scientists are having a dry run this week to ascertain any problems. 265. Dutch courage : False sense of bravery due to drinking : He gave himself a bit of Dutch courage by having a few whiskey pegs before going to meet his opponents. 266. Dutch Party : A party at which everybody pays for himself : The invitation to the charity dinner which you have got is in reality a Dutch party. 267. Early bird : An early-riser, a person who acts ahead of others : It is always the early bird that catches the worm, so says the old saying. 268. Ear to the ground : Attention to the goings-on : The Managing Director kept an ear to the ground and thought over the strike for a while before raising the workers salaries. 269. Eat humble pie :To accept insult /shame, admit mistake and apologize : Manoj Prabhakar had to eat an humble pie when it was found that many of his charges against other cricketers were false

270. Eat ones cake and have it too : To use /spend something and keep it too : He was in a dilemma between going for further studies and getting a job. Obviously, he had to choose one because he could not eat the cake and have it too. 271. Eat ones words : To take back ones words as untrue : If you are not able to prove your allegation of corruption against the Chairman, you will have to eat your words. 272. Eat out of someones hands : Be completely under someones control : He is such a docile child that he always eats out of his mothers hands. 273. Eke out : To get by hard work or difficulty : Jugadu eked out a minimal existence by working as a farmhand. 274. Enough is enough : One will not tolerate the situation any more : The Sales Manager told his field staff that they must produce results and that enough was enough. 275. Every now and then : time to time, occasionally : The invigilator took a round every now and then to ensure that nobody was cheating in the test. 276. Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth : Equal revenge, retribution : Many Gulf countries still have medieval criminal laws, they still believe in eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. 277. Face the music : Suffer trouble, danger due to ones acts : The boy caught cheating in the test will have to face the music in the form of rustication from the college. 278. Fair and square : Fair, uncontroversial : His victory in the match did not have any tinge of doubt about it, it was a fair and square affair. 279. Fair play : Justice, right action :The selection of the cricket team did not involve fair play, some names were included due to political pressure. 280. Fair-weather friend: Opportunistic friend: One cannot rely upon fair-weather friends in times of need. 281. Fall behind: Go slower: India had made good progress during the initial years of its Family

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

Planning Programme, but mid-way it fell behind and now we face a population boom. 282. Fall between stools : Neither in this category nor that : The song he composed fell between two stools, it was not sufficiently western to be called pop nor had classical elements to be called raga-based. 283. Fall by the wayside : Fail before finishing : The boys tried to scale the peak, but most of them fell by the wayside. 284. Fall flat : Fail : Shekhar Sumans jokes never fall flat on the audience, they always tickle them. 285. Fall head over heels : Fall deeply in love : He fell head over heels in love with her and asked her to marry him immediately. 286. Fall from grace :To go back to bad ways, lose respect :The brilliant boy fell from grace when he was caught copying in the annual examination. 287. Fall on evil / bad days : Become poor : Long time back, they were very rich people, but of late they fallen on evil days. 288. Fall in with : To meet accidentally, support :A. I fell in with some of my old friends at the Old Students Association meeting. B. I fell in with Moyatindas plan to play a trick on the two friends. 289. Far and wide : Eerywhere : Navanjammyas reputation as a gifted computer programmer spread far and wide. 290. Far cry : Something very different : Everybody expected the leader to announce fresh tax concessions in his speech, but his address was a far cry from it. 291. Fast buck : Money earned fast (sometimes dishonestly) : You cannot earn a fast buck these days in any trade, there is so much competition. 292. Feather in ones cap : An honour : His winning the first position in the test has added another feather to his cap. 293. Feather ones nest : To look after selfish interest : Many district officials are feathering their own nest

with the money and materials collected for the earthquake victims. 294. Feel the pinch : Suffer the effect of something : Poor people most often feel the pinch of rising prices of essential commodities. 295. Feet of clay : Hidden weakness / fault in an honourable person : The honest officer showed that he had feet of clay when he was caught accepting a bribe. 296. Feet on the ground : Sensible ideas : She has her feet firmly on the ground, she knows that modeling is a short-lived career, so she is securing her future by getting a professional degree. 297. Few and far between : Not many, rare : Earlier he used to be a regular visitor to this library, but now his visits are few and far between. 298. Fight tooth and nail : Fight fiercely : The Rani of Jhansi fought the British tooth and nail during the 1857 revolt. 299. Figure out :Solve, understand :He had solved all earlier arithmetic problems given by the teacher, but found it very difficult to figure out the last one. 300. Finger in the pie : Part responsibility or interest or involvement : I am sure that this new officer has no finger in the pie in this mega-scandal, he is absolutely honest. 301. First and foremost : Most importantly, firstly : Whenever solving a question on reasoning, first and foremost, you have to be sure what the examiner is asking. 302.Fish in muddy waters : Take benefit of a dangerous/ confused situation : Pakistan is trying to fish in the muddy waters of Indias troubled states like Kashmir, Assam and Punjab. 303. Fish out of water : Out of place, a person who does not fit in :A. Since Bantu did not know swimming, he felt like a fish out of water at the swimming pool.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

B. Since she was the only girl not wearing the party-dress at the party, she felt like a fish out of water. 304. Fit as a fiddle : In excellent health : The man is close to 100, but is fit as a fiddle. 305. Fit to hold candle : As good as : As a hockeyplayer he is fine, but he cannot hold candle to his elder brother who has played for his state many times. 306. Fizzle out : End in failure, die out : A. The repaired AC worked for two hours but then fizzled out B. The wave of communism sweeping many countries seems to have fizzled out now. 307. Flash in the pan : a fluke, achievement which is a matter of chance : Chapakris success in the test seems to be a flash in the pan, she had neither worked for it nor expected it. 308. Flea market : Place where cheap things and second hand-articles are sold : The traders alleged that their business was suffering due to a flourishing flea market in cellphone handsets. 309. Flesh and blood :a near relative, the appearance of being real or alive : A. It was shocking to hear such things from ones own flesh and blood. B. The novelist failed to give his characters any flesh or blood, his characterization was very poor. 310. Flog a dead horse : Continue doing something when it is no longer possible : He is still trying to arrange the party, but he is flogging a dead horse because no one seems to be interested. 311. Fly-by-night : Unreliable, not trustworthy : Most of the :double your money in two years schemes have proved to a fly-by-night business. 312. Fly in the face of : Deliberately ignore :The evidence in the case was enough to punish him, but the judge decided to i evidence and set him free. 313. Fly in the ointment : Unpleasant part of something very pleasant : The only fly in the ointment at the party was the 30-minute power cut.

314. Fly off the handle : Become angry : The boss flew off the handle whenever he spotted a mistake committed by the new secretary. 315. Follow ones nose : Go straight : Just follow your nose from this point, the place you want to visit is at the end of this street. 316. Food for thought : Something that makes one think : There was enough food for thought for everybody in the lecture delivered by the saint. 317. Fools paradise : Wishful, Fanciful thinking : Anyone who thinks that the poverty in India can be abolished in the next 10 years is living in a fools paradise. 318. For a song : At cheap price : The Opposition alleges that the government has sold off the BALCO plant to Streetlight Industries for a song. 319. For better or for worse : With good or bad impact : This book reveal the truth about great men, for better or for worse. 320. Foregone conclusion : Predictable conclusion : An acting competition between Amitabh Bachachan and Chunky Pandey is a foregone conclusion. 321. For keeps : Forever, for the winner to keep :A. He left the city for keeps. B. They played marble for keeps. 322. Forlorn hope : Vain hope : Bataura thinks that he can get a job easily with his BA, but it is a forlorn hope. 323. For the most part : Largely, Mostly :This club has intellectuals as member, for the most part. 324. Forty winks : Short sleep, nap : I sometimes take forty winks after lunch to refresh myself. 325. For want of : Due to lack of : The plan failed for want of sufficient finances. 326. From cover to cover : From beginning to end (newspaper, magazine, book) : Tarpalli read the new novel from cover to cover because he had to take a viva on it.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

327. From hand to hand : From one person to next : The newly introduced chocolate box was passed from hand to hand at the party. 328. From pillar to post : From one place to the other : He ran from pillar to post in search of a job that could give a decent salary, but in vain. 329. From scratch : From zero or nothing : He has re-built his business from scratch after the devastating fire seven years ago. 330. From the bottom of ones heart or With all ones heart : Sincerely : Bakdalu thanked the kind man from the bottom of his heart. 331. From top to toe : Completely (person) : She was decorated with diamond from top to toe, which made her look like a moving diamond - palace. 332. Gain Ground : Move ahead , make progress : The ideas of free market economy and liberalization are gaining ground these days. 333. Game is up : Hopeless situation : As soon as the police came on the scene, the thief realized that the game was up. 334. Get away with : Do something wrong without being caught : He got away with his wrongdoings partly because of the good relations he had with his boss. 335. Get cracking : Hurry up : Come on, let s get cracking. 336. Get down to : To start : Geedu got down to the work immediately because his boss wanted him to complete it in two days. 337. Get down to brasstacks : To begin the most important, basic work :If we really want t take India forward, we will have to get down to the brasstacks first. 338. Get even : To owe nothing, take revenge : A. Champu had many debts earlier, but he has got even now. B. Ghantu is waiting to get even with Chinku for hurting him at the football match.

339. Get cracking : To start : If you want to finish the work by tomorrow, you have to get cracking right now. 340. Get off the ground : Make a good start, progress : Pumpus plans for marriage didnt get off the ground for want of a suitable wife. 341. Get on ones nerves : Make nervous: The overlording boss soon got on his nerves. 342. To get over : Finish, recover :A. Tonku worked fast to get his work over B. Tunchu returned o his office after getting over with his illness. 343. Get rid of : Remove : Get rid of these habits if you really want to succeed in life. 344. Get something into ones head : Have a fixed idea in mind : He has got into his head that he cannot perform well before the microphone, so avoids singing with it. 345. Get the axe : Remove, fire from job : Many workers have got the axe under the compulsory Retirement Scheme. 346. Get the ball rolling :Start an activity : We will get the ball rolling as soon as we get approval for the project. 347. Get the better of : Win over, beat : Shampoo got the better of his opponents by means of his superior tactics. 348. Get the boot / heave : Understand general sense of something : I do not know the details of the scheme, but from a cursory reading, I got a boot of the entire scheme. 349 Get to the bottom : Find out the real cause : The police investigation is trying to get to the bottom of the whole scandal. 350. Get under one skin : Bother, upset : Please do not get under his skin, he is already quite upset after his huge losses in business. 351. Get the wind of : To get news of : He got the wind of the whole affair through some of his friends in the department.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

352. Get with it : Pay attention, Busy : Many students get with it just before their test. 353. Gift of the gab: Fluency, Speak well: A gift of the gab is a pre-requisite for a salesman. 354. Give a good account of oneself : Perform well : Fantoosh gave a good account of himself in the cricket match against the City Club. 355. Give a hard time : Give trouble : Managing a job and home simultaneously gave her a hard time initially. 356. Give a wide berth : Keep way from : Sonata gave a wide berth to disnonorable people like Jattu during her college days. 357. Give ones right arm : To give something of great value : Tuntin is ready to pay her right arm in order to get a Class I government job. 358. Give or take : Add or subtract, approximate : This building is 200 years old, I guess, give or take 10 years. 359. Give the devil his due : Be fair to someone who is bad : Though I do not like him personally, but to give the devil his due, I must admit that he is a very good singer. 360. Give the slip : Run way, sneak away : The thief was able to give the slip to the police due to the negligence of the policemen posted to keep an eye on him. 361. Give up the ghost : To die : After a long illness, his great-grandfather gave up the ghost last week. 362. Gladrags : Best clothes : She wore her gladrags as she was going to attend an elite party in the night. 363. Gloss over : Ignore, Overlook : The boss glossed over many of her mistakes so as not to discourage the new secretary. 364. Go astray: Lead an immoral life : Since there was nobody to oversee him in the hostel he soon went astray in the company of bad characters.

365. Go at it hammer and tongs : Attack with great strength : Helen went hammer and tongs at his new job so as to impress her boss. 366. Go begging : Not in demand : Hundereds of BBA seats in many Punjab colleges are going begging because there are hardly any takers for them. 367. Go broke : Lose all money, become penniless : Chamkila had lot of money initially, but he soon went broke due to his gambling and drinking habits. 368. Go by the book : Go by rules : In actual management practice, one has to tackle many unexpected situations, so one cannot go by the book. 369. Go Dutch : Contribute money : Since nobody could afford to arrange the function on his own, they decided to go Dutch. 370. Go-getter : Ambitious, hardworking and successful person : The new salesman was a real go-getter, he rose to the position of Sales Manager in a short period of 2 years. 371. Go haywire : Out of order, damaged : His ambitious plans of starting a company went haywire due to a cash problem in the market. 372. Gone with the wind : Vanished, Gone forever : Kachalu knew that his chances of getting a loan had gone with the wind when he heard the news of the bank managers transfer, who was quite friendly with him. 373. Good deal: Much amount: The project delay has cost us a good deal in terms of business reputation and future business. 374. Good faith: On trust, faith : Bagdoo had bought the scooter in good faith, he never knew that it was a stolen vehicle. 375. Good riddance: A loss at which one is happy : The news of the troublesome boss transfer came as a good riddance to the anguished employees. 376. Go overboard: Enthusiastic or fond of : Lakhtaaru was interested in ghazals, but he did not go overboard for pure classical music.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

377. Go over with a fine-toothed comb: Examine carefully, thoroughly: Only when he went over the agreement with a fine-toothed comb did he come to know that it was really detrimental to his interests. 378. Go round in circles : Keep trying something without success : I have been going round circles getting this driving license made. 379. Go to any length : Do anything : Bhrishtpraani is such a miser that he can go to any length to save money, even at the cost of his health. 380. Go to ones head : Make dizzy, Make proud : A. This wine is a light one, it will not go to your head. B. Power often goes to a persons head. 381. Go up in smoke : Fail, Not come true : His hopes of winning a scholarship went up in smoke due to an emergency. 382. Go without saying : Unnecessary to say, Clear : It goes without saying that a person aspiring to become a soldier must have a brave heart. 383. Gravy train : An undeserved salary from a job : Almost no work is supposed to be done in Hindi in this department, so his job as a Hindi Officer here is more of a regular gravy train. 384. Grease ones palm : Bribe, Tip : Chapdalu had to grease the palms of many bank officials before he could get a bank loan sanctioned. 385. Great guns : Successfully, Very well : Sagar Ratna is a young restaurant, but it has been going great guns ever since its start. 386. Green fingers: Gardening skills: Mangati Lal seems to have green fingers, whichever garden he tends always blooms. 387. Green with envy: Very jealous: In reality, Jachkontia's so-called true friends were green with envy over his newfound financial success. 388. Grind to a halt: Slow down and stop: Normal life in the city ground to a halt as a result of the bandh call given by the political party.

389. Grist to the mill: Something useful to somebody: Since the opposition parties are looking for an issue to attack the government, the latest scandal concerning the cabinet minister will be grist to their mill. 390. Ground rules: (Unwritten) rules applicable to a special situation: Before you go the boss to ask for a raise, let me tell you some ground rules. 391. Growing pains: Problems faced during growing up: The teacher attributed Jankus delinquent behavior to growing pains and thought of arranging psychological counselling for him. 392. Gun for: To try very hard: He has been gunning for a break in Bollywood for the past ten years. 393. Gung-ho : Enthusiastic : The employees were all gung-ho about the new boss who was widely reputed to be employee-friendly. 394. Halcyon days : Happy and peaceful time : The halcyon days of childhood are simply unforgettable. 395. Hale and hearty : In very good health : He had been ill for the past two months, but now he looks quite hale and hearty. 396. Half-baked : Nor properly thought out/ studied : Such half-baked ideas will not be discussed at the all-important general meeting, you need to be more thorough. 397. Hand in gloves with : In collusion(especially for a bad purpose) : Many people believe that the police in India works hand in gloves with criminals. 398. Handle with kid gloves: Treat gently and carefully : This is such a sensitive issue, we need to handle it with kid gloves. 399. Hand-me-down : Something given away after another person has no more use for it : He is such a selfrespecting person, he will never accept such handme-downs. 400. Hand-out : A government gift, A document outlining details of something : A. Poor people often depend on hand-outs given by the ruling party. B. A hand-out detailing the proceedings at the conference was given to all the delegates .

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

401. Handwriting / writing on the wall : A sign that something bad will happen : Dablu's boss had started withdrawing all important work from him ; he could see the handwriting / writing on the wall. 402. Hang in the balance : Uncertain, undecided : Ever since there has been a change of party at the Centre, the future of all earlier proposals hangs in balance. 403. Hang heavy : Pass slowly : After retirement, he has nothing to do, so time hangs heavy on him. 404. Hang fire : Keep pending, delay : A solution to the Palestine-Israel issue has been hanging fire for the past so many decades. 405. Hang on : Persist, continue doing something : The boy got frustrated in his first attempt at the test, but his father encouraged him to hang on. 406. Happy hours : Discount time : The happy hours at this restaurant are from 4 PM to 6 PM every day. 407. Hard-and-fast : Fixed, strict : There are no hard-and-fast rules for solving such problems, one has to go by ones common sense and experience. 408. Hard-nosed : Tough, strict, stubborn : Jhalapp had the reputation of being a hard-nosed officer because he never tolerated any act of indiscipline. 409. Hard nut to crack : Something difficult to understand or solve : The entrance test proved to be a hard nut to crack for Chamgadar 410. Hard sell: Aggressive salesmanship : Such a lousy product does require a lot of hard sell on your part, if you want to achieve sales targets. 411. Have a ball : Enjoy greatly, have wonderful time : Nakchada had a ball at the picnic. 412. Have a crush on: Strong liking (of girls usually): Chhipkali had a crush on her young class teacher. 413. Have a go : Try something : Champani had a go at acting in serials, but could not succeed on the small screen. 414. Have a good head on ones shoulders : Shrewd, Smart : We can expect Kajari to succeed in

this business because despite being young, she has a good head on her shoulders. 415. Have a heart : Pity, Show mercy : When the boss ordered Dhokla to type out 50 pages a day, he requested him to have a heart because it was humanly impossible to do. 416. Has an eye : Have good judgement, taste : You can rely upon Utpam in matters of painting, he has got an eye for it. 417. Have a screw loose : Act strangely, foolishly : Dakaunt is always into some sort of troublemaking in the college, it seems he has got a screw loose. 418. Have a way : Able to persuade, lead or influence : Shantu had such a way with his classmates that he could make them do anything. 419. Have a word : Speak briefly : May I have a word with the M.D., please? the caller asked the receptionist. 420. Have many irons in the fire : Working on many projects simultaneously to counterbalance losses : Dhodus annual financial returns are more or less the same because he has many irons in the fire; if one business runs in losses, the other shows a profit. 421. Have no scruples : Have no sentiment, mercy : Chakralu was such a barbarous person that he had no scruples cheating his own parents. 422. Have ones chips : About to fail or die : So far, there has been no trace of the missing ship, I fear the passengers must have had their chips by now. 423. Have one hands full : Be very busy : Karela told Bhindi that he would not able to help her with studies because he was having his hands full. 424. Have ones head in the clouds : Be out-of-touch with reality, Live in a dreamy world : The Amabanis are not pumping billions of rupees in this business for nothing, it must be profitable because they do not have their heads in the clouds. 425. Have ones heart in ones mouth : Fearstricken, scared : When the paratrooper was asked

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

to jump down from a height of 2000 metres, at first he had his heart in his mouth. 426. Have qualms : Be uncertain : Earlier the government had planned to privatize all PSUs without distinction, but now it seems to be having qualms over blanket privatization. 427. Have rocks in ones head : Be stupid, not have good judgement : When Gatru left his highly lucrative job of a computer programmer to work as a showroom salesman, many people thought that he had rocks in his head. 428. Have something going for someone : Have ability, beauty or contacts: Well, despite all-round recession, her success in these difficult times is a different story she has a lot going for her. 429. Have the best of both worlds : To enjoy the best of both situations without having to choose one : Though Shekhchilli has a government job, he is into a private side-business which given him good money, so enjoys the best of both worlds in the form a secure government job and a well-paying private business. 430. Have the last laugh : To make someone look foolish or inferior : Everybody ridiculed Chaprganjus innovative ideas at the meeting, but he had the last laugh when they were accepted in totality at the final meeting. 431. Head above water: Out of trouble or difficulty: Inspite of his bad business this year, he has been able to keep his head above water owing to his other activities. 432. Head-hunting: Searching for the right candidate for a job: The company is in the process of massive headhunting to cope with its increased production capacity. 433. Head start: A lead or advantage in the beginning: NIIT had a headstart in its business because it was one of the first to enter the software training arena.

434. Heart goes out to: To feel sorry: Our heart goes out to the kin of all those unfortunate people who died in the Gujarat earthquake. 435. Heart in the right place : Kind-hearted, sympathetic, with good intentions : Bachint looks quite rough in his dealings with students, but he has his heart in the right place. 436. Heart of gold : Kind, generous person :The rich man had a heart of gold and announced many scholarships for the schoolchildren on the spot. 437. Heart of stone : Merciless, pitiless person : Even the plight of the childless widow could not move him because he had a heart of stone. 438. Heart sinks : Depressed, anxious : Tiplis heart sank when the pilot announced that the aircraft would have to make an emergency landing due to some technical snag. 439. Heart miss \ skip a beat : Excited with surprise, joy or fear : His heart skipped a beat when he came to hear of the fact of his topping the test. 440. Heart-to-heart : Speak freely and seriously about some private matter : Chaplu and Ghaplu had a twohour heart-to-heart talk in order to clear their misconceptions about each other. 441. Heavy heart : Overwhelming sorrow, unhappiness : We accompanied the funeral procession of our departed leader with a heavy heart. 442. Helter-skelter : In confusion, disorder : The rioters ran helter-skelter when the police reached at the scene. 443. Hem and haw : To give an evasive, unclear answer : Shongu hemmed and hawed when the principal asked him the reason for his 15-day absence from school without permission. 444. High and dry : Alone, with no help : The government had promised to provide suitable jobs to the widows of war-martyrs, but now they have been left high and dry. 445. High and mighty : Too proud, Feeling too important or superior : Most of them decided not to

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

invite Tipri to the part because he always considered himself high and mighty. 446. High-handed : Bossy, dictatorial : The use of lathi-charge on the silently protesting people was an act of high -handedness by the police. 447. High seas : Open ocean, free area, not near the coast : The legendary Titanic was built to sail on the high seas in the Atlantic Ocean. 448. High time : Overdue : It is high time that we switched over to continuous assessment system in our colleges and universities. 449. Hit the bulls eye : Hit the target or main point : He was able to hit the bulls eye in the first instance in the IIT test purely because of this hardwork and single-minded devotion. 450. Hit the high spots : Highlight only major points : In his lecture, Ghassidass hit the high spots of his preferred subject. 451. Hit the jackpot : Be successful or lucky : Firtus new invention has hit the jackpot in India and abroad. 452. Hit the nail on the head : Speak or act in a befitting, effective way : The Prime Minster, by stressing on population control really hit the nail on the head. 453. Hobsons choice : No choice, choicelessness : The question paper had five questions in all and it required us to attempt any five of them, it was in fact Hobsons choice. 454. Not fit to hold candle / stick to : Not fit to be comparable, Not in the same category : Gamsha thought that the new college building could not hold candle to the majestic, 100-year old building of the old college. 455. Hold ones own : Maintain ones position :He was able to hold his own even in times of grave business losses because of parental support. 456. Hold the stage : Be the centre of attention : The young actress managed to hold the stage at the meeting due to her pleasing manners.

457. Hold water : Not true, Unbelievable : His story does not hold any water ; it is purely fictional. 458. Holier-than-thou : Acting as if one is better than others : Nobody liked his holier-than-thou attitude because all of them knew about his real activities. 459. Honeymoon is over : Early pleasant, happy period has ended : The BJP-RSS honermoon is over ; now they keep on criticizing each other. 460. Hooked on : Addicted, Extremely fond of : Todays college youth are hooked on to Internet in a big way. 461. Hope against hope : Hope when things look bleak : Tapri continued to hope against hope that he would get a job, even though his interview had not gone very well. 462. Horse sense : Good judgement, wisdom : Though Sonata had never been to a school or college, she had plenty of horse sense to gauge the real meaning of the business proposal. 463. Horse trade : An agreement reached after bargaining and discussions : The party leaders went around for months making horse trades to get support for their candidate. 464. Hot air : Nonsense, exaggerated talk : What this politicians is trying to say is nothing but hot air. 465. Hot potato : A difficult problem, a question difficult to settle : The issue of whether to introduce sex education in schools or not is a hot potato for NCERT. 466. Hot seat : Difficult or dangerous position :The advertisement has attracted very few applications because the job is considered to be too much of a hot seat. 467. Hot water : Trouble : His careless remarks against the company chairman have got him into hot water. 468. House of cards : A poorly founded plan, action : The whole idea fell like a house of cards when the question of finance came up.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

469. Hue and cry : Excited mass protest or alarm : The college union raised a hue and cry over the hike in college fees. 470. Hush-hush : Concealed, hidden or secret : The company is in the process of launching a new automobile very soon, but is keeping it a hush-hush affair because of strategic reasons. 471. Ill at ease: Uncomfortable, unhappy or anxious: Since he has never been to a party before, he was ill at ease when his mother asked him to accompany her. 472. In abeyance: Something not in use or practice: The scheme has been kept in abeyance for a couple of years due to lack of finances. 473. In a bind \ In a cleft stick: In a fix because both actions are troublesome: Baklasi is in a bind, because if he carries out his fathers orders, his mother will be angry, and if he obeys his mother, his father will be angry with him. 474. In all respects: In every way: This proposal is fine in all respects, I feel. 475. In a nutshell: Briefly: Since I dont have much time with me, I ll. tell you the whole story in a nutshell. 476. In a rut : Routine, monotonous job : Unless one tries to do something creative or new, life in every job soon falls in a rut. 477. In cold blood : Mercilessly, Pitilessly : The old man was murdered in cold blood with the help of a sharp weapon. 478. In earnest : Seriously : He had been whiling away his time in the past, but now he is doing his job in earnest. 479. In fine fettle : In good spirits : He was confined to bed earlier due to his illness, but now he is in fine fettle. 480. In league with \ In cahoots with : In partnership, especially for bad purpose : Many people allege that the police is not interested in catching criminals because they are in league \ in cahoots with them.

481. In ones elements: Natural surroundings, where one does ones best : The child did very well in the test conducted at his home because he was in his elements. 482. In ones good books: Approved, liked by someone : Since Dhapkalu was not in the good books of his boss, he was not given a promotion. 483. In seventh heaven : Extremely happy, joyous : When she got the news of her selection for the coveted job, she was in seventh heaven. 484. Ins and outs : Details, different parts : Since Gadbadis father has been an insurance agent for the past 40 years, he knows the ins and outs of his business very well. 485. In the doldrums : In low spirits, no progress happening : The VCR rental business is in the doldrums these days because nobody likes to hire them. 486. In the drivers seat: In control or charge: Since Dambus father has been ill for long, it is his mother who is in the drivers seat in domestic matters. 487. In the melting pot: Undecided: Since the general meeting could not be held, the crucial issues are still in the melting pot. 488. In the nick of time: Just in time: The patient was saved in the nick of time by the alert doctor who gave him an injection. 489. In the red: Unprofitable, in losses: The government is thinking of a way to sell off those companies which have been in the red for more than 10 years. 490. In the same boat: In the same bad situation, difficulty: Like me, my friends had also invested in this business and all of us have gone bankrupt; I cannot expect them to help me because all of us are in the same boat. 491. In the thick of: In the middle of: He can always be seen in the thick of action whenever there is any trouble in this colony.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

492. In the soup: In serious trouble, confusion or disorder: The ministers senseless remarks about the Chief Minister have landed him in the soup. 493. In top gear: Performing well: It being the summer days, his ice-cream business is in top gear these days. 494. Itching palm: Desire for money, greed: The waiters in this hotel always have itching palms; thy wont let you off without a hefty tip. 495. It never rains but pours: Troubles \ problems do not come singly: I had a car accident in the morning, had a nasty argument with the boss and in the evening a policeman challenged me; really, it never rains but pours. 496. Ivory tower: An isolated place where one cannot feel day-to-day problems \ reality: Academicians sitting in their ivory towers cannot realize how difficult it is to get a job these days; they need to make education more job-oriented. 497. Jack -of-all-trades: Versatile, diversified person: The late Kishore Kumar was a singer-cum-lyricistcum-composer-cum-comedian-cum-director, literally a jack-of-all-trades. 498. Jump out of ones skin: Badly frightened: He jumped out of his skin on seeing the robber who had burgled into the house at night. 499. Jump to a conclusion: Decide quickly without much thought: On seeing the injured dog, he jumped to the conclusion that his hostile neighbour must have caused it the injury. 500. Just what the doctor ordered: Exactly what is required needed: Ah! Just what the doctor ordered, said a thirsty Nimbu on seeing the water bottle brought by Dhania. 501. Kangaroo court: Self-appointed group to dispense justice: The villagers held a kangaroo court and handed out the punishment of beheading to the thief. 502. Keep after: Remind repeatedly: Hurl Hurls mother has to keep after him to clean his personal room.

503. Keep \ have a level head: Stay calm, cool : Even in the midst of such grave difficulties, he kept a level head and ultimately emerged successful. 504. Keep an eye: Watch carefully, pay attention : Please keep a watch on these boys until I come back. 505. Keep body and soul together : Survive, keep alive : Kulachhan Dass earned hardly enough to keep body and soul together. 506. Keep tabs on : Watch carefully, Keep record : A. The officer asked his junior to keep a tab on the proceedings at the meeting. B. The government is keeping tabs on the price situation in the country. 507. Keep the ball rolling: Keep up an activity or action : Santru kept the ball rolling at the function by dancing with whosoever approached him. 508. Keep the home fires burning: To continue things as usual while someone is away : Mario kept the home fires burning when Robert was serving the Army. 509. Keep the kettle boiling : Keep an exciting activity going : The audience kept the kettle boiling at the function with encouraging words to the performers. 510. Keep the wolf from the door : Get enough to keep alive, survive : During severe drought, it becomes very difficult for many people to keep the wolf from the door. 511. Keep up appearances : Maintain proper outward appearance as if everything is fine, despite problems : After the stock market crash, his financial position is serious, but he still keeps up appearances by moving around in a car and living in a big mansion. 512. Keep up with Joneses : To follow the latest fashion, To compete with ones neighbours : Mrs. Musibat used to buy everything that her neighbour bought. Finally Mr. Musibat told her not to keep up with Joneses and to think of her position.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

513. Kickbacks: Money paid illegally for getting favours: Receiving kickbacks is a usual phenomenon in the defence procurement department as exposed by the tehelka case. 514. Kill the goose that lays golden eggs : Spoil something god by being greedy : Kupatta got money from his benefactor whenever he went to them, but by bothering him too much, he killed the goose that laid golden eggs. 515. Kill two birds with one stone : Succeed in getting two things done by one action : Dukhi Aatma had gone to the super-bazaar to get groceries, but came across an old borrower who returned him his long-due money, thus killing two birds with one stone. 516. Kiss of death: Something having disastrous effect : The withdrawal of support by Sita Ram Kesri was a kiss of death or the minority Gujaral government. 517. Know-it-all: A person who pretends to be omniscient : The new boss was not ready to listen to anyone, he acted like a know-it-all. 518. Knuckle under: To yield under force \ pressure : Chintamani refused to knuckle under to the local bully who used every tactic to browbeat him. 519. Ladys man : A man who remains and is popular with ladies : Gulfaam is quite a ladys man, you will hardly ever find him with boys. 520. Labour of love : Something done for pleasure and not for profits : Designing the new college building was a labour of love for the retired engineer, he did not charge a single paisa for it. 521. Lap up : To take in eagerly : Since Vehlapraani had been unemployed for many years, he decided to lap up whichever job came his way, regardless of any considerations. 522. Last but not the least : In the last place, but equally important : Lack of transparency, right to information, excessive red-tapism and last but not the last, outdated administrative procedures have been some major reasons for the growth of corruption in India.

523. Laugh up ones sleeves: Be secretly amused : Although most of them did not show it at the meeting, they were laughing up their sleeves at the leaders silly remarks. 524. Lay hands on : Catch, get : The police has not been able to lay its hands on the criminals responsible for this theft. 525. Lay ones cards on the table : To let someone know ones position honestly, openly : While starting the dialogue on Kashmir with the militants, the Home Secretary laid all the government' s cards on the table. 526. Lead a dogs life : Live a hard life, be treated unkindly : The mineworkers used to lead a dogs life before the new labour rules came into force. 527.Lead by the nose : To persuade someone to do any thing, Have full control over : You should not let anybody lead you by the nose; it is your life and you have to decide for it. 528. Lead someone up the garden path : Deceive : This mechanic is trying to lead you up the garden path; he really does not know anything about cars. 529. Leap in the dark : Something one does without knowing its result : Our opening this restaurant is a leap in the dark; none of us has done this sort of business before. 530. Leg-work: Physical work, Logistical work : An ambitious salesman as he was, he spent as much time in planning as on leg-work. 531. Let bygones be bygones : Let the past be forgotten : India and Pakistan must let the bygones be bygones now and start living like friends. 532. Let the cat out of the bag : Tell a secret : Meesna had kept the whole plan a top secret, but his close friend Dondipittu let the cat out of the bag, thus spoiling the suspense. 533. Lick someones boots : Kneel before someone to get favours : He is a self-respecting person and will not lick anybodys boots to get his job done. 534. Like hot cakes: Very quickly: Shudh Aatmas book on corruption has been selling like hot cakes ever since its release last month.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

535. Line ones pockets : Gain money dishonestly : Most bureaucrats in India believe in lining their own pockets while awarding any contract to a private party. 536. Lions share: The largest share: Since Laalchi was the leader of the gang, he wanted a lions share in the profits they had generated. 537. Live from hand to mouth: Have just enough, Live without saving for the future: Since Garib Dass does not get enough pay by working as a dailywager, his family literally lives from hand to mouth. 538. Live upto: Act accordingly, Come upto: Despite all the hard work he had put in, he failed to live up to my expectations of him. 539. Lock, stock and barrel: Everything, without exception: Since he had decided to emigrate to the US, he sold off his business lock, stock and barrel to one of his acquaintances. 540. Lock the barn door after the horse is stolen: Be careful when it is too late: When Nalayak failed in the examination, he announced to his parents that he would start studying harder the next time. He wanted to lock the barn door after the horse was stolen. 541. Lone wolf: Introvert, Inward-looking person: Since Gumsum is a lone wolf, she avoids attending parties and such functions. 542. Look a gift horse in the mouth: Complain about a gifted item: Shikayati Lal got a dictionary as a prize at the annual function. When he complained to his father that it was old, his father advised him not to look a gift horse in the mouth. 543. Look at the world through rose-coloured glasses: To see everything as good and pleasant: Most teenagers see the world through rose-coloured glasses. 544. Look up to: Regard as a good example to copy, honour: Mrs. Kabil Rani was the best teacher in our school and most students looked up to her. 545. Lord it over: Dominate, control, be bossy: Mr. Akdalu Nath lords it over all his subordinates in the office and therefore nobody likes him.

546. Loudmouth: Noisy, boastful or foolish talker : A loudmouth like Mr. Bakdalu cannot be trusted with such sensitive secrets. 547. Lowdown : The details, inside truth : This article gives you a lowdown on all those slimming schemes currently available in the market. 548. Made-to-measure : Customized, made to order : Sundar Kanya looks absolutely ravishing in her new made-to-measure outfit. 549. Maiden speech : First speech : It is a British custom to congratulate a person on his maiden speech made in public. 550. Maiden name : Name before marriage : Ninu was the maiden name of Ninita Sharma before she got married last year. 551. Make a beeline for : Go straight to (generally in large numbers) : People made a beeline for the bank when they heard the news of its having gone broke. 552. Make a clean breast : To confess, admit : The thief made a clean breast of his earlier crimes before the magistrate. 553. Make a dent \ hole : His untiring efforts failed to make a dent in his opponents fighting ability. 554. Make all the difference : Have greatly positive effect :If you really want to improve your health, make daily exercise a part of your routine; youll see it makes all the difference. 555. Make amends : Make up for a wrong, atone : Sajjan made a promise to Guru Nanak Dev Ji to make amends for his evil conduct in the past. 556. Make a monkey out of : Cause to look foolish : The children were trying to make a monkey out of him by playing a prank on him. 557. Make a mountain out of a molehill : Make something unimportant look important : He hardly got a few bruises in the accident, but he tried to make a mountain out of a molehill by pretending that he needed to be hospitalized.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

558. Make an example : Punishing somebody in an exemplary way : If any student creates indiscipline in the class, Ill make an example of him \ her. 559. Make a virtue out of necessity : Put something unintended to good use : Kanjoos Lal could not afford to but a scooter. So when he failed to get a pay-hike, he made a virtue out of necessity by saying that he would be able to save petrol costs. 560. Make away with : Take, carry away : The thief made away with a large number of household articles. 561. Make-believe : Pretend, Imagine : Everything is possible in the make-believe world of Bollywood. 562. Make hay while the sun shines : Do something at the right time, use appropriately : While travelling in the bus, he had a few hours free with him, so he made hay while the sun shone by revising his lesson for the next day. 563. Make head or tail of : Understand : I cannot make head or tail of what the confused speaker said at the meeting. 564. Make light of: To treat as unimportant, minimize : The brave people always make light of minor obstacles and always think of the major ones. 565. Make no bones: Admit, Not to keep secret : The party leader iof the fact that his party was facing trouble in many states. 566. Make no mistake: Do not believe otherwise : Make no mistake, time once lost cannot be recalled. 567. Make ones bed and lie in it : Be responsible for ones actions : He has been squandering away his fathers wealth after his death and is now on the verge of being broke; he has made his bed and he must lie in it. 568. Make ones mouth water: Be very attractive, tempting: Fresh bread-pakoras in the confectioners shop made my mouth water. 569. Make over : Change the style, looks of something : The innovative architect was able to bring about a make over in the building with a minimum of expenditure and efforts.

570. Make sense: Understandable: This article has been written in such a careless fashion that some parts do not make any sense at all. 571. Make the grade: Succeed: He was able to make the grade in his new business due to his great efforts and foresight. 572. Man in the street: Ordinary, average person : The man on the street is hardly bothered about political changes, he is more concerned with what this means for his welfare. 573. Man of straw: Man with no power or ability : Opportunistic people never like to associated then selves with men of straw. 574. Man of the world: Experienced person : I always consult my uncle for business advice because he is a man of the world. 575. Mark my words: Pay careful attention : Mark my words, this proposal is going to cost you dearly in the long run. 576. Mean business : Be serious, really mean it : The new teacher told us that he would not tolerate any dereliction of work, and that she meant business. 577. Matter of fact : Really true, can be proved : As a matter of fact, I do not like movies; so I hardly go to a theatre these days. 588. Matter-of-fact : Showing little feeling or excitement, Seemingly uncaring : Nirmohi is a matter-offact person, he is hardly bothered about human relationships. 589. Meet ones Waterloo : Be finally, conclusively defeated : Ajay had won every championship until the national tournament; then he met his Waterloo. 590. Move heaven and earth : To do everything possible, Try every way : Many middle-class people move heaven and earth to be able to settle in a foreign country. 591. Narrow \ close shave : Just escaped something : The labourers had a narrow \ close shave when they were evacuated out of the burning building by the fire-service officers.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

592. Neck and neck : In a tie, nearly equal : The opinion poll has predicted a neck and neck between the Congress and the BJP in the forthcoming Loksabha elections. 593. Needle in a haystack : Something very hard to find : I lost my key in the enormous parking zone, looking for it is like finding a needle in a haystack. 594. Neither fish nor fowl : Someone \ something not belonging to a definite group : Mr. Dalbadlu is neither fish nor fowl; hell vote for a party that gives him a ministerial chair. 595. New broom sweeps clean : A new man makes many changes : The new Principal has made many new discipline rules in the school forcing all students to say that a new broom sweeps clean. 596. Nine days wonder: Short-lived attraction: Physical beauty is a nine days wonder. 597. Nip in the bud : Suppress in the beginning : Such bad habits must be nipped in the bud, later on they can create a lot of trouble. 598. No great shakes : Mediocre, unimportant, average : She is no great shakes an actress but keeps on pretending that one day she might replace even Madhuri Dixit. 599. No love lost : Ill-will, bad relations : After their differences over strategy came to forefront, there was no love lost between the two partners. 600. Nothing to write home about : Person \ thing which \ who is not very interesting : I find nothing to write home about this much-hyped play, which has got so much media coverage. 601. Nuts and bolts : Practical, small details : The new chairman simply used to set general policy guidelines for his staff, the nuts and bolts were left to them. 602. Null and void : Having no legal force, ineffective : The contract will be null and void if the signatories to it are minors. 603. Off and on : Occasionally, infrequently : After emigrating to Holland, he kept in touch with his friends off and on.

604. Off-beat: Unconventional: Daayra directed by Amol Palekar was projected as an offbeat movie, but it failed to generate any enthusiasm among cinema-lovers. 605. Off the cuff: Without preparation : The ministers carelessly worded speech was an off the cuff utterance, you should know. 606. Off the record: Confidential, secret: The politician told the reporters that his remarks were off the record and were not be published. 607. Of ones own accord: Through ones own wish : I did not ask him to being lunch for me, he did it of his own accord. 608. Old flame: Ones ex-girlfriend : Though Zohrazabin has been my old flame, I have not seen her for the past fifteen years. 609. Old hand: Experienced person: To sell your house, you should consult Mr. Kamina who is an old hand at such things. 610. Old hat: Old thing, nothing new: Setting new records in pole-vault events is now old hat to Sergei Bubka. 611. On a shoestring: Very little money : Nobody can offer you a world tour on such a shoestring budget. 612. Once and for all: For the last time : I am telling you once and for all that you must reach in time. 613. Once in a blue moon: Very rarely: Though he lives in the next street, he comes to my house once in a blue moon. 614. On cloud nine: Ecstatic, extremely happy : Ever since she has got the coveted job, she has been on cloud nine. 615. On edge: Nervous, impatient : He was on edge about the result of his test. 616. One foot in the grave: Near death : The 105year old man was suffering from weakness, hypertension and a brain tumour, literally he had one foot in the grave.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

617. One-upmanship: Ability to keep ahead of others : Most competitive exams are a game of oneupmanship. 618. On guard: Prepared to defend : There have been many incidents of burglaries in this colony, so we must be on guard at all times. 619. On ones high horse: Acting as proud and scornful: Ever since Ghamandi Lal has become the union secretary, he has been on his high horse with everybody. 620. On ones toes : Alert, ready to act : In todays business environment, you have to be on your toes to compete successfully against your competitors. 621. On the block : For sale : This old building has been on the block for the past several months, but is not attracting any buyer. 622. On the heels : Immediately after : On the heels of the new about his winning the Mr. India contest, came the news of his having won a scholarship. 623. On the horns of a dilemma: Having to make a difficult choice, in a fix : On getting two equally good job offers, he really on the horns of a dilemma. 624. On the spur of a moment: Suddenly, without thought or preparation: His going on the tour was not pre-planned, it was done on the spur of a moment. 625. On the tip of ones tongue: About to be recalled: His name is almost on the tip of my tongue, but I am unable to tell you. 626. Open secret: Supposedly a secret but known to all: It is an open secret that Zulfi Matwallah is having a romantic affair with Papri Golgappewali. 627. Order of the day: Something in fashion: Wearing of a naqab by the Muslims is still the order of the day in some Gulf countries. 628. Other fish to fry: Other things to do: I cannot go on doing this boring work all the day, I have other fish to fry. 629. Out of the blue: Suddenly, without any warning: Out of the blue, a stranger offered to help us in our hour of trouble at the airport.

630. Out of \ from the frying pan into the fire: from a smaller difficulty into a bigger one, from bad into worse: He had barely escaped being beaten by the goondas when he was caught by the police on some charges, thats what you call out of the frying pan into the fire. 631. Out of thin air: Out of nothing \ nowhere: Nobody believed his concocted story as it was woven out of thin air. 632. Pack a punch: Have a lot of power: This new motorcycle launched by the company packs terrific punch. 633. Pack of lies: Lot of lies: His version of the murder case is nothing but a pack of lies; nobody believes it. 634. Packed like sardine: Packed very closely: The ill fated bus that plunged into the river was having passengers packed like sardine. 635. Paddle ones own canoe: Do ones own thing: I thought it better not to depend on anybody and to paddle my own canoe. 636. Paint the town red: To enjoy oneself: Once our exams are over, we are going to go out and paint the town red. 637. Palm off: To sell by trickery or deception: The cheap necklace was palmed off by the shopkeeper to gullible shopper as a genuine diamond ornament. 638. Part and parcel: Necessary, essential part: Computers are a part and parcel of modern civilization. 639. Pass away: Die, cease: He passed away at the ripe age of 96 years. 640. Pass muster: Pass a test, be good enough : Since he was a careful worker, his work always passes the muster with the boss. 641. Pass the buck : Shift blame or responsibility : Mrs. Naakhush complained to the salesman regarding the faulty plug he had given her, but he passed the buck by asking her to meet the manager.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

642. Pat on the back: Congratulate : This act of yours definitely deserves a pat on the back. 643. Pay dirt: Valuable discovery, something quite lucrative: He had been languishing at a menial job in India before he went abroad and hit the pay dirt. 644. Pay through the nose : Pay too much, a high rate : He wanted some experience before he could find a more suitable job, but working under such a tyrant boss like paying through his nose. 645. Pecking order : Hierarchy, Status classification : Every big organization has a definite pecking order in which authorities and responsibilities are shared and distributed among the staff. 646. Peeping Tom : Person who watches others activities secretly : The police was soon able to arrest the peeping Tom, who was a great nuisance for the women in the locality. 647. Penny-wise and pound-foolish : Careful in making small savings at the cost of more important, costly things : He does not take care to get small repairs done for his car, he might have to pay much more later to get it working later; really he is acting penny-wise and pound-foolish. 648. Pep talk : Motivating, inspiring talk : The teacher gave a pep talk to the students who had failed in the scholarship test. 649. Peter out : Fizzle out, exhaust gradually : The strike was initially quite intense, but it petered out very soon because a section of the workers entered into an agreement with the management. 650. Pig in a poke : Something taken or bought carelessly, thoughtlessly : Buying via Internet may prove to be a pig in a poke sometimes because you have never looked at the real thing beforehand. 651. Pipe -dream : Unrealistic plan, wishful thinking : He wanted to buy a Rs. 20-lakh flat in the first year of his joining the job, which was nothing but a pipe dream. 652. Pip-squeak : Small, unimportant person : In a democratic country, every pip-squeak has the right

to say whatever he wants to, within the restrictions imposed by the Constitution. 653. Pitched battle: Long, fierce battle : Many demonstrators were injured in the pitched battle which they fought with the police yesterday. 654. Pitch in: Contribute: All of us pitched in to help the poor man. 655. Plain speaking: Honestly speaking : Hypocrites like Duragti Dass can never do this kind of plain speaking. 656. Play down: Give less importance, Make something seem less important: Though the selection committee did notice the somewhat notorious past of the candidate, they decided to play it down keeping in view his meritorious record. 657. Play footsie : Flirtation or collaboration, especially political : The town mayor was accused of playing footsie with the crime syndicate. 658. Play ones cards well: Make the best use of ones opportunities : He played his cards well in his job and soon got a promotion to the rank of General Manager. 659. Play second fiddle: Be in an inferior position to someone : When a fresher was appointed my boss, I decided not to play second fiddle to a person younger to me. 660. Pleased as Punch : Very happy : He was pleased as Punch when he got the news of his wining the first prize in the lottery 661. Pocket ones pride: Act humbly because it is necessary : I knew he could get me the contract, so I pocketed my pride and obeyed his unreasonable orders. 662. Point blank: Very close : The terrorist was shot at point blank range by the police after being caught. 663. Poles part : Very different : Although both of them are twins, they are poles apart, emotionally and ideologically speaking. 664. Pop the question : Make a marriage proposal : Although Heer and Ranjha have been going

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

steady for the past two years, Ranjha has not popped the question as yet. 665. Pot calling the cattle black : Accuser is as guilty as the accused : When the Congress criticized the BJP as a party with no constant ideology, Atal Vajpayee said that it was the pot calling the kettle black. 666. Pour oil on troubled waters : Pacify, quite a trouble : The two rivals on the verge of a physical fight when a common friend poured oil on troubled waters. 667. Promise the moon : Promise something impossible : Most politicians promise the moon to the voters during campaigning and it is a bigger tragedy that the voters believe them. 668. Proof of the pudding is in the eating : One does not know how good a thing is until one tries it : You may never realize the complexities of an actors career; the proof of the pudding is in the eating. 669. Pull off : Succeed in something difficult : He pulled off three consecutive victories in the tough national tournament. 670. To pull all stops : Try hardest, do everything one can : They pulled out all stops to make the function a great success. 671. Pull strings : Use influence : If you want to meet the President, Mr. Sharma can pull strings for you. 672. Pull the wool over ones eyes : Deceive : He tried to pull the wool over my eyes by his deceptive talk, but I was quick to see his point. 673. Push around : Be bossy, bully : He asked her not to push him around, otherwise he could retaliate. 674. Put all eggs in one basket : To place all interests, hopes and efforts in one thing : Since he has put all his eggs in one basket by investing in the stock market, it can prove to be a highly risky fair. 675. Put a spoke in a wheel : Hinder, hamper : Most of the Kashmir groups are ready to join the peace process, but the Pak-backed AIHC seems to be

putting a spoke in the wheel by raising a dissenting voice. 676. Put heads together : Plan, deliberate, consult : The cabinet will put its heads together tonight o review the law and order situation in the troubletorn state. 677. Put ones shoulder to the wheel : Work, help to get something done : India can be a very prosperous country if everybody puts his shoulder to the wheel. 678. Put ones foot in ones mouth : Invite trouble by making careless remarks : He literally put his foot in his mouth by cracking a joke about priests because one of them was a member of the priestly profession. 679. Queer fish : Strange person : Mr. Ajeeb Singh is a queer fish, he is always having one of those strange plans in mind. 680. Rag-tag and bobtail : Common people : Since the leader was a man of the masses, he preferred to remain among the rag-tag and bobtail. 681. Rain cats and dogs : Rain heavily, torrentially : It has been raining cats and dogs for the past 24 hours, disrupting normal life. 682. Rainy day : Time when one is in need : One must always save something for the rainy day. 683. Raise eyebrows : Cause shock, surprise : The princesss marriage to a commoner raised many eyebrows in the kingdom. 684. Rank and file : Ordinary members of party, not leaders : The rank and file of this political party are highly disciplined and committed. 685. Rap someone over the knuckles : Give warning : If you leave the office without permission from the boss, he may rap you on the knuckles. 686. Read between the lines: Understand all of a writers meaning by guessing what has been unsaid: If you want to have a real understanding of Tagores works, you will have to read between the lines. 687. Red herring: Something used to distract others attention: The Kashmir issue raised by Pakistan just

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

before their national election seems to be more of a red herring than real political issue. 688. Red-letter day: Very important day: The 15th August, 1974 is a red-letter day in the political history of India. 689. Red rag to a bull: Something sure to annoy a person: Talking about capitalism in the presence of a communist is like showing a red rag to a bull. 690. Rest assured : Be certain : You can rest assured that we will do everything possible to help you in this case. 691. Rest on ones laurels : Satisfied with ones success and making no future efforts : A good player never rests on his laurels but always tries to better his performance every time. 692. Rhyme or reason : Reasonable explanation : I could see no rhyme or reason in the new rule framed by the boss. 693. Ride roughshod over : Ignore, treat unsympathetically, ruthlessly : The people protested against the unjust regulations made by the municipal council, but the mayor ran roughshod over their protests. 694. Rise from the ranks : Rise from an ordinary level to a higher level : His promotion from a peon to the General Manager is all the more praiseworthy because he has risen from the ranks. 695. Rob Peter to pay Paul : Take from one person to pay another : Revising ones geography lesson in a chemistry class like robbing Peter to pay Paul. 696. Roll out the red carpet : Hearty welcome : The Indian establishment rolled out the red carpet when Bill Clinton came to India. 697. Rough-and-tumble : Hard struggle or fighting : It takes strong men to survive the rough-and-tumble of an army life. 698. Rub the wrong way : Annoy : By abusing Banta, Ghanta rubbed him the wrong way. 699. Rule of thumb : A handy but approximate rule : A rule of thumb to convert the Celsius temperature

into Fahrenheit is to double the Celsius reading and 30 to it. 700. Rule the roost : Be in command : Ever since his father has left for a foreign posting, Nikamma has been ruling the roost in domestic affairs. 701. Run-of-the-mill : Average, ordinary, usual : His performance in the match was not exceptional in any way, it was just a run-of-the-mill show. 702. Run the gauntlet : Face a hard test, painful experience : He had to run the gauntlet of explaining his 2-day unauthorized absence from home to his father. 703. Sacred cow : A person or thing which is never criticized : Rabinder Nath Tagore is one of the seven sacred cows of the Bengalis, which include Kolkata and Roshogolla also. 704. Save face : Save ones reputation : The policeman was caught accepting a bribe from Rondu Lal, but he tried to save face by saying that Rondu Lal owed that money to him. 705. Scot-free: Released without punishment: Most dowry convicts go scot free despite stringent provisions for such crimes. 706. Scratch the surface: Learn very little: A onehour lecture on cosmology will hardly enable you to learn much about it; it will be like scratching the surface of the vast field. 707. Second nature: Habit: Being punctual is now second nature to him considering that he has served the army for forty years. 708. Second to none: The best: This hotel may not score much on the accommodation ratings, but its food is second to none. 709. See eye to eye: Agree fully: Though usually the Opposition members never concur with the government on any issue, but on the Kargil war, they saw eye to eye with the government. 710. See red: Become angry: Whenever anybody teased Motu about his weight, he immediately saw red.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

711. Sell out: Act of treachery, disloyalty to the nation: Many opposition members believe that the BALCO privatization deal was a sell out by the government. 712. Separate the sheep from the goats: Differentiate the good from the bad: At the end of this preliminary training, well have a test to separate the sheep from the goats. 713. Set ones heart on: Desire keenly: Though his parents were not willing to buy him that car, he had set his heart on it. 714. Set ones sights on: Choose target: Quite an ambitious person as he was, very early he had set his sights on becoming a politician of repute. 715. Set store by: Value something, like something: The Army sets great store by discipline, hard work and punctuality. 716. Settle old scores: Avenge: Many Rajput clans still believe in settling old scores with their old rivals. 717. Sharp as a needle: Bright, intelligent, quick: Hoshiar Singh is going to become a great success in business because he is sharp as a needle. 718. Short shrift: Deal with someone quickly and unsympathetically: The accused began to tell his story of personal woes, but the judge gave him a short shrift by fining him and disposing of the case. 719. Shot in the arm: Something encouraging or inspiring: The victory in the recent state assembly election has proved a shot in the arm for the Congress. 720. Shot in the dark: A wild, uneducated guess: My reply to the quizmasters question was a shot in the dark, nevertheless it was correct. 721. Shoulder to shoulder: On the same side: The two friends fought shoulder to shoulder in the Kargil war. 722. To show ones colors: To show what one is really like: I always thought of him as a gentleman, but he has shown his colors in this scandal.

723. Show someone the ropes: Teach somebody how to do something new: GK Gokhale showed the ropes of mass politics to Gandhi, who was his disciple. 724. Sit on the fence: Refuse to support either side: No one really knows his political ideology; he just sits on the fence and refuses to vote. 725. Sitting duck: An immobile, nave or helpless target: The civil population is just like a sitting duck for the terrorists. 726. Skeleton in the closet \ cupboard: A shameful secret kept by a family: This disclosure is just a beginning; we really do not know how many skeletons are there in the cupboard of this family. 727. Skin-deep: Only superficial: Jhagdalus friendliness towards Bakdalu is only skin-deep, in reality, none of them likes each other. 728. Slip of tongue: Error of speech: But for his slip of tongue, nobody would have come to know of our plans. 729. Small fry: Someone or something of minor importance: The big industry players like Lever, Nestle do not bother about the entry of small fry in their business territories. 730. Smell a rat: Suspect something: Every time Chornath comes to my house, I find at least one book missing from my library, I m beginning to smell a rat. 731. Snake in the grass: Disloyal, untrustworthy person: I am really annoyed with how he has proved himself to be a snake in the grass after all the good I have done to him. 732. Song and dance: Foolish or uninteresting talk: When Ninu met me in the morning, he gave me a long song and dance about how he was caught in the trap of the police. 733. Sow wild oats: Commit foolish mistakes (in teenage, youth): He may have sown wild oats while he was a teenager, but now he behaves quite sensibly. 734. Speak volumes : Full of meaning : His first position in the test speaks volumes for the hard work he must have put in.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

735. Spill the beans: Disclose a secret: All of us had decided to keep the plan a closely guarded secret, but Jinu spilled the beans. 736. Square peg in a round hole: a person unfit in a job \ position: A university professor in the job of an orchestra singer will prove himself to be a square peg in around hole. 737. Stand head and shoulders above: Be much better: The results clearly show that party X stands head and shoulders above the other parties. 738. Stand on ceremony: Be formal: Our distinguished guest put us at ease by telling us not to stand on ceremony. 739. Steal ones thunder : Say or do something which others had planned to : Taplu has thought of making a suggestion to switch over to a zero-based budget from next year, but Kahlu spoke first and stole his thunder. 740. Steal the show: Give an outstanding performance: Though Ashutosh Rana made a small appearance in the movie Dushman, still he managed to steal the show due to his superior acting prowess. 741. Stick-in-the-mud: An overcareful, old-fashioned person: The young leader wanted to initiate many radical changes in the partys programme, but the old stick-in-the-mud leaders would not let him do so. 742. Stick to ones guns: Maintain, stick to ones ideas despite opposition: The fiery politician stuck to his guns despite overwhelming opposition to his suggestions. 743. Stir up a hornets nest: To annoy many people: The college principal has stirred up a hornets nest by prescribing a dress code for girls. 744. Stock-in-trade: Something routine and helpful in ones business: Jokes are an anchorpersons stock-intrade. 745. Storm in a teacup: Fuss, excitement about something unimportant: All this loud talk about village panchayat elections is nothing but a storm in a teacup.

746. Straight from the horses mouth: Direct from the original source, an undoubted source: Pingla and Tangali are going to get married. I have got the news straight from the horses mouth the groom. 747. Straw in the wind: A small sign of what may happen in future: The worried face of the doctor was a straw in the wind for the patients relatives. 748. Strike a blow: Do something to help: By managing to publish the newspaper despite all government restrictions and hindrances, this publisher has struck a blow for the freedom of the press. 749. Strike it rich: Become rich suddenly or unexpectedly: Amir Dass struck it rich only two-three years back, thus ending his long life of poverty and deprivation. 750. Sweep under the rug \ carpet: Hide or dismiss causally: Many instances of drug trafficking are swept under the rug \ carpet by the police under political pressure. 751. Take a leaf out of someones book: Imitate, copy someone: He has taken a leaf out of my book and ahs quit smoking, like I had done. 752. Take after: Be similar to: She has taken after her mother in beauty. 753. Take exception to: To criticize: The opposition took strong exception to the P.M.s speech, which branded all of them as traitors. 754. Take for a ride: Deceive; befool someone for ones own advantage: The gullible villager was taken for a ride by the smart salesman. 755. Take in stride: Accept good and bad luck with equanimity: This is the business of life; we have to take everything in our stride. 756. Take issue with: Argue against: The offended leader decided to take issue with the newspaper. 757. Take its toll: Cause damage or destruction: The deadly cholera has taken its toll on the slum dwellers in the city.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

758. Take off ones hat to: Give honour, praise: Though he is my staunch enemy, yet I take off my hat to him for his courage and intellect. 759. Take something lying down: Accept something without protesting: We are not the ones to take this insult lying down, if you think so, you are mistaken. 760. Take to task: Criticize, scold: The erring students were taken to task by the college principal. 761. Take stock of: Assess, study carefully: The Chiefs of Staff Committee took stock of the war situation and decided to act swiftly to prevent further damage. 762. Take the bull by the horns: Act bravely and definitively in a difficulty, without bothering about risks: The employee decided to take the bull by the horns and demanded a salary raise despite the fact that it could cost him his job. 763. Take to heels: Run away: When the thief saw the police approaching him, he took to heels. 764. Take with a pinch of salt: Believe partly: We took uncle Shekhchillis wartime stories with a pinch of salt. 765. Talk shop: Talk about business, trade: The two doctors were talking shop at the restaurant and I could hardly understand a thing of it. 766. Tall order: Something difficult to achieve: Expecting every club member to sell at least a thousand tickets for the show is indeed a tall order. 767. The plot thickens: The things become more complicated: The situation was already quite complex, but with the new revelation made by the accused, the plot has thickened. 768. Think on ones feet: Think quickly: He can easily give a very witty reply to any of the questions during debates etc, surely he can think on his feet. 769. through thick and thin: Through all times, good or bad: The two friends remained loyal to each other through their thick and thin. 770. Throw a spanner in the works: Ruin, prevent something from happening: The party was going to

take a final decision on the issue tonight, but some executive members threw a spanner in the works by saying that they could not come. 771. Throw caution to winds: Behave, act recklessly: She threw caution to the winds and eloped with her boyfriend. 772. Throw down the gauntlet: Challenge, for a fight: Another candidate has thrown down the gauntlet for the post of President. 773. Throw the baby with the bathtub: Reject the whole thing because a part of it is faulty: There are certain weaknesses in the new proposal which need correction, but if it is rejected altogether, it will be like throwing the baby with the bathtub. 774. Tied to mothers apron strings: Completely under mothers influence: He will never leave home to pursue a course abroad because he is still tied to his mother's apron strings. 775. Tighten ones belts: Economize, be frugal: The national economic situation requires all of us to tighten our belts. 776. Time of ones life: A wonderful time: I had the time of my life at the great party organized by the club. 777. To all intents and purposes: Practically speaking: This building is ours to all intents and purposes, though we still have to obtain some legal documents for it. 778. To boot: In addition: She was intelligent, beautiful and rich to boot. 779. Tom, Dick and Harry: Everybody, Common people: The old lady told her tale of woes to every Tom, Dick and Harry who sat by her. 780. Tongue in cheek: Remarks not to be taken seriously: My friend Ulta Nath suggested that we should go out for a swim at 3 a.m., which I suppose, was a tongue in the cheek suggestion. 781. Top dog: The most important person, winner: The Presidential elections are slated for next week; lets see who comes out to be the top dog.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

782. To the wall: Trapped, inescapable situation: By failing even the last mercy test, Nalayak has driven himself to the wall. 783. Trump card: Something retained to succeed, if nothing else works : Though Sachin was an excellent player, the team manager thought of using him as a trump card in the match. 784. Tug-of-war: Contest, struggle: The two sides indulged in a tug-of-war to win the coveted prize, but they ended with a tie. 785. Turn a deaf ear: Not to pay attention: I have always advised him to work hard, but he always turns a deaf ear to such advice. 786. Turn ones back: To refuse to help: She turned her back on her family when they needed her help direly. 787. Turn a new leaf: Sudden change for better: Jantu decided to turn a new leaf in school by becoming punctual. 788. Turn the tables on : To create a dramatically opposite situation : India was on the brink of losing the match against the Aussies, but fine bowling and fielding by some players turned the tables against Australia. 789. Twiddle ones thumbs: Be idle, not work at all: Instead of twiddling their thumbs, many retired people go on to make a second career in some other profession. 790. Ugly duckling: An ugly or plain-looking child who grows up attractive: Rekha was the ugly duckling of her family, but look- she is rated as one of the most beautiful women in the film industry today. 791. under a cloud: Under suspicion: The reputation of most cricketers in India is under a cloud after the match-fixing scandal came to light. 792. under the nose of: Easily seen or noticeable position: The thieves looted the shop under the very nose of the policemen who were stationed just 50 metres away from the shop.

793. under ones wing: Under the care and protection of: He happily took the new trainee under his wings to train him in the business. 794. under the hammer: For sale: The diamond-set in her possession will be under the hammer at the Sunday auction this time. 795. Up in arms: Very angry and ready to fight: The residents were up in arms against the police misconduct. 796. Upset the applecart: Ruin somebodys plan or actions: Johns innovative idea upset the applecart of our opponent's plans to defeat us. 797. Vexed question: Problem difficult to solve: The population control in India has always been a vexed problem. 798. Vicious circle: Unpleasant cycle of happenings, one leading to the other: A poor man lacks money to get good education, which in turn ensures that he never gets a good job, thus perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty. 799. Warm the cockles of ones heart: Give great happiness and pleasure: The sight of my son winning the first prize in every activity warmed the cockles of my heart. 800. Wash ones dirty linen in public: Discuss in public the things which should be private: During election campaigns, the candidates should talk only politics and public affairs, they should restrain from washing their opponents dirty linen in public. 801. Wash ones hands of: Withdraw from: We had washed our hands of his affairs long time ago. 802. Wear ones heart on ones sleeve: Show one's feelings openly: Ones personal pleasure or pain is ones own; one must avoid wearing ones heart on ones sleeve. 803. Water down: Weaken, make more moderate: The bill was passed in a watered down form by the Parliament.

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender

804. Water off a ducks back: Have no effect: My suggestions to him were like water off a ducks back he paid absolutely no attention. 805. Weather the storm: Come out of a difficult or dangerous phase successfully: He weathered the storm of political disgrace after the scandal ten years ago, but now enjoys great political support. 806. Wet blanket: A person who prevents others from enjoying themselves: Nobody invites Dukhi Nath to his party because he is a wet blanket. 807. White as a sheet: Pale with fright: He turned white as a sheet on seeing the site of the accident. 808. Wide off the mark: Far from the target: The marksman put in his best to hit the target, but it came out to be wide off the mark. 809. Wide goose chase: Fruitless search: He went on a wild goose chase looking for that rare cassette, which he had lost in the fire; of course he did not find it anywhere. 810. Win ones spurs: Show ability to get recognition, get noticed: Shivaji won his spurs as a young prince in several wars. 811. With flying colors: With great success: He cleared the test with flying colors in the first attempt itself. 812. Within an ace of: Very close to: My horse was within an ace of winning the race, but it stumbled in the last moments. 813. With open arms: Eagerly, Heartily: We welcomed our guests with open arms. 814. Wolf in sheeps clothing: A person who pretends to be good, but is not, disloyal, untrustworthy: I had total faith in him until I came across several bunglings he had committed and proved himself a wolf in sheeps clothing. 815. Work wonders: Cause great progress, improvement: A regular use of this tonic can work wonders for your general health.

816. Worth ones salt: Worth what one is paid: Rangus field performance as a salesman proves that he is worth his salt. 817. Worth ones weight in gold: Very valuable: This book is worth its weight in gold, it gives you rare ideas on how to improve your personal success in life. 818. Writing on the wall: Notice warning signs that something unpleasant may occur: Before he was fired from his job, he had read the writing on the wall and had started preparing for it. 819. Yeomans service: Great service: Bhagat Singh did a yeomans service to revive the spirit of nationalism and patriotism among the youth of those days. 820. Yes-man: Someone who always agrees with his boss: Creativity does not demand a yes-man, but a constructive spirit of dissenting on important issues. ITISHRI IDIOMANEADHYAYA SHYAMASHWARANE KAKSHO ADHYAYNA ABHIYANAM

At T.I.M.E., we care for your career! For Queries, Contact: 0183-2401818/9781331333 Join us: www.facebook.com/timeasr Prepared by: Ms. Shanu Gupta, Mr. Surender