Idioms - Special Idioms for Intermidiate Classes
Idioms (1-100)
1.
A blind alley ( )
Corrupt
politicians have put Pakistan into a blind alley.
2.
Aim at ( )
He aimed at the target and hit
the bull’s eye ( ).
3.
At hand ( )
I am studying hard because my
exams are at hand.
4.
A man of one’s words ( )
You can trust him because
he is a man of his words.
5.
A bluestocking ( )
Hajra Masroor is one of the
famous blue stockings of Pakistan.
6.
A bone of contention ( )
The division of property became a
bone of contention between the two brothers.
7.
Above Board ( )
The honesty of the Holy Prophet
(PBUH) was above board.
8.
A curtain lecture ( )
The hen-pecked ( ) husband often receives a curtain lecture for being
late.
9.
A far cry from ( )
Democracy is a far cry from
dictatorship ( ).
10.
A man of letters ( )
In the world of science, a man
of letters has his own place.
11.
An axe to grind ( )
Our politicians do not serve the
nation unless they have an axe to grind.
12.
At the eleventh hour ( )
I will never trust Surmad as he
promised to help me, but he backed out at
the eleventh hour.
13.
A maiden speech ( )
Ahmad was so good an orator that even his maiden
speech was cheered.
14.
At length ( )
The minister spoke about the
evils of corruption at length in the meeting.
15.
A narrow shave/ a hairbreadth
escape ( )
Luckily, I had
a
narrow escape from an accident yesterday.
16.
A rolling stone ( )
An inconsistent person never
succeeds because a rolling stone gathers no moss.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
17.
A red-letter day ( )
The 14th of August is a red-letter day for the Pakistani
nation.
18.
A dark Horse ( )
The amateur team proved itself a dark horse by winning its first match
easily.
19.
A black sheep ( )
A black sheep can spoil and contaminate others, too.
20.
At cross purpose ( )
The bi-literal talks ended in failure because both groups were at a cross purpose with each other.
21.
Add insult to injury ( )
The inspector beat the protestor
hard and added insult to injury by
putting him behind the bars.
22.
Amazon ( )
The way Razia Sultana fought to
power proved her to be an amazon.
23.
An eyewash ( )
Her grief over the death of her
rival was only an eyewash.
24.
A rotten egg ( )
The new manager fired the corrupt
officer because he believed that a
rotten egg could spoil the rest.
25.
(to be) all in all ( )
The Muslims believe that Allah is
all in all in the universe.
26.
(to be) a wet blanket ( )
Nobody likes the company of a wet blanket because of his
discouraging behaviour.
27.
(to be) all at sea ( ) /to be at loss
The father was all at sea due to the sudden death of
his only son.
28.
(to be) at daggers drawn ( )
In the past, America and Russia
were at daggers drawn.
29.
(to be) at home in ( )
Pasteur’s daughter was at home using a microscope.
30.
(to be) at one’s wits’ end ( )
He is at his wits’ end due to the heavy loss in his business.
31.
(to be) at large ( )
He said that all criminals would
be arrested, and none of them would be at
large.
32.
(to be) an apple of discord ( )/a bone of contention
The division of property became an apple of discord among the sons.
33.
(to be) at one’s beck and call ( )
A good Muslim should be at the
beck and call of Allah.
34.
(to be) a man of straw ( )
A poor man is
considered to be a man of straw in
the world of today.
35.
A bed of roses ( )
Those who think that life is a bed of roses live in a fool’s paradise.( )
36.
(to be) a drawn game ( )
Both the teams got one point each
after the drawn game.
37.
(to be) a hard nut to crack ( )s
Corruption has now become a hard nut to crack in Pakistan.
38.
(to be) a bosom friend ( )
Ali is my bosom friend, and I
fully trust him.
39.
(to be ) an apple of one’s eye ( )
His only son is the apple of his
eye.
40.
(to be) an apple pie order ( )
A meticulous/duteous person keeps
everything in an apple pie order.
41.
After one’s own heart ( )
He has built his house after his
own heart.
42.
(to be) a bolt from the blue ( )
The earthquake came like a bolt from
the blue for the people of the city.
43.
A wild goose chase ( )
To wish for success without hard
work is just a wild goose chase.
44.
A near miss ( )
His attempt to pass the CSS
Examination was a near miss as he failed to get the desired marks.
45.
All and sundry ( )
All and sundry wear the same
dress at Hajj.
46.
A part and parcel ( )
Games have now become a part and parcel of education.
47.
To add fuel to fire ( )
The union leader added fuel to
fire by his speech and the workers went on strike.
48.
(to be) a stone’s throw ( )
I never arrive late because my
college is a stone’s throw from my home.
49.
A bird of passage ( )
Ali is a bird of passage
and does not stay long in one place.
50.
A blessing in disguise ( )
Sometimes, a misfortune comes as
a blessing in disguise to us.
51.
At the risk of ( )
Soldiers protect us at the risk
of their lives.
52.
At a loss ( )
The failed student was at a loss
about his future.
53.
At a stretch ( )
The old man was too weak to walk ten
miles at a stretch.
54.
An oil tongue ( )
He knows how to convince others
because he has an oily tongue.
55.
A jack of all trades ( )
Aslam proves to be a helping hand
in my project as he is really a jack of all trades.
56.
Above all ( )
The Quaid-e-Azam was honest,
brave and above all truthful and straightforward.
57.
A.B.C ( )
He does not know even the A.B.C
of Arithmetics.
58.
A jail bird ( )
He is a jail bird and seldom remains
outside the prison.
59.
Alpha and Omega ( )
The alpha and Omega of Islam is
that Allah is one and Muhammad (PBUH) is His last prophet.
60.
At the loose end ( )
After his retirement from
service, he is at a loose end and does not know how to pass his time.
61.
A child’s play ( )
It is not a child’s play to pass
the CSS Examination without hard work.
62.
Again and again ( )
If you do this exercise, again and again, you will master it.
63.
Allahdin’s lamp ( )
Those who dream of having Allahdin’s lamp to do wonders will
achieve nothing.
64.
Animal spirits ( )
The athletes exhibited animal spirits on the Sports Day of the
college.
65.
An iron will ( )
Quaid –e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had
an iron will.
66.
Between two fires ( )
The minister was between two fires since he had opposed
both the govt. and the opposition.
67.
Break the news ( )
I did not have the courage to break the news of her father’s death
to her.
68.
Burn the candle at both ends ( )
He spoiled his business by burning the candle at both ends.
69.
Bread and butter ( )
Everybody is worried about his bread and butter in this age of
inflation.
Bread and butter is his only
food.
Bread and butter are available in the market.
70.
Beard the Loin ( )
It requires a lot of courage to beard the lion in his own den.
71.
Burn one’s fingers ( )
If
you keep bad company, you will burn
your fingers.
You will burn your fingers if you keep bad company.
72.
Bull’s eye ( )
The murderer could not escape because the police hit the bull’s eye and killed him on the spot.
73.
By hook or by crook ( )/by fair or unfair
means
The opportunist want to become rich by hook or by crook.
The rich should help the poor.
74.
Bag and baggage ( )
The house owner asked the defaulter to leave the place bag and baggage.
75.
Beat about the bush ( )
The judge scolded the witness
when he started beating about the bush.
76.
By leaps and bounds ( )
Our college is making progress by leaps and bounds.
77.
Breakthrough ( )
Modern scientists are making breakthroughs in the field of
medicines.
78.
Bring to book ( )
A corrupt person will be brought to book for his misdeeds.
79.
Birds of a feather ( )
Like-minded people like to keep
each other’s company because they are birds of a feather.
80.
Burning question ( )
Corruption is a burning question of our society.
81.
Burn the midnight oil ( ) 27-8-2020
He burnt the midnight oil and got first position in the board exams.
82.
A broken reed ( )
A fair-weather friend always proves
to be a broken reed whenever one
needs him.
83.
Break the ice ( )
The death news of his only son
was so tragic that nobody could break
the ice.
84.
Blow hot and cold ( )
The people who blow hot and cold in the same breath are not taken seriously.
85.
Bury the hatchet ( )
The old father advised his quarrelsome sons to bury the hatchet and live with peace.
86.
Bear the brunt of ( )
The lazy peon had to bear the brunt of his boss’s anger.
87.
A bird’s eye view ( )
We can have a bird’s eye view of Dubai from Burj Khalifa.
88.
Be at sixes and sevens ( )
The workers were at sixes and sevens when the fire alarm
blew.
89.
Blue blood ( )
Allama Iqbal (R.A) had a noble
character because he had blue blood
in his veins.
90.
Bad blood ( )
Some people are trying to create bad blood among the Muslims of the
world.
91.
By fits and starts ( )
An idle student generally studies by
fits and starts.
An ideal student does not study by fits and starts.
92.
By and large ( )
By and large, the economy of
Pakistan is not stable.
93.
By dint of ( )
I won the scholarship by dint of my hard work.
94.
To blow one’s own trumpet ( )
He always blows his own trumpet and is disliked for it.
95.
To bring to light ( )
At last, his crime was brought to light by the police enquiry.
96.
Better half ( )
Louis Pasteur’s better half proved a helping hand for
him.
97.
Bad debt ( )
The company owner collapsed because of bad debt.
98.
Break new ground ( )
Most people repeat one another’s opinion; only a genius breaks new ground.
99.
Burn one’s boats ( )
He burnt his boats by signing the bond to serve the company for good.
100.
A bee in the cap/bonnet ( )
He has a bee in his cap of becoming rich overnight.
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