Officers Services Academy Bahawalpur Campus

Sr.
No.
IDIOMS MEANING
1. In apple pie order Neat & tidy
2. A white elephant something that costs a lot of money but has no useful purpose
3. A black sheep A person who causes shame or embarrassment for others
4. A bosom friend A close and dear friend and went everywhere together
5. A brown study A state of mental absorption
6. To leave one in lurch To leave one in time of difficulty.
7. To eat a humble pie To yield to a very Humiliating position.
8. To stand on ceremony To be format
9. To monkey with To do mischief or trick with a thing
10. To hit the nail on the head To speak to the point
11. To make a clean breast of To confess one’s Guilt.
12. To win laurels To win distinction
13. To cast a slur upon to bring into dispute
14. To cut a sorry figure To make one self- Ridiculous.
15. To turn off a new leaf To change better
16. To get rid of: To be free from.
17. To put two and two together. To drew a conclusion from certain circumstances
18. To throw cold water on To discourage
19. To look down upon To hate
20. To come to pass To happen
21. To pull a long face To look serious or solemn
22. To fight tooth and nail To fight persistently.
23. To fight shy of try to avoid something
24. To follow suit To imitate
25. To turn turtle To be upset
26. To sow one’s wild oats Foolish indulge in excess while one is young
27. To give vent to To express.
28. To go hand in hand To accompany each other.
29. To sleep through one’s fingers To escape narrowly.
30. To pay one back in the same coin. To treat same person in the same way in which he Treats you.
31. To stand one in great stead to be useful or helpful to someone
32. To sallow the bait To be caught by Temping promise.
33 To get into hot water To leave one in time of difficulty
34 To add fuel to the fire To supply fresh cause of excitement.
35 To beggar description Be too extraordinary to describe.
36 To burn the candle To suffer both way
37 To die in harness To die in active during service
38 To fan the flames To aggravate the situation
39 To keep up appearances To maintain the outward shows.
40 To be taken aback to be surprised
41 To have a bee in ones bonnet to talk and think a lot about something
42 To bury the hatchet To make an end of enmity.
43 Pay off old scores Take revenge of old grievances
44 To have an axe to grind A private end to serve.
45 To end in smoke To fail, to have no positive result
46 To curry favor Curry to make meat or vegetables into curry.
47 To blow one’s own trumpet To boast or to indulge in self-praise
48 To end in fiasco To end in confusion
49 To burn ones fingers To get into trouble.
50 To turn a deaf ear to To be inattentive
51 To nip something in the bud To destroy in the early stages of growth
52 Hold Water To be Effective
53 To keep an arm’s length To avoid.
54 Tongue in cheek Insincere without meaning what one say.
 Officers Services Academy Bahawalpur Campus
55 A necessary evil An evil that cannot be avoided
56 Scot free without any punishment
57 To be at loggers head To be on inimical terms
58 A Labour of love A thankless labour.
59 A willing horse A willing worker
60 At cross purpose Two persons having opposite view.
61 In ones elements To be in agreeable circumstances.
62 Fair play Honest dealing.
63 Foul play Unlawful Dealings.
64 The back bone Chief support.
65 The Fourth estate the press
66 A snake in the grass A deceitful person
67 A ruling passion a person's most important interest
68 In full swing Operating fully at highest level.
69 On the anvil Under discussion
70 A skeleton in the cupboard embarrassing or unpleasant secret
71 Last straw A little addition that makes a thing very miserable.
72 Up with the lark To rise very early
73 A hat track Three successive victories
74 Blue stocking A women having literary taste
75 A bolt from the blue or out of blue A sudden calamity
76 At one’s beck and call Ready to serve.
77 Herculean task very hard to perform
78 On the horns of dilemma To be in fix.
79 In a fix To be in difficulty
80 Every inch Completely
81 A storm in the tea cup Great fuss over a little thing
82 A blue eyed boy. A favorite
83 A dork house An unexpected winner
84 Like a red rag to the bull used of something that makes a person very angry
85 Under a cloud In adversity.
86 Hand in glove with On intimate terms.
87 Once in a blue Very rarely.
88 Lions share Major portion:
89 In the good books To be like and loved.
90 Below the belt unfair
91 Chicken heated Cowardly
92 At daggers drawn To have Enmity
93 A bird of passage A migratory.
94 A hard nut to crack A uphill task
95 An open secret A bone of contention
96 A bone of contention The root of evil
97 At a stone’s throw A small distance
98 The eternal triangle Two men’s love for one women.
99 A dead letter Someone no longer in force
100 A bird’s Eye view Is a view seen from above as by a bird flying.
101 A beast of burden An animal used for carrying heavy loads
102 Red tape Official day
103 Eye Wash: Do not talk such eye wash.
104 A square deal: A bargain marked by fames
105 A square Meal A good nourishing meal
106 A square peg in a round hole A person who feels out of place.
107 The man in the street An ordinary inexpert man
108 A cat and dog life to be always quarreling
109 Hornets’ nest To create an unpleasant situation
110 A feather in one cap A distinction
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111 A turn coat A person who changes his opinion
112 A jack off all trades: A person who can do any kind of work
113 A man of letters Literary man.
114 A man of parts a man of superior ability
115 A man of spirits Brave person.
116 A man of straw Of no importance.
117 A bed of roses Comfortable
118 A bed of thorns A difficult thing
119 Birds of a feather Those with similar interests
120 A cock and bull story An unbelievable tale
121 A fish out of water A state of uneasiness
122 A wet blanket Dampens enthusiasm or pleasure.
123 The swan song A farewell appearance or final act
124 A white lie an outright untruth
125 A wild goose chase Useless effort
126 An apple of discord An object of dispute
127 A queer fish: A strange or crazy person
128 A rainy day Time of difficulty
129 A red letter day An auspicious or Fortunate day.
130 A right hand man Chief helper
131 Small talk Light conversation
132 Iron will Strong determination
133 A laughing stock An object of ridicule
134 An oily tongue Oily covered with oil
135 Smooth sailing an easy task
136 Point blank to say or do something direct
137 A fair weather friend A friend who leaves you in trouble
138 French leave Absence without leave or permission
139 A hair breath escape A narrow escape
140 A henpecked husband A husband who obeys his wife
141 An iron hand: Firm control
142 A burning question An urgent and important matter
143 A maiden speech The first speech that one makes
144 A close fisted man A miser to spend money close.
145 A cold blooded murder A murder having no mercy or pity.
146 Crocodile tears False or hypocritical sorrow
147 A red-letter day An important or special day
148 A bee in bonnet to talk and think a lot about something
149 A child's play Very easy task
150 A man of iron will Determined person
151 A narrow escape Closely avoid danger
152 A man of parts A person with different talents
153 A rainy day Tough time
154 A rotten egg A bad or useless person
155 A wet blanket destroy others' enjoyment
156 Above board Undoubted, without dishonesty
157 Add fuel to fire Make something worse
158 Alpha and omega Beginning and the end
159 At eleventh hour Latest possible time
160 Bag and baggage With one's possessions
161 Beat about the bush To avoid talk which can upset someone
162 Bed of roses Comfortable
163 Burn the midnight oil To stay up working late at nigh
164 Burning question An urgent or crucial issue
165 Bury the hatchet To make peace, to end a fight
166 By hook or by crook By all means
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167 By fits and starts Inconsistent, irregularly
168 Blue blood The blood of a noble family
169 Cheek by jowl Side by side, together
170 Crocodile tears False display of sadness
171 Cry for the moon An impractical request, wish
172 Cut a sorry figure To be ashamed, to feel sorry
173 Casting vote The deciding vote
174 Cast pearls before swine good something waste
175 Feather in one's cap One's accomplishment
176 Few and far between Few and widely scattered.
177 Find fault with To criticize
178 For the sake of someone's/something's good
179 French leave Leave without permission
180 From hand to mouth Only bare essentials, poverty
181 Far cry from (something) Very different
182 Feather one's nest To get wealthy because of one's position
183 Finger in the pie A sign of one`s involvement
184 First and foremost Most important
185 Flesh and blood Blood relative
186 Go to the dogs To become worse
187 Gift of the gab Ability to speak persuasively
188 Give the devil his due To give foe proper credit
189 Go without saying Unambiguous, self-evident
190 Hard and fast Defined and invariable
191 Hand in glove with In close cooperation
192 Heart and soul Completely
193 Hue and cry A large public protest
194 To live from hand to mouth To live with bare essentials
195 High time Appropriate time
196 Hobson's choice No alternative, No more choice
197 In a nutshell Very brief
198 In black and white Written or printed
199 In the air Everywhere
200 Jack of all trades Skilled in many different area