Idioms & Phrases
🔒 Log in to trackIdioms for situations and types of people
🔒 Log in to trackThe biggest blocks describe situations (trouble, effort, suddenness) and people (types, loyalties, weaknesses).
Situations and events
| Idiom | Meaning |
|---|---|
| A blessing in disguise | a misfortune that turns out to be beneficial |
| Burn the midnight oil | work or study late into the night |
| At the drop of a hat | instantly and without any excuse or delay |
| In hot water | in serious trouble |
| Make both ends meet | live within a limited income |
| A bolt from the blue | a sudden, completely unexpected shock |
| Leave no stone unturned | try every possible means |
| Move heaven and earth | make the greatest possible effort |
| On cloud nine | extremely happy |
| Under the weather | slightly ill |
| Turn over a new leaf | begin a better way of living |
| A storm in a teacup | furious argument about a trivial thing |
| Carry the day | win, prevail |
| Play second fiddle | accept a subordinate position |
| Rest on one's laurels | be complacent with past achievements |
| Behind bars | in prison |
| In the pipeline | being planned or prepared |
| By leaps and bounds | very rapidly |
| On the spur of the moment | suddenly, without earlier planning |
| In cold blood | deliberately and without pity |
| Off and on | irregularly, now and then |
| Out of the frying pan into the fire | from a bad situation into a worse one |
| Cut a long story short | come directly to the point |
| Against all odds | despite every difficulty and discouragement |
| Face the music | accept the unpleasant consequences of one's acts |
| Throw in the towel | admit defeat and give up |
| Get the sack | be dismissed from employment |
| Pass the buck | shift blame or duty to someone else |
| Steal a march on | gain an advantage over someone secretly |
| Turn the tables | reverse one's position against an opponent |
| Take to one's heels | run away quickly |
| Feather one's nest | enrich oneself by misusing one's position |
| End in smoke | come to nothing after much effort |
| Play havoc with | cause great disorder or damage to |
| Bear the palm | win the first prize or highest honour |
People and character
| Idiom | Meaning |
|---|---|
| An Achilles' heel | one weak point in an otherwise strong person or system |
| A man of straw | a person of no substance or influence |
| A man of letters | a learned writer or scholar |
| A man of his word | one who always keeps his promises |
| A fair-weather friend | a friend who disappears in your bad days |
| A snake in the grass | a treacherous enemy hiding as a friend |
| A wolf in sheep's clothing | a dangerous person disguised as harmless |
| Odd man out | the one member unlike all the others |
| A cog in the machine | an insignificant worker in a vast system |
| A tower of strength | a person who gives firm support in crisis |
| A jack of all trades | one who does many kinds of work, master of none |
| Have a finger in every pie | meddle in everyone's business |
| Wear your heart on your sleeve | display your feelings openly |
| Keep your chin up | stay brave and cheerful in hardship |
| Keep the wolf from the door | earn just enough to avoid hunger |
| Keep body and soul together | barely manage to survive |
| Take someone to task | scold or criticise someone severely |
| Be all ears | listen with complete eagerness |
| Be in two minds | be unable to decide between options |
| Sit on the fence | avoid taking sides in a dispute |
| Keep your fingers crossed | hope anxiously that things will go well |
| Break the ice | start conversation among strangers |
| Hit the nail on the head | describe a situation with exact correctness |
| A foregone conclusion | a result obvious in advance |
| At daggers drawn | in open, bitter hostility |
| In the doldrums | low in spirits or activity |
| Not mince matters | speak plainly without softening words |
| Take to task | reprimand for a fault |
Situation families: trouble (in hot water, in a pickle, in the doldrums), effort (move heaven and earth, leave no stone unturned, burn the midnight oil), suddenness (a bolt from the blue, out of the blue, at the drop of a hat, on the spur of the moment, off and on is the exception — irregularity), defeat and quitting (throw in the towel, bite the dust, get the sack, end in smoke), improvement (turn over a new leaf, bury the hatchet), blame-shifting (pass the buck, steal a march, turn the tables).
People families: the weak (man of straw, cog in the machine), the treacherous (snake in the grass, wolf in sheep's clothing, fair-weather friend), the reliable (man of his word, tower of strength, salt of the earth), the mixed-ability (jack of all trades), the famous weak-spot (Achilles' heel).
Cluster-learning pays double here: when the stem says 'a sudden and unexpected event', the whole suddenness family surfaces, and the options — usually drawn one per family — separate instantly.
Detailed notes
Two big groups
Most idioms in competitive exams fall into two groups:
- Situation idioms — they describe what is happening: trouble, hard work, sudden events, success, defeat.
- People idioms — they describe a type of person: loyal, false, weak, skilled, clever.
If you know which group and which family an idiom belongs to, the right option stands out.
Situation families
| Family | Idioms | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Trouble | in hot water, in a fix, in deep waters | in serious difficulty |
| Hard effort | burn the midnight oil, leave no stone unturned, move heaven and earth | work very hard / try every way |
| Sudden | at the drop of a hat, on the spur of the moment | at once / without planning |
| Money | make both ends meet, keep the wolf from the door | manage with little income |
| Change | turn over a new leaf, turn the tables | start behaving better / reverse the position |
| Winning | carry the day, bear the palm | win |
| Losing, quitting | throw in the towel, bite the dust, take to one's heels | give up / be defeated / run away |
| Health, mood | under the weather, on cloud nine | slightly ill / extremely happy |
Worked use: The police left no stone unturned to find the child. Effort family → tried every possible way.
People families
| Type | Idioms | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| False friend | a snake in the grass, a fair-weather friend, a wolf in sheep's clothing | hidden enemy / friend only in good times / harmful person who looks harmless |
| Weak or unimportant | a man of straw, a cog in the machine | person of no real power |
| Reliable | a man of his word, a tower of strength | keeps promises / gives strong support |
| Many skills | a jack of all trades | does many jobs, masters none |
| Second place | play second fiddle | take a less important role |
Idioms from stories (allusions)
Some idioms come from old stories. One line of the story fixes the meaning for ever.
- Achilles' heel — a Greek hero could be hurt only at his heel → a weak point.
- Bell the cat — the mice wanted a bell on the cat, but none dared tie it → to take a big risk for everyone.
- Pandora's box — opening a forbidden box let out all troubles → a source of many new problems.
- A Herculean task — Hercules did twelve very hard labours → a task needing huge effort.
- Midas touch — whatever King Midas touched became gold → the ability to make money from anything.
- A Trojan horse — soldiers hid inside a wooden horse gifted to Troy → something harmless-looking that harms from inside.
Fill-in-the-blank type
Read the sentence and name the family it needs. Seeing the police, the thief ___. The thief wants to escape → running away → took to his heels. Then read the sentence again with your choice.
Common traps
- Steal a march on is not stealing; it means gaining an advantage quietly.
- Pass the buck is not about money; it means shifting blame.
- Play second fiddle is not about music; it means a lower role.
- Under the weather is not about rain; it means slightly ill.
Quick revision
- Name the family first: trouble, effort, sudden, money, change, win, lose, health.
- People idioms: false (snake, fair-weather), weak (straw, cog), reliable (word, tower).
- Story idioms: Achilles' heel, bell the cat, Pandora's box, Herculean, Midas touch, Trojan horse.
- In blanks, match the family the sentence needs.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: Meaning of a situation idiomvery common3 practice Q
The idiom describes an event or condition: trouble, effort, suddenness, winning, losing, health.
- Place the idiom in its family (effort, trouble, sudden...).
- Reject options from other families and literal options.
- Pick the option that states the family meaning exactly.
Why it works: distractors are usually taken from other families.
Example: Meaning of By leaps and bounds: (a) very rapidly (b) by jumping (c) with great fear (d) slowly and steadily
Leaps = big fast jumps → speed. Answer: (a) very rapidly.
Type 2: Meaning of a people (character) idiomcommon3 practice Q
The idiom names a type of person: 'a ___ friend', 'a man of ___', 'a ___ in the grass'.
- Decide whether the idiom praises or criticises the person.
- Recall the type: false, weak, reliable, many-skilled.
- Choose the option with that type.
Why it works: people idioms are labels; the label's tone removes half the options.
Example: Meaning of A jack of all trades: (a) a skilled mechanic (b) one who does many kinds of work but masters none (c) a rich trader (d) a lazy worker
The full saying ends 'master of none'. Answer: (b).
Type 3: Fill the blank with the right situation idiomcommon2 practice Q
A sentence with a blank and four idioms as options.
- Read the sentence and name what is needed (run away? lower role? try harder?).
- Match the family.
- Re-read with the chosen idiom; check tense and grammar.
Why it works: the context supports only one meaning.
Example: Having won one medal, the athlete did not ___; she trained even harder. (a) rest on her laurels (b) burn her boats (c) play to the gallery (d) break the ice
She kept working instead of relaxing after success → (a) rest on her laurels (be satisfied with past success).
Type 4: Idioms from stories and legendsoccasional3 practice Q
A proper noun or story object appears: Achilles, Pandora, Hercules, Midas, Trojan, a cat with a bell.
- Recall the one-line story.
- Turn the story's key point into a general meaning.
- Reject literal options about the story's objects.
Why it works: the story is the meaning; options that retell it literally are wrong.
Example: Meaning of The Midas touch: (a) a gentle touch (b) the ability to make money from anything one does (c) a royal order (d) a golden ornament
Everything Midas touched turned to gold. Answer: (b).
Shortcut tricks
⚡ Family surfacing
Classify the stem's demand: sudden? trouble? effort? defeat? person-type? Recall the family's four members; the right one is usually among the options, and the wrong options are from other families.
⚡ Allusion anchors
A few idioms hide a story: Achilles' heel (the hero's one weak spot), bell the cat (the mouse that dared), pass the buck (shifting the deal-marker). One-line stories fix meanings permanently.
⚡ Outcome test
For action idioms, ask what changes at the end: throw in the towel → the fight stops (give up); turn the tables → positions reverse; face the music → consequences arrive.
Where students lose marks
Reading 'steal a march' as theft — it means to gain a secret advantage.
Taking 'pass the buck' as giving money; the buck is the marker of responsibility.
Confusing 'in the doldrums' (depressed/inactive) with 'in the dumps' — same sense, but options plant 'a boring place'.
Reading 'against all odds' as 'very unfair odds' instead of 'despite difficulties'.
Practice sets — 17 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 4 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.