Once in a blue moon:

Meaning: Something that

happens very rarely.

Sentence: The earthquakes hit

once in a blue moon in this part

of the earth.

Beating around the bush:

Meaning: Avoiding the main topic

2.

Sentence: The President was beating

around the bush when the citizens

demanded a reason for the forgery of

legal documents.

3. The chip on your shoulder:

Meaning: When someone is upset

about something that happened a

 while ago

Sentence: He has a chip on his

shoulder for being abandoned by his

parents in his childhood.

Cry over spilled milk:

Meaning: Complaining about a loss or

failure from the past

4.

Sentence: He was mad because he

couldn’t get admission due to a silly

mistake. But, then he realised there

was no use crying over spilt milk and

decided to become more careful.

Spill the beans

5. Meaning: To disclose a secret

Sentence: The little one spilled the

beAnswer: about the surprise vacation

we had planned.

6. Piece of cake:

Meaning: Something that is easy to

understand or do
 Sentence: I thought that the problem

would be tough, but it turned out to be

a piece of cake!

Blessing in disguise:

Meaning: Something good and useful

7.
that did not initially seem that way

Sentence: His accident was a blessing

in disguise because it gave him a lot of

time to think about his life.

Come hell or high water:

Meaning: Possible obstacles in your

8.
path (will not stop you)

Sentence: I have decided that come

hell or high water I will become an

engineer.

9. Taste of your own medicine:

Meaning: When someone receives the

same treatment, usually negative, that

he/ she gives to others

Sentence: She is always taunting

 others and hurting their sentiments. I

just wish someone would give her a

taste of her own medicine.

Golden handshake:

Meaning: A big sum of money given to

a person when he/she leaves a

10.
company or retires

Sentence: The management of the

company wanted to decrease their

workforce. They offered a golden

handshake to their aged employees.

Mean business:

11.
Meaning: Being serious/dedicated

Sentence: The border is sealed by

troops who mean business.

12. Apple of one’s eye:

Meaning: Being cherished more than

others are

Sentence: Sameer is adored by his

teacher for his childlike nature. He is

 the apple of her eye.

The best of both worlds:

Meaning: The benefits of widely

differing situations, enjoyed at the

13.
same time.

Sentence: I had the best of both worlds

since I worked as an ordinary member

of the team but got to learn from the

leaders.

Feeling a bit under the weather:

14. Meaning: Feeling slightly ill

Sentence: I may not be able to jog

today, as I am feeling a bit under the

weather.

Icing on the cake:

Meaning: Something that turns good

15.
into great

Sentence: India’s victory over England

on India’s Independence Day was like

icing on the cake.

 Cost an arm and a leg:

16. Meaning: Be very expensive

Sentence: His laziness made him miss

his flight to Chandigarh. The next

ticket cost him an arm and a leg.

Jump the bandwagon:

Meaning: To join a popular activity or

17. trend

Sentence: When he was detected with

diabetes, he quickly jumped on the

bandwagon and joined the yoga

classes.

Ball is in your court:

Meaning: When it is up to you to make

18.
the next decision or step.

Sentence: Now the ball is in your court;

decide whether you want to reply or

not.

19. Bite off more than you can chew:

Meaning: To take up a task which you

 may not be able to accomplish due to

lack of ability.

Sentence: I bit off more than I could

chew when I decided to take up the

300 page research project.

Don’t judge a book by its cover:

Meaning: One should not judge

something primarily on appearance.

20.

Sentence: The house looked

impressive in the advertisement. Still I

made a trip to 1 the house to check

everything. It is wise not to judge a

book by its cover.

Hear it on grapevine:

Meaning: To hear rumours about

21.
something or someone

Sentence:I heard it on grapevine that

he had stiffed an old man asking for

his pension.

22. It takes two to tango:

Meaning: Actions or communications

 need more than one person

Sentence: We really need to talk about

the problems and adjust, after all it

takes two to tango.

Last straw:

Meaning: The final problem in a series

23.
of problems

Sentence: My body was already in bad

shape. The accident was the last straw.

I am now on a complete bed rest.

To be in the doldrums:

24. Meaning: To be in low spirits

Sentence: Sahil was in the doldrums

after he was insulted by the boss in

front of his colleagues.

25. To sit on the fence:

Meaning: To remain neutral

Sentence: Since I wasn’t aware of the

details, I decided to sit on the fence

during the argument between my

 cousins.

Break the ice:

Meaning: To initiate a social

26.
conversation or interaction

Sentence: At the start of the lecture,

the new professor tried to break the

ice by telling a joke.

A bird’s eye view:

Meaning: A view from a very high

27.
place that allows you to see a very

large area.

Sentence: The Singapore Big Wheel

offers a bird’s eye view of the city.

A litmus test:

Meaning: A method that helps to know

28.
if something is correct

Sentence: Taking up the job served as

a litmus test for me to know how good

I was at applying my knowledge.

29. At the drop of a hat:

 Meaning: Willingness to do something

instantly

Sentence: She expects me to make

dinner at the drop of a hat even if I am

very busy with office work.

Afraid of one’s own shadow:

Meaning: To become easily frightened

30.

Sentence: Scotty my dog, was afraid of

his own shadow when he was a pup,

but now he barks on everyone and

looks at himself proudly.

A house of cards:

31.
Meaning: A poor plan

Sentence: Rita has made a house of

cards before her final examinations.

32. Black and blue:

Meaning: Full of bruises

Sentence: The young lad was all black

 and blue after a tiff with a raging

senior.

Be on cloud nine:

33.
Meaning: Be very happy

Sentence: I will be on cloud nine when

my first article gets published.

Bone of contention:

Meaning: A subject or issue over

34. which there is continuing

disagreement

Sentence: The examination system has

long been a serious bone of contention

in the HRD Ministry.

Eat humble pie:

35. Meaning: To apologise humbly

Sentence: He will have to eat humble

pie for the disrespect shown to the

Captain.

36. Fool’s paradise:

 Meaning: False sense of happiness or

success

Sentence: They were living in a fool’s

paradise, refusing to accept that they

were facing poverty.

Give cold shoulder:

37. Meaning: To ignore

Sentence: I sent her a message to

apologise for my misbehavior, but she

gave me the cold shoulder.

Get a raw deal:

38. Meaning: To not be treated as well as

other people

Sentence: The fact is that students in

government schools get a raw deal.

39. Hit the nail on the head:

Meaning: To do the correct thing

Sentence: She hit the nail on the head

when she laid out a list of justifiable

 grievances she had with the company.

Hand to mouth:

40. Meaning: Live on only basic

necessities

Sentence: The severe drought led the

farmers to live hand to mouth.

Hit the bull’s eye:

Meaning: To be exactly right about

something or achieve the best result

41.
possible.

Sentence: The detective hit the bull’s

eye when he figured out that nobody

but the doctor could have had access

to the poison.

Let the cat out of the bag:

Meaning: To reveal the secret

42.
carelessly or by mistake

Sentence: Now that she had let the cat

out of the bag, she had no option but

to confess.
 Make a face:

Meaning: To show dislike or

43.
disappointment through facial

expressions

Sentence: Ditya made a face at the

sight of bitter gourd in her food.

Open Pandora’s Box:

Meaning: To find a source of great

44. troubles and problems

Sentence: Finding the wallet on the

road opened up a Pandora’s box. I was

arrested for stealing when I went to

report it at the police station.

It’s Greek to me:

45. Meaning: Something that is not

understandable

Sentence: I failed my commerce test; it

was all Greek to me!

46. Don’t put all your eggs in one

basket:
 Meaning: Do not put all your resources

in one basket.

Sentence: The boy put all his money

into his dream startup that eventually

failed. I had told him not to put all his

eggs in one basket.

To call a spade a spade:

Meaning: To be brutally frank,

47.
outspoken, blunt in speech.

Sentence: Let’s call a spade a spade

popular he may be, but that man is a

liar.

To be a Good Samaritan:

Meaning: To be kind and

48. compassionate to someone in distress

Sentence: I was sure I would be stuck

on the highway till the morning, but a

good Samaritan offered me a ride

home.

49. To put in a nutshell:

Meaning: To say in a few words or to

 make something concise

Sentence: The Textbook Development

Committee decided to put the 30

pages chapter, in a nutshell, to help

save time for students during revision.

To pour oil on troubled waters:

50. Meaning: To make peace

Sentence: I am always stuck pouring

oil on troubled waters when my mother

and wife start their bickering.

To move heaven and earth:

Meaning: To exert all efforts

51.

Sentence: He moved heaven and earth

to ensure that his family was taken

care of in the foreign land in his

absence.