These are the most important and repeated idioms and phrases in SSC exams. It does not make any difference you are preparing for SSC CGL, CPO, SSC 10+2 or MTS. If you check previous years questions on Idioms and Phrases you will find from them. These idioms are also important for CDS, NDA or any LDC exams. Most of the questions you will get from them. And they are updated in 2024 so don’t worry and read them properly you will get good marks in all competitive exams. These idioms and phrases are with their English meanings and in the easy language to understand in the simple steps. These you can say that even in Hindi meanings as simple as possible to make understand.
An open book – a person or thing that is
easy to understand
Emerge out of thin air – it appears
suddenly and unexpectedly.
Leaps and bounds – At rapid pace
Pay through nose – Pay an extremely high
price
To blow one’s own trumpet – : to talk
about oneself or one’s achievements
Fair- weather friend – One who is
friendly when it is advantageous
On the verge (particular state) of – Do
something or experience something
To keep under wraps – Secret
Blue-eyed boys – man who is liked very
much
At stone’s throw – a very short distance
Make one’s flesh creep – to make
someone very worried or frightened
High and dry – without help or hope of
recovery
Putting one’s foot down – to stop
something happening
To have Too many iron in the fire –
juggling too many projects at once and
something’s bound to fail
To run across – To meet by chance
Fall through – To fail
Go to the winds – Disappear
All at sea – Not able to think clearly
A wild goose chase – A hopeless search
Heads will roll –
People will get into severe trouble or
punished.
On the cuff – On credit, Free of charge
Look down upon – consider someone
lesser
In a tight corner – in a difficult situation
Hard and fast – fixed and not able to be
changed
Rest on laurels – To rest, relax or do
nothing
In cold blood – without feeling or mercy;
ruthlessly Give in – to stop competing
Draw on fancy – Use imagination
Talking through hat – talking rubbish
To be always one’s beck (a small river)
and call – ready to obey someone.
Laying off – to stop employing someone
Out and out – Completely
Enough rope – To give someone an
opportunity
Green thumb – A natural skill for
gardening
Going places – starting to be successful
Flogging a dead horse – Wasting time in
useless things
Fell afoul of – To become disliked or to
come in conflict with someone or
something due to one’s actions.
Fair and square – honestly, within the
rules
Make a clean breast – To confess one’s
wrongdoings
Face the music – to receive punishment
Does not hold water – Cannot be trusted
No love lost between – Not on good
terms
Make no bones about – to say clearly
what you think
Token strike – a brief strike held as a
warning
Run riot – behave in a violent
Pros and cons – the favorable and the
unfavorable factors
Good Samaritan – a person who gives
help or sympathy
Take with a grain of salt –
to consider something to be not completely true or right
Turn a deaf year – refuse to listen to a
request
In the good books – regarded by
someone with favour
The green-eyed monster – jealousy
personified (quality).
In high spirits – extremely happy and
having a good time
Bad blood –
Tension between two or more people due to past disagreement
Sharp practices – dishonest or barely
honest dealings
Cheek by jowl – very close together
To keep up – progress at the same rate
as someone else
Turn an honest living –
doing honest work with his own
In the long run – over or after a long
period of time
Fed up – Annoyed
To go to the whole hog – do something
completely
Shake in shoes –
To be very nervous or afraid,
At one’s wit’s end – Puzzled/confused
Close shave – a narrow escape from
danger
An axe to grind – To have a complaint or
dispute that one feels compelled to
discuss / To have a personal motivation
or selfish reason for saying or doing
something.
Cut no ice – have no effect
Reading between the lines – to find
meanings that are not directly expressed in something
A sore (painful and uncomfortable) point –
A matter which irritates
To give the devil his due – To give your
enemy proper credit (for something)
Like a phoenix (an imaginary bird in
ancient stories) – regenerated or reborn
Brought up – to convey for discussion
To eat a humble pie – to be sorry
A bolt from the blue – Something
unexpected or surprising
To take into account – to consider or
remember something
Fall back – To retreat or withdraw
The man in the street – the average man.
Struck a chill to the heart – to produce
feelings of fear in someone
To catch up with – to improve in order to
reach the same standard or rate as
someone or something
Die in harness (leather bands used for
fastening around an animal) – die before
retirement.
Run into – to experience difficulties / to hit
someone or something by accident while
you are driving.
Cut one off without a shilling –
Disinheriting/ to make sure someone does not receive money after his or her parents died.
Make ducks and drakes of – to use
recklessly; squander or waste
To steer clear of – ignore
Let the cat out of the bag – reveal a secret
carelessly or by mistake
To smell a rat – sense that something is
not right
Helter-Skelter – quickly and in all
directions
Blood running cold – to be very frightened
To have something up one’s sleeve –
to have a secret or surprise plan
Bone of contention – Matter of dispute
Sitting on the fence – not take sides in a
dispute
Lay down arms – To surrender
To call it a day – To stop working
Making hay while the sun shines – Taking
advantage of a favorable opportunity
To put up with – To tolerate
To be all at sea – In a state of confusion
To strain every nerve – make every
possible effort.
Yeoman’s service – excellent work/Social work
Go haywire – to stop working correctly
Fight shy of – to try to avoid something
Seamy side – unattractive aspect of
something
Go to the dogs – to become worse in
quality or character
Average out – become equal in amount or
number
At random – without definite aim
To latch onto – to stay close to
someone or spend a lot of time with
To be down to earth – To be realistic
Sail in the same boat – Sharing a
particular experience / having the same
problem or situation
Floored – to be very surprised
Follow one’s nose – to go straight ahead
To shun evil company – To avoid or give up
bad company
A sacred cow – a belief, custom that
people support and do not question or
criticize
Penelope’s web – An endless job
Go haywire – to stop working.
To be in a quandary – in a perplex
Put something by – to save money for a
particular event
Kith and kin – Friends and family
Snake in the grass – Hidden enemy
Keep a level head – Stay calm and show
good judgment
As draft as a brush – very stupid or foolish
Take French leave – absence or departure
from some place or event without
permission or announcement
On cloud nine – Extremely happy
Carry out – to do something
Make amends for – to compensate
Under the weather – not well, feeling sick
A closefisted man – A miser
Spill the beans – Disclose a secret or
reveal something prematurely
Telling upon – report someone’s bad
behavior to someone
Go for the jugular (a major vein in your
neck) – make effort to defeat someone by
criticizing or harming them in a cruel way
Rise with the lark (a small brown bird) –
Get up early
The gnomes of Zurich – refer to Swiss
bankers and the power and influence with
which they control foreign money
In two minds – to
be unable to decide about something