IDIOMS FOR SSC ENGLISH - ALL SSC PYQS UPTO 2025 - PART 2 (100 Idioms)

 

ALL SSC PYQ IDIOMS - PART 2

Sr. No.	Idiom	Meaning	Actual Place or Situation of Usage	Example
51	Turned a deaf ear to	Disregarded	When someone intentionally ignores a request, warning, or piece of advice.	He turned a deaf ear to their complaints and continued with his plan.
52	Straight shooter	A thoroughly upright and straightforward person	To describe someone who is honest, direct, and trustworthy.	All his friends admired him because he was a straight shooter.
53	Once in a blue moon	Not very often	To describe an event that happens very rarely.	My uncle lives in New York, so I only see him once in a blue moon.
54	Through thick and thin	Under all conditions, no matter how challenging or difficult	To describe loyalty and support during both good and bad times.	Radhika stood by Monica's side through thick and thin.
55	Keep the wolf from the door	To avoid starvation	When talking about earning just enough money to afford basic necessities like food and shelter.	In those days, we were thankful if we could keep the wolf from the door.
56	Around the clock	Day and night	To describe something that is happening continuously, 24 hours a day.	My cousin works day and night to achieve success in life. (Idiom: around the clock )
57	To bring to light	To disclose	When new information or facts about a situation are revealed or made known.	The investigation brought to light several previously unknown facts about the case.
58	Pulled a long face	To look saddened	To describe someone's facial expression when they are unhappy or disappointed.	Rina pulled a long face since her husband had not bought her a diamond necklace on their anniversary.
59	Easy does it	Used to tell someone to do something slowly and carefully	A warning to proceed with caution and not to be hasty or rough.	Easy does it with the boxes. Don't drop anything fragile.
60	Fair-weather friend	A person who is dependable in good times but not in times of trouble	To describe an unreliable friend who deserts you when you are facing difficulties.	When I got into trouble, she turned out to be a fair-weather friend.
61	Penelope's web	An endless task	To describe a task or job that seems to never end or is subject to constant delays.	His PhD degree seems to be Penelope's web.
62	On cloud nine	Being very delighted	To express a state of extreme happiness and elation.	She was on cloud nine after hearing about her promotion.
63	A bitter pill	Facing a distressing situation	Refers to an unpleasant fact or situation that has to be accepted.	Accepting that I lost the competition was a bitter pill to swallow.
64	Creature of habit	One who does the same thing in the same way	To describe a person who follows a strict, predictable routine.	Tom is a creature of habit. He wakes up at the same time every day.
65	Hit the roof	To become very angry	When someone reacts with sudden, intense anger.	When he saw the mess in the kitchen, he hit the roof.
66	Henpecked husband	An oppressed husband	To describe a husband who is dominated and controlled by his wife.	I had heard of henpecked husbands and now, I felt that I saw one.
67	At a low ebb	In a depressed or weak state	To describe a period when someone's spirits, energy, or fortunes are low.	She felt at a low ebb after failing the exam.
68	Off and on	Now and then	To describe something that happens intermittently or occasionally, not continuously.	He visits his grandparents off and on throughout the year.
69	Left out in the cold	To be ignored	To describe the feeling of being excluded or ignored by a group.	She felt left out in the cold when her friends didn't invite her to the party.
70	Break the ice	To say or do something that makes people feel more relaxed, especially at the beginning of a meeting or party	Used for initiating a conversation in a social setting to ease tension or shyness.	He told a joke to break the ice at the start of the meeting.
71	A jaundiced eye	Resentment; a prejudiced view	To describe looking at something with prejudice, negativity, or cynicism.	The president's proposed budgets typically face a jaundiced eye.
72	A rainy day	A time when money might unexpectedly be needed	Refers to saving money for a future time of need or emergency.	She saved some money for a rainy day, just in case of an emergency.
73	Call a spade a spade	To speak truthfully and directly	To describe speaking plainly and honestly about something, even if it is unpleasant.	Instead of confusing others, let us call a spade a spade in front of the audience.
74	Pat myself on the back	To praise oneself for doing something good	To express pride in one's own accomplishments.	After months of dedication and effort, I finally completed the marathon. I can really pat myself on the back for this accomplishment.
75	Maiden speech	First speech	Refers to the very first speech given by a new member of a legislature or assembly.	The leader of the Legislative Assembly won the hearts of the members through his maiden speech.
76	Fell flat	To have no effect	Used when a joke, performance, or speech fails to produce the intended effect or reaction.	The entire speech of the revivalist fell flat with the crowd that was present there.
77	The lion's share	The major portion	To describe receiving the largest part or portion of something.	My brother always received the lion's share of every meal that we had.
78	Pull our socks up	To work harder than before	An exhortation to improve one's performance or effort.	We all have to pull our socks up for the upcoming Board exam.
79	Turned up their nose at	To treat with contempt	To describe showing disdain or scorn for someone or something.	Most of her relatives turned up their nose at her.
80	Traitor	A betrayer of the country	A person who betrays their country, a cause, or trust.	The betrayer of the country was at last unmasked.
81	Let the dust settle	To wait for a situation to become clear or certain	To advise waiting for a situation to calm down before making decisions.	Let's wait a few days and let the dust settle before making any decisions.
82	Making a beeline for	Going straight and quick	To describe moving directly and quickly towards someone or something.	Ranveer never has the habit of making a beeline for his academic activities.
83	The tip of the iceberg	A small, noticeable part of a much larger problem	Used when a visible problem is only a small sign of a much bigger, hidden issue.	These small protests of employees regarding low wages were just the tip of the iceberg.
84	Kept her cards close to her chest	Kept her plans and thoughts hidden	To describe someone being secretive and not revealing their intentions.	Bincy's mother kept her cards close to her chest.
85	High and dry	Helpless	To describe a situation where someone is left in a difficult position without help or resources.	Lucy's conceited conduct with her colleagues has left her high and dry.
86	Sold like hot cakes	Sold quickly and in large numbers	To describe a product that is extremely popular and sells out very fast.	The realtors of the new venture sold plots like hot cakes.
87	Black and white	In writing	To refer to something being in a written or printed form, making it official.	Make sure you get the agreement in black and white before proceeding with the deal.
88	At one's fingertips	To have complete knowledge	When someone has information readily available and can recall it easily.	With years of experience in research, she has all the necessary information at her fingertips.
89	In deep water	In trouble	To describe being in a difficult or serious situation.	Teja followed his friend's advice so now he is in deep water.
90	Blowing smoke	To lie to perplex others	To describe someone intentionally misleading or deceiving others.	He has been blowing smoke about his result in college.
91	Rift in the lute	Disharmony	A metaphor for a factor that causes discord or ruins a harmonious situation.	The arrival of Pragati in the house brought a rift in the lute among the family members.
92	Cost an arm and a leg	To be very expensive	A common expression for something that is extremely costly.	Getting a new smartphone with all the latest features will cost you an arm and a leg.
93	Put in mind	To remind	When something makes you remember or think of something else.	Her story really put in mind the struggles I faced during my childhood.
94	Dog eat dog	Ruthlessly competitive	To describe a situation where people are fiercely competitive and will do anything to succeed.	The game was dog eat dog, both teams played hard to win.
95	Slip your mind	To forget about something	When you unintentionally forget to do something you were supposed to.	I was supposed to pick up groceries after work, but it totally slipped my mind.
96	Lose heart	To stop believing that you can succeed	To become discouraged and lose confidence or determination.	After a few setbacks, he began to lose heart in his project.
97	Bit off more than I could chew	To make a promise of more than one's ability	To take on a task or commitment that is too large or difficult to handle.	It feels like I bit off more than I could chew when I promised to complete this worksheet in one day.
98	On its last legs	In a bad condition	To describe something that is old, worn out, and close to failing or breaking down completely.	The old car has been breaking down frequently. It is really on its last legs.
99	Last resort	The last course of action when all else has failed	The final option available after all other options have been tried and have failed.	If the problem continues, we may have to consider cutting costs as a last resort.
100	Have a bee in your bonnet	To be preoccupied or obsessed with something	To describe someone who is constantly thinking or talking about one particular thing.	She has a bee in her bonnet about cleaning, so she's always tidying up the house.
101	Stick to one's guns	To remain faithful to	To refuse to change your opinion or decision, even when others try to persuade you.	Even though everyone criticized her decision, Sarah stuck to her guns and remained faithful to her principles.
102	Best thing since sliced bread	Extremely good, interesting	A phrase used to praise a new invention or idea enthusiastically.	I think video calls are the best thing since sliced bread because they help me talk to my family far away.
103	Like nailing jelly to the tree	Extremely difficult or nearly impossible to achieve	A humorous way to describe a task that is impossible to complete successfully.	Delivering that furniture to the tenth floor without the lift... is like nailing jelly to the tree.
104	Like two peas in a pod	Very similar to each other	Used to describe two people who are very alike in appearance or character.	Vishnu and Vignesh are always like two peas in a pod.
105	Red-letter day	A memorable day	A day that is noteworthy or significant due to a happy event.	Independence Day is considered a red-letter day in the history of India.
106	Make up his mind	To decide	The process of reaching a decision about something.	Prakash could not make up his mind about what to do with the project.
107	Wrapping my head around it	Understanding something complicated	To describe the process of trying to comprehend a difficult or complex idea.	I am still wrapping my head around it.
108	A bolt from the blue	A sudden and unexpected event	Used to describe a complete surprise or something that happens without any warning.	The sudden announcement of the company's closure was a bolt from the blue for all the employees.
109	Walk a tightrope	To act carefully in a difficult situation	To describe being in a precarious situation that requires careful balance and judgment to avoid disaster.	He had to walk a tightrope when deciding between going to the party and studying for his exam.
110	Bag and baggage	With all goods	Means with all of one's possessions, especially when leaving a place permanently.	After the argument, she left the house bag and baggage.
111	Vicious cycle	One problem causes another problem	A chain of negative events in which the result of one problem becomes the cause of the next.	The United Nations is working to eliminate the vicious cycle of poverty.
112	Queered my pitch	Ruined my plan	To spoil someone's chances of success, often by doing something before them.	When I got an opportunity to start a new business, Ravikanth queered my pitch.
113	Bells and whistles	Attractive but unnecessary features added to products	To refer to extra, often fancy, features on a product that are not essential for its basic function.	The new phone comes with all the bells and whistles, but I only need the basic features.
114	Hit the sack	Going to sleep	An informal way of saying you are going to bed.	After a long day at work, I decided to hit the sack early to get some rest.
115	Where the shoe pinches	Where the difficulty lies	To refer to the real source of a problem or trouble.	The manager knows where the shoe pinches and is working to solve the problem.
116	A wild goose chase	A fruitless search	A pointless and unsuccessful pursuit of something unattainable.	We looked everywhere for the dog, but it was a wild goose chase because he was sleeping in the backyard.
117	An old head on young shoulders	A young person who acts or speaks like an older person	To describe a child or young person who is unusually mature and wise for their age.	Despite being only 16, his mature decisions show he's an old head on young shoulders.
118	Time after time	Repeatedly	To describe something happening again and again.	He got medals time after time by following the instructions of his mentor.
119	Dog in the manger	A person who prevents others from having something they cannot use themselves	To describe a selfish person who keeps something they don't need, just to stop others from having it.	Rachit had some important work and so he cancelled the show tickets for everyone.
120	Pacing up and down	Walking back and forth due to anxiety or impatience	To describe someone walking restlessly in a small area, usually because they are worried or waiting.	They were pacing up and down on the platform.
121	Time and again	Repeatedly	An alternative way to say that something happens many times.	Manish told Rounak time and again of the ill consequences of his habit of being late.
122	Going through a sticky patch	To experience a bad period in life	To describe a temporary period of difficulty or trouble.	My friend is going through a sticky patch at work, but I'm sure things will get better soon.
123	A sting in the tail	An unexpected, typically unpleasant end to something	When a situation seems good at first but has a surprise negative twist at the end.	The movie seemed fun at first, but it had a sting in the tail when the main character died unexpectedly.
124	The silver lining in the cloud	A positive aspect of a difficult or negative situation	An optimistic way of looking for the good side of a bad situation.	I know Covid has made you terribly ill, but the good thing is that you have developed immunity against it... that's the silver lining in the cloud.
125	Out of the frying pan and into the fire	Things going from bad to worse	To describe a situation where an attempt to escape a bad situation leads to an even worse one.	When he changed jobs to escape stress, he found himself out of the frying pan and into the fire with an even tougher boss.
126	Apple-pie order	Very neatly arranged	To describe a state of perfect orderliness and neatness.	Every piece of furniture in her house is in apple-pie order.
127	To throw dust in one's eyes	To mislead someone by tricks	To deceive or confuse someone to prevent them from discovering the truth.	The salesman tried to throw dust in our eyes with false promises about the product.
128	Bury the hatchet	To make peace or end a conflict	To agree to stop arguing and become friends again.	After many years of rivalry, the two schools decided to bury the hatchet.
129	By leaps and bounds	Rapidly	To describe very fast progress or growth.	Her business is growing by leaps and bounds this year.
130	Yeoman's service	Excellent work done	To praise someone for providing very good and loyal service, especially in a time of need.	The teacher did yeoman's service by staying late to help students with their projects.
131	Skating on thin ice	Doing something risky that may have serious consequences	To be in a precarious or risky situation where one mistake could lead to disaster.	He was on thin ice after making a controversial statement.
132	Be in seventh heaven	To be in a state of extreme happiness	To express a feeling of complete joy and bliss.	She was in seventh heaven when she got her dream job.
133	Be in a tight corner	To be in a difficult situation	To describe a situation that is hard to get out of.	After the Pandemic, his business crumbled and he is in a tight corner.
134	At the drop of a hat	Immediately	To describe doing something instantly, without any hesitation.	The game can start at the drop of a hat, you just need to say the word.
135	Go down in flames	To fail spectacularly	To describe a complete and dramatic failure.	The project went down in flames after the team missed all their deadlines.
136	Stand by someone	To support someone in a difficult situation	To remain loyal to someone and help them, especially when they are in trouble.	I will always stand by my friend.
137	Blue blood	Aristocratic lineage	Refers to someone of noble or aristocratic birth.	Only those having blue blood can dethrone the evil autocrat.
138	An elephant in the room	An obvious problem that no one wants to discuss	A major, conspicuous problem or issue that people are deliberately ignoring.	Ignoring his father's warnings, he said, "an elephant in the room" to his mother.
139	Down to earth	Honest, realistic, and practical	To describe a person who is sensible, practical, and unpretentious.	The players like the coach because he is down to earth.
140	To take a rain check	To politely decline an offer, with the implication that one may accept it at a later date	A polite way to refuse an invitation, suggesting you might be open to it in the future.	I invited them to my anniversary dinner but they had other plans, so they decided to take a rain check.
141	Strike while the iron is hot	To make use of an opportunity immediately	To advise taking advantage of a favorable situation before it changes.	It is important to strike while the iron is hot and take this opportunity to make a name for yourself.
142	His heart is in the right place	To be good-natured, even if one's actions are sometimes clumsy	Used to say that someone has good intentions, despite appearances or mistakes.	He is very strict with his students but his heart is in the right place.
143	Up a creek without a paddle	In a difficult situation with no clear way out	To be in an awkward or difficult position with no easy solution.	When I went to Egypt and lost my wallet and passport, I was up a creek without a paddle.
144	To leave no stone unturned	To do everything possible to achieve something	To describe making every possible effort and trying every possible course of action.	The detectives left no stone unturned to solve the mystery.
145	Building castles in the air	Thinking of some impossible task; daydreaming about success	To criticize plans or hopes that are unrealistic and have no solid basis.	John was always building castles in the air about becoming a millionaire without doing any hard work.
146	Bowl of cherries	Wonderful and pleasant	A metaphor for a life that is easy, pleasant, and full of enjoyment.	It's Christmas and everything looks so beautiful. It makes me believe that life is a bowl of cherries.
147	Beat around the bush	To avoid talking about what is important	To describe someone speaking indirectly and avoiding the main point of a topic.	Instead of giving me a direct answer, he kept beating around the bush.
148	A slap on the wrist	A very mild punishment	To describe a punishment that is much less severe than the offense deserves.	We need to make sure that criminals like these get more from the authorities than a slap on the wrist.
149	Nerves of steel	An absence of fear or anxiety	To describe a person's ability to remain calm and courageous in stressful or dangerous situations.	Despite multiple obstacles, she continued with her endeavour, demonstrating that she has nerves of steel.
150	Between the devil and the deep blue sea	To be in a dilemma; to choose between two equally bad options	To describe a situation where you have to choose between two undesirable alternatives.	In life, there will be many situations where you have to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea.

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