IDIOMS FOR SSC ENGLISH - ALL SSC PYQS UPTO 2025 - PART 3 (100 Idioms)

 

ALL SSC PYQ IDIOMS - PART 3

               

Sr. No.	Idiom	Meaning	Actual Place or Situation of Usage	Example
151	Have your head in the clouds	Not paying attention	To describe someone who is daydreaming or not aware of what is happening around them	He had his head in the clouds during an important meeting
152	Tighten one's belt	To spend less and live more carefully	When someone needs to reduce their spending due to financial difficulties	After his business failed, he had to tighten his belt and adjust to a frugal lifestyle
153	A bird's eye view	A clear impression of what is happening	To describe a general view from a high position or a broad overview of a topic	From the top of the hill, we got a bird's eye view of the valley.
154	When pigs fly	Something that will never happen	A sarcastic way to say that something is impossible or will never occur	It will snow in the desert when pigs fly
155	Sacred cow	Unquestionable	Refers to an idea, custom, or institution that is considered exempt from criticism or questioning	In their family, the old traditions are treated like a sacred cow
156	Black sheep	Disreputable	To describe a member of a family or group who is regarded as a disgrace or embarrassment	He is the black sheep of the family because he always gets into trouble
157	Get itchy feet	To start to want to travel or do something different	To describe a feeling of restlessness and a strong desire to move or travel	After a few months in one place, she started to get itchy feet and wanted to travel again
158	Bread and butter	Livelihood	Refers to a person's main source of income	Writing novels became his bread and butter after he left his job
159	Keep a level head	To remain calm and composed	To describe someone who stays sensible and calm, especially in difficult situations	A team's captain always keeps a level head, even in the most challenging situations
160	Keep your pants on	To keep calm and quiet	An informal way to tell someone to be patient and not get upset	Keep your pants on! The movie will start in just a few minutes
161	Nip in the bud	To suppress something at an early stage	To stop a problem or bad situation from developing by taking early action	Let's nip this problem in the bud before it gets worse
162	The ball is now in their court	It is time for someone else to deal with a problem or make a decision	When you have done your part and are waiting for someone else to take the next step	I sent the agreement over for them to sign so the ball is now in their court
163	From cradle to grave	During the whole span of one's life	Refers to the entire duration of a person's life, from birth to death	The company provides healthcare services from cradle to grave
164	Chip on the shoulder	Offended; holding a grudge	To describe a person who is easily offended and seems ready for a fight, often due to past grievances	He has a chip on his shoulder because he wasn't chosen for the team
165	See eye to eye	To agree with someone	When two or more people have the same opinion or agree on something	My brother and I always see eye to eye on everything
166	Jumped at the opportunity	To quickly take advantage of an opportunity	To eagerly accept a chance to do something without hesitation	When our principal said she was leaving, I jumped at the opportunity to fill the job
167	At the eleventh hour	In the last moment	To describe something happening at the very last possible moment before a deadline	He finished his homework at the eleventh hour, just before the deadline
168	The best of both worlds	Good in every way	To describe a situation in which you can enjoy the advantages of two very different things at the same time	By working from home, she gets the best of both worlds—spending time with her family and still having a successful career
169	Thinks outside the box	To think creatively and innovatively	To approach a problem in a new and unconventional way	The team always thinks outside the box to come up with unique advertisements
170	Back to back	Something follows immediately after something else	Describes events that happen one after another without interruption	The team had back-to-back meetings all afternoon
171	Make waves	To cause difficulty	To create a disturbance or cause trouble, often by challenging the existing situation	He didn't want to make waves at work, so he kept quiet about the issue
172	Up the ante	To increase demands	To raise the stakes or increase the level of risk or demand in a situation	To win the contract, the company had to up the ante with a better offer
173	Cat's in the cradle	A complicated relationship	Often refers to a strained relationship, particularly between a father and son where the father was too busy during the son's childhood	Don't you think that the cat's in the cradle? You never make time for me
174	Counting down the days	To be waiting eagerly for something to happen	Used when you are excitedly anticipating a future event	I'm counting down the days until my family arrives from their holiday
175	By far	A lot more than something	Used to emphasize the degree to which something is greater or better than other things	By far French was the most difficult language for Shruti
176	A snake in the grass	A secret or hidden enemy	To describe a treacherous person who pretends to be a friend but is actually an enemy	I thought he was my friend, but his betrayal showed he was just a snake in the grass
177	All Greek to me	Something that is not understandable	When you cannot understand something at all, as if it were in a foreign language	When she started explaining her advanced math homework, I realized it was all Greek to me
178	Eat like a bird	To have a very small appetite	To describe someone who eats very little food	Pinky is on a diet so she is too picky about the food she eats. (Implies she eats like a bird)
179	Apple of discord	A matter of dispute	An issue or object that causes conflict and disagreement	The promotion became an apple of discord among the team members
180	Cut no ice	To have no influence or effect	When an argument or reason fails to impress or persuade someone	Although Greta Thunberg gave a moving speech... it could cut no ice
181	Burst the bubble	To suddenly end a happy or successful situation	To ruin someone's happy or deluded state by introducing a harsh reality	No one even thought that Sheila's success would burst the bubble
182	The cards were stacked against him	Luck was against him	To describe a situation where someone is unlikely to succeed due to circumstances beyond their control	He wanted to be a professional basketball player but given his height, the cards were stacked against him
183	Missing the boat	The opportunity is lost	To fail to take advantage of an opportunity	She forgot to apply for her internship... and now that opportunity is lost (she missed the boat)
184	A jack of all trades	Doing several different jobs instead of specialising in one	A person who has a wide range of skills but is not an expert in any particular one	The boss of our organisation is considered a jack of all trades
185	Hue and cry	To protest something	A loud public outcry or protest about something	The employees made a noticeable hue and cry to get their demands raised
186	Snowed under	Really busy	To be overwhelmed with a large amount of work	I know you have been really snowed under with your work, but can you just give me a few minutes?
187	To make both ends meet	To live within one's income	To earn just enough money to pay for one's basic living expenses	It's hard for some families to make both ends meet with rising expenses
188	At sixes and sevens	In a badly organised or difficult situation	A state of confusion, disorder, or disagreement	We have been at sixes and sevens in the office due to network issues
189	It takes two to tango	To imply that both people in a situation are responsible for it	Used to say that a conflict or argument involves two parties who are both at fault	I know you're blaming me for all that has happened but it takes two to tango
190	Pie in the sky	Possible, but very unlikely to happen	An idea or plan that is pleasant to think about but is not practical or likely to be achieved	Sharon doing the work all by herself? Seems like it is pie in the sky
191	Look down upon	To despise somebody	To consider someone or something as inferior	We should teach our wards not to look down upon anybody in human society
192	A white elephant	A financial burden	A possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain	His old car has become a white elephant on him now
193	Had our back	To support	To be ready to help or defend someone	Many unavoidable situations were avoided only because someone had our back
194	Buy the farm	To stop living; to die	A slang term for dying, often used in the context of accidents or combat	Midhuna was nineteen years old, too young to buy the farm
195	Two heads are better than one	Two people can usually solve a problem more easily than one person	When cooperation is needed to solve a difficult problem	I was unable to solve the geometry question myself. So, I have asked my teacher to help me out. (Implies two heads are better than one)
196	In hot water	In a difficult situation in which you are likely to be punished	To be in trouble or disgrace	After accidentally breaking the valuable vase, Sarah found herself in hot water with her parents
197	Keep your chin up	To stay cheerful and hopeful	To encourage someone to remain optimistic during a difficult time	Despite facing setbacks, she kept her chin up and remained positive
198	Sneak peek	Getting a preview of something	An opportunity to see something before it is officially available to the public	The salesperson for the project offered a sneak peek of the project
199	Bring to book	To punish someone	To hold someone accountable and punish them for their wrongdoing	After causing trouble at school, Tom was brought to book by the principal
200	Bad blood	Hostility between people	To describe feelings of hatred or animosity between individuals or groups	The argument about the car created bad blood between the neighbors
201	A mare's nest	A confused situation	A complex or muddled situation; a false discovery that brings trouble	Finding a solution to the complex math problem turned out to be a mare's nest for the students
202	Rock the boat	To disturb a stable situation	To do or say something that will upset people or cause trouble in an established situation	I don't want to rock the boat, but I think we need to discuss the project deadline
203	Have your heart in your mouth	To be extremely frightened	Used to describe a feeling of intense fear or anxiety	As she approached the edge of the cliff, her heart was in her mouth
204	Forty winks	A short sleep	A brief nap, especially during the day	After a long day at work, he decided to take forty winks on the sofa
205	Cut from the same cloth	To be of a similar nature	To describe two or more people who are very similar in character or behavior	Rohan and Raj, both passionate about art and literature, are cut from the same cloth
206	Bite the bullet	To force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult	To endure a difficult situation or to take a difficult course of action with courage	Despite the pain, Sarah decided to bite the bullet and go ahead with the surgery
207	Dodged a bullet	To narrowly avoid a situation	To have a narrow escape from a dangerous or undesirable situation	We dodged a bullet when we didn't fall for the agents' words
208	Bend over backwards	Working hard to try to impress	To make a great effort, especially to be helpful or fair to someone	She bent over backwards to make sure her guests were comfortable.
209	Get off on the wrong foot	To start a relationship or activity badly	To make a bad first impression or begin a relationship with a misunderstanding or argument	I hate to get off on the wrong foot
210	A leopard can't change his spots	You cannot change who you are	Used to say that people's fundamental character or nature cannot be changed	No matter how hard he tries to be organized, his desk is always a mess. A leopard can't change his spots
211	On the breadline	To be very poor	To be at a level of income that is barely enough to survive	More people in Turkey are on the breadline now than thirty years ago
212	Back to square one	To be back at the beginning of a process	To have to start over again after a plan or effort has failed	The project... has failed and we are back to square one
213	Crack someone up	To make someone laugh	When a joke or story is very funny and causes someone to laugh a lot	His stories about his travels always crack me up.
214	What a small world	What a coincidence!	An expression of surprise when you unexpectedly meet someone you know in an unlikely place	I bumped into my childhood friend while on vacation in a remote village. What a small world!
215	Foul play	Unfair conduct	To refer to criminal or violent behavior, especially murder, or dishonest behavior in a game or activity	Any sort of foul play is not tolerated in international sports tournaments
216	Pen and ink	Smells foul	An informal or slang term to describe a very bad smell	He really stinks and smells foul (like pen and ink) after a hard session at the gym
217	Set sights on	To decide that you want something and to try very hard to get it	When someone has a clear goal and is determined to achieve it	Ravi has set his sights on being in the college hockey team this year
218	A quick buck	Easily and quickly earned money	To make money fast, sometimes with little effort or through questionable means	I like her because she never likes to make a quick buck
219	Grasping at straws	Trying to find some way to succeed when nothing you choose is likely to work	When someone in a desperate situation is trying any possible solution, no matter how unlikely it is to succeed	The detective was grasping at straws, hoping for a breakthrough in the unsolved case
220	A plum job	An easy and pleasant job	To describe a desirable job that is well-paid and not difficult	Getting to travel the world and write about it... is a plum job for a travel writer
221	Face the music	To accept punishment for some mistake which you have done	To accept the unpleasant consequences of your actions	After breaking the vase, I knew I had to face the music when my parents found out
222	Banking on	Relying on	To depend on something happening or someone doing something	Ram could not go to Delhi... since he was banking on his arrears of pay which he did not get in time
223	The pros and cons	The advantages and disadvantages of something	Used when discussing both the positive and negative aspects of a decision or situation	Our Director... asked us to express our views on the pros and cons of the new HR policy
224	Second wind	A burst of energy	A new surge of energy after feeling tired or exhausted	He got a second wind, and started digging again
225	My hands are full	I'm very busy	Used as a reason for not being able to take on any more tasks or responsibilities	Right now, my hands are full
226	Boil the ocean	To try to do something impossible	To describe an attempt to undertake an impossibly large task or project	Completing the entire project in just one day is like boiling the ocean
227	Take notice	To consider or pay attention to something	When you want someone to pay attention to something important	That should make them sit up and take notice
228	Burn one's bridges	Impossible to return to an earlier state	To take an action that makes it impossible to go back to a previous situation	He burned his bridges with his former business partners when he cheated them
229	Burn the midnight oil	To work late in the night	To study or work late into the night	I had to burn the midnight oil for nearly three months to write my first book
230	Lie in the bed you have made	To face the unpleasant consequences of your own acts	To accept the results of your past actions, especially when they are negative	You must lie in the bed you have made
231	Open your heart	To share your deepest feelings	To confide in someone and share your private thoughts and emotions	When you're facing difficulties, don't be afraid to open your heart and talk to a friend
232	In dire straits	In a very bad situation	To describe being in serious difficulty, especially financial trouble	The office management was in dire straits after the financial crash
233	Bid defiance to	To ignore or to offer resistance	To openly challenge or refuse to obey an authority or rule	Shelley bid defiance to her father's wish of studying arts
234	Midas touch	The ability to make money out of anything one undertakes	To describe a person who is very successful in making money from their ventures	Now, he has invested in the transportation industry and is generating huge wealth. What does he have? Midas touch
235	A snowball effect	An accelerating growth of magnitude	A situation where something small starts to grow or increase at an ever-faster rate	The viral video's popularity had a snowball effect, leading to millions of views
236	Elbow grease	Hard work that one puts into doing something	Refers to strenuous physical effort, especially in cleaning or polishing	What we need is skilled and energetic planning and elbow grease
237	Stand a chance	To have a possibility of success	To have a reasonable likelihood of achieving something	Do you believe that you stand a chance of getting that job?
238	Grist to the mill	Provides useful advantage	Something that can be used for one's own advantage or to support one's argument	The modern era statistics data provides useful advantage (grist to the mill) to the players
239	Once upon a time	At some point in the past; long ago	A traditional opening for fairy tales, used to refer to a time in the distant past	Once upon a time, there were rows of temporary shops that used to display various cooking utensils
240	Steer clear of	To avoid someone or something because it is dangerous for you	To deliberately keep away from someone or something	After hearing about the recent increase in car thefts, she decided to steer clear of parking her vehicle in that area
241	Under the nose	In full view of somebody	To do something openly but without being noticed or stopped by someone who should have	He ate the whole bunch of grapes under the nose of all of us
242	Hold your horses	To be patient and stop making hasty decisions	To tell someone to wait and not be so impatient or act too quickly	You wanted to speak but you controlled yourself and became patient. What have you done? Hold your horses
243	Step up to the plate	To take control of a situation	To take responsibility and take action when needed	When the team needed a leader, he was ready to step up to the plate and guide them
244	Let bygones be bygones	To ignore the past	To decide to forget about past disagreements or offenses and reconcile	Nancy held a grudge... but she finally decided to let bygones be bygones
245	Be over and done with	To finish	To complete something so that it is no longer a concern	The boss wanted to be over and done with the case before the arrival of the Inspection team
246	Make it big	To succeed and become famous	To achieve great success, fame, or wealth	Yamini is a great singer. She will make it big one day
247	Come what may	No matter what happens	An expression of determination to do something despite any difficulties	Despite the stormy weather, they were determined to have a picnic in the park, come what may
248	Face to face	With another person in their presence rather than by phone or letter	A direct, in-person meeting or conversation	Christy should discuss this with her face to face
249	Fit as a fiddle	In good health	To be in excellent physical condition	Despite his age, he's still as fit as a fiddle and can run marathons
250	Hear someone out	To let someone complete what they are saying	To listen patiently to someone's full explanation or opinion before responding	Before making a decision, it's important to hear someone out to understand their perspective

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