Idioms and Phrase

Idioms and Phrase (Board Questions-2009-2012) for / SSC HSC Exam

A bed of roses:Life is not a bed of roses

A black sheep:Tareq is a black sheep of his family.

A bone of contention:Paternal property is a bone of contention between the two brothers.

A dark horse:We should not discuss politics with a dark horse.

A maiden speech: A maiden speech is important for any speaker.

A man of letters:Dr.Zoha was a man of letters.

A white elephant:The new project has become a white elephant for the government.

Above all:Above all he is a good man.

Achilles’heel:Moral degradation is the Achilles’heel of our young generation.

Adhere to:He could not adhere to his previous plan.

All on a sudden:All on a sudden he met an accident.

An irony of fate:It was an irony of fate that the brilliant boy failed in the examination.

An open secret:Bribery is an open secret now.

Apple of discord:The piece of land is an apple of discord between two brothers.

Apple of one’s eye:The only son of the woman was the apple of her eyes.

As a result:As a result of population the life of Dhaka city is not safe.

As far as:I shall help my friend as far as I can.

As soon as:I shall come back as soon as I can.

As though:He talks as though he were a fool.

As well as :He is as well as his friends is guilty.

Ask for:He asked  me for a pen.

At a glance:He read the story at a glance.

At a stretch :I can walk two miles at a stretch.

At length:The matter was discussed at length in the evening.

At random:He talks as random.

At six and sevens:Books are kept on the table at sixes and sevens.

At stake:His life is at stake now.

At the sight of: The theif turned pale at the sight of the police.

At the sight of:The theif fled away at the sight of the police.

Bad blood:There is bad blood between two sisters.

Beat about the bush:Do not beat about the bush,come to the point.

Bed of throns: Life is a bed of thorns.

Beggar description:His sufferings beggar description.

Beyond doubt:His honesty is beyond doubt

Big guns:All the big guns of our country are corrupted .

Black and Blue:The theif has been beaten black and blue.

Blue blood:We should not be proud of our blue blood.

Bring to book:All the sinners must be brought to book.

Burning question:Female education is the burning question now.

By all means:I shall help you by all means.

By hook or by crook:I will get the thing done by hook or by crook.

By means of:He achieved success in life by means of his hard labour.

By means of:He shone in life by means of hard labour.

Catch sight of:I caught sight of him in the school.

Cold war:A cold war is going on between the two friends.

Come round:May you come round soon.

Commit something to memory:He commited the poem to memory.

Cope with:I failed to cope with the new environment.

Cut off: Della cut off her hair.

Cut out:They cut out a path through a jungle.

Dead against:He is dead against me.

Dead language:Sanskrit is a dead language now:

Drop out:Many students drop out of school because of poverty.

End in Smoke:All my hopes ended in smoke.

Every nock and corner:I searched every nock and corner to find out the lost bag.

Far and near:His fame spread far and near.

Far and wide:His reputation spread far and wide.

Far fetched:The poet has used far fetched images in his poems.

Flesh and blood:A flesh and blood can never tolerate such an insult.

For good:Mr Anwar left our country for good.

For the purpose of:I went to the market for the purpose of buying a shirt.

For the sake of:I can do anything for the sake of my country.

From time immemorial:Man has been living in society from time immemorial.

Gala day:The Victory day is a gala day for the people of Bangladesh.

Get by heart:The Students should not get the answer by heart.

Get rid of:I want to get rid of suffering.

Give away:Hazi Mohsin gave away all his properties to the poor.

Give vent to:The meeting was an opportunity for everyone to give vent to their feelings.

Go through :I have gone through your script.

Golden age:This is a golden age for technology.

Good for nothing:He is good for nothing

Hard and fast:I don’t like hard and fast rules.

Hard nut to crake:It will not be easy to convince him,he is a hard nut to crake.

Hard times:We should help our relatives in their hard times.

Heart and soul:Students should try heart and soul to pass the exam.

Hue and cry:Don’t make hue and cry.

In a nut shell:He told the story in a nut shell.

In cold blood:He commited a crime in cold blood.

In front of:There is a play ground in front of our school.

In full swing:The factory is going on in full swing.

In lieu of :I took coffee in lieu of tea.

In no time:I shall come back in no time.

In order to:I read more in order to make a good result.

In spite of :In spite of:In spite of his riches he is unhappy.

In the event of :We should try again in the event of failure.

In the guise of:The Caliph went out in the guise of a common man.

In the long run:Sinners suffer in the long run.

In the long run:Sinnner suffer in the long run.

In the mean time:In the mean time he might have reached home.

Ins and outs:I know the ins and outs of the incident.

Instead of:He took biology instead of mathematics.

Jump at an offer:He jumped at the offer of the post of manager.

Keep pace with:We should keep pace with the modern world.

Kick off:He kicked off the ball.

Learn by heart:I learnt the poem by heart.

Leave no stone unturned:He left no stone unturned to do the job.

Let the cat out of bag:I was trying to keep the matter a secret,but my friend cat out  of the bag.

Look after:He looks after his parents.

Look down upon:We should notlook down upon the poor.

Look forward to:I am looking forward to your reply.

Maiden speech:His maiden speech pleased us all.

Make  up one’s mind: I have made up my mind to go to visit the zoo.

Make fun of:Don’t make fun of with everything.

Make up one’s mind:He made up his mind to leave the country.

Make up:He made up a false story.

Nip in the bud:His hopes were nipped in the bud at his father’s death.

Null and void:The rule is now null and void.

Of one’s own accord:He went there of his own accord.

On the contray:He hates me,on the contraray,I love him very much.

On the eve of:He was absent on the eve of my departure.

On the instant:The accident happened on the instant.

On the sly:They left the room on the sly.

On the whole:On the whole,he is honest.

Once for all:He left for home once for all.

Once in blue moon:He comes here once in a blue moon.

Out and out:He is out and out a gentle man.

Part and percel:A library is a part and percel of a school.

Put down:I put down his address in my note book.

Put up with:I cannot put up with such an insult.

Rainy day:We should save for rainy day.

Skim through :He skimmed through the paper.

So that:He works hard so that he can succeed in life.

Storm in a tea pot:The politicians are raising storm in a tea pot.

Take after:The girl takes after her mother.

Take place:Our war of independence took place in 1971.

The lion’s share:He takes the lion’s share of the business.

Then and there:He did the work then and there.

Through dust in ones eyes:A clever man throws dust in a fool’s eyes.

To and fro:He is moving to and fro.

To give up:We should give up our bad habits.

Ups and downs:There is ups and downs in a man’s life.

Well off:He was born in a  well off family.

Win over:He won over me in the end.