Idioms (Part Four)

Arup Roy, Lecturer in English Language & Literature, Kanchkura University College

                                                                         P

Part and parcel (An essential part):

• Good manners are part and parcel of our personality.

To pass the buck (To evade responsibility):

• The officer passed the buck for the mistake to his senior. 

To play second fiddle (To take a subordinate position):

• Circumstances compelled him to play second fiddle to his leader. 

To praise to the skies (To praise excessively):

• His teacher praise to the skies his academic achievements.

To hold the purse strings (To have control over the finance):

• The finance manager holds the purse strings. 

Packed like sardines (Packed closely together): 

• In the buses, people are packed like sardines 

To pay someone in his own coin (To retaliate):

• He decided to pay him in his own coin by declining his invitation.

A bitter pill to swallow: A disagreeable experience to undergo):

• The rebuke from his boss was a difficult pill to swallow. 

From pillar to post (From one place to another): 

• He ran from pillar to post to get justice.

To wash one's dirty linen in public (To discuss one's grievances in public): 

                                                               Q

To be in a quandary (To be perplexed):

• The strike had failed the workers were in quandary.

To queer a person's pitch (To spoil a person's chances):

• He tried to queer his opponent's pitch by spreading false rumors. 

To be quits (To be on even terms):

• They decided to be quit by paying their past dues. 

                                                              R

On the rocks (In extreme difficulties): 

• his marriage is on the rocks. 

To rule the roost (To have full power):

• The militants are ruling the roost in the mountains. 

To smell a rat (To have a doubt): 

• The policeman smelled a rat when they found the diary missing. 

To rub shoulders with (To be in close contact with):

• (He rubs shoulders with the rich and the powerful.

At random (Without any purpose):

• He selected a few boys at random. 

The rank and file (The average person):

• The rank and file of the party workers were with him.  

To rise like a phoenix (To rise with a new vigor): 

• The Congress party rose like a phoenix after his martyrdom. 

In a rut (Decay, dying) :

• After his death, the organization was in a rut. 

Rat race (Fierce unending competition): 

• There is a rat race to reach the top in the corporate world. 

                                                                S

At sixes and sevens (In disorder):

• We found his room at sixes and sevens. 

Not worth one's salt (Incompetent):

• He is a worthless person not worth his salt. 

Side by side (Standing close together):

• They stood side by side at the farewell party.

Sheet anchor (Main support):

• His mother played a sheet anchor role in his life. 

To take the wind out of a person's sail (To frustrate a person's effort):

• The economic liberalization policy of the government took the wind out of the opposition's sail. 

To roll up one's sleeve (To get ready for a fight):

• He is forever ready to roll up his sleeves to prove his point.

On the sly (Secretly):

• They got married on the sly. 

Spick and span (Smart): 

• his office was spick and span.

To stop to conquer (To humiliate oneself to succeed ultimately):

• In our lives, we have at times to stop to conquer. 

A cock and a bull story (A lie):

• Do not believe his cock and bull story.

To spin a yarn (To tell a tale): 

• he was too good at spinning a yarn when caught. 

To start from scratch (To start from the beginning):

• The cyclone victims had to start their lives from scratch. 

For a song (Very cheaply): 

• He sold his property for a song.

To leave no stone unturned (To take every possible measure):

• He did not leave any stone unturned to get himself transferred. 

Give the cold shoulder (Show distaste for his company):

• His friends gave him a cold shoulder for his behavior.  

To put one's shoulder to the wheel (To work hard at a task): 

• They decided to put their shoulders to the wheel and finish the incomplete task. 

Separate the sheep from the goats (Distinguish good people from bad people):

• A good manager can distinguish the sheep from the goats.

A wolf in sheep's clothing (An apparently harmless person who is really an enemy):

• Do not be taken in by his sweet tongue for he is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Pull one's socks up (Make an effort to improve one's performance):

• His teacher advise him to pull up his socks failing which he would fail in the exams. 

Have something up one's sleeve (Have some secret for use when needed):

• The opposition parties brought in a no-confidence motion for they had something up their sleeves. 

  Part Three                                                                                                        Part Five                                                        

References

Singh, M., & Singh, O. P. (2002). Art of Effective English Writing (New Edition, pp. 204–207). S. Chand & Company Limited.