Idioms (Part Two)

    

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

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To feather one's own nest (To serve one's own interest):

• The minister was accused of feathering his own nest.

To fall flat (To meet with cold reception):

• His suggestion of going to court fell flat. 

In the face of (Despite): 

• He succeeded in life in the face of many hardships. 

To drag one's feet (To act slowly and hesitantly):

• The management was dragging its feet on implementing the new wages. 

To foot the bill (To pay the bill): 

• His father had to foot the bill for the lavish birthday party.

A fair-weather friend (A friend in prosperity only):

• We should be aware of a fair-weather friend. 

To ruffle one's feathers (To annoy one):

• This incident ruffled his feathers. 

To set the Thames on fire (To do something remarkable):

• His achievements were akin to setting the Thames on fire.

To put one's best foot forward (Do one's best):

• We are expected to put our best foot forward in the presence of guests. 

To catch someone on the wrong foot (Catch someone doing wrong):

• He was caught on the wrong foot as Ravi found him cheating. 

Have something at one's fingertips (Know all the details of something):

• The mastery of his subject is complete, for he has everything on his fingertips. 

To keep a straight face (To remain unexpressive): 

• Even though he was caught lying he kept a straight face. 

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To get even with (To take revenge):

• He got even with his enemy when he brought about his ruin. 

To grease one's palm (To bribe):

• He had to grease the babu's palm to get his work done. 

To through down the gauntlet (To challenge):

• The defending champion threw down the gauntlet at him. 

To go astray (To wander from the right path):

• In the absence of proper guidance, there was no stopping him to go astray. 

The gift of the gab (Ability to speak): 

• The leader had the gift of the gab and the public was listening to him intently.

A good Samaritan (A kind-hearted helpful person):

• He was a good Samaritan for the orphan of the city.

A greenhorn (An inexperienced person): 

• He was a greenhorn in politics. 

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Hand and glove with (On very intimate terms): 

• The police are hand in glove with the criminal. 

With a high hand (Oppressively):

• He ruled the country with a high hand. 

From hand to mouth (Barely making ends meet):

• The poor farmers lead a hand-to-mouth existence. 

Head and shoulder above (Much superior):

• He is head and shoulder over other students in his class.

To keep one's head (To remain calm):

• The manager kept his head in the face of grave provocation.

Make (someone's) hair stand on end (Terrify someone):

• The horror film made my hairs stand on end. 

Fall into the hands of (Be caught):

• He fell into the hands of the enemy and was captured.

Heart and soul (Completely): 

• He put his heart and soul into completing the assignment.

Learn by heart (To memorize something):

• He has learned the lesson by heart. 

Take to heart (Become very sad, upset):

• You must not take his unkind remark to heart. 

Take heart (Become encouraged):

• The soldiers took to heart on learning that reinforcement was arriving.

Take to one's heel (Runaway):

• The thieves took to their heels on seeing the police.

Hallmark (Evidence of excellence):

• This was the hallmark of his career when he became the governor.

To win hands down (To win easily):

• He won the competition hands down for there was no strong contender.

A hard nut to crack (A person hard to tackle):

• He convinced him though he was a hard nut to crack.

To hit the nail on the head (To guess rightly):

• He hit the nail on head by calling him a coward. 

Achilles heel (A weak spot in a man's character):

• His short temper was his Achilles heel.

High and mighty (Arrogant): 

• The official behaved in a high and mighty manner.

To hit below the belt (To be unfair):

• By calling him names behind his neck was like hitting him below the belt.

Straight from the horse's mouth (Direct information from reliable sources): 

• He heard the news from the horse's mouth and hence it is true. 

Put the cart before the horse (Reverse the logical order of things):

• Making education a fundamental right is like putting the cart before the horse without proper infrastructure. 

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The ins and outs of (The details of):

• The teacher knew the ins and outs of the subject.

To break the ice (To begin the conversation):

• David broke the ice by introducing himself.

To iron out (To smoothen):

• They iron out their difference.

To know something inside out (To know thoroughly):

• He knew the place inside out.

To skate on thin ice (To say/do something dangerous):

• He was skating on thin ice when he volunteered to go on the expedition.

To have too many irons in the fire (To try to do too many things at the same time):

• He failed because he had too many irons in the fire and hence could not concentrate.

The lion's share (The largest share):

• He got the lion's share of the loot.

       Part One                                                                                                            Part Three                                                        

References

Singh, M., & Singh, O. P. (2002). Art of Effective English Writing (New Edition, pp. 200–202). S. Chand & Company Limited.