Idiomatic Expressions by Eguriase S. M. Okaka

                                 IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS

BY EGURIASE S. M. OKAKA

https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-10904630286

 

Idioms

Idioms are special forms of sentences or clauses or phrases whose meaningfulness is native to the use of language whose significance does not often find its reference and sense in the meanings of the individual words making up idiomatic sentences or clauses.

Idioms are innumerable, so they defy classification. But a good reading of idioms and their meaning by an attentive student will no doubt give him or her good mastery over them. This mastery is very necessary, if a student expects to do well in his or her multiple-choice questions and continuous writing

            IDIOMS                                           MEANING

·        A bird’s-eye view                           A general view taken at a glance

·        In broad day light                           In day time

·        A burning question                        A much argued topical topic

·        Far reaching effect                        Important effects

·        A red letter day                              A happy day

·        A hair-breath escape                     A narrow escape

·        A household word                         A common or family word

·        A lame excuse                                An unsatisfactory excuse

·        A lion’s share                                  A major part

·        A maiden speech                            A first public utterance

·        A man of his word                         A faithful person

·        A open question                             An undecided matter

·        An open secret                                A known but concealed issue

·        A stone’s throw                              Very near

·        A thankless task                              A work without credit

·        A white elephant                              A very dear but unprofitable possession

·        A cut and dried story                       A ready-made story

·        A dog-in-the-manger                      An unnecessarily selfish person

·        Hard and fast rules                          Unchanging laws

·        To break the ice                              To speak first after a long silence

·        To bring to light                              To open to sight

·        To bring up the rear                       To come last

·        To call into question                      To argue or dispute

·        To come to terms                           To make peace

·        To cut a sorry figure                      To perform badly

·        To do away with                            To give up

·        To get the better of                        To defeat

·        To get the upper hand                   To dominate or out-shine

·        To give the lie to                            To make false

·        To lay bare                                     To disclose

·        To lay waste                                    To spoil

·        To let loose                                      To set free

·        To look blank                                  To appear confused

·        To make one’s mark                        To distinguish oneself

·        To make a clean breast of                To make a clear confession

·        To make the most                            To use the best advantage

·        To play false                                 To deceive

·        To run a muck                                To run mad

·        To stand on ceremony                  To observe formality

·        To stand one in good stead           To give one help

·        To take to heart                             To be touched by

·        To turn over a leaf                         To mend one’s way

·        To beat about the bush                 To approach a subject in a wayward way

·        To breath one’s last                       To die

·        To catch a glimpse of                    To take a short view of

·        To chalk out a policy                     To give it a definition

·        To chime in with                            To agree with

·        To cry in the wilderness               To use fruitless or toothless words

·        To die in harness                            To die in active employment

·        To end in smoke                             To come to nothing

·        To end in fiasco                              To end in confusion or tumult

·        Fanning the flame of                      Aggravating the situation of

·        Fighting shy of                               Avoiding of

·        Following suit                                Imitating

·        Gaming the day                              Winning

·        Hanging in the balance                 Uncertain

·        Husbanding one’s resources       Saving one’s possession

·        Laboring a point                          Talking much of it

·        Paving the way for                        Leading on to

·        Pricking the hobble                       Exposing  the fraud

·        Rubbing shoulders with               Mixing with

·        To speak ill of                              To speak unfavorably of

·        To strike terror with                     To frighten

·        Throw cold water on                    Discourage

·        Being as good as one’s word       Being true to promise

·        Being at dagger’s-drawn with      Being hostile to

·        To be at sixes and sevens              To be in disorder

·        To beside oneself with                  To be overwhelmed

·        Being few and far between            Being at wide intervals

·        To be in the dark of                       To be ignorant

·        To be in a fix                                 To be puzzled

·        To be of no avail                            To be fruitless

·        Being out of sort                            Not be well

·        Being over head and ears              Being deeply involved

·        To worth one’s salt                        Being efficient

·        At a stretch                                     Without stopping

·        At the eleventh hour                     Almost too late

·        In cold blood                                   Deliberately

·        In the nick of time                          Just in time

·        In round number                             Roughly

·        In the eye of law                             Before the law

·        Bag and baggage                            All belongings

·        Black and white                              In writing

·        To beat black and blue                    To beat mercilessly

·        By fits and starts                             Irregularly

·        By hook and crook                          By fair or foul means

·        Kith and kin                                     Relatives

·        By leaps and bounds                      By a great speed or rapidly

·        Length and breadth                       All over

·        A part and parcel of                      A portion

·        Apple of discord                            Object of quarrel or born of contention

·        An axe to grind                               A motive of self-interest

·        Black-stairs influence                    Understand clandestine means 

·        A bed of roses                                 Something easy and comfortable

·        A big gun                                         An important person

·        A black sheep of the family            A mean and treacherous fellow

·        A castle in the air                            A project that cannot be realized

·        A close-fist man                               A miser

·        Crocodile tears                                Hypocritical

·        A crown of thorns                          A lot of troubles borne patiently

·        A sword of Damocles                    An uncertain but impending danger

·        A dead language                             A language no longer spoken

·        A far cry                                          A long distance

·        A fish out of water                         One out of condition

·        In fool’s paradise                            In a false hope

·        A foregone conclusion                  An anticipated conclusion

·        A friend at court                             A friend in need

·        Not worth the candle                    Not worth the cost

·        Gift of the Gab                                Gift of fluency

·        A good Samaritan                          A kindly person

·        A hard nut to crack                        A difficult problem to solve

·        A jail bird                                        A convict who continues in crime

·        A jaundiced eye                              A prejudiced mind  

·        A laughing stock                             A thing of ridicule

·        A leap in  the dark                          A step of risk and uncertainty

·        A man of his word                         An honest man

·        A man in the street                        An ordinary man

·        A Pandora’s box                             A gift of curse

·        A Penelope’s web                          An endless thing

·        A rope of sand                                Something unreliable

·        Salt of the earth                              Exemplary people

·        A scape goat                                    An unfortunate person

·        A silver tongue                                A sweet style of speaking

·        A slow coach                                   A lazy fellow

·        A thorn in the flesh                        A thing of discomfort

·        A widow’s mite                              A small but heartfelt gift

·        A wild-goose chase                        A stupid and bootless adventure

·        To bear the brunt of                      To face the utmost fury of

·        Born with a silver spoon 

                      t he mouth                               From a rich family

·        To bring one to book                    To charge the person

·        To call one names                          To abuse him or her

·        To call to account                           To ask to explain

·        To call a spade a spade                 To call something by its name

·        To carry the day                             To win

·        To come off with flying color      To win with distinction

·        To come to grief                            To be in trouble

·        To give up the ghost                      To die

·        To eat a humble pie                       To submit to humiliation

·        To go through fire and water         To take all forms of risks

 

·        To keep body and soul together                To be without starvation

·        To keep the wolf from the door                To keep out poverty

·        Keeping one’s head above the water          Making both ends meet

·        Making good one’s promise                       To fulfill one’s promise

·        To pay off old scores                                   To take revenge

·        Paying one back in his own coin               Taking revenge of him

·        Playing fast and loose                               Saying one thing and doing another

·        Playing the second fiddle                         Taking a subordinate part

·        Playing to the gallery                                Seeking for common popularity

·        Putting one’s shoulder to the wheel           Setting oneself to work

·        To run the risk of                                        To incur the danger of

·        To set the ball rolling                                  To start something

·        To stand to one’s gun                               To stick to his reasons

·        To take something amiss                          To misunderstand it

·        Taking the bull by the horn                       Being bold by a difficulty

·        To take the law into one’s hand                 Using force on something

·        Taking a  French leave                              Leaving without permission

·        Taking to one’s heels                                 Running away

·        To take a leaf out of one’s book                To imitate him or her in something

·        Turning a deaf ear to                                  To disregard

·        To blow hot and cold                                To play double

·        Burning the candle at both ends                 To lose at double ends

·        Burying the hatchet                                   To make peace

·        Cleaning the Augean stable                     To achieve a great success in arrears

·        Crossing the Rubicon                               Taking an irretrievable step

·        Having too many irons in the fire             Pursuing too many things

·        Hitting an opponent below the belt            Injuring him unfairly

·        Hitting the right nail on the head              Touching the exact point

·        To move heaven and earth                        To try the utmost of one’s strength

·        To pick a hole                                            To find fault

·        Pouring oil on troubled waters                 Pacifying a heated event

· Providing for the rainy day                          Saving something for the                                                                                               uncertain future

·  To read between the lines                            To discern the hidden meaning of                                                                            something

·        Sitting on the fence                                Playing neutral

·        To strain every nerve and muscle         To try one’s best

·        From the frying pan to the fire              To go from a trying position to an                                                                                 equally trying one

·        To be at one’s wit’s ends                          Not to know what to do again

·        At the dead of the night                           At midnight

·        To be in the good books of                      To be in the favor of

·        Under the very nose of                            In the front of

·        To be at one’s beck and call                    To be ready to oblige one

·        Lock, stock and barrel                              Everything

·        One’s flesh and blood                               One’s body

·        Penny wise and pound-foolish               Losing something larger by small                                                                                saving           

·        Between Scylla and Charybdis               Between the two horns of dilemma

·        To have at one’s finger end

       Or finger tips                                         To know something thoroughly

·        To be out of wood                                   To be out of trouble

·        To miss the wood for the tree                To be short-sighted.

·        Without rhyme or reason                   Without any justification.

                                   COMMON FOREIGN WORDS AND PHRASES

Words and Phrases                      Meaning

 

·        Alma Mater                                      One’s own University or College

·        Bona fide                                          In good faith

·        Bon voyage                                      Safe journey

·        De facto                                            In fact           

·        Dramatis personae                                    Characters of a play

·        Inter alia                                           Among other things

·        In toto                                               Totally on the whole

·        Lingua franca                                  Common language

·        Magnus opus                                   A great work

·        Et cetera                                           And the others

·        Vis-à-vis                                            Opposite

·        Post mortem                                   After death 

·        Prima facie                                       On the first view

·        Sine qua non                                   Indispensable conclusion

·        Vice versa                                         Terms being exchanged

·        En route                                            On the way

·        Ex officio                                           By virtue of one’s office

·        Ceteris paribus                                All things being equal

   SOME ABBREVIATION

  Abbreviation                                  Meanings

 

·        A. D. C                                               Aid-de-camp

·        A.D                                                     Anne Domine (In the year of our Lord)

·        B. C                                                     Before Christ

·        B. A                                                     Bachelor of Arts

·        B. Sc                                                   Bachelor of Science

·        LL.M                                                   Master of Laws

·        P.T.O                                                  Please Turn  Over

·        C.I.D                                                   Criminal Investigation (Intelligence)                       Department

·        Cf                                                        Compare

·        C/o                                                     Care of

·        E.g.                                                     For example

·        Ph.D                                                   Doctor of Philosophy

·        D.Sc                                                    Doctor of Science

·        Ibid.                                                    In the same place

·        Do or Ditto                                       The same

·        Viz.                                                     Namely

·        Via                                                      Through

·        N. B                                                    Nota bene (Note well)

·        A/C                                                     Account

·        P. S.                                                    Post scriptum (post script)

 

 THE END