Important Idioms Of Inter Part II 2011

Idioms  
  Sentences
A dark horse       Saleem is a dark horse; I did not know that he had written a novel.
A rainy day       We should save our money for a rainy days.
A man of letters        Our teacher is a man of letters.
A burning question       Unemployment is a burning question of today.
The lion,s share       She got the lion's share from her husband's property.
A bed of rose       Life is not a bed of roses.
A bone of contention       Kashmir is a bone of contention between India and Pakistan.
A fair weather friend       Fair weather friends leave in difficulties.
A hard nut to crack       To check Terrorism has proved to be a hard nut to crack for the government.
Above board       All his dealings are above board.
Abide by       You should abide by your promise.
At arm,s length       Keep him at arm's length because he is a gambler.
A black sheep       As his brother is a gambler, he is considered the black sheep of the famliy.
Apple of discord       This piece of land is an apple of discord between Saleem and Ali.
A snack in the grass       Beware of him,he is a real snack in the grass.
A fool,s paradise       Those who believe that India an Pakistan will be friends,are living in a fool Paradise.
A child,s play       It is not a child's play to write a good book in a month.
At the eleventh hour       He called of his plan at the eleventh hour.
At large       The two robbers are still at large.
A drawn match       A criket test match usually proves to be a drawn match.
Break the ice       All were silent;Saleem broke the ice by suggesting that they should play card.
Break down       Because of over-work my health broke down.
Blow ones own trumpet       Great men do not blow their own trumpet.
Back out       An honest man never tries to back out of his promise.
A man of straw       In our society,no one respects a man of straw.
A maiden speech       She impressed us with her maiden speech.
Beat about the bush       Stop beating about the bush and get to the point.
Bring up       The mother brought up the child with care.
Bring to book       He brought the servent to book for his carelessness.
Bring to light       New facts about the war have been brought to light.
Bag and baggage       He threw out of the house,bag and baggage.
By fits and stars       You cannot pass the examination if you work by fits and starts.
By leap and bounds       Yameen is improving his English by  leaps and bounds.
To be taken aback       I was taken aback to know that such an able boy failed in the examination.
Burn the candle at both ends       You will fall ill if you keep on burning your candle at both ends.
Call Off       The students called off the strike.
Call Names       It is shameful to call other names.
Call a spade a spade       It is hard to call a spade a spade before a cruel master.
Call in question       His honesty cannot be called into question.
Come to grief       Their plan came to grief in the end.
Carry out       I will not carry out his orders.
Carry weight        Saleem's opinion carries weight with the principle.
Carry the day       Saleem carried the day in local election.
Cut a sorry figure       She cut a sorry figure when she could not speak on stage.
Deal with       I am sure that I can deal with Ali.
End in smoke       When he crashed his car, all his travel planes ended in smoke.
From hand to mouth       Many people in this country live from hand to month.
Go through       Saleem is my true friend and will go through fire and water for me.
Give Up       My car gave up the ghost last night.
Give In       The indians were forced to give in.
Give oneself airs       She is too humble to give herself airs.
Get wind of       How did she get wind of our plans ?
Hard and fast       We will have to follow the hard and fast rules of his office.
Hit below the belt       He hit akram below the belt as a result he sustained injury.
In the Long run       Continue your struggle.In the long run,you will succeed.
Keep an eye on       Please keep an eye on things here until  I get back.
Keep up appearances       Though he earns a little,he wears costly clothes to keep up appearances. 
Look down upon       Do not look down upon the poor.
Look sharp       Bring me a glass of water and look sharp.
Leave in the lurch       Do not leave your friends in the lurch.
Make both ends meet       It is very difficult for the poor to make both ends meet.
Make a clean breast of       First he denied his crime but finally,he decided to make a clean breast of it.
To nip in the bud       Nip every evil in the bud.
Over head and ears       He is over head and ears in love with Salma.
Off and on       It rained on and off all day.
Pocket an insult       He had to pocket an insult when he failed in the examination.
Put off       The meeting was put off till tomorrow.
Put up with       I cannot put up with his insult.
Read between the lines       Reading between the lines,I think Ali wants to borrow money.
Set Off        We will set off tomorrow.
Set up       He has set up a shop in the town.
See through        
Take after       Children take after their parents.
Take a fancy to       He has taken a fancy to that beautiful girl.
Take to heart       He took the death of his mother to heart.
Turn over a new leaf       After his failure,he turned over a new leaf and began to work hard.
Up to the mark       This book is really up to the mark.
Broken reed       I cannot trust him as he is a broken reed.
A bird,s eye view       We got a bird's eye view of the city from the top of the tower.
A hair breath escape       Adeel had a narrow escape from drowning.
A red letter day       The day I was awarded the medal is a red-letter day for me.
A turn coat       Do not trust him  as he is a turn coat.
A wet blanket       As he is wet blanket ,he is not invited to the parties.
A white elephant       Telephone costs much, it is just a white elephant for common people.
All and sundry       He invited all and sundry to his party.
All in all       All in all,the party had been a great success.
Kith and kin       We should love our kith and kin.
To flog a dead horse       To try pass the examination without hard work is like to flog a dead horse.
From a scratch       She learned English from scratch in six months.
Beard the lion in his den       Do not disagree with your boss;it is like to beard the lion in his den.
An iron will       You need an iron will to pass CSS examination.
A hay day       August 14 a hay day for every pakistani.
Part and parcel       To work in the field is part and parcel of a farmer's life.
To make headway       They have made headway towards finding the solution to the problem.
In full swing       When Mr.Ali reached there,the match was in full swing.
Under a cloud       After fraud, he had to leave the office under a cloud.
To catch red handed       The Police caught him red-handed when he was trying to steal a car.
Burn midnight oil       He burnt the midnight oil to pass the examination.
Check by jowl       Saleem sat check by jowl with me in the classroom.
Bear away the palm       Pakistan bore away the palm in international hockey match.
 A dog in the manger       Hassan ever proved to be  a dog in the manger.
French leave       He ever enjoyed freacch leave.
By hook or by crook       He wants to pass the exam by hook or by crook.
Hold over        
A fish out of water       I felt like a fish out of water in my new school.
On the horns of dilemma       He could save only one of two drowing sons.
Bread and butter       Teaching is his bread and butter
At home in       He is quite home in English.
Writing on the wall       We should learn a lesson from writing on the wall.
A laughing stock       This fat man is a laughing stock of the village.
All in all       All in all,the party had been a great success.
At daggers drawn       She  is at daggers drawn with her husband.
Bad blood       There no bad blood between the two brother.
A man of parts       Saleem is a man of parts an  able teacher,a terriffic writer,to name a few. 
To come off        
To kick up a row        
To get into hot water        
Look into        
Turn tables       He will turn the table on you one day, and he will be the boss.
Better Half       His better half is a good house keeper.
To smell a rat       The thief smell a rat and ran away.
Square meal       Children should have three square meals a day
Bad Blood       There is no bad blood between the two brothers.
To play truant       He often plays truant from school.
Off hand       They decided off hand to take a trip.
Null and void       This contract is null and void.
Red tape       He could not get his new passport in time because of red tape.
Bring about       The incident brought about a change in him.
To fall a prey       The innocent boy fell prey to smoking.
For good       It looks as if Saleem has left D.g.Khan for good.
Finishing touches        
To curry favour        
To bury the hatchet       The two enemies buried their hatchet and became friends.
Blue blood       Though Ali is poor, he has blue blood in his family.
To be taken aback        
At the beck and call       He killed a dog at the beck and call of his master.
At cross purposes       I think we are talking at cross purposes.
An eye-wash       Do not talk such eyewash!
All at sea       I am all at sea with this problem.