At sixes and sevens
Home ruler, who were all at sixes and sevens among themselves agreed only upon the one thing and that was the freedom of India.
All in all
The Head clerk is all in all in this office.
All the same
It is all the same to me whether the pull over is home-made or bazaar-made.
At large
The culprits are still at large.
By fits and starts
He works by fits and starts and does not apply him steadily.
Black sheep
We should be aware of the black sheep in our society.
A bone of contention
This property is a bone of contention between the two brothers.
To break the ice
We all wanted to talk on this subject by no one willing to break the ice.
A burning question
Kashmir is a burning question of the day.
To back out
He promised to help me but backed out at the eleventh hour.
To beat about the bush
Stop beating about the bush; say exactly what you mean.
Bed of roses
A military life is not bed of roses.
In cold blood
He murdered the merchant in cold blood.
To fall to the ground
The theory has fallen to the ground.
Go hand in hand
Diligence and prosperity go hand in hand.
Leave no stone unturned
Shah Faisal left no stone unturned to bring about unity in the Islamic world.
Live from hand to mouth
Our middle class people live generally from hand to mouth.
Look down upon
He is so proud of his promotion that he looks down upon all his former friends.
At a loss
He is never at a loss for an appropriate word.
To pay back in the same coin
If a person rude towards you, it does not mean that you should pay him in the same coin.
To keep pace with
Agriculture in the states has kept pace with manufacture, but it has far out stepped commerce.
Red tape
Flourence Nightingale was a sworn enemy of red tape.
To speak volumes
The murders spoke volumes about political conditions before Indian elections.
Up to the mark
You don’t look quite up to the mark today.
To get into hot water
Do not quarrel with your officers or you will soon get into hot water.
Time and again
Time and again proverbs come to be true.
Cut off
The supplies were cut off from the soldier due to snow fall.
Run against
Zuhair Akram Nadeem was running against Dr. Farooq Sattar in the elections 89.
To turn over a new leaf
The teacher pardoned the boy on the condition that he promised to turn over a new leaf in future.
To nip in the bud
The plot to overthrow the Government was detected and nipped in the bud.
To feel like a fish out of water
Being the only educated person in that village, I felt like a fish out of water.
To shed crocodile terars
Don’t be deceived by the beggar’s crying. They are only crocodile’s tears.
Lion share
The stronger person generally gets the lions share of the property.
To cry over spilt milk
The damage has been done but instead of crying over spilt milk do something to repair it.
It is high time
The exams begin next month so it is high time to study seriously.
To save something for the rainy day
He wasted his savings and has kept nothing for the rainy day.
With a high hand
He is the most unpopular because he decides matters with a high hand.
Day in and day out
I have been warning you day in and day out.
To make the most of
He let me use his bicycle for a week and I am going to make the most of it.
To make the fun of
We should not make fun of handicaps.
To make room for
They made room for more guests as all seats were full.
To go through
He went through the whole book within a week.
In all
He got 782 marks in all.
All alone
Yesterday night she was all alone in her house.
To put into practice
The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) put into practice what he preaches.
A wild goose chase
The robbers fled away and the police gave them a wild goose chase.
To end in smoke
All his efforts ended in smoke because they were not made sincerely.
With flying colours
If you work hard you will pass your examination with flying colours.
Odds and ends
The shopkeeper does not sell any particular article, but deals in odds and ends.
Under one’s nose
The police were on the look out for the culprit who was hiding under their nose.
To poke one’s nose into
One should not poke one’s nose into others affairs.
To kick up a row
It is useless kicking up a row when the matters can be decided peacefully.
To wind up
He is winding up his business in the city, as he going abroad.
In black and white
I want your statement in black and white.
A red letter day
14th August is a red letter day in the history of Pakistan.
To run into
Last night my friend ran into a cheat who deprived him of his brief case by changing it with an empty one.
To bring to light
A number of facts were brought to light by the Prime Minister in the recent Press Conference.
At the eleventh hour
The president postponed his meeting with the journalists due to visit of the French delegation at the eleventh hour.
To come across
In the wedding party, she come across he two very close friends of the University life.
To give up
The doctor has strictly advised him to give up drinking and smoking for the sake of his life.
To call a spade, a spade
Islam teaches us to call a spade, a spade even before a cruel ruler.
To look after
All the parents have to look after their children during the early period of the school life.
To break up
The two partners have decided to break up the partnership and divide the assets equally.
To get rid of
Pakistan must get rid of that type of foreign aid, which puts on her, undue political pressure.
At a stretch
Saeed Anwer played an aggressive inning and continued to score runs at a stretch.
To give in
Imran Khan and Miandad were real fighters and they would never give in till the last ball.
To let down
The rich feel proud of their wealth and usually let down the poor.
Once in a blue moon
I am not so fond of movies and watch some fine art movie once in a blue moon.
To fall out
A short tempered football player fell out with his opponents and got wounded.
To call on
The winners of 1994 World Cup called on the President, with their captain.
To call off
The University students finally decided to call off the strike as their demands were accepted.
To bring home to
Rizwan brought home to her all the important aspects of the matter.
To get over
The Indian Government made all possible efforts to get over the epidemic of plague.
To get accorss
The news of Mr. Eddhi’s self-exile got across the country within no time.
To makek up for
The Government and people of Iraq are working day and night to make up the loss caused by the Gulf war.
To make off
The robbers made off through the back door just as the security guard started firing into air.
To bring out
The telephone Corporation has brought a decent Directory in three volumes.
To bring up
Abraham Lincoln was brought up by his parents in a state of very limited financial resources.
To take off
The Hajj flight will take off every morning during the next couple of weeks.
To take place
The wedding of my cousin will take place in the first week of November, next.
To keep up
Our cricket team must go through an extensive training and practice session to keep up their position in the next world cup.
To stir up
The statement given by Mr. Abdul Sattar Eddhi caused great stir up in the political circles.
To go off
While the police man was cleaning his rifle, it suddenly went off because it was loaded.
To let off
Finally, the defaulter was let off by the civil authorities in view of his undertaking to abide by the rules in future.
To beg for
The Quaid-e-Azam begged for peace and friendship with his former enemies, the Congress leaders.
To furnish with
The chief justice was furnished with all the documentary proofs against the accused.
To look for
After the panic had subsided, people started looking for their misplaced baggage.
To run after
According to Einstein, ordinary people run after ordinary objects such as property and luxury.
To turn down
The secretary was taking down the main points to prepare a summary of the Seminar on pollution.
To watch over
Sensible parents make it a point to watch over the outdoor activities of their growing up children.
To bank on
Never bank on a fair weather friend because he will certainly cheat you.
To blow hot and cold
It is part of his nature to blow hot and cold as he favours this political party today the other party tomorrow.
To break the news
It was really very hard to break the shocking news of her husband’s accidental death to her.
To call names
He is such loose tempered man that he often begins to call names to his neighbours.
To turn the tabels
The pace attack by Wasim Akram and Waqar turned the tables against India and our cricket team got victory.
To hold water
The judge will give a favourable verdict only when you lawyer’s arguments hold water.
To face the music
Those who are responsible for terrorism in the city must face the music and be dealt with.
To be under the cloud
These days, the opposition leaders are under a cloud and being tortured by the Government.
By hook or by crook
The corrupt politicians try to win in every general election by hook or by crook.
To run short of
These days most areas in Karachi are running short of water supply.
To keep an eye on
Wise and responsible parents always keep and eye on the outdoor activities of their children.
To build castles in the air
It is a favourite hobby of day dreamers and idealists to build castles in the air.
To take to heels
Just as the mobile of Rangers approached, the robbers jumped over the gate and took to their heels.
By leaps and bounds
In the 21st century, Pakistan is expected to make progress by leaps and bound.
To turn deaf ear to
He turned a deaf ear to his father’s advice and as a result, fell into trouble.
At the nick of time
Medical aid was provided to the injured passengers at the nick of time and it proved effective.
To bell the cat
All the office workers are annoyed with the attitude of the M.D but no body dares to bell the cat.
To have an axe to grind
He certainly had an axe to grind behind his sympathetic attitude.
To burry the hatchet
At last the two combatant groups agreed to bury the hatchet and restore peace.
To bear with
During our lifetime we have to bear with many sorrows and sufferings.
To bear out
As a witness, he bore out in the court that the man was innocent.
To bear in mind
Always bear in the advice of your elders.
To break into
The Dakotas broke into the bank and took away a large sum of money.
To break off
Pakistan has broken off with Israil since the last two decades.
To break down
If my car had not broken down on the way, I would have reached in time.
To break the heart
Don’t break the heart by rejecting the offer.
To blow out
On the occasion of his birthday, he blow out the candle on cake.
To blow up
Four bombs blew up at different places simultaneously.
To blow one’s own trumpet.
I always try to avoid such people who keep on blowing their own trumpet.
To bring in
Imran Khan has brought in a large amount for setting up the cancer hospital.
To bring about
The fight between the two political parties can bring about another martial law.
To bring round
By presenting a very logical argument, he was able to bring round all the members of committee.
To bring to book
All those who kidnap people for ransom money should be brought to book.
To carry on
Let me carry on my work without any disturbance.
To carry through
If we work altogether like a lean, we can easily carry through our mission with any difficulty.
To call on
I shall call on your brother next week.
To call at
I shall call at your office tomorrow.
To call for
You careless and rude behavior call for an explanation.
To call it a day
As we are tired after a hard day but let it call it a day.
To call to mind
I can call to mind when I saw you last.
To come of
Although she comes of a rich family, she is not proud of her wealth.
To come off
The annual meeting of the Board of Directors will come off next month.
To come by
It is difficult to understand how did he come by all that money.
To come round
He comes round after I had presented my views in a logical way.
To come to light
Once the facts come to light, we will know who is responsible for creating such a situation.
To come to blows
Very often, student belonging to different groups come to blows on silly matters.
To come over
With faith in God and confidence in your self you can come over all you problems.
To do without
No living creature can do without air.
To do away with
It is the duty of the young people to do away with all the evil customs and traditions of the society.
To die off
In the under developed countries, a large number of people die off.
To die in harness
Once he had lost all his money at stakes he died in harness.
To deal with
He has the knack of dealing with all kinds of people and situation.
To deal in
As he deals in auto-parts, he has a good knowledge of different kind of car.
To deal out
He dealt out the card after shuffling the cards.
To fall short of
The performance of Indian Cricket team fell short of the expectations of the spectators.
To fall a prey to
The poor and the deprived always fall a prey to cruelty and injustice.
To give away
At the end of the function, the prizes were given way by the chief guest.
To keep in the dark
The patient was kept in the dark about the nature of his illness.
To keep body and soul together
With the price spiral, it is becoming difficult for the common man to keep body and soul together.
To look forward to
We are looking forward to this visit next month.
To make off with
The robber make off with a large amount from the super market.
To make for
The Birkenhead met with a disaster when it was making for South Africa.
To make both ends meet
With his limited income, it is really very difficult to make both ends meet.
To make up the mind
Once you make your mind then stick to your decision.
To put in a nut shell
At the end of his lecture, he put all his arguments in a nut shell.
To put down
The revolt against the king was put down by the royal forces.
To put off
The debate, which was put off last week, is scheduled for tomorrow.
To stand by
I shall stand by you whenever you are in trouble.
To take after
Children very often take after their parents
To take up
He has decided to take up the profession of teaching.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Collection of IDIOMS
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