HCCS EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
ENGLISH NOTES (HSSC – II)
– IDIOMS AND PHRASAL VERBS –
No. Idioms Meanings Sentences
1. Above all He is hardworking, intelligent and above all, honest.
2. Above board In money matters, he is above board.
3. Above par His performance was above par.
4. A.B.C He does not know the A.B.C of English.
A bad egg/ A black Keep yourself away from a bad egg/ a black sheep/ a
5. sheep/ A rotten egg rotten egg.
Bone of contention/ His father’s property is bone of contention/ apple of
6. Apple of discord discord.
7. A bed of roses Life is not a bed of roses.
8. A big wig Don’t clash with him, he is a big wig.
9. A jail bird A jail bird often goes behind the bars.
He is like a fish out of water because he is missing his
10. A fish out of water
mother.
11. A maiden speech He introduced himself confidently in his maiden speech.
12. A man of straw A man of straw cannot face challenges.
Apple pie/ spic and On the stage, everything was in apple pie order/ spic and
13. span
span.
14. A blue shocking Parveen Shakir was a famous blue shocking.
A dog in the manger/ Don’t be a dog in the manger/ a wet blanket, play an
15.
A wet blanket active role in the party.
16. A far cry from His actions are a far cry from his words.
17. A near miss He got 32% marks which was a near miss.
18. A hard pill to swallow Insult is always a hard pill to swallow.
19. A dead letter In some countries, physical punishment is a dead letter.
The non-believers of Makkah decided to settle the score
20. To settle the score
of Badar with Muslims.
Don’t go for a wild goose chase and play an active role in
21. A wild goose chase
the party.
22. A laughing stock Be serious in your class and don’t be a laughing stock.
23. A bird’s eye view The teacher had a bird’s eye view of my speech.
24. A dark horse He got first position in the class. He is a dark horse.
25. A man of part Quaid e Azam was a man of part.
26. After one’s heart He dressed up after his own heart.
27. All at sea All at sea, the student could answer no question
28. A burning question Metro Bus is a burning question now a day.
He managed the party without any assistance. He has
29. Aladdin’s lamp
Aladdin’s lamp.
30. Animal spirit Students showed animal spirit in the show.
31. A cock and bull story I don’t believe in cock and bull stories of liars.
32. All and sundry All and sundry can apply for this job.
The bathroom flooded and to add insult to injury, a tap
33. Add insult to injury
started leaking.
34. At a loose end I was at a loose end so I decided to go see an old movie.
35. At dragger’s drawn He is at dragger’s drawn, he will not compromise easily.
36. At the eleventh hour At the eleventh hour, he changed his plan.
37. A bolt from the blue As a bolt from the blue, he came and spoiled our party.
38. At a stone’s throw City Center is a stone’s throw away from here.
39. Bag and baggage Bag and baggage, we waited from the rain.
40. Beat about the bush Don’t beat about the bush and come to the point.
41. Be cast down On his failure, he is cast own.
42. Better half His better half cooks well.
43. Bear the palm Work hard and you will bear the palm.
44. Be taken in He is so innocent, as he is often taken in.
45. Bad debt He will not pay your loan, it is a bad debt.
46. Be cut to the quick He was cut to the quick by his friend’s insulting behavior.
47. To be done up Ali’s room was well done up.
48. Bear the brunt I will not bear the brunt of what you did in the party.
49. To be taken aback He was taken aback to see his old friend.
He walked straight into Director’s office and bearded the
50. Beard the lion
lion in his den.