Idioms

Meaning

Sentence

Above all

āϏāĻ°ā§āĻŦā§‹āĻĒāϰāĻŋ

Above all, he is a good man.

Above board

āϏāĻ‚āĻļ⧟āĻšā§€āύāĻ­āĻžāĻŦ⧇ āύāĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻā§‹āώ

His activities are open and above board

Achilles’ heel

āĻĻ⧁āĻ°ā§āĻŦāϞāϤāĻž

Hankering for votes is the Achilles’ heel of the leaders of our country

All but

āĻĒā§āϰāĻžā§Ÿ

The poor villagers are all but ruined

Apple of discord

āĻŦāĻŋāĻŦāĻžāĻĻ⧇āϰ āĻŦāĻŋāώ⧟

The land has become an apple of discord between the two brothers

At a loss

āĻšāϤāĻŦ⧁āĻĻā§āϧāĻŋ, āĻ•āĻŋāĻ‚āĻ•āĻ°ā§āϤāĻŦā§āϝāĻŦāĻŋāĻŽā§‚ā§

I am now at a loss and don’t know the solution.

At all events

āϝāĻžāχ āϘāϟ⧁āĻ•āύāĻž āϕ⧇āύ

I shall stand by him at all events

At bay

āϕ⧋āύāĻ āĻžāϏāĻž

The tiger was at bay in the bush

At one’s finger ends

āύāĻ–āĻĻāĻ°ā§āĻĒāϪ⧇

All these facts are his fingers ends.

At  daggers drawn

āĻļāĻ¤ā§āϰ⧁āϤāĻž

The two children are at daggers drawn now.

At one’s wit ‘s end

āĻšāϤāĻŦ⧁āĻĻā§āϧāĻŋ

He was at his wit’s end and did not know what to do.

At stake

āĻŦāĻŋāĻĒāĻĻ⧇ āĻĒ⧜āĻž

His life is at a stake now.

Bad blood

āĻŽāύ⧋āĻŽāĻžāϞāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āϝ

Now there is a bad blood between the two sisters.

Beat about the bush

āĻ•āĻžāĻœā§‡āϰ āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āύāĻž āĻŦāϞ⧇ āφāĻœā§‡āĻŦāĻžāĻœā§‡ āĻ•āĻĨāĻž āĻŦāϞāĻž

Please come to the point without beating about the bush

Birds of feather

āĻāĻ•āϰāĻ•āĻŽ āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ­āĻžāĻŦ⧇āϰ āϞ⧋āĻ•

Birds of feather flock together

Black sheep

āϕ⧁āϞāĻžāĻ™ā§āĻ—āĻžāϰ

He is a black sheep for the family.

By all means

āϏāĻ°ā§āĻŦāĻĒā§āϰāĻ•āĻžāϰ⧇

Try to complete it by all means

By fits and starts

āĻŽāĻžāĻā§‡āĻŽāĻžāĻā§‡

He works by fits and starts

By hook or by crook

āϝ⧇āϕ⧋āύāĻŽā§‚āĻ˛ā§āϝ⧇

You must do this work by hook or by crook

By leaps and bounds

āĻ…āϤāĻŋ āĻĻā§āϰ⧁āϤ āĻ—āϤāĻŋāϤ⧇

The population of Bangladesh is increasing by leaps and bounds

Bid fair

āĻ­āĻžāϞ⧋ āĻ•āĻŋāϛ⧁ āφāĻļāĻž āĻ•āϰāĻž

He bids fair to be a good doctor

Big gun

āύ⧇āϤ⧃āĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻžāĻ¨ā§€ā§Ÿ āĻŦā§āϝāĻ•ā§āϤāĻŋ

The man behind the police is a big gun of our locality

Bird’s eye view

āĻŽā§‹āϟāĻžāĻŽā§āϟāĻŋāϧāĻžāϰāĻŖāĻž

He took a bird’s eye view of the flood-stricken are from an airplane

Bone of connection

āĻŦāĻŋāĻŦāĻžāĻĻ⧇āϰ āĻŦāĻŋāώ⧟

The paternal property is the bone of contention among the family members.

Book worm

āĻ—ā§āϰāĻ¨ā§āĻĨāϕ⧀āϟ

Don’t be a book worm.

Bring to book

āĻļāĻžāĻ¸ā§āϤāĻŋ āĻĻ⧇āĻ“ā§ŸāĻž

The students should be bring to book for their misconduct

Build castle in the air

āφāĻ•āĻžāĻļ āϕ⧁āϏ⧁āĻŽ āϰāϚāύāĻž āĻ•āϰāĻž

Don’t waste your time in building castle in the air

Breathe one’s last

āĻŽāĻžāϰāĻž āϝāĻžāĻ“ā§ŸāĻž

The old man breathes his last on Sunday last.

Call to mind

āĻ¸ā§āĻŽāϰāĻŖ āĻ•āϰāĻž

I cannot call to mind your cell number

Call in question

āϏāĻ¨ā§āĻĻ⧇āĻš āĻ•āϰāĻž

No one can call his honesty in question

Carry the day

āϜ⧟āϞāĻžāĻ­ āĻ•āϰāĻž

The boys carried the day  in the debate competition

Chip of the old block

āĻŦāĻžāĻĒāĻ•āĻž āĻŦ⧇āϟāĻž

Mr. Mukherjee is the chip of the old block

Crying need

āϜāϰ⧁āϰ⧀

Mass education is a crying need for India

Crocodile tears

āĻŽāĻžā§ŸāĻžāĻ•āĻžāĻ¨ā§āύāĻž

He shed crocodile tears at our misery

Cock and bull story

āφāώāĻžā§ā§‡ āĻ—āĻ˛ā§āĻĒ

You must be ashamed of your cock and bull story

Cut a sorry figure

āĻ–āĻžāϰāĻžāĻĒ āĻĢāϞ āĻ•āϰāĻž

He cuts a sorry figure in the examination

Cut to the quick

āĻŽāĻ°ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻšāϤ āĻšāĻ“ā§ŸāĻž

I was cut to the  quick by his birds

 

 

D-F

Idioms

Meaning

Sentence

Dead against

āϤ⧀āĻŦā§āϰ āĻŦāĻŋāϰ⧋āϧ⧀

I am dead  against his proposal

Dead language

āϝ⧇ āĻ­āĻžāώāĻž āĻāĻ–āύ āφāϰ āĻ•āĻĨā§āϝ āύ⧟

Sanskrit is a rich language, but it is now a dead language.

Dead of night

āĻŽāĻ§ā§āϝāϰāĻžāĻ¤ā§āϰāĻŋ

The robbers broke into the house at head of night

Die in harness

āĻ•āĻ°ā§āĻŽāϰāϤ āĻ…āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻžā§Ÿ āĻŽāĻžāϰāĻž āϝāĻžāĻ“ā§ŸāĻž

Dr. Sen died in harness

Do yeoman’s service

āĻŦāĻŋāĻļ⧇āώ āωāĻĒāĻ•āĻžāϰ āĻ•āϰāĻž

 Freedom fighters have done yeoman’s service for country.

End in smoke

āĻŦā§āϝāĻ°ā§āĻĨ āĻšāĻ“ā§ŸāĻž

All his plans ended in smoke.

Fall flat

āĻĢāϞāĻĒā§āϰāϏ⧂ āύāĻž āĻšāĻ“ā§ŸāĻž

My advice feels flat on him.

Fight shy

āĻā§œāĻŋā§Ÿā§‡ āϚāϞāĻž

Why do you fight shy of your teacher?

Fish out of water

āĻ…āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āϤāĻŋāĻ•āϰ āĻ…āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻž

When he came to the village , he felt like fish out of water

Fish in a troubled water

āĻāϞ⧋āĻŽā§‡āϞ⧋ āĻ…āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻžāϰ āϏ⧁āϝ⧋āĻ— āĻ¨ā§‡ā§ŸāĻž

He made a lot of money by fishing in a troubled water

Far and wide

āϏāĻ°ā§āĻŦāĻ¤ā§āϰ

His fame spread far and wide

Flesh and blood

āϰāĻ•ā§āϤāĻŽāĻžāĻ‚āϏ⧇āϰ āĻļāϰ⧀āϰ

Flesh and blood cannot bear with these such insults

For good

āϚāĻŋāϰāĻĻāĻŋāύ⧇āϰ āϜāĻ¨ā§āϝ

He left the house for good

From hand to mouth

āĻĻāĻŋāύ āφāύ⧇ āĻĻāĻŋāύ āĻ–āĻžā§Ÿ

The poor man live from  hand to mouth

 

                                    G-I

Idioms

Meaning

Sentence

Gala day

āĻŦāĻŋāĻļ⧇āώ āĻĻāĻŋāύ

The Eid –Ul-Fitr is a gala day for Muslims.

Get rid of

āĻŽā§āĻ•ā§āϤāĻŋ āĻĒāĻžāĻ“ā§ŸāĻž

Try to get rid of the rogue.

Gift of the gab

āĻŦāĻžāĻ•āĻĒāϟ⧁āϤāĻž

An advocate should have the gift of the gab.

Hard nut to crack

āĻ•āĻ āĻŋāύ āϏāĻŽāĻ¸ā§āϝāĻž

The problem of adult education is really hard nut to crack

Head and ears

āϏāĻŽā§āĻĒā§‚āĻ°ā§āĻŖāϰ⧂āĻĒ⧇

He is over head and ears in debt

Hold water

āϧ⧋āĻĒ⧇ āĻŸā§‡āĻ•āĻž

This policy will not hold water in this situation.

Hue and cry

āĻļā§‹āϰāĻ—ā§‹āϞ

The villagers raised a hue and cry to see the thief

Hush money

āϘ⧁āώ

He offered a hush money to disclose the file.

In a fix

āĻŽā§āĻļāĻ•āĻŋāϞ⧇ āĻĒāϤāĻŋāϤ āĻšāĻ“ā§ŸāĻž

The man is in a fix with his new hairstyle.

In full swing

āĻĒ⧁āϰ⧋āĻĻāĻŽā§‡

The school is in full swing after the vacation

In lieu of

āĻĒāϰāĻŋāĻŦāĻ°ā§āϤ⧇

Give me this pen in lieu of that

In cold blood

āĻ āĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻĄāĻž āĻŽāĻžāĻĨāĻžā§Ÿ

They committed this murder in cold blood

In no time

āĻļā§€āĻ˜ā§āϰ

He will finish the work in no time

Ins and out

āϖ⧁āρāϟāĻŋāύāĻžāϟāĻŋ

I know ins and outs of this file

In vogue

āϚāĻžāϞ⧁

This custom is not in vogue at present

In  a nutshell

āϏāĻ‚āĻ•ā§āώ⧇āĻĒ⧇

Tell the whole story in a nutshell

In one’s teens

āϤ⧇āϰ āĻĨ⧇āϕ⧇ āωāύāĻŋāĻļ āĻŦāĻ›āϰ āĻŦ⧟āϏ⧇āϰ āĻŽāĻžāĻā§‡

She is yet in her teens

In the long run

āĻĒāϰāĻŋāĻŖāĻžāĻŽā§‡

You will have to suffer in the long run

Irony  of fate

āĻ­āĻžāĻ—ā§āϝ⧇āϰ āĻĒāϰāĻŋāĻšāĻžāϏ

He could not succeed by irony of fate.

 

                                                                        k-m

Idioms

Meaning

Sentence

Kith and kin

āύāĻŋāĻ•āϟ āφāĻ¤ā§āĻŽā§€ā§Ÿ

He has no relation with his kith and kin

Lion’s share

āĻŦ⧜ āĻŽāĻžāĻĒ⧇āϰ āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļ

He took the lion’s share of the profit

Lame excuse

āĻŦāĻžāĻœā§‡ āĻ“āϜāϰ

The lame excuse will not do.

Maiden speech

āĻĒā§āϰāĻĨāĻŽ āĻŦāĻ•ā§āϤ⧃āϤāĻž

His maiden speech fell flat on the audience

Man of letters

āĻĒāĻ¨ā§āĻĄāĻŋāϤ āĻŦā§āϝāĻ•ā§āϤāĻŋ

You are truly a man of letters

Man of straw

āĻ…āĻĒāĻĻāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻĨ

We do not care for a man of straw like you.

Make both ends meet

āĻ†ā§Ÿ āĻŦā§āϝ⧟ āĻŽā§‡āϞāĻžāύ⧋

I cannot make both ends meet with my small income

Moot point

āĻ…āĻŽā§€āĻŽāĻžāĻ‚āϏāĻŋāϤ āĻŦāĻŋāώ⧟

Dowry system is still a moot point in Bangladesh.

 

                                                            N-P

Idioms

Meaning

Sentence

Nip in the bud

āĻ…āĻ™ā§āϕ⧁āϰ⧇ āĻŦāĻŋāύāĻˇā§āϟ āĻšāĻ“ā§ŸāĻž

All his hopes were nipped in the bud.

Null and void

āĻŦāĻžāϤāĻŋāϞ

The deed has been null and void now.

Now and then

āĻŽāĻžāĻā§‡ āĻŽāĻžāĻā§‡

He comes here now and then

Of course

āĻ…āĻŦāĻļā§āϝāχ

Of course, you know what that meant.

On the contrary

āĻŦāĻŋāĻĒāϰ⧀āϤ āĻĒāĻ•ā§āώ⧇

I do not hate him; on the contrary I love him.

On the wane

āĻšā§āϰāĻžāϏāĻŽāĻžāύ

His fame is on the wane now.

On the whole

āĻŽā§‹āĻŸā§‡āϰ āĻ“āĻĒāϰ

On the whole, his conduct is good

Out of date

āϏ⧇āϕ⧇āϞ⧇

This fashion is out of date

Out of sorts

āϏāĻžāĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ā§āϝ āĻ…āϏ⧁āĻ¸ā§āĻĨ

The baby is out of sorts after playing.

Out of order

āĻŦāĻŋāĻ•āϞ

the radio has become an out of order

Out of temper

āĻ•ā§āϰ⧁āĻĻā§āϧ

The teacher is out temper to see the overall results.

Part and parcel

āĻ…āĻŦāĻŋāĻšā§āϛ⧇āĻĻā§āϝ āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļ

Education is part and parcel to build a civilized nation.

Pros and cons

āϖ⧁āρāϟāĻŋāύāĻžāϟāĻŋ

You should consider the pros and cons of the system

 

                                                            R-T

Idioms

meaning

Sentence

Rank and file

āϏāĻžāϧāĻžāϰāĻŖ āϞ⧋āĻ•

We should pay attention to the rank and file of the country

Red letter day

āĻ¸ā§āĻŽāϰ⧟ āĻĻāĻŋāύ

The 16th December is a red letter day for us.

Round the clock

āϏāĻŽāĻ¸ā§āϤ āĻĻāĻŋāύ

He is working round the clock

Set free

āĻŽā§āĻ•ā§āϤ āĻ•āϰāĻž

The prisoners were set free

Slow coach

āĻ…āϞāϏ

You cannot expect much from a slow coach.

Slip of the pen

āϞ⧇āĻ–āĻžā§Ÿ āĻ…āϏāϤāĻ°ā§āĻ•āϤāĻžāĻŦāĻļāϤ āϏāĻžāĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ā§āϝ āϭ⧁āϞ

The mistake is due to a slip of the pen.

Slip of the tongue

āĻŦāϞāĻžā§Ÿ āϏāĻžāĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ā§āϝ āϭ⧁āϞ

This is a slip of the tongue; don’t lay much stress on it.

Square meal

āĻĒ⧇āϟ āĻ­āϰāĻž āφāĻšāĻžāϰ

He is too poor to have a square meal everyday

Stone’s throw

āĻ…āϤāĻŋ āύāĻŋāĻ•āĻŸā§‡

Our school is at a stone’s throw from our house

Tooth and nail

āϤ⧀āĻŦā§āϰāĻ­āĻžāĻŦ⧇

He fought tooth and nail for the sake of country

To the backbone

āĻšāĻžā§œā§‡ āĻšāĻžā§œā§‡

I know this boy to the backbone

 

                                                U-W    

Idioms

Meaning

Sentence

Ups  and downs

āωāĻ¤ā§āĻĨāĻžāύ āĻĒāϤāύ

There are ups and downs in a man’s life.

Up and doing

āωāĻĻā§āϝ⧇āĻžāĻ—ā§€

Be up and doing and  then you will be  succeed in your life

White elephant

āĻ…āĻ¤ā§āϝāĻ¨ā§āϤ āĻŦā§āϝ⧟āϏāĻžāĻĒ⧇āĻ•ā§āώ āĻŦāĻŋāϞāĻžāϏāĻŋāϤāĻž

At last the department proved to be a white elephant

Weal and woe

āϏ⧁āĻ–-āĻĻ⧁āσāĻ–

Human life is full of weal and woe.

Widow’s mite

āĻĻāϰāĻŋāĻĻā§āϰ⧇āϰ āĻ•ā§āώ⧁āĻĻā§āϰ āĻĻāĻžāύ

A windows mite is no less important than a large contribution of a rich man.

 

A Unit 2001-02

24.  He raised his eyebrow at my explanation.

A. show surprise or disapproval

B. show agreement

C. show happiness

D. show indifference

25.  In July, he decided to turn over a new leaf and work much harder.

A. get ready for the rainy season

B. change his address

C. to begin a new course of improved behavior,

habit, etc.

D. plant new trees.

Â