Samacheer Kalvi 9th English Vocabulary Idioms

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Tamilnadu Samacheer Kalvi 9th English Vocabulary Idioms

An idiom is an expression in English with a special meaning of its own. Idioms do not give the literal meaning of the individual words used in them.

Here are a few sentences with idioms (meanings are given in brackets):

• Business is going from bad to worse, (deteriorate further)
• They always do things in a big way, (on a large scale)
• The government has taken a very hard line (not giving in) against illegal quarrying.
• Orders for the new product are coming in thick and fast, (in large numbers)
• How can any one make ends meet (manage with the money) with just ? 2000/- a month?
• Your son’s behavior is a matter of concern, (something to worry about)
• The name sounds familiar but I can’t call her face to mind, (recall something from memory; recognise)
• My uncle loves to tell us how to play cricket. He is an armchair expert.
  (one who gives advice in an area in which he was not actively involved)
• Ravi is our sincere employee. He has had a clean slate (a past record without discredit) for over twenty years.
• The policeman went near the damaged car to have a look at close quarters, (very near)
• Dr. Jacob is at the helm (in charge) of affairs in this hospital.
• No one can make a break even (make no profit or loss) in the first year of business.
• Because of the steep rice in prices, people living on pension feel the pinch, (feeling unpleasant change in one’s standard of living)
• Let us settle the bill for the damage fair and square, (in a fair way)
• I can hear you over phone loud and clear, (very clearly)
• By and by (as time goes by) he will realise that my going to Delhi was the right decision.

Idioms from the Textual Exercises
Idiom – Meaning
1. alarm bells ringing – a sign of something going wrong
2. back to the wall – in serious difficulty
3. below the belt – unfair or unsporting behavior
4. by the skin of one’s teeth – a narrow escape.
5. drive one up the wall – to annoy or irritate someone
6. asp / clutch at straws – try any method to overcome a crisis
7. hang out to dry – abandoning one who is in difficulty
8. have cold feet – feel nervousness and anxiety
9. hit the road – to begin one’s journey
10. in a nice pickle – in a troublesome or difficult situation
11. in our corner – on your side in an argument or dispute
12. in panic mode – in a frightening state
13. on the ropes – state of near collapse or defeat
14. right up to one’s alley – ideally suited to one’s interest
15. saved by the bell – help at the last moment rescuing one from a difficult situation
16. shot his bolt – to exhaust one’s effort
17. square off – prepare for a conflict
18. take (one) for a ride – to deceive someone
19. throw in the towel – to give up
20. tight corners – difficult situations

Some more idioms and meanings :

1	a bolt from the blue	unexpected event; complete surprise (usually unwelcome)
2	a drop in the ocean	a very small amount compared with what is needed or expected
3	a great deal	plenty of
4	a penny for your thoughts	a way of asking what someone is thinking.
5	a stone’s throw	a very short distance
6	a storm in a teacup	a big fuss about a small problem
7	a wild goose chase	a worthless hunt or chase
8	a yellow streak	cowardice in one’s character
9	above board	honest, not a secret
10	add insult to injury	to worsen an unfavorable situation
11	armchair expert	one who gives advice in an area in which he was not actively involved
12	at close quarters	very near
13	at hand	very near
14	at loggerheads	to disagree strongly
15	at snail’s pace	very slowly
16	at the drop of the hat	without any hesitation
17	at the eleventh hour	at the last moment
18	at the end of one’s tether	to have no power, patience or endurance left
19	at the helm	in charge
20	at the mercy of	under the control of
21	barking up the wrong tree	accusing the wrong person
22	be armed with	be equipped with
23	be fit for	suitable
24	be part of	belong to
25	beat around the bush	avoiding the main topic
26	bed of roses	comfortable position
27	best of both worlds	all the advantages
28	big way	on a large scale
29	bite the bullet	to get something over with because it is inevitable
30	blessing in disguise	something good that isn’t recognized at first.
31	bolt from the blue	something that happened without warning
32	break even	make no profit or loss
33	break the ice	make people feel more comfortable
34	break through	penetrate
35	bring forth	produce
36	burst into	enter suddenly
37	by and by	as time goes by
38	by nature	because of natural habits
39	call it a day	stop working on something
40	can’t judge a book by its cover	cannot judge something primarily on appearance.
41	clean slate	a past record without discredit
42	comparing apples to oranges	comparing two things that cannot be compared
43	costs an arm and a leg	very expensive
44	curiosity killed the cat	being inquisitive can lead you into an unpleasant situation.
45	devil’s advocate	to present a counter argument
46	draw a blank	unable to get information
47	every cloud has a silver lining	good-things come after bad things
48	eyesore	ugly sight
49	eyewash	something to deceive
50	fair and square	in a fair way
51	fall a prey to	become a victim
52	far cry from	very different from
53	far from	distant
54	feel the pinch	feeling unpleasant change in one’s standard of living
55	fit as a fiddle	in good health
56	fortune favours the bold	take risks
57	give (someone) a piece of one’s mind	to tell someone frankly what one thinks especially when one disapproves of the other’s behaviour
58	give someone the cold shoulder	ignore someone
59	go down in flames	fail spectacularly
60	go on a wild goose chase	to do something pointless
61	going from bad to worse	deteriorate further
62	good-for-nothing	worthless
63	hang around	someone strongly to loiter
64	hang in there	don’t give up
65	hard to come by	difficult to find
66	have a hand	to get involved
67	have no hand in	does not take part in an activity
68	head back	return
69	herculean task	difficult task
70	hit the nail on the head	do or say something exactly right
71	hit the sack	go to sleep
72	holds good	valid at the time of discussion
73 ,	honour bound (to do something)	required to do something as a moral duty but not by law
74	in a nutshell	briefly
75	in all walks of life	all social groups
76	in deep waters	in trouble
77	in hot pursuit	following closely
78	in short supply	Not enough / scarce
79	in the hands of	in the care of
80	in the service of	available for
81	it is a piece of cake	it is easy
82	it’s Taining cats and dogs	it’s raining hard
83	keep pace with	to move with same speed
84	keep something at bay	keep something away
85	kicked the bucket	passed away
86	leave no stone unturned	look everywhere
87	let the cat out of the bag	give away a secret
88	lion’s share	major share
89	look down upon	treat with contempt                        .
90	loud and clear	very clearly
91	make both ends meet	live within means
92	make fun of	ridicule
93	make up one’s mind	decide, determine
94	matter of concern	something to worry about
95	miss the boat	it’s too late
96	muffle up	to cover
97	not playing with a full deck	someone who lacks intelligence
98	note of hand	promissory note
99	null and void	invalid
100	on cloud nine	to be extremely happy
101	once and for all	completely and finally
102	once in a blue moon	vary rarely
103	one thing leads to another	series of events in which each event was caused by the previous one.
104	out of place	unsuitable
105	pink of health	extremely healthy, in perfect condition
106	play an important role	to have a significant position
107	pull yourself together	calm down
108	put on airs	behave in an unnatural way to impress others
109	shadow of one’s self	not having the strength, former self influence, etc., that one once had
110	side by side	along with
111	speak volumes	to express something very clearly and completely
112	spill the beans	give away a secret
113	take to one’s heels	to run away
114	taken a very hard line	not giving in
115	the ball is in your court	it’s your decision
116	the burning question	a crucial issue
117	the whys and wherefores	the reasons for something
118	thick and fast	in large numbers
119	tit for tat	revenge
120	told him flat	expressed opinion directly
121	tread on	walk with difficulty
122	trial and error	to try many times to succeed
123	tricks of the trade	the expertise of doing business
124	well-balanced	well adjusted
125	whole nine yards	everything, all of it
126	wouldn’t be caught dead	would never like to do something
127	with a bang	in a very exciting way

Exercises
(i) Choose the correct option to complete the given idioms.
1. A bolt from _________.
(a) the white (b) the sky (c) the green (d) the blue
Answer:
(d) the blue

2. A storm _________.
(a) at sea (b) in the ocean (c) in a coffee cup (d) in a tea cup
Answer:
(d) in a tea cup

3. Can’t judge a book, _________.
(a) by the colour (b) by its cover (c) by its pages (d) by its author
Answer:
(db) by its cover

4. Every cloud _________.
(a) is dark (b) hides the sun (c) has a silver lining (d) brings rain
Answer:
(c) has a silver lining

5. Casts an arm _________.
(a) and a face (b) and a finger (c) and a leg (d) and some money
Answer:
(c) and a leg

6. Add insult to _________.
(a) friend (b) enemy (c) neighbor (d) injury
Answer:
(d) injury

7. A penny for _________.
(a) a picture (b) honesty (c) hard work (d) your thoughts
Answer:
(d) your thoughts

8. Fortune favors
(a) the hardworking (b) the poor (c) the rich (d) the bold
Answer:
(d) the bold

9. Hit the nail _________.
(a) on the wall (b) on the door (c) in the bench (d) on the head
Answer:
(d) on the head

10. Once in a _________.
(a) blue moon (b) in a tea cup (c) new moon (d) full moon
Answer:
(a) blue moon

(ii) Give a suitable idiom for the given meanings.

1. Say something exactly right.
Answer:
To hit the nail on the head.

2. All social groups.
Answer:
All walks of life.

3. It’s raining hard.
Answer:
Its raining cats and dogs.

4. Passed away.
Answer:
Kicked the bucket.

5. Live within means.
Answer:
To make both ends meet.

6. Invalid.
Answer:
Null and void.

7. Extremely healthy.
Answer:
Pink of health.

8. Give away a secret.
Answer:
To let the cat out of the bag.

9. Revenge.
Answer:
Tit for that.

10. In trouble.
Answer:
In deep waters.