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 :

1a bolt from the blueunexpected event; complete surprise (usually unwelcome)
2a drop in the oceana very small amount compared with what is needed or expected
3a great dealplenty of
4a penny for your thoughtsa way of asking what someone is thinking.
5a stone’s throwa very short distance
6a storm in a teacupa big fuss about a small problem
7a wild goose chasea worthless hunt or chase
8a yellow streakcowardice in one’s character
9above boardhonest, not a secret
10add insult to injuryto worsen an unfavorable situation
11armchair expertone who gives advice in an area in which he was not actively involved
12at close quartersvery near
13at handvery near
14at loggerheadsto disagree strongly
15at snail’s pacevery slowly
16at the drop of the hatwithout any hesitation
17at the eleventh hourat the last moment
18at the end of one’s tetherto have no power, patience or endurance left
19at the helmin charge
20at the mercy ofunder the control of
21barking up the wrong treeaccusing the wrong person
22be armed withbe equipped with
23be fit forsuitable
24be part ofbelong to
25beat around the bushavoiding the main topic
26bed of rosescomfortable position
27best of both worldsall the advantages
28big wayon a large scale
29bite the bulletto get something over with because it is inevitable
30blessing in disguisesomething good that isn’t recognized at first.
31bolt from the bluesomething that happened without warning
32break evenmake no profit or loss
33break the icemake people feel more comfortable
34break throughpenetrate
35bring forthproduce
36burst intoenter suddenly
37by and byas time goes by
38by naturebecause of natural habits
39call it a daystop working on something
40can’t judge a book by its covercannot judge something primarily on appearance.
41clean slatea past record without discredit
42comparing apples to orangescomparing two things that cannot be compared
43costs an arm and a legvery expensive
44curiosity killed the catbeing inquisitive can lead you into an unpleasant situation.
45devil’s advocateto present a counter argument
46draw a blankunable to get information
47every cloud has a silver lininggood-things come after bad things
48eyesoreugly sight
49eyewashsomething to deceive
50fair and squarein a fair way
51fall a prey tobecome a victim
52far cry fromvery different from
53far fromdistant
54feel the pinchfeeling unpleasant change in one’s standard of living
55fit as a fiddlein good health
56fortune favours the boldtake risks
SamacheerKalvi.Guru
57give (someone) a piece of one’s mindto tell someone frankly what one thinks especially when one disapproves of the other’s behaviour
58give someone the cold shoulderignore someone
59go down in flamesfail spectacularly
60go on a wild goose chaseto do something pointless
61going from bad to worsedeteriorate further
62good-for-nothingworthless
63hang aroundsomeone strongly to loiter
64hang in theredon’t give up
65hard to come bydifficult to find
66have a handto get involved
67have no hand indoes not take part in an activity
68head backreturn
69herculean taskdifficult task
70hit the nail on the headdo or say something exactly right
71hit the sackgo to sleep
72holds goodvalid at the time of discussion
73 ,honour bound (to do something)required to do something as a moral duty but not by law
74in a nutshellbriefly
75in all walks of lifeall social groups
76in deep watersin trouble
77in hot pursuitfollowing closely
78in short supplyNot enough / scarce
79in the hands ofin the care of
80in the service ofavailable for
81it is a piece of cakeit is easy
82it’s Taining cats and dogsit’s raining hard
83keep pace withto move with same speed
84keep something at baykeep something away
85kicked the bucketpassed away
86leave no stone unturnedlook everywhere
87let the cat out of the baggive away a secret
88lion’s sharemajor share
89look down upontreat with contempt                        .
90loud and clearvery clearly
91make both ends meetlive within means
92make fun ofridicule
93make up one’s minddecide, determine
94matter of concernsomething to worry about
95miss the boatit’s too late
96muffle upto cover
SamacheerKalvi.Guru
97not playing with a full decksomeone who lacks intelligence
98note of handpromissory note
99null and voidinvalid
100on cloud nineto be extremely happy
101once and for allcompletely and finally
102once in a blue moonvary rarely
103one thing leads to anotherseries of events in which each event was caused by the previous one.
104out of placeunsuitable
105pink of healthextremely healthy, in perfect condition
106play an important roleto have a significant position
107pull yourself togethercalm down
108put on airsbehave in an unnatural way to impress others
109shadow of one’s selfnot having the strength, former self influence, etc., that one once had
110side by sidealong with
111speak volumesto express something very clearly and completely
112spill the beansgive away a secret
113take to one’s heelsto run away
114taken a very hard linenot giving in
115the ball is in your courtit’s your decision
116the burning questiona crucial issue
117the whys and whereforesthe reasons for something
118thick and fastin large numbers
119tit for tatrevenge
120told him flatexpressed opinion directly
121tread onwalk with difficulty
122trial and errorto try many times to succeed
123tricks of the tradethe expertise of doing business
124well-balancedwell adjusted
125whole nine yardseverything, all of it
126wouldn’t be caught deadwould never like to do something
127with a bangin a very exciting way

Samacheer Kalvi 9th English Vocabulary Idioms

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

Samacheer Kalvi 9th English Vocabulary Idioms

(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.

Samacheer Kalvi 9th English Vocabulary Idioms

10. In trouble.
Answer:
In deep waters.