1. To clip one’s wings To deprive one of power
2. To play fast and loose To act in an unreliable way
3. Pull a fast one Play a trick
4. A bad hair day A day on which everything seems to go wrong
5. A bad patch A period of difficulty
6. A can of worms A complicate situation or problem
7. A cold fish Someone who seems unfriendly and who does
not share his feelings
8. A damsel in distress A helpless woman
9. A diamond in the rough Someone with potential but lacks polishing or
training
10. A dime a dozen Very common and of no particular value
11. A dry run Rehearsal of an event
12. A fine state of affairs An unpleasant situation
13. A fire in someone’s belly One who is energetic and enthusiastic about
something
14. A grey area An unclear situation
15. A hair’s breadth Stating every minute details
16. A hot potato A controversial issue
17. A kick in the teeth A grave setback (bahut badi asafalta)
18. A laughing stock An object of laughter (hansi ka patra)
19. A lean patch A period of poor performance
20. A leopard can’t change its spots It is impossible for one to change one’s
character
21. A little bird told me To keep the identity of informant secret
22. A lot on your plate Having many responsibilities
23. A moot point Disputed
24. A needle in a haystack Something that is very difficult to locate
25. A nig-nog A fool
26. A pain in the neck Annoying
27. A penny for your thoughts A way of asking what someone is thinking
28. A piece of the pie A share in money or business
29. A red rag to a bull To provoke someone
30. A rotten apple A single bad person or thing in a group
@English_King07
,31. A safe pair of hands A reliable person
32. A sea change Complete transformation
33. A sight for sore eyes Something which is pleasing to see.
34. A sore point with Something which hurts
35. A stuffed shirt Arrogant person
36. A stumbling block An obstacle to progress
37. A thorn in the flesh A source of continuous annoyance
38. A walk of life A person’s occupation or position within
society
39. A wolf in sheep’s clothing Hypocrite / dangerous person pretending to
be harmless
40. After one’s own heart Man ki baat
41. Aid and abet To help someone to commit a crime
42. Alarums and excursions Confused activity and uproar (bhramit
gatiwidhi)
43. Alive and kicking In good health
44. All agog amazed
45. All and sundry All included without discrimination
46. All hands on deck Everyone available to help with a problem
47. All hat and no cattle One who is full of big talk but lacks substance
and action
48. All in exhausted
49. All in a day’s work Part of person’s typical work
50. All over hell’s half acre Everywhere
51. All thumbs Clumsy/physically awkward
52. Alphabet soup A metaphor for an abundance of
abbreviations or acronyms
53. Always a bridesmaid never a bride Someone who is always 2nd important not 1st
important
54. An account which is in red Account in which Borrowing is more than
depositing.
55. An arrow in the quiver Strategies that can be followed
56. An uphill task Difficult task
57. Apples and oranges Two unlike things
58. Argus eyed Observant
59. As clear as mud Impossible to understand
60. As high as a kite Intoxicated with alcohol
61. As the crow flies The shortest route
@English_King07
, 62. As thick as two short planks Extremely stupid
63. Asleep at the wheel Not attentive to one’s duties
64. At each other’s throats Arguing angrily
65. At loose ends In an uncertain situation
66. At short notice With little warning or time for preparation
67. At the drop of a hat Without any hesitation
68. At the top of your lungs Extremely loud
69. At variance with In opposite
70. Baby in the woods A young defenceless person
71. Back in saddle Resume duty
72. Back me Support
73. Back out Withdrawn from a commitment
74. Back up Defend or support
75. Ball is in your court To be responsible for further action
76. Banana oil Nonsensical talk
77. Bang for the buck More value for money
78. Bark is worse than his bite Threat is worse than the action taken
79. dab hand at something Skilled in a particular area
80. dead meat To be in serious trouble
81. all one to Make no difference
82. old hat Be outdated
83. at a loss for words Not know what to say
84. Back to square one To return to the starting point
85. behind the times Be old fashioned
86. glad to see the back of Be happy when a person leaves
87. Left stranded To be the last person on whom the blame falls
eventually
88. Be off To go away
89. Bend over backwards Make every effort to achieve something
90. Best of both worlds Dono hanth me ladoo
91. Best thing since sliced bread Most useful innovation in a long time
92. On the air Broadcast over the radio or on tv
93. Out of order Device not working properly
94. Bear down To move quickly towards someone in a
determined and threatening way
95. Big bucks A lot of money
96. Bite someone’s head off Speak angrily without any reason
97. Bite the bullet To force yourself to do something unpleasant
@English_King07
2. To play fast and loose To act in an unreliable way
3. Pull a fast one Play a trick
4. A bad hair day A day on which everything seems to go wrong
5. A bad patch A period of difficulty
6. A can of worms A complicate situation or problem
7. A cold fish Someone who seems unfriendly and who does
not share his feelings
8. A damsel in distress A helpless woman
9. A diamond in the rough Someone with potential but lacks polishing or
training
10. A dime a dozen Very common and of no particular value
11. A dry run Rehearsal of an event
12. A fine state of affairs An unpleasant situation
13. A fire in someone’s belly One who is energetic and enthusiastic about
something
14. A grey area An unclear situation
15. A hair’s breadth Stating every minute details
16. A hot potato A controversial issue
17. A kick in the teeth A grave setback (bahut badi asafalta)
18. A laughing stock An object of laughter (hansi ka patra)
19. A lean patch A period of poor performance
20. A leopard can’t change its spots It is impossible for one to change one’s
character
21. A little bird told me To keep the identity of informant secret
22. A lot on your plate Having many responsibilities
23. A moot point Disputed
24. A needle in a haystack Something that is very difficult to locate
25. A nig-nog A fool
26. A pain in the neck Annoying
27. A penny for your thoughts A way of asking what someone is thinking
28. A piece of the pie A share in money or business
29. A red rag to a bull To provoke someone
30. A rotten apple A single bad person or thing in a group
@English_King07
,31. A safe pair of hands A reliable person
32. A sea change Complete transformation
33. A sight for sore eyes Something which is pleasing to see.
34. A sore point with Something which hurts
35. A stuffed shirt Arrogant person
36. A stumbling block An obstacle to progress
37. A thorn in the flesh A source of continuous annoyance
38. A walk of life A person’s occupation or position within
society
39. A wolf in sheep’s clothing Hypocrite / dangerous person pretending to
be harmless
40. After one’s own heart Man ki baat
41. Aid and abet To help someone to commit a crime
42. Alarums and excursions Confused activity and uproar (bhramit
gatiwidhi)
43. Alive and kicking In good health
44. All agog amazed
45. All and sundry All included without discrimination
46. All hands on deck Everyone available to help with a problem
47. All hat and no cattle One who is full of big talk but lacks substance
and action
48. All in exhausted
49. All in a day’s work Part of person’s typical work
50. All over hell’s half acre Everywhere
51. All thumbs Clumsy/physically awkward
52. Alphabet soup A metaphor for an abundance of
abbreviations or acronyms
53. Always a bridesmaid never a bride Someone who is always 2nd important not 1st
important
54. An account which is in red Account in which Borrowing is more than
depositing.
55. An arrow in the quiver Strategies that can be followed
56. An uphill task Difficult task
57. Apples and oranges Two unlike things
58. Argus eyed Observant
59. As clear as mud Impossible to understand
60. As high as a kite Intoxicated with alcohol
61. As the crow flies The shortest route
@English_King07
, 62. As thick as two short planks Extremely stupid
63. Asleep at the wheel Not attentive to one’s duties
64. At each other’s throats Arguing angrily
65. At loose ends In an uncertain situation
66. At short notice With little warning or time for preparation
67. At the drop of a hat Without any hesitation
68. At the top of your lungs Extremely loud
69. At variance with In opposite
70. Baby in the woods A young defenceless person
71. Back in saddle Resume duty
72. Back me Support
73. Back out Withdrawn from a commitment
74. Back up Defend or support
75. Ball is in your court To be responsible for further action
76. Banana oil Nonsensical talk
77. Bang for the buck More value for money
78. Bark is worse than his bite Threat is worse than the action taken
79. dab hand at something Skilled in a particular area
80. dead meat To be in serious trouble
81. all one to Make no difference
82. old hat Be outdated
83. at a loss for words Not know what to say
84. Back to square one To return to the starting point
85. behind the times Be old fashioned
86. glad to see the back of Be happy when a person leaves
87. Left stranded To be the last person on whom the blame falls
eventually
88. Be off To go away
89. Bend over backwards Make every effort to achieve something
90. Best of both worlds Dono hanth me ladoo
91. Best thing since sliced bread Most useful innovation in a long time
92. On the air Broadcast over the radio or on tv
93. Out of order Device not working properly
94. Bear down To move quickly towards someone in a
determined and threatening way
95. Big bucks A lot of money
96. Bite someone’s head off Speak angrily without any reason
97. Bite the bullet To force yourself to do something unpleasant
@English_King07
