English idioms, phrases, proverbs, and expressions are an important part of the English section of various competitive exams such as CDS NDA AFCAT SSC CGL exams. So let’s take a look at the most popular and common idioms used frequently in English Newspapers and what they mean along with their use in sentences. Also Read: Commonly Used Idioms and Phrases
Also Check: Best Resources for Idioms & Phrases & Objective English Preparation for AFCAT CDS NDA Exam
Raise Eyebrows : to show surprise by moving your eyebrows upwards (Supreme Court raises eyebrows on the government opposing a CBI probe)
Choke Up ; to become unable to speak or almost begin to cry (Ariana chokes up talking about being body-shamed for her skinny frame)
Snuff Out : to stop or destroy something completely (Life of a stray dog was snuffed out by senseless shooting)
On The Sly : to do something secretly (She had been eating junk on the sly)
Go Through The Roof : to rise to a very high level (Vegetable prices go through roof as rain hits supply)
Take To One's Heels : to run away quickly (When they saw Indian soldiers coming, Pakistani infiltrators took to their heels.)
Tear Into Someone : criticise someone very angrily and strongly (Supreme Court tore into police for letting a 7,000-strong mob vandalise the hospital)
Have Something In Spades : to have a lot of something (Akshay Kumar’s “Garam Masala” movie has got humour in spades)
Call In Sick : to contact your workplace to say you can't come in because you are sick (The High Court deferred the hearing as the counsel calls in sick)
Win/Lose By A Whisker : to win or lose by a very small amount (Noah Lyles wins 100 metres gold by a whisker at Paris Olympics)
Keep An Ear Close To The Ground : find out about the things that people are doing or saying (Govt has ears to the ground when it came to policy making)
No Love Lost : used to say that people dislike each other (Shabana Azmi said. she has "no love lost" for Kangana Ranaut.)
Winks at : to pretend not to have seen or noticed; to ignore (The city cops wink at the MLA's traffic signal violations)
Go Through Roof : to rise to a very high level; or to get very angry (After onions, garlic prices go through roof as supplies dip)
Sparks Fly : have an angry argument (Sparks fly in parliament over Rahul's withdrawal as lead speaker)
Marquee Event/Clash : so well-known or well-publicised as to attract large audiences (India defeats Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup’s marquee clash in Ahmedabad)
Send A Chill/shiver Up/down Someone's Spine : to make someone feel very thrilled, frightened, etc. (Observing that the incidents very thought sent dreadful shivers down the spine, the court sentenced a 45-year-old man to death)
Pull The Plug - prevent something from happening or continuing (Ford pulls plug on vehicle production in India. It has decided to sell only imported models)
Tongues Wagging - cause other people to start talking and guessing things about their private lives (Chirag Paswan set tongues wagging when he called on Tejashwi Prasad Yadav at the residence of his mother)
Throw Someone A Curveball - unexpectedly present someone with a challenge or disruption (Covid-19 may have thrown curveballs this year but the USD 191 billion-Indian IT sector has shown resilience and)
Give A Slip - to get away from someone (The wanted criminal managed to give a slip to the police)
Shot In The Arm - something that has a sudden, strong, positive effect on something (New Canadian law could be shot in the arm for Indian newspapers, websites)
Fight Tooth And Nail - to try very hard to get something you want (Sony, Star may fight tooth and nail for IPL telecast rights)
Paper Over The Cracks - to try to hide faults or difficulties (Only way to stop Mumbai Indians (MI) is to avoid mistakes, paper over the cracks)
Epoch-making - an event might be described as epoch-making if it has a great effect on the future (India's paralympians have an epoch-making campaign at the Tokyo Games)
Set The Cat Among The Pigeons - say or do something that is likely to cause trouble or controversy (Vinai Kumar Saxena, has, through his disruptive enthusiasm to tamper in the day-to-day governance in Delhi, set the cat among the pigeons)
A Case In Point - a good example of something you have just mentioned (Supermarkets often charge too much for goods. Bananas are a case in point.)
Root For Someone/something - to express your support for the success of someone or something (The vast majority of football fans in India are rooting for Argentina to win.)
Drop A Brick - to announce a particularly surprising, alarming, or upsetting piece of news (Ruby dropped a brick when she told me she was moving to Bikaner next week)
Add/Rub Salt To The Wounds - to make a difficult situation even worse for someone (South Africa added salt to India’s wounds by registering a five wicket win over the hosts)
At One Fell Swoop - at once, with a single decisive or powerful action (In one fell swoop Sri Lanka's government banned chemical based farming in the country.)
Go For A Toss - to be lost, ignored, or forgotten (Covid norms go for a toss on the banks of Sangam in Prayagraj)
Cast (One's) Net Wide - to consider a variety of options (The Minister encouraged students to cast their nets wide when contemplating potential careers)
Tilt The Scale - to change the balance of a situation, such that one side or element is favored or gains advantage (Yuvaraj factor may have tilted scales in BS Yediyurappa’s favour)
Bark Up The Wrong Tree - to make the wrong choice (By focussing on cities and vehicles, we have been barking up the wrong tree on air pollution)
All Hands On Deck - used to indicate that the involvement of all members of a team is required (India's over stretched medical infrastructure needs all hands on deck)
Keep At Arm's Length - to avoid being very close to or friendly with someone or something (There is an urgent need to empower the CBI with a mandate of keeping an arm's-length relationship with the government)
Come Of Age - if something has come of age, it has reached its full successful development (It’s time for liquor policy to come of age)
Silver Bullet - a simple and seemingly magical solution to a complicated problem (Fintech will be the silver bullet for growth in 2021)
Teeter On The Edge - be very close to a difficult or dangerous situation (India’s healthcare system was always teetering on the edge, Covid-19 caused it to collapse completely)
Hark Back - to turn back to an earlier topic or circumstance (It's useless to continually hark back to the past)
From Pillar To Post - from one place to another in an unceremonious or fruitless manner (Delhi High Court has pulled up Delhi Govt for making subordinate judiciary run from pillar to post for grant of funds)
Teeter On The Edge - be very close to a difficult or dangerous situation (India’s healthcare system was always teetering on the edge, Covid-19 caused it to collapse completely)
All The More Or All The Better - to mean even more or even better than before (This is why it becomes all the more critical in being data literate)
Cut Your Teeth On (something) - to gain experience with something (No one had a clue the friendly fresher was a keen eyed police woman cutting her teeth in her first major mission)
Keep/Have Ears To The Ground - to pay attention to everything that is happening around you (Policy makers must have ears to the ground while framing vaccine procurement policy)
Be In The Eye Of A Storm - to be in the middle of a difficult situation or controversy (Puja Khedkar, who is in the eye of a storm over alleged misuse of power)
Be In The Soup - to be in a difficult situation (Elvish Yadav lands in soup for clicking pics inside KVT)
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Also Read: Commonly Used Idioms and Phrases
