Idioms are used to express more meaning in a few words.

Idioms and Phrases, Study Notes |

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An idiom is a group of words or phrases used to define an expression. It’s an expression made by grouping words together to mean something different from the literal meaning of the phrase. Phrases can be taken literally while idioms are not literal in their meaning but figurative. Idioms can be used poetically in the sentence to show the meaning of the expression. Idioms and Phrases in English are used to represent the expression of a sentence whose meaning is not the same but can be understood due to their popular uses.

Learning these expressions is valuable because they appear frequently in competitive examinations, everyday language and books. Knowing idioms and phrases helps improve overall English comprehension and allows for more natural speaking and writing. Many competitive examination like SSC, Railway, Defence and Banking include questions about idioms and phrases in their English sections. Typically, there are one or two questions related to this topic in every examination. By familiarizing yourself with common idioms and phrases, that repetitively asked in examination will help candidates to enhance their scores.

What are Idioms and Phrases?

Idioms are fixed expressions that cannot be understood literally. For example, the phrase “a blessing in disguise” doesn’t mean that something is literally a blessing that is hidden or disguised. Instead, it refers to a situation that seems bad at first but ultimately turns out to be a good thing.

Phrases, on the other hand, are groups of words that work together to convey a specific meaning. They are more flexible than idioms and can be modified or expanded upon. For instance, the phrase “actions speak louder than words” emphasizes that what someone does is more important than what they say.

Important Tricks to Remember Idiom and Phrases

Preparing for the idioms and phrases section of the SSC CGL exam can be made easier with some smart study techniques.

Start by creating flashcards, either physical or digital, featuring the idiom, its meaning, and an example sentence. This allows for quick and frequent revision.
Organizing idioms into groups based on similar meanings can help with memory and understanding. For instance, you might group together idioms related to success, failure, or relationships.
Get creative by making up stories or jokes that incorporate idioms – the more memorable, the better for retention. Practice using idioms in your own sentences to get comfortable with their application.
Don’t forget to engage with idioms in real-life contexts, such as social media posts and comments.
This exposure helps reinforce their usage and meaning. Finally, try to learn the opposite meanings of idioms where possible, as contrasting information can strengthen your memory of both. By using these varied approaches, you can build a solid foundation in idioms and phrases for the SSC CGL exam.

Important Idioms with Meaning & Usage

For the ease of candidates we have provided some most frequently asked idiom in examinations with their meaning and usage. Candidates preparing for competitive examinations like SSC, Railways or Banking must memorise these idioms.

Idioms	Idioms Meanings	Usage
Beat around the bush	To avoid talking about what’s important	As part of a sentence
Get your act together	Get organized and do things effectively	By itself
Hit the sack	Go to sleep	By itself
Your guess is as good as mine	I do not know	By itself
Good things come to those who wait	To have patience	By itself
Back against the wall	Stuck in a difficult circumstance with no escape	By itself
Up in arms	Being grumpy or angry about something	As part of a sentence
Scrape the barrel	Making the most of the worst situation or things because you can’t do anything about it	By itself
Burn your boats/bridges	Do something that makes it impossible to go back to the original state	By itself
Break fresh/new ground	Doing something that has never been done before	By itself
Sell like hot cakes	Quick sell-out	As part of a sentence
Run around in circles	Putting effort into something that is not a worthwhile result	As part of a sentence
On cloud nine	Being very happy	By itself
Left out in the cold	Being ignored	As part of a sentence
Blow hot and cold	Alternate inconsistently between moods and actions	As part of a sentence
Cut corners	Do something in an easier and less expensive manner	As part of a sentence
Boil the ocean	Taking up an almost impossible or overly ambitious project	By itself
Keep an ear to the ground	Stay informed and updated about everything	By itself
Eat like a horse	Eating too excessively	As part of a sentence
A snowball effect	The aspect of momentum in every event and how they build upon each other	By itself
Make a long story short	Tell something briefly	As part of a sentence
Miss the boat	It’s too late	As part of a sentence
No pain, no gain	You have to work for what you want	By itself
On the ball	Doing a good job	As part of a sentence
Pull someone’s leg	To joke with someone	As part of a sentence
Pull yourself together	Calm down	By itself
So far so good	Things are going well so far	By itself
Speak of the devil	The person we were just talking about showed up!	By itself
That’s the last straw	My patience has run out	By itself
The best of both worlds	An ideal situation	As part of a sentence
Time flies when you’re having fun	You don’t notice how long something lasts when it’s fun	By itself
To get bent out of shape	To get upset	As part of a sentence
To make matters worse	Make a problem worse	As part of a sentence
Under the weather	Sick	As part of a sentence
We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it	Let’s not talk about that problem right now	By itself
Wrap your head around something	Understand something complicated	As part of a sentence
A blessing in disguise	A good thing that seemed bad at first	As part of a sentence
A dime a dozen	Something common	As part of a sentence
Better late than never	Better to arrive late than not to come at all	By itself
Bite the bullet	To get something over with because it is inevitable	As part of a sentence
Break a leg	Good luck	By itself
Call it a day	Stop working on something	As part of a sentence
Cut somebody some slack	Don’t be so critical	As part of a sentence
Easy does it	Slow down	By itself
Get out of hand	Get out of control	As part of a sentence
Get something out of your system	Do the thing you’ve been wanting to do so you can move on	As part of a sentence
Give someone the benefit of the doubt	Trust what someone says	As part of a sentence
Go back to the drawing board	Start over	As part of a sentence