Important Previous Year Phrases & Idioms

Phrase/Idiom	Meaning
Hit the nail on the head	To describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem
Hit the sack	To sleep
See eye to eye	To agree with them; to think alike; to have similar opinions or viewpoints
Learn the ropes	To gain experience
Cut to quick	To cause serious hurt
Cut and dried	Already decided and unchangeable
Sink or swim	A situation where someone must succeed or fail based on their own efforts, with no help or support
Drawn game	Where neither side wins, and the score is equal; Unsettled situation
Dark horse	A person who unexpectedly wins or succeeds; অজানা প্রতিভা
Dog in the manger	নিজেও কাজ করে না অন্যকে ও করতে দেয় না; A person who doesn’t let others use or enjoy something, even if they don’t need or want it themselves
White knight	Someone who rescues or helps another in difficulty; সাহায্যকারী
Split the details	Breaking down a larger piece of information
A dime a dozen	Common and easily available
Lion's share	The largest portion
Hit the mark	Be successful in an attempt or accurate in a guess
Cut a sorry figure	To make a poor or unfavorable impression on others, appearing in a way that causes oneself to be regarded with disapproval or pity
Live in the breadline	Experiencing extreme poverty and financial hardship, often struggling to afford basic necessities
Tie the knot	Get married
In the nick of time	At the very last minute
Toot one's own horn	Boasting, Bragging
Pretty penny	Very expensive
Null and void	To repeal/revoke/nullify/annul something
Dead letter	অকেজো, Law not to force
Bring to pass	Cause to happen
Achilles heel	A week point
Maiden speech	First speech
Take someone to task	Reprimand or criticize someone severely for a fault or mistake
At one's wit's end	Perplexed
Fits and stars	Irregularly
Gift of the gab	Eloquence
In two minds	Unsure, Confused, Perplexed
Pretty penny	Very expensive
Pay off old scores	প্রতিশোধ নেয়া, পুরোনো হিসাব মেটানো
Host in oneself	একাই একশ
Hang in balance	ফলাফল সম্পর্কে অনিশ্চিত হওয়া
Go the extra mile	To make extra effort
By leaps and bounds	Very quickly or greatly
Beat about/around the bush	To avoid addressing the main topic; to speak indirectly or evasively
Bite off more than one can chew	To take on more responsibility than you can manage
A maiden voyage	The first journey made by a ship
Pour cold water on	Discourage
Once in a blue moon	Very rarely
Catch a tartar	Meet a very powerful opponent
Take into account	Consider
Red letter day	Memorable day
Far cry	Out of reach, অনেক দূরের ব্যাপার
In black and white	লিখিতভাবে, in writing
By and large	Mostly; on the whole; everything considered
Bring to pass	Cause to happen
Bearish market	Dull market; হঠাৎ করে মূল্য বা দর হ্রাস পাওয়ার সম্ভাবনা থাকে যে মার্কেটের
Dog days	Hot weather
By and by	Soon, তাড়াতাড়ি
Call something off	বাতিল করা, প্রত্যাহার করা
Turn to account	কোনো কিছু থেকে মুনাফা অর্জন করা
An arm and a leg	A huge amount of money/wealth
White elephant	Costly possession
Out and out	Thoroughly
After one's own heart	To one's own liking
Bring to pass	Cause to happen
Hard of hearing	কানে কম শোনা
Cat out of the bag	Revealing a secret, often unintentionally or carelessly
Cry wolf	Call for help when it is not needed; to give a false alarm
Penny pincher	Someone who is extremely careful with their money, often to the point of being stingy
Get one's ideas across	Make one's idea understand
Soft soap	Flatter for self-motives
By fits and starts	Irregularly
To end in smoke	To come to nothing
Bed of rose	Comfortable situation
To read between the line	To grasp the hidden meaning
Get/to along with	To adjust
To keep one's head	To keep calm
Kith and kin	Relatives
Bottom line	The essential/important point
A round dozen	A full dozen
In the nick of time	At the very last minute
Toot one's own horn	Boasting, Bragging
Pretty penny	Very expensive
Put in a word for somebody	Applaud, প্রশংসা করা
Blue blood	Aristrocracy (আভিজাত্য)
In two minds	Unsure
Castles in the air	Fanciful schemes, অবাস্তব কল্পনা
Tooth and nail	With utmost, কোনকিছু পেতে কঠোরভাবে চেষ্টা করা
With flying colours	Very successful
Cock and bull story	A false story
Smell a rat	Suspect something
By and by	Soon, শীঘ্রই
Call it a day	To stop working on something
Break the ice	Make something feel comfortable, দ্বিধাসংকোচ কাটিয়ে ওঠা
Let something run its course	To let something finish in its natural time
To rush something	কোনো কিছু দ্রুত করা
Under the weather	Sick
A dime a dozen	Something common, গতানুগতিক
Bull market	A rising market; a market in which share prices are rising, encouraging buying
Down-to-earth	Realistic
Head in the clouds	A day dreamer
Out and out	Thoroughly
Bill of fare	A list of dishes
En route	On the way
Capital punishment	Death penalty
Jump on the bandwagon	To join others in a popular activity
Make somebody's hair stand on end	কাউকে ভয় বা আতংকগ্রস্ত করা; ভয়ে গায়ের লোম খাড়া হয়ে ওঠা
Run into rough weather	Encounter difficulties
Go off at a tangent	Change the subject immediately
Left-handed compliment	Insincere; ভাল মন্তব্য বলে মনে হলেও আসলে অপমানজনক মন্তব্য
Wear one's heart on one's sleeve	Exposing one's innermost feelings to others; কারো জন্য মনের গভীরে লালন করা প্রেমের অনুভূতি
In the offing	About to start; অদূর ভবিষ্যতে
To sail close to the wind	To take risk
Off and on	Occasionally
Have a bone to pick with somebody	To get angry with somebody
Rank and file	Ordinary members of government; সরকারের সাধারণ কর্মচারী
Making hay while the sun shines	Making the best use of a favorable situation
A money spinner	A product or business that is very lucrative
Over one's wit	To be completely perplexed or puzzled, not knowing what to do
At arm's length	Very near
Live a sitting duck	Something that's vulnerable
Let things slide	To be indifferent, apathetic
The the bull by the horns	To challenge the enemy with courage
To go into liquidation	To go bankrupt, insolvent
To break the ice	To be the first to begin
To feather one's nest	To be selfish
Get something off the ground	To start something
To come to the fore	To be prominent
To eat humble pie	Make a humble apology and accept humiliation
Lachrymose nature	Prone to tear, ছিঁচকাঁদুনে, কথায় কথায় কান্না করে এমন
A lame duck	An ineffectual or unsuccessful person or thing
To go to dogs	গোল্লায় যাওয়া
Good samaritan	A helpful person
Hit pay dirt	To achieve something valuable after an arduous search
Carry the day	Win something
To kick the bucket	পটল তোলা, to die
Be all and end all	Supreme aim
Out and out	Total, Utter, Sheer
Bird's eye view	A rough idea, মোটামুটি ধারণা
A man of straw	A man of no substance, অপদার্থ ব্যক্তি
Cut to the quick	Hurt intensely
Bad blood	Ill feeling, শত্রুতা
Ad hoc	Special purpose
To carry coals to new castle	তেলা মাথায় তেল দেওয়া
Break a leg	Good wishes
Call it a day	To quit, কাজ বন্ধ করা
Get one's ideas across	Make one's ideas understand, কাউকে কোনকিছু বোঝাতে সক্ষম হওয়া
No man is a island	Everyone need help from other people
Have one's duck in a row	Well organized
To cut the crackle	To stop talking and start
Between the devil and the deep sea	To be in a dilemma
To have cold feet	To be reluctant
To give currency to	To play much attention to
Smell a rat	Suspect something
Off and on	Occasionally
True to one's salt	Faithful to one's employers
Cut back	Reducing expenditure
Pour cold water on	To criticize something
Spill the beans	Reveal secret

BCS Previous year Phrases and Idioms

Phrase/Idiom	Meaning	BCS
White Elephant	A very costly or troublesome possession	10 th
Hold water	Bear examination	11 th
Out and out	Thoroughly	11 th
Slow coach	A very lazy person	13 th
Meet trouble half-way	To be puzzled	14 th
A round dozen	A full dozen	14 th
Soft soap	Flattery for self motive	14 th
Turned over a new leaf	Opened a new chapter	14 th
In the teeth of	Against strong oppositions	14 th
In cold blood	In cool brain and calculated thought	14 th
Beggars description	So miserable that it cannot be described in words	14 th
Show good manners	Behave gently	14 th
Comes off	Will be held	14 th
Dog days	Hot weather	14 th
Bottom line	The essential point	15 th
Archipelago	Made by many island	15 th
All in	Very tired	17 th
Bill of fare	A list of dishes at a restaurant	17 th
Blue market	Rising of share prices	17 th
Blue Chips	Industrial shares considered to be a safe investment	17 th
Worth his salt	A highly paid worker	18 th
Dilly-dally	Waste time	20 th
Cul-de-sac	Dead end	22 th
Maiden speech	First speech	23 th
Day dreamer	A person whose head is in the cloud	23 th
Lingua franca	The common language	24 th
Razzmatazz	A noisy activity	24 th
Misanthropist	A hater of mankind	25 th
After one’s own heart	To one’s own liking	25 th
White elephant	A very costly or troublesome possession	26 th
Maiden speech	First speech	26 th
Out and out	Thoroughly	26 th
Prior to	Before	27 th
Through thick and thin	Under all conditions	27 th
Bring to pass	Cause to happen	27 th
To get along with	To adjust	28 th
Pallbearers	The people who carry a coffin at a funeral	30 th
To read between the lines	To grasp the hidden meaning	30 th
To put the cart before the horse	To reverse the natural order of things	30 th
To keep one’s head	To keep calm	30 th
Dusk	Time after twilight and before night	30 th
To end in smoke	To come to nothing	31 th
In contrast to	In comparison to	31 th
Raise one’s brows	Surprise	32 th
Put up with	Tolerate	33 th
Take into account	To consider	33 th
Officialese	Language used in offices	33 th
Pass away	Die	33 th
Call to mind	Remember	33 th
Maiden speech	First speech	34 th
Nouveau riche	New rich	35 th
To do away with	To get rid of	36 th
Omnivorous	Eating all types of food	37 th
Achilles heel	A week point	37 th
A verbose speech	A speech of too many words	38 th
Once in a blue moon	Very rarely	38 th
A soporific speech	Put one to sleep	39 th
Anarchist	A person who believes that laws and governments are not necessary	39 th
Widower	A man whose wife has died	40 th
Capricious	One who’s known for sudden changes in attitude or behaviour	40 th
Give someone a piece of your mind	Tell someone that you are very angry with them	41 th
Epicurean	One whose attitude is – eat, drink and be merry	41 th
Give someone the cold shoulder	To ignore somebody	42 th
Musk	A substance used in making perfume	42 th
To doctor an animal	To sterilize the animal	42 th
Sine die	Uncertain	43 th
Verbose speech	Speech full of too many words	43 th
To genuflect	To bend the knee	43 th
Dog days	Hot weather	43 th
Epitaph	Words inscribed on a tomb	43 th
Topic sentence	The controlling sentence of a paragraph	44 th
Equivocation	Two contradictory things in the same statement	44 th
To get along with	To adjust	44 th
By and large	Mostly	44 th
Achilles heel	A week point	45 th
Millennium	1000 years	45 th
Put up with	To tolerate	45 th
Black death	Plegue pandemic	45 th
Choir	A number of singers in a church	45 th
Meteorology	Weather forecasting	45 th
Let the cat out of the bag	Reveal a secret carelessly	46 th
Went back	Withdrew	46 th
By and large	On the whole; mostly	46 th
Plagiarism	The act of using someone else's idea as one's own	46 th
Extempore speech	A speech made without any previous thought, preparation or practice	47 th
Smell a rat	Suspect something wrong	47 th
French Leave	Absence from work or duty without permission	48 th
Take someone to task	To rebuke someone	48 th
Icing on the cake	An attractive but unnecessary addition	49 th