Idiomatic expressions: the prescribed list

1. A to F

• All and sundry (everyone): The notice was sent to all and sundry.
• Alpha and Omega (the beginning and the end; the whole): Truth was the alpha and omega of Gandhi’s practice.
• Apple of discord (cause of a quarrel): The ancestral house became the apple of discord between the brothers.
• Apple of one’s eye (a much-loved person): The youngest child is the apple of her mother’s eye.
• As a matter of fact (in reality): As a matter of fact, the witness was not present at the scene.
• At sixes and sevens (in confusion): The office was at sixes and sevens after the raid.
• At one’s finger tips (thoroughly known): A good lawyer has the facts of his case at his finger tips.
• Bone of contention (subject of dispute): The boundary wall was the bone of contention in the suit.
• Be a party to (take part in, usually something wrong): I will not be a party to this fraud.
• Bear a grudge against (feel lasting resentment): He bore a grudge against his neighbour for years.
• Beat about the bush (avoid coming to the point): Stop beating about the bush and answer the question.
• Blow hot and cold (keep changing one’s attitude): The witness blew hot and cold, so the court rejected his evidence.
• Blow one’s own trumpet (boast): A modest man never blows his own trumpet.
• Bring to book (punish, call to account): The officials who took bribes were brought to book.
• Bring to the ground (destroy, defeat): The scandal brought his business to the ground.
• Bring to a standstill (stop completely): The strike brought the city to a standstill.
• Burn one’s fingers (suffer loss by meddling): He burnt his fingers in the share market.
• Burn the midnight oil (study late into the night): Students burn the midnight oil before examinations.
• Build castles in the air (daydream): Gandhi began building castles in the air when England was proposed.
• By leaps and bounds (very rapidly): India’s IT sector grew by leaps and bounds.
• Cast a spell (fascinate): The singer cast a spell on the audience.
• Caught red-handed (caught in the act): The thief was caught red-handed.
• Every now and then / now and then (occasionally): He visits his village every now and then.
• Fair and square (honestly): She won the election fair and square.
• Far and near / far and wide (everywhere): People came from far and near; his fame spread far and wide.
• Fight tooth and nail (fight fiercely): The workers fought the closure tooth and nail.

2. G to N

• Get off scot-free (escape without punishment): For want of evidence the accused got off scot-free.
• Get rid of (free oneself from): We must get rid of corruption.
• Give one’s word (promise): Gandhi gave his word to his mother and kept it.
• Go astray (go wrong morally): Bad company made the boy go astray.
• Hand in hand (together, closely connected): Rights and duties go hand in hand.
• Hand in glove (in close, usually bad, alliance): The clerk was hand in glove with the smugglers.
• Hang in the balance (be undecided): The fate of the bill hangs in the balance.
• Heart and soul (completely): Gandhi threw himself heart and soul into Dada Abdulla’s case.
• In a nutshell (briefly): In a nutshell, the plaintiff has no case.
• In black and white (in writing): Get the agreement in black and white.
• In full swing (at its height): The election campaign is in full swing.
• In the midst of (in the middle of): He left in the midst of the hearing.
• In the twinkling of an eye (instantly): The money vanished in the twinkling of an eye.
• Keep aloof from (stay away from): He keeps aloof from politics.
• Keep in the dark (keep uninformed): Rustomji kept Gandhi in the dark about his smuggling.
• Keep one’s promise (do what one promised): An honest man keeps his promise.
• Leave no stone unturned (make every effort): The police left no stone unturned to trace the child.
• Make a mountain out of a mole-hill (exaggerate a trifle): Do not make a mountain out of a mole-hill over one late fee.
• Make both ends meet (live within one’s income): Poor families find it hard to make both ends meet.
• Move heaven and earth (do everything possible): She moved heaven and earth to get her son released.
• Nip in the bud (stop at the very start): The teacher nipped the quarrel in the bud.
• Null and void (having no legal force): The agreement made by a minor is null and void.
• Nook and corner (every part): The police searched every nook and corner of the house.

3. O to Y

• Of one’s own accord (voluntarily): He confessed of his own accord.
• On the verge of (about to): The company is on the verge of insolvency.
• Over and over again (repeatedly): The judge read the clause over and over again.
• Part and parcel (an essential part): Cross-examination is part and parcel of a fair trial.
• Put on paper (write down): Put your complaint on paper.
• Rain cats and dogs (rain heavily): It rained cats and dogs all night.
• Stand in one’s way (obstruct): His uncle said he would not stand in Gandhi’s way.
• Swim with the tide (follow the majority): It is easy to swim with the tide; it takes courage to dissent.
• Take a bird’s eye view (a general view from above): Let us take a bird’s eye view of the syllabus.
• Take up arms (begin to fight): The villagers took up arms against the dacoits.
• To the best of one’s ability (as well as one can): I will serve the client to the best of my ability.
• To the letter (exactly): The order must be obeyed to the letter.
• To the point (relevant): His argument was brief and to the point.
• To turn a deaf ear (refuse to listen): The officials turned a deaf ear to the villagers’ complaints.
• Turn a new leaf (reform one’s conduct): After his release the prisoner turned a new leaf.
• Under the pretext of (giving a false reason): He entered the house under the pretext of reading the meter.
• Under lock and key (securely locked up): The documents are kept under lock and key.
• Yeoman’s service (excellent, loyal work): The volunteers rendered yeoman’s service during the floods.

How this is examined

Six idioms, any five, one mark each in the 80-mark paper; eight in the 100-mark paper. Set recently: apple of one’s eye, nip in the bud, of one’s own accord, burn one’s fingers, yeoman’s service, heart and soul (January 2026); to turn a deaf ear, in black and white, over and over again, hand in hand, build castles in the air, every now and then, bone of contention (January 2026, 100); at one’s finger tips, now and then, move heaven and earth, under lock and key, be a party to, fair and square (June 2025); apple of discord, bring to the ground, get off scot-free, to the letter (June 2025, 100).