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Idioms And Phrases Beginning With O,P,Q

Idioms And Phrases - Concepts

Idioms And Phrases Beginning With A

Idioms And Phrases Beginning With B

Idioms And Phrases Beginning With C

Idioms And Phrases Beginning With D,E,F

Idioms And Phrases Beginning With G,H,I,J

Idioms And Phrases Beginning With K,L,M,N

Idioms And Phrases Beginning With O,P,Q

Idioms And Phrases Beginning With R,S,T

Idioms And Phrases Beginning With U,V,W

Class - CAT Subjects

Concept Explanation

Idioms And Phrases Beginning With O,P,Q

Idioms and Phrases

The command of idiomatic expressions in any language is pre-requisite for expressive writing and comprehension. Phrasal verbs, idiomatic adjectives and noun phrases and idiomatic pairs of nouns, adjectives and adverbs comprise such a vast portion of idiomatic expressions that it is nearly impossible to deal with them comprehensively in such a short space. However, this chapter contains the most important usages that are indispensable for any competitive examination. Students would do well to consult the dictionary for further improvement in this field.

Idioms and Phrases Starting With Letter O:

Here is a list of some idioms and phrases starting with O

Off hand : - (without preparation or delay) I am very poor in English grammar & can't answer all the questions off hand.

Over head and ears : - (excessively) Mohan is over head and ears in love with Neena.

Out of question : - (certain) His success is out of question because he is working hard these days.

Out of the question : - (unlikely, uncertain) His success is out of the question because he is not working hard these days.

Out of the woods : - (out of danger) The patient is not out of the woods yet.

Order of the day : - (in fashion) It is difficult to get any work done without bribery because bribery is the order of the day.

On the score of : - (on the grounds of) He was debarred from appearing in the examination on the score of indiscipline.

On that score : - (for the rutson) You need not worry on that score.

Over and above : - (moreover, besides) I shall lend you books over and above what i have promised to give you in cash.

Out and out : - (completely) Shri Bhagat Singh was a patriot out and out.

Off and on : - [occasionally (now & then)] Since she is over busy these days, she visits me off and on.

One's Achilles heel : - (a weak point) Howsoever powerful a person may be. he is vulnerable because of his Achilles' heel.

Off colour : - (not in usual form) Once a glamorous actress, she is off colour these days.

Odds and ends : - (scattered things) The thief made away with the odds and ends lying about the drawing room.

Off the hook : - (out of trouble) He is not vet off the hook because Income Tax department is making a thorough inquiry into his financial status.

Oily tongue : - (flattering words) He has often won over the enemies by his oily É™nduoi

On the horns of dilemma : - (in a fir) He is on the horns of dilemma in the matter of his marriage.

One's cup of tea : - (to one's liking) Teaching is not my cup of tea.

Out of sorts : - (to be unwell) Sohan had been out of sorts the whole day and could not do his office work properly.

On its last legs : - (about to collapse) In many sections of Indian society the system of child marriage is on its last legs.

On the carpet : - (to be under consideration) What is on the carpet these days in the newspapers.

Idioms and Phrases Starting With Letter P:

Here is a list of some idioms and phrases starting with P

Past master : - (an expert) He is a past master in befooling the people by his oily tongue.

Palmy days : - (prosperous, affluent days) We still remember the palmy days of our life when we had nothing much to do and still got everything to fulfil our needs.

Part and parcel : - (inseparable part) Every Indian citizen living in India must regard himself as part and parcel of a larger whole.

Pass the buck : - (to blame each other) Political parties pass the buck on to one another for failure on economic front.

Pay off old scores : - (to take revenge) The way he is treating his younger brother makes it quite obvious that he is paying off old scores.

Pay through one's nose : - (to pay dearly) A hapless customer has to pay through his nose when there is shortage of goods in the market.

Pay lip service : - (pretend to regard) Most of the political parties pay lip service to the plight of the poor.

Pay one back in the same coin : - (tit for tat) We should not hesitate in paying China and Pakistan back in their own coins.

Pin-money : - (allowance given to housewife for personal use) She is frugal and saves even out of pin-money.

Pell-mell : - (great confusion) After the thieves had ransacked the house, even thing was pell-mell.

Play fast and loose : - (repeatedly change one's attitude) No one can trust Rob as he is used to playing fast and loose with his friends.

Play second fiddle to : - (to play a subordinate part) A self-respecting man can never play second fiddle to anyone.

Play truant : - (to be absent from duty without permission) It is a very bad habit of the employees to play truant from office.

Play to the gallery : - (to gain cheap popularity) The speeches of our leaders are not sincere; they are intended to play to the gallery.

Play ducks and drakes : - (to squander money) After the death of his father be got into heavy debt by playing ducks and drakes with money.

Play foul : - (to do something wrong) Don't play foul with your well-wishers,

Plough the sands : - (futile labour) He cannot make money because he appears to be ploughing the sands.

Pour oil on troubled waters : - (to pacify the matters) The two good friends exchanged hot words but the intervention of their teacher poured oil on

troubled waters.

Pull a long face : - (to look sad) Seema pulled a long face when she was scoldrd by her teacher for her carelssness.

Pull one's socks up : - (work hard) You must pull your socks up to get over financial problems.

Pull strings : - (to exercise influence secretly) He managed his promotion by pulling strings.

Put heads together : - (consult seriously) Our leaders should put their heads together to solve national problems.

Put a spoke in a wheel : - (to obstruct) He would not like me to succeed; so he always put a spoke in a wheel.

Put the cart before the horse : - (to do wrong thing first) Our leaders put the cart before the horse by neglecting villages in the name of industrial progress.

Pros and cons : - (for and against a thing) We must always consider the pros and cons of any new project that we take in hand.

Pyrrhic victory : - (victory at a high cost) Greek victory over Trojans proved to be pyrrhic victory.

Pick holes : - (to find fault with) He is always picking holes in every project.

Idioms and Phrases Starting With Letter Q:

Here is a list of some idioms and phrases starting with Q

Queer fish : - (strange person) One cannot make anything out of Sohan's attitude as he is such a queer fish.

Quixotic project : - (foolishly ideal) Being not worldly wise he wasted his money in quixotic projects.

Illustration: Choose the correct meaning of the given idiom/phrase: On the spur of the moment.

A. To act at once B. To ride a horse in a race C. To act deliberately D. To act at the appropriate moment

Answer: A

Illustration: Given below is a sentence with idiom/phrase underlined. In Bold Letters Choose the correct option which best express the meaning of the given idiom/phrase.

At the time of Christmas, even the elderly fathers paint the town red.

A. Indulge in rioting B. Paint the house red C. Spill red wine D. Have a lively time

Answer : D

Sample Questions

(More Questions for each concept available in Login)

Question : 1

Directions : - In the sentence an idiom highlighted as blue and bold is given. Choose the correct meaning of the Idioms in the sentences. I am pissed off with the behaviour of my employers.
A. In a very delicate state		B. Annoyed or bored
C. To delay inordinately		D. Very pleased or happy
Right Option : B
View Explanation

Question : 2

Directions : - In the sentence an idiom highlighted as blue and bold is given. Choose the correct meaning of the Idioms in the sentences. His popularity is on the wane.
A. On the heights		B. Stand still
C. Verge of eruption		D. Gradually declining
Right Option : D
View Explanation

Question : 3

Directions : - In the sentence an idiom highlighted as blue and bold is given. Choose the correct meaning of the Idioms in the sentences. It was clearly a case of the pot calling the kettle black when Jagjit said that Ramu was a thief.
A. Someone criticizing another for a fault which he himself has.		B. A person accusing another of being black.
C. A person blaming another for something, he has not done.		D. Both are guilty of the same mistake.
Right Option : A
View Explanation