11. Mean business:
Hindi- Sachmuch krne ka irada rakhna
Meaning- Being serious/dedicated
Sentence- The Exam is cracked by those who mean business.
12. Apple of one’s eye:
Hindi- Ankho ka tara ,jada pyara
Meaning- A person of whom one is extremely fond and proud.
Sentence- Your child is quite rightly the apple of your eye
13. The best of both worlds:
Hindi- Dono or se laabdayak
Meaning- The benefits of widely differing situations, enjoyed at the same time.
Sentence- I had the best of both worlds since I worked as an ordinary member of the team but got to learn from the leaders.
14. Feeling a bit under the weather:
Hindi- thoda bimar ya thik mehsus na krna
Meaning- Feeling slightly ill
Sentence- I may not be able to dance today, as I am feeling a bit under the weather.
15. Icing on the cake:
Hindi- Sone pe Suhaga, pehle se or acha hogya
Meaning- turns good into great
Sentence- The standard 1.8 litre motor is a little beauty and the addition of a turbo adds icing on the cake.
16. Cost an arm and a leg:
Hindi- Mehnga soda
Meaning- Be extremely expensive
Sentence- Try living on that in London, where a cup of coffee costs an arm and a leg
17. jump on the bandwagon
Hindi- bhed chaal,ya rivaj ko dekh kar chlna
Meaning- To join a popular activity or trend
Sentence- I remember when punk became popular, lots of long-haired hippies jumped on the bandwagon and cut their hair short and wore black clothes.
18. Ball is in your court
Hindi- age tumahari marji
Meaning- It is up to you to make the next move
Sentence- Now the ball is in your court; decide whether you want to marry that guy or not.
19. Bite off more than you can chew
Hindi- yogatya se jada kam hath me lelena[itna chba ni hona jitna muh bhar liya :P]
Meaning-to try to do more than you are able to do
Sentence-I bit off more than I could chew when I decided to take up the 300-page research project.
20. Can’t judge a book by its cover
Hindi- bahar se dekh k use sahi na man,na
Meaning- Outward appearances are not a reliable indication of the true character of someone or something
Sentence- The girl looked impressive in the picture. Still I decided to meet her because it is wise not to judge a book by its cover.
21. Hear it on grapevine
Hindi- udti udti khabar sun na
Meaning-to hear news from someone who heard the news from someone else
Sentence-I heard it on grapevine that she was pregnant, but I don’t know anything more..
22. It takes two to tango
Hindi- Tali do hath se bjti hai
Meaning-Both parties involved in a situation or argument are equally responsible for it
Sentence-Even though I thought I would be fired after the altercation with my manager, thankfully upper management realized that it takes two to tango.
23. Last straw
Hindi- halat or bigad jana
Meaning- A further difficulty or annoyance, typically minor in itself but coming on top of a series of difficulties, that makes a situation unbearable
Sentence- My body was already in bad shape. The accident was the last straw. I am now on complete bed rest.
24. To be in the doldrums
Hindi- udaasi me hona kuj na bnta dikhne par
Meaning- if a business, an economy or a person’s job is in the doldrums, it is not very successful and nothing new is happening in it
Usage notes: The doldrums was the name for an area of sea where ships were not able to move because there was no wind
Sentence- Sam was in the doldrums after he was insulted by the boss in front of his colleagues.
25. To sit on the fence
Hindi- baad par bethna,uske kisi side na jana :P [koi faisla na dena]
Meaning-To remain neutral
Sentence-Since I wasn’t aware of the details, I decided to sit on the fence during the argument between my cousins.