Welcome to Online English Section with explanation in AffairsCloud.com. Here we are providing here some important idioms and phrases, which is BASED ON IBPS PO/CLERK/LIC AAO/RRB & SSC CGL EXAM and other competitive exams.
Idioms and Phrases
on one’s toes: alert, cautious
This idiom is usually used with the verbs stay and keep.
- It’s important for all the players on a soccer team to stay on their toes.
- We’d better keep on our toes while we’re walking along the dark portions of this street.
to get along: to make progress; to manage to live in a certain state of health
- o Juan is getting along very well in his English studies.
- o How is Mr. Richards getting along after his long illness?
hard of hearing: partially deaf, not able to hear well
- You’ll have to speak a little louder. Mrs. Evans is hard of hearing.
- Please don’t shout. I’m not hard of hearing.
- Listening to loud music too much can make you hard of hearing.
to see eye to eye: to agree, to concur
- I’m glad that we see eye to eye on the matter of the conference location.
- A husband and wife don’t always see eye to eye with each other, but a good marriage can survive small disagreements.
to have in mind: to be considering, to be thinking.
- I don’t want to see a movie now. I have in mind going to the park.
- It’s up to you what we eat tonight. Do you have anything in mind?
to keep in mind: to remember, not to forget (also: to bear in mind)
- I didn’t know that Paula doesn’t like vegetables. We should bear that in mind next time we invite her for dinner.
- Please keep in mind that you promised to call Stan around noon.
for once: this one time, for only one time
- For once I was able to win a game of golf against Steve, who is a much better player than I am.
- Dad, for once would you please let me drive the new car?
to go off: to explode; to sound as an alarm; to leave suddenly without explanation
- The accident happened when a box of firecrackers went off accidentally.
- For what time did you set the alarm clock to go off tomorrow morning?
- Vince went off without saying good-bye to anybody; I hope he wasn’t angry.
to grow out of: to outgrow, to become too old for; to be a result of
- He still bites his nails now and then, but soon he’ll grow out of the habit.
- The need for the salary committee grew out of worker dissatisfaction with the pay scale.
to make the best of: to do the best that one can in a poor situation
- If we can’t find a larger apartment soon, we’ll just have to make the best of it right here.
- Even though the Martinez family is having financial problems, they make the best of everything by enjoying the simple pleasures of life.
to cut off: to shorten by cutting the ends; to disconnect or stop suddenly
- The rope was two feet longer than we needed, so we cut off the extra length.
- The operator cut our long-distance phone conversation off after two minutes.
to cut out: to remove by cutting ; to stop doing something (for the second definition, also: to knock it off)
For the second definition, the idiom is usually separated by the pronoun it.
- The child likes to cut out pictures form the newspaper and to paste them in a notebook.
- He kept bothering her, so finally she told him to cut it out. However, he wouldn’t knock it off until her larger brother appeared.
