Chapter 13 — Idioms and phrasal verbs
Track: common | Study time: 75–100 minutes | Recall task: write the rule before checking the key.
Pareeksha English foundation notes
Idioms, Phrases and Phrasal Verbs
What to remember
- An idiom has a meaning that is different from its words. "Break the ice" does not mean to break real ice. Learn the meaning as a whole.
- A phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word (up, off, out, in). The small word changes the meaning: "give up" is not the same as "give".
- Never change the words of an idiom. Exam questions test the exact fixed form.
1. How questions are asked
- Meaning of idiom: "Choose the correct meaning of the idiom."
- Fill in the blank: "Choose the correct phrasal verb to complete the sentence."
- Error spotting: the wrong small word (preposition) is used with the verb.
Method:
- Read the whole sentence and find the mood: good, bad or neutral.
- Do not pick the word-by-word meaning. Idioms are not literal.
- Eliminate options with the wrong mood.
- For phrasal verbs, try each small word in the blank and see which one gives a clear meaning.
2. High-frequency idioms (by theme)
Theme: starting, effort and success
Idiom | Meaning | Example
Break the ice | start a talk in a friendly way | He told a joke to break the ice.
Burn the midnight oil | work late at night | She burnt the midnight oil before the exam.
Hit the nail on the head | say exactly the right thing | You hit the nail on the head about the problem.
A piece of cake | very easy task | The paper was a piece of cake.
Beat about the bush | avoid the main point | Do not beat about the bush; say it clearly.
Leave no stone unturned | try every possible way | The police left no stone unturned.
Turn over a new leaf | start a better way of life | After the fine, he turned over a new leaf.
Take the bull by the horns | face a problem bravely | She took the bull by the horns and spoke to the manager.
Theme: trouble, anger and danger
Idiom | Meaning | Example
In hot water | in trouble | He is in hot water for being late.
Bite the dust | fail or fall | The plan bit the dust.
Cry over spilt milk | feel sorry about what cannot be changed | It is no use crying over spilt milk.
Out of the blue | suddenly, without warning | The news came out of the blue.
Under the weather | slightly ill | I am under the weather today.
At sixes and sevens | in confusion | The office was at sixes and sevens.
Add fuel to the fire | make a bad situation worse | His harsh words added fuel to the fire.
Cut a sorry figure | make a poor impression | He cut a sorry figure on stage.
Theme: money, honesty and character
Idiom | Meaning | Example
A blessing in disguise | a good thing that looks bad at first | Losing that job was a blessing in disguise.
Spill the beans | tell a secret | Someone spilt the beans about the party.
Cost an arm and a leg | be very expensive | That phone costs an arm and a leg.
To make both ends meet | to manage on small income | He works two jobs to make both ends meet.
Hand in glove | very close partners (often in wrong acts) | The two were hand in glove.
Black sheep | a bad member of a good group | He is the black sheep of the family.
White elephant | a costly thing of little use | The huge building became a white elephant.
A red-letter day | a very special, happy day | Her wedding was a red-letter day.
Theme: talk, mind and common sense
Idiom | Meaning | Example
Once in a blue moon | very rarely | He visits us once in a blue moon.
By and large | in general | By and large, the class did well.
Call it a day | stop work for now | We are tired, so let us call it a day.
Let the cat out of the bag | reveal a secret by mistake | She let the cat out of the bag.
Pull someone's leg | joke with someone | Stop pulling my leg.
The lion's share | the largest part | He took the lion's share of the profit.
Apple of one's eye | a much-loved person | The child is the apple of her eye.
Rain cats and dogs | rain very heavily | It was raining cats and dogs.
3. Phrasal verbs by verb
The same verb can change meaning with each small word.
Phrasal verb | Meaning
Give up | stop trying; quit
Give in | surrender
Give away | give free; reveal
Give out | distribute; end
Take after | look or behave like an elder relative
Take off | leave the ground (plane); remove
Take over | take control
Take up | begin a hobby or job
Look after | take care of
Look into | investigate
Look up to | respect
Look down on | think less of
Look forward to | wait happily for
Put off | delay
Put up with | tolerate
Put out | extinguish
Turn down | refuse
Turn up | arrive
Call off | cancel
Call on | visit
Bring up | raise a child
Break down | stop working; lose control of feelings
Break out | start suddenly (war, fire)
Carry on | continue
Carry out | perform
Run out of | have no more of
Get over | recover from
Come across | find by chance
4. Common verb + preposition pairs
Some verbs always take a fixed preposition.
Word | Correct preposition
Interested | in
Good / bad | at
Afraid / fond | of
Depend / rely | on
Blame (a person) | for
Congratulate (someone) | on
Prefer (one) | to (another)
Different | from
Angry | with (a person), at (a thing)
Capable | of
Responsible | for
Suffer | from
5. Using them well in writing
- Use an idiom only if you are sure of the meaning.
- Keep idioms for informal writing. In formal letters, use plain words.
- Do not mix two idioms in one sentence.
- Learn five idioms each day, with an example, and revise each week.
6. Memory aids
- Picture the words. For "spill the beans", picture a bag of beans falling and everyone seeing what was inside. This fixes "reveal a secret".
- Group by mood. Keep one list of idioms for trouble (in hot water, bite the dust) and one for success (a piece of cake, hit the nail on the head).
- Pair opposites. "Give up" (stop) and "carry on" (continue) are opposite phrasal verbs. "Turn down" (refuse) is the opposite of "accept". "Put off" (delay) and "carry out" (perform) work in the same way.
- Test with a blank. Cover the small word in a phrasal verb and guess it from the meaning. If the blank means "cancel", the answer is "call off".
- Write two lines. For each new idiom, write one line using it and one line explaining it in simple words.
Exam traps
- Cry over spilt milk is about regret for past, not about spilling a drink.
- Take after means "to resemble"; take off means "to remove" or "to rise from the ground".
- Put off (delay) and put up with (tolerate) are different.
- Call off means cancel; call on means visit.
- Black sheep is a bad member; white elephant is a costly useless thing.
- Once in a blue moon means rarely, not "every month".
- Look into means investigate; look up to means respect.
- Different from is the standard form; prefer to (not "prefer than").
One-liners
- Break the ice means to start a friendly talk.
- Burn the midnight oil means to work late.
- A piece of cake is a very easy task.
- Spill the beans means to tell a secret.
- Under the weather means slightly ill.
- A blessing in disguise is a hidden good.
- The lion's share is the biggest part.
- Give up means to stop trying.
- Look after means to take care of.
- Call off means to cancel.
- Put up with means to tolerate.
- Out of the blue means suddenly.
Worked reasoning and learner clinic
An idiom is a conventional expression whose meaning may not equal the literal meanings of its words. Learn it with a short example sentence. A phrasal verb combines a verb with a particle or preposition; the particle can change the core verb: look into (investigate), look after (care for), look up (search or improve, by context).
Separable and inseparable phrasal verbs. Some allow an object in the middle: “turn the offer down” or “turn down the offer”; a pronoun usually goes between: “turn it down.” Others are inseparable: “look after the child”, not “look the child after.” Use a reliable sentence pattern, not only a memorised gloss.
Register. Phrasal verbs are common in speech and many are suitable in neutral writing. In a formal report, choose the clearest expression. “Carry out an inspection” may fit a formal report better than a casual substitute; “investigate” may be more concise than “look into.”
Context test. Replace the expression with its meaning and read the whole sentence. If the subject, object or tone no longer fits, reconsider. A question may test meaning, particle placement, tense or separability; identify which feature is being tested.
Telugu-medium transfer check
Learn an idiom or phrasal verb as a complete unit and test it in context. A particle may change a verb’s meaning; some phrasal verbs allow an object between verb and particle, while others do not.
Retrieval practice
Choose three expressions and make one formal sentence and one everyday sentence for each. Check that the meaning remains natural and that object placement is correct.
Error-log prompt
Record the whole expression, its contextual meaning and one contrast that prevents a literal misreading. Retest it in a new sentence after a day.
Study plate 13. Recall the sequence before you begin the question set.
Chapter 13 practice questions
001. What does the idiom “break the ice” mean?
A. a formal written warning
B. a rapid physical movement
C. a type of official record
D. start a friendly conversation
Key: D | Explanation: The expression “break the ice” means start a friendly conversation. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
002. What does the idiom “once in a blue moon” mean?
A. a rapid physical movement
B. a formal written warning
C. a type of official record
D. very rarely
Key: D | Explanation: The expression “once in a blue moon” means very rarely. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
003. What does the idiom “hit the nail on the head” mean?
A. a formal written warning
B. a rapid physical movement
C. a type of official record
D. describe exactly what is right
Key: D | Explanation: The expression “hit the nail on the head” means describe exactly what is right. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
004. What does the idiom “a blessing in disguise” mean?
A. a rapid physical movement
B. a good result that first seemed bad
C. a type of official record
D. a formal written warning
Key: B | Explanation: The expression “a blessing in disguise” means a good result that first seemed bad. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
005. What does the idiom “spill the beans” mean?
A. a formal written warning
B. a type of official record
C. reveal a secret
D. a rapid physical movement
Key: C | Explanation: The expression “spill the beans” means reveal a secret. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
006. What does the idiom “under the weather” mean?
A. slightly ill
B. a rapid physical movement
C. a formal written warning
D. a type of official record
Key: A | Explanation: The expression “under the weather” means slightly ill. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
007. What does the idiom “burn the midnight oil” mean?
A. a formal written warning
B. a type of official record
C. work late into the night
D. a rapid physical movement
Key: C | Explanation: The expression “burn the midnight oil” means work late into the night. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
008. What does the idiom “cost an arm and a leg” mean?
A. a type of official record
B. be very expensive
C. a formal written warning
D. a rapid physical movement
Key: B | Explanation: The expression “cost an arm and a leg” means be very expensive. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
009. What does the idiom “in hot water” mean?
A. in trouble
B. a type of official record
C. a rapid physical movement
D. a formal written warning
Key: A | Explanation: The expression “in hot water” means in trouble. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
010. What does the idiom “the ball is in your court” mean?
A. a formal written warning
B. a rapid physical movement
C. it is your turn to act
D. a type of official record
Key: C | Explanation: The expression “the ball is in your court” means it is your turn to act. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
011. What does the idiom “call it a day” mean?
A. a type of official record
B. a formal written warning
C. a rapid physical movement
D. stop working for now
Key: D | Explanation: The expression “call it a day” means stop working for now. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
012. What does the idiom “by heart” mean?
A. a type of official record
B. a formal written warning
C. from memory
D. a rapid physical movement
Key: C | Explanation: The expression “by heart” means from memory. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
013. What does the idiom “at the eleventh hour” mean?
A. a rapid physical movement
B. a type of official record
C. at the last moment
D. a formal written warning
Key: C | Explanation: The expression “at the eleventh hour” means at the last moment. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
014. What does the idiom “keep an eye on” mean?
A. a type of official record
B. watch carefully
C. a rapid physical movement
D. a formal written warning
Key: B | Explanation: The expression “keep an eye on” means watch carefully. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
015. What does the idiom “make ends meet” mean?
A. manage within one’s income
B. a rapid physical movement
C. a type of official record
D. a formal written warning
Key: A | Explanation: The expression “make ends meet” means manage within one’s income. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
016. What does the idiom “take with a grain of salt” mean?
A. a type of official record
B. a formal written warning
C. treat with some doubt
D. a rapid physical movement
Key: C | Explanation: The expression “take with a grain of salt” means treat with some doubt. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
017. What does the idiom “a piece of cake” mean?
A. something very easy
B. a formal written warning
C. a rapid physical movement
D. a type of official record
Key: A | Explanation: The expression “a piece of cake” means something very easy. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
018. What does the idiom “turn a blind eye” mean?
A. a formal written warning
B. a type of official record
C. deliberately ignore
D. a rapid physical movement
Key: C | Explanation: The expression “turn a blind eye” means deliberately ignore. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
019. What does the idiom “through thick and thin” mean?
A. a formal written warning
B. in good and bad times
C. a rapid physical movement
D. a type of official record
Key: B | Explanation: The expression “through thick and thin” means in good and bad times. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.
020. What does the idiom “on cloud nine” mean?
A. a type of official record
B. a formal written warning
C. a rapid physical movement
D. extremely happy
Key: D | Explanation: The expression “on cloud nine” means extremely happy. Learn the complete phrase as a unit; a literal reading of its individual words may mislead.