Study Guide · Chapter 15
Idioms and Phrases Set 2 (G–M)
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Idioms and Phrases Set 2 (G–M)
This chapter continues the idiom list from Chapter 14, covering idioms whose key word falls in the range G to M. As before, each entry explains the literal picture behind the phrase, its actual figurative meaning, and a natural example sentence. Read the two chapters together, since exam papers frequently mix idioms from across the whole alphabet in the same section.
| Idiom | Literal Picture / Origin | Meaning | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get cold feet | Feet turning literally cold with fear or nervous anticipation before an event | To suddenly become too nervous or afraid to go through with a planned action | He got cold feet just before the wedding and almost postponed it. |
| Get out of hand | A situation slipping out of someone's grip, no longer controllable | To become uncontrollable or unmanageable | The celebration got out of hand once the crowd started climbing onto the stage. |
| Get the ball rolling | Giving the first push needed to set a ball in motion | To start a project or activity, especially one involving several people | Let's get the ball rolling by assigning tasks to each team member today. |
| Give someone the benefit of the doubt | Choosing to interpret uncertain evidence in a person's favour rather than against them | To believe someone's explanation or trust their good intentions despite some uncertainty | Although his story sounded odd, the manager gave him the benefit of the doubt. |
| Go back to the drawing board | Returning to the architect's or engineer's design table after a plan has failed | To start planning something again from scratch after the first attempt has failed | The prototype failed its safety test, so the engineers went back to the drawing board. |
| Go the extra mile | Walking further than the minimum distance required | To make a greater effort than is expected or required | The hotel staff went the extra mile to make our anniversary trip special. |
| Green light | A traffic signal turning green to allow vehicles to proceed | Official permission or approval to begin a project | The board finally gave the green light to expand into the southern market. |
| Hang in there | Holding on tightly to something rather than letting go and falling | To persevere and remain patient through a difficult situation | I know the training is tough, but hang in there — it gets easier after the first month. |
| Hard nut to crack | A nut with a shell so tough it resists being opened | A problem that is very difficult to solve, or a person who is difficult to understand or persuade | Convincing the investors to fund an unproven idea was a hard nut to crack. |
| Have a bone to pick | Two dogs fighting over a single bone | To have a grievance or disagreement that one wishes to discuss with someone | I have a bone to pick with you about how the budget was decided without my input. |
| Hit the nail on the head | Striking a nail perfectly on its head so it drives straight in, rather than bending it | To describe or identify something exactly and accurately | Her analysis of the problem hit the nail on the head. |
| Hit the sack | Old mattresses were literally sacks stuffed with straw | To go to bed and go to sleep | I'm exhausted after the long drive — I'm going to hit the sack early tonight. |
| Hit the road | Setting one's feet or wheels onto the open road to begin a journey | To leave and begin travelling somewhere | We should hit the road early to beat the morning traffic. |
| Hold your horses | A rider pulling back on the reins to stop horses from moving too fast | To wait and be patient rather than act too hastily | Hold your horses — we haven't confirmed the budget yet, so don't sign anything. |
| Have your cake and eat it too | Once a cake is eaten, it can no longer be kept whole | To want two desirable but mutually exclusive things at the same time | He wants the freedom of freelancing and the security of a full-time salary — he can't have his cake and eat it too. |
| Hit or miss | A shot that either strikes the target or completely fails to | Sometimes successful, sometimes not, with unpredictable results | The quality of the street food here is hit or miss, depending on the stall. |
| In hot water | Being immersed in scalding water, an uncomfortable and dangerous position | In trouble or facing serious difficulty, often because of one's own actions | The company found itself in hot water after the safety violation was made public. |
| In the nick of time | An old expression referring to a precise notch or "nick" marking the exact critical moment | At the very last possible moment, just before it would have been too late | The firefighters arrived in the nick of time to rescue the trapped family. |
| In the same league | Teams grouped together within one competitive division | Of a similar level of ability, quality or importance | As a young batsman, he is already being spoken of as being in the same league as the greats. |
| Iron out | Using a hot iron to smooth away creases from cloth | To resolve small problems or differences through discussion | The two departments met to iron out the remaining issues before the launch. |
| It takes two to tango | The tango is a dance that cannot be performed by a single person alone | Both parties involved share responsibility for a situation, especially a conflict | Don't blame only him for the argument — it takes two to tango. |
| Jump on the bandwagon | Climbing aboard a decorated wagon carrying a band at the head of a parade, as spectators once did to show support | To join others in supporting something popular or successful, often without genuine independent conviction | Once the diet became famous, dozens of brands jumped on the bandwagon with their own versions. |
| Jump the gun | A sprinter starting to run before the starting pistol is actually fired | To act before the proper or appropriate time | He jumped the gun by announcing the results before they were officially confirmed. |
| Jump to conclusions | Leaping straight to an end point without covering the steps in between | To make a hasty judgement without having all the necessary facts | Don't jump to conclusions — let's hear his side of the story first. |
| Keep an eye on | Directing continuous visual attention toward something | To watch or monitor someone or something carefully | Could you keep an eye on my bag while I get us some coffee? |
| Keep something at bay | Hunted animals once held "at bay" — kept at a safe distance by barking dogs | To prevent something unwanted or dangerous from approaching or affecting you | Regular exercise and a good diet help keep illness at bay. |
| Keep your chin up | Lifting one's chin high rather than letting it drop in sadness | To remain cheerful and courageous despite a difficult situation | Keep your chin up — the results of one exam don't decide your whole career. |
| Kick the bucket | An old and somewhat informal expression for dying, of disputed exact origin | To die (informal usage) | The old clock finally kicked the bucket after forty years of ticking. |
| Kill two birds with one stone | A single well-aimed stone striking and bringing down two birds at once | To achieve two different goals through a single action | By cycling to work, he kills two birds with one stone — saving money and staying fit. |
| Knock on wood | An old superstition of touching wood to ward off bad luck after saying something hopeful | A superstitious phrase said to avoid tempting fate after mentioning good fortune | We haven't had a single complaint this month — knock on wood. |
| Know the ropes | Sailors needed to know exactly which ropes controlled which sails to operate a ship | To understand how to do a job or task properly, usually through experience | Ask Priya for help — she has been here for years and knows the ropes. |
| Last straw | Short for "the straw that broke the camel's back" — one final small addition that causes collapse | The final small problem in a series that finally makes a situation unbearable | The delayed flight was the last straw after an already exhausting trip. |
| Leave no stone unturned | Turning over every single stone in a search, missing nothing | To try every possible method to achieve something | The police say they will leave no stone unturned to find the missing child. |
| Let sleeping dogs lie | Waking a sleeping dog risks provoking it into biting | To avoid interfering with a situation that could cause trouble if disturbed | The matter was settled years ago — it's best to let sleeping dogs lie. |
| Let the cat out of the bag | An old market trick of secretly swapping a valuable pig for a worthless cat in a closed sack, exposed only when the bag was opened | To accidentally reveal a secret | She let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party before we could stop her. |
| Level playing field | A sports field that is perfectly flat, giving neither team a physical advantage | A fair situation in which everyone has an equal chance of success | The new regulations aim to create a level playing field for small businesses competing with large corporations. |
| Lose your touch | Losing the skilled "feel" or instinct one once had for a task | To no longer be as skilled at something as one used to be | He missed three easy shots in a row — has he lost his touch? |
| Make a long story short | Skipping the lengthy details of a story and jumping to its outcome | To summarise something briefly instead of explaining every detail | To make a long story short, the deal eventually fell through. |
| Make ends meet | Balancing income and expenses so they "meet" exactly rather than falling short | To have just enough money to cover one's basic expenses | With rising prices, many families are struggling to make ends meet. |
| Make a mountain out of a molehill | Treating a tiny mound of earth thrown up by a mole as though it were an enormous mountain | To exaggerate a minor problem into something far more serious than it really is | It was just a small typo — you're making a mountain out of a molehill. |
| Method to the madness | Behaviour that looks chaotic or irrational at first but actually follows a deliberate plan | An apparently strange or illogical approach that actually has a sensible underlying purpose | His desk looks completely chaotic, but there is a method to his madness — he can find anything in seconds. |
| Miss the boat | Arriving at the dock just after the ship has already sailed | To lose an opportunity by acting too late | Investors who waited too long to buy in clearly missed the boat. |
| Mixed feelings | Experiencing two or more different, often contradictory, emotions at once | Feeling uncertain or having both positive and negative reactions about something | She had mixed feelings about moving abroad for the new job. |
| More than meets the eye | A situation that contains hidden depth beyond what is immediately visible | A situation that is more complex or significant than it initially appears | I think there's more to his resignation than meets the eye. |
| Music to my ears | News as pleasing to hear as a favourite piece of music | Very welcome and pleasing news | Hearing that the shipment had finally arrived was music to my ears. |
| Go down in flames | An aircraft crashing while visibly on fire | To fail spectacularly and completely, often in a dramatic or public way | The negotiations went down in flames after both sides refused to compromise. |
| Get the short end of the stick | Holding the shorter, weaker end of a stick used in an old method of settling disputes | To be treated unfairly or to receive the worse part of a deal or situation | Everyone got a bonus except the interns, who got the short end of the stick again. |
| Give the cold shoulder | Turning one's shoulder away from someone rather than facing them warmly | To deliberately ignore or treat someone in an unfriendly, dismissive way | Ever since the disagreement, she has been giving him the cold shoulder. |
| Go cold turkey | An expression describing the pale, goosebump-covered skin of sudden withdrawal, resembling a plucked turkey | To stop a habit or addiction suddenly and completely, without gradually easing off | He decided to go cold turkey on caffeine instead of cutting back slowly. |
| Grasp at straws | A drowning person desperately reaching for thin straws floating on water, which cannot possibly support them | To try increasingly desperate and unlikely solutions when a situation seems hopeless | With no real evidence left, the defence lawyer was clearly grasping at straws. |
| Hit the books | Opening and diving into textbooks with full focus | To begin studying seriously, usually for an exam | With finals two weeks away, it's time to hit the books. |
| In a nutshell | Something so small it could fit inside the shell of a single nut | Expressed briefly and concisely, summarising the main point | In a nutshell, the company needs to cut costs or it will run out of funds by March. |
| Keep your fingers crossed | An old gesture of crossing one's fingers to ward off bad luck and invite good fortune | To hope earnestly that something will turn out well | We've submitted the application — now we just have to keep our fingers crossed. |
| Learn the hard way | Gaining knowledge only through a difficult or painful personal experience, rather than being told in advance | To learn a lesson through direct, often unpleasant, experience rather than advice | He ignored our warnings about the contract and learned the hard way when the vendor disappeared with the payment. |
| Man of his word | A person whose spoken promise is as reliable as a written one | A person who reliably keeps promises and can be trusted to do what they say | You can trust him with the deadline — he's a man of his word. |
| Long shot | A shot fired from very far away, unlikely to hit its target | An attempt that has only a small chance of success | Applying without any prior experience was a long shot, but he got the internship anyway. |
| Loose ends | Frayed threads at the end of a rope that have not been tied off or finished | Small remaining details of a task that still need to be completed | Before we close the project, let's make sure there are no loose ends. |
| Miss the point | Failing to grasp the central idea while focusing on minor or irrelevant details | To fail to understand the main idea or purpose of something | He kept arguing about the wording, completely missing the point of the proposal. |
| My hands are tied | Being physically restrained, unable to act freely | Being unable to help or act freely because of rules, restrictions or a lack of authority | I would love to approve the refund, but company policy means my hands are tied. |
Combining Chapters 14 and 15 for Revision
Idiom questions in competitive exams rarely test a single alphabet range in isolation, so treat Chapters 14 and 15 as one combined bank of roughly ninety idioms rather than two separate lists. A useful revision method is to cover the "Meaning" column with a sheet of paper, read only the idiom itself, and try to state the meaning aloud before checking. If you can also picture the literal image behind the phrase — the ball actually sitting in someone's tennis court, or a cat literally leaping out of a bag — the idiom becomes far easier to recall correctly during a timed exam, since your memory has two separate hooks (the picture and the meaning) instead of just one.
Quick Test Yourself
- What does "get cold feet" mean?
Answer: To suddenly become too nervous or afraid to go through with a planned action. - Explain "hit the nail on the head."
Answer: To describe or identify something exactly and accurately. - What does "let the cat out of the bag" mean?
Answer: To accidentally reveal a secret. - What is meant by "in the nick of time"?
Answer: At the very last possible moment, just before it would be too late. - Explain "make a mountain out of a molehill."
Answer: To exaggerate a small problem into something far more serious than it is. - What does "kill two birds with one stone" mean?
Answer: To achieve two goals through a single action. - What is the meaning of "know the ropes"?
Answer: To understand how to do a job properly, usually through experience. - Explain "jump to conclusions."
Answer: To make a hasty judgement without having all the facts. - What does "my hands are tied" mean?
Answer: Being unable to act freely because of rules or a lack of authority. - What is meant by "level playing field"?
Answer: A fair situation in which everyone has an equal chance of success. - What does "grasp at straws" mean?
Answer: To try increasingly desperate and unlikely solutions when a situation seems hopeless. - Explain "give the cold shoulder."
Answer: To deliberately ignore or treat someone in an unfriendly way. - What is meant by "in a nutshell"?
Answer: Expressed briefly, summarising the main point.
As with Chapter 14, do not stop at memorising the meaning column alone. Try building two or three original sentences of your own for every idiom you find difficult to recall — writing an idiom in a sentence you invented yourself creates a far stronger memory trace than simply reading someone else's example. Many candidates who score well in the idioms section credit this one habit above all others. Finally, when the exam paper mixes an idiom from this range with a straightforward vocabulary or grammar question, do not let the unfamiliar phrasing distract you — read the idiom exactly as one fixed unit, match it against the closest meaning in the option list, and move on within your allotted time.
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