Important Idioms for CSS and all other Competitive Exams PDF

Learn a very useful list of Important Idioms for CSS and all other Competitive Exams PDF. Idioms for PPSC, CSS, FPSC & BA exams.

Why Idioms are important for CSS and other competitive exams?

English reading and listening depends on your skills of English. Speaking English or either writing English is purely dependent on a vocabulary bank. So to make your vocabulary stronger you must have to memorise some commonly used idioms in competitive exams to perform best.

Must Learn: List of Idioms for Conversation

List of Idioms for CSS & other Competitive Exams

Below is the list of idioms for competitive exams:

At arm’s length: at a distance: The teachers should keep the students at arms
At cross purposes: misunderstanding of each other’s meaning or internal: I think we are talking at cross purposes.
At home in/with something: be happy and relaxed: I am not feeling home in/with this new job.
At length: finally: At length, Gilbert won her love.
At One’s wits’ end: very worried: She was at her wits end worrying about how to pay the bill.
At random: without any definite aim or pattern: He opened the book at random and started reading.
At sixes and sevens: disorganized and confused: The boys were at sixes and sevens when the teacher entered the classroom.
At somebody’s heels: following closely behind somebody: The thief ran away with the police at his heels.
At stake: that can be won or lost up: We cannot take the risk when our life is at stake.
At the eleventh hour: at the last moment: He called off his plan at the eleventh hour.
At the end of the day: used to introduce the most important fact after everything has been considered: At the end of the day, the best team won.
At the risk of: with danger: He took a bribe at the risk of his job.
At times: sometimes but not usually: At times, he looks mad in anger.
At/In a pinch: if need be: At a pinch, we could accommodate five people.
Be / Get out and about: to go to places where you can meet people: She is still shy, she never gets out and about

Important Idioms for CSS – Infographic 1

important idioms for css

Be / Hang in the balance: to be in an uncertain situation: The match hung in the balance until the last minute
Be at a loose end: having nothing to do and feel rather bored: Let us see a movie if you are at a loose end.
Be at a loss for words: unable to speak, speechless: I was at a loss for words in the party.
Be at daggers drawn: be hostile: She is at daggers drawn with her husband.
Be at hand: near, close by: I am working hard as the examination is at hand.
Be at large: be free: The two robbers are still at large.
Be at one’s beck and call: be ready to obey: He did not want to be at her beck and call all day long
Be at sea: to be confused: I am all at sea with this problem.
Be at/reach the end of one’s tether: to feel very upset because you are no longer able to deal with a difficult situation: Leon was at the end of his tether, too angry to answer.
Be driven/passed from pillar to post: from one place to another place: The homeless people were driven from pillar to post during the war
Be equal to: be able to handle a situation: The plane Caught fire but the pilot was equal to the occasion and landed safely.

Related: 200 Dawn Vocabulary Words

Useful Idioms for CSS – Infographic 2

Idioms for competitive exams

Be far/long cry from: to be very different: This food is a far cry from what we eat at home.
Be hard up: be short of money: John often helps the hard-up students.
Be ill-at-ease: uneasy: She felt ill-at-ease in rough clothes.
Be in good spirit: be happy: She was in good spirit on her birthday.
Be in high spirits: be excited: We started our journey in high spirits.
Be in low spirit: be sad: She was in low spirit at the death of her friend.
Be in somebody’s bad books: used to say that somebody is angry with you: Now I am in his bad books because I have not paid him the debt.
Be in somebody’s good books: used to say that somebody is pleased with you: Now I am in his good books because I have paid him the debt.
Be in/Get into hot water: get into trouble/disgrace: You may get into hot water if you disobey your boss.
Be on one’s ground: on one’s own terms: I will meet him on my own ground.
Be on your guard: be vigilant, be wary: In the fair, everyone was on his guard against pickpockets.
Be on your last legs: very tired: After the journey, she looked to her last legs.
Be out of one’s element: be in a situation that makes you unhappy: I am out of my element in the company of smokers

Idioms for Competitive Exams – Infographic 3

Idioms for competitive exams

Be part and parcel of: be a natural part of something: To work in this field is part and parcel of a farmer’s life.
Be short of: be lacking in: After illness, he is short of brains.
Be sick of: be bored with something: I am sick of working late at night.
Be taken ill/sick: to become ill: Her father was taken ill with a fever last Sunday
Be under the thumb of: be under the influence of somebody: He cannot do anything freely as he is under the thumb of his boss.
Be up in arms: to be very angry: There is no need to be up in arms over such a trifle.
child’s play: thing that is very easy to do: It is no Child’s play to write, a good book in a month
Cold comfort: something that makes a difficult situation slightly better: The small employment growth is cold comfort for jobless people.
Come into one’s own: to become very good: Ali has come into his own as a writer.
Come of age: reach adult status: A man should get married, when he came of age.
Come to an end: to finish: The war came to an end at last.