CBSE Class 10 English Idioms and Phrases Assignment

Question. Once in a blue moon ?
a) An incident that is scary
b) Happening only once in a lifetime
c) Happening only rarely
d) An unforgettable experience

Answer : C

Question. It’s raining cats and dogs ?
a) To rain mildly
b) To rain very heavily
c) To rain continuously
d) To rain at regular intervals

Answer : B

Question. Green thumb ?
a) To have talent in gardening
b) To be envious
c) To be angry
d) To have talent in painting

Answer : A

Question. Our PM is received with open arms wherever he goes. ?
a) Harmoniously
b) Promptly
c) Honourably
d) Warmly

Answer : D

Question. The cost of living has increased so much that many people find it difficult to make both ends meet. ?
a) Buy expensive gadgets
b) Buy something new
c) Earn enough to survive
d) Help other people

Answer : C

Question. Reinventing the wheel ?
a) Examining circumstances that have already been understood
b) Wasting one’s time for things that have already been satisfactorily done
c) Analysing various factors of happenings
d) Disturbing the system which has already been in use

Answer : B

Question. At the drop of a hat ?
a) Usually
b) Frequently
c) Never
d) Instantly

Answer : D

Question. Hats off to someone ?
a) Give hats to
b) Announce a prize for
c) Make new hats for
d) Congratulations to

Answer : D

Question. Throw in the towel ?
a) Face the situation
b) Think of a solution
c) Admit defeat
d) Drop something

Answer : C

Question. Simran was under tremendous stress because she had too many irons in the fire. ?
a) She had too many clothes to iron
b) She had made a lot of risky investments
c) She was suffering many ailments
d) She was involved in many activities

Answer : D

Question. Put one’s cards on the table ?
a) To be able to continue
b) To be honest
c) To accept defeat
d) To deal a game of cards

Answer : B

Question. She declared that it was the last straw and fled. ?
a) the situation had become unbearable
b) it was the last time she would use a straw
c) the situation was improving
d) it was last time she would hold a straw

Answer : A

Question. The acid test ?
a) Throwing acid on someone's face
b) A critical situation or crisis
c) An unpleasant or offensive test
d) A fact, event or situation that proves something

Answer : D

Question. Full of beans ?
a) Being upset
b) Lively and energetic
c) Full of crazy ideas
d) In good health

Answer : B

Question. Make one’s mark ?
a) leave a clue
b) attain recognition
c) sign a deal
d) claim a right

Answer : B

Question. In the Pink ?
a) in the pink dress
b) in the limelight
c) in a happy mood
d) in a good health

Answer : D

Question. Tit for tat ?
a) To reward people for the good done
b) To do harm as done to you
c) To make someone angry
d) To take advantage of someone

Answer : B

Question. Come rain or shine ?
a) In favourable conditions
b) In difficult situation
c) Under any circumstances
d) during bad weather

Answer : C

Question. Up in arms ?
a) Throw up arms in joy
b) Give up fighting and surrender
c) Angry about something
d) Divide into armed groups

Answer : C

Question. Parthian shot ?
a) Parting hit
b) Victory
c) Praise
d) Say goodbye

Answer : A

Question. to make no bones about ?
a) To state something clearly
b) To reveal the hidden structure
c) To consume only the fleshy part
d) To make something unsubstantial

Answer : A

Question. Snake in the grass ?
a) a suspicious person
b) a mean person
c) a slippery person
d) a deceitful person

Answer : D

Question. Cut and dried ?
a) Badly hurt
b) Very old
c) Dead and gone
d) Already decided

Answer : D

Question. Throw in the towel ?
a) To decide firmly
b) To take a shower
c) To admit defeat or failure
d) To provoke someone

Answer : C

Question. Pull someone's leg ?
a) trust someone
b) joke with someone
c) get upset with someone
d) tell someone a secret

Answer : B

Question. A friend is no friend if he leaves you in the lurch. ?
a) Leave for one’s own work
b) Take advantage of someone
c) Make a fool of someone
d) Leave someone in a helpless condition

Answer : D

Question. Stir up a hornet’s nest ?
a) Lead a revolt
b) Provoke trouble
c) Call for dialogue
d) Destroy a nest

Answer : B

Question. The dog played in the pond to his heart's content. ?
a) Only upto his legs
b) Till he was completely sick
c) As much as he wanted to
d) Avoiding getting too wet

Answer : C

Question. Birds of same feather ?
a) People with a generous heart
b) To get into trouble together
c) To be in totally helpless condition
d) People with similar characteristics

Answer : D

Question. Take to task ?
a) To assign work
b) To rebuke
c) To praise
d) To give an award

Answer : B

Question. In spite of the high sounding words, his speech fell flat on the audience ?
a) Impressed a lot
b) Appealed to the sentiments of the audience
c) Could not be heard clearly
d) Failed to make an impact

Answer : D

Question. The people were scared because the burglar was at large. ?
a) not caught
b) very dangerous
c) behind bars
d) very famous

Answer : A

Question. To throw a fit ?
a) Become unconscious
b) Caution someone about fitness
c) Express extreme anger
d) Faint and fall down

Answer : C

Question. Many old projects are _____ with a change in company policies. ?
a) Beating around the bush
b) Caught red handed
c) Getting a new lease of life
d) Breaking the ice

Answer : C

Question. When pigs fly ?
a) A difficult situation
b) An argument between two people
c) A time that will never come
d) A practical idea

Answer : C

Question. Sleep on it ?
a) To wait before making a decision
b) To prefer to sleep than take action
c) To make a wrong decision
d) To make a decision immediately

Answer : A

Question. Actions speak louder than words ?
a) What you do reveals the real you
b) What you do is your own business
c) What you can see may not be true
d) What you don’t say is what you are

Answer : A

Question. Eyewash ?
a) A problem
b) A fact
c) A solution
d) A deception

Answer : D

Question. Once bitten twice shy ?
a) a bitter experience making one cautious for future
b) an insect bite that leaves a permanent mark
c) to be shy of meeting strangers
d) a person with no self confidence

Answer : A

Question. Back seat driving ?
a) Interfering in affairs without having knowledge
b) Commenting on players from the sidelines
c) Attempting to teach a cab driver how to drive
d) Instructing husbands over the phone about what to buy

Answer : A

Idioms and Phrases for Class 10 English

Some Commonly Used Idioms

• Beat back (to compel to retire) : The firemen were beaten back by angry flames and the building was reduced to ashes.
• Boil down to (to amount to) : His entire argument boiled down to this that he would not join the movement unless he saw some monetary gain in it.
• Cast aside (to reject, to throw aside) : Men will cast aside truth and honesty for immediate gains.
• Cry down (to deprecate) : Some of the Western powers did their best to cry down India’s success in the war.
• To cut off with a shilling (to give someone a mere trifle in the will) : The father was so angry with the son over his marriage that he cut him off with a shilling.
• Egg on (to urge on) : Who egged you on to fight a professional boxer and get your nose knocked off?
• Gloss over (explain away) : Even if you are an important person your faults cannot be glossed over.
• To laugh in one’s sleeves (to be secretly amused) : While I was solemnly reading my research paper to the audience, my friends were laughing in their sleeves for they knew what it was worth.
• Play off (to set one party against another for one’s own advantage) : It best serves the interests of the super powers to play off one poor nation against another.
• Pull one through (to recover, to help one recover) : Armed with the latest medicines, the doctor will pull him through.
• Cost a slur upon (by word or act to cast a slight reproach on someone) : Many a man casts a slur on his own good name with some mean act.
• To catch a Tartar (to encounter a strong adversary) : When Hitler marched in to Russia he little knew that he would catch a Tartar in the tough people of that country.
• To come off with flying colours (to come out of a conflict with brilliant success) : The 1971 election outcome was uncertain but finally the congress came off with flying colours.
• To come off second best (to be defeated in every contest) : Be it an election or a tambola, I have always come off the second best.
• To cut the Gordian knot (to remove a difficulty by bold or unusual measures) : The Parliament threw out the Bill for Abolition of Privy Purses. The Government cut the Gordian knot by abolishing the privy purses through an ordinance.
• To fall to one’s lot (to become one’s fate) : It fell to the lot of Mujib and his colleagues to reconstruct the shattered economy of their nation.
• To get into hot water (to get into difficulty) : The businessman got into hot water with the Income-tax authorities for concealing his income from ancestral property.
• To give someone the slip (to dodge someone who is looking for you) : The police had nearly got the dacoits when the latter gave them the slip in the Chambal ravines.
• To go on a fool’s errand (to go on an expedition which leads to a foolish end) : Many people earlier believed that going to the moon was like going on a fool’s errand
• To go to the wall (to get the worst in a competition) : In the struggle of life, the weakest goes to the wall.
• To go to rack and ruin, to go to the dogs (to be ruined) : If a big war comes, our economy will go to the dogs.
• To have one’s hands full (to be very busy) : Pakistan could hardly expect active help from the U.S.A. as her hands were already full with Vietnam, Laos and West Asia problems.
• To have a bone to pick with one (to have a difference with a person which has not yet been fully expressed) : The extreme leftists have a bone to pick with the police and if ever they come to power there may be unpleasantness between the two.
• To have the whip hand of (to have mastery over) : After the split in the party Mrs. Gandhi has the whip hand of the Congress.

Idioms and Phrases for Class 10 English Exam

1. Best thing since sliced bread
Meaning: A good idea or plan; an excellent new invention.
Example: I love your idea. It’s the best thing since sliced bread.

2. Bite off more than you can chew
Meaning: To take on a task that is way too big.
Example: Our boss bit off more than she could chew when she promised the client we’d have the project ready by next week.

3. Far cry from
Meaning: A thing that is very different from something else.
Example: What you did was a far cry from what you said you were going to do.

4. Feel a bit under the weather
Meaning: Feeling sick or unhealthy.
Example: I’m not coming to office today, I’m feeling a bit under the weather.

5. Roll up one’s sleeves
Meaning: Get ready for hard work
Example: My brother said he would roll up his sleeves and do whatever it takes to support the family.

6. Want someone’s head on a platter
Meaning: Want someone to be punished severely
Example: “I want that murderer’s head on a platter!”, said the Chief of police.

7. Watch (someone) like a hawk
Meaning: Keep eyes on or watch carefully
Example: The examiner watched the test takers like a hawk.

8. Oldest trick in the book
Meaning: A well known and much used trick/method
Example: Oldest trick in the book to treat cold and cough is drinking turmeric milk.

9. Off the cuff
Meaning: Without preparation; spontaneous
Example: She has a reputation of handling off the cuff interviews very well.

10. Old habits die hard
Meaning: People find it difficult to change their accustomed behavior.
Example: She retired last month, but still gets up at the same time in the morning. Old habits die hard.

11. Don’t judge a book by its cover
Meaning: Don’t judge something primarily by its appearance.
Example:
She: He doesn’t look intelligent.
He: You can’t judge a book by its cover.

12. Cry over spilled milk
Meaning: To be unhappy about something that cannot be undone.
Example: It can’t he helped, don’t cry over spilled milk.

13. Don’t give up the day job
Meaning: You’re not very good at something. You could definitely not do it professionally.
Example: Why did you invest in business even after failing in it in the past? Don’t give up the day job!

14. Once in a blue moon
Meaning: Very rarely
Example: Jill has a very rocky relationship with her father. She speaks to him once in a blue moon.

15. Water under the bridge
Meaning: Something bad that happened in the past but is no longer important
Example: The couple had a serious fight in the past but that water is under the bridge now.

16. Wave a dead chicken
Meaning: Do some useless, unhelpful thing in the hope that it will solve a problem
Example: Restarting the laptop once the motherboard has crashed is like waving a dead chicken.