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CDS English · Idioms and Phrases

Idioms: how to decode one you have never seen

An idiom never means what its words picture. Cross out the literal options, say the meaning in your own words, and pick the option that matches every part of it.

All Idioms and Phrases notes

Why this matters

Idiom meanings have been set in almost every CDS English paper since 2018, usually ten at a time. Most idioms are asked only once, so a list alone will not carry you. You need a way to decode an idiom you have never met. Three habits do most of the work: reject the picture, match every part of the meaning, and turn a proverb into a rule.

Concept 1 of 3: Reject the literal picture

An idiom is a fixed group of words with a figurative meaning: you cannot get it by adding up the words. A 'close shave' has nothing to do with a razor. Paper setters know you will be pulled towards the picture, so one or two options always restate the words. Those options go first.

Definition

The method:

  • Idiom: a fixed phrase whose meaning is figurative, not literal.
  • Step 1: cross out every option that restates the words or the picture (a razor, a book, a wild animal).
  • Step 2: ask what situation, feeling or action the picture stands for.
  • Step 3: pick the option that names that situation in plain words.
  • An option that repeats the idiom's own key word (suit, book, wild, French) is nearly always a trap.
  • If the idiom is underlined inside a sentence, read the whole sentence: it tells you whether the meaning is pleasant or unpleasant.

Idioms CDS has set this way: Follow suit (do what someone has just done), Close shave (a narrow escape), A pearl of wisdom (a piece of wise advice), Go by the book (follow the rules exactly), French leave (absence from work without permission), Forty winks (a short sleep in the day), Top-notch (of the highest quality), Run wild (grow or behave without control), Change hands (pass to a new owner).

Worked example

Choose the meaning of the underlined idiom. After the long route march, the cadets were ready to hit the sack. (a) punch a bag of grain (b) go to bed (c) lose their jobs (d) carry a heavy load
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

CDS · 2018 · CDS (II) 2018 — English · Q65Easy

Example 1 · Idioms and Phrases · Idioms: Method

Directions: choose the most appropriate meaning of the idiom
Follow suit

The option that repeats the idiom's word

For 'French leave' one option read 'absent from work without permission in French'. For 'Top-notch' one read 'the highest marking on a tree'. Both keep the idiom's own word or picture. The right answers ('absent without permission', 'of the highest quality') drop it.

Narrow is not easy

A close shave is a narrow escape from danger. 'Easy escape' gets the size of the escape wrong, and 'saving someone from danger' changes who escapes. Keep every detail of the picture's point, not just its topic.

A thing is not a person

A pearl of wisdom is a piece of advice, a thing. 'A wise man' is a person, so it is wrong even though it sounds wise. Check that the option is the same kind of word as the idiom.

Change hands is about owners

When a car changes hands, its owner changes. Driver, mechanic and machinery all touch the car, but only ownership passes from one person's hands to another's.
Drill 9 more on reject the literal picture

Concept 2 of 3: Match every part of the meaning

Many CDS options look alike. They share one frame and change one or two words: daring or convenient, small or large, with the crowd or against it. So say the meaning yourself first, break it into parts, and test each option part by part. One wrong part is enough to reject an option.

Definition

The method:

  • Before you read the options, say the meaning in your own words.
  • Break it into features: what kind of act, in which direction, how much, for what purpose.
  • Test each option feature by feature. One wrong feature rules it out. This is elimination.
  • When two options differ in one word, that word is the question. Decide it and the answer follows.
  • Prefer the precise option to the merely close one: 'stop doing something' beats 'completion of work' for 'call it a day', because you can stop before the work is done.

Idioms CDS has set this way: Go out on a limb (take a daring position against the popular view), Penny-wise and pound-foolish (careful with small sums, careless with large ones), Neither fish nor fowl (hard to describe or classify), Walking on eggshells (being careful not to upset anyone), The brain drain (skilled people leaving for better prospects abroad), Call it a day (stop working on something), Double-talk (speech meant to confuse and hide the truth), Cut the cord (stop depending on others and act on your own), At the crossroads (at an important stage or decision), On the fly (quickly, without careful thought).

Worked example

Choose the meaning of 'Bite off more than you can chew'. (a) take on a task too big for you (b) take on a task too small for you (c) eat too quickly at a meal (d) refuse a task that is too big
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

CDS · 2026 · CDS (II) 2026 — English · Q55Moderate

Example 2 · Idioms and Phrases · Idioms: Method

Directions: Given below are idioms/phrases. Choose the most appropriate meaning and mark your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.
To go out on a limb

One feature reversed

For penny-wise and pound-foolish one option read 'careful about large amounts but careless about small amounts'. It has the right frame and the two sizes swapped. Read both halves of every option.

The literal-leaning option

For walking on eggshells, 'walking with great care' is close but stays with the picture. 'Careful not to offend or upset others' says what the care is for. Pick the option that names the real situation.

Double-talk is not a double meaning

Double-talk is speech meant to confuse people and hide the truth. A word with two meanings is a double entendre, a different idiom. 'Speaking with double meaning' is the trap.

When all four options begin the same

For the brain drain every option began 'movement of professionals to another country for ...'. Only the endings differed: higher studies, better prospects, security, excursion. Skip the shared part and judge the endings alone.
Drill 9 more on match every part of the meaning

Concept 3 of 3: Proverbs: state the moral as a rule

A proverb is a whole sentence that carries a moral: a piece of advice about life. Turn it into a short rule ('act early', 'share the work') before you read the options. The right option gives the same advice in other words. The picture (a stitch, a bird, a dog, a fire) is never the answer.

Definition

How to handle a proverb:

  • A proverb is a complete saying with a moral; an idiom is usually only a phrase.
  • Restate it as a rule that starts with a verb: 'Act early', 'Share the work', 'Keep what you have'.
  • Reject options that keep the picture (fire, light, a gift) or play on the proverb's own words.
  • Check the direction: 'what you have is worth more' is not 'what may come is worth more'.
ProverbThe rule it statesWrong option to avoidAsked in
You snooze, you loseDo not hesitate; if you delay, you miss the chanceDon't take it lightly2018 (I)Q
You scratch my back, I'll scratch yoursDo me a favour and I will do one for youMutual understanding2018 (I)Q
A stitch in time saves nineFix a problem early, before it growsPoking at something repeatedly to rescue it2025 (I)Q
Many hands make light workWhen many people help, a job is done quicklyMany people together can light a new path2025 (II)Q
A bird in hand is worth two in the bushWhat you have is worth more than what you might getWhat can happen is better than what has happened2025 (II)Q
Let sleeping dogs lieLeave a quiet matter alone; stirring it may make things worseNot stoke a dangerous situation2025 (I)Q
The matter is quiet now, not dangerous. That is why 'do not interfere where it may make matters worse' beats 'do not stoke a dangerous situation'.
Fight fire with fireAnswer an opponent with the same force or methodAdd fuel to make the situation worse2025 (I)Q
Cast one's bread upon the watersDo good without expecting a rewardMisdirect one's efforts in life2025 (I)Q
A watched pot never boilsAnxious waiting makes time seem to pass slowlyFailure because of over-eagerness2024 (II)Q
Say the rule first. The option that gives the same advice, in any words, is the answer.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

CDS · 2025 · CDS (I) 2025 — English · Q34Easy

Example 3 · Idioms and Phrases · Idioms: Method

Directions: In the following items an idiom or a proverb is given. Select the response that correctly describes the meaning of the idiom or proverb and mark your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.
A stitch in time saves nine

Puns on the proverb's own words

For many hands make light work one option said many people can 'light a new path'. For fight fire with fire one spoke of 'incendiary tactics'. Both play on a word of the proverb. The moral never depends on the picture word.

Direction reversed

A bird in hand is worth two in the bush values what you have. 'What can happen is always better than what has happened' says the opposite. Check which side the proverb favours.

How waiting feels, not whether you fail

A watched pot never boils is about time feeling slow while you wait anxiously. It does not say you will fail or that you have no chance. Keep the moral as narrow as the proverb.
Drill 8 more on proverbs: state the moral as a rule

Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance

A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.

Reference tables (1)

Proverbs: state the moral as a rule9 rows
ProverbThe rule it statesWrong option to avoidAsked in
You snooze, you loseDo not hesitate; if you delay, you miss the chanceDon't take it lightly2018 (I)Q
You scratch my back, I'll scratch yoursDo me a favour and I will do one for youMutual understanding2018 (I)Q
A stitch in time saves nineFix a problem early, before it growsPoking at something repeatedly to rescue it2025 (I)Q
Many hands make light workWhen many people help, a job is done quicklyMany people together can light a new path2025 (II)Q
A bird in hand is worth two in the bushWhat you have is worth more than what you might getWhat can happen is better than what has happened2025 (II)Q
Let sleeping dogs lieLeave a quiet matter alone; stirring it may make things worseNot stoke a dangerous situation2025 (I)Q
The matter is quiet now, not dangerous. That is why 'do not interfere where it may make matters worse' beats 'do not stoke a dangerous situation'.
Fight fire with fireAnswer an opponent with the same force or methodAdd fuel to make the situation worse2025 (I)Q
Cast one's bread upon the watersDo good without expecting a rewardMisdirect one's efforts in life2025 (I)Q
A watched pot never boilsAnxious waiting makes time seem to pass slowlyFailure because of over-eagerness2024 (II)Q
Say the rule first. The option that gives the same advice, in any words, is the answer.

Watch out for (11)

Test yourself on Idioms and Phrases

20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.

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