SSC CGL English · Free notes
Idioms and Phrases: SSC CGL English
Idioms and Phrases has 204 questions in the SSC CGL Tier I bank: 76 from the 2023 shifts, 70 from the 2024 shifts and 58 from the 2025 shifts, and 166 of them EASY. SSC asks an idiom's meaning, the idiom that fits a sentence, or the idiom that can replace an underlined phrase, and many idioms come back in later shifts. The pages group the idioms SSC has asked by what they describe, each with its keyed meaning, so you can learn them in families and tell apart the ones that look alike but point the other way.
The handout has every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap with answers shown. The formula sheet is the chapter’s formulas and traps alone, on one page.
Subtopic notes
Idioms: Time and Company
24 PYQsIdioms about when and how often things happen, about waiting and acting too soon, and about friendship, making peace and keeping people at a distance.
Idioms: Trouble and Success
70 PYQsIdioms for difficulty, danger and ruin, and for luck, success, courage and starting again: the largest group of idioms SSC asks.
Idioms: People and Character
27 PYQsIdioms that describe what a person is like (honest, cowardly, sharp, secretive) and how people stand with others (in charge, in second place, blamed, flattering).
Idioms: Work and Money
25 PYQsIdioms about how work is done (hard, carelessly, from the start, without a plan) and about saving, sharing and the value of things.
Idioms: Speech and Opinion
34 PYQsIdioms about how people speak (frankly, boastfully, evasively, revealing secrets) and about judging and deciding (doubting, discouraging, sitting on the fence, getting it right).
Idioms: Feelings and States of Mind
24 PYQsIdioms for joy, sadness, anger and contempt, and for states of mind such as confusion, doubt and deep thought.
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 12 reference tables · 23 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 12 reference tables · 23 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Idioms: Time and Company
Reference tables (2)
Time, timing and how often11 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| Once in a blue moon | Very rarely | 2023, 2024 |
| Out of the blue | Unexpectedly | 2023 |
| Miss the boat | Lose a good opportunity | 2023 |
| Jump the gun | Act too soon, before the right time | 2024 |
| Let the dust settle | Wait until a situation becomes clear | 2024 |
| Off and on | Now and then, from time to time | 2024 (twice) |
| Day and night | All the time, around the clock | 2024 |
| Come rain or shine | Whatever happens | 2024 |
| Hang fire | Delay taking action or a decision | 2025 |
| In the bud | At an early, developing stage | 2025 |
| Raining cats and dogs | Raining very heavily | 2023 |
Company, friendship and making peace9 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| Through thick and thin | In good times and in bad | 2023, 2024 |
| Keep someone at arm's length | Avoid becoming friendly with someone | 2023 |
| Left out in the cold | Ignored, left out | 2024 |
| Break the ice | Say or do something that makes people relax | 2024 |
| Cut someone dead | Ignore someone deliberately | 2025 |
| Hand and glove | Very closely associated | 2025 |
| Bury the hatchet | Make peace after a quarrel | 2025 |
| Play gooseberry | Be an unwanted third person with a couple | 2025 |
| Familiarity breeds contempt | The better you know someone, the less you respect them | 2023 |
Watch out for (4)
- Reading 'out of the blue' as sadness→ Time, timing and how often
- Taking 'jump the gun' as speed in general→ Time, timing and how often
- Reading 'cut someone dead' literally→ Company, friendship and making peace
- Taking 'keep at arm's length' as closeness→ Company, friendship and making peace
Idioms: Trouble and Success
Reference tables (2)
Trouble, danger and ruin13 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| In a soup | In trouble | 2023 |
| Treading on thin ice | In a risky position | 2023 |
| A hard nut to crack | A problem that is difficult to solve | 2023 (twice) |
| Face the music | Bear the bad results of one's actions | 2023 |
| Stir up a hornets' nest | Provoke trouble | 2023 |
| A storm in a teacup | A big fuss about a small matter | 2023 |
| Go to the dogs | Become worse | 2023 |
| The tip of the iceberg | A small visible part of a much bigger problem | 2023, 2024 |
| Cook someone's goose | Ruin someone's plans | 2024, 2025 |
| Hobson's choice | No real choice at all | 2025 |
| Hoist with one's own petard | Harmed by one's own scheme | 2025 |
| The writing on the wall | A clear sign of coming trouble | 2025 |
| A flash in the pan | A sudden success that does not last | 2025 |
Luck, success, courage and starting over12 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| A blessing in disguise | Something that seems bad but turns out well | 2023 (twice), 2024 (twice) |
| Hit the jackpot | Have a big success | 2023 |
| By the skin of one's teeth | Only just, by a very narrow margin | 2023, 2025 |
| Take the bull by the horns | Deal with a difficulty directly and boldly | 2023 |
| Bite the bullet | Face something unpleasant with courage | 2024 (three times) |
| Break a leg | Good luck (said before a performance) | 2024 (three times) |
| Back to the drawing board | Start again after a failure | 2023, 2025 |
| An ace up one's sleeve | A hidden advantage kept for later | 2023 |
| Break one's duck | Achieve a first success after failures | 2025 |
| Steal a march on | Gain an advantage by acting first | 2025 |
| Tooth and nail | With all one's strength | 2025 |
| Throw one's hat into the ring | Announce that one will compete | 2025 |
Watch out for (4)
- Reading 'a flash in the pan' as a success→ Trouble, danger and ruin
- Mixing up 'tip of the iceberg' and 'storm in a teacup'→ Trouble, danger and ruin
- Taking 'break a leg' as a curse→ Luck, success, courage and starting over
- Reading 'back to the drawing board' as finishing→ Luck, success, courage and starting over
Idioms: People and Character
Reference tables (2)
What a person is like11 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| Show one's true colours | Reveal one's real nature | 2023 |
| Throw caution to the wind | Take a risk | 2023 |
| Sharp practice | Dishonest dealing | 2023 |
| Lily-livered | Cowardly | 2023 |
| Nobody's fool | Not easily deceived | 2024 |
| On the ball | Alert and quick to react | 2024 |
| A creature of habit | Someone who always does things the same way | 2024 |
| A fair-weather friend | A friend only in good times | 2024 |
| Keep one's cards close to one's chest | Keep one's plans hidden | 2024 |
| Show the white feather | Act cowardly | 2025 |
| Mad as a hatter | Completely mad or very odd | 2025 |
Standing and dealings with others11 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| Catch a tartar | Meet someone stronger or tougher than expected | 2023 |
| Pass the buck | Shift the blame to another person | 2023 |
| Dance attendance on | Wait on someone eagerly | 2023 |
| Rule the roost | Be in charge | 2023 |
| Make someone a scapegoat | Blame someone for others' mistakes | 2024 |
| A henpecked husband | A husband ruled by his wife | 2024 |
| Curry favour | Seek approval by flattery | 2025 |
| Toe the line | Obey the rules exactly | 2025 |
| Come of age | Reach adulthood | 2025 |
| Fiddle while Rome burns | Waste time on trifles during a crisis | 2025 |
| Not fit to hold a candle to | Far inferior to | 2025 |
Watch out for (4)
- Reading 'sharp practice' as skill→ What a person is like
- Taking 'show the white feather' as surrender with honour→ What a person is like
- Reading 'curry favour' as cooking→ Standing and dealings with others
- Taking 'play second fiddle' as music→ Standing and dealings with others
Idioms: Work and Money
Reference tables (2)
Work and effort11 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| Call it a day | Stop working for now | 2023 (twice) |
| Cut corners | Do something cheaply or carelessly | 2023, 2024 |
| In apple-pie order | In perfect order | 2023 |
| Prime the pump | Encourage something to start or grow | 2023 |
| Have bigger fish to fry | Have more important things to deal with | 2024 |
| Start from scratch | Begin again from the very beginning | 2024 |
| Pull one's socks up | Make more effort | 2024 |
| Make a beeline for | Go straight and quickly towards | 2024 |
| Penelope's web | A task that never ends | 2024 |
| Not in my line | Not in my area of skill | 2025 |
| Pull a few strings | Use one's influence to get something done | 2025 |
Money, saving and value5 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| For a rainy day | For a future time of need | 2023 (twice), 2024 |
| Keep the wolf from the door | Have just enough to live on | 2024 |
| The lion's share | The biggest part | 2024 |
| A five-finger discount | Stealing from a shop | 2024 |
| Carry coals to Newcastle | Supply something where it is already plentiful | 2025 |
Watch out for (3)
- Reading 'cut corners' as saving time well→ Work and effort
- Reading 'pull your socks up' literally→ Work and effort
- Reading 'a rainy day' as weather→ Money, saving and value
Idioms: Speech and Opinion
Reference tables (2)
Ways of speaking11 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| Speak one's mind | Say frankly what one thinks | 2023 |
| Blow one's own trumpet | Boast about oneself | 2023 |
| The gift of the gab | A talent for speaking easily | 2023, 2024 |
| Beat about the bush | Avoid coming to the point | 2023 |
| Spill the beans | Reveal a secret | 2024 |
| Bring to light | Make known, disclose | 2024 |
| Call a spade a spade | Speak plainly and truthfully | 2024 |
| Straight from the horse's mouth | From the person directly involved | 2024 |
| Chapter and verse | With exact references and detail | 2025 |
| Draw the long bow | Exaggerate | 2025 |
| Harp on the same string | Keep repeating one point | 2025 |
Judging, doubting and deciding10 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| Take it with a grain of salt | Not believe something fully | 2023 |
| Throw cold water on | Discourage, criticise a plan | 2023, 2025 |
| No smoke without fire | A rumour usually has some truth in it | 2023 |
| At cross purposes | Misunderstanding each other | 2023 |
| Read between the lines | Find a meaning that is not stated | 2024 |
| Hit the nail on the head | Say exactly the right thing | 2024 |
| Beside the mark | Off the point | 2024 |
| Turn a deaf ear to | Refuse to listen to | 2024 |
| Blow hot and cold | Keep changing one's mind | 2025 |
| Know which way the wind blows | Sense how things are going | 2025 |
Watch out for (4)
- Reading 'beat about the bush' as working hard→ Ways of speaking
- Taking 'blow one's own trumpet' as music→ Ways of speaking
- Reading 'throw cold water on' as calming down→ Judging, doubting and deciding
- Mixing up 'sit on the fence' and 'blow hot and cold'→ Judging, doubting and deciding
Idioms: Feelings and States of Mind
Reference tables (2)
Joy, sadness, anger and contempt11 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| Walking on air | Very happy | 2023 |
| Get on someone's nerves | Irritate someone | 2023 |
| Bad blood | Bitter feeling between people | 2023 |
| Take the wind out of someone's sails | Spoil someone's confidence or plans | 2023 |
| On cloud nine | Very delighted | 2024 |
| Hit the roof | Become very angry | 2024 |
| At a low ebb | In a weak or low state | 2024 |
| Pull a long face | Look sad | 2024 |
| Turn up one's nose at | Treat with contempt | 2024 |
| In the doldrums | In low spirits or inactive | 2025 |
| In high dudgeon | Offended and indignant | 2025 |
Confusion, doubt and deep thought6 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Asked in |
|---|---|---|
| A pipe dream | A hope that will never come true | 2023 |
| Chew the cud | Think something over carefully | 2023, 2025 |
| In two minds | Unable to decide | 2023 |
| At one's wits' end | So worried that one does not know what to do | 2024 |
| On the fence | Undecided between two choices | 2024 |
| Like a fish out of water | Uncomfortable in a strange place | 2024 |
Watch out for (4)
- Reading 'at a low ebb' as calm→ Joy, sadness, anger and contempt
- Taking 'walking on air' as dreaming→ Joy, sadness, anger and contempt
- Reading 'at sea' as being on holiday→ Confusion, doubt and deep thought
- Taking 'chew the cud' as eating→ Confusion, doubt and deep thought
PYQ weightage by concept
12 concepts · 204 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
PYQ weightage by concept
12 concepts · 204 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
Idioms: Time and Company24 PYQs · 12%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Time, timing and how often | 14 | 7% |
| Company, friendship and making peace | 10 | 5% |
Idioms: Trouble and Success70 PYQs · 34%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Trouble, danger and ruin | 40 | 20% |
| Luck, success, courage and starting over | 30 | 15% |
Idioms: People and Character27 PYQs · 13%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Standing and dealings with others | 14 | 7% |
| What a person is like | 13 | 6% |
Idioms: Speech and Opinion34 PYQs · 17%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ways of speaking | 18 | 9% |
| Judging, doubting and deciding | 16 | 8% |
Idioms: Feelings and States of Mind24 PYQs · 12%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Joy, sadness, anger and contempt | 16 | 8% |
| Confusion, doubt and deep thought | 8 | 4% |
Test yourself on Idioms and Phrases
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.