1. Above Board: All his dealings are above board.
2. Add fuel to fire/flames: He is already angry; do not add fuel to fire by calling him a liar.
3. Bad Blood: There is no bad blood between the two brothers.
4. Bad debt: He will not pay you back; it is a bad debt.
5. Bag and Baggage: He threw her out of the house , bag and baggage.
6. Better Half: His better half is a teacher.
7. A bird’s eye view: We got a bird’s eye view of the city from the top of the tower.
8. Black sheep: As his brother is a gambler, he is considered the black sheep of the family.
9. Bread and Butter: Teaching is his bread and butter.
10. Break the news to somebody: He broke the news of her father’s death to her.
11. Burn the midnight oil: He burnt the midnight oil to pass the examination.
12. By heart: She has learnt the poem by heart.
13. Come to light: At last the truth of the matter came to light.
14. Drawn match: A cricket test match usually proves to be a drawn match.
15. Eat one’s words: I said that he would be late but I had to eat my words when he came in time.
16. At the eleventh hour: He called of his plan at the eleventh hour.
17. Fair play: He has no sense of fair play.
18. Few and far between: He calls on me few and far between.
19. Heart and soul: She loves her son hear and soul.
20. Hope against hope: Saleem waited all day, hoping against hope that Ali would come to him.
21. In cold blood: He killed the child in cold blood.
22. In black and white: Saleem makes every agreement in black and white.
23. In the air: Change in the government is in the air.
24. Kith and Kin: We should love our kith and kin.
25. At lenght: At length, Saleem won her love.
26. Maiden speech: She impressed us with her maiden speech.
27. A near miss: He managed to brake just in time but it was a near miss.
28. Null and void: This contract is null and void.
29. A white Elephant: Telephone costs much, it is just a white elephant for the common people.
30. A wolf in sheep’s clothing: You should not rely on this man as he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
31. A bed of roses: Life is not a bed of roses.
32. A blessing in disguise: A misfortune is sometimes a blessing in disguise.
33. Blow hot and cold: He blows hot and cold about going abroad.
34. By hook or by crook: He wants to pass the exams by hook or by crook.
35. A cat’s paw: Do not be a cat’s paw for your boss.
36. A close fisted man: He does not spend any money as he is a close-fisted man.
37. Come to blows: From hot words, they came to blows.
38. Be at daggers drawn: She is at daggers drawn with her husband.
39. End up in smoke: When he crashed his car, all his travel plans ended in smoke.
40. Face the music: I did her wrong but I am ready to face the music.
41. Few and far between: He calls on me few and far between.
42. For a rainy day: Saleem saves money for the rainy days of old age.
48. Go to the dogs: After the death of his father, his business is really going to dogs.
49. Be hard up: Saleem often helps the hard up students.
50. Heart and soul: She loves her son heart and soul.
51. In a fix: Don’t put me in a fix.
52. In a nutshell: To put in a nutshell, the show was very exciting.
53. Kick the bucket: Everyone has to kick the bucket one day.
54. Lead someone by the nose: She leads her husband by the nose.
55. Make both ends meet: It is very difficult for the poor to make both ends meet.
56. A narrow escape: Abid fell into the river but had a narrow escape from drowing.
57. Be part and parcel of: To work in the field is part and parcel of a farmer’s life.
58. Pay through the nose: She had to pay through the nose for this job.
59. Rank and file: The rank and file are hard up due to the rise in prices.
60. Smell a rat: The thief smell a rat and ran away.
61. A snake in the grass: Beware of him, he is a real snake in the grass.
62. Take something into account: The government should take into account the pitiable condition of the poor.
63. Be taken aback: The teacher was taken aback by his disrespect.
64. Up to the mark: This book is really up to the mark.
65. A wild goose chase: Your attempt to pass the examination without hard work would be a wild goose chase.
66. With a view to: He went there with a view to seeing her.
67. French leave: French leave is a fashion in Pakistani Offices.
68. Through thick and thin: ALLAH will help you through thick and thin.
69. Break the Ice: Let us break the ice and be friends.
70. Nip in the bud: Nip the evil in the bud.
71. Blind Alley: The government policy proved a blind alley.
72. Cheek by Jowl: The husband and wife were sitting cheek by jowl.
73. A red letter day/A gala day: 14th August is a red letter day for the Pakistanis.
74. Few and Far Between: Buses in this area are few and far between.
75. Build castles in the air: It is useless to build castles in the air.
76. Call a spade a spade: We should always call a spade a spade.
77. A fishy story: Asim always tells me a fishy story.
78. A wet blanket: Don’t invite Asim, he is a wet blanket.
79. A broken reed: Don’t give him your car, he is a broken reed.
80. Cut a sorry figure: She cut a sorry figure in her maiden speech.
81. Cool as a cucumber: He remains cool as a cucumber in all circumstances.
82. A bee in the cap/bonnet: He has a bee in his cap of becoming rich over night.
83. Storm in a tea cup: He is in the habit of creating storm in a tea cup.
84. Spick and span: She keeps herself spick and span.
85. Turned turtle: The sailboat turned turtle, but the sailors only got wet.
86. Freudian slip: It was the speaker’s freudian slip.
PHRASAL VERBS
1. Break down: My car broke down on the way and I walked home.
2. Break in: Never break in when the elders are talking.
3. Break into: Someone broke into my car and stole my laptop.
4. Break up: The plane broke up in the air.
5. Break with: You should break with your bad habits.
6. Break away: The prisoner broke away from the police officer.
7. Break out: Fire broke out in the building.
8. Cut off: He cut a branch off the tree.
9. Make off: The thief had made off before the police came.
10. Make up: She could not maje up a story about her rudeness.
11. Pass on: The mother passed on her skills to her daughter.
12. Put up with: I cannot put up with his rude remarks.
13. Work out: He will work out the total cost of the trip.
14. Cut down: Please cut down this article to 200 words.
15. Look down: She looks down on the poor.
16. Look for: She was looking for her lost child.
17. Pass away: Every one will have to pass away one day.
18. Run out: He had to come home because his money had run out.
19. See off: She went to the airport to see her sister off.
20. Come off: Come off your bicycle.
21. Put out: Put out the light.
22. Put down/Take down/Jot down: put down my telephone number.
23. Call at: He called at my office.
24. Call on: He called on me.
25. Give up: Give up bad habits.
26. Give in: The opponent gave in.
27. Take to: He is taken to drink.
28. Turn down: Don’t turn down my request.
29. Fix up: Fix up the house.
30. Cry wolf: Don’t cry wolf, people will not believe you.
31. Egg on: I will not go there, Don’t egg me on.
32. Look into:Please look into the facts closely and prepare a detailed report.
33. Run over:The child was run over by a car.
34. Abide by: Players must abide by the rules of the game.
35. Deal in: Ali deals in different variety of cars.
36. Set in: Despair seems to have set in among the team.
37. Go by: Don’t go by my watch; it’s usually a bit slow.
