Idioms and phrases play a very important role in the English section of SSC exams like CGL, CHSL, MTS, and CPO. Questions based on idioms are regularly asked to test a candidate’s understanding of language and context. Learning commonly used idioms not only improves your vocabulary but also helps you understand sentence meanings more effectively, which directly boosts your exam score.
In this blog, we have compiled 150+ most important idioms that are highly useful for SSC exam preparation. These idioms are carefully selected from previous year papers and expected exam trends. You can also download the free PDF to revise anytime and strengthen your preparation for upcoming exams.
Download Idioms and Phrases
If you’re preparing for the competitive exams, mastering English idioms and phrases is essential. These expressions frequently appear in the English section of Tier 1 and Tier 2 papers. Understanding them can help you score well and enhance your language skills. Below is a list of the top idioms and phrases in PDF format, along with their meanings and example sentences.
What are idioms?
Idioms are a set of words, whose meaning does not relate to the literal meaning of its words. Idioms have metaphorical meanings and can also be written in absurd grammatical structures. Many a time, we come across expressions such as, “Barking up the wrong tree” or “Beat around the bush” and the like, that does not make any literal sense. These expressions are called Idioms.
Practice Idioms Questions Live
The candidates appearing for SSC, Railways can expect questions from this topic. For instance:
1. What does “Hit the nail on the head” mean?
2. What does “Burn the midnight oil” mean?
3. What does “Break the ice” mean?
4. What does “Cost an arm and a leg” mean?
5. What does “Beat around the bush” mean?
6. What does “Cry over spilt milk” mean?
7. What does “Throw in the towel” mean?
8. What does “Let the cat out of the bag” mean?
9. What does “At the drop of a hat” mean?
10. What does “Bark up the wrong tree” mean?
11. What does “Add fuel to the fire” mean?
12. What does “On cloud nine” mean?
13. What does “Cut corners” mean?
14. What does “By leaps and bounds” mean?
15. What does “Throw light on” mean?
Quiz Summary
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Why Learn Idioms for SSC Exams?
- Frequently asked in previous SSC papers
- Helps improve vocabulary and comprehension
- Useful for descriptive writing and interviews
- Saves time in answering English questions quickly
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| A piece of cake | Very easy | The test was a piece of cake. |
| Beat around the bush | Avoid the main topic | Stop beating around the bush and answer directly. |
| Cry over spilt milk | Worry about something that can’t be changed | There’s no use crying over spilt milk. |
| Hit the nail on the head | Do or say something exactly right | You hit the nail on the head. |
| Break the ice | Start a conversation in a social setting | He told a joke to break the ice. |
| Kill two birds with one stone | Achieve two goals with one effort | I killed two birds with one stone by shopping while commuting. |
| Once in a blue moon | Very rarely | He visits us once in a blue moon. |
| In hot water | In trouble | She landed in hot water over the comment. |
| Let the cat out of the bag | Reveal a secret | He let the cat out of the bag about the surprise. |
| Under the weather | Feeling sick | I’m a bit under the weather today. |
| The ball is in your court | It’s your decision now | I’ve said everything, now the ball is in your court. |
| Bite the bullet | Accept something unpleasant | You’ll have to bite the bullet and pay the fine. |
| Burn the midnight oil | Work or study late into the night | She burned the midnight oil before the exam. |
| Make a mountain out of a molehill | Exaggerate a small issue | Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. |
| Spill the beans | Disclose a secret | He spilled the beans about the plan. |
| Take it with a grain of salt | Don’t take it too seriously | Take the news with a grain of salt. |
| Add fuel to the fire | Make a situation worse | His comments added fuel to the fire. |
| Hit the sack | Go to sleep | I’m tired. Time to hit the sack. |
| Come clean | Tell the truth | He finally came clean about the theft. |
| Cut corners | Do something poorly to save time or money | Don’t cut corners when building a house. |
| At the drop of a hat | Instantly, without delay | He’s ready to help at the drop of a hat. |
| Back to the drawing board | Start over again | The plan failed, back to the drawing board. |
| Go the extra mile | Do more than required | She always goes the extra mile at work. |
| Throw in the towel | Give up | He threw in the towel after multiple failures. |
| Barking up the wrong tree | Accusing the wrong person | You’re barking up the wrong tree. |
| A blessing in disguise | Something good that seems bad at first | The rejection was a blessing in disguise. |
| Call it a day | Stop working for the day | Let’s call it a day and continue tomorrow. |
| Face the music | Accept the consequences | He must face the music for his actions. |
| Burn bridges | Destroy relationships permanently | Don’t burn bridges with your old boss. |
| On cloud nine | Very happy | She was on cloud nine after the promotion. |
| In the nick of time | Just in time | He reached the station in the nick of time. |
| Pull someone’s leg | Joke or tease someone | Are you pulling my leg? |
| Rome wasn’t built in a day | Big tasks take time | Be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day. |
| Sit on the fence | Stay neutral or undecided | Don’t sit on the fence—choose a side. |
| Through thick and thin | In good times and bad | She stood by me through thick and thin. |
| Turn a blind eye | Ignore deliberately | The teacher turned a blind eye to cheating. |
| Bite off more than you can chew | Take on more than you can handle | Don’t bite off more than you can chew. |
| In black and white | In written form | It’s all there in black and white. |
| A penny for your thoughts | Asking what someone is thinking | You’re quiet—a penny for your thoughts? |
| Keep something at bay | Keep away or under control | They managed to keep inflation at bay. |
| Steal someone’s thunder | Take credit for someone else’s idea | He stole her thunder during the meeting. |
| Jump the gun | Act too soon without thinking | Don’t jump the gun—wait for instructions. |
| Like a fish out of water | Uncomfortable in a new situation | I felt like a fish out of water at the party. |
| Zip your lip | Keep a secret or stay silent | Zip your lip and don’t tell anyone. |
| Go down in flames | Fail spectacularly | Their idea went down in flames. |
| Kick the bucket | Die (informal) | The old man finally kicked the bucket. |
| Miss the boat | Miss an opportunity | He missed the boat on that stock investment. |
| Leave no stone unturned | Try everything possible | We’ll leave no stone unturned to find him. |
| Get cold feet | Become nervous or afraid | He got cold feet before the wedding. |
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