💬 Idioms & Phrases
Learn essential idioms and phrases with meanings and examples for banking and competitive exams.
Idioms & Phrases
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be understood from the individual words. Exams test whether you can identify the correct meaning of an idiom used in a sentence.
TIP
Strategy: Group idioms by theme (body parts, animals, food, money). This creates mental hooks that make recall much easier than alphabetical lists.
Body Part Idioms
These are the most frequently tested idioms in banking exams.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| At arm's length | To keep someone at a |
She kept her nosy colleague at arm's length. |
| Bite one's tongue | To |
I had to bite my tongue during the meeting. |
| Cold shoulder | To ignore |
After the argument, she gave him the cold shoulder. |
| Keep an eye on | To watch carefully; to |
Please keep an eye on the children. |
| Turn a blind eye | To |
The manager turned a blind eye to the delays. |
| Put your foot down | To take a firm, |
The RBI put its foot down on reckless lending. |
| Lend a hand | To |
Could you lend me a hand with this report? |
| Behind someone's back | They were talking behind his back. | |
| See eye to eye | To agree; to be in |
The two departments don't see eye to eye on policy. |
| Pull someone's leg | To |
Don't take it seriously, I was just pulling your leg. |
Money & Business Idioms
Particularly important for banking exam passages.
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Idioms & Phrases
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning cannot be understood from the individual words. Exams test whether you can identify the correct meaning of an idiom used in a sentence.
TIP
Strategy: Group idioms by theme (body parts, animals, food, money). This creates mental hooks that make recall much easier than alphabetical lists.
Body Part Idioms
These are the most frequently tested idioms in banking exams.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| At arm's length | To keep someone at a |
She kept her nosy colleague at arm's length. |
| Bite one's tongue | To |
I had to bite my tongue during the meeting. |
| Cold shoulder | To ignore |
After the argument, she gave him the cold shoulder. |
| Keep an eye on | To watch carefully; to |
Please keep an eye on the children. |
| Turn a blind eye | To |
The manager turned a blind eye to the delays. |
| Put your foot down | To take a firm, |
The RBI put its foot down on reckless lending. |
| Lend a hand | To |
Could you lend me a hand with this report? |
| Behind someone's back | They were talking behind his back. | |
| See eye to eye | To agree; to be in |
The two departments don't see eye to eye on policy. |
| Pull someone's leg | To |
Don't take it seriously, I was just pulling your leg. |
Money & Business Idioms
Particularly important for banking exam passages.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Break the bank | To cost too much; to be financially |
This vacation won't break the bank. |
| Cash cow | A |
The mutual fund division is the company's cash cow. |
| Cut corners | To do something cheaply or |
Don't cut corners on quality control. |
| In the red | The company has been in the red for two quarters. | |
| In the black | After restructuring, they're finally in the black. | |
| Golden handshake | A generous |
He received a golden handshake on retirement. |
| Penny wise, pound foolish | Cutting staff training to save costs is penny wise, pound foolish. | |
| Bail out | To |
The government had to bail out the struggling bank. |
| Bottom line | The final result / net |
The bottom line is we need to increase revenue. |
| Foot the bill | To |
The company will foot the bill for the conference. |
Nature & Animal Idioms
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Beat around the bush | To avoid the main topic; to be |
Stop beating around the bush and tell me the truth. |
| A wild goose chase | A |
The investigation turned out to be a wild goose chase. |
| Let the cat out of the bag | To |
She let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party. |
| Kill two birds with one stone | To achieve two things |
By studying for IBPS, I'm killing two birds — banking + English prep. |
| The lion's share | The largest or |
The lion's share of the budget went to infrastructure. |
| Crocodile tears | Fake, |
He shed crocodile tears when his rival was transferred. |
| A dark horse | An |
She was a dark horse in the election and won easily. |
| Bark up the wrong tree | To pursue a |
If you think I stole it, you're barking up the wrong tree. |
| Raining cats and dogs | Raining very heavily; |
It was raining cats and dogs during the commute. |
| Open a can of worms | To create |
The audit opened a can of worms in the accounts. |
Time & Action Idioms
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| At the eleventh hour | At the last |
The deal was saved at the eleventh hour. |
| Burn the midnight oil | To work |
She burned the midnight oil to finish the project. |
| Once in a blue moon | Very |
He visits his hometown once in a blue moon. |
| In the nick of time | Just in time; not a moment too late | The ambulance arrived in the nick of time. |
| Hit the nail on the head | To be exactly right; |
You hit the nail on the head with that analysis. |
| Nip in the bud | To |
The manager nipped the conflict in the bud. |
| Burn bridges | To |
Don't burn bridges when leaving a job. |
| Turn over a new leaf | To |
After his demotion, he turned over a new leaf. |
| Back to square one | To restart from the beginning; to |
The rejected proposal means we're back to square one. |
| The ball is in your court | The |
I've made my offer — the ball is in your court. |
Commonly Confused Idioms
These pairs look similar but have very different meanings:
| Idiom A | Meaning | Idiom B | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Break the ice | Start a conversation | Break the bank | Cost too much |
| In hot water | In trouble | Hot under the collar | Angry |
| Hold your horses | Be patient | Get off your high horse | Stop being arrogant |
| Call it a day | Stop working | Call the shots | Make decisions |
| Hit the books | Study hard | Hit the sack | Go to sleep |
Exam Approach
When an idiom appears in a Reading Comprehension or Cloze Test:
- Read the full sentence — context often reveals the meaning
- Eliminate literal interpretations — the answer is never the literal meaning
- Look for tone clues — positive/negative context narrows the options
- Use the Vocabulary Explorer to look up unfamiliar words in the idiom
Summary Cheat Sheet
| Concept / Topic | Key Details / Explanation |
|---|---|
| Body Part Idioms | Most frequently tested category in banking exams |
| At arm's length | Keep someone at a distance |
| Bite one's tongue | Stop yourself from saying something |
| Cold shoulder | Deliberately ignore someone |
| Turn a blind eye | Intentionally ignore a problem |
| See eye to eye | Agree completely |
| Pull someone's leg | Joke with someone |
| Money & Business Idioms | Especially important for banking exam passages |
| Cash cow | A reliable, steady source of income |
| In the red ↔ In the black | Losing money / making a profit |
| Golden handshake | Generous severance payment on retirement |
| Foot the bill | Pay for something |
| Cut corners | Do something cheaply or poorly |
| Nature & Animal Idioms | Common in RC and cloze tests |
| Beat around the bush | Avoid the main topic |
| A wild goose chase | A futile, pointless search |
| Let the cat out of the bag | Accidentally reveal a secret |
| Kill two birds with one stone | Achieve two things with one action |
| Bark up the wrong tree | Pursue a mistaken approach |
| Open a can of worms | Create unforeseen complications |
| Time & Action Idioms | Common in sentence completion |
| At the eleventh hour | At the very last possible moment |
| Burn the midnight oil | Work very late into the night |
| Once in a blue moon | Very rarely |
| Nip in the bud | Stop something early before it grows |
| Turn over a new leaf | Make a positive fresh start |
| Back to square one | Start over from the beginning |
| Easily Confused Pairs | Look similar but mean very different things |
| Break the ice ≠ Break the bank | Start a conversation ≠ cost too much |
| In hot water ≠ Hot under the collar | In trouble ≠ feeling angry |
| Hit the books ≠ Hit the sack | Study hard ≠ go to sleep |
| Call it a day ≠ Call the shots | Stop working ≠ make the decisions |
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