This is the first of our four-volume series based on Know Your English, the popular weekly column published in The Hindu since 1982. Teachers, students and those who are keen on honing their speaking and writing skills will find the series useful. This enlarged and updated second edition contains a selection of 570 idioms. Each entry gives the meaning of the idiom, provides examples of its use and, wherever possible, traces its origins. Contents: Preface A lick and a promise Above boar Achilles’ heel Across the boar Adam’s ale Adam’s apple Add insult to injury Albatross around the neck All ears All thumbs Always a bridesmaid and never a bride American dream (the) Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree Apple of discord Apple of one’s eye Apple-pie order Argus-eyed, 12 Armchair critic, 13 Arms of Morpheus, 14 Ask for the moon, 14 Asleep at the switch, 14 At the helm, 15 Axe to grind, 16 Back to square one Bad egg Badger someone Baker’s dozen Bald as a coot Banana republic Band-aid solution Bark up the wrong tree Barkis is willing Bat an eyelid Be on one’s high horse Be-all and end-all Beat around the bush Beck and call Bells and whistles Belly up Best (greatest) thing since sliced bread Better half Between Scylla and Charybdis Between the devil and the deep blue sea Beyond his ken Beyond the pale Big Apple Big fish in a small pond Bigwig Bite the bullet Bite the dust Bite your tongue Bitter end Blackball Blaze a trail Blow one’s own trumpet/horn Blue blood Blue-eyed boy/girl Bolt from the blue Bone of contention Boot is on the other foot Born in the purple Born with a silver spoon in the mouth Boxing Day Bread and butter Bread-and-butter letter Break a leg Break the ice Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Bring home the bacon Brown noser Bull in a china shop Bum’s rush Burn one’s boats Burn the candle at both ends Burn the midnight oil Bury the hatchet Bury your head in the sand Busman’s holiday Buttonhole someone (in) Cahoots with Cakewalk Call a spade a spade Call the shots Called on the carpet Can’t hold a candle to someone Can’t see the wood for the trees Canary in a coal mine Carrot and stick approach Carry coals to Newcastle Catch a few rays Catch as catch can Catch-22 Cat’s whiskers Caught in the crossfire Chalk and cheese Chasing rainbows Cheek by jowl Chew the fat Chickens have come home to roost Chink in the armour Chip off the old block Chip off one’s shoulder Chips are down Chomp at the bit Clarion call Clean bill of health Cleanse the Augean stables Closed book Cloud-cuckoo-land (on) Cloud nine (in) Clover Cock a snook at Cock-and-bull story Cold feet Cold storage Cook someone’s goose Cost an arm and a leg Cross the bridge when you come to it Cross the Rubicon Curate’s egg Curl one’s hair Curry favour Cut a caper Cut and dried Cut and run Cut loose Cut no ice Cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face Cut to the quick/bone Cut your eye teeth on something D-day Damp squib Dark horse Davy Jones’s locker Dead in the water Deep pockets Devil’s advocate Ding-dong battle Dog days Dog in the manger Dog’s breakfast Dog-eared Done and dusted Donkey’s years Don’t count your chickens before they hatch Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth Dot the i’s and cross the t’s Doubting Thomas Draw first blood Dress (up) to the nines Drink like a fish Drop like a hot potato Drop of a hat Dry as dust Dry run Dutch act/cure Dutch courage Dyed in the wool Ear to the ground Earful Ears are burning Eat crow Eat humble pie Eat out of one’s hand Egg on one’s face Egghead Elephant in the room Err on the side of caution Even Homer nods/Homer sometimes nods Everything but the kitchen sink Excuse/Pardon my French Eyes in the back of the head Face in the crowd Face the music Fag end Fall like ninepins Fall on stony ground Faustian bargain Feather in one’s cap Feeling blue Fifth column Final nail in the coffin Find one’s feet Fine-tooth comb Firing on all cylinders Fish in troubled waters Fits and starts Flog a dead horse Flotsam and jetsam Fly-by-night operators Fly off the handle Fools rush in where angels fear to tread Foot the bill Get down to brass tacks Get in someone’s hair Get it in the neck Get on the soapbox Get one’s head out of the clouds Get someone’s goat Get the walking papers Get to the bottom of something Get up on the wrong side of the bed Get wind of something Get your act together Ghost walks Give a dog a bad/ill name and hang him Give someone an even break Give someone the bird Give someone the cold shoulder Give someone the runaround Give someone the third degree Give your eye teeth for something Go bananas Go fly a kite Go in one ear and out the other Go off the deep end Go south Go to pot Go to someone’s head Go/Come under the hammer Gobbledygook Good as it gets Grapevine Greased lightning Green room Green with envy Greenhorn Grinning like a Cheshire cat Grow on someone Hair of the dog that bit someone Hammer and tongs Hand in glove Handsome is as handsome does Hang up one’s boots Hangdog expression Happy as a clam Hard to swallow Hat trick Hats off to someone Haul someone over the coals Have a field day Have/Got the runs He who pays the piper calls the tune High and dry Hightail it Hit below the belt Hit the ground running Hit the sack/hay Hobson’s choice Hoist with one’s own petard Home away from home Homeric laughter Hook, line and sinker (by) Hook or by crook Horns of a dilemma Horse sense Horse-trading Horses for courses Hot on the heels of Hot potato Hot under the collar I’m a Dutchman Icing on the cake In Dutch In one’s crosshairs In one’s good books In the doghouse In the doldrums In the groove In the swim In the wake of something Inside track Iron out the wrinkles Jack Robinson Joined at the hip Joker in the pack Kangaroo court Keep a straight face Keep a tight/short leash on someone Keep it under your hat Keep one’s chin up Keep one’s eyes peeled Keep one’s fingers crossed Keep tabs on someone Keep under wraps Keep your powder dry Keep your shirt on Kick the bucket Kitchen cabinet Knee high to a grasshopper Knee-jerk response/reaction Knock the socks off Know one’s onions Know which side the bread is buttered Last but not least Laugh up your sleeve Lay someone out in lavender Lead someone down/up the garden path Learn the ropes Leave no stone unturned Leave someone cold Leave someone holding the bag Left-handed compliment Left holding the baby Let one’s hair down Let someone cool their heels Let the cat out of the bag Let the chips fall where they may Let the grass grow under one’s feet Level best Lick into shape Like a cat on a hot tin roof Like pulling teeth Lily-livered Line one’s pockets Lion’s share Live high off the hog Live the life of Riley Live up to its billing Lock horns with Long face Long in the tooth Look like death warmed over Look like something the cat dragged in Look the other way Loose cannon Lose face Lost in the shuffle Lotus eater Love me, love my dog Make a good fist of something Make a practice of Make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear Make a splash Make heavy weather of something Make no bones about it Make one’s hair stand on end Make sheep eyes at Make the fur fly Make waves Man Friday Many a slip between the cup and the lip Millstone around one’s neck Mind your p’s and q’s Molotov cocktail Monday morning blues Monkey business Monkey’s allowance Month of Sundays Moonlighting More fun than a barrel of monkeys More than one way to skin a cat Much of a muchness Murder someone in cold blood Naked truth Neck and crop Neck and neck Nine days’ wonder Nip and tuck Nitpicking No love lost between them Nook and cranny Nose in the air Not care a hoot Not enough room to swing a cat Not to put too fine a point on it Nuts and bolts Off the cuff Old chestnut On the back burner On the wagon Once bitten twice shy Once in a blue moon One swallow does not make a summer One-trick pony Open a can of worms Out of kilter Out of my hair Out of sorts Paddle one’s own canoe Paint the town red Pandora’s box Paper tiger Par for the course Pass the buck Pay through one’s nose Peeping Tom Pencil in Pete’s sake Pie in the sky Pillar to post Pin money Pink of health Pink slip Pipe dream Plain sailing Play into someone’s hands Play it by ear Play possum Play second fiddle Playing both ends against the middle Playing to the gallery Pleased as Punch Plough a lonely/lone furrow Plume oneself on something Pound of flesh Preach to the choir/converted Pretty penny Proof of the pudding is in the eating Pull out all the stops Pull someone’s chestnuts out of the fire Pull someone’s leg Pull the wool over someone’s eyes Pull up one’s socks Purple patch Push comes to shove Put a sock in it Put out to pasture/grass Put up your dukes Put your foot in your mouth Put your money where your mouth is Put your thinking cap on Pyrrhic victory Rain cats and dogs Raise the bar Raising Cain Rap on the knuckles Read the riot act Reading between the lines Red faced Red herring Red-letter day Red tape Rhyme or reason Ride one’s hobbyhorse Riding roughshod over someone Ringside view/seat Roll out the red carpet Roll up one’s sleeves Rub of the green Rule of thumb Rule the roost Run the gauntlet Run with the hare and hunt with the hounds Sail under false colours Salad days Saved by the bell Scarce as hen’s teeth Scot-free Scrimp and save Seamy side of life Seed money Separate the sheep from the goats Set the ball rolling Set/Put the cat among the pigeons Set the Thames on fire Shadowboxing Shake/Show a leg Shape up or ship out Sheet anchor Shoot from the hip Short shrift Shot in the arm Shot in the dark Shot your bolt Sing for one’s supper Sink one’s teeth into something Sit below the salt Sit on one’s hands (at) Sixes and sevens Skeleton in the cupboard/closet Skin of one’s teeth Sleep tight Smell blood Smoke and mirrors Snake in the grass Son of a gun Spick and span Square meal Stalking horse Stand and deliver Staring down the barrel Steal a march on Steal someone’s thunder Storm in a teacup Stormy petrel Straw in the wind (the) Straw that broke the camel’s back Strong-arm tactic Swan song Swear like a trooper Sweat like a pig Sweep under the carpet Sword of Damocles (the) Tail wagging the dog Take a hike Take a leaf out of someone’s book Take potshots at someone/something Take/Bring someone down a peg or two Take something with a grain of salt Take the mickey out of someone Take the wind out of one’s sails Take up the cudgels for someone Takes two to tango Talk nineteen to the dozen Talk shop Talk through one’s hat Talk to the hand Testing the waters/water The devil is in the details The end justifies the means Thereby/Therein hangs a tale Thick and fast Thick of things Think on one’s feet Third degree Three-dog night Three-ring circus Three sheets in the wind Throw in the sponge/towel Throw the baby out with the bathwater Throw the book at someone Throw/Toss the hat into the ring Till the cows come home Till the fat lady sings Tilt at windmills Tip of the iceberg Tip one’s hand Toe the line Tongue in cheek Too clever by half (have) Too much on my plate Tooth and nail Touch wood (to) Treat someone with kid gloves Turn a Nelson’s eye Turn turtle Twiddle one’s thumbs Uncharted waters Uncle Sam Under a cloud Under the weather Underdog Up/Raise the ante (be) Up to par Up to snuff Up with the larks Upset the apple cart Upstage someone Wait on someone hand and foot Waiting in the wings Wake up and smell the coffee Walk a thin line Walk in the park Walking papers Wash dirty linen in public Waste not, want not Watch grass grow Water off a duck’s back Wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve (to be) Well-heeled Well-versed in Wet behind the ears/Not dry behind the ears Wet blanket Wet one’s whistle Whale of a time What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander What/Who the dickens Wheeler-dealer Whipping boy Whistle in the dark Whistle-stop tour White Paper Who is going to bell the cat? Whole nine yards Win hands down Win your spurs Win-win situation Windfall Window dressing Wing and a prayer Wing it Wither on the vine Wool-gathering Work one’s fingers to the bone Work like a Trojan (the) Worm has turned Writing/Handwriting is on the wall Wrong end of the stick Yellow journalism About the Author: S Upendran was a Professor in the Department of Materials Development at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. He has been writing the column, Know Your English, since 1992. The selections in this book are from those that featured between 1992 and 2018.