a presentation on english idioms for graduate students of osmania university

1. Idiomatic English
for
Effective Communication
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2. Are you all ears?
Lend me an ear.
Be on the ball.
Let’s kick off now.
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3. What’s an IDIOM?
1. Verbal habits unique to a
language
• English: in the twinkling of an eye
• Hindi: (in the snap of a finger)
• Telugu: (in the drop of an eyelid)
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4. What’s an IDIOM?
2. Meaning different from literal
meaning
Kick the bucket
Hang one’s head
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5. What’s an IDIOM?
3. Fixed phrases in structure
Round table
Lend an ear
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6. Broke
 I can’t afford to buy a new mobile. I’m
totally broke. I hardly have any
money left. I’m broke until my next
salary.
 He is completely broke, he can’t even
pay his bills.
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7. What’s an IDIOM?
3. Rules of grammar may not
apply
I’ll eat my hat
At a loss
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8. Keep your cool
 I know you are upset but you have to
keep your cool. If you just can keep
your cool at the interview, you will do
better.
 Don’t get nervous about the exam.
Keep your cool.
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9. Why Learn Idioms?
• Add color to your communication
• Make speech effective & expressive
• Lubricate your language
• Nuts and bolts of conversation
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10. How to learn Idioms?
• Guess the contextual meaning
• Use a dictionary
• Use a workbook
• Make your own sentences
• Use/Practice in context
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11. Examples from Text
What do you call an irritating person
who says he knows everything?
What is the irritating person who is
impatient to damage the
reputation of the conjurer called?
Mr Know-all
The Quick Man
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12. Couch Potato
 Sarita is a couch potato. She sits in
front of the TV all day.
 I should be more active and less of a
couch potato, if I have to lose
weight.
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13. Idioms with Body Parts
 The teacher kept making mistakes
and became red in the face.
 The entire speech was learnt by
heart.
 The two sisters don’t see eye to eye.
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14. Idioms with Body Parts
 I am an old hand at teaching English.
 She has always kept her husband
under her thumb.
 Just a minute. I have got the answer
on the tip of my tongue.
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15. Read one’s mind
 You have read my mind.
That’s exactly what I was
thinking too.
 He is an introvert. It is usually
difficult to read his mind.
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16. Make up one’s mind
My boss is persuading me to
make up my mind and choose
one of the two projects. But I am
not able to make up my mind.
Can you please help me take a
decision?
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17. Keep an eye on
 Don’t worry about your luggage. I’ll
keep an eye on it.
 I’ve got to go to the washroom. Can
you keep an eye on my suitcase for a
minute?
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18. Written all over face
 He guessed his brother stole the
gold. He said it was written all over
his face.
 One doesn’t need be a psychologist
to know you are sad and upset. It’s
written all over your face.
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19. Put heart into something
The Commissioner is determined to
streamline the functioning of colleges
in the state. She has put her heart
and soul into it.
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20. Change of heart
He was against charity till a few years
ago. He had a change of heart
when he saw the plight of the
homeless. But the real change of
heart came when he read about
the work of Mother Teresa.
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21. Heart of stone
She's not the person to go to if you've
got problems - she's got a heart of
stone!
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22. Over the dead body
 You want a new car again.
Over my dead body.
 You want to marry that poor,
fat, ugly boy. Over my dead
body. There is no way I’ll let you
do that, not over my dead
body.
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23. Pay through the nose
 You may afford to buy a car.
But you will have to pay through
the nose to buy petrol.
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24. Idiom
Meaning
By the skin of
one’s teeth
nervous and difficult to express
Teething
problems
cannot remember at the
moment
Tongue-tied
just barely, narrowly
On the tip of the not to say things that upset
tongue
people
Hold your
tongue
Problems in the early stages
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25. Relationship Idioms
The husband and wife get along very
well and are made for each other.
After dating for several years, the
young couple decided to tie the knot.
Mythili has a crush on her senior
colleague.
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26. Idiom
Meaning
Better half
Be pregnant
Bosom friend
Attracted the very first time
Love at first sight Find a long time partner
Be in the family
way
Very close friend
Find Mr Right
A person’s husband or wife
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27. Food Idioms
 In such tense situations, it’s difficult
to be cool as a cucumber.
 Dance has never been my cup of tea.
 Let me cut the story short and tell you
in a nutshell.
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28. Food Idioms
 Always avoid unnecessarily getting in
the soup.
 Anti Corruption Bill is a hot potato
for the Centre now.
 I don’t agree with you, but your
questions have given me food for
thought.
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29. Piece of cake
• Learning English is a piece of cake. All
that it needs is a little confidence and
a lot of practice.
• Passing the English practical
examination is a piece of cake. I don’t
think anyone of you will fail.
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30. Idiom
Meaning
Bread and butter Energetic, in high spirits
Eat one’s words
The family member that earns
the most money
Full of beans
Basic needs of life
Breadwinner
Reveal the secret
Spill the beans
Take back what one has said
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31. Number Idioms
 I will never in a million years
understand why he married her.
 They won the match with his goal
in the eleventh hour.
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32. Number Idioms
 I felt like a fifth wheel at the
party.
 When the vacation was
announced, the students were on
cloud nine.
 The food was second to none.
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33. Idiom
A dime a dozen
In two minds
about
A chance in a
million
Meaning
More important than anything
else
Very small chance
Undecided about something
First and
foremost
Similar in attitude, character or
tastes
Two of a kind
Cheap and common
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34. Animal Idioms
 It’s raining cats and dogs. I wish I had
brought my umbrella.
 Does she really have a problem or is
she just crying wolf again?
 She is always out and about. She is a
real social butterfly.
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35. Idiom
Get the lion’s
share
A little bird told
me
Dark horse
Meaning
Confused living without purpose
Get the largest percentage of
something
To have an exciting and
interesting time
Rat race
I heard something from
someone
A whale of a
time
Little known to the general
public
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36. Employment Idioms
 Brain drain of the educated youth
is a great loss to the nation.
 As usual, the cream of the crop of
the JKC were offered the best
jobs.
 During recession times, senior
staff often get the axe.
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37. Employment Idioms
 It is an impressive golden
handshake.
 I am going to hang up boots
next month.
 If you got the answer from
Kalam, you can trust it. He
knows it inside out.
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38. Have the Guts
 I don’t have the guts to go bungee
jumping. It is too scary. Do you have
the guts to go on that roller coaster?
 He doesn’t have the guts to ask her
on a date.
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39. On the dot
 You’d better be here a few minutes
ahead, because the telecast starts at
11.00 on the dot.
 Don’t keep me waiting. Be here at six
o’clock on the dot.
 Let’s reach the airport at 3.30 on the
dot.
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40. Read between the lines
 If you read between the lines, you
would understand what he actually
meant. He said one thing and meant
another. Listen to that again
carefully. If you don’t read between
the lines, you will later get into
trouble.
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41. A small world
 I didn’t know that you knew my
brother. What a small world.
 Did you say you are a student of
Gajwel college? What a small world.
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42. Slip one’s mind
 I wanted to call you this morning, but
it slipped my mind. And I am so very
sorry, your birthday totally slipped
my mind.
 I wanted to mail the letter yesterday,
but it completely slipped my mind.
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43. A deal
 If I help you with your homework, you
will clean the house? It’s a deal! And
I’ll take you out to a movie, if you stop
bothering me. That’s a deal too.
 If you wash my car, I’ll pay you 100
rupees. Doesn’t that sound a deal?
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44. Dressed to kill
 Your dress is gorgeous. You’re
dressed to kill.
 Wow! Tonight she is dressed to kill.
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45. More idioms

Go the extra mile

Against the clock

The last straw

Hat trick

From rags to riches

Tie the knot

Head over heels

Beating around the bush

Pull the plug

Hit the sack

Break someone’s heart

Run out of steam

Keep your chin up

The ball is in your court

All Greek to me

Off the record

Burn the midnight oil

Pass the buck

Dark horse

Hit the nail on the head

Out of the blue

Field day

Let bygones be bygones

At the drop of a hat

French kiss

Cock and bull story

Backseat driver

Back to square one
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46. Call it a day
 It’s almost 11.45 now. Let’s call it a
day.
 Let’s call it a day. I am too tired to
continue.
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47. Phrasal Verbs
A verb + an adverb
A verb + a preposition
A very + an adverb + a preposition
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48. Phrasal Verbs
• Literal meaning is easy to understand
• Idiomatic meaning difficult to
comprehend
put up (literal) = physically place somewhere
put up (figurative) = provide a place to sleep
put up (idiomatic) = deal with a situation
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49. Phrasal Verbs
• Same phrasal verbs can have different
meaning:
pick up = learn
pick up = physically fetch
pick up = purchase
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50. Phrasal Verbs
• One main verb can take many different
prepositions:
Put on
Put up
Put up with
Put out
Put off
Put in
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51. This slideshow is available at
www.slideshare.net/lionnagaraju
www.authorstream.com/tag/lionnagaraju
Send your comments to
lionnagaraju@gmail.com
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