Idioms and Phrases With Meanings and Examples for Class 7 CBSE Exercises

Idioms Meaning: An idiom is a word or phrase which means something different from its literal meaning. Some common idioms and their meanings are given below.

Idioms are words, phrases, or expressions that are either grammatically unusual. Example: “Long time, no seel”, or their meaning cannot be taken literally. Example: “It’s raining cats and dogs!” This expression does not mean that cats and dogs are falling from the sky, but it is a metaphorical expression (word picture) that means that it is raining very heavily.

What are idioms?
An Idiom (also called idiomatic expression) is an expression, word, or phrase that don’t mean exactly what the words say. They have, however, hidden meanings.

Examples

• “Kick the bucket”
• “Spill the beans”

The meaning of these expressions is different from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which they are made. Their meanings are however used figuratively. They mean respectively:

• “to die”
• “to tell people secret information”

Idioms With Meanings And Sentences For Class 7 CBSE

1.	Once in a blue moon:
	Meaning: Something that happens very rarely.
	Sentence: The earthquakes hit once in a blue moon in this part of the earth.
2.	Beating around the bush:
	Meaning: Avoiding the main topic
	Sentence: The President was beating around the bush when the citizens demanded a reason for the forgery of legal documents.
3.	The chip on your shoulder:
	Meaning: When someone is upset about something that happened a while ago
	Sentence: He has a chip on his shoulder for being abandoned by his parents in his childhood.
4.	Cry over spilled milk:
	Meaning: Complaining about a loss or failure from the past
	Sentence: He was mad because he couldn’t get admission due to a silly mistake. But, then he realised there was no use crying over spilt milk and decided to become more careful.
5.	Spill the beans
	Meaning: To disclose a secret
	Sentence: The little one spilled the beAnswer: about the surprise vacation we had planned.
6.	Piece of cake:
	Meaning: Something that is easy to understand or do
	Sentence: I thought that the problem would be tough, but it turned out to be a piece of cake!
7.	Blessing in disguise:
	Meaning: Something good and useful that did not initially seem that way
	Sentence: His accident was a blessing in disguise because it gave him a lot of time to think about his life.
8.	Come hell or high water:
	Meaning: Possible obstacles in your path (will not stop you)
	Sentence: I have decided that come hell or high water I will become an engineer.
9.	Taste of your own medicine:
	Meaning: When someone receives the same treatment, usually negative, that he/ she gives to others
	Sentence: She is always taunting others and hurting their sentiments. I just wish someone would give her a taste of her own medicine.
10.	Golden handshake:
	Meaning:  A big sum of money given to a person when he/she leaves a company or retires
	Sentence: The management of the company wanted to decrease their workforce. They offered a golden handshake to their aged employees.
11.	Mean business:
	Meaning:  Being serious/dedicated
	Sentence: The border is sealed by troops who mean business.
12.	Apple of one’s eye:
	Meaning:  Being cherished more than others are
	Sentence: Sameer is adored by his teacher for his childlike nature. He is the apple of her eye.
13.	The best of both worlds:
	Meaning:  The benefits of widely differing situations, enjoyed at the same time.
	Sentence: I had the best of both worlds since I worked as an ordinary member of the team but got to learn from the leaders.
14.	Feeling a bit under the weather:
	Meaning:  Feeling slightly ill
	Sentence: I may not be able to jog today, as I am feeling a bit under the weather.
15.	Icing on the cake:
	Meaning:  Something that turns good into great
	Sentence: India’s victory over England on India’s Independence Day was like icing on the cake.
16.	Cost an arm and a leg:
	Meaning:  Be very expensive
	Sentence: His laziness made him miss his flight to Chandigarh. The next ticket cost him an arm and a leg.
17.	Jump the bandwagon:
	Meaning:  To join a popular activity or trend
	Sentence: When he was detected with diabetes, he quickly jumped on the bandwagon and joined the yoga classes.
18.	Ball is in your court:
	Meaning:  When it is up to you to make the next decision or step.
	Sentence: Now the ball is in your court; decide whether you want to reply or not.
19.	Bite off more than you can chew:
	Meaning:  To take up a task which you may not be able to accomplish due to lack of ability.
	Sentence: I bit off more than I could chew when I decided to take up the 300 page research project.
20.	Don’t judge a book by its cover:
	Meaning:  One should not judge something primarily on appearance.
	Sentence: The house looked impressive in the advertisement. Still I made a trip to 1 the house to check everything. It is wise not to judge a book by its cover.
21.	Hear it on grapevine:
	Meaning:  To hear rumours about something or someone
	Sentence:I heard it on grapevine that he had stiffed an old man asking for his pension.
22.	It takes two to tango:
	Meaning:  Actions or communications need more than one person
	Sentence: We really need to talk about the problems and adjust, after all it takes two to tango.
23.	Last straw:
	Meaning:  The final problem in a series of problems
	Sentence: My body was already in bad shape. The accident was the last straw. I am now on a complete bed rest.
24.	To be in the doldrums:
	Meaning:  To be in low spirits
	Sentence: Sahil was in the doldrums after he was insulted by the boss in front of his colleagues.
25.	To sit on the fence:
	Meaning:  To remain neutral
	Sentence: Since I wasn’t aware of the details, I decided to sit on the fence during the argument between my cousins.
26.	Break the ice:
	Meaning:  To initiate a social conversation or interaction
	Sentence: At the start of the lecture, the new professor tried to break the ice by telling a joke.
27.	A bird’s eye view:
	Meaning:  A view from a very high place that allows you to see a very large area.
	Sentence: The Singapore Big Wheel offers a bird’s eye view of the city.
28.	A litmus test:
	Meaning:  A method that helps to know if something is correct
	Sentence: Taking up the job served as a litmus test for me to know how good I was at applying my knowledge.
29.	At the drop of a hat:
	Meaning:  Willingness to do something instantly
	Sentence: She expects me to make dinner at the drop of a hat even if I am very busy with office work.
30.	Afraid of one’s own shadow:
	Meaning:  To become easily frightened
	Sentence: Scotty my dog, was afraid of his own shadow when he was a pup, but now he barks on everyone and looks at himself proudly.
31.	A house of cards:
	Meaning:  A poor plan
	Sentence: Rita has made a house of cards before her final examinations.
32.	Black and blue:
	Meaning:  Full of bruises
	Sentence: The young lad was all black and blue after a tiff with a raging senior.
33.	Be on cloud nine:
	Meaning:  Be very happy
	Sentence: I will be on cloud nine when my first article gets published.
34.	Bone of contention:
	Meaning:  A subject or issue over which there is continuing disagreement
	Sentence: The examination system has long been a serious bone of contention in the HRD Ministry.
35.	Eat humble pie:
	Meaning:  To apologise humbly
	Sentence: He will have to eat humble pie for the disrespect shown to the Captain.
36.	Fool’s paradise:
	Meaning:  False sense of happiness or success
	Sentence: They were living in a fool’s paradise, refusing to accept that they were facing poverty.
37.	Give cold shoulder:
	Meaning:  To ignore
	Sentence: I sent her a message to apologise for my misbehavior, but she gave me the cold shoulder.
38.	Get a raw deal:
	Meaning:  To not be treated as well as other people
	Sentence: The fact is that students in government schools get a raw deal.
39.	Hit the nail on the head:
	Meaning:  To do the correct thing
	Sentence: She hit the nail on the head when she laid out a list of justifiable grievances she had with the company.
40.	Hand to mouth:
	Meaning:  Live on only basic necessities
	Sentence: The severe drought led the farmers to live hand to mouth.
41.	Hit the bull’s eye:
	Meaning:  To be exactly right about something or achieve the best result possible.
	Sentence: The detective hit the bull’s eye when he figured out that nobody but the doctor could have had access to the poison.
42.	Let the cat out of the bag:
	Meaning:  To reveal the secret carelessly or by mistake
	Sentence: Now that she had let the cat out of the bag, she had no option but to confess.
43.	Make a face:
	Meaning:  To show dislike or disappointment through facial expressions
	Sentence: Ditya made a face at the sight of bitter gourd in her food.
44.	Open Pandora’s Box:
	Meaning:  To find a source of great troubles and problems
	Sentence: Finding the wallet on the road opened up a Pandora’s box. I was arrested for stealing when I went to report it at the police station.
45.	It’s Greek to me:
	Meaning:  Something that is not understandable
	Sentence: I failed my commerce test; it was all Greek to me!
46.	Don’t put all your eggs in one basket:
	Meaning:  Do not put all your resources in one basket.
	Sentence: The boy put all his money into his dream startup that eventually failed. I had told him not to put all his eggs in one basket.
47.	To call a spade a spade:
	Meaning:  To be brutally frank, outspoken, blunt in speech.
	Sentence: Let’s call a spade a spade popular he may be, but that man is a liar.
48.	To be a Good Samaritan:
	Meaning:  To be kind and compassionate to someone in distress
	Sentence: I was sure I would be stuck on the highway till the morning, but a good Samaritan offered me a ride home.
49.	To put in a nutshell:
	Meaning: To say in a few words or to make something concise
	Sentence: The Textbook Development Committee decided to put the 30 pages chapter, in a nutshell, to help save time for students during revision.
50.	To pour oil on troubled waters:
	Meaning: To make peace
	Sentence: I am always stuck pouring oil on troubled waters when my mother and wife start their bickering.
51.	To move heaven and earth:
	Meaning: To exert all efforts
	Sentence: He moved heaven and earth to ensure that his family was taken care of in the foreign land in his absence.

Idioms Exercises for Class 7 CBSE

A. Circle the idioms in the following sentences.

1. Sharon had butterflies in her stomach before the championship game.
2. My dad blew his stack when he saw my poor grades on my report card.
3. Jyoti was a bundle of nerves before getting her driving test results.
4. Last night, it was raining cats and dogs.
5. My parents rolled out the red carpet for our visiting relatives.
6. When I tried to get into the good school, the process involved a lot of red tape.
7. The athlete is as fit as a fiddle.
8. I am having a field day with my final exam.
9. The dog days of summer are starting to wear on me.
10. He was being a good Samaritan because he helped me out.

B. Read the idioms and write their meaning and sentences.

1. Fool’s Paradise _____________________
2. Hand to mouth _____________________
3. Be on cloud nine: _____________________
4. Once in a blue moon _____________________
5. Eat Humble Pie: _____________________