SSC CGL Preparation – Day 5

English: Idioms and Phrases

🔶 What Are Idioms and Phrases?

• Idiom: A group of words whose meaning is different from the literal meaning of the individual words.
• Phrase: A small group of words that adds meaning to a sentence but doesn’t contain a subject-verb pair.

📌 Example (Idiom): “Break the ice” → to initiate conversation in a social setting.

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🔶 Importance in SSC CGL

• Idioms and phrases frequently appear in:
  • Fill in the blanks
  • Cloze test
  • Sentence improvement
  • Direct questions (choose the correct meaning)

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🔶 Types of Idioms Commonly Asked

1. Verb-Based Idioms
   • e.g., Pull someone’s leg, Beat around the bush
2. Prepositional Idioms
   • e.g., In a nutshell, At loggerheads
3. Animal Idioms
   • e.g., Crocodile tears, Let the cat out of the bag
4. Color Idioms
   • e.g., Green with envy, In the red
5. Body Part Idioms
   • e.g., A slap on the wrist, Cost an arm and a leg

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🔶 10 Must-Know Idioms for SSC CGL

Idiom	Meaning
A blessing in disguise	A good thing that seemed bad at first
Bite the bullet	Accept something difficult or unpleasant
Break the ice	To initiate a conversation
Call it a day	Stop working for the day
Cut corners	Do something badly to save time/money
Hit the sack	Go to sleep
Kill two birds with one stone	Accomplish two things at once
Let the cat out of the bag	Reveal a secret
Once in a blue moon	Very rarely
Under the weather	Feeling sick

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🔶 How to Master Idioms and Phrases

1. Group Learning – Learn idioms in categories (e.g., idioms with “hand” or “color idioms”).
2. Usage Practice – Write sentences using idioms.
3. Mock Tests – Practice with questions regularly.
4. Flashcards – Use apps or make your own cards for daily revision.

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🔶 Common SSC CGL Questions Based on Idioms

• He was under the weather last week.
  → Meaning: Not well / Sick
• She decided to call it a day after working continuously for 12 hours.
  → Meaning: Stop working

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🔶 Idioms vs Phrases – A Quick Difference

Feature	Idiom	Phrase
Meaning	Figurative	Literal or dependent on context
Example	“Spill the beans” = Reveal secret	“On time” = Punctually
SSC Relevance	High	Moderate

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🔶 Tips to Crack Idiom Questions in SSC CGL

1. Don’t guess the meaning literally.
2. Eliminate odd options – idioms are usually widely known.
3. Keep a personal idiom notebook.
4. Learn 5 idioms daily with example sentences.