Idioms and phrases part 1

                                            Idioms and phrases

A fair crack of the whip	A period of importance
To hold something in leash	To restrain
To wrangle over an ass’s shadow	To quarrels over trifles
To play fast and loose	To hurt some body’s feelings /to play tricks
All agog	Restless
to give up the ghost	To die
To snap one’s fingers	To be anxious
A pipe dream	An impractical plan
To stand to one’s guns	To perseverance when hardships press
To loose one’s head	To become confused and over exited
By the skin of one’s teeth	Only just
To throw one’s glove	To give a challenge
To be in abeyance	In suspense
A chip off the old block	Characteristics of one’s ancestors
To take people by storm	To captive tem unexpectedly
To throw up the sponge	To surrender or give up the contest
Harp on	To keep on talking
To catch somebody on the hop to	To catch somebody of guard
To spell the beans	To reveal secret information
To bring one’s egg to a bad market	To fail in one’s plan because one goes to the wrong people for help
To get cold feet	To be afraid
To take a leap in the dark	To do a hazardous thing without any idea of the result
To give get/give the bird	To send away
To be at daggers drawn	To be bitter enemy
To save one’s face	to evade disgrace
To spilt hours	To indulge in over-refined arguments
A lady’s man	A lover of woman company
Will o’ the wisp	Anything which eludes or deceives
To get into scrape	To find oneself in an awkward predicament
To fly off the handle	To lose one’s temper
To blaze trail	To initiate work in a movement
To be lost in the cloud	To be perplexed
Hush money	Bribe paid to secure silence
A tall order	A task difficult to perform
To draw bead upon	To take aim at

All and sundry	Everything without distinction
To disabuse one’s mind	To remove a misapprehension
To temp providence	To take reckless risks
To accept the gauntlet	To suffer humiliation
French leave	Absence without permission
To have brush with	To have a slight encounter
To pull one’s socks up	To try hard
Within an ace of	Narrowly
To blow hot and clod	To be inconsistent
To give chapter and verse for a thing	To produce the proof of something
To beggars’ description	Beyond one’s power to describe adequately
To plough the sands	To busy oneself in a way which cannot lead to any profitable result
Foar in the mouth	To be furious
To take umbrage	To be offended
Something up one’s sleeve	A secret plan
Adam’s ale	Water
To draw the long bow	To make and exaggerated statement
To fight to the bitter end	To carry on a contest regardless of consequences
Queer somebody’s pitch	Upset one’s plan
To make the grade	To come out successful
To be up and doing	To be actively engaged
To see eye to eye with	To agree
A jaundiced eye	prejudice
To see red	To find fault with
To rip up with old sores	To revive a quarrel which was almost forgotten
To carry off the bell	To bag the first position
To live in clover	To live in great comfort and luxury
Pin-money	Allowance made to a lady for her expenses
Get down to brass tracks	Begin to talk in plain, straight forward terms
Spick and span	Neat and clean
To take the wind out of another’s sails	To anticipate another and to gain advantage over him
To carry the coal to Newcastle	To do unnecessary things
To turn the cover	To pass the crisis
A sop to Cerberus	Ransom to an enemy
To hit the nail on the head	To guess right