Get into hot water  When you get into hot water you get into trouble. Like Aruna, who got into hot water for trying to cheat during the exams. “I would have stood by you,” said her friend Ekta, “but I would have also got into...

Give someone a piece of one’s mind  Fortunately, this term doesn’t have any literal meaning! Figuratively, however, it means to rebuke, scold or reproach someone.  Rishi had been breaking all the rules of the school. Nothing his teachers said to him seemed to have any...

Good show  “Good show!” the headmistress told the staff members of the school, after the School Day was a big success. Coming from her, this was praise indeed, for she was not usually generous with her compliments.  `Good show!’ is the British way of saying...

Give short shrift  To give short shrift is to treat someone in an unfriendly or inconsiderate way.  When Mrs Das left Delhi, no one wrote to her. She, however, missed her friends terribly and could not understand why she was being given such short shrift....

A grass window  “We must invite Mrs Mehra to our party,” said Mrs Kapoor to her husband. “She’s a grass window, and must be lonely.”  “What’s that?” asked Mr Kapoor. His knowledge of English idioms didn’t stretch to this one.  “A grass window,” explained his...

Gut feelings A gut feeling is one that comes from one’s innermost being.  “I have a gut feeling that something is wrong,” said Mrs Das, when her husband had not returned home till midnight. “He just got his driver’s licence two weeks ago!” 

Flying Blind   This expression is meant to describe a person who is uncertain, confused or wrong about something. In other words, he is like a bird who doesn’t know in which direction he is flying.  “Your answers,” said Rohit’s teacher to him, “show that...

Fish out of water Imagine that you were a fish and out of water. How would you feel?  Just like Mrs Verma who hadn’t studied past school, and had to attend a social gathering where she met some very learned and erudite professors. She felt...

Free-loader If you’re a free-loader you eat and drink at another’s expense — like a sponge which absorbs liquid.  “I don’t want to have anything to do with Sachin. He’s a free-loader, and how long can I continue to feed him?”