Idioms and Phrases — SSC MTS Study Notes

Overview

Idioms and phrases form a crucial component of the English Language section in SSC MTS Paper 1, typically contributing 2–3 questions worth 2–3 marks. An idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be understood by interpreting its individual words literally. For example, "break the ice" doesn't mean physically breaking ice—it means to initiate conversation in an awkward situation.

SSC MTS questions present an idiom or phrase and ask you to identify its correct meaning from four options. The key challenge is that idioms often sound confusing when taken literally, and the exam includes attractive wrong options that play on literal interpretations. Success requires memorizing common idioms and understanding contextual usage rather than word-by-word translation.

This topic rewards consistent vocabulary building. Students who maintain an idiom diary and practice 10–15 idioms daily for two months typically score full marks in this section. The idioms tested are standard English expressions frequently used in newspapers, formal writing, and everyday conversation—making this a practical skill beyond exam preparation.

Key Concepts

• **Fixed expressions**: Idioms are set phrases where you cannot substitute words. "A blessing in disguise" works; "A blessing in hiding" doesn't, even though the words seem similar.

• **Non-literal meaning**: The meaning of an idiom differs from the literal meaning of its words. "Kick the bucket" means "to die," not literally kicking any bucket.

• **Cultural context**: Many idioms originate from historical events, folklore, or occupational jargon. Understanding the origin helps memory (e.g., "bite the bullet" comes from soldiers biting bullets during surgery without anesthesia).

• **Contextual usage**: SSC questions often provide a sentence with the idiom used in context. The surrounding words give clues to the correct meaning.

• **Common themes**: Idioms cluster around universal experiences—success/failure, honesty/deception, anger/calmness, beginnings/endings, difficulty/ease.

• **Phrase variants**: Some idioms have slight variations ("at the drop of a hat" vs. "at the drop of a dime"), but the core meaning remains consistent.

• **Distractor patterns**: Wrong options typically include literal interpretations, related but incorrect meanings, or idioms that sound similar but mean something else.

Formulas / Key Facts

**50 High-Frequency SSC MTS Idioms:**

1. **A blessing in disguise** — Something good that initially seemed bad 2. **Beat around the bush** — Avoid saying something directly 3. **Bite the bullet** — Face a difficult situation with courage 4. **Break the ice** — Initiate conversation in an awkward situation 5. **Burn the midnight oil** — Work late into the night 6. **Call it a day** — Stop working for the day 7. **Cost an arm and a leg** — Very expensive 8. **Cut corners** — Do something cheaply or poorly 9. **Get out of hand** — Become uncontrollable 10. **Give someone the cold shoulder** — Ignore someone deliberately 11. **Hit the nail on the head** — Say exactly the right thing 12. **In hot water** — In serious trouble 13. **Jump on the bandwagon** — Join a popular trend 14. **Keep an eye on** — Watch carefully 15. **Let the cat out of the bag** — Reveal a secret accidentally 16. **Once in a blue moon** — Very rarely 17. **Piece of cake** — Very easy 18. **Pull someone's leg** — Joke with someone 19. **Raining cats and dogs** — Raining very heavily 20. **Spill the beans** — Reveal a secret 21. **Under the weather** — Feeling sick 22. **A dime a dozen** — Very common, not valuable 23. **Back to the drawing board** — Start over after failure 24. **Barking up the wrong tree** — Pursuing a mistaken course 25. **Break a leg** — Good luck (theatrical idiom) 26. **Cry over spilt milk** — Worry about the past needlessly 27. **Devil's advocate** — Argue the opposite viewpoint 28. **Get the ball rolling** — Start something 29. **Go the extra mile** — Make extra effort 30. **Hit the sack** — Go to bed 31. **Kill two birds with one stone** — Accomplish two things at once 32. **Let sleeping dogs lie** — Avoid interfering in a situation 33. **Miss the boat** — Miss an opportunity 34. **On cloud nine** — Extremely happy 35. **Play it by ear** — Improvise, decide as you go 36. **The ball is in your court** — It's your decision/turn 37. **Through thick and thin** — In good and bad times 38. **To make matters worse** — To worsen a bad situation 39. **Up in the arms** — Very angry 40. **Weather the storm** — Survive a difficult period 41. **When pigs fly** — Something impossible 42. **A penny for your thoughts** — Asking what someone is thinking 43. **Actions speak louder than words** — What you do matters more than what you say 44. **Add insult to injury** — Make a bad situation worse 45. **At the drop of a hat** — Immediately, without hesitation 46. **Burn bridges** — Damage relationships irreparably 47. **Cross that bridge when you come to it** — Deal with problems when they arise 48. **Every cloud has a silver lining** — There's something good in every bad situation 49. **Get a taste of your own medicine** — Experience what you've done to others 50. **Keep your chin up** — Stay positive

Worked Examples

**Example 1:** Identify the meaning of "turn over a new leaf"

*Question:* After his suspension, Ramesh decided to turn over a new leaf.

*Options:* (a) Change reading habits (b) Start behaving better (c) Switch jobs (d) Move to a new place

*Solution:* "Turn over a new leaf" means to start fresh with improved behavior or a reformed attitude. The phrase comes from turning a page in a book to begin a new chapter. Option (b) is correct. Option (a) is a literal distractor playing on "leaf" and reading. Options (c) and (d) suggest change but not the specific behavioral improvement the idiom implies.

**Example 2:** Choose the correct idiom for the given meaning

*Question:* Which idiom means "to reveal a secret unintentionally"?

*Options:* (a) Spill the beans (b) Let the cat out of the bag (c) Both (a) and (b) (d) Neither (a) nor (b)

*Solution:* Both "spill the beans" and "let the cat out of the bag" mean to reveal a secret, though "let the cat out of the bag" emphasizes accidental revelation more strongly. In SSC exams, if both fit the meaning equally, option (c) is correct. However, check if the question specifies "unintentionally"—then (b) is more precise. For general "reveal a secret," both work, so (c) is the answer.

**Example 3:** Contextual usage

*Question:* The manager's plan to reduce costs by firing skilled workers was clearly _______.

*Options:* (a) hitting the nail on the head (b) barking up the wrong tree (c) the best of both worlds (d) a blessing in disguise

*Solution:* The context suggests the plan was misguided. "Barking up the wrong tree" means pursuing a mistaken approach. Option (b) is correct. Option (a) means exactly right (opposite meaning). Option (c) means having two advantages simultaneously. Option (d) means something appearing bad but actually good—not indicated by "clearly" suggesting obvious wrongness.

Common Mistakes

**Literal interpretation trap**: Students choose "raining cats and dogs" to mean actual animals falling, not heavy rainfall. → Always ignore literal word meanings; focus on the idiomatic meaning learned through practice.

**Similar-sounding confusion**: Mixing "piece of cake" (easy) with "take the cake" (to be the most remarkable). → Create mental association sentences: "This piece of cake is so easy to eat" helps remember the correct meaning.

**Incomplete memorization**: Remembering only part of an idiom, like "bite the..." and guessing the wrong completion. → Always learn complete phrases; practice writing full idioms, not just keywords.

**Context neglect**: Ignoring the sentence context and choosing based solely on memorized meaning without checking if it fits. → Read the full sentence twice; eliminate options that create grammatically or logically awkward sentences.

**Synonym traps**: Choosing an option that's close but not quite right, like selecting "postpone" for "call it a day" instead of "stop working." → The correct answer matches both the meaning and the usage context precisely; "close enough" doesn't earn marks.

Quick Reference

• Memorize 10–15 new idioms daily; review previous days' idioms each morning for retention • Create context sentences for each idiom: "He burns the midnight oil = He studies late at night" • Group idioms by theme (time, emotions, difficulty) for easier recall during exams • When unsure, eliminate literal interpretations first, then choose the most contextually appropriate option • Common SSC idioms repeat across years—prioritize frequently appearing phrases over rare ones • Practice identifying idioms in newspapers and magazines to internalize natural usage patterns