MOCK TEST – Special Idioms/Phrases (Previous Years) Questions Set 23 – Useful For SSC CGL/ SSC CHSL/ SSC MTS, etc

Sol. Spill your guts = to tell someone all about yourself, especially your problems; reveal copious information to someone in an uninhibited way

Ex- Why do people take part in these shows and spill their guts on camera in front of a studio audience?

Sol. Lay off = to end someone’s employment, especially temporarily, because there is not enough work for them

Ex- They’ve had to cut back production and lay off workers.

Sol. Blow hot and cold = to keep changing your attitude towards someone or something; alternate inconsistently between two moods, attitudes, or courses of action

Ex- I can't tell what he wants - he keeps blowing hot and cold.

Sol. Shades of grey = the fact of it not being clear in a situation what is right and wrong

Ex- The film presents a straightforward choice between good and evil, with no shades of grey.

Sol. Neither fish nor fowl = neither one thing nor another; like one thing in some ways and like another thing in other ways

Ex- We were caught between two generations, neither fish nor fowl.

Sol. Joker in the pack = something or someone whose effect on future events cannot be known

Ex- It was I, the unexpected tenant of the empty cottage, who was the joker in the pack.

Sol. Be in the doldrums = a). unsuccessful or showing no activity or development

b). sad and with no energy or enthusiasm

ex- Her career was in the doldrums during those years.

Sol. Be in the doghouse = to be in a situation in which someone is annoyed with you because of something you have done

Ex- I'm in the doghouse for forgetting Valentine's Day.

Sol. Be in the foreground = to be regarded as important and receive a lot of attention

Ex- Education has been very much in the foreground recently.

Sol. Be in the same ballpark = to be of a similar amount or cost

Ex- Jamie makes over two hundred thousand dollars and I don't know how much Tom makes, but I guess it's in the same ballpark.