CLAT is a very prestigious and popular entrance-exam among the Law Aspirants. It consists of five sections: English Language, Current Affairs, including General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques. Here, the English language section weighs 20% of the CLAT paper marks, which shows its significance.
One needs to have a solid foundation to ace the English section in the CLAT exam, which can only be achieved by consistent practice. To help you with the same, we have curated a list of the most important phrases and idioms that can help you crack the English Section of CLAT 2021.
| Sr. No. | Idiom | Meaning |
| 1 | A blessing in disguise | A good thing that seemed bad at first |
| 2 | The best thing since sliced bread | An outstanding invention |
| 3 | The best of both worlds | An ideal situation |
| 4 | Beat around the bush | Avoid saying what you mean, usually because it is uncomfortable |
| 5 | Good things come to those who wait | Be patient |
| 6 | Actions speak louder than words | Believe what people do and not what they say |
| 7 | Better late than never | Better to arrive late than not to come at all |
| 8 | A picture is worth 1000 words | Better to show than tell |
| 9 | Pull yourself together | Calm down |
| 10 | Comparing apples to oranges | Comparing two things that cannot be compared |
| 11 | Do something at the drop of a hat | Do something without having planned beforehand |
| 12 | Get something out of your system | Do the thing you have been wanting to do so you can move on |
| 13 | On the ball | Doing a good job |
| 14 | Cutting corners | Doing something poorly to save time or money |
| 15 | Take it with a grain of salt | To not take something very seriously |
| 16 | Cut somebody some slack | To not be so critical |
| 17 | Don’t count your chickens before they hatch | Do not count on something good happening until it has happened. |
| 18 | Hang in there | Do not give up |
| 19 | The whole nine yards | Everything, all the way. |
| 20 | Get out of hand | Get out of control |
| 21 | Hit the nail on the head | Get something exactly right |
| 22 | Get a taste of your own medicine | Get treated the way you have been treating others (negative) |
| 23 | Kill two birds with one stone | Get two things done with a single action |
| 24 | Let the cat out of the bag | Give away a secret |
| 25 | Spill the beans | Give away a secret |
| 26 | Hit the sack | Go to sleep |
| 27 | Break a leg | Good luck |
| 28 | Every cloud has a silver lining | Good things come after bad things |
| 29 | He has bigger fish to fry | He has bigger things to take care of than what we are talking about now |
| 30 | There is a method to his madness | He seems crazy, but he is clever |
| 31 | Your guess is as good as mine | I have no idea |
| 32 | Live and learn | I made a mistake |
| 33 | Give someone the cold shoulder | Ignore someone |
| 34 | The devil is in the details | It looks good from a distance, but when you look closer, there are problems |
| 35 | It is easy | It is easy |
| 36 | It’s not rocket science | It’s not complicated |
| 37 | There are other fish in the sea | It’s ok to miss this opportunity. Others will arise. |
| 38 | It’s raining cats and dogs | It’s raining hard |
| 39 | Miss the boat | It’s too late |
| 40 | The ball is in your court | It’s your decision |
| 41 | By the skin of your teeth | Just barely |
| 42 | We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it | Let’s not talk about that problem right now |
| 43 | To make matters worse | Make a problem worse |
| 44 | Break the ice | Make people feel more comfortable |
| 45 | A penny saved is a penny earned | Money you save today you can spend later |
| 46 | That’s the last straw | My patience has run out |
| 47 | There’s no such thing as a free lunch | Nothing is entirely free |
| 48 | On thin ice | On probation. If you make another mistake, there will be trouble. |
| 49 | Birds of a feather flock together | People who are alike are often friends (usually used negatively) |
| 50 | Take a rain check | Postpone a plan |
| 51 | Put something on ice | Put something on hold |
| 52 | Once in a blue moon | Rarely |
| 53 | Slow and steady wins the race | Reliability is more important than speed |
| 54 | Saving for a rainy day | Saving money for later |
| 55 | Under the weather | Sick |
| 56 | Easy does it | Slow down |
| 57 | A dime a dozen | Something common |
| 58 | Go back to the drawing board | Start over |
| 59 | Call it a day | Stop working on something |
| 60 | Throw caution to the wind | Take a risk |
| 61 | Bite off more than you can chew | Take on a project that you cannot finish |
| 62 | Look before you leap | Take only calculated risks |
| 63 | A penny for your thoughts | Tell me what you’re thinking |
| 64 | Make a long story short | Tell something briefly |
| 65 | You can say that again | That’s true, I agree |
| 66 | The elephant in the room | The big issue, the problem people are avoiding |
| 67 | The early bird gets the worm | The first people who arrive will get the best stuff |
| 68 | Speak of the devil | The person we were just talking about showed up! |
| 69 | He’s a chip off the old block | The son is like the father |
| 70 | A perfect storm | the worst possible situation |
| 71 | Don’t cry over spilt milk | There’s no reason to complain about something that can’t be fixed |
| 72 | So far, so good | Things are going well so far |
| 73 | It isn’t over till the fat lady sings | This isn’t over yet |
| 74 | You can’t judge a book by its cover | Don’t judge something by the way it appears |
| 75 | Play devil’s advocate | To argue the opposite, just for the sake of argument |
| 76 | Barking up the wrong tree | To be mistaken, to be looking for solutions in the wrong place |
| 77 | Go on a wild goose chase | To do something pointless |
| 78 | Bite the bullet | To get something over with because it is inevitable |
| 79 | To get bent out of shape | To get upset |
| 80 | Pull someone’s leg | To joke with someone |
| 81 | Add insult to injury | To make a bad situation worse |
| 82 | Let someone off the hook | To not hold someone responsible for something |
| 83 | Rain on someone’s parade | To spoil something |
| 84 | Do unto others as you would have them do unto you | Treat people fairly. Also known as “The Golden Rule” |
| 85 | Give someone the benefit of the doubt | Trust what someone says |
| 86 | Wrap your head around something | Understand something complicated |
| 87 | Costs an arm and a leg | Very expensive |
| 88 | A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush | What you have is worth more than what you might have later |
| 89 | Don’t put all your eggs in one basket | What you’re doing is too risky |
| 90 | Get your act together | Work better or leave |
| 91 | You can’t have your cake and eat it too | You can’t have everything |
| 92 | Time flies when you’re having fun | You don’t notice how long something lasts when it’s fun |
| 93 | No pain, no gain | You have to work for what you want |
| 94 | Ignorance is bliss | You’re better off not knowing |
| 95 | It takes one to know one | You’re just as bad as I am |
| 96 | Don’t give up your day job | You’re not very good at this |
| 97 | There is no such thing as a free lunch | Things that are offered for free always have a hidden cost |
| 98 | It takes two to tango | Some actions need the participation of two persons |
| 99 | Still waters run deep | People who don’t talk a lot sometimes have really interesting thoughts. |
| 100 | A chain is only as strong as its weakest link | If one member of a team doesn’t perform well, the whole team will fail. |
| 101 | The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree | Children are very similar to their parents. |
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