Idioms and Phrases 102

1. past hope: without least hope.

• The condition of the patient has grown so serious and delicate that his recovery is past all hope.

2. past recall: could not be called back.

• The commander said that the troops had marched and advanced and were past recall.

3. past cure: could not be treated and eured.

• Even now, many patients who suffer from T.B., or cholera often remain past cure.

4. past recovery: could not recover.

• The total destruction caused by the Second World War was so immense that it was certainly past recovery.

5. past comprehension: could not be understood.

• Several questions of higher mathematics are past comprehension even of intelligent students.

6. past belief: could not be believed.

• The evidence given by the witness seemed to be false and past belief.

7. past feeling: could not be felt.

• The smell of chloroform turns all pain past feeling. 

8. past shame: a stage without the feeling of shame.

• Kaikeyi had reached a stage past shame when she demanded from king Dashrath crown for Bharata and exile for Rama.

9. past endurance: could not be endured.

• The shock of father’s death and elder brother’s exile became past endurance to Bharata who wept bitterly and fell on the ground.

10. past control: could not be controlled.

• On account of the company of bad boys his son has become past his control.

11. past ten o’clock: more than ten o’clock time.

• It is past ten o’clock, so I must start to the station otherwise I shall not be able to catch the train.