Idioms and Phrases 39

1. gain ground: succeed slowly but steadily.

• It is only after the economic stability that the work of controlling the prices is gaining grounds.

2. gathered to one’s father: to be dead.

• After advising his sons to live unitedly the old man was gathered to his fathers.

3. get clear of: become free from.

• After a long fight he is getting clear of his ancestral debt.

4. get drunk: become intoxicated.

• It was clear from his irrelevant talk that he had got drunk.

5. get into hot water: fall into difficulty.

• Rana Pratap got into hot water by picking up a quarrel against Akbar.

6. get into a mess: drift into a difficulty.

• After the death of Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri national affairs got into a mess.

7. get wind of: hear about a rumor.

• I have got wind of his promotion from a confidential source.

8. gild the pill: cover sweetly a bitter thing.

• Gandhiji gilded the pill of his demand of full freedom to India with his weapon of non-violence.

9. gird up the loins: start work vigorously.

• It was only Columbus’s courage and fearlessness that he girded up the loins when he actually left Portugal for the discovery of India with his rebellious crew and three ordinary boats.

10. give the devil his due: give return to a badman’s goodness.

• Some good persons believe in the principle of ‘giving the devil his due’. 

11. give a person to understand: make one understand.

• I gave him to understand that he could rely upon my assistance.

12. give oneself trouble about: take pains.

• I do not mind giving myself trouble about to help the poor and the needy.

13. give one the cold shoulder: treat one coldly.

• The rich should not give to the poor a cold shoulder.

14. give chase: run after.

• The police gave chase to the fleeing dacoits.

15. give way: fail.

• The bridge is so old that it can give way at any time.

16. give one a slip: avoid one.

• We should not give our friends a slip.

17. give a thing a wide berth: keep at a safe distance.

• Bad boys should be given a wide berth.

18. give chapter and verse for a thing: extend proof.

• You must give chapter and verse to your statement to show its authenticity.

19. give countenance: support.

• Give countenance to your saying by means of an experiment.

20. give currency: make current, or public.

• Gandhiji gave currency to his principle of truth and non-violence.

21. give place to: replace.

• Gas stove has given place to ordinary stove.

22. give a false colouring: misrepresent.

• Do not give a false colouring to his speech.

23. give loose rein: make excessively free.

• Wise parents do not give loose rein to their sons.

24. give rise: cause.

• High temperature has given rise to the state of unconsciousness.

25. give vent: express.

• Wordsworth gave vent to his ideas in his poetry of Nature.

26. give tone: encourage.

• Babar’s encouraging words gave tone to his soldiers.

27. give dignity: magnify significance.

• The high-class patriotism of Rana Pratap gives dignity to his character.

28. give quarter to: show sympathy.

• The rich should give quarter to the poor.

29. go a long way: go too far.

• The employee should not go a long way in criticising their employer.

30. go by the board: come to nothing.

• His defeat in the election shows that all his efforts have gone by the board.

31. go hot and cold: bear much shame.

• She went hot and cold when her name was related with the immoral act.

32. go hand in hand: agree cordially.

• Mahatma Gandhi’s love and non-violence go hand in hand.

33. go a long way: go far

• By making rural uplift the country’s economy can go a long way.

34. go to law: seek legal redress.

• Every man is free to go to law if his rights are denied.

35. go hard with: press heavily upon.

• Poverty goes hard with the Indian farmers.

36. go well with: agree with.

• Good persons can go well with one another.

37. go through fire and water: suffer heavily.

• The people of India are so poor that they go through fire and water in their lives.

38. go to the wall: fail.

• All has efforts to win the election have gone to the wall.

39. go to rack and rein: become destroyed.

• On account of excessive rain this year the crops went to rack and ruin.

40. grease the palm: bribe.

• These days, no work is easy without greasing the palm.

41. grind one’s teeth: becomes very angry.

• Knowing of his wife immoral life he ground his teeth.