Out of the four alternatives, choose the one which best expresses the meaning of the given idiom/phrase.
A dead letter.
A dead letter.
Important Points to Remember in Chapter -1 - Idioms & Phrases from R. Gupta Combined Defence Services Examination Solutions
Idioms and Phrases
Idioms:
An idiom is an expression common to a particular culture that does not mean what it literally says.
For Example:
| Idiom | Meaning |
| Once in a blue moon | Something that happens rarely |
| Beating around the bush | Avoiding the main topic |
| Cry over spilt milk | Be upset over something that happened a while ago |
| Spill the beans | Disclose a secret |
| Piece of cake | Easy to understand or do |
| Feeling a bit under the weather | Feeling slightly ill |
| Cost an arm and a leg | Be very expensive |
| Let the cat out of the bag | To reveal the secret carelessly or unintentionally |
| Call a spade a spade | To be brutally frank or outspoken |
| Move heaven and earth | Exert all efforts |
Phrases:
A phrase is a small group of words that are a part of a bigger sentence or a clause. Phrases are unlike idioms, they are direct and to the point. They do not have a figurative meaning, the expression means what the words indicate.
Unlike a complete sentence, a phrase does not have a subject and a verb. So it does not express a complete sentence. There are broadly eight types of phrases – noun, verb, infinitive, gerund, appositive, participial, prepositional and absolute phrases.
For Example:
The book was kept in the bag.
The children reached school huffing and puffing after they missed the school bus.
The kind-hearted gentleman helped the elderly person to cross the road.
