| 1. Turn the tables | (to reverse the condition) A batsman often turns the table on the opposite team by his good batting. |
| 2. Turn up one’s nose | (to take lightly with contempt) Meena has failed twice in her class and yet she turns up her nose at my advice. |
| 3. Turn coat | (one who changes political affiliations) Anti defection bill is aimed at checking the evil practices indulged in by turn coats. |
| 4. Take up the cudgels | (to support or defend) One of my lawyer friends took up the cudgels on my behalf to defend me. |
| 5. Turn the corner | (to pass a critical stage) After long illness at last my friend turned the corner and was completely out of danger. |
| 6. Tall talk | (exaggerate the matters) No one likes to be in the company of Neema as she always indulges in tall talk. |
| 7. Tooth and nail | (violently) All the students revolted tooth and nail against the partiality of the teachers towards some students. |
| 8. Throw in a towel | (to be defeated) When the wrestler could not resist the opponent, he had to throw in a towel. |
| 9. Take with a pinch of salt | (to accept with doubt) Everybody takes Rahul’s problems with a pinch of salt because he is an unreliable person. |
| 10. Turn a hair | (show any reaction) Although his friends provoked him against Rohit, he did not turn a hair and remained calm. |
| 11. Tall stories | (exaggerated stories) Since he retired from Army, he has been famous for his tall stories which regale the villagers. |
| 12. Take the floor | (make a speech) When the Prime Minister took the floor in the cabinet meeting there was pin drop silence. |
| 13. Take lying down | (accept insult) It is impossible for me to take his remarks lying down. It amounts to meek surrender. |
| 14. Turn to account | (turn to advantage) The brave turn their failures to account. |
| 15. Take heart | (feel bold) You must take heart and face life boldly. |
| 16. Take to heart | (feel excessively) He took his failure to heart and lost interest in worldly affairs. |
| 17. Take bull by horns | (to meet the danger boldly) You can succeed in life only if you have courage to take bull by horns. |
| 18. Through and through | (entirely) He was drenched in the rain through and through. |
| 19. To the back bone | (thoroughly) We need leaders who are selfless to the back bone. |
| 20. Take wind out of another’s sails | (to gain advantage by anticipation) Farsighted Generals can win war by taking wind out of enemy’s sails. |
| 21. Throw down the glove/gauntlet | (to challenge) China had thrown down the glove by not recognising Sikkim as part of India. |
| 22. Take leaf out of somebody’s book | (to emulate) The young should take leaf out of great men’s books. |
| 23. Take people by storm | (to surprise unexpectedly) The successful launching of GSLV_l took the nation by storm. |
| 24. Tail order | (something difficult) It is a tall order, to check population explosion in India. |
| 25. Throw a spanner | (to sabotage a plan) He refused to finance my project and so threw a spanner in it. |
| 26. Take to task | (punish, ask for explanation, to scold) I took my younger sister to task for not obeying her elders. |
| 27. Turn a deaf ear | (not to pay attention to, refuse to listen) All the party members turned a deaf ear to their leader. |
| 28. Throw out of gear | (not working properly) Many of our small scale industries have been thrown out of gear because of lack of finance. |
| 29. Take to heels | (to run away) The students making mischief took to their heels on seeing the Principal. |
| 30. Throw cold water | (to discourage) Instead of encouraging me my business partner threw cold water on my plans. |
| 31. Turn over a new leaf | (to be entirely changed) After the sudden death of his father Rajesh turned over a new leaf and took all the responsibilities of the family on himself. |
| 32. Take somebody for a ride | (to deceive a person) The traders take the customers for a ride by selling fake foreign goods to them. |
| 33. Take up arms | (to fight) The tribals of this region have taken up arms against the government. |
| 34. To and fro | (forward and backward) He was strolling in the garden to and fro. |
| 35. Throw up the sponge | (surrender) He never threw up the sponge and at last got over his problems. |