Important Idioms and Phrases for CAT exam

CAT stands for common aptitude test. CAT Idioms is important and useful in logical section. This topic is an integral part of many competitive exams. An aspirants could except few questions from this topic. As Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section contain a total of 26 questions and out of that few questions are from Para Completion . A Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension contains 36% weightage in CAT exams.

Questions from this section are frequently asked as per pervious paper analysis. We can solve Idioms questions easily if candidate pay attention while reading the question. Read the article to know more about some important Idioms and phrases that could appear in exams.

Also Read : The Ultimate Guide to Cat Exam Preparation

What is an idiom?

Idioms are the phrases or groups of words often used in the exchange of a cultural connotation and differ from the literal meaning of the group of words. For example – if one is saying to let the cat out of the bag then it means that the secret is out – while the literal meaning of the phrase is something else.

If clearly understood, then learning idioms and phrases can be fun. Students who are preparing for CAT will find the list very useful for their test as a lot of related questions are asked in the Verbal Ability section of the exam. Hence their is an another way to improve the use of idioms and phrases is to have a proper habit for Reading Comprehension.

Idioms and Phrases:

Every English language word has a history attached to them. English is a language that got its wings from many other languages. For instance like Latin, French, Spanish, Greece, Arabian. One can easily find many words with the origin of these languages attached to them.

In a different discussion, so candidates must see how root words and word maps can help increase their vocabulary. Idioms and phrases kind of questions appear in the CAT exam in the verbal ability section. Although the percentage of idioms and phrases cannot be determined, this type of question also plays a major role in developing critical reasoning of the candidate as it involves understanding the context of the idiom and phrase.

Here are some of the examples of idioms and phrases idioms for the CAT exam candidates to acquaint them with the topic

Hitting below the belt – If you remember the stories from mythology, one of the rules of swordfights was that you were not supposed to strike the opponent below the waist level. If you hit someone below waist level, it was considered unfair. (I hope my grandmother told me the correct version of the stories)

This is what hitting below the belt means – If a remark is below the belt, it is very insulting and unfair. For e.g. You told them I was the one who ordered the wrong-size carpet. That’s hitting me below the belt.

Gift of the gab – A gift is something good to receive. If you have a gift of the gab, it means the ability to speak easily and confidently in a way that makes people want to listen to you and believe you. For e.g. She’s got the gift of the gab – she should work in sales.

Face the music – When someone is criticising you, it is not exactly music to the ears, right? If you do something wrong you may have to accept the unpleasant results of one’s actions or in other words face the music. For e.g. After being caught on camera taking a bribe, the minister had to face the music. The party has expelled him and an enquiry has been commissioned.

Pot Luck dinner – Pot luck dinner is a dinner party in which all guests bring food and is shared among all other members of the party. We can connect this with kitty parties in a locality.

Carrot and Stick- “Carrot and stick” refer to the approach adopted by institutions that measure the results of someone by punishing someone for failure and rewards if successful.

Some More Important Idioms.

At loggerheads – It means to strongly disagree with someone. If two people or groups are at loggerheads, they disagree strongly about something For e.g. They’re constantly at loggerheads with the farmers’ union.

Make hay while the sun shines – Hay is dried grass. To dry grass you keep it under the sun. Would you keep the grass for drying in the afternoon or at night? You do it at afternoon because you want to make the best use of the sunlight when it is the hottest and use it to dry your grass. Or in other words – If you have an opportunity to do something, do it before the opportunity expires.

Throw in the towel – In boxing, to signal that a fighter can no longer continue fighting, a towel is thrown into the area where the fight takes place to stop the fight. So if someone wants to signal that they’re going to quit; you could say they are going to throw in the towel.

For example – The union was forced to throw in the towel and settle their bitter dispute with the company.

Throw out the baby with the bath water – You take the baby for a bath and after it’s done throw away the bath water. But do you throw away the baby as well? Silly though, I know. You wouldn’t want to lose something good when you remove the bad. But if you discard something valuable along with something not wanted, you throw out the baby with the bath water. For e.g. You can’t close the airport because one airline has problems – that’s just throwing out the baby with the bath water.

Video’s that could help aspirant.

Test Yourself

For example 1. Complete the table:

Answer Key

a. let out a secret

b. Keep an eye out on that job.

c. Stop beating around the bush and come to the point.

d. think on your feet

e. Doing the job over several years, I know all tricks of the trade.

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