AFCAT exam is the best opportunity for the dedicated IAF aspirant that opens the gates for the candidates to join the IAF in specific fields. The AFCAT exam consists of 100 questions having 4 sections – General Ability, Mathematics, English, and reasoning. All the sections have the questions of different types to check the basic mental ability of the aspirants and selecting the suitable candidates for the next level of the selection procedure.
Talking about English section, the section contains comprehension, synonyms, antonyms etc. From last 2 years, the section contains some question from idioms and phrases, which require precise knowledge. To help the candidates, below are the idioms and phrases asked in the AFCAT exams to get a hint of them.
100 Idioms And Phrases For AFCAT 2 2017
In a jiffy – Very soon or suddenly
Up to the hilt – Completely fully or entirely
Man of letters – A literary person
Sangfroid – The ability to remain calm in difficult situations
A curtain lecture – A private scolding of a husband by his wife
Square peg in round holes – People in the wrong jobs or places
In weal and woe – In both good and bad times
Globetrotters – Travel around the world
Tickled pink – Greatly pleased
Split one’s side – To laugh a lot
Building castles in the air – Making impossible plans
At the drop of the hat – Willingly and immediately
Airy – fairy – Not practical
Be given the axe – To lose job
To go like a bomb – To move fast
Bolt from the blue – Unexpected
Able to use both hands alike – Ambidextrous
A written account of the life of an individual – Autobiography
The identification of a disease by its symptoms – Diagnosis
Prolongs inability to sleep – Insomnia
A style in which a writer makes a display of his knowledge – Pedantic
All agog – Full of interest and excitement
To the manner born – Place of one’s birth
Lose one’s marbles – Lose something dear to you
Bolt from the blues – Complete surprise
Be like the bear with the sore head – Powerful and Arrogant
A snake in the grass – Hidden enemy
Rain cats and dogs – Rain heavily
A man of straw – Mean person
To break the back of – To make anything weaker
A mare’s nest – False invention
Black and blue – To beat mercilessly
Dime a dozen – Very simple
Jumped out of my skin – Surprised
Turn up one’s nose – To reject
To pull off pieces – To rebuke/scold
Faux pass – Mistake
A gala day – A day of happiness
Summer friends – Friend of good days
Elbow room – To give freedom
To make a fortune – To be rich
From pillar to post – To make efforts
Jack of all trades – To have knowledge of all areas/ subjects
Fire and fury – With full enthusiasm
Rat race – Boring task
Hang in balance – Undecidable situation
Set teeth on edge – To irritate someone
Out and out – Totally
In a jiffy – Suddenly
All geek and Latin – Hard to understand
Narrow circumstances – Days of poverty
Break up – Terminate or stop
Call off – Suspend
Call up – To contact
Look on – To see like a spectator
Pull down – To demolish any structure
See off – To escort
Run into – Come across
Stand by – To support
Take after – Similar or resembling
Talk over – To discuss
Round up – To arrest
Makeover – Convert
Outset – Beginning
Back stair influence – By unfair means
Over head and years – Excessively or heavily
Odds and ends – Scattered things
Once cup of tea – Thing of one’s liking
Live in fool’s paradise – In a false hope
Mend one’s fence – To bring peace
Pay off old scores – Taking revenge
Pell Mell – Big confusion
Queer fish – Strange person
Rank and file – Common man
Red herring – To distract
Show white feather – Showing cowardice
Shot in the arm – To encourage
Up and doing – To be active
Writing on the wall – Warning
Wear and tear – Damage caused by using something
Throw cold water – Discourage
Upkeep – Maintenance
In a tighter corner – Difficult situation
Off and on – Occasionally
Fits and starts – Irregular
Fall through – To fail
Hold up – Delay
At sea – In a loss
Stick to guns – Stay on own opinion
Wind up – To complete or to bring to the end
Send for – Summon
Put off – To postpone
Look into – To investigate
Carry by – To lose control
Spill the beans –To give information
Wary face – Disappointed look
Wee hours – Dawn hours
Take to heels – To run away
Lion’s share – A large part or portion
At stone’s throw – Very close
Conclusion – Following the pattern of last 3-4 AFCAT exams, a significant count of idioms and phrases have been asked in the English section to increase the level of the exam. The idioms and phrases are very important and the candidates must commemorate them to get a good score. The above idioms and phrases are very important and will help the aspirants in preparing for this part of the exam.
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