Idioms & Phrases — Complete BCS Guide

Concept

Idioms are fixed expressions whose meaning cannot be understood from the individual words. "A white elephant" does not mean a white-colored elephant — it means a costly but useless possession. BCS exams test idioms in two ways: (1) given an idiom, choose its meaning, or (2) given a meaning, identify the correct idiom. The challenge is that idioms must be memorized — there is no grammar rule to derive their meaning. However, grouping them by theme makes memorization much easier.

Key Lists / Tables

40+ BCS Most Tested Idioms & Phrases

Idiom/Phrase	Meaning
A bed of roses	A comfortable/easy life
A bolt from the blue	A sudden unexpected event
A white elephant	A costly but useless possession
At daggers drawn	In bitter enmity
At sixes and sevens	In disorder/confusion
At the eleventh hour	At the very last moment
Bad blood	Enmity/ill feeling between people
Beat about the bush	Avoid talking about the main topic
Between the devil and the deep sea	Between two equal dangers
Black sheep	A disgraceful member of a group
Blue blood	Of noble/aristocratic birth
Bone of contention	The main cause of a quarrel
Bring to light	Reveal something hidden
By and large	Mostly/on the whole
Carry the day	Win/be victorious
Cry over spilt milk	Regret something that cannot be undone
Dead letter	A law or rule no longer enforced
End in smoke	Come to nothing/fail completely
Fits and starts	Irregularly/not continuously
Gift of the gab	Natural talent for speaking
Green-eyed monster	Jealousy
Hand to mouth	Living with barely enough money
In cold blood	Deliberately and without emotion
Ins and outs	Full details of something
Keep an eye on	Watch carefully
Lion's share	The largest portion
Maiden speech	The first speech (especially in Parliament)
Null and void	Having no legal force/invalid
Once in a blue moon	Very rarely
Red tape	Excessive bureaucracy/official formalities
Swan song	The last work or performance before retirement/death
The bottom line	The final result/most important point
Tooth and nail	With all one's effort and energy
Wild goose chase	A hopeless/useless pursuit
With flying colors	With great success
Apple of discord	A subject of dispute
Crocodile tears	False/insincere tears
French leave	Absence without permission
Pandora's box	A source of many unforeseen troubles
Pyrrhic victory	A victory won at too great a cost
Achilles' heel	A weak point in spite of overall strength
Olive branch	A peace offering

BCS Shortcuts (Mnemonics & Grouping Tricks)

Group by Color:

• Blue: Blue blood (noble), Once in a blue moon (rarely), A bolt from the blue (unexpected)
• Green: Green-eyed monster (jealousy)
• Red: Red tape (bureaucracy), Red-letter day (important day)
• White: A white elephant (costly useless thing), White-collar (office worker)
• Black: Black sheep (disgraceful person), Black market (illegal trade)

Group by Animal:

• Lion: Lion's share (largest part)
• Goose: Wild goose chase (useless pursuit)
• Crocodile: Crocodile tears (fake tears)
• Swan: Swan song (last performance)
• Elephant: White elephant (costly useless thing)

Group by Body Part:

• Eye: Keep an eye on, Green-eyed monster, Apple of one's eye
• Hand: Hand to mouth, Upper hand
• Tooth: Tooth and nail (full effort)
• Blood: Blue blood, Bad blood, In cold blood

Mythology/History Idioms:

• Achilles' heel = weak point | Pandora's box = source of trouble | Pyrrhic victory = victory at great cost | Apple of discord = cause of dispute

Solved Examples (5 BCS-style MCQ with Explanations)

Q1. "A white elephant" means —

• (a) A rare animal (b) A costly but useless possession (c) A precious gift (d) An albino elephant
• Answer: (b) A costly but useless possession — This is the #1 BCS trap. It does NOT mean something rare or precious. Historically, white elephants were given as gifts by kings — expensive to maintain but useless.

Q2. What does "Swan song" mean?

• (a) A beautiful song (b) A song about birds (c) The last work before death/retirement (d) A popular song
• Answer: (c) The last work before death/retirement — From the myth that swans sing beautifully just before dying.

Q3. "He fought tooth and nail to win the case" means —

• (a) He used weapons (b) He fought physically (c) He tried with all his effort (d) He used unfair means
• Answer: (c) He tried with all his effort — Tooth and nail = using every possible effort.

Q4. The meaning of "Red tape" is —

• (a) A red-colored tape (b) Official bureaucratic formalities (c) Emergency signal (d) Decoration
• Answer: (b) Official bureaucratic formalities — From the red ribbon used to bind official documents in British government.

Q5. "Once in a blue moon" means —

• (a) During a blue moon (b) At night (c) Very rarely (d) Very frequently
• Answer: (c) Very rarely — A blue moon is an extra full moon in a calendar period, which is rare.

Common Mistakes — Watch Out!

• White elephant does NOT mean a rare or precious thing — it means a costly but useless possession. This is the single most common BCS idiom trap.
• Green-eyed monster = jealousy, NOT envy exactly — Though related, Shakespeare coined it in Othello to mean destructive jealousy.
• French leave = absence WITHOUT permission — Do not confuse with "taking a vacation." It means leaving without telling anyone.
• Crocodile tears = FAKE tears — Not tears of sadness. Crocodiles supposedly cry while eating prey.
• Dead letter = a law no longer enforced — Not a lost letter or undelivered mail.
• Lion's share = the LARGEST part — Not necessarily an unfair share, just the biggest portion.

Question Pattern Recognition

• "The meaning of [idiom] is" — Straightforward recall. Memorize the list.
• "Which idiom means [definition]" — Reverse lookup. Harder because you must recall from meaning to phrase.
• "Use in sentence" — Sometimes BCS gives a sentence with a blank and you choose the right idiom.
• BCS repeats most often: A white elephant, Once in a blue moon, At the eleventh hour, Red tape, Lion's share, Swan song, Crocodile tears, Wild goose chase.
• Strategy: Learn the top 40 idioms thoroughly rather than 100 superficially. BCS tends to repeat from a fixed pool.