What to read after Popular English Idioms and Phrases: English Idiomatic Expressions?

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English Idioms and Phrases -- A

ADD

001. -- State governments should add more teeth to anti-ragging laws. [‘add more teeth’ -- to make something more effective]

002. -- Financial issues are further going to add to their woes.

ABACK

003. -- He appeared to be taken aback when it was revealed to him that an avid fan had his face tattooed on his arm. || We all were taken aback by bomb attacks. [‘taken aback’ -- very surprised]

ACE

004. -- Our opponents hold all the Aces as they are strong where we are weak. [‘hold all the aces’ -- to have all the advantages]

ACCOUNT

005. -- From all accounts, he was a loving family man. || From all accounts, he is a smart, fair-minded, detail-oriented middle-of-the-road jurist. [‘from all accounts’ -- according to what other people say]

ACT

006. -- An accidental fire in your home is not considered an act of God because it could have been prevented. [‘act of God’ -- an event that is caused by natural forces]

ADVANCE

007. -- The celebration started a day in advance. [‘in advance’ -- ahead of time]

AFFAIR

008. -- Budget data revealed an alarming state of affairs. [‘state of affairs’ -- situation]

009. -- My birthday is going to be a quiet affair with a nice dinner. || We want our wedding to be a quiet affair.

AGREE

010. -- Democracy requires that we agree to differ. [‘agree to differ’ -- (of people) to decide not to argue with each other over their different opinions about something.]

AIR

011. -- Her clarification did not clear the air. [‘clear the air’ -- to improve a tense situation]

012a. -- When the residents started receiving mysterious threats, there was an air of mystery and fear.

012b. -- The air of celebration was evident outside the president’s office.

013a. -- It was fortunate that he arrived and erased the negativity in the air.

013b. -- There was an evil smell in the air.

014a. -- Body is nothing but a pile of ashes and it will one day disappear into thin air.

014b. -- Money was vanishing into thin air.

ALL

015. -- I do not think we will be paying much more if at all we do.

016. -- If you stop her doing anything, she wants to do it all the more. [‘all the more’ -- extra]

017. -- These problems are needed to be solved once and for all. [‘once and for all’ -- forever]

018. -- All of a sudden, there was the fire. | All of a sudden a warm gust of wind came. [‘all of a sudden’ -- surprisingly]

019. -- I learned computer programming all by myself. || It is a lot of work, and I do it all by myself. || He had to run the family all by himself.

ALONE

020. -- Workers were clearly in no mood to listen let alone comply with the request. || They could not figure out how to punish corrupt officials, let alone fix them. [‘let alone’ -- used to emphasize that because the first thing is not true, possible, etc. the next thing cannot be true, possible, etc. either]

APART

021. -- A saddle tank on the tractor-trailer came apart and caused a diesel spill. [‘come apart’ -- to shatter]

022. -- In less than a fortnight of its formation, the Joint Committee for drafting the bill is falling apart. || Talks on a deal finally fell apart. [‘fall apart’ -- to collapse]

023. -- Storm has torn apart the lives of thousands of people. [‘tear apart’ -- to destroy]

024. -- We are poles apart. || Two exhibitions in prominent galleries immediately next to each other showed works that were poles apart in concept. [‘pole apart’ -- completely opposite]

APPLE

025. -- We expected him to keep his business affairs in apple-pie order. || Everything inside the shop was spick and span and in apple-pie order, from the well-polished service counters to the glistening display cabinets. [‘in apple pie order’ -- well organized]

ARM

026. -- Government maintained arm's length distance in all matters relating to film certification. [‘arms-length distance’ -- to avoid having a close relationship]

027. -- Nation welcomed new football coach with open arms. || European counties had welcomed the refugees with open arms. [‘with open arms’ -- in an extremely happy manner]