CSS Solved Past Papers of Idiom's of English Paper 1996 to 2000

CSS Solved Past Papers of Idiom's of English Paper 1996 to 2000,
CSS Solved Past Fiver Year Papers,
CSS Five Year Past Papers Solved,
CSS Solved English Past Papers.
CSS Solved Five Year English Papers.
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1996
5. Explain FIVE of the following idioms by using them into
sentences: (10)
1- Bear out
Back up or confirm
The results bear out what he predicted. His story bears me
out exactly. [Late 1400s]
2- Back out / back out of something
Move or retreat backwards without turning; same as back
away; withdraw from a situation, or break an agreement or
engagement
After the announcement appeared in the papers, Mary
found it doubly difficult to back out of her engagement to
Todd. [Early 1800s]
3- Carry over
To keep something, usually merchandise, for a subsequent
period
We'll carry over this summer's bathing suits for next
winter's resort season.
Persist from one time or situation to another
His leadership in sports carried over to the classroom. [Late
1800s]
4- Come off
Happen, occur
The trip came off on schedule. [Early 1800s]
Acquit oneself, reach the end
This usage always includes a modifier
Whenever challenged he comes off badly. This model is
doomed to come off second-best. [Mid-1600s] Succeed, as
in Our dinner party really came off. [Mid-1800s]
5- Fall back
Give ground, retreat
The troops fell back before the relentless enemy assault. He
stuck to his argument, refusing to fall back. [c. 1600]
Recede
The waves fell back from the shore. [c. 1800]
6- Figure out
Discover or determine
Let's figure out a way to help. [Early 1900s]
Solve or decipher
Can you figure out this puzzle? [Early 1800s]
To begin to comprehend someone or something; to come to
understand someone or something better
I just can't figure you out. I can't figure out quiet people
readily.
7- learn to live with
Get used to or accustom oneself to something that is painful,
annoying, or unpleasant
The doctor said nothing more could be done about
improving her sight; she'd just have to learn to live with it.
Pat decided she didn't like the new sofa but would have to
learn to live with it.
8- Set in
Insert, put in
I still have to set in the sleeves and then the sweater will be
done. [Late 1300s]
Begin to happen or become apparent
Darkness was setting in as I left. [c. 1700]
Move toward the shore, said of wind or water
The tide sets in very quickly here. [Early 1700s]
9- Cover up
Wrap up or enfold in order to protect
Be sure to cover up the outdoor furniture in case of rain.
It's cold, so be sure to cover up the baby. [Late 1800s]
Conceal something, especially a crime
The opposition accused the President of covering up his
assistant's suicide. [c. 1920]
10- Iron out
Work out, resolve, settle
They managed to iron out all the problems with the new
production process. John and Mary finally ironed out their
differences.
This expression uses ironing wrinkled fabric as a metaphor
for smoothing differences. [Mid-1800s]
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1997
6. Explain FIVE of the following Idioms by using them into
sentences. (10)
a) To beat the air / beat the wind
Continue to make futile attempts, fight to no purpose
The candidates for office were so much alike that we
thought our vote amounted to beating the air.
These phrases call up a vivid image of someone flailing
away at nothing. [Late 1300s]
b) To beggar description
Defy or outdo any possible description
The stage set was so elaborate, it beggared description.
This term, alluding to the idea that words are insufficient to
do something justice, was already used by Shakespeare in
Antony and Cleopatra (2:2):
"For her own person It beggared all description."
c) To bring to mind
Cause to be remembered
The film brought to mind the first time I ever climbed a
mountain.
This idiom, first recorded in 1433, appears in Robert
Burns's familiar "Auld Lang Syne" (1788), in which the poet
asks if old times should never be brought to mind.
d) To call in question / call into question
Dispute, challenge; also, cast doubt on
How can you call her honesty into question?
This usage was first recorded in John Lyly's Euphues
(1579):
"That ... I should call in question the demeanour of all."
e) To cap it all / cap it all off
Finish or complete something
To cap it all off they served three kinds of dessert.
Surpass or outdo something
This last story of Henry's caps them all.
Both usages employ cap in the sense of “topping”
something. [First half of 1800s]
f) To clip one's wings
To end a person's privileges; to take away someone's power
or freedom to do something
My father said that if I dind't start behaving, he was going
to clip my wings.
In acient Rome thousands of years ago, people clipped the
wings of pet birds so that they couldn't fly away. For
centuries people have used the idiom "Clip one's wings" to
mean brings a person under control.
g) To cross the Rubicon
Irrevocably commit to a course of action, make a fateful and
final decision.
Once he submitted his resignation, he had crossed the
Rubicon.
This phrase alludes to Julius Caesar's crossing the Rubicon
River (between Italy and Gaul) in 49 B.C., thereby starting a
war against Pompey and the Roman Senate. Recounted in
Plutarch's Lives: Julius Caesar (c. A.D. 110), the crossing
gave rise to the figurative English usage by the early 1600s.
h) To feel the pulse / feel the pulse of
Try to determine the intentions or sentiments of a person or
group
These exit polls allegedly take the pulse of the voters, but I
don't believe they're very meaningful. [First half of 1600s]
i) To fly in the face of / fly in the teeth of
Act in direct opposition to or defiance of
This decision flies in the face of all precedent. They went
out without permission, flying in the teeth of house rules.
This metaphoric expression alludes to a physical attack.
[Mid-1500s]
j) To rise like a phoenix from its ashes
In life we should all learn from the mistakes that we have
made and try not to repeat them. We should not let sorrow
overcome us and stand in our way. Learn to overcome
hardships in life is all what life is worth living about. After all
that's the definition of life. Hence the saying "rise like a
phoenix from the ashes"
Phoenix is supposed to be a mythological bird of fire that is
believed to die in flames and turn to ash. But then it comes
back to life from the same ash.
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1998
7. Explain FIVE of the following idioms by using them into
sentences: (10)
1- The last ditch
A desperate final attempt
We're making a last-ditch effort to finish on time.
This expression alludes to the military sense of last ditch,
"the last line of defence." Its figurative use dates from the
early 1800s.
2- A square meal A substantial or complete meal
These airlines never feed you; I haven't had a square meal
on one yet. [Mid-1800s]
3- Go public
Become a publicly held company, that is, issue ownership
shares in the form of stock.
As soon as the company grows a little bigger and begins to
show a profit, we intend to go public. [Mid-1900s]
4- Run riot (wild)
Behave in a frenzied, out-of-control, or unrestrained manner
I was afraid that if I left the toddler alone she would run
amok and have a hard time calming down. The weeds are
running riot in the lawn The children were running wild in
the playground.
Amok comes from a Malay word for "frenzied" and was
adopted into English, and at first spelled amuck, in the
second half of the 1600s.
Run riot dates from the early 1500s and derives from an
earlier sense, that is, a hound's following an animal scent.
Run wild alludes to an animal reverting to its natural,
uncultivated state; its figurative use dates from the late
1700s.
5- The backroom boy
Men who play poker and smoke in a room at the back of the
store
When the police raided Gino's they arrested four of the
backroom boys.
6- Foot the bill The person who foots the bill pays the bill for
everybody, settle the accounts
The bride's father was resigned to footing the bill for the
wedding.
This expression uses foot in the sense of "add up and put
the total at the foot, or bottom, of an account." [Colloquial;
early 1800s]
7- Set the pace
Establish a standard for others to follow
Jim has set the pace for the department, exceeding the
monthly quota every time.
This expression comes from racing, where it is said of a
horse that passes the others and leads the field. It was
transferred to other activities in the early 1900s.
8- At times
Occasionally, sometimes
Away from home for the first time, Mary was homesick at
times. [Early 1500s]
9- Steal the show / steal the spotlight
Be the center of attention
The speeches were interesting but Eliza's singing stole the
show.
This idiom alludes to unexpectedly outshining the rest of
the cast in a theatrical production. [First half of 1900s]
10- Grey matter
Grey/gray matter is the human brain
__________________________
1999
Make sentences of any FIVE of the following idioms. (15)
(a) A jaundiced eye
The phrase "Jaundiced eye" means to looks at something
with a prejudiced view, usually in a rather negative or critical
manner.
(b) A left-handed compliment / backhanded compliment
An insult in the guise of an expression of praise
She said she liked my hair, but it turned out to be a
left-handed compliment when she asked how long I'd been
dyeing it.
This expression uses left-handed in the sense of
"questionable or doubtful," a usage dating from about
1600.
(c) The ruling passion
An interest or concern that occupies a large part of
someone's time and effort
(d) Tower of strength
Someone who can be relied on to provide support and
comfort.
(e) Steal a march on someone
To get ahead of, especially by quiet enterprise.
(f) In one's bones
Have an intuition or hunch about something
I'm sure he'll succeed—I can feel it in my bones.
This expression alludes to the age-old notion that persons
with a healed broken bone or with arthritis experience bone
pain before rain, due to a drop in barometric pressure, and
therefore can predict a weather change.
(g) Hang in the balance
Be in a precarious condition or in a state of suspense
The doctor said her life was hanging in the balance.
This expression alludes to the suspended balance scale
where an object is placed in one pan and weights are added
one by one to the other pan until the two are balanced.
(h) Fly in the ointment
A drawback or detrimental factor
The new library is wonderful but there's a fly in the
ointment. Their catalog isn't complete yet.
This term probably alludes to a biblical proverb
(Ecclesiastes 10:1):
"Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send
forth a stinking savour."
(i) Close-fisted
Tightfisted; stingy or unwilling to part with money
__________________________
2000
Use any FIVE of the following idioms in sentences to make
their meaning clear:
(i) Blow one's top / blow one's stack
Fly into a rage; lose one's composure
If she calls about this one more time I'm going to blow my
top. Warren is generally very easy-going, but today he blew
his stack. The top here has been likened to the top of an
erupting volcano; the stack alludes to a smokestack.
Go crazy; become insane
When she regains consciousness, she just may blow her
top.
(ii) A cock-and-bull story
A fanciful and unbelievable tale
(iii) Find one's feet
To grow in confidence in a new situation as one gains
experience.
If you ask for help when you need it, you will soon find your
feet.
(iv) Call it a night
To go to bed to sleep
(v) The tip of the iceberg
The tip of the iceberg is the part of a problem that can be
seen, with far more serious problems lying underneath
(vi) Below par / under par
Not up to the average, normal, or desired standard
I am feeling below par today, but I'm sure I'll recover by
tomorrow.
This term employs par in the sense of "an average amount
or quality," a usage dating from the late 1700s.
(vii) From pillar to post
If something is going from pillar to post, it is moving around
in a meaningless way, from one disaster to another.
(viii) Hang up/ hang up on
Suspend on a hook or hanger, as in Let me hang up your
coat for you. [c. 1300]
Replace a telephone receiver in its cradle; end a phone
conversation
She hung up the phone He hung up on her. [Early 1900s]
Delay or hinder; also, become halted or snagged
Budget problems hung up the project for months. Traffic
was hung up for miles. [Second half of 1800s]
Have or cause to have emotional difficulties
Being robbed at gunpoint can hang one up for years to
come. [Slang; early 1900s]
Obsessed with
For years the FBI was hung up on Communist spies. [First
half of 1900s]
hang up one's sword or gloves or fiddle
Quit, retire
He's hanging up his sword next year and moving to Florida.
The noun in these expressions refers to the profession one
is leaving—sword for the military, gloves for boxing, and
fiddle for music—but they all are used quite loosely as well,
as in the example.
hang up one's hat
Settle somewhere, reside
"Eight hundred a year, and as nice a house as any
gentleman could wish to hang up his hat in" (Anthony
Trollope, The Warden, 1855).
(ix) Turn some one on
To create feeling of excitement, interest, lust, pleasure etc
(ix) Turn some one off
To create feelings of dislike, repulsion, disgust etc
(x) By and by
After a while, soon
She'll be along by and by.
The expression probably relies on the meaning of by as a
succession of quantities (as in "two by two").
This adverbial phrase came to be used as a noun, denoting
either procrastination or the future. William Camden so
used it for the former (Remains, 1605): "Two anons and a
by and by is an hour and a half." And W.S. Gilbert used it in
the latter sense when Lady Jane sings plaintively that little
will be left of her "in the coming by and by," that is, as she
grows old (Patience, 1881). [Early 1500s]