Daily Idioms & Phrases From The Hindu: 11 August 2017

1: To keep one’s head above water

Meaning: avoid succumbing to difficulties, typically debt.
Example: The business is in trouble, but we are just about keeping our heads above water.

2: To cut the crackle

Meaning: to stop talking and start
Example: The politicians in India needs to cut the crackle for the benefit of the masses.

3: A clarion call

Meaning: a strong and clear request for people to do something
Example: In 1942, the clarion call was ‘ Karenge ya marenge ’ (Do or Die) — today it is ‘ Karenge aur kar ke rahenge ’ (We will do and accomplish). These five years are about Sankalp se siddhi (commitment to fulfilment),”Modi said

4: Against the odds

Meaning: despite many difficulties
Example: Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel may have won a high-stakes Rajya Sabha battle against great odds, but the mystery about the one extra vote that proved decisive for him still remains amid claims and counterclaims and speculation.

5: Pitched against someone

Meaning: to make someone fight or compete against someone else
Example: Mr. Patel received a total of 44 votes to win the prestigious fight that saw him pitched against BJP’s Amit Shah, known for his election and political strategies.

6: Teeming down

Meaning: to rain very heavily
Example: It’s been teeming down all day.

7: Send someone to glory

Meaning: to kill someone, to officiate at the burial services for someone
Example: The preacher sent him to glory amidst the sobs of six or seven former fans.

8: Run into

Meaning: collide with, reach a level
Example: Fourth seed Sindhu could face Hong Kong’s Ngan Yi Cheung, seeded 13, for a place in the quarterfinals where she could run into fifth seed Sun Yu.

9: Tees off

Meaning: to start the first hole in a game of golf, to begin [doing anything]; to be the first one to start something, (to tee someone off )
Example: Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy make their bids for golfing history when the 99th PGA Championship tees off Thursday at Quail Hollow with heavy rain and storms forecast.

10: Bow out

Meaning: to leave a job or stop doing an activity, usually after a long time:
Example: With this win, super Gilies qualified for the knock outs, while tricky warriors bowed out of tournament

11: Claw back

Meaning: to get something again that you had lost such as power, especially gradually and with difficulty
Example: Schwartzman claws back from the brink

12: Tune up

Meaning: to prepare for something
Example: Croatia’s Vekic powered to a 6-3, 6-4 victory, to the disappointment of a partisan crowd whose support couldn’t lift Bouchard. She was broken six times by Vekic, 21, who is in the main draw of this US Open tune-up for the first time.

13: Shoot off

Meaning: to write and send a message quickly
Example: My daughter will shoot off an e-mail before she’ll sit down and write a letter.

14. At the eleventh hour

Meaning: At the last possible moment or opportunity.
Example: Millions of companies in India are still not ready to file their first returns under the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) ahead of an Aug. 20 deadline, a top official told Reuters, urging them not to leave things to the eleventh hour

15: Crunch up

Meaning: to break someone or something up into piece
Example: Yet he gave an assurance that the huge IT back end that is designed to crunch up to 3 billion invoices a month and calculate companies’ taxes would be stable, even if there is a last-minute rush to file.