CLAT is a highly regarded and well-received entrance exam for law students. It is divided into five sections: English Language, Current Events, General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques. The importance of the English language portion is demonstrated by the fact that it accounts for 20% of the CLAT paper’s total marks.
Idioms and Phrases For CLAT 2025
To ace the English component of the CLAT exam, one must have a strong foundation, which can only be obtained via constant practice.
CLAT and other admission exams require the use of idioms and phrases. This section in English will almost certainly yield one or two questions. As a result, applicants must understand how to appropriately answer them.
It also enhances one’s overall command of the English language, making it easier to pass other sections of the exam and succeed in law school.
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Scope of idioms and phrases for CLAT 2025
Idioms and phrases are a collection of words with a figurative meaning, meaning that their literal meaning cannot be deduced from the individual words employed, but they do have an indicative meaning. They are employed to enhance the beauty of your language and embellish your speech. When idioms are used in a statement, it attracts the reader’s attention.
- Idioms and phrases are a part of the lexicon, and while it is impossible to memorize all of them, one can try to deduce their meaning by employing the following tricks: Put it in a phrase and try to come up with a visual interpretation for it. Cut a sad figure, for example, is ‘to put on a bad performance.’ When you first hear this idiom, you might think it’s about a blunder or anything terrible. As a result, select an alternative that is antagonistic in spirit and represents a similar meaning.
- Read the idiom several times to see if you can make a relationship between the words. To cry for the moon, for example, indicates a yearning for something unachievable. If you connect the words ‘cry’ and ‘moon’, then why would someone cry for a moon? A sensible man knows that one cannot have the moon, hence moon refers to something that one cannot have. As a result, you’re pining for something you can’t have.
- Try to grasp the context in which the idioms are used while reading them; this will aid in memorizing them.
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CLAT vocabulary list including a few key Idioms and Phrases
Candidates should review the following set of idioms and phrases. These are the types of questions that regularly appear in competitive exams. If candidates want to have an easy ride in the English section, they should study these idioms and phrases from the previous year’s exam papers and memorize them.
Idiom – Grease the palm
Meaning – (to bribe)
Sentence – To get a driver’s license, Kabir had to grease the officer’s hand.
Idiom – Nip in the bud
Meaning – (to destroy in the very beginning)
Sentence – The bad habits of a child should be nipped in the bud.
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Idiom – Turn a deaf ear
Meaning – (to not to pay attention)
Sentence – All the students turned a deaf ear to the teacher during a moral science lecture.
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Idiom – Knit the brow
Meaning – (to frown)
Sentence – The employer always knits his brow at everything the employees do.
Idiom – In a flutter
Meaning – (excited)
Sentence – Abhinav is in a flutter today because it is his first day at school
Idiom – Fabian policy
Meaning – (policy of delaying decisions)
Sentence – It gets harmful for the management to follow fabian policy in every matter
Idiom – By fits and starts
Meaning – (irregularly)
Sentence – Ram was penalized because he used to perform his job in fits and starts
Idiom – At a loose end
Meaning – (unoccupied)
Sentence – Nowadays Rachel is at a loose end because she has left her job
Idiom – Hangfire
Meaning – (remain unsolved)
Sentence – Most the criminal cases remain hanging on fire for many years
Idiom – Windfall
Meaning – (sudden gain)
Sentence – Reshma got a windfall when her uncle died
Idiom -ABC
Meaning – (very common knowledge)
Sentence – Meera does not know the ABC of law.
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Idiom – Blow hot and cold
Meaning – (having no stand)
Sentence – Sunil cannot be relied upon because he blows hot and cold in every matter.
Idiom – Cock and bull story
Meaning – (untrue story)
Sentence – All the explanations given by Sita seem to be a cock and bull story.
Idiom – Gall and wormwood
Meaning – (source of irritation )
Sentence – The acts of the children were gall and wormwood for her.
Idiom – Kith and kin
Meaning – (blood relatives)
Sentence – In the gloomy days, we all seek the support of our kith and kins.
Idiom – Queer fish
Meaning – (strange person)
Sentence – Ramesh is a queer fish, he cannot be trusted with confidential issues.
Idiom – Rhyme or reason
Meaning – (rational cause)
Sentence – He was suspended from the job without any rhyme and reason
Idiom – Hit below the belt
Meaning – (to strike unfairly)
Sentence – We should never hit the opponents below the belt.
Idiom – In the red
Meaning – (suffer a loss)
Sentence – Most of the businesses went in red after demonetization.
Idiom – Keep the pot boiling
Meaning – (earn hardly enough for a living)
Sentence – One should earn at least to keep the pot boiling.
Idiom – To show the white feather
Meaning – (to act with cowardice)
Sentence – Anita showed a white feather in the playground.
Idiom – to pour oil on troubled water
Meaning – (to rectify the matter)
Sentence – In the quarrel between the brothers, their mother poured oil on troubled water.
Idiom – To go on a fool’s errand
Meaning – (to go on an expedition where only a fool can go)
Sentence – The key was in his pocket and he sent me on a fool’s errand to search the same in the movie theatre.
Idiom – Not born yesterday
Meaning – (worldly-wise)
Sentence – I am not going to fall for your lies as I was not born yesterday.
Idiom – A scarlet woman
Meaning – (a woman with loose morals)
Sentence – A woman working late at night should not be considered a scarlet woman.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What are the key topics included in the CLAT syllabus?
A: The significant topics for the CLAT exam are the ones that are asked every year from each area. To do well on the CLAT exam, candidates must practice these crucial topics.
Q: What are the scope of CLAT's idioms and phrases?
A: Idioms and phrases are groups of words that have a figurative meaning, which means that their literal meaning cannot be determined from the individual words used, but they do have an indicative meaning. They are used to make your language more beautiful and to adorn your speech.
Q: Are the CLAT legal reasoning topics difficult to prepare for?
A: The CLAT legal reasoning portion will cover legal rules, principles, matters, public policy issues, and moral philosophical dilemmas. It is not difficult to prepare for and pass the CLAT exam on these topics. Candidates should, however, practice their interpretation abilities before taking this section. The part will not cover core legal concepts, but rather basic legal ideas that can be used in everyday life.
Q: Is it possible to score well on CLAT idioms and phrases?
A: Yes, provided you have a decent foundation in the English language and vocabulary, Idioms and phrases is a very simple and rewarding topic.