Master the most important Idioms and Phrases for BCS examinations with this comprehensive collection of previous years' preliminary and written exam questions, complete with Bengali and English meanings.
Every language has its idioms and phrases whose use makes the language more effective, cleaned forceful. The following most usable idioms and phrases can be used in day to day life.
Idioms and phrases ইংরেজি ভাষার অলংকার হিসেবে ব্যবহৃত হয়ে থাকে। phrase হচ্ছে কতগুলো শব্দ যা আক্ষরিক অর্থ প্রদান করে। আর Idiom হলো বাগধারা যা ভাবার্থ প্রকাশ করে। তাই Idiom সমূহ হুবহু মুখস্থ করতে হয়। Idioms and phrases বিস্তারিত জানতে আমার Idioms and phrases-এর উপর পোস্টটি দেখুন।
What Are Idioms and Phrases for BCS?
Here is the compiled list of past BCS written and preliminary exam questions featuring essential phrases and idioms along with their exact meanings:
| Idiom / Phrase | Meaning & Translation | BCS Exam Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1. ABC | Primary knowledge, the rudiments, the fundamentals, প্রাথমিক জ্ঞান | 31st BCS Written |
| 2. All in | Tired, exhausted, নিদারূণ পরিশ্রান্ত, পরিশ্রান্ত | 17th BCS Written |
| 3. A round dozen | A full dozen, পূর্ণ ডজন বা ১২টি | 14th BCS Written |
| 4. An apple of discord | Bone of contention, Matter of dispute, subject of quarrel, বিবাদের বিষয় / ঝগড়ার বস্তু | 32nd BCS Written |
| 5. As though | As if, যেন | 29th BCS Written |
| 6. At a loss | Puzzled, completely confused, in a fix, হতবুদ্ধি | 28th BCS Written |
| 7. A castle in the air | Brown study, A Utopian scheme, Indulge in idle vision,day dream, আকাশকুমুস কল্পনা | 11th BCS Written |
| 8. An axe to grind | A worthless person, A private end service, To have a selfish reason or strong opinion,সম্পৃক্ততার ব্যক্তিগত কারণ | 24th BCS |
| 9. After one’s own heart | To one's own personal liking, মনের মতো | 25th BCS Written |
| 10. A man of straw | worthless person, A man of weak character, অপদার্থ লোক, তুচ্ছ ব্যক্তি, অযোগ্য, দুর্বলচিত্তের লোক | 11th BCS Written |
| 11. At arm’s length | At a distance, নিরাপদ দূরত্ব | 21st BCS |
| 12. A man of letters | Wise/ Scholar, বিদ্বান ব্যক্তি, পন্ডিত ব্যক্তি | 32nd BCS Write |
| 13. A square pig in a round whole | A misfit, especially a person unsuited for a position or activity, অনুপযুক্ত | 18th BCS Written |
| 14. Benefit of the doubt | সন্দেհাবসর | 15th BCS Written |
| 15. Burning question | Urgent/ matter of strong debate,A subject everybody takes keen interest in, গুরুত্বপূর্ণ বিষয, তীব্র বিতর্কের বিষয়, জরুরী সমস্যা | 28th BCS Written |
| 16. By dint of | By means of, বলে/ সাহায্যে , বদৌলতে | 17th BCS Written |
| 17. By fits and starts | By irregular efforts,unevenly অনিয়মিতভাবে | 22nd & 31st BCS Written |
| 18. Bring to pass | cause to happen, কোন কিছু ঘটা | 27th BCS Written |
| 19. Bolt from the blue | A danger without warning,An unexpected calamity, সম্পূর্ণ অপ্রত্যাশিত, বিনা মেঘে বজ্রপাত | 29th BCS Written |
| 20. Bottom line | The essential point, সবচেয়ে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ বিষয় | 15th BCS Written |
| 21. Beat black and blue | Punish mercilessly,beat severely, বেদমভাবে প্রহার করা, উত্তম - মধ্যম দেওয়া, নির্মমভাবে | TEO -2015 |
| 22. Black sheep | A man of bad character, কুলাঙ্গার | 32nd BCS Written |
| 23. Cry in the wilderness | Unheeded appeal অরণ্যে রোদন | 22nd BCS Written |
| 24. Call to mind | To re,remember,স্মরণ করা | 33rd BCS |
| 25. Come to terms | To yield, to learn to accept something, ঐকমত্যে পৌছা | 20th & 31st BCS Written |
| 26. Cast aside | to discard; abandon,বাতিল করা | 24th BCS Written |
| 27. Draw the line | set a limit on what one is willing to do or accept, সীমারেখা নির্ধারণ করা | 21st BCS Written |
| 28. Dilly dally | waste time,loiter, সময় অপচয় | 20th BCS |
| 29. Dog days | Hot days, সবচেয়ে গরমের দিন | 14th BCS |
| 30. Day after day | Without stopping, repeatedly,দিনের পর দিন | 32th BCS Written |
| 31. Down to earth | Practical or realistic, বাস্তবিক | TEO -2015 |
| 32. Eat humble pie | make a humble apology and accept humiliation, to act very humbly especially when one is shown to be wrong, অপমান হজম করে ক্ষমা চাওয়া | 18th BCS Written |
| 33. End in smoke | To become useless,be fruitless, futile, in vain, ব্যার্থ হওয়া, ব্যর্থতায় পর্যবসিত হওয়া | 31st BCS Written |
| 34. Few and far between | Hardly,at wide intervals, কদাচিৎ | 31st BCS Written |
| 35. Flesh and blood | human nature, weaknesses,রক্ত মাংসের শরীর | 21st BCS Written |
| 36. For good | Forever, চিরস্থায়ী, চির দিনের জন্য, স্থায়ীভাবে | TEO-2015 |
| 37. Fool’s paradise | Happiness on vain hopes, illusory happiness, বোকার স্বর্গ | 28th BCS Written |
| 38. Fresh blood | New and enthusiastic person, উৎসাহী ব্যক্তি /নতুন সভ্য | 29th BCS Written |
| 39. Gift of the gab | Eloquence, a latent for speaking, বাক পটুতা, বাগ্নিতা | 27th BCS Written |
| 40. Get along | to deal with a job or situation or to make progress, কারো সাথে সুসম্পর্ক থাকা | 27th BCS Written |
| 41. Give in | Admit defeat/ surrender, বশ্যতা স্বীকার করা | 13th BCS Written |
| 42. Half a chance | the slightest opportunity, সামান্য সুযোগ | 21st BCS Written |
| 43. Hand in glove | In close collusion or association.ঘনিষ্ঠ | 23rd BCS Written |
| 44. Hold water | Bear examination, be effective,to stand scrutiny. খাটা /ধোপে টেকা, পরীক্ষায় টিকে থাকা | 11th BCS |
| 45. Heart and soul | Earnestly, প্রাণপণে, মনে প্রাণে, সর্বান্ত:করণে | 32nd BCS Written |
| 46. In cold blood | Deliberately, ঠান্ডা মাথায় | 14th BCS & 15th BCS Written |
| 47. In case of | In the event of, যদি | 29th BCS Written |
| 48. In addition to | Moreover,besides, এছাড়া, অধিকন্তু | 25th BCS Written |
| 49. In order that (or for) | so that,যাতে | 25th BCS Written |
| 50. In black and white | In writing, লিখিতভাবে | 11th BCS Written |
| 51. Kith and kin | Relatives, আত্মীয স্বজন | সহকারী রাজস্ব কর্মকর্তা-২০১৫ |
| 52. Look forward to | waiting earnestly, সানন্দে প্রত্যাশা করা, সানন্দে প্রতীক্ষা করা, ভালো কিছু আশা করা | 29th BCS Written |
| 53. Let loose | to allow to move or go freely, ছেড়ে দেওয়া, বল্গাহীনভাবে ছেড়ে দেয়া | 21st BCS Written |
| 54. Make a case | Show logic, যুক্তি দেখানো | 21st BCS Written |
| 55. Make hay while the sun shines | Take advantage of favorable circumstances ঝোপ বুঝে কোপ মারা | 24th BCS Written |
| 56. Maiden speech | First speech, প্রথম বক্তৃতা | 23rd, 26th, 34th BCS Written |
| 57. Make up one’s mind | make a decision; decide,মনস্থির করা | 29th BCS Written |
| 58. Make good | compensate,succeed, ক্ষতিপূরণ করা | 24th BCS Written |
| 59. Null and void | Invalid ,বাতিল | 38th BCS preli ; 32th BCS Written |
| 60. Out of the question | Impossible, impracticable, unattainable অসম্ভব | 15th BCS Written |
| 61. Out and out | Thoroughly,completely হাড়ে হাড়ে, সম্পূর্ণরুপে | 11th, 26th BCS Written |
| 62. Open secret | Secret known to many, গোপন বলে ভাবা হলেও আসলে যা সকলেরই জানা, যে গোপন সর্বজন বিদিত | 28th BCS Written |
| 63. Pick a quarrel with | to intentionally start a fight or argument with someone.ঝগড়া বাধানো | 24th BCS Written |
| 64. Pros and cons | Advantages and disadvantages,details, বিস্তারিত, খুটিনাটি | 31st BCS Written |
| 65. Put heads together | Plan something together,একমত হওয়া; একত্রে বসে পরামর্শ করা | 24th BCS Written |
| 66. Pass away | To die, মারা যাওয়া | 33rd BCS |
| 67. Put up with | To tolerate,সহ্য করা | 15th, 31st, 33rd BCS Written |
| 68. Raise one’s eyebrow | to feel surprised or disapproving, চোখ কপালে ওঠা, বিস্মিত হওয়া | 32nd BCS |
| 69. Red handed | Caught or arrested on spot, হাতে নাতে | 28th BCS Written |
| 70. Rank and file | common people, সাধারণ সৈনিক | 22nd BCS Written |
| 71. Spare no pains | Leave no stone unturned, যথাসাধ্য সব কিছু করা | 24th BCS Written |
| 72. Swan song | the last deed,the final performance or activity of a person's career, শেষ কর্ম | 23rd BCS |
| 73. Soft soap | Flattery, তোষামোদ করা | 14th BCS |
| 74. Sorry figure | To be ashamed, কৃতিত্ব দেখাতে না পারা | 27th BCS Written |
| 75. Tell upon | to affect, ক্ষতি করা | 25th BCS Written |
| 76. Three score | Being three times twenty : sixty, ষাট, ষষ্টি, তিনি কুড়ি | 16th BCS |
| 77. Through and through | Completely, সর্বত্রব্যাপিয়া, সম্পূর্ণভাবে, সম্পূর্ণরূপে, সম্যকভাবে | 17th BCS Written |
| 78. To smell a rat | Begin to suspect trickery or deception, সন্দেহ করা | 21st BCS Written |
| 79. Take a fancy to | become fond of, especially without an obvious reason( ভালো লাগা) | 27th BCS Written |
| 80. Take into account | To consider or regard; বিবেচনা করা | 33rd BCS |
| 81. Take the bull by the horse | একটি কঠিন সমস্যার মীমাংসিত চুক্তি | 38th BCS preli |
| 80. Through thick and thin | Through all conditions/ difficulties, সমস্ত সমস্যার মধ্যে, বিপদে আপদে সব অবস্থাতেই | 27th BCS |
| 82. To do away with | put an end to; remove ত্যাগ করা | 36th BCS |
| 83. Turn over a new leaf | Begin a new phase of life, নতুন জীবন শুরু করা, নতুন অধ্যায়ের সূচনা করা | 14th BCS |
| 84. To get along with | to deal with a job or situation or to make progress, কারো সাথে সুসম্পর্ক থাকা | 28th BCS |
| 85. To meet trouble half way | Puzzled, in a fix, হতবুদ্ধি হওয়া | 14th BCS |
| 86. Up and doing | Be serious, Active, উঠে পড়ে লাগা | 20th BCS Written |
| 87. With a good grace | unmerited favor and love of God.সানন্দে | 17th BCS Written |
| 88. With a view to | In order to, উদ্দেশ্যে | 13th BCS Written |
| 89. Worth one’s while | to be an activity or action that you will get an advantage from, a pearl of great price যথার্থ মূল্য দেয়া | 20th BCS Written |
| 90. White elephant | a possession that is useless or troublesome, খরচযুক্ত অলাভহীন পদক্ষেপ, কাজে আসে না অথচ দামি ও অসুবিধাজনক | 10th, 26th BCS |
Pro Tip: Written by: S M Shamim Ahmed. N.B: I have been much careful to avoid mistakes. However, The Learners are most humbly requested to point out if such mistakes are detected!
Key Takeaways
- Idioms and phrases serve as the core ornaments of English vocabulary, essential for competitive examinations like the BCS.
- Many phrases are repeatedly featured across both preliminary and written BCS tests (e.g., Put up with, Out and out).
- Memorizing both the English definition and the Bengali meaning ensures complete preparation for translation and sentence-making questions.
Quick Practice
Test your understanding of Idioms and Phrases for BCS by answering these questions in the comments below:
- What is the meaning of the phrase "Bolt from the blue"?
- Translate the idiom "Black sheep" into Bengali and state its English equivalent.
FAQ
What is the best way to memorize Idioms and Phrases for BCS?
Because idioms possess figurative meanings rather than literal ones, they must be memorized systematically by reviewing previous years' questions and using them in contextual sentences.
Are BCS preliminary questions repeated in written exams?
Yes, many important idioms and phrases frequently appear across both preliminary and written examinations of different BCS batches, making past question banks indispensable.