Important Idioms and Phrases starting with “I”

Idioms and Phrases

Meaning

Sentence

In a trice

Without causing any delays.

I will be there in a trice, stop calling me so often.

In a tight corner

to be in a difficult situation

She had been in tight corners before and had always managed to get out of them.

In deep water

in difficulty, in a problem.

I’m going to being deep water if my boss refuses to approve the project done by me after the hard work of a week

In a nutshell

to state something very concisely

The explanation is long and involved but let me put it in a nutshell for you. To put it in a nutshell: you are fired!

In the dark

uninformed, a state of ignorance.

We’re still in the dark about the company’s layoff policy

In cold blood

in a planned way and without pity or other emotion.

One young lady was shot dead in cold blood inside the premises of shopping complex.

In the blink of an eye

in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the robber disappeared from the bank with the bag of Gold jewellery.

In black and white

: formally, on paper and in writing.

He asked his old mother not to worry as the terms of the hand agreement was spelled out in black and white.

In the good books

be in somebody’s favour or good opinion.

The fact that he always managed to be in the good books of the bosses surprised one and all.

In high spirits

With joy

They were happy and in high spirits

In apple pie order

Clean and Arranged.

His desk is always in apple pie order

in a fog

Great confusion

I did not vote for him, as he seems to always be in a fog.

In the nick of time

At the last possible moment

The ambulance arrived in the nick of time. Had it been late by 5 min the patient would have died.

Ill-gotten gains

Money or other possessions gained dishonestly

All his ill-gotten gains are hidden somewhere in his bedroom.

In a dead heat

Two or more competitors that finish the task at an exact same time or produce the same result

The two horses finished the race in a dead heat

In a split second

In a very short time

Everything was calm but in a split second the storm hit and caused many casualties.

In one’s cups

Drunk, consumed alcohol liberally

He couldn’t be understood as he was in his cups.

Itchy feet

Feeling a need to travel

She has itchy feet again. She says she will travel to Sydney.