Idioms beginning with C

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charity begins at home

Meaning: the family comes first, and one should help their family before helping others

Example: She spends the little money that she earns on social work and neglects her own family, forgetting that charity begins at home. Read more ➺


change of heart

Meaning: change one's opinion or the way one feels about something

Example: The call-back of the military and troops from Afghanistan shows a change of heart by the British government. Read more ➺


catch-22

Meaning: the particular situation in which one cannot win

Example: I couldn't start my own business until I have got money, and I couldn't get the money until I start my own business, oh my God, this is the real Catch-22 situation. Read more ➺


castles in the air

Meaning: thinking of some impossible task

Example: She keeps talking about her big-time ambitions, but it's all castles in the air. Read more ➺


carrot and stick

Meaning: mixture of rewards and punishments

Example: He said the carrot and stick approach is in effective when it comes to management. Read more ➺


card up sleeve

Meaning: to have a secret advantage that is suddenly revealed to change the game

Example: He did not just leave his house. He had a card up his sleeve that he did not even reveal to his family, which was his new flat in a posh locality. Read more ➺


crack of dawn

Meaning: very early in the morning

Example: We shared, cared and cheered until we were at the crack of dawn. Read more ➺


can of worms

Meaning: to get into something that is messy, has problems and is unwanted

Example: The can of worms was wide open when he asked her about her past. Read more ➺


close the books

Meaning: set the ending to a concerned issue

Example: The accountant closed the books and that was the end of your 40 year old favourite sweet shop. Read more ➺


cross the bridge

Meaning: to delay worrying about something that might not happen anyway

Example: We think that there may be too many people to fit into the hall, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Read more ➺


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