Idioms (100 idioms)
IDIOMS – Set 1
Choose the correct meaning for each idiom.
1 catch somebody in the act
A A situation where someone is trying to do a lot of different things at one same time.
B To see someone doing something, usually something wrong
Answer : B
2 actions speak louder than words
A What you do is more important than what you say
B To do something in a more organised and effective way than before
Answer : A
3 be alive and kicking (of a person)
A Still healthy and active
B Laughing a lot while watching or hearing something
Answer : A
4 be the apple of somebody’s eye
A To be loved very much by someone
B Someone who has a bad effect on others in a group
Answer : A
5 be up in arms
A To show that you are very happy to see or greet someone
B To protest angrily
Answer : B
6 give yourself a pat on the back
A Pleased that someone or something is going away
B To feel pleased with yourself because you have done something well
Answer : B
7 bag of tricks
A Special skills and methods someone uses in their work
B To do something unexpected that helps you solve a problem
Answer : A
8 a wet blanket
A To make someone angry and ready to fight
B Someone who spoils other people’s fun
Answer : B
9 sweat blood
A To work extremely hard
B To be very determined to punish or defeat someone
Answer : A
10 have butterflies in your stomach
A To be very determined about doing something
B To feel very nervous before doing something
Answer : B
IDIOMS – Set 2
Choose the correct meaning for each idiom.
1 a close call
A An event that makes people realise that a situation is very bad
B A situation in which something bad nearly happened
Answer : B
2 burn the candle at both ends
A Be extremely busy
B Be working secretly together with someone
Answer : A
3 let the cat out of the bag
A To cause trouble in a group
B To let people know something secret
Answer : B
4 a wild goose chase
A To move on to the most important part of something
B A long time searching for something without finding it
Answer : B
5 be on cloud nine
A To be extremely happy
B Every bad situation has some good points
Answer : A
6 cream of the crop
A Someone or something that is the best of its kind
B Someone who always does something in the same way
Answer : A
7 off the cuff
A Something you do not like very much
B Without preparing what you are going to say
Answer : B
8 look daggers at someone
A To look at someone very angrily
B To dress and look neat and tidy
Answer : A
9 call it a day
A To decide to stop doing something
B To win an argument or competition
Answer : A
10 get a raw deal
A It doesn’t matter
B To be treated unfairly
Answer : B
IDIOMS – Set 3
Choose the correct meaning for each idiom.
1 be down in the dumps
A To feel very sad
B To fail in doing something
Answer : A
2 go Dutch with someone
A To share the cost of something with someone
B To annoy someone a lot
Answer : A
3 goes in one ear and out the other
A To have a big smile on your face
B When you tell someone something, they do not listen or remember it
Answer : B
4 put all your eggs in one basket
A Something partly good and partly bad
B To depend completely on one thing or action
Answer : B
5 a white elephant
A Something that is useless but expensive
B A situation where progress is no longer possible
Answer : A
6 at your wit’s end
A Very worried, not knowing how to solve a problem
B To suddenly become very angry and upset
Answer : A
7 make ends meet
A To have just enough money to buy what you need
B To have to start doing a difficult job without being prepared for it
Answer : A
8 not see eye to eye
A To hurt someone the same way they hurt you
B To disagree
Answer : B
9 turn a blind eye to something
A To notice carefully what is happening around you
B To ignore something
Answer : B
10 fall flat on your face
A To fail, often in an embarrassing way
B To be embarrassed or to lose people’s respect
Answer : A
IDIOMS – Set 4
Choose the correct meaning for each idiom.
1 keep a straight face
A To cause a lot of trouble suddenly
B To continue to look serious even though you want to laugh
Answer : B
2 a long face
A A sad or disappointed expression on your face
B Someone who is intelligent or good at his job
Answer : A
3 chew the fat
A To talk in a friendly and relaxed way
B To have a comfortable life while others are poor
Answer : A
4 curry favour with someone
A To frighten someone
B To try to make someone like you by praising them
Answer : B
5 a feather in your cap
A Something to be proud of
B Something that is very difficult to achieve
Answer : A
6 no hard feelings
A The feeling that you get when you realise suddenly that something unpleasant has happened
B I am not angry with you and hope you are not angry with me
Answer : B
7 drag your feet
A Extremely tired
B To take too much time doing something
Answer : B
8 get cold feet
A To want to travel or to change your job
B To feel afraid to do something that you have planned
Answer : B
9 sit on the fence
A To refuse to give a definite answer or opinion
B To make someone tired by making them walk a long way
Answer : A
10 fit as a fiddle
A To be completely healthy
B To continue fighting until someone wins
Answer : A
IDIOMS – Set 5
Choose the correct meaning for each idiom.
1 finders keepers, losers weepers
A You should return what you find
B If you find something, you can keep it
Answer : B
2 have green fingers
A To be able to grow plants successfully
B To work extremely hard
Answer : A
3 playing with fire
A To make someone work harder
B Taking unnecessary risks
Answer : B
4 like a fish out of water
A To have other more important things to do
B Feeling uncomfortable because you are in a situation that does not suit you
Answer : B
5 go up in flames
A To be completely destroyed by fire
B To do something that makes a bad situation worse
Answer : A
6 a flash in the pan
A Popular or successful for only a short time
B To show that you accept defeat
Answer : A
7 go with the flow
A To continue smoothly without stopping
B To accept new situations without worrying too much or trying to control the situations
Answer : B
8 food for thought
A Very confused and unable to think clearly
B Something that makes you think carefully
Answer : B
9 put your foot down
A To refuse to allow something to happen
B To say something embarrassing by mistake
Answer : A
10 have a frog in your throat
A To have difficulty in speaking because your throat is blocked for a moment
B To have a very bad sore throat that causes you to lose your voice
Answer : A
IDIOMS – Set 6
Choose the correct meaning for each idiom.
1 bear fruit
A Something that is attractive because you are not allowed to have it
B To produce the good results that you wanted
Answer : B
2 add fuel to the fire
A To do something that makes a bad situation much worse
B To make a joke about someone in an unkind way
Answer : A
3 somebody has a short fuse
A Someone that other people hardly notice
B Someone becomes angry very easily and quickly
Answer : B
4 run the gamut
A To talk or behave in a way that is not direct, honest or serious
B To include everything of a particular type of thing
Answer : B
5 gift of the gab
A The ability to talk a lot or with great effect
B To get what you deserve for doing something bad
Answer : A
6 when the going gets tough
A When a situation becomes difficult
B When you accept the fact that you will lose
Answer : A
7 up for grabs
A To be available to anyone
B To be in a situation where a lot of people know about your life
Answer : A
8 sour grapes
A To be very different from your natural behaviour
B A bad attitude that makes someone criticise something because they want it but cannot have it
Answer : B
9 the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
A Something else always seems better than what you have
B Something from which many people can make money
Answer : A
10 not let the grass grow under your feet
A To waste no time
B To take control of yourself
Answer : A
IDIOMS – Set 7
Choose the correct meaning for each idiom.
1 stand your ground
A To change your views or opinion
B To refuse to change your opinion
Answer : B
2 be on your guard
A To pay careful attention to what is happening
B To force someone to do something
Answer : A
3 let your hair down
A To enjoy and relax, especially after working hard
B To be very angry and frustrated
Answer : A
4 grind to a halt
A To stop working gradually
B To repeat something until someone understands it
Answer : A
5 go hand in hand
A To help someone in an unfamiliar situation
B Two things are closely related and often appear together
Answer : B
6 bury the hatchet
A To keep something a secret
B To agree to stop arguing
Answer : B
7 make hay while the sun shines
A To take the opportunity to do something now
B To manage to deal with all your problems
Answer : A
8 be head and shoulders above
A To be much better than
B To stay calm and reasonable
Answer : A
9 lose heart
A To tell someone everything that you are feeling
B Wanting to stop because you think you will not succeed
Answer : B
10 a red herring
A Information mentioned deliberately to turn attention from the real problem
B Something or someone that is finished and no longer important or active
Answer : A
IDIOMS – Set 8
Choose the correct meaning for each idiom.
1 by hook or by crook
A To get control over someone
B Using whatever methods you can
Answer : B
2 the eleventh hour
A The latest possible time you can do something
B The most important, most successful and best time in someone’s life
Answer : A
3 break the ice
A To do something that makes people relax when they have just met
B To be taking a risk
Answer : A
4 icing on the cake
A To look exactly like someone else
B Something that makes a good situation even better
Answer : B
5 strike while the iron is hot
A To force someone to make a decision or take action
B To take an opportunity at a time when you are likely to succeed
Answer : B
6 turn to jelly
A To feel very weak
B To fail to do the work you are supposed to do
Answer : A
7 concrete jungle
A An area of unpleasant and ugly concrete buildings in a city
B A jungle-like structure made of concrete
Answer : A
8 go under the knife
A To try in a determined way to defeat your opponent
B To have a medical operation
Answer : B
9 a knight in shinning armour
A A brave, romantic and protective man
B A person who has two very different parts to their character
Answer : A
10 Murphy’s law
A To deal with a problem yourself, sometimes in an illegal way
B If something can go wrong, it will go wrong
Answer : B
IDIOMS – Set 9
Choose the correct meaning for each idiom.
1 turn over a new leaf
A To be eager to start doing something
B To start behaving better
Answer : B
2 go out on a limb
A To be the only person who takes a risk
B To attack someone in a violent way
Answer : A
3 read between the lines
A Working towards the right results
B To understand something that is only suggested
Answer : B
4 lock, stock and barrel
A All or every part of something
B To stop doing something that is costing money
Answer : A
5 every man for himself
A A situation in which people look after themselves and do not help others
B A man who has been involved in a particular activity and is greatly respected
Answer : A
6 a dose of your own medicine
A To do something in order to get something else
B Bad treatment that is like the treatment you gave someone else
Answer : B
7 be on the mend
A The ability to earn money easily
B To be getting better/recover from an illness
Answer : B
8 burn the midnight oil
A To make special effort to do more than required
B To work or study until very late at night
Answer : B
9 no use crying over split milk
A Do not worry about something bad that has already happened
B To have a long, unpleasant and difficult experience
Answer : A
10 speak your mind
A To have the same opinion about a particular situation
B To say exactly what you think without feeling shy
Answer : B
IDIOMS – Set 10
Choose the correct meaning for each idiom.
1 make a mountain out of a molehill
A To treat something as if it is very difficult than it actually is
B To do something without trying very hard to succeed
Answer : A
2 hit the nail on the head
A To destroy someone’s success, hopes or plans
B To describe something in exactly the right way
Answer : B
3 a needle in a haystack
A To cause a lot of trouble
B Something that is very difficult to find
Answer : B
4 a pain in the neck
A To be very annoying
B To do something unpleasant because it will show good results
Answer : A
5 eat humble pie
A To admit you were wrong about something
B To tell someone how angry you are with them and why
Answer : A
6 a piece of cake
A To give your opinion in a very direct way
B Something that is very easy to do
Answer : B
7 a melting pot
A A place where people from many countries come together
B To bring a dish of food to a party
Answer : A
8 keep a low profile
A To be known as successful by the public
B To avoid doing anything that will make people notice you
Answer : B
9 be chasing rainbows
A To be trying to achieve something difficult or impossible
B To use your position of authority unfairly
Answer : A
10 a rule of thumb
A The most important rule
B A piece of advice or general rule which is usually true
Answer : B
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las drogas said
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be actually something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and extremely broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!