IDIOMS XXII
MIXED IDIOMS
IDOMS XXI
THREE-WORD IDIOMS V
Can you think of a three-word idiom that matches each of the descriptions below?
Ex. Increase what is at stake - - - UP THE ANTE
1. Child leaving home to live independently
2. Date more than one person at a time
3. The government of a country and its affairs
4. A big fuss over something or a long, untruthful story meant to distract
5. Easy, comfortable circumstances
6. Spiel that tries to persuade someone to accept something untrue or undesirable
7. In close association or collusion
8. Unfair, disregarding the rules (as in boxing), crude or insulting - as a remark
9. Risk everything in an all-out effort
10. Admit that what you said was wrong, retract it, and perhaps be embarrassed
11. Try something in a small way to gauge the situation
12. Qualify, Come up to expectations, Meet the required standard
13. Essential, an integral and inseparable piece of something else
14. Set a limit on what one is willing to do or accept and stick to it
15. Pay for the essential things you need to live when you have limited money
Answers:
IDIOMS XX
THREE-WORD IDIOMS IV
Can you think of a three-word idiom that matches each of the descriptions below?
Ex: Full of mystery and suspense - CLOAK AND DAGGER
1. Approach or extend the limits of what is accepted or possible
2. Make a mistake / Fail to complete a task
3. Be in charge, be the boss
4. Without preparation, unrehearsed
5. Increase what is at stake, especially in a dispute or conflict
6. Figure it out for yourself based on obvious facts
7. Act before the proper time
8. Ecstatically happy
9. Comparison of two very different things
10. Bear the consequences at a later time for an activity one enjoyed - often an irresponsible one
Answers:
IDIOMS XIX
THREE-WORD IDIOMS III
Can you think of a three-word idiom that matches each of the descriptions below?
Ex: Not feeling well - UNDER THE WEATHER
IDIOMS XVIII
THREE-WORD IDIOMS II
Can you think of a three-word idiom that matches the descriptions below?
IDIOMS XVII
THREE-WORD IDIOMS I
Can you think of a three-word idiom that matches the descriptions below?
IDIOMS XVI
Can you think of an idiomatic expression to describe the following conditions?
1. Telling (ratting) on someone, giving information to the police about the criminal activities of others
2. Publicly criticize someone to cast suspicion/aspersions on his/her character
3. "You might not be very good at this." - when considering changing fields
4. Perform a very difficult task that is crucial to the success of the plan
5.You never for get how to do it
6. Immediately, without delay - unplanned
7. Do less than the best word to save time/money
8. Something (unpleasant) is inevitable, so just do it and get it over with
9. Qualify - make the grade
10. Lost opportunity
11. The smallest things can undermine the whole plan
12. Hold on to that thought
Answers:
1. Drop the dime on (from the days when a payphone call cost a dime)
2. Throw shade
3. Don't quit your day job
4. Bell the cat
5. Like riding a bike
6. At the drop of a hat (from the time a dropped hat would start a race)
7. Cut corners
8. Bite the bullet
9. Cut the mustard
10. That ship has sailed
11. The devil's in the details
12. Put a pin in it
IDIOMS XV
Answer each clue with an animal idiom. For example, Very slow would be Snail's pace.
IDIOMS XIV
Answer each clue with an animal idiom. For example, Feeling uncomfortable and out of place, would be Fish out of water.
Can you think of an idiomatic expression containing the name of an animal to answer the clues below?
Example: Ruthlessly competitive - Dog-eat-dog
HEAD TO TOE II
HEAD TO TOE I
IDIOMS XIII
Idioms are often colorful and unexpected ways to express common situations. For example, if a person has passed a critical point and is out of danger, we might say he's "out of the woods." Or, if there's still a possibility of difficulties, we might say, he's "not out of the woods yet."Can you think of an idiomatic expression that describes the following mundane situations in an interesting way?
1. Accept and deal with something difficult in a calm way
2. Enjoy the beauty of each day and don't worry about the future
3. Something or someone so superior to another that there is no comparison
4. Very comfortable and easy - often with "no" to emphasize that something is not easy.
5. Start a conversation or otherwise ease a tense situation with some activity
6. Eliminate corruption and/or inefficiency, as in a company
7. Be in charge, make the decisions, as in a family
8. Skeptical, unwilling to accept something without proof
9. Make a living, earn enough money to live
10. Cause or mark the end of something, as a career
11. Evoke tumultuous, long-lasting applause, as an opera aria might do
12. Done or said spontaneously, informal, without preparation
13. Family loyalty will always be stronger than other relationships
14. Arrange something so that the results will likely favor a certain outcome
15. Abandon someone at a critical moment, forcing them to be responsible for the situation
Answers:
IDIOMS XII
Can you think of an idiom that answers the following situations?
1. Pontius Pilate did this to show he bore no responsibility for Jesus' death.
2. Avoid hurting someone who is helping you.
3. Easily the winner, definitely the one that is preferred
4. Continue to defend a position, don't yield to pressure
5, Very confusing - sarcastically
6. Applying to all, as cutbacks in a company
7. A subject or issue over which there is continuing disagreement
8. Take charge, advance a cause - as in certain sports
9. To reject something because it's not good enough - according to you
10. To think of or treat something or someone as unimportant or unworthy of respect
Answers:
IDIOMS XI
Some idiomatic expressions are easy to understand. For example, a deceitful person is "a snake in the grass." But how do you explain "Take a shine to" as meaning to like someone? It's all part of the richness and fluidity of our language. There is often an historical explanation for idioms, but in every-day use, sometimes you "just have to know them." Can you think of idioms that correspond to the situations below?
1. Challenge someone
2. Switch positions on an issue
3. Moving or working very slowly
4. Shift responsibility to someone else
5. Possible, but highly unlikely to happen
6. Compete very well, even though you lose
7. Have an unwelcome responsibility placed on you because others flake out
8. Perform the most difficult and crucial parts of a task
9. Know how to act or treat others to get what you want
10. Be inconsistent, changing between two moods, attitudes, etc.
Answers:
IDIOMS X
Many idiomatic expressions seem to have little connection to the situations they describe. But on closer inspection, there is a connection, often an historical one, between the literal meaning of the words and those conditions. For example, the idiom To throw your hat in the ring - meaning to run for political office - comes from the sport of boxing. In early boxing matches, if someone wanted to challenge someone to a fight, he would literally throw his hat into the boxing ring.
Can you think of idioms that describe the situations below?
IDIOMS IX
The idiomatic expression "in the pink" means to feel healthy and strong. But "out of the pink" doesn't mean to feel weak or ill. In fact, no says "out of the pink" when referring to their health. Can you think of any other phrases that are the opposites of well-known idioms, but are never used - as prompted by the hints below?
IDIOMS VIII
Cliches are insightful expressions, but ones that have been used so often that they have lost their impact. Many idiomatic expressions have become cliches. These overused phrases are often scoffed at as being unoriginal, but I think it's important to remember that their overuse demonstrates how precisely they capture the point they're intended to convey.
Can you name the cliche/idiom that describes the following situations?
