#Top 100 ENGLISH IDIOMS# Read thefollowing idioms and guess their meaning, and then make sentences. The answerkey will be posted here at the end of this semester. (This COURSE PROJECT bears10 points).

Top 100 IDIOMS

Read the following famous idioms andguess their meaning. And then make setenses with them respectively. 

  

IDIOMS– Set 1.   

Choosethe correct meaning for each idiom.  

1.catch somebody in the act  

A. a situationwhere someone is trying to do a lot of different things at one same time.  

B. Tosee someone doing something, usually something wrong       

      

2. actionsspeak louder than words  

A. Whatyou do is more important than what you say  

B. Todo something in a more organised and effective way than before       

 

3. bealive and kicking (of a person)  

A. Stillhealthy and active  

B. Laughinga lot while watching or hearing something       

      

4. bethe apple of somebody’s eye  

A. Tobe loved very much by someone  

B. Someonewho has a bad effect on others in a group       

      

5. beup in arms  

A. Toshow that you are very happy to see or greet someone  

B. Toprotest angrily       

      

6. giveyourself a pat on the back  

A. Pleasedthat someone or something is going away  

B. Tofeel pleased with yourself because you have done something well       

      

7. bagof tricks  

A. Specialskills and methods someone uses in their work  

B. Todo something unexpected that helps you solve a problem       

      

8. a wetblanket  

A. Tomake someone angry and ready to fight  

B. Someonewho spoils other people’s fun       

       

9. sweatblood  

A. Towork extremely hard  

B. Tobe very determined to punish or defeat someone       

      

10. havebutterflies in your stomach  

A. Tobe very determined about doing something  

B. Tofeel very nervous before doing something       

       

 

IDIOMS– Set 2.   

Choosethe correct meaning for each idiom.  

1. a closecall  

A. Anevent that makes people realise that a situation is very bad  

B. a situationin which something bad nearly happened       

      

2. burnthe candle at both ends  

A. Beextremely busy  

B. Beworking secretly together with someone       

      

3. letthe cat out of the bag  

A. Tocause trouble in a group  

B. Tolet people know something secret       

      

4. a wildgoose chase  

A. Tomove on to the most important part of something  

B. a longtime searching for something without finding it       

      

5. beon cloud nine  

A. Tobe extremely happy  

B. Everybad situation has some good points       

      

6. creamof the crop  

A. Someoneor something that is the best of its kind  

B. Someonewho always does something in the same way       

      

7. offthe cuff  

A. Somethingyou do not like very much  

B. Withoutpreparing what you are going to say       

      

8. lookdaggers at someone  

A. Tolook at someone very angrily  

B. Todress and look neat and tidy       

      

9. callit a day  

A. Todecide to stop doing something  

B. Towin an argument or competition       

      

10. geta raw deal  

A. Itdoesn’t matter  

B. Tobe treated unfairly       

       

 

IDIOMS– Set 3.   

Choosethe correct meaning for each idiom.   

1. bedown in the dumps  

A. Tofeel very sad  

B. Tofail in doing something       

 

2. goDutch with someone  

A. Toshare the cost of something with someone  

B. Toannoy someone a lot       

      

3. goesin one ear and out the other  

A. Tohave a big smile on your face  

B. Whenyou tell someone something, they do not listen or remember it       

      

4. putall your eggs in one basket  

A. Somethingpartly good and partly bad  

B. Todepend completely on one thing or action       

      

5. a whiteelephant  

A. Somethingthat is useless but expensive  

B. a situationwhere progress is no longer possible       

      

6. atyour wit’s end  

A. Veryworried, not knowing how to solve a problem  

B. Tosuddenly become very angry and upset       

      

7. makeends meet  

A. Tohave just enough money to buy what you need  

B. Tohave to start doing a difficult joB. without being prepared for it       

      

8. notsee eye to eye  

A. Tohurt someone the same way they hurt you  

B. Todisagree       

      

9. turna blind eye to something  

A. Tonotice carefully what is happening around you  

B. Toignore something       

      

10. fallflat on your face  

A. Tofail, often in an embarrassing way  

B. Tobe embarrassed or to lose people’s respect       

      

 

IDIOMS– Set 4.    

Choosethe correct meaning for each idiom.   

1. keepa straight face  

A. Tocause a lot of trouble suddenly  

B. Tocontinue to look serious even though you want to laugh       

      

2. a longface  

A. a sador disappointed expression on your face  

B. Someonewho is intelligent or good at his joB.        

      

3. chewthe fat  

A. Totalk in a friendly and relaxed way  

B. Tohave a comfortable life while others are poor       

      

4. curryfavour with someone  

A. Tofrighten someone  

B. Totry to make someone like you by praising them       

      

5. a featherin your cap  

A. Somethingto be proud of  

B. Somethingthat is very difficult to achieve       

      

6. nohard feelings  

A. Thefeeling that you get when you realise suddenly that something unpleasant hashappened  

B. Iam not angry with you and hope you are not angry with me       

      

7. dragyour feet  

A. Extremelytired  

B. Totake too much time doing something       

        

8. getcold feet  

A. Towant to travel or to change your joB.   

B. Tofeel afraid to do something that you have planned       

      

9. siton the fence  

A. Torefuse to give a definite answer or opinion  

B. Tomake someone tired by making them walk a long way       

      

10. fitas a fiddle  

A. Tobe completely healthy  

B. Tocontinue fighting until someone wins       

      

 

IDIOMS– Set 5.   

Choosethe correct meaning for each idiom.   

1. finderskeepers, losers weepers  

A. Youshould return what you find  

B. Ifyou find something, you can keep it       

      

2. havegreen fingers  

A. Tobe able to grow plants successfully  

B. Towork extremely hard       

      

3. playingwith fire  

A. Tomake someone work harder  

B. Takingunnecessary risks       

      

4. likea fish out of water  

A. Tohave other more important things to do  

B. Feelinguncomfortable because you are in a situation that does not suit you       

      

5. goup in flames  

A. Tobe completely destroyed by fire  

B. Todo something that makes a bad situation worse       

      

6. a flashin the pan  

A. Popularor successful for only a short time  

B. Toshow that you accept defeat       

      

7. gowith the flow  

A. Tocontinue smoothly without stopping  

B. Toaccept new situations without worrying too much or trying to control thesituations       

          

8. foodfor thought  

A. Veryconfused and unable to think clearly  

B. Somethingthat makes you think carefully       

      

9. putyour foot down  

A. Torefuse to allow something to happen  

B. Tosay something embarrassing by mistake

      

10. havea frog in your throat  

A. Tohave difficulty in speaking because your throat is blocked for a moment  

B. Tohave a very bad sore throat that causes you to lose your voice       

  

 

IDIOMS– Set 6.   

Choosethe correct meaning for each idiom.      

1. bearfruit  

A. Somethingthat is attractive because you are not allowed to have it  

B. Toproduce the good results that you wanted       

      

2. addfuel to the fire  

A. Todo something that makes a bad situation much worse  

B. Tomake a joke about someone in an unkind way       

      

3. somebodyhas a short fuse  

A. Someonethat other people hardly notice  

B. Someonebecomes angry very easily and quickly       

      

4. runthe gamut  

A. Totalk or behave in a way that is not direct, honest or serious  

B. Toinclude everything of a particular type of thing       

      

5. giftof the gaB.   

A. Theability to talk a lot or with great effect  

B. Toget what you deserve for doing something bad       

      

6. whenthe going gets tough  

A. Whena situation becomes difficult  

B. Whenyou accept the fact that you will lose       

      

7. upfor grabs  

A. Tobe available to anyone  

B. Tobe in a situation where a lot of people know about your life       

      

8. sourgrapes  

A. Tobe very different from your natural behaviour  

B. a badattitude that makes someone criticise something because they want it but cannothave it       

      

9. thegrass is always greener on the other side of the fence   

A. Somethingelse always seems better than what you have  

B. Somethingfrom which many people can make money               

10. notlet the grass grow under your feet  

A. Towaste no time  

B. Totake control of yourself       

       

IDIOMS– Set 7.    

Choosethe correct meaning for each idiom.  

1. standyour ground  

A. Tochange your views or opinion  

B. Torefuse to change your opinion       

      

2. beon your guard  

A. Topay careful attention to what is happening  

B. Toforce someone to do something       

      

3. letyour hair down  

A. Toenjoy and relax, especially after working hard  

B. Tobe very angry and frustrated       

      

4. grindto a halt  

A. Tostop working gradually  

B. Torepeat something until someone understands it       

      

5. gohand in hand  

A. Tohelp someone in an unfamiliar situation  

B. Twothings are closely related and often appear together       

      

6. burythe hatchet  

A. Tokeep something a secret  

B. Toagree to stop arguing       

      

7. makehay while the sun shines  

A. Totake the opportunity to do something now  

B. Tomanage to deal with all your problems       

      

8. behead and shoulders above  

A. Tobe much better than  

B. Tostay calm and reasonable       

      

9. loseheart  

A. Totell someone everything that you are feeling  

B. Wantingto stop because you think you will not succeed       

      

10. ared herring  

A. Informationmentioned deliberately to turn attention from the real problem  

B. Somethingor someone that is finished and no longer important or active       

       

IDIOMS– Set 8.    

Choosethe correct meaning for each idiom.   

1. byhook or by crook  

A. Toget control over someone  

B. Usingwhatever methods you can       

      

2. theeleventh hour  

A. Thelatest possible time you can do something  

B. Themost important, most successful and best time in someone’s life       

      

3. breakthe ice  

A. Todo something that makes people relax when they have just met  

B. Tobe taking a risk       

      

4. icingon the cake  

A. Tolook exactly like someone else  

B. Somethingthat makes a good situation even better       

          

5. strikewhile the iron is hot  

A. Toforce someone to make a decision or take action  

B. Totake an opportunity at a time when you are likely to succeed       

      

6. turnto jelly  

A. Tofeel very weak  

B. Tofail to do the work you are supposed to do       

      

7. concretejungle  

A. AnareA. of unpleasant and ugly concrete buildings in a city  

B. a jungle-likestructure made of concrete       

      

8. gounder the knife  

A. Totry in a determined way to defeat your opponent  

B. Tohave a medical operation       

      

9. a knightin shinning armour  

A. a brave,romantic and protective man  

B. a personwho has two very different parts to their character       

      

10. Murphy’slaw  

A. Todeal with a problem yourself, sometimes in an illegal way  

B. Ifsomething can go wrong, it will go wrong       

       

 

IDIOMS– Set 9.    

Choosethe correct meaning for each idiom.   

1. turnover a new leaf  

A. Tobe eager to start doing something  

B. Tostart behaving better       

      

2. goout on a limB.   

A. Tobe the only person who takes a risk  

B. Toattack someone in a violent way

             

3. readbetween the lines  

A. Workingtowards the right results  

B. Tounderstand something that is only suggested       

      

4. lock,stock and barrel  

A. Allor every part of something  

B. Tostop doing something that is costing money       

      

5. everyman for himself  

A. a situationin which people look after themselves and do not help others  

B. a manwho has been involved in a particular activity and is greatly respected       

      

6. a doseof your own medicine  

A. Todo something in order to get something else  

B. Badtreatment that is like the treatment you gave someone else       

      

7. beon the mend  

A. Theability to earn money easily  

B. Tobe getting better/recover from an illness       

      

8. burnthe midnight oil  

A. Tomake special effort to do more than required  

B. Towork or study until very late at night       

      

9. nouse crying over split milk  

A. Donot worry about something bad that has already happened  

B. Tohave a long, unpleasant and difficult experience       

       

10. speakyour mind  

A. Tohave the same opinion about a particular situation  

B. Tosay exactly what you think without feeling shy       

       

 

IDIOMS– Set 10.    

Choosethe correct meaning for each idiom.   

1. makea mountain out of a molehill  

A. Totreat something as if it is very difficult than it actually is  

B. Todo something without trying very hard to succeed       

      

2. hitthe nail on the head  

A. Todestroy someone’s success, hopes or plans  

B. Todescribe something in exactly the right way       

      

3. a needlein a haystack  

A. Tocause a lot of trouble  

B. Somethingthat is very difficult to find       

      

4. a painin the neck  

A. Tobe very annoying  

B. Todo something unpleasant because it will show good results       

      

5. eathumble pie  

A. Toadmit you were wrong about something  

B. Totell someone how angry you are with them and why       

      

6. a pieceof cake  

A. Togive your opinion in a very direct way  

B. Somethingthat is very easy to do       

      

7. a meltingpot  

A. a placewhere people from many countries come together  

B. Tobring a dish of food to a party       

      

8. keepa low profile  

A. Tobe known as successful by the public  

B. Toavoid doing anything that will make people notice you       

      

9. bechasing rainbows  

A. Tobe trying to achieve something difficult or impossible  

B. Touse your position of authority unfairly       

      

10. arule of thumb

A. Themost important rule  

B. a pieceof advice or general rule which is usually true