IDIOMS FROM UNITS

UNIT 1: IDIOMS RELATED TO FAMILY

1. Blood is thicker than water: Family ties are stronger than any other
relationships and so bood relatives will always remain loyal.
2. It runs in the family: many members of the family have the same quality
or ability.
3. The black sheep: a person who has done something that brings
embarrassement or shame to their family.
4. Family man. A man who has a wife and children and enjoys spending a
lot of time with them.
5. Like father, like son. Parents and children resemble each other and
sons tend to do what their father did.
6. Bad blood. There is bad feelings between people because of arguments
in the past.
7. Everybody and their uncle. There were a lot of people there.
8. Tied to his mum’s apron strings. Someone that needs their mother
and cannot act or think on their own.

UNIT 2: IDIOMS RELATED TO THE WEATHER

9. ‘It’s raining cats and dogs.’ It’s raining heavily.
10. ‘Feel under the weather.’ Be or feel ill.
11. ‘A storm in a tea cup’. Unnecessary worry about a matter that is not
important.
12. ‘Come rain or shine’. No matter what the weather or the situation will be.
13. ‘ Be as right as rain’. Feeling fin and healthy.
14. ‘Take a rain check’. Ask to rearrange a meeting.
15. ‘Throw caution to the wind’. Forget all your commitments and do
something crazy.
16. ‘Be on cloud nine’. Extremely happy.
17. ‘Rain on my parade’. Ruin your pleasure and plans.
18. ‘Steal the thunder’. Taking the attention away from someone.

UNIT 3 IDIOMS RELATED TO MUSIC

19. ‘ Face the music’: to accept criticism or punishment for something you
did.
20. ‘Show must go on’: one must carry on with what you are living.
21. ‘Dancing to someone’s tune’: do what somebody wants you to do.
22. ‘Change one’s tune’: to change your attitude.
 23. ‘Blowing one’s own trumpet’ : talk a lot about your own achievements.
24. ‘Strike a false note’: to sound insincere, to be out of place.
25. ‘Make a song and dance’: behave as if it was worse or more important
than it really is.

UNIT 4 IDIOMS RELATED TO SECRECY

26. ‘ My lips are sealed’: you promise to keep a secret.

27. ‘Let the cat out of the bag’: revealing a secret usually without intending
to.
28. ‘Split the beans’: revealing a secret. Give people information they are
not supposed to know.
29. ‘Keep a poker face’: keep a secret. Hide what you are thinking or feeling.
30. ‘Behind closed doors’: done privately or in secret, with no observers or
intruders.
31. ‘A dark horse’: secretive, or that very little is known about them.
32. ‘Bite one’s tongue’: try not to say what you really think or feel.
33. ‘Covering your tracks’: conceal or destroy evidence of what you’ve
done or where you’ve been.
34. ‘Sweep everything under the carpet’: try to hide something or keep it
secret because it is embarrassing or damaging

UNIT 5 IDIOMS RELATED TO HEALTH

35. ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’: to stay healthy and have a
good diet prevents going to the doctor.

36. ‘Prevention is better than cure’: It is better to stop something bad from
happening than it is to deal with it after it has happened.

37. ‘You are what you eat’: to be fit and healthy you need to eat good food.

38. ‘Early bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise’:
going to bed early and getting up early are food for success.

39. ‘A good wife and health are a man’s best wealth’: Finding the ideal
partner and being healthy are fundamental to happiness.

40. ‘A happy heart is better than a full purse’: money cannot buy true
happiness.

41. ‘To be content with little is true happiness’: You can’t get true
happiness through material possessions.
42. ‘Health and understanding are two great blessings of life’: People
who have good health and good sense are really lucky.

UNIT 6 IDIOMS RELATED TO EDUCATION

43. ‘Hit the books’: to study really hard.

44. ‘Learn by heart’: memorise something so that you can repeat it without
seeing it.

45. ‘Pass with flying colours: pass something easily and with a high score.

46. ‘Make the grade’: (not) be satisfactory and of an expected level.

47. ‘Crank out a paper’: write a paper or essay in a mechanical way, without
giving it much thought.

48. ‘Play hooky’: to stay away from school without permission.

UNIT 7 IDIOMS RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY

49. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks: it is difficult to make someone
change the way they do something when they’ve been doing it the same
way for a long time.

50. Light years away: an extremely long time from now int the past or the
future

51. Wires crossed: be confused or mistaken about something

52. Be firing on all cylinders: going as well as it could.

53. It’s not rocket science: it’s not difficult to do or to understand.

54. Be on the same wavelength: think in a similar way, so as to understand

each other well.
 OTHER IDIOMS

http://www.smart-words.org/quotes-sayings/idioms-meaning.html

1. ‘The best of both worlds’ – means you can enjoy two different opportunities
at the same time.
“By working part-time and looking after her kids two days a week she managed
to get the best of both worlds.”
2. ‘Speak of the devil’ – this means that the person you’re just talking about
actually turns up at that moment.
“Hi Tom, speak of the devil, I was just telling Sara about your new car.”
3. ‘See eye to eye’ – this means agreeing with someone.
“They finally saw eye to eye on the business deal.”
4. ‘Once in a blue moon’ – an event that happens infrequently.
“I only go to the cinema once in a blue moon.”
5. ‘When pigs fly’ – something that will never happen.
“When pigs fly she’ll tidy up her room.”
6. ‘To cost an arm and a leg’– something is very expensive.
“Fuel these days costs and arm and a leg.”
7. ‘A piece of cake’– something is very easy.
“The English test was a piece of cake.”
8. ‘Let the cat out of the bag’ – to accidentally reveal a secret.
“I let the cat out of the bag about their wedding plans.”
9. ‘To feel under the weather’ – to not feel well.
“I’m really feeling under the weather today; I have a terrible cold.”
10. ‘To kill two birds with one stone’ – to solve two problems at once.
“By taking my dad on holiday, I killed two birds with one stone. I got to go away
but also spend time with him.”
11. ‘To cut corners’ – to do something badly or cheaply.
“They really cut corners when they built this bathroom; the shower is leaking.”
12. ‘To add insult to injury’ – to make a situation worse.
“To add insult to injury the car drove off without stopping after knocking me off
my bike.”
13. ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’ – to not judge someone or
something based solely on appearance.
“I thought this no-brand bread would be horrible; turns out you can’t judge a
book by its cover.”
14. ‘Break a leg’ – means ‘good luck’ (often said to actors before they go on
stage).
“Break a leg Sam, I’m sure your performance will be great.”
15. ‘To hit the nail on the head’ – to describe exactly what is causing a
situation or problem.
“He hit the nail on the head when he said this company needs more HR
support.”

To test your new-found knowledge here are some sentences to practice

with. Fill in the blank!
A) I can’t afford this purse! It _______. I won’t be able to pay my rent!
B) His birthday was supposed to be a surprise! I can’t believe you _____. Now
he knows!
C) Ha! John has been promising to paint the house for five years…. Maybe
when _______.
D) Yeah, it’ll _______. I need to sign some papers at Jenny’s school anyway so
i’ll pick her up for you too.
E) I don’t really like going out to bars anymore. I only go _______.
F) I’m sorry I can’t come into work today. I’m ________. I have a sore throat
and runny nose.
G) They tried ________ when installing the pipes for the house and now we
have leaks only one month after purchasing it!
H) We missed our flight to Paris because the connecting flight was late and to
______ they made us pay for a new ticket as if it was our fault!
I) I can’t wait to see you perform on stage tonight! ______!
J) Jane is just never on time to work, it’s really annoying. O wow, ______ here
she comes…
K) So we’re going to London, then Munich, then we will fly out of Athens, right?
Great. I’m so glad to be traveling with someone I _______ with.
L) Wow, she found her dream man and has now landed an amazing job. She
really does have ______.
M) OK, she might not be the most attractive but _________. I’m sure she is a
sweetheart.
N) I have been trying to figure this out for ages. Thanks so much, you’re right.
You _______.
O) I can’t believe that was our test. I think it was easier than some of our
homework! It was a ______.
 Answers: 6, 8, 5, 10, 4, 9, 11, 12, 14, 2, 3, 1, 13, 15, 7

Idioms, can you guess their meanings? (Answers below)

1. A penny for your thoughts

2. Add insult to injury
3. A hot potato
4. Once in a blue moon
5. Caught between two stools
6. See eye to eye
7. Hear it on the grapevine
8. Miss the boat
9. Kill two birds with one stone
10. On the ball
11. Cut corners
12. To hear something straight from the horse's mouth
13. Costs an arm and a leg
14. The last straw
15. Take what someone says with a pinch of salt
16. Sit on the fence
17. The best of both worlds
18. Put wool over other people's eyes
19. Feeling a bit under the weather
20. Speak of the devil!

Meanings

1. This idiom is used as a way of asking someone what they are thinking
about.
2. When people add insult to injury, they make a bad situation even worse.
3. This idiom is used to speak of an issue (especially in current affairs)
which many people are talking about.
4. This is used when something happens very rarely.
5. When someone finds it difficult to choose between two alternatives.
6. This idiom is used to say that two (or more people) agree on something.
7. This means ‘to hear a rumour' about something or someone.
8. This idiom is used to say that someone missed his or her chance at
something.
9. This means ‘to do two things at the same time'.
10. When someone understands the situation well.
11. When something is done badly to save money. For example, when
someone buys products that are cheap but not of good quality.
12. To hear something from the authoritative source.
13. When something is very expensive.
14. The final problem in a series of problems.
15. This means not to take what someone says too seriously. There is a big
possibility that what he/she says is only partly true.
16. This is used when someone does not want to choose or make a
decision.
17. All the advantages.
18. This means to deceive someone into thinking well of them.
19. Feeling slightly ill.
20. This expression is used when the person you have just been talking
about arrives.