Idioms Exercises

About Idioms exercises

An idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning is different from the meaning of its separate words. When someone says they are under the weather, they are not talking about the sky. They feel ill. The exercises run from B1 to C2.

To use an idiom well, learn its meaning, its exact wording and its register. Most idioms cannot change. You can say let the cat out of the bag, but not let the dog out of the bag. Some are informal and suit conversation better than formal writing. In each question, read the whole sentence and decide what the speaker means before you look at the options. Do not translate word by word. If you do not know an idiom, use the sentence around it to guess whether the meaning is positive or negative. Check your guess against the feedback and keep a list of the idioms you miss. Write each one with a short example, such as It was a blessing in disguise, so you remember the context and not only the meaning.

Start with the B1 gap fill. Each question gives most of an everyday idiom and a short meaning clue, and you add the missing word, as in call it a day (stop working). The B2 multiple-choice set uses idioms for work. If you bite the bullet, you do something unpleasant that you cannot avoid. If you cut corners, you do a job badly to save time or money. The C2 set tests rarer idioms.

• Choosing an idiom that fits the meaning of a sentence
• Working out an idiom from the context around it
• Keeping the exact wording of fixed expressions
• Telling formal idioms from informal ones