English Idioms and Exercises

English Idioms and Exercises
eloquence in the English language

Food
Idioms
apple of his eye
cool as a cucumber
couch potato
full of beans
gravy train
half baked
hot potato
nutty as a fruitcake
sell like hot cakes
worth one’s salt
What do they mean?
someone or something that is most important
not nervous
somebody who is lazy
energetic
job that is paid more than its worth
not prepared
a controversial issue
crazy
sell quickly
deserving of one’s pay
Exercise
Write a short story with idioms connected to food.
Here is my story to give you an idea of what you can do:
Once upon a time there was a princess named Anna. She was an apple in her father’s eye. Unlike most
princesses who only wanted to look pretty and wait for their perfect prince, Anna was full of beans and wanted
to be worth her salt.
She always thought that princess’s job was a gravy train – all you had to do is to be a couch potato that looked
and smelt good.
Anna wanted to do something fun and challenging – something that would change her boring life. Anna
decided to open a juice bar.
Anna’s shop became a hot potato – everybody talked about it.
The court was divided: some thought Anna was nutty as a fruitcake others believe that her drinks, fruit desserts
and shakes would sell like hot cakes.
On the day before the opening it turned out that the suppliers have failed Anna and that her desserts were half
baked. Anna remained cool as a cumber and worked all night to have everything ready for the grand opening.
Her shop turned out to be a huge success.

Colours
Idioms
What do they mean?
as black as a stack of black cats very black
red tape excessive bureaucracy
as white as a ghost
very pale because of fear or shock
black and blue
bruised
chase rainbows
to try to achieve something difficult
green eyed monster
jealousy
have a yellow streak
to be cowardly
in the pink
in good health
in a brown study
in a state of deep thought
rosy
lovely, nice
Exercise
Fill in the gap with an appropriate word or words.
1. John became ___________ as a ghost when he saw a face in the window
She fell down the stairs, she is black and ___________
4. If there wasn’t so much red ___________ , the company would be up and running already.
5.
6.
My grandma was in the ___________ when I last saw her.
John cannot hear you. He is in a ___________ study.
The little boy was as ___________ as a stack of ___________ cats after playing outside all day.

Numbers
Idioms
eighty six
have one over the eight
fifth wheel
have forty winks
half an eye
look like a million
dollars
be on cloud nine
be in seventh heaven
two peas in the pod
zero in on something
What do they mean?
an item is no longer available
slightly drunk
unnecessary
snooze, nap
not paying all attention to something
look great
very happy
really happy
two people that are very similar
focus all attention on something
Examples
5
th
My boss is very observant, he immediately zeros in on our mistakes.
Do not take her seriously, she has had one over the eight.
It is very hard to tell them apart, they are almost the same. They are two peas in the pod!
Everyone had something to do – they were given a specific task. I felt like a fifth
wheel – I had absolutely nothing to do!
Since he met Joan , he’s been in seventh heaven.
Exercise
Rewrite the explanation of the all the idioms in your own words.

Animals
Idioms
as awkward as a cow on roller
skates
as blind as a bat
as conceited as a barber’s cat
as drunk as a skunk
as gruff as a bear
as sly as a fox
badger someone
bark up the wrong tree
a cock and bull story
very clumsy
blind
vain
very drunk (we also say drunk as a lord)
unsociable
clever, devious
to get someone to do something by
bothering them
to choose the wrong course of action
cheerful
story that is untrue
Exercise
Match idiom with their synonyms: sightless, intoxicated, rude, canny, inelegant, animated, false,
big headed, annoy
1. as awkward as a cow on roller skates ___________
2. as blind as a bat ___________
3. as conceited as a barber’s cat ___________
4. as drunk as a skunk ___________
5. as gruff as a bear ___________
6. as sly as a fox ___________
7. badger someone ___________
8. bark up the wrong tree ___________
9. bright-eyed and bushy-tailed ___________
10. a cock and bull story – story that is untrue ___________
Exercise
Now add antonyms: seeing, polite, honest,
help, clarify, true, sad, graceful, modest,
sober.

Business
Idioms
ball park figures
banker’s hours
bean counter
cut corners
finger in the pie
give someone the green
light
heads will roll
in black and white
in the red
take a nose dive
a rough or approximate estimate
short work hours
accountant
save, economize
involved in something that is happening
to give permission to do something
someone will be punished
in writing
losing money
fail
Exercise
When you are using idioms accuracy is crucial. Take a couple of minute to revise idioms connected with business
and than choose the correct word.
1. To save or economize is to cut ___________
a. holes
b. nooks
c. corners
2. Anna wants to be involved in everything – she does not believe that we can do it ourselves. Anna wants to have her
___________ in pie.
a. toe
b. nose
c. finger
3. To be in the black means to be financially stable. The opposite is to be in the ___________
a. pink
b. red
c. purple
4. A rough estimate is a ball ___________ figure.
a. green
b. garden
c. park
5. Our company’s ___________ counters spent two days searching for 2$ in the books.
a. bean
b. grain
c. spot
6. They’ve just been ___________ the green light to build two new supermarkets in the town.
a. made
b. granted
c. given

Random
Idioms
curiosity killed the cat
monkey business
beating around the bush
chow down
cry wolf
devil’s advocate
excuse my French
full monty
hold your horses
kick the bucket
What do they mean?
if you are to nosy it can get you into
trouble
dishonest
avoiding the main subject
to eat
intentionally raise a false alarm
someone who takes a position for the sake
of argument without believing in what
he/she is saying.
please forgive me for Swearing
the whole thing/ completely nude
be patient
die
Exercise
Create the flashcards that would illustrate the random idioms. You may find some inspiration below.

6. Which two idioms mean the same
a. in the red = rosy
b. couch potato = hot potato
c. have forty winks = have half an eye
d. to be in the seventh heaven = to be on cloud number nine
7. Allan is incredibly vain, all he thinks about are his looks. He is:
a. as conceited as a barber’s cat
b. bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
c. as awkward as a cow on roller skates
d. as gruff as a bear
Exercise
1. 1. John had a car accident yesterday. He is…
a. bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
b. black and white
c. black and blue
d. grey
2. Someone who has had ‘one too many’ has drunk too much alcohol. What are the other idioms describing being drunk?
(all have to be correct)
a. drunk as a skunk, drunk as a lord, have one over the eight
b. drunk as a skunk, drunk as a king, have one over the eight
c. drunk as a pig, dead drunk, tired and emotional
d. drunk as an elephant, to be a bar fly, well-oiled
3. To be as nice as pie’ means to be extremely nice so that you can easily fool people. What does it mean to have your finger in
the pie?
a. to be devious
b. avoiding the main subject
c. to eat
d. to be involved in something
4. John always plays ……… He loves when we argue.
a. cry wolf
b. devil’s advocte
c. full monty
d. hard to get
5. 5. One slang name to call an accountant is a number cruncher. What is the other one?
a. nut cracker
b. pea counter
c. bean counter
d. grain counter
8. Which idioms describe a crazy person
a. half baked, zero in on something, bark up the wrong tree
b. full of beans, zero in on something, chow down
c. nutty as a fruitcake, to have bats in the belfry, to have a kangaroo loose in top paddock
d. nutty as a fruitcake, full of beans, half baked
9. One of the idioms derives from a story.
The story is about a shepard boy who repeatedly tricks nearby villagers into thinking a wild animal is attacking his sheep.. When th
animal actually does appear, the people do not believe the boy’s cries for help, and the sheep are killed. What did the boy cry out?
a. Fox
b. wolf
c. tiger
d. snake
10. You tell somebody ‘to cut to the chase’ or get to the point’ when they are
a. beating around the bush
b. kicking thhe bucket
c. looking like million $
d. back to square one
11. When we want to say somebody has gone into a rapid emotional or financial decline we say that they have taken
a _________ dive
a. head
b. nose
c. foot
d. shoulders
12. Nobody in the group has achieved their targets; head will __________
a. roll
b. spin
c. reel
d. fall
13. I would have never believed it was true – had I not seen it in _________
a. black and blue
b. black and white
c. black
d. grey

Answers
Food:
The idiom on the picture is: couch potato
Colours
The idiom on the picture is: as white as a ghost
Exercise
1. as white
yellow
blue
4. tape
5. rainbows
6. rosy
pink
green
brown
black, black
Numbers (examples)
The idiom on the picture is: to look like million $.
1. My boss is very observant, he immediately pays attention to our mistakes
Do not take her seriously, she is tipsy.
It is very hard to tell them apart, they are almost the same. They look like twins.
4. Everyone had something to do – they were given a specific task. I felt useless – I had absolutely nothing to do.
5. Since he met Joan, he is very happy.
6.
I’m tired – I’ll go and have a nap. Call me in a quarter of an hour.
She checked on the kids from time to time while she was cleaning.
On the day of the wedding she looked gorgeous.
Animals
The idiom on the picture is: as sly as a fox
1. as awkward as a cow on roller skates inelegant graceful
as blind as a bat sightless seeing
as conceited as a barber’s cat modest
4. as drunk as a skunk intoxicated sober
5. as gruff as a bear rude polite
6. as sly as a fox canny honest
badger someone annoy help
bark up the wrong tree mistake clarify
animated sad
11. a cock and bull story false true
Business
The idiom on the picture is: heads will roll
1. a)
c)
b)
4. c)
5. a)
6. c)
The last exercise:
1. c)
a)
d)
4. b)
5. c)
6. d)
a)
c)
b)
a)
11. b)
a)
b)