IELTS IDOMS FOR CONVERSATION -1

a blessing in disguise
a drop in the ocean
a piece of cake
actions speak louder than words
an arm and a leg
chip on his shoulder
it's a small world
jumping the gun
once in a blue moon
over the moon

1. Getting my car fixed is going to cost me___________________________as the engine has

completely blown, but I have no choice. I need it for work.

2. The flu I had a few weeks ago which prevented me from going on holiday with my friends
was ____________________ They had a terrible time. Everything went wrong and it cost them
a lot of money.

3. I was in a caf in Italy and amazingly I saw Paul from down the road in
there.______________

4. Jan is finally getting a chance to go on her trip of a life time, a holiday to Australia! She
was___________ when I spoke to her.

5. 3 pounds may seem like_____________but if everyone contributed that much we'd have
thousands.

6. The government keeps talking about reducing poverty but what do they ever do about it?
Nothing!

7. I've got a promotion at work, but all John did was make a joke about it. He has a real
_________. think he is just jealous.

8. The interview for that new job was__________________. They asked me really easy
questions.

9. The new Martin Scorsese film is out at the cinema. A film that comes out that I really enjoy
and want to see happens____________, so I'll definitely go and see it.

10. He was________________ when he gave up his job to start university. Now he has found
out he can't get a grant.
 IELTS IDOMS FOR CONVERSATION -2

back to the drawing board

between a rock and a hard place
bite your tongue
cut to the chase
every cloud has a silver lining
find your feet
fixed in his/her ways
get up on the wrong side of the bed
go the extra mile
put all your eggs in one basket

1. Can you ____________________and tell us if we are going to lose our jobs or not?
2. Don't be so grumpy with me! Did you __________________________ ?

3. He's very___________________________ . He'll never vote Labour. He's voted for

the Conservative party his whole life.

4. I know everything seems very bad at the moment but___________________ I'm sure
something good will come out of it.

5. I know you shouldnt ______________________ but I'm going to sell all my stocks
and shares and purchase an off-plan property in Spain. I'm sure it will be fine.

6. I was______________________________in that meeting. I really wanted to tell him

that his idea was no good but you can't say that to the boss.

7. It doesn't look like this strategy to improve the company's profits is working, so
it's________________________________ !

8. Jane really_______________________yesterday. I only asked her to pick the kids up

from school, but she took them home, helped with their homework and put them to bed.

9. She's_______________________. Her marriage isn't working so she's very unhappy

at home, but if she moves out and leaves him her family will blame her and won't talk to
her.

10. The job might seem confusing at first as there are a lot of different departments you
need to work with but you'll soon___________________________________.