Useful Idioms - 1

No. Idioms Sentences

1. be a bundles of nerves Jacklyn is always a bundle of nerves

to be very nervous when she has to sit an exam.
2. at crack of dawn We will have to leave home at crack
very early in the morning of dawn to catch the first bus.
3. foot the bill Qiqi applied for a bank loan to help
to pay for something him foot the bill for her daughter’s
wedding.
4. put (sth) on the back burner Their plans to move house have been
to delay dealing with something, to set put on the back burner for the
aside in order to attend to it later
moment.
5. hit the nail on the head My father hit the nail on the head
to be absolutely accurate or exact when he said that Jack was a villain.
6. set one’s heart on (sth) Irene has set her heart on studying
to be very keen to get or do something medicine. The child had set his
heart on a trip to the seaside.
7. pluck up courage/screw up The junior clerk finally plucked up
one’s courage courage and asked his boss for a
to force oneself to do something wage rise.
although one might be feeling afraid or
unwilling
8. a piece of cake The first exam was a piece of cake
something very easy or simple to do but the others were very difficult.
9. with flying colours Anne came through the job interview
very easily and successfully with flying colours.
10. grin from ear to ear The coach of the local football team
to smile broadly, to look very pleased or was grinning from ear to ear when
happy
they won the cup.
 The Driving Test

Jenny was on her way to take her driving test and she was _________

___________. Despite having got up at ___________________ to read

her driving manual once more, she felt that she knew nothing. If only she

had listened to her father. ‘It’s easier to get a job if you can drive,’ he had

said and offered to _____________________ for the lessons. ‘I’ll think

about it,’ Jenny had replied and put the idea ______________________

for some time. When she left college and started job-hunting, she

discovered that her father had _______________________________.

There were indeed more jobs available for drivers. One of her friends was a

sales rep for a publishing company and Jenny had ___________________

getting a similar job. That meant getting a driving licence. With a great deal

of encouragement from family and friends she had __________________

to enrol for driving lessons.

‘Learning to drive is ____________________,’ Jenny’s brother kept

saying, but she found it quite difficult. Although her instructor, Mr Black,

was sure that she would pass ___________________ at her first attempt,

she herself was not so confident. However, Mr Black was right. As Jenny

came out of the test centre to meet her family, she was

________________________________. She had passed. Now she would

be able to apply for the job – and get a company car.