Confusing words / expressions

1. When Richard said something about his brother's surprise birthday party, he "let the cat out of the bag."
Richard gave his brother a cat for his birthday.
Richard revealed a secret.
Richard's brother is celebrating his birthday.
2. Mr. Evans was "in the doghouse" with his wife because he spent all day Sunday watching football instead of helping her clean the
house.
Mr. Evans enjoys watching football.
Mr. Evans is going to build a doghouse for his dog.
Mrs. Evans is angry with her husband.

3. When George asked Karen how she knew that William was getting married, she said that she "heard it straight from the horse's
mouth."
William told Karen that he was getting married.
Karen and William are getting married.
George told Karen that he was getting married.

4. When I clean my house today, I can also rearrange the furniture. That way, I can "kill two birds with one stone."
I have a lot of time to clean the house.
I can do two things at the same time.
I can rearrange the furniture after I clean the house.

5. David moved to the countryside because living in the city had become such a "rat race."
David moved to the countryside because there were too many rats in the city.
David was stressed out by the hectic pace of life in the city.
David thought that the city was too dangerous.

6. Even though Mrs. Jensen is no "spring chicken," she still enjoys swimming and running every day.
Mrs. Jensen is not young, but she enjoys exercising.
Mrs. Jensen doesn't eat chicken.
Mrs. Jensen is training for a marathon race.
1. Dave had chocolate ice cream for ________.
desert
dessert
2. Since our class is so noisy, we couldn't ________ Dave speaking.
hear
here

3. I really need to ________ some weight.

loose
lose

4. Since I lost so much weight, my pants are _______.

lose
loose

5. The ________ of California is Sacramento.

capitol
capital

6. You need to begin every sentence with a ________ letter.

capitol
capital

7. The Sahara ________ is located in Africa.

desert
dessert
8. Are all my students ________?
hear
here

9. Why does Dave always ________ his socks?

loose
lose

10. You'll go to jail if you commit a ________ offense.

capital
capitol
1. I think ________ the best student at Dave's ESL Cafe!
you're
your
2. ________ dictionary is this?
Who's
Whose

3. ________ wife is beautiful.

Your
You're

4. I like English ________.

two
too

5. The ________ is fair and sunny today.

whether
weather

6. Albie the dog knows ________ name.

its
it's

7. The students took ________ test at home.

their
there

8. I'm not sure ________ I can attend your class.

weather
whether

9. The ________ is the head of the school.

principle
principal

10. I wrote the letter on perfumed ________.

stationery
stationary
1. The news that he had been accepted by the University was "music to Mike's ears."
Mike is going to study music at the university.
Mike received some very good news.
Mike enjoys listening to music.
2. Wayne doesn't know for sure what he's going to do tomorrow. He'll "play it by ear."
Wayne will listen to his friend tomorrow.
Wayne will make a definite plan for tomorrow.
Wayne won't make a definite plan for tomorrow.

3. When Robert met his girlfriend after a long separation, he told her that she was a "sight for sore eyes."
Robert told his girlfriend that he was happy to see her.
Robert told his girlfriend that his eyes were sore.
Robert told his girlfriend that she had pretty eyes.

4. Jack told his wife to "keep her eyes peeled" for a gas station because they were almost out of gas.
Jack told his wife that they were out of gas.
Jack told his wife to look at the gas station.
Jack told his wife to look for a gas station.

5. The Japanese and American negotiators had been meeting for ten hours, but they still couldn't "see eye-to-eye" on many
important issues.
The negotiators couldn't agree.
The negotiators couldn't see clearly.
The negotiators couldn't look at each other.

6. The way that Cindy was fired from her job "left a bad taste in her mouth."
Cindy ate some strange food.
Cindy was fired because she said something rude.
Cindy had some bad feelings about being fired.
1. A "puppy" is a small _____.
fish
paper
dog
2. A "hamburger" is made from _____ .
pork
beef
vegetables

3. Starting "on time" means beginning _____ .

at the scheduled time
at the scheduled time or later
at the scheduled time or earlier

4. "You don't have to do it" means _____.

"It isn't necessary to do it."
"You mustn't do it."
"It isn't a good idea to do it."

5. How come?" and "What for?" both mean _____ .

"In what way?"
"Really?"
"Why?"

6. If someone says "Cool it!," he/she wants you to:

freeze something
calm down
go away

7. A "whatchamacallit" is something that you:

use for communicating
think isn't true
can't remember / don't know the name of

8. "To veg [vedge] out" means to:

relax
become very confused
get really angry
1. "He hardly worked" means that he worked _______.
very much
very long
very little
2. I'd better "get a move on" means I need to _______.
dress
hurry up
decide what to do

3. Getting somewhere "in time" means arriving there _______.

earlier than expected
just a little bit late
before it's too late

4. A "ewe" is a female _______.

deer
horse
sheep

5. If I give you "my two cents' worth," I give you _______.

a very small amount of money
my opinion
something you can't use

6. If someone says "Hold it!," he/she wants you to _______.

stop what you're doing
pick something up
work harder or move faster

7. When the response to a question is "Beats me," the person responding means that he/she _______.
doesn't know the answer
thinks the question is stupid
wants you to ask the question again

8. "I really pigged out" means that I _______.

behaved very badly
wasn't neat or organized
ate too much

9. Someone who "ticks you off" makes you feel ___??____.

confused
sad and lonely
angry or upset

10. A "tabloid" is a kind of _______.

newspaper
medicine
muscle
1. "I'm beat!" means that I feel very _______.
angry
tired
nervous
2. "I'll be in touch" means that I'll _______ later.
contact you
meet you
visit you

3. "Uh-huh" is a very informal way of saying _______.

I don't know
maybe
yes
4. If someone answers a question by saying, "Beats me," he/she means that _______.
he/she thinks the question is stupid
he/she doesn't understand you
he/she doesn't know the answer

5. People say, "Chin up!" when they want to _______ someone.

criticize
warn
encourage

6. When someone says, "I see where you're coming from," his/her meaning is _______
"I know where you live."
"I understand your thinking/reasons."
"I can guess your nationality."

7. If you give your opinion on something and hear the response "Well, to each his own," the person you are speaking to _______.
doesn't agree, but is too polite to say so
thinks your idea is creative and original
wants you to explain in more detail

8. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" means that you _______ something that's given to you.
shouldn't appear too eager to accept
should be very suspicious of
shouldn't be too critical of

9. If someone "has a short fuse," he or she _______.

is easy to upset and make angry
can't concentrate for a very long period of time
never has a strong opinion about anything

10. If someone says he/she has had "one of those days," he/she means that the day has been _______.
so normal that it was boring
busy, unpredictable, and frustrating
full of unexpected (but pleasant) surprises