• Complete the correct idioms

• 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.

• a blessing in disguise 6. chip on his shoulder

• a drop in the ocean 7. an arm and a leg
• a piece of cake 8. jumping the gun
• actions speak louder than words 9. once in a blue moon
• it's a small world 10. over the moon

• Don't be so grumpy with me! Did you _________________________________?

• back to the drawing board 6. fixed in his ways

• between a rock and a hard place 7. get up on the wrong side of the bed
• biting my tongue 8. went the extra mile
• cut to the chase 9. put all your eggs in one basket
• every cloud has a silver lining 10. find your feet

• Her angry response to your email was way ___________________________________. You had every right to
say what you did.

1. bite the hand that feeds you 6. kicked the bucket

2.heat of the moment 7. let sleeping dogs lie
3. hit the nail on the head 8. let the cat out of the bag
4. if it's not one thing, it's the other 9. Over the top
5. keep an eye on 10. sit on the fence

• Don't worry if you can't do it yet. Keep trying. _____________________________________ .

• practice makes perfect 6. the ball's in his court

• pulling my leg 7. the spitting image
• rule of thumb 8. till the cows come home
• smelt a rat 9. tongue-in-cheek
• take a rain check 10. under the weather

• My doctor always says _________________________ when I go to see him about my weight. It's very true
as I have a poor diet.

• bending over backwards 6. playing devil's advocate

• break a leg 7. water under the bridge
• drives me up the wall 8. working against the clock
• flogging a dead horse 9. you are what you eat
• hold your horses 10. you can't judge a book by its cover
.
2. Match the idioms with their definitions
• I was over the moon when he asked me to marry him. d a. Excessive
• I think he got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.e b. Joking around
He is in a terrible mood.

• Everything she does is very over the top. She can’t just have a c. Good luck
a few drinks – se has to get really drunk.

• Don’t get upset about what he said. He’s just pulling your leg. b d. Extremely pleased or happy

• So you have the IELTS test today? Break a leg. c e. To refer to someone who is
having a bad day

3. Choose the right answer: a, b or c.

• If you buy something That’s dirt cheap, the quality will probably

a) be excellent b) be very low c) be quite important

2. Sarah will have to tighten her belt because she’s

a) lost her job b) short of time c) been losing her weight

3. My new car cost me an arm and a leg, it is

a) very cheap b) very expensive c) very ugly

4. My friend made a killing when he sold his business, so he

a) had no money b) lost a lot of money c) made a fortune

5. How much did you say you paid for your computer? You’ve been ripped off and you’ve

a) lost a lot of money b) found a lot of money c) inherited a lot of money

4. Match the idioms to their meaning and to the correct

picture.
Piece of cake

• Avoid a conflict
• Continuously doing something to improve
• Having two very bad choices.

• Very easy

Let sleeping dogs lie

5. Complete the sentences and match with the correct idioms

 To be in difficulties,
especially in serious trouble

To go to bed

To act in a crazy or to reveal a

secret,
Strange way. Usually
unintentionally
To delight, thrill,
amaze/ impress
• Complete the following sentences. Use the idioms above.
• The exam is next week. I really have to _______hit the books_______ this weekend.
• I didn´t come to school yesterday because I felt ____under the weather_______ I had a rest.
• Don´t tell him to “calm down”. That only ____________adds fuel to the fire_______.
• Wow, that exam was __________a piece of cake ____! I´m sure I´ll get a good grade.
• My dad doesn´t want to buy me the new ¡Phone. He says it. _______a drop in the ocean_______________
• After I got the promotion, some of my co-workers ________congratuled__me _____with bells on_____________

7. Complete the text with following options and considering the context in each
sentence.

1. Let’s keep studying for IELTS. _____________Practice makes perfect____________________________.

• Don’t get upset about what he said. He’s just ____________pulling your leg._________________.

• Sorry but I think I’ll ___________take a rain check_____________________ on that.

• As a _______________ rule of thumb_________, I don’t study at weekends. I spend the time with my family.

I can ___________smell a rat______. He said he has a PhD but he can’t even remember which university he studied at.

She’s __________the spitting image_________ of her mother.

 ___________The ball's in his court_________________ now. What are you going to do?

Unfortunately I think he’ll be studying for IELTS ___ till the cows come home___________________________. His
English is very poor.

It was all __________tongue-in-cheek_____________. He didn’t really mean what he said.

She’s feeling ____________under the weather___________________ today so she won’t be going to work.

• Complete the text with following options

• bending over backwards 6. playing devil's advocate
• break a leg 7. water under the bridge
• drives me up the wall 8. working against the clock
• flogging a dead horse 9. you are what you eat
• hold your horses 10. you can't judge a book by its cover

1. We'll be _working against the clock to get this finished. It's 4pm so we only have an hour left.
2. _____Break a leg_________________________________________ mate! I'm sure you'll do well.
You're easily the best team.

3. I agree with you really. I'm just ________playing devil's

advocate______________________________ so you know what those who disagree with you may say.

4. Please, don't worry about what you said anymore. It's all _______ water under the
bridge____________________. I know you were just feeling upset at the time.

5. Stop trying to get back with your ex-girlfriend. You're _________flogging a dead
horse___________________. There is no love between you anymore.

6. I thought John was an idiot when I first saw him just because of the way he dressed.

But ___________you can't judge a book by its cover_______________________ – he's a really good
bloke.

7. My doctor always says ___________you are what you eat______________ when I go to see him
about my weight. It's very true as I have a poor diet.

8. The government is ___________bending over backwards_________________ before the election to

appear united. They know the electorate needs to believe in them.

9. My younger brother really _____________drives me up the wall________________. He argues and

disagrees with everything I say.

10. I think you should ___________________hold your horses____________________! You aren't

ready yet to quit and start your own business. You need more experience.

9. Drawn a line to match the idioms to their meaning

MEANINGS IDIOMS
• Annoying or irritating somebody F a. It cost me an arm and a leg to take my trip to Australia.
• Watch someone or something carefully i b. I bent over backwards to help him. I hope he appreciates
it.
• Unwell c. Don’t get upset about what he said. He’s just pulling your
leg. J
• Say exactly the right thing H d. ¡I have to bite my tongue so I don’t say what I really think
of him!
• Doing much more than is required when doing something e. My mother will always go the extra mile to help people.E
• Doing all you can to help someone f. She is driving me up the wall. She won't stop talking.B
• Wanting to say something but stopping yourself. g. He comes round to see me once in a blue moon. All in the
same boat D
8. Happening very rarely h. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. That’s the reason he
didn’t get G
the job.
9. Very expensive i. Keep an eye on him. I think he may cheat in the exam. A
10. Joking around J. She’s feeling under the weather today so she won’t be going
to work. C

• . Drag the idioms to the correct sentence. Use the table idioms.
a drop in the ocean
break a leg
bite the hand that feeds you
a piece of cake
kicked the bucket
smelt a rat
pulling my leg
hold your horses
cut to the chase
back to the drawing board

• 3 pounds may seem like ______a drop in the ocean__________ but if everyone contributed that much
 we'd have thousands.
• The interview for that new job was ____a piece of cake____________ They asked me really easy
questions.
• Can you _______cut to the chase_____ and tell us if we are going to lose our jobs or not?
• Try to keep up good relations with your boss. You don't want to ____bite the hand that feeds
you._______________
• It doesn't look like this strategy to improve the company's profits is working, so it’s ____________back to
the drawing board!_____________!
• I hope Joyce hasn't _____kicked the bucket_________. She was in her 90s. She got taken off to hospital
the other day as she was very unwell.
• Are you _____pulling my leg______? I don't believe you really did that.
• The police ______smelt a rat _____ when he said he wasn't involved in the crime. Someone fitting his
description had been seen in the area.
• ________Break a leg____ mate! I'm sure you'll do well. You're easily the best team.
• I think you should _______________hold your horses______! You aren't ready yet to quit and start your
own business. You need more experience.

11. Use each idioms in a sentence. Then tell what the sentence means.

• sentence: ________________________________________________
________________________________________________
meaning:
________________________________________________

• sentence: ________________________________________________
________________________________________________
meaning: ________________________________________________

• sentence: ________________________________________________
________________________________________________
meaning: _____________________________________________

• sentence:________________________________________________
________________________________________________
meaning: ________________________________________________

• sentence: ________________________________________________
________________________________________________
meaning: ________________________________________________

12. Match the two halves of other money.

idioms and then explain their meaning.
1. come into _2_ A. one’s pocket
2. dip into your _10__ B. feed
3. be in _8__ C. butter
4. look like _1__ D. savings
5. chicken _4__ E. to riches
6. from rags _9__ F. some money
7. to bring home _5_ G. a song
8. bread and _3__ H. debt
9. burn a hole in __6_ I. a million dollars
10. buy sth for _7__ J. the bacon

12. Write (T) If it´s the true and (F) if it´s the false.

Idioms Meaning.

1. come into debt ____f____

2. dip into your feed __f______
3. be in to riches _f_______
4. look like a song ____f____
5. chicken savings __f______
6. from rags butter __f______
7. to bring home the bacon ___t_____
8. bread and some money ___f_____
9. burn a hole in one’s pocket ___t_____
10. buy sth for a million dollars ___f______