Name

Lesson

29

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Idioms

Teaching

An idiom is an expression that has a meaning different from the meaning of its
individual words. Read the two sentences below. One uses an idiom and one uses
literal language.
The flu had me feeling under the weather.
The flu had me feeling tired and sickly.
Here are some other examples of idioms and their meanings:
Idiom

Meaning

all thumbs
get cold feet
on the ball
blow ones stack

very clumsy, especially with ones hands

become timid; be afraid of doing something new
alert; intelligent; efficient
get very angry

A. Idioms in Action
Read the words and phrases below and the sentences that follow. Complete each
sentence by writing a literal word or phrase that has the same meaning of the
idiom shown below the blank.
A. were correct
B. make him conceited
C. irritates me
D. write or call

E. fail or succeed
F. ran
G. learning how to ride

H. overjoyed
I. bankrupt
J. visit

1. After we won the game, most of the fans were walking on air. _______
2. All this noise gets on my nerves. _______
3. I hope Jay will stay in touch when he moves to a different town. _______

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4. We will sink or swim with this project; theres no in between. _______

5. The people who started up the new dot-com ended up stone broke. _______
6. My little sister is finally getting the hang of her new bicycle. _______
7. The escaped robbers suddenly hightailed it for the woods. _______
8. All the flattery began to turn his head. _______
9. I hate it when people drop in without calling first. _______
10. You hit the nail on the head with your answer to the third question. _______

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Idioms

More Practice

B. Vocabulary in Action
Underline ten different idioms in the sentences below. Then define each one
using the context of the sentence to help you.
1. Georgia has a green thumb and shares her vegetables with us.
Meaning: ___________________________________________________________________________
2. Okay, give me your ear because Im only going to say this once!
Meaning: ___________________________________________________________________________
3. Pull up a chair and take a load off.
Meaning: ___________________________________________________________________________
4. I think you will get your hands dirty if you get involved in that questionable business.
Meaning: ___________________________________________________________________________
5. Get this straight, okay; Im in charge of this project.
Meaning: ___________________________________________________________________________
6. Rosa is really blue since her cat died.
Meaning: ___________________________________________________________________________
7. Dont give me the runaround, just do the work on time.
Meaning: ___________________________________________________________________________
8. It was hard to keep a straight face when Ken imitated the comic.
Meaning: ___________________________________________________________________________
9. Alanna got the nod to play shortstop.
Meaning: ___________________________________________________________________________
10. After a short rest I caught my second wind and continued the climb.
Meaning: ___________________________________________________________________________

C. Vocabulary Challenge
Rewrite each sentence, replacing the underlined word or phrase with one of the
following idioms. Then write a short meaning.
on the tip of his tongue

getting my feet wet

1. Martin had the answer ready, but Lily said it first.

Idiom: ________________________________
Meaning: ______________________________
2. Leslie was spending all her time preparing for
the holidays.
Idiom: ________________________________
Meaning: ______________________________

under my belt

busy as a bee

3. Im just getting ready, so Id like some tips

about the job.
Idiom: ________________________________
Meaning: ______________________________
4. I felt better when Id gotten a hot meal inside
me.
Idiom: ________________________________
Meaning: ______________________________

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VOCABULARY

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