IDIOMS AND ACTIVITIES FOR G.C.E. O / L

ENGLISH IDIOMS WITH ACTIVITIES

Idioms are expressions peculiar to any language. It is interesting to learn them and use them appropriately in language. There are hundreds and thousands of idioms in the English language. As a learner of English you should have a collection of idioms in your vocabulary. The correct idiom at the correct place can decorate your language ;and  at the exam , if you could use a few of them in your writings it could make a positive impression on the teacher who marks your paper. It demonstrates your enthusiasm for learning language.

Sajendra Kumara
0777597875

ACTIVITY 01: Match the following idioms with their meanings. Write the correct letter of the meanings given below against the suitable idiom.
1. A wolf in sheep's clothing.
2. To put the cart before the horse.
3. To let the cat out of the bag.
4. To get all your ducks in a row.
5. The lion's share

      A. to do something in the wrong order.
    B. the best or the largest part of something.
    C. seems to be harmless but really an enemy.
    D. to tell a secret by mistake
    E. to be well organized.
5 Useful Idioms: A bilingual Presentation

1. A wolf in sheep's clothing : Seems to be harmless but really an  enemy. 

a) Among your friends, there is always a wolf in sheep's clothing. He waits for the right opportunity to beat you down. 

b) I did not realize till the last moment that Robin, my friend , would ever attempt to let me down. He was really a wolf in sheep's clothing. 

c) Find the wolf in sheep's clothing among the scores of friends that rally round you. Keep him at arm's length.

d) My mother always alerts me on the wolves in sheep's clothing that often hang around me. She is smart enough to detect such guys who move with me. 

2. Put the cart before the horse. : To do something in the wrong order. 

a) He has put the cart before the horse by getting married without sitting for the college final exam. 
b) First find a job and then think of getting married. Otherwise you are putting the cart before the horse and ruin your whole life. 
c) Most young children do not heed any advises. They often put the cart before the horse with regard to important matters in life. 
d) By buying a car before learning to drive George put the cart before the horse. 
3. to let the cat out of the bag : to tell a secret by mistake

a) Donald let the cat out of the bag about the trip. 

b) While we were having a chat over a cup of tea, Roger let the cat out of the bag about his girl friend. 

c) Samith let the cat out of the bag when he told his plan to migrate to Australia. 

4. To get all your ducks in a row: to be well organized

a) If you want to be a successful man, get all your ducks in a row. 

b) If your dream is to enter the university, then you should get all your ducks in a row. 

5. The lion's share: the best or the largest part of something

a) My brother always ask for the lion's share. 

b) I brought a cake to the class; everyone wanted a lion's share.

c) My sister cried for the lion's share of the pineapple. 

6.Like a duck to water: without any problem. 

👨 You have seen how ducks get into water. Quite comfortably              they get into the water and swim away. Have you ever seen a            duck hesitating to keep foot on water? ; they never do. 

      They are comfortable both on land and water. 

a) Matheesha got used to motherhood like a duck to water. 
b) My elder brother got a teaching appointment to a remote school in the country. However, he got used to the new environment like a duck to water. 
c) Gihasha made a speech at the assembly like a duck to water. 
7. speak of the devil: the person you are talking about actually                                            turns up at the same moment. 

a) Amal: Kamal has bought a new bicycle. His uncle has sent it                       from France. 
   Ajith : Look! speak of the devil, here comes Kamal. 
   Amal : Hi! Kamal, I was just telling Ajith about your new                             bicycle. 

8. see eye to eye : agree with someone. 

 a) Good friends always see eye to eye in all matters. 
 b) The two unions finally decided to see eye to eye with regard to        the pay hike.


9. once in a blue moon: very rarely ; an event that does not                                                       happen very often. 

👉All about the idiom 'Once in a blue moon'. Watch and share with another. 

a) I'm very busy now. I go to the cinema with my family once in a blue moon. 
b) We meet once in a blue moon. 
👉
What is a 'blue moon'? 👉
          In certain years there are two full moons in one month. The              second full moon is known as the 'blue moon'. 

10. when pigs fly: something that never happens. 

a) He will become a good child when pigs fly. 
b) If you work lazily like this you will pass your exam when pigs  fly. 
c) When pigs fly I will marry her.

👇👇 

When Pigs Fly: Video Presentation with Sajendra Kumara

                              👨👩👨👲👱👳👴

ACTIVITY: Read the following paragraph. Match the underlined idioms with their meanings given below and write the correct number of the idiom against the meaning.

  

The person I like most is my maternal uncle. He is my mother's younger brother. He has 1) a heart of gold. He is a very busy person. So he visits our home 2) once in a blue moon. When he visits our home he always advises me. He often  draws examples from his life. He tells me 3) to put all my ducks in a row and 4) hit the books whenever possible.  He says then I will find exams are only 5) a piece of cake. 

a) to be well organized  [   ]       d) very generous and kind  [    ]

b) something is very easy [    ]   e) to study hard                   [    ]

c) very rarely [    ] 

11. to cost an arm and a leg: something is very expensive

Cost an arm and a leg: Video Presentation with examples

👇👇

a) Japanese vehicles cost an arm and a leg these days. 
b) It cost me an arm and a leg to get my laptop repaired. 
c) My car developed an engine trouble. The mechanic on inspection   of the vehicle told me that it would cost me an arm and a leg to repair the trouble. 
12. a piece of cake - something is very easy

a) The term test was a piece of cake this time. 
b) Mathematics is a piece of cake for me. 
c) "It is a piece of cake. Teacher, let me tell you the answer."

👇👇👇

Watch and share the story of 'a piece of cake'. 

13. to feel under the weather:  not feeling well

a) I want to sleep early. I feel a bit under the weather today. 
b) I felt a bit under the weather, so I did not go to school. 
c) If you feel under the weather, why don't you rest? 

    👉(watch the video for more details and examples)14) to kill two birds with one stone : to solve two problems at once. 

a) I kill two birds with one stone by cycling to school: I can save my pocket money and it is good for my health.


15) to add insult to the injury: to make a situation worse.

1. They lost the match and to add insult to the injury one of the players was seriously injured. 
2. Amanda was sacked from her office and to add insult to the injury her husband filed divorce case against her. 
3. First, there was an earthquake and to add insult to the injury it was followed by a tsunami. 

16) you can't judge a book by its cover : 
to not to judge someone or something based on appearance.  

1. He has tattoos all over the body. He sometimes smokes. 

However, he is a man with a good heart. Well, you can’t judge a book by its cover. 

2. Roger is a very quarrelsome man. However, he recently donated 

blood to save the life of a poor farmer. What I can say about him is 

you cannot judge a book by its cover. 

3. Sandun is a tough nut. He is really a trouble maker. Well, you 

cannot judge a book by its cover because he is the only child who 

would do anything to save his friends from any trouble. 

17) break a leg : good luck 

😜 This is one of the strangest English idioms that one might 

think twice before using. Literally, the idiom means that you wish 

someone's leg to break. Strangely enough it is exactly the opposite ;

you wish someone 'good luck'. This idiom is usually used before 

someone gets on stage for a performance. 

1) Break a leg Anoma! I'm sure you'll do well in your exam. 

18) To hit the nail on the head: to do or say something precisely right. 
Here the head means the head or the top circular part of the head. When you fix a nail you have to hit it with the hammer right on the head of the nail. 

e.g.
1.)When Nimal said that Kasun broke my chair he hit the nail on the head. 
2.) My friend hit the nail on the head when he said that Kulith had a love affair with Sanduni. 

19) to hit the books: to study hard.

       This is another interesting idiom. The literal meaning of the idiom does not have anything to do with the actual meaning. If someone tells it to you, think twice and never look for a stick to hit your books. 

a) I am hitting the books these days as my term test is just next week. 
b) Unless you hit the books you never can pass your exam well. 
c) Now you must stop playing computer games. It is time you started hitting the books.

(watch the video for more details and examples)

20) To scratch someone's back:

To do someone a favour hoping that a favour will be returned.  

This is a common Idiom used in day to day speech. Sometimes when we find that it is not possible to get our work done using the proper channel , we are forced to be a little tricky.  This really is hippocracy. There in no genuine intention of helping here. 

      

1. To succeed in your business sometimes you have to scratch a politician's back. 

2. It was not easy. I had to scratch Tony's back to get all this information. 

3. A: How could you learn all about this affair.

    B: Simple. I scratched my brother's back and he told me everything. 

4. I hate to scratch anyone's back. 

5. Well, if you want the details, you have to scratch someone's back. If you are not ready to do it , give it up.  

       

21) To turn a bling eye: 

    To ignore something intentionally. 

     Here you pretend that you don't see what is actually taking place. Well, sometimes one may have to do it due to various reasons. However, a genuine man with strong confidence would never do it. 

1. Some teachers turn a blind eye when they see their students behaving indecently. 

2. As a teacher, I cannot turn a blind eye, when I see my students are behaving badly. 

3. As a parent, never turn a blind eye when you see your child spending most part of the day with friends. 

4. Mr. Herath, a good gentleman, passed away recently under tragic circumstances because he turned a blind eye to his health problems.

22) rain cats and dogs

Five useful idioms with examples: 

A video presentation by Sajendra

                - a heavy shower 

👉origin 

The origin of the meaning of the idiom ' rain cats and dogs' is difficult to be found. One might have seen frogs , fish and other small creatures fallen on the ground during a heavy rain, but not cats and dogs. They are heavy to be sucked up and on the other hand they do not live in large packs or herds like fish and other small creatures do. This possibly could be an exaggerated phrase used to refer to a 'heavy shower'. 

 

1. It was raining cats and dogs when I came home last night. 

2. Though it rained cats and dogs, we decided to continue our journey down the hill. 

3. I can't drive. It's raining cats and dogs. 

4. Suddenly, it started raining  cats and dogs and we ran to a small hut by the road. 

5. We had to delay our journey by several hours as it rained cats and dogs. 

6. How can we go out? It is raining cats and dogs. 

👧👨

23) call it a day

            👉      To stop what one is doing. 

1) I'm tired now. Let's call it a day. 

2) I have been a teacher for over 35  years. I think it's time to call it a day now. 

3) Now my children are big and they are all employed. I feel it is high time I called it a day and rested with my wife in the country. 

4) Look at the clock. It is past 4.30 now. Let's call it a day now. 

5) I followed her for about three hours, but finally I decided to call it a day. 

24) A pain in the neck

Something or someone is really annoying or irritating. 

You don't like to do something. 

-A lazy student is a pain in the neck for the teacher. 

-My little brother is really a pain in the neck. 

-Learning English idioms is really a pain in the neck for some. 

  (watch the video for a detailed description of the idiom with more examples)👇

  25)  To nip in the bud: 

To stop some potential problem before it turns out to be worse and more problematic. 

A quirky idiom literally related to horticulture.

e.g. 

1) Many serious illnesses can be nipped in the bud if they are detected early.

2) We must nip these financial matters in the bud before we run into more problems. 

3) If I had known their plan, I could have nipped it in the bud.

     ( For details of the idiom watch the video presentation)

26) A heart of gold 

(English idiom)

27) A slap on the wrist (English Idiom)

      Examples and details: watch the video.

To be continued. 

👇👇

Learn English With Videos (OL and other)

Sajendra Kumara - 0777597875