Idiom List 1

 

Activity 2

 

Listening:

 

Directions:  Click on the link below to here the passage.  As you listen, fill in the idioms that you here.  Check your answers when you are finished.

 

Click Here to Listen

 

 

PART ONE

          My husband had this  idea one day that he would quit his job, take care of the kids all day and I would start .  I was hesitant at first, but my friends , and since I like to think that I can be the  in any situation, I agreed to it. 

I   with a business suit and briefcase and went interviewing.  Unfortunately, during the interviews, the employers wanted to know how I was going to be  .  I wasn’t sure how to answer them.  I knew I’d be good at , but that didn’t mean the company’s products would  if I were on the job.  So I answered the question, “I have no idea.” 

 

Click Here to Listen

 

PART TWO

 

Well, the employers must have thought I was either     or always had had life .  In any case, I didn’t want them to think I was , so I sent them all a nice letter thanking them for the interviews. 

Finally, one of the companies called me and offered me a job.  However, I’d be working almost 60 hours a week for very little pay.  It sounded worse than watching the kids all day with no breaks.  It was like falling .  But I needed work, so I took it. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t even get to share the news with my husband.  My 3-year-old daughter  at dinner before I had the chance to tell him.

 

Now, check your answers.

half-baked

bringing home the bacon

egged me on

cream of the crop

souped myself up

worth my salt

coffee breaks

sell like hotcakes

out to lunch

handed to me on a silver platter

a bad egg

out of the frying pan and into the fire

spilled the beans

 

 

 

Meaning from Context:

 

Read each sentence and guess the idioms meaning based on the context.  Check your answers by clicking on the arrows in the drop boxes after each guess.

 

 

1.     I’ve been working really hard all morning.  I think it’s time for a coffee break.

 

2.     My husband stays at home and watches the kids while I go work to bring home the bacon. 

 

3.     My brother bought a really ugly, old car, but he souped it up by painting it and building a new engine.

 

4.     You mean we don’t even have hotel reservations?!  If I knew this trip was going to be so half-baked, I wouldn’t have come!

           

 

5.     I know you think paying Jane so much is ridiculous, but she works so hard that she is really worth her salt.

 

6.     Well, we were going to give Tim a surprise birthday party, but his daughter spilled the beans and now he knows about it.

 

7.     That kid is such a bad egg.  He threw rocks at his neighbors windows and spray painted the school walls.

 

8.     See that woman with the slippers on and the frying pan on her head?  She is REALLY out to lunch.

 

9.     John is so spoiled.  If he asks for it, he gets it.  He’s had everything handed to him on a silver platter.

10.  I didn’t want to eat the whole cake, but after the first piece all my friends were egging me on to continue.

 

11.   I know this project isn’t going well, but if we choose to start a new one, we may not finish it in time.  It would be jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

 

12.   When it came out, everyone raced to the movie theater to see Titanic.  The movie theater tickets sold like hotcakes.

 

Matching:

 

coffee break

bring home the bacon

souped up

half-baked

worth one’s salt

spilled the beans

a bad egg

out to lunch

handed to someone on a silver platter

to egg someone on

out of the frying pan and into the fire

to sell like hotcakes

cream of the crop

 

 

Now that you have guessed the meanings to the words, match the idioms from the list above with the pictures and the situations below.

 

 

 

              1.

 

 

      

 

                      

 

 

 

2.

 

 

       3.

 

 

      4. 

 

 

 

    5.   

 

    6. 

 

7.  We were on our way to the movies on the bus when the bus broke down, so we got onto the subway.  However, the subway car also broke down, and we were stuck in the subway tunnel without air conditioning for a long time.  .

 

8.       My friend Kate has never worked a day in her life.  Her parents are very wealthy and pay for all of her expenses.  .

 

9.     We were so excited about going camping, but we forgot to bring a tent, insect repellant, and matches for the fire.  

 

10. My sister wanted to tell my parents she was getting married.  However, yesterday at dinner, my brother told them before she could.

 

11. The kids were throwing rocks at the neighbors’ windows.  Tim didn’t want to but his friends kept telling him to go ahead.

 

12. I pay my babysitter a lot of money, but she takes the kids out to play, feeds them meals, and reads to them.  She’s wonderful!

13. I practiced piano every day until I was declared the best piano player in the state.

Now, check your answers.

1.     a bad egg

2.     souped up

3.     coffee break

4.     bring home the bacon

5.     out to lunch

6.     to sell like hotcakes

7.     out of the frying pan and into the fire

8.     handed to someone on a silver platter

9.     half-baked

10.   to spill the beans

11.   to egg someone on

12.   to be worth one’s salt

13.  cream of the crop

 

 

Heather Meloche home page  |  ESL 2011 Activities  | Idiom List 1  

 

E-mail me with questions or concerns:  mailto:hsmeloch@oaklandcc.edu