Idioms & Phrases
🔒 Log in to trackWhy literal meaning is always wrong — and how to find the picture
🔒 Log in to trackAn idiom is a fixed group of words whose meaning is not the meaning of the separate words. The words paint a picture, and the meaning is what the picture stands for. The exam always plants a literal option, so cross it out first.
What an idiom is
An idiom is a group of words with a meaning that is different from its single words.
He let the cat out of the bag. This has nothing to do with a cat or a bag. It means he told a secret by mistake.
The words paint a picture. The idiom means what that picture stands for.
How wrong options are built
An idiom question gives one idiom and four meanings. The wrong options come in three kinds.
- The literal option. It repeats the actual words: smell a rat becomes "to smell a dead rat".
- The neighbour option. A figurative meaning that sounds close but is not right: turn a deaf ear becomes "to hear badly".
- The opposite or random option. It has the reverse sense or belongs to another idiom.
Only one option gives the accepted meaning.
The four-step method
- Kill the literal. If you could take a photo of what the option says, it is almost always wrong. Break the ice does not mean to crack frozen water.
- Find the picture. A cat escapes from a bag. Something hidden comes out. So a secret is revealed.
- Check the tone. Is the idiom happy, sad, angry or neutral? In hot water means trouble, not danger of death.
- Plug it back. Put the option into a small sentence. The plan ended in smoke becomes the plan came to nothing. That sounds right.
Rule: If an option can be pictured physically, cross it out first.
Idioms that look alike
Many idioms share a word but mean different things. Examiners put one twin in the options for the other.
| Idiom | Meaning | Look-alike | Its meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| spill the beans | tell a secret | cry over spilt milk | waste regret on what cannot be undone |
| once in a blue moon | very rarely | a bolt from the blue | a sudden shock |
| smell a rat | suspect a trick | the rat race | a tiring fight for success |
| in a nutshell | in brief | in a pickle | in a difficult situation |
Tip: Learn each pair together on one card. Then the planted twin cannot fool you.
Idiom inside a sentence
Sometimes the idiom sits in a sentence. Use the sentence as a clue.
Meena was on cloud nine after the result. The result is good news. So the meaning is extremely happy.
When you do not know the idiom
- Remove the literal options first.
- Judge the tone from the key word. Cold, dark and hot often mean trouble. Cloud nine and red-letter mean joy.
- Choose the option that fits a sentence you can imagine.
Watch: Two figurative options can look alike. Pick the one that names the outcome the idiom records. Bite the dust means be defeated, not be wounded.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Idiom with a literal decoy
One idiom stands alone under 'select the most appropriate meaning'. At least one option repeats its words.
Cross out every option you could photograph.
Ask what picture the idiom paints.
Say what the picture stands for.
Pick the option that matches.
The literal option is always planted as bait.
Let the cat out of the bag: (a) to free a pet (b) to reveal a secret (c) to buy a bag (d) to hide a pet
Show solutionHide solution
Free a pet and hide a pet are literal.
A cat escaping means something hidden comes out.
So a secret is revealed.
(b) to reveal a secret
Idiom inside a sentence
A full sentence holds the idiom, often in bold, and you choose its meaning there.
Read the whole sentence.
Decide if the situation is good or bad.
Remove options with the wrong tone.
Plug the meaning back.
The situation fixes the tone.
Meena was on cloud nine after the result. (a) extremely happy (b) flying (c) confused (d) ill
Show solutionHide solution
The result is good news.
Flying is literal. Confused and ill are wrong in tone.
Extremely happy fits.
(a) extremely happy
Close figurative trap
Two options are figurative. One is the real meaning. The other sounds related but changes the sense or strength.
List the two figurative options.
Ask what result the idiom records.
Pick the one that states that result.
The neighbour option is the most common trap after the literal one.
Bite the dust: (a) be wounded (b) be defeated (c) clean a floor (d) be tired
Show solutionHide solution
Clean a floor is literal.
Wounded and tired are related but not the record of the idiom.
Bite the dust means be defeated.
(b) be defeated
Look-alike idiom pairs
The options include the meaning of another idiom that shares a key word: beans and milk, blue moon and blue bolt.
Name the twin idiom in the options.
Recall what the twin means.
Cross out the twin's meaning.
Twin idioms are planted for readers who match on one word.
Spill the beans: (a) regret what cannot be changed (b) tell a secret (c) waste food (d) cook a meal
Show solutionHide solution
Option (a) is the meaning of cry over spilt milk.
Waste food and cook a meal are literal.
Spill the beans means tell a secret.
(b) tell a secret
Tone check
The options differ in strength: suspect, be sure, be certain.
Mark the idiom as mild, strong or neutral.
Match the strength of each option.
Reject options that overshoot.
A right idea in the wrong strength is still wrong.
Smell a rat: (a) to suspect that something is wrong (b) to be certain of theft (c) to smell something rotten (d) to feel ill
Show solutionHide solution
Smell something rotten is literal.
Certain of theft overshoots.
Suspect is at the right strength.
(a) to suspect that something is wrong
Shortcuts that save time
If you could take a photo of what an option says, it is almost always wrong. This removes one option in nearly every question.
Break the ice: (a) to crack frozen water (b) to start a conversation among strangers (c) to feel cold (d) to make a drink
Show solutionHide solution
Crack frozen water and make a drink are pictures.
Feel cold is also literal.
Start a conversation is the figurative meaning.
(b) to start a conversation among strangers
Put your chosen meaning into a sentence in place of the idiom. If the sentence sounds natural, keep it.
Cold, dark and hot often signal trouble. Cloud nine and red-letter signal joy. Use this when you do not know an idiom.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Choosing the option that repeats the words of the idiom.
Cross out any option you could photograph. It is a literal decoy.
Learning an idiom by its words but not its picture.
Learn the picture and what it stands for.
Ignoring the tone of the idiom.
Say if it is happy, sad or angry. Pick the same tone.
Matching on one shared word (beans, milk).
Look-alike idioms share a word but not a meaning. Learn them in pairs.
Skipping the sentence in a context question.
Let the situation in the sentence fix the meaning.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
An idiom is a fixed picture. The meaning is what the picture stands for.
Wrong options: literal, neighbour, opposite.
Method: kill the literal, find the picture, check the tone, plug back.
Learn look-alike idioms in pairs.
In a sentence, the situation decides the meaning.
Practice: 13 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 13 questions
Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.