Idioms & Phrases
🔒 Log in to trackIdioms for situations and types of people
🔒 Log in to trackMany idioms describe situations, such as trouble, effort or suddenness, and types of people, such as false, weak or reliable. Sort each idiom into a family and the right option stands out. A few idioms come from old stories, and one line of the story gives the meaning.
Two big groups
- Situation idioms describe what is happening: trouble, hard work, sudden events, success, defeat.
- People idioms describe a type of person: loyal, false, weak, skilled.
Find the group and the family. Then the answer stands out.
Situation families
| Family | Idioms | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Trouble | in hot water | in serious trouble |
| Hard effort | burn the midnight oil | work late into the night |
| Hard effort | leave no stone unturned | try every possible means |
| Hard effort | move heaven and earth | make the greatest effort |
| Sudden | at the drop of a hat | instantly |
| Sudden | on the spur of the moment | without planning |
| Sudden | a bolt from the blue | a sudden shock |
| Money | make both ends meet | live within a small income |
| Change | turn over a new leaf | begin a better way of living |
| Change | turn the tables | reverse the position |
| Winning | carry the day | win |
| Losing | throw in the towel | admit defeat and give up |
| Losing | take to one's heels | run away quickly |
| Mood, health | on cloud nine | extremely happy |
| Mood, health | under the weather | slightly ill |
Example: The police left no stone unturned to find the child. This is the effort family. The meaning is tried every possible way.
More situation idioms
- A blessing in disguise: a misfortune that turns out well.
- Out of the frying pan into the fire: from a bad situation into a worse one.
- Face the music: accept the unpleasant results of one's acts.
- Pass the buck: shift blame or duty to someone else.
- End in smoke: come to nothing.
- Against all odds: despite every difficulty.
- In the doldrums: low in spirits or activity.
People families
| Type | Idiom | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| False friend | a snake in the grass | a treacherous enemy hiding as a friend |
| False friend | a fair-weather friend | a friend only in good days |
| False friend | a wolf in sheep's clothing | a dangerous person who looks harmless |
| Weak | a man of straw | a person of no substance |
| Weak | a cog in the machine | an unimportant worker in a big system |
| Reliable | a man of his word | one who keeps his promises |
| Reliable | a tower of strength | a person who gives firm support |
| Many skills | a jack of all trades | does many jobs, masters none |
| Second place | play second fiddle | accept a lower role |
Idioms from stories
One line of the old story fixes the meaning.
- Achilles' heel: a Greek hero could be hurt only at his heel. It means a weak point.
- Bell the cat: the mice wanted a bell on the cat, but none dared tie it. It means take a big risk for everyone.
- Pandora's box: opening a forbidden box let out all troubles. It means a source of many problems.
- A Herculean task: Hercules did twelve very hard labours. It means a task needing huge effort.
- Midas touch: whatever King Midas touched became gold. It means the ability to make money from anything.
- A Trojan horse: soldiers hid inside a wooden horse. It means something harmless-looking that harms from inside.
Watch: Pass the buck is not about money. Steal a march on is not stealing. Under the weather is not about rain.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Situation idiom meaning
The idiom describes an event or condition: trouble, effort, suddenness, winning, losing, health.
Name the family.
Recall the meaning of that family.
Cross out the literal option.
Pick the match.
One family word tells you the answer.
Leave no stone unturned: (a) to try every possible means (b) to clean the ground (c) to give up early (d) to break stones
Show solutionHide solution
Clean the ground and break stones are literal.
Give up early is the opposite.
The idiom is in the effort family.
(a) to try every possible means
People idiom meaning
The idiom names a type of person: a ___ friend, a man of ___, a ___ in the grass.
Name the type: false, weak or reliable.
Recall the idiom in that type.
Pick the match.
People idioms come in fixed types.
A snake in the grass: (a) a lazy person (b) a treacherous enemy hiding as a friend (c) a snake catcher (d) a loyal helper
Show solutionHide solution
Snake catcher is literal.
Loyal helper is the opposite.
A snake hides and strikes, so it is a treacherous enemy.
(b) a treacherous enemy hiding as a friend
Fill the blank with a situation idiom
A sentence has a blank and four idioms as options.
Read the sentence.
Name the family it needs.
Pick the idiom of that family.
Read the full sentence again.
The sentence shows the family before the options do.
Seeing the police, the thief ___. (a) took to his heels (b) burnt the midnight oil (c) turned over a new leaf (d) played second fiddle
Show solutionHide solution
The thief wants to escape.
That is running away.
Took to his heels fits.
(a) took to his heels
Idioms from stories
A name or story object appears: Achilles, Pandora, Hercules, Midas, Trojan, a cat with a bell.
Recall the story in one line.
Turn the story into a meaning.
Pick the option that matches.
The story line fixes the meaning.
Achilles' heel: (a) a sore foot (b) a weak point (c) a great strength (d) a fast runner
Show solutionHide solution
A sore foot is literal.
The hero could be hurt only at his heel.
So it means a weak point.
(b) a weak point
Bad to worse and blame idioms
The idiom describes a change in a situation or a shift of blame.
Name the situation: worse, blame or result.
Recall the idiom for it.
Reject the literal option.
These idioms record an outcome, not an action.
Out of the frying pan into the fire: (a) from a bad situation into a worse one (b) from cooking to eating (c) from cold to warm (d) from work to rest
Show solutionHide solution
Cooking to eating is literal.
Frying pan is bad and fire is worse.
So it means from bad to worse.
(a) from a bad situation into a worse one
Shortcuts that save time
Name the family of the situation before you read the options. Effort, trouble and suddenness cover a large share.
At the drop of a hat: (a) instantly (b) carefully (c) slowly (d) angrily
Show solutionHide solution
The idiom is in the sudden family.
Carefully and slowly are the opposite.
Instantly fits.
(a) instantly
Store each story idiom as one line: Achilles, heel, weak point. Do not learn the whole story.
In a blank question, say what the person does. Escape means took to his heels. Hard work means burnt the midnight oil.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Reading pass the buck as passing money.
It means to shift blame or duty to someone else.
Reading steal a march on as stealing.
It means to gain an advantage over someone.
Reading under the weather as being in the rain.
It means slightly ill.
Reading play second fiddle as music.
It means to accept a lower role.
Guessing a story idiom without the story.
Recall the one-line story and turn it into a meaning.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Name the family first: trouble, effort, sudden, money, change, win, lose, health.
False people: snake in the grass, fair-weather friend, wolf in sheep's clothing.
Weak people: man of straw, cog in the machine. Reliable: man of his word, tower of strength.
Story idioms: Achilles' heel, bell the cat, Pandora's box, Herculean, Midas touch, Trojan horse.
In blanks, match the family the sentence needs.
Practice: 17 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 4 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.