Idioms and Phrases - Question Bank

1. The phrase 'to keep someone at arm's length' means:
A) To be very friendly and close
B) To avoid becoming too friendly or involved with someone
C) To embrace someone
D) To help someone closely
2. What is the meaning of 'to get the ball rolling'?
A) To stop an activity
B) To start something, especially a process or activity
C) To fail at the beginning
D) To finish a task
3. If you 'throw caution to the wind', you:
A) Behave recklessly or take risks without worrying about the consequences
B) Behave very cautiously
C) Follow all rules carefully
D) Avoid all risks
4. What does it mean to 'sit on the fence'?
A) To be actively involved
B) To remain neutral or undecided, avoiding taking sides in a dispute
C) To make a quick decision
D) To be very committed to one side
5. The idiom 'to make amends' means:
A) To apologize for wrongdoing or to do something to correct a mistake
B) To cause harm
C) To ignore a problem
D) To create a new issue
6. What is the meaning of 'to cut to the chase'?
A) To avoid the main point
B) To get to the main point or most important part of something without delay
C) To start a long explanation
D) To be indirect
7. If someone 'has an axe to grind', they have:
A) A hidden motive or a grievance that influences their actions or opinions
B) A tool for chopping wood
C) A desire to help
D) A secret plan
8. What does it mean to 'take the bull by the horns'?
A) To avoid a problem
B) To confront a difficult or dangerous situation directly and bravely
C) To be afraid of challenges
D) To run away from danger
9. The phrase 'to be on the fence' means:
A) To be decisive
B) To be undecided or unable to choose between two options
C) To be very committed
D) To be neutral
10. What is the meaning of 'to get your act together'?
A) To become disorganized
B) To organize yourself and behave or work effectively
C) To start a new activity
D) To relax completely
11. If you 'go with the flow', you:
A) Resist change
B) Accept and adapt to circumstances as they are, without trying to change them
C) Create problems
D) Make strict plans
12. What does it mean to 'rule the roost'?
A) To be in charge or to be the dominant person in a group
B) To follow orders
C) To be very obedient
D) To be a follower
13. The idiom 'to get something off the ground' means:
A) To stop a project
B) To start a project or activity successfully
C) To delay a plan
D) To fail at the beginning
14. What is the meaning of 'to hit the road'?
A) To start a journey
B) To end a journey
C) To make a mistake
D) To stay at home
15. If you 'put all your eggs in one basket', you are:
A) Diversifying your risks
B) Risking everything by committing all your resources or efforts to one single venture or plan
C) Being very careful
D) Investing wisely
16. What does it mean to 'jump on the bandwagon'?
A) To start a new trend
B) To join a popular activity or trend, often because it is successful or fashionable
C) To oppose a popular movement
D) To quit a group
17. The phrase 'to get out of hand' means:
A) To be perfectly under control
B) To become difficult to manage or control
C) To be very organized
D) To escape from a situation
18. What is the meaning of 'to call it a day'?
A) To start working
B) To decide to stop working or doing an activity for the day
C) To celebrate the end of a week
D) To plan for the next day
19. If you are 'on the same page', you are:
A) In disagreement
B) In agreement or understanding each other
C) Reading the same book
D) In the same physical location
20. What does it mean to 'take something with a grain of salt'?
A) To believe something completely
B) To be skeptical about something; to not believe it completely
C) To add flavor to food
D) To accept advice readily
21. The idiom 'to have butterflies in your stomach' means:
A) To feel very hungry
B) To feel nervous or anxious
C) To feel excited
D) To be calm and relaxed
22. What is the meaning of 'to keep your chin up'?
A) To be sad and dejected
B) To remain cheerful and optimistic in difficult circumstances
C) To look down
D) To be arrogant
23. If someone 'goes the extra mile', they:
A) Do more than is expected or required
B) Give up easily
C) Travel a short distance
D) Complain frequently
24. What does it mean to 'play it by ear'?
A) To follow a strict plan
B) To improvise as a situation develops, rather than following a pre-arranged plan
C) To listen carefully to music
D) To ignore instructions
25. The phrase 'to get something out of your system' means:
A) To ignore a strong desire or need
B) To do, experience, or say something you have wanted to do, experience, or say for a long time, so that you no longer feel the need to do so
C) To become ill
D) To forget something important
26. What is the meaning of 'to hit the sack'?
A) To go to bed
B) To play a sport
C) To pack a bag
D) To make a mistake
27. If you 'let sleeping dogs lie', what are you advised to do?
A) To provoke trouble
B) To avoid interfering in a situation that is currently calm but could become problematic if disturbed
C) To care for animals
D) To sleep deeply
28. What does it mean to 'cut corners'?
A) To do something in the easiest, cheapest, or fastest way, often by omitting steps or sacrificing quality
B) To follow a path precisely
C) To be very thorough
D) To make a mistake
29. The idiom 'to bite off more than you can chew' means:
A) To take on a task that is too difficult or too much to handle
B) To eat too much food
C) To chew something very slowly
D) To start a very small task
30. What is the meaning of 'to see eye to eye'?
A) To disagree completely
B) To agree with someone
C) To look directly at someone
D) To be visually impaired
31. If someone 'has a chip on their shoulder', they are:
A) Feeling happy and content
B) Holding a grudge or feeling resentful, often because of past unfair treatment
C) Carrying a heavy object
D) Feeling confident
32. What does it mean to 'throw in the towel'?
A) To start a competition
B) To give up or admit defeat
C) To clean something
D) To start a new task
33. The phrase 'to make a long story short' means:
A) To tell a story in great detail
B) To summarize a story or situation, omitting details
C) To tell a lie
D) To forget the details of a story
34. What is the meaning of 'to get cold feet'?
A) To become very brave
B) To lose courage or become too frightened to do something planned
C) To feel physically cold
D) To be enthusiastic
35. If a situation is 'a piece of cake', it is:
A) Very difficult
B) Very easy
C) Delicious
D) Unpleasant
36. What does it mean to 'pull someone's leg'?
A) To hurt someone physically
B) To trick or tease someone in a playful way
C) To support someone
D) To betray someone
37. The idiom 'to beat around the bush' means:
A) To speak directly and to the point
B) To avoid speaking directly about a topic; to talk in a roundabout way
C) To hit a plant
D) To explore a forest
38. What is the meaning of 'to spill the beans'?
A) To keep a secret
B) To reveal secret information
C) To make a mess
D) To eat food quickly
39. If someone is 'barking up the wrong tree', what are they doing?
A) Searching for something correctly
B) Pursuing a mistaken course of action or blaming the wrong person
C) Making a loud noise
D) Being very honest
40. What does 'once in a blue moon' signify?
A) Very often
B) Rarely
C) Always
D) Never
41. The phrase 'to get something off your chest' means:
A) To keep a secret
B) To confess something that has been worrying you
C) To become physically lighter
D) To finish a task
42. What is the meaning of 'to kill two birds with one stone'?
A) To fail at two tasks simultaneously
B) To achieve two aims with a single action
C) To cause harm to two people
D) To be very inefficient
43. If you 'give someone the cold shoulder', what are you doing?
A) Being friendly and welcoming
B) Ignoring someone or treating them in an unfriendly way
C) Offering a drink
D) Sharing a secret
44. What does it mean to 'hit the nail on the head'?
A) To make a mistake
B) To be precisely correct or to say exactly the right thing
C) To start a difficult task
D) To fail completely
45. The idiom 'to cost an arm and a leg' means:
A) To be very cheap
B) To be extremely expensive
C) To be damaged beyond repair
D) To be very useful
46. If a person is 'burning the midnight oil', what are they doing?
A) Celebrating late into the night
B) Working or studying late into the night
C) Wasting time
D) Cooking a meal at night
47. What is the meaning of 'to feel under the weather'?
A) To be very happy
B) To feel slightly ill or unwell
C) To be exposed to bad weather
D) To be optimistic about the future
48. The phrase 'to add insult to injury' means:
A) To make a bad situation worse
B) To offer help to someone in need
C) To apologize for a mistake
D) To forget about a past wrong
49. What does the idiom 'to break the ice' mean?
A) To start a conversation in a social setting and make people feel more comfortable
B) To cause a disagreement
C) To end a relationship
D) To fix something that is broken
50. If someone 'lets the cat out of the bag', what have they done?
A) Kept a secret
B) Revealed a secret accidentally
C) Scared someone
D) Made a mistake
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