Look at the different explanations of each idiom and then order the words of the idiom that match the explanation.
1) Tony really drinks a lot of alcohol.
Tony fish like a drinks
2) Whenever the boss is out of the office, the colleagues do whatever they want.
mice will the cat’s When the away play
3) I am really nervous about my job interview.
When someone gets tricked, cheated or decieved, we say that they have been had. Being mistreated, cheated or dealt with badly, is known as being had.
This expression uses the verb to have in the sense of getting someone in one's power or at a disadvantage.
Today's cartoon is about the idiom someone's lips are sealed:
When you promise to keep something a secret you say my lips are sealed. It's something you say to let someone know that you will not tell anyone else what they have just told you.
"Don't worry, Joseph. I won't tell anyone what you told me. My lips are sealed."
February 14 is St. Valentine's Day; a day when lovers express their love for each other by giving flowers, gifts, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines").
In honour of St. Valentine's Day, here are 5 idioms which use the word heart. These are not examples of romantic idioms. The heart idioms cover a number of situations.
When you learn something by heart, you learn it exactly and from memory.
Money, like time, is something that we never seem to have enough of.
Here are five phrasal verbs we use to talk about spending money.
To pay for something or to send money on something especially when you don't want to.
"She's just coughed up £40 for a speeding fine."
Today's cartoon is based on the idiom Put your heart into something:
When you put your heart into something you make a lot of effort to do something.
"He's the kind of person who puts his heart into his job."
"She wanted her company to be a success and really put her heart into it."
Take a look at these ten well-known idioms. How many of them are you familiar with. Do you know what they mean?
Articles (the;an;a) can often cause a lot of frustration. See how spot-on you are by matching them to these everyday idioms. How well do you know these idioms. Do you have the same ones in your language?
Only use a, an, the
Submitted by Jozua van der Lugt. Teacher at EC Cape Town English language school
We sometimes use animals to describe people or things. Choose the correct animal to complete these comparisons. Do you have similar expressions in your country?
Today's lesson is from Nasreen Narkedien, EC Cape Town English language school.
Let's a look at some natural English idioms. Can you guess what they mean from the context? Match the idioms to their definitions. Do you have similar idioms in your language? Tell us about them.
He was beside himself when he heard he had been promoted.
If you have any ideas, I'm all ears.
We've only just started, don't throw the towel in yet.
