English Idioms & Phrases Quiz

1. What does 'break a leg' mean?

1. Be careful not to fall
2. Good luck
3. Run as fast as you can
4. Work very hard

2. What does 'hit the nail on the head' mean?

1. To be extremely lucky
2. To be very precise at a task
3. To describe exactly what is causing a problem
4. To hurt yourself

3. What does 'piece of cake' mean?

1. A celebration
2. A reward for hard work
3. A small portion of something
4. Something very easy

4. What does 'spill the beans' mean?

1. Be clumsy
2. Get angry
3. Make a mess
4. Reveal a secret

5. What does 'under the weather' mean?

1. Being in bad conditions
2. Feeling ill or unwell
3. Feeling sad
4. It is raining outside

6. What does 'bite off more than you can chew' mean?

1. Being very greedy
2. Eating too much food
3. Taking on more than you can handle
4. Talking too much

7. What does 'the ball is in your court' mean?

1. It is your decision or responsibility now
2. It's your turn to play sport
3. You are winning the game
4. You have an advantage

8. What does 'kick the bucket' mean?

1. To die
2. To get angry
3. To give up
4. To make a big mistake

9. What does 'barking up the wrong tree' mean?

1. Being very persistent
2. Confusing animals with people
3. Making a lot of noise
4. Pursuing a mistaken course of action

10. What does 'once in a blue moon' mean?

1. At night time
2. During a full moon
3. Every month
4. Very rarely

11. What does 'let the cat out of the bag' mean?

1. Accidentally reveal a secret
2. Create confusion
3. Make a big announcement
4. Release an animal

12. What does 'cost an arm and a leg' mean?

1. To be physically painful
2. To be very expensive
3. To require a lot of effort
4. To take a very long time

13. What does 'beat around the bush' mean?

1. To avoid coming to the main point
2. To make noise
3. To search through bushes
4. To work very hard

14. What does 'miss the boat' mean?

1. To be completely wrong
2. To be late for a ship
3. To make a big mistake
4. To miss an opportunity

15. What does 'burn the midnight oil' mean?

1. To be very passionate
2. To start a fire
3. To waste energy
4. To work late into the night

16. What does 'add fuel to the fire' mean?

1. Get someone excited
2. Make a bad situation worse
3. Provide energy for something
4. Start a fire

17. What does 'the tip of the iceberg' mean?

1. A small, visible part of a much larger problem
2. Something that is melting away
3. The beginning of a journey
4. The best part of something

18. What does 'every cloud has a silver lining' mean?

1. Even bad situations have some positive aspect
2. Silver is found in unusual places
3. Storms are always followed by sunshine
4. Weather is always changing

19. What does 'bite the bullet' mean?

1. Eat something unpleasant
2. Endure a painful situation with courage
3. Make a quick decision
4. Shoot someone

20. What does 'see eye to eye' mean?

1. Make eye contact
2. To agree with someone
3. To be the same height
4. To look at something carefully