Try to remember as many idioms as you can. Then, do the idiom filling exercise.
  • to break the ice = say something to reduce tension at a first meeting. She finally broke the ice and asked him about his family.
  • to cut no ice with somebody = have little influence, be unconvincing. His excuses cut no ice with me.
  • to be in deep waters = be in trouble. Having lost his passport, he is now in deep waters.
  • a drop in the ocean = a quantity too small to make any improvement. Aid to the Third World is just a drop in the ocean.
  • the last straw (that broke the camel's back) = additional event that makes a situation intolerable. He had lost his job last week and now he was robbed. That was the last straw. He decided to move to a foreign country.
  • to leave someone high and dry = leave someone helpless. He left her high and dry in a strange country without any money.
  • to let off steam = release surplus energy from being restrained. The children were out in the playground letting off steam.
  • like a fish out of water = awkward because of being unfamiliar with the surroundings. She felt like a fish out of water among those high-society people.
  • like water off a duck's back = without any effect. Their hints about his behaviour were like water off a duck's back.
  • to be out of one's depth = be unable to understand something. When they start talking about economy, I'm out of my depth.
  • to be soaked to the skin = be completely soaked. They were soaked to the skin after the storm.
  • a storm in a teacup = a lot of fuss about something unimportant. That's a storm in a teacup, stop fussing about it, you can do it.
  • to take the plunge = take a decisive step after thinking about it for a long time. He finally decided to take the plunge and get married.
  • to be thrown in at the deep end = be introduced to the most difficult part of an activity, for which one is not prepared. He was thrown in at the deep end because he had to finish his job and didn't know where to start.
  • the tip of the iceberg = small but evident part of a much larger problem. More than ten burglaries are reported every week, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
  • water under the bridge = event that has already occurred and cannot be altered. Stop worrying about it, that dispute is water under the bridge now.

Exercise
Choose the right answer.

1. When the children came back home after the storm, they were ..........

2. I'm sure that these arguments will ..........with the opposition party.

3. In her new school, she felt like...........

4. The boss finally ..............by talking about the weather.

5. The company is ...........over their refusal to reduce prices.

6. We ........... and decided to set up our own company.

7. We went jogging to ...........

8. The cases of food poisoning are only ..............

9. Come on, forget about that dispute! It's ............ now.

10. Two new hospitals are being built, but this is just ........ for such a big city.

(taken from www.saberingles.com.ar)

Last modified: Monday, 24 January 2011, 2:12 PM