Idioms and Phrases Questions and Answers

Answer: B

A flash in the pan is a sudden but temporary success.

The idiom comes from the old flintlock musket: sometimes the powder in the priming pan flashed without firing the main charge, so there was a bright burst and then nothing. A flash in the pan is therefore something that makes a striking start but soon fades, an effort that comes to nothing.

'A spectacular and lasting success' gets the first half right but contradicts the essential idea of not lasting. 'A complete failure' misses the initial brilliance, and 'a well-planned strategy' has no connection with the idiom.

Answer: C

By the skin of her teeth means just barely.

To do something by the skin of one's teeth is to succeed or escape by the narrowest possible margin, with almost nothing to spare. The phrase comes from the Book of Job. In the sentence, she saved her business during the crash, but only narrowly.

'Very easily' is the opposite of the idiom's meaning. 'With a lot of financial help' and 'by cheating' explain how something might be done, but the idiom says nothing about the means, only about how close the outcome was.

Answer: B

Learn the ropes means to understand how to do a job.

The idiom comes from sailing ships, where a new sailor had to learn which rope worked which sail. Today it means learning the basic procedures of a new job or activity, which is exactly what a new employee is doing.

It has nothing to do with avoiding responsibilities, teaching others (that would be show someone the ropes) or changing the rules.

Answer: C

Go the extra mile means to make additional effort.

To go the extra mile is to do more than is required or expected in order to achieve something. An athlete determined to go the extra mile trains harder than others to win.

The idiom is not literal, so travel abroad is wrong. Avoid hard work is its opposite, and challenge the coach has no connection with the expression.

Answer: B

Add fuel to the fire means to increase the tension.

Adding fuel makes a fire burn more fiercely, so the idiom means to make an already bad or heated situation worse, usually by saying or doing something provocative. In an emotional discussion, Priya made matters more heated.

Calm the situation and solve the problem are the opposite effect (closer to pour oil on troubled waters), and avoid the argument means staying out of it, not inflaming it.

Answer: A

With a high hand means oppressively.

To act with a high hand (or in a high-handed way) is to use power arrogantly and without regard for others' rights or feelings. A king who ruled his subjects with a high hand was harsh and overbearing.

Kindly and sympathetically are the opposite of the idiom's meaning. Conveniently describes what suits someone's comfort or purpose and says nothing about harshness, so it misses the sense of arrogant, oppressive rule.

Answer: A

On the wave here means on the heights: his popularity is at its peak.

The image is of being carried up on the crest of a wave, as in the related phrase riding the crest of a wave, which means enjoying great success or popularity at a given time.

Stand still suggests no movement, the opposite of being carried up. Verge of eruption belongs to a volcano or a crisis, not to popularity. Gradually declining describes the trough, or the wave falling away, rather than the crest.

Answer: C

A blessing in disguise means a good and useful sign that seems bad or unlucky initially.

The idiom describes something that looks like a misfortune at first but turns out to be good. In the sentence, Susan's break-up seemed painful, but it gave her time to think about her future and take important decisions.

'An important event' and 'an auspicious occasion' miss the point that it first seems bad. 'Something completely hidden' takes disguise literally; the idiom is about the true, good nature of an event being hidden at first, not about hiding.

Answer: C

A bone of contention means point of disagreement.

The idiom comes from the picture of two dogs fighting over a bone. It means a subject or issue over which people argue, as in the sentence, where the movie's subject has long been argued over in the industry.

'Point of rejection' and 'criterion of selection' have nothing to do with argument. 'Cause of struggle' is close but too strong and too general; the idiom refers to the matter people disagree about, not to a fight or struggle as such.

Answer: B

To take to one's heels means to run away.

The idiom pictures someone showing their heels as they flee: When the police arrived, the thieves took to their heels.

It has nothing to do with assault or concern, and 'to run oneself' is not an expression with this meaning.