Idioms and Phrases Questions and Answers

Answer: B

'Get into hot water' means to get into trouble, so it replaces the underlined segment. 'Get into blood' is not an idiom, 'go to dogs' means to deteriorate or be ruined, and 'face the dark horse' is not a set expression ('dark horse' alone means an unexpected winner).

Answer: D

The idiom is 'a drop in the ocean', meaning a very small amount compared with what is needed. 'Drop in the sea' is not the established form of the idiom, and 'drop in the pond' and 'drop in the island' are not idioms at all.

The idiom 'a drop in the ocean' describes a quantity so small that it makes no noticeable difference to a much larger whole, as with a small donation against a very large need.

Answer: D

'To build castles in the air' means to make impractical dreams and plans, which fits a person who makes visionary schemes and does not succeed. 'To beat about the bush' is to avoid the main point, 'to break the ice' is to start a conversation or ease tension, and 'to bite the dust' is to fall or fail.

Answer: C

In seventh heaven is the idiom for a state of intense delight. On pins and needles means anxious or in suspense, under the weather means slightly ill, and chilled out means relaxed, so none of these means intense joy. The idiom in seventh heaven comes from the old belief of seven heavens, the seventh being the highest; so to be in seventh heaven is to be in a state of the highest joy. The other idioms in the options have different meanings; on pins and needles is nervous waiting, and under the weather is mildly ill, so only one idiom matches intense delight.

Answer: D

To take something with a grain of salt means to consider it with reservation, that is, not to accept it as wholly true without doubt. It does not mean adding salt to improve taste, and it is not the same as trusting without doubts, which is the opposite. Gentrification is the movement of better-off people into a poorer area, which has nothing to do with the idiom. The answer is To consider with reservation, option (D).

Answer: B

The word that can replace 'clouds' is 'sunshine'. The proverb is 'Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you'. The picture is of a person who turns to the light so that the shadows are cast behind. Facing clouds would not make shadows fall behind.

'Sky' and 'ground' do not give the same sense of turning to the light, and 'No substitution required' is wrong because the sentence with 'clouds' does not make sense as a proverb: clouds do not cast shadows behind the person who faces them. The second option is the answer.

Answer: C

The idiom means very expensive.

'An arm and a leg' means a very high price. Studying in the UK cost a great deal.

'Very convenient', 'very affordable' and 'very difficult' are not the meaning of the idiom.

The idiom comes from the idea of paying so much that you lose parts of your body. It is used for something that costs far more than expected. The sentence says it cost this much to study in the UK, so the meaning is very expensive.

Answer: C

The idiom is By hook or by crook.

It means by any means, fair or foul. 'At sixes and sevens' means in confusion, 'again and again' means repeatedly and 'by fits and starts' means in irregular bursts.

So only 'by hook or by crook' matches 'by any means'.

The phrase 'by hook or by crook' means in whatever way is necessary, whether honest or not. The highlighted words 'by any means' have the same sense. 'At sixes and sevens' means in disorder and 'by fits and starts' means not continuously.

Answer: C

The idiom is Kith and kin.

'Kith and kin' means friends and relatives. 'Ivory tower' means a place cut off from real life, 'ins and outs' means the details and 'neck and crop' means completely or roughly.

So only kith and kin means relatives and friends.

'Kith and kin' means friends and relatives, which is exactly the highlighted phrase 'friends and relatives' in the sentence. 'Ins and outs' means the details of something, 'ivory tower' means a place of withdrawal, and 'neck and crop' means completely.

Answer: C

'Up a creek without a paddle' means to be in an unlucky or bad situation with no means of getting out of it, just as a person in a boat on a creek with no paddle is stuck. It does not mean taking revenge, wishing for something good, or working hard to achieve success, so only the third option is correct. The idiom pictures a person on a creek who has lost the paddle, so there is no way to steer or return.