Okay it's time to brush up on a few
This is going to be a piece of cake.
If you don't know me, I'm Emma from mmmEnglish
and today I've got a challenge for you,
Using idioms is definitely a more advanced
level of communication in English
but one that you should definitely be aspiring to
because native English speakers use idioms all the time
and to sound more natural and creative and interesting
you should definitely be learning
and practising some of them regularly.
Now as much as you dislike learning idioms,
they really are a wonderful part of language
because you can perfectly express how you're feeling
I could tell you that the car was going fast
Idioms give me much more detail and expression
They also help to push your English to a higher level.
Native speakers use idioms all the time
so becoming familiar with them,
is really essential to help with your understanding.
And if you can start using these idioms as well,
in your writing and in your speech, well
you're going to sound much more advanced as well.
So today I'm going to challenge you with an idioms quiz
to see just how many of these idioms you really know.
So this quiz will help you to see how good you are
but even if idioms aren't really your forte yet,
then we'll be reviewing lots of them
as we go during this video so just get ready
Now just in case you didn't realise it, this is also
all of the idioms lessons that I've made to date.
So if you get any of them wrong or you want to check
about the meaning of any of them,
then you can watch all of them
in my idioms lessons here, right here.
There's a whole playlist of them.
So if you nail this quiz, I'm just going to have to assume
every single lesson of mine very diligently.
Okay so this is how it's going to work.
You'll see an idiom pop up on screen right here
and for each one I'm going to give you
and you just need to choose which
So we'll start off with a few easier ones
that are very common and then we'll get going
I know that you like a challenge
so we're definitely going to give those tricky ones a go,
Make sure you keep score to see how many
so we can all share our answers together.
If you get one wrong then just
write it down, try and use it in a sentence
straight away while it's fresh in your mind
because that's going to give me a chance to check it
for you and give you some feedback
on how you're using that idiom.
So it's a really good way to practise.
You're in control of this video! You can pause it,
write a comment and then keep going.
We're just warming up here, all right?
but this is a really good example to remind us
not to get tricked by the literal meaning
of these idioms, right? Of the words in these idioms.
'A piece of cake' is literally a type of dessert
but the idiom 'a piece of cake' is used to describe
a situation that's really easy.
All right here's the next one.
Does this describe someone who
If you watched my lesson last week,
you probably know the answer to this one.
Now remember, we're not talking about someone
so much that they wouldn't hurt a fly.
This idiom is great to use when you describe someone
It's the total opposite of aggressive.
She's one of the kindest people that I know.
So far so good, right? Let's keep going.
or can you use it when you have an injury
Have you heard of this one before?
A 'pain in the neck' is something or someone that's
All right here's the next one - one that I use all the time.
Hit the road Jack and don't you come back
Notice that you can use this idiom whether you're
leaving somewhere by foot, by car or by bike.
well that's when you fall down, right?
So keep that in mind I was trying to trick you.
If you hit the deck it means you fall over.
And it sounds kind of similar, doesn't it?
Remember that we're not talking about
something literal, right? So don't get confused
by thinking that there was a boat and water involved
To 'jump ship' means that you're quitting something,
that you quit or you leave or you abandon
your teammates or a group of people, right?
You can use 'jumping ship' in any of those situations.
These idioms are going to get a little trickier now.
It's C!
So someone with itchy feet is ready for a change.
They want to change their daily routine and just
get out on the road and see the world.
Do you have itchy feet? I wonder.
Where would you like to travel to?
What places are on your bucket list?
That's another idiom right there!
Now what if I said you have your head in the clouds?
Now if your head is in the clouds, then you're
and you're thinking about other things.
Your mind is elsewhere, somewhere else.
I've got a few people in mind that I know
who sometimes have their head in the clouds.
Do you know anyone who's got their head in the clouds?
How confident are you about this one?
This one is a very common one too.
If you have something that's worrying you, a problem
or something that's difficult to say
and you finally say it out loud to someone
then you've got it off your chest.
So when you get something off your chest,
you feel relieved. You feel much better.
something's been bothering me right?
This is quite a good way to start an awkward
conversation, you know, if you
have to tell your housemate that you're really
sick of cleaning up in the bathroom after them.
Now the next one is under the weather.
Quite a common one. But does it mean
Now this has nothing to do with the actual weather.
Answer A is the correct answer.
So when you're feeling low in energy, maybe your
head hurts or you have a sore throat,
you're feeling under the weather.
So it's never fun to feel under the weather
but it is important to note that this idiom
is used when you're not quite feeling a hundred percent.
Maybe you have the flu or a headache or something
but it's not used for serious illnesses,
not quite as good as you normally do.
Or are you having a change of heart
now that you're taking this idioms quiz?
If you have a change of heart,
you change your opinion or your idea about something.
So let's look at a couple of examples.
All right, ready to take this quiz to a whole new level?
If I was wrapped around someone's finger then I would
and if you have someone wrapped around your finger,
then you've got complete control over them
because they'll do anything to make you happy.
their parents wrapped around their fingers
and pay attention to who is wrapped around someone's
The person wrapped around the finger is not the one
in control. They are the weakest one.
Now this idiom is most commonly used as a verb.
Here's another one that I use all the time.
I'm actually really awful at winging it,
it's not one of my skills. I'm a planner.
So if you wing something, you do it without a plan.
you make it up and you just invent it as you go.
So when you choke on something while you're eating.
Now I'll give you a little hint here.
The idiom 'to be in/over your head'
So you can use both of these idioms
to describe someone who's trying to do something
that is above their abilities or it's too difficult for them.
Now can you think of a time when you
bit off more than you could chew?
It's not really a great feeling because
it's when you want to do something well
but you just have too much to do.
You've got too much on your plate.
That's another idiom right there.
You've got too much in your plate you're too busy, right?
It's too hard so you bit off more than you could chew.
Well?
I'm actually trying to trick you here.
This idiom is often used in a business context
and it's used to describe the benefits or positive things
that someone brings to a situation.
So if someone has a good idea or can contribute
something new or they have some kind of helpful skill,
then all of those things can be brought to the table
It's a skill that I can contribute.
And it's always a good idea to bring something
to the table if you're trying to be helpful.
If you're trying to be a good teammate
or if you want to make a good impression,
you bring something to the table.
I've just got a couple more for you. What about
It's got nothing to do with pickles or even food, actually.
and it's when you're in a tricky or a difficult situation.
The car's just broken down and I'm late for work.
what if I said that something might
Would I be suggesting that I was
Imagine that a hundred people arrived at your house
Things would probably get out of hand,
Maybe. If a person's behaviour or a situation
then you're no longer able to control it.
Okay? You definitely don't want things to get out of hand
Well hey! You made it all the way to the
end of the idioms quiz - awesome work!
How many of them did you get right?
Share your score in the comments,
tell me which ones you got wrong.
If you add that to the comments,
then I'll share the link to the right idioms lesson
And if you didn't get some of them right
to learn some new ones, right?
In fact, if you did learn some new ones,
then make sure you pause this lesson right now
and write a sentence using them in the comments
so that I can check if you're using them correctly
and you help that information to stay in your head.
If you did pretty well with this quiz then share it with
your friends and see how they score.
A little friendly competition is always a good thing
I think so see if you can challenge them
go and grab a drink of water and then come back