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📚 Idioms and Phrases Practice
Choose an answer, then open the short learning card. Learn the meaning of common idioms and phrases with short examples, memory clues, and exam-focused explanations.
Q11. Fly off the Handle
lose one's temper suddenly
The phrase means to become very angry very quickly, often without warning.
Think: the switch flips fast, like a handle that flies off.
When he heard the news, he flew off the handle and yelled at everyone.
Q12. The idiomatic expression "pull yourself together".
D. calm down by oneself
Pull yourself together means to regain control and calm down on your own.
Think of pulling your thoughts together like tying loose strings.
After the splash, she took a breath and pulled herself together.
Q13. 'See eye to eye' means:
The correct answer is: agree with someone.
See eye to eye means to think the same as someone else; they agree.
Think of two people staring at the same picture and saying, “Yes, we see it the same.”
They finally see eye to eye on the project and start working together.
Q14. He is a dark horse.
D. possessing a secret ability.
A dark horse is someone who isn’t expected to do well but has hidden talents or abilities.
Think of a horse that is unknown but carries a surprise talent.
She seemed quiet, but she’s a dark horse who ended up winning the competition.
Q15. 'At daggers drawn' means:
B. on bad terms with
The phrase shows two people ready to fight or argue, meaning they are not friendly and are on bad terms.
Imagine swords or daggers at each other to remember “on bad terms.”
Since the breakup, they have been daggers drawn in meetings.
Q16. Everything was at sixes and sevens.
Disordered.
It means things are in a state of confusion or not arranged properly.
Think: a mess or chaos equals sixes and sevens.
Ever since the move, my desk has been at sixes and sevens.
Q17. A bolt from the blue
an unexpected event
Lightning from a clear sky is sudden, shocking, and not planned—so it means something surprising happens.
Think: blue skies, then a bolt—surprise!
Learning she quit the job was a bolt from the blue.
Q18. To be all at sea.
lost and confused
To be all at sea means you feel lost or confused, as if you don’t know what to do.
Imagine being on a boat with no map—you’re at sea and unsure.
When starting a new job, she was all at sea for the first week.
Q19. Cold comfort
C. slight satisfaction
Cold comfort means a small, not strong, feeling of relief or satisfaction in a tough situation.
Think of a cold result that still gives a tiny comfort.
It was cold comfort to find a single winning ticket after the long losing streak.
Q20. To bite the dust
to fail
The idiom “to bite the dust” means to die or fail, often suddenly.
Picture someone biting dust after a big failure.
Their project bit the dust when funding stopped.