Incredible Idioms Ace Up Your Sleeve David Dye M.ED. Cold Feet The Cat s Out of the Bag Bark Is Worse Than His Bite Lay an Egg
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Table of Contents Incredible Idioms Unit I 1. Unit I List of Idioms........................ 1 2. Unit I Worksheet #1...................... 2 3. Unit I Worksheet #2...................... 3 4. Unit Projects Explanation.................. 4 Unit II 1. Unit II List of Idioms........................ 5 2. Unit II Worksheet #1...................... 6 3. Unit II Worksheet #2...................... 7 Unit III 1. Unit III List of Idioms........................ 9 2. Unit III Worksheet #1...................... 10 3. Unit III Worksheet #2...................... 11 Unit IV 1. Unit IV List of Idioms........................ 12 2. Unit IV Worksheet #1...................... 13 3. Unit IV Worksheet #2...................... 14 Unit V 1. Unit V List of Idioms........................ 16 2. Unit V Worksheet #1...................... 17 3. Unit V Worksheet #2...................... 18 Answer Key........................ 19
Idioms Part I Have you ever heard someone say, Go fly a kite, or It s as easy as pie.? Well, these are idioms. An idiom is an expression that may, or may not, make sense when you read it. However, it does have a certain meaning when used properly. Idioms give your writing some personality. Use this list to practice. Keep your ears open and stay on the ball, and I bet you ll find a bunch more to put into your bag of tricks. Directions: Below is a list of 10 idioms and their meanings. Write each idiom in a sentence. Use an idiom in each sentence that fits the meaning of the expression. 2. All Ears = ready to listen carefully (When you re ready to talk, I m all ears.) file 1. Ace up Your Sleeve = a special advantage that is not used until the very last moment (Everyone thinks that Rosy will win the contest, but Rachel has an ace up her sleeve.) ple 3. At the End of Your Rope = not able to take it any more (I m at the end of my rope with all your complaining.) Sa m 4. Bark Up the Wrong Tree = to give attention or focus on the wrong thing (If you think I took your piece of candy, you re barking up the wrong tree.) 5. Bury the Hatchet = to settle an argument or put the past behind you (When we realized how silly we were acting, Sequoia and I decided to bury the hatchet and be friends again.) 6. Cry Wolf = to give a false alarm (There was no fire. Justin was just crying wolf.) 7. Eating Out of Your Hand = to have control of someone or a group (My report was so good, the class was eating out of my hand.) 8. Fair-Weather Friend = someone who is a friend only when things are good (While our pool was being cleaned, all my fair-weathered friends had better things to do than hang out with me.) 9. Off the Hook = to get out of something unpleasant (I thought I had to mow the lawn, but since it rained, I m off the hook.) 10. Go Fly a Kite = to tell someone to go away and stop bothering you (I wanted to help my brother, but he told me to go fly a kite.) 1
Idioms Part I Name: Directions: What idiom would best describe each situation below? Write it on the line. 1. Someone doesn t want you around. They try to get you to go away. They might say: 2. A comedian is doing a great job. The audience loves her. They laugh at every joke. We can say that the audience is: 3. Your neighbor, Billy, just got a swimming pool. Now all of the kids go over to his house. When summer is over, he can t get anyone to come over and play. How would you describe the kids who only played with Billy in the summer? file 4. Dan s team was losing the football game by one point in the last minute. The coach has a special trick play that nobody has ever seen. It is sure to work. You might say that the ple coach : m 5. Everyone thinks that you have the answers for a test. You don t. They don t believe you so Sa they keep bothering you. You can say that these people are: 6. The teacher is making you the star of the class play. You are very shy and do NOT want to do it. The teacher got sick and had to cancel the show. I guess you are: 7. Dad came into the room and asked, Who wants to make a hundred dollars? Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and gave Dad their complete attention. They were: 8. Your friends stopped fighting and forgave each other. They: 9. At Mom s surprise party, Jamie kept yelling, Here she comes! When Mom finally arrived, nobody believed Jamie so Mom walked right in without us yelling Surprise! Jamie was: 10. The teacher is sick of all the talking and makes the class stay after school. You could say that he was: 2
Idioms Part I The Playground Conflict Name: Directions: Fill in the blanks with an idiom that applies to the story. Mary, Joseph, and a group of their friends were playing kickball at lunch recess. They were all arguing about Joseph s homerun. Mary insisted that the ball he kicked was foul so the homerun shouldn t count. Every time Mary would try to explain where the ball landed, Joseph would make a face and repeat every word Mary said right back at her. She couldn t take it any more. She was 1.. To make matters worse, John would 2 and yell, Here comes the teacher! and laugh when everyone turned around. Finally, Andrew announced, I have a solution! Because they were all tired of fighting, we were 3. He spoke very forcefully and made a convincing argument. He explained that we weren t keeping score anyway so why does this matter? Just let Joseph kick again. Joseph gets to kick twice and we can all be friends again. We were all 4. We all agreed with everything he had to say. They all agreed except Joseph. Joseph shouted, If you think I m giving up my homerun, you are 5! They all thought here we go again. However, Andrew had an 6. He whispered in Joseph s ear, Kick it to me and I ll make sure you get a homerun. Joseph kicked the ball to Andrew, but Andrew caught it. Joseph went crazy. He yelled, This is my ball. You guys are a bunch of cheaters. You can all 7. Just because things didn t go his way, he takes his ball and leaves. Most of the kids thought that Joseph was being a 8. Everyone thought the game was over. However, they were all surprised when Joseph came back with the ball. Surprisingly, he apologized and the game continued. Would the children forgive him? Joseph was 9 when Mary smiled and said, Welcome back. After that, we all agreed to 10 and become friends again. 3