Idioms and figurative expressions · Year 8
An idiom is a group of words with a meaning that is different from the meanings of the single words. It's raining cats and dogs. doesn't mean animals are falling: it means it is raining very heavily. You learn idioms as whole phrases.
Key facts
- Feelings: over the moon and on cloud nine (very happy), feel blue (feel sad), under the weather (a little ill), get cold feet (suddenly feel too nervous to do something).
- Easy, hard and money: a piece of cake (very easy), cost an arm and a leg (be very expensive), cut corners (do something badly to save time or money).
- Secrets and talking: spill the beans (tell a secret), let the cat out of the bag (tell a secret by mistake), break the ice (make people feel relaxed when they first meet), pull someone's leg (joke with someone).
- Time and chances: once in a blue moon (very rarely), when pigs fly (never), call it a day (stop working), miss the boat (miss a chance), hold your horses (wait and be patient).
- Use the context to work out an idiom: what is the speaker really saying? Idioms are usually informal, so use them in speech and stories rather than in formal writing.