Fine Tune Your English: Idiomatic Phrases

Question 1

Keep one’s fingers crossed

Answer 1

To wish good luck

Question 2

A lion’s share

Answer 2

Major part

Question 3

Naked truth

Answer 3

Without any falsehood

Question 4

To get the sack

Answer 4

To be dismissed

Question 5

To kick the bucket

Answer 5

To die

Question 6

To blow hot and cold

Answer 6

To behave inconsistently

Question 7

To have an axe to grind

Answer 7

To have private reasons for doing something

Question 8

Achilles heel

Answer 8

Vulnerable spot

Question 9

The die is cast

Answer 9

A decision was already made

Question 10

One’s number is up

Answer 10

One is trouble

Question 11

To make both ends meet

Answer 11

Trying to balances expenses and income

Question 12

In the red

Answer 12

Having more liability than assets

Question 13

To go off at a tangent

Answer 13

To move from one line of thought to another

Question 14

To give short shrift

Answer 14

To treat someone curtly

Question 15

Hobson’s choice

Answer 15

Choice

Question 16

Shot in the arm

Answer 16

Results in renewed vigour

Question 17

Indian summer

Answer 17

A short happy moment

Question 18

A shot in the dark

Answer 18

A wild guess

Question 19

Mumbo Jumbo

Answer 19

Grey show without any sincerity

Question 20

To give one the cold shoulder

Answer 20

To intentionally ignore someone or treat someone in unfriendly way

Question 21

Pandora’s box

Answer 21

Something that creates a lot of problems that we didn’t expect

Question 22

Gordion knot

Answer 22

An extremely difficult and complicated problem

Question 23

Sop to Cerebus

Answer 23

Something offered to appease someone

Question 24

Between the devil and the deep sea

Answer 24

Between two great difficulties

Question 25

The ugly duckling

Answer 25

Someone or something that is ugly and unsuccessful when young or new but will later become beautiful or successful

Question 26

Sword of Damocles

Answer 26

A situation in which something very bad could happen at anytime

Question 27

Apple of discord

Answer 27

The cause of a problem/ someone pr something that causes trouble or unhappiness

Question 28

Sour grapes

Answer 28

Putting down something that one desires but cannot have

Question 29

To clear the Aegean’s stable

Answer 29

Clear away corruption or perform a large and unpleasant task that has a long call for attention

Question 30

Many a slip between the cup and the lip

Answer 30

Said to emphasize that certain things go wrong before something is finished