IDIOMS

The City of EmberThe City of Ember is a novel about a group of people who have been moved to an underground city to protect them from the disaster that may kill all of mankind. The people in Ember do not know they are in a special protected place. Knowledge of the outside world has been kept from them. Doon, one of the main characters, goes to the library to learn about fire. The library books contain only bits of information. Read this excerpt from The City of Ember about Doon’s library experience.

Although he’d often found something interesting in these searches, he’d never found anything important. Today was no different. He did come across a collection called Mysterious Words from the Past, which he read for a while. It was about words and phrases so old that their meanings had been forgotten. He read a few pages.

Heavens aboveIndicates surprise. What “heavens” means is unclear. It might be another words for “floodlight.”

HogwashMeans “nonsense,” though no one knows what a “hog” is or why one would wash it.

Batting a thousandIndicates great success. This might possible refer to killing bugs.

All in the same boatMeans “all in the same predicament.” The meaning of “boat “ is unknown.

The phrases Doon read are what is known as idioms.

An idiom is an expression with a meaning that cannot be guessed from the meanings of the individual words.

Idioms are common and they occur frequently in all languages.

An estimated 25,000 idiomatic expressions may be found in the English language.

Many idioms are expressions used in sports.

Football Idioms

carry the ball to be in charge of something, to be responsible for something

game planto have a strategy

run interferenceto intervene on behalf of someone in order to protect him or her from something

tackle a problemto attack a problem with much effort

Baseball Idioms

bat a thousanda guess that is in a certain area or range, an approximate guess

come out of left fieldto be completely unexpected, to be a surprise

cover all one’s basesto thoroughly prepare for or deal with a situation

Pool Idioms

behind the eight ballat a disadvantage

call the shotsto control something, to make the rules

Sailing Idioms

smooth sailingsomething is going well and is having no problems

take the wind out of one’s sailsto become discouraged and lose one's enthusiasm

Boxing Idioms

blow by blow accounta description or account that provides much detail

saved by the bellrescued from a bad situation at the last minute

hit below the beltto not follow the rules, to do something that is not fair

in someone’s corneron someone's side, supporting someone

Golf Idioms

make the cutto meet or reach a required standard

on par with someoneequal in importance or quality to something or someone

par for the coursewhat is normal or expected in a given situation

Idioms may come from many sources including:- Proverbs- Myths- Folklore- Bible- Shakespeare- American Phrases

ExamplesI had to race against time.

- to rush to beat a deadline

He’s in a rat race. –a fierce struggle for success, especially in one's

career or business

I can't keep my head above water. - to manage a situation

Can you name some of these?

hit a bull’s eye

to achieve the goal perfectly

a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

to reach the goal you wish to obtain

folklore

jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire

to go from one bad situation to worse situation

chained to the computer

to spend a lot of time working

rolling out the red carpet

doing everything possible to make someone welcome

Activity 1 – Idiom Cards Match idiom pictures to their literal and

figurative meanings.

Free idiom pictures and meanings may be downloaded from Teachers Pay Teachers.

Activity 2 Complete the handout by

Writing an idiomWrite the idiom’s figurative meaningDraw a picture to illustrate the idiom.