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Learn English Idioms and Phrases

Idioms and phrases add color and personality to the English language, helping you sound like a native speaker. Expressions like "kick the bucket" or "piece of cake" are common in everyday conversations, but they can be tricky for non-native speakers. At Learn English Quiz, our idioms and phrases quizzes make learning these expressions fun and accessible. Each quiz tests your understanding of common idioms, their meanings, and how to use them in context. With clear explanations, you’ll learn when to say "hit the nail on the head" or "bark up the wrong tree." These quizzes are perfect for anyone looking to improve their conversational English, whether for casual chats, travel, or professional settings. Start practicing with our idioms and phrases quizzes today and take your English to the next level!

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Question 1: What does "under the thumb" mean?

To be free
To be controlled
To be happy
To be busy

Question 2: What does "kick the can down the road" mean?

To play a game
To delay a problem
To solve an issue
To travel far

Question 3: What does "spill the tea" mean?

To make tea
To share gossip
To clean up
To relax

Question 4: What does "through thick and thin" mean?

In good and bad times
In a short time
With difficulty
With ease

Question 5: What does "bark up the wrong tree" mean?

To climb a tree
To make a mistake about something
To succeed in a task
To start a new hobby

Question 6: What does "take the bull by the horns" mean?

To avoid a problem
To face a challenge directly
To run away
To start a fight

Question 7: What does "miss the boat" mean?

To travel by ship
To miss an opportunity
To succeed
To arrive early

Question 8: What does "in hot water" mean?

Relaxing
In trouble
Feeling warm
Working hard

Question 9: What does "cut to the chase" mean?

To run fast
To get to the point
To avoid talking
To chase someone

Question 10: What does "turn a blind eye" mean?

To look closely
To ignore something
To help someone
To start a project

Question 11: What does "up to speed" mean?

Moving fast
Fully informed or prepared
Falling behind
Driving a car

Question 12: What does "cut the mustard" mean?

To cook well
To meet expectations
To fail badly
To avoid work

Question 13: What does "take a rain check" mean?

To check the weather
To postpone a plan
To cancel an event
To attend a meeting

Question 14: What does "in over your head" mean?

To swim deeply
To be overwhelmed
To be confident
To be prepared

Question 15: What does "off the top of my head" mean?

To think carefully
To say something without thinking
To forget something
To plan ahead

Question 16: What does "fish out of water" mean?

Feeling comfortable
Feeling out of place
Swimming well
Catching fish

Question 17: What does "put your foot in your mouth" mean?

To dance badly
To say something embarrassing
To walk slowly
To eat quickly

Question 18: What does "let off steam" mean?

To start a fire
To release emotions
To stay calm
To work harder

Question 19: What does "wear your heart on your sleeve" mean?

To hide emotions
To show emotions openly
To be secretive
To avoid feelings

Question 20: What does "put the cart before the horse" mean?

To do things in the wrong order
To finish a task
To plan well
To travel by cart

Question 21: What does "on cloud nine" mean?

Feeling sad
Feeling very happy
Feeling tired
Feeling angry

Question 22: What does "under your nose" mean?

Hidden
Obvious but unnoticed
Far away
Difficult to find

Question 23: What does "let the genie out of the bottle" mean?

To make a wish
To cause an irreversible problem
To clean up
To hide a secret

Question 24: What does "off the hook" mean?

Caught in trouble
Free from responsibility
On a call
Very busy

Question 25: What does "in a nutshell" mean?

In a small space
Briefly summarized
Very complicated
Hidden away

Question 26: What does the idiom "raining cats and dogs" mean?

A light shower
Heavy rain
Feeding pets
A sunny day

Question 27: What does "make ends meet" mean?

To save money
To have enough money to live
To spend a lot
To lose money

Question 28: What does "make a long story short" mean?

To tell a detailed story
To summarize briefly
To write a book
To avoid talking

Question 29: What does "go the extra mile" mean?

To travel far
To do more than expected
To give up
To avoid effort

Question 30: What does "don’t hold your breath" mean?

To wait patiently
To not expect something soon
To swim underwater
To stay calm

Question 31: What does "up in the air" mean?

Flying high
Uncertain or undecided
Feeling happy
Very clear

Question 32: What does "put your best foot forward" mean?

To walk quickly
To make a good effort
To avoid work
To dance well

Question 33: What does "a blessing in disguise" mean?

A hidden problem
A problem that turns out well
A clear solution
A bad event

Question 34: What does "a drop in the bucket" mean?

A large amount
A small amount
A bucket of water
A big effort

Question 35: What does "have a bone to pick" mean?

To share food
To have an issue to discuss
To avoid conflict
To celebrate

Question 36: What does "bite off more than you can chew" mean?

To eat too much
To take on too much
To avoid work
To succeed easily

Question 37: What does "cut corners" mean?

To take shortcuts
To work carefully
To build something
To avoid work

Question 38: What does "the whole nine yards" mean?

A short distance
Everything or the full extent
A small effort
A quick task

Question 39: What does "when pigs fly" mean?

Something will happen soon
Something will never happen
Animals can fly
A funny event

Question 40: What does "beat around the bush" mean?

To be direct
To avoid the main topic
To work hard
To win a competition

Question 41: What does "hold your horses" mean?

To speed up
To wait or slow down
To ride a horse
To compete

Question 42: What does "walk on eggshells" mean?

To be careless
To be very cautious
To walk quickly
To relax

Question 43: What does "read between the lines" mean?

To read a book
To understand hidden meanings
To write a letter
To ignore details

Question 44: What does "once in a blue moon" mean?

Every day
Very rarely
At night
During winter

Question 45: What is the meaning of "spill the beans"?

To cook a meal
To reveal a secret
To make a mess
To lose money

Question 46: What does "steal someone’s thunder" mean?

To take someone’s idea
To make noise
To help someone
To avoid attention

Question 47: What does "take it with a grain of salt" mean?

To believe completely
To doubt something
To cook with salt
To share news

Question 48: What does "a dime a dozen" mean?

Very expensive
Very common
Very rare
Very difficult

Question 49: What does "call it a day" mean?

To start working
To stop working
To plan a day
To celebrate

Question 50: What does "burn bridges" mean?

To build relationships
To ruin relationships
To travel far
To start a fire

Question 51: What does "don’t judge a book by its cover" mean?

To judge appearances
To not judge by appearances
To read a book
To write a story

Question 52: Choose the correct meaning of "piece of cake".

Something very difficult
Something very easy
A type of dessert
A complex problem

Question 53: What does "in the same boat" mean?

Traveling together
In the same situation
Competing
Living apart

Question 54: What does "a needle in a haystack" mean?

Something easy to find
Something very hard to find
Something valuable
Something useless

Question 55: What does "hit the nail on the head" mean?

To miss the point
To do something correctly
To start a project
To fail a task

Question 56: What does "full steam ahead" mean?

To move slowly
To proceed quickly
To stop completely
To plan carefully

Question 57: What does "let your hair down" mean?

To relax and have fun
To get a haircut
To work hard
To stay serious

Question 58: What does "make a mountain out of a molehill" mean?

To simplify a problem
To exaggerate a small problem
To solve a big issue
To ignore a problem

Question 59: What does "down to earth" mean?

Very unrealistic
Practical and realistic
Living in space
Feeling sad

Question 60: What does "a chip on your shoulder" mean?

Being proud
Holding a grudge
Being happy
Being careless

Question 61: What does "give the benefit of the doubt" mean?

To doubt someone
To trust someone despite uncertainty
To criticize someone
To ignore someone

Question 62: What does "play it by ear" mean?

To plan carefully
To improvise
To play music
To ignore advice

Question 63: What does "let the cat out of the bag" mean?

To reveal a secret
To adopt a pet
To start a fight
To clean the house

Question 64: What does "spill your guts" mean?

To eat a lot
To share all your feelings
To get sick
To stay quiet

Question 65: What does "out of the blue" mean?

Expectedly
Suddenly
Slowly
Carefully

Question 66: What does "leave no stone unturned" mean?

To give up
To try everything
To avoid effort
To hide something

Question 67: What does "hit the hay" mean?

To work hard
To go to bed
To start a fight
To travel far

Question 68: What does "walk the talk" mean?

To talk loudly
To act on your words
To avoid action
To tell stories

Question 69: What does "add fuel to the fire" mean?

To calm a situation
To make a situation worse
To start a fire
To solve a problem

Question 70: What does "eat your heart out" mean?

To feel sad
To show off
To eat a lot
To hide feelings

Question 71: What does "back to the drawing board" mean?

To start over
To finish a project
To draw a picture
To win a competition

Question 72: What does "pull someone’s leg" mean?

To help someone
To tease someone
To trip someone
To ignore someone

Question 73: What does "don’t count your chickens before they hatch" mean?

To plan carefully
To expect success too early
To raise chickens
To avoid planning

Question 74: What does "bite the bullet" mean?

To avoid a task
To face a difficult situation
To eat quickly
To give up

Question 75: What does "throw in the towel" mean?

To clean up
To give up
To start a fight
To work harder

Question 76: What does "face the music" mean?

To enjoy music
To accept consequences
To avoid responsibility
To dance well

Question 77: What does "sit on the fence" mean?

To make a decision
To be undecided
To relax
To work hard

Question 78: What does "take the wind out of your sails" mean?

To make someone feel discouraged
To help someone sail
To make someone excited
To start a project

Question 79: What does "the last straw" mean?

The first problem
The final problem that causes action
A small issue
A happy event

Question 80: What does "bigger fish to fry" mean?

To cook food
To have more important things to do
To catch fish
To relax

Question 81: What does "the early bird catches the worm" mean?

To wake up early
To succeed by acting early
To catch birds
To work slowly

Question 82: What does "jump the gun" mean?

To start too early
To win a race
To shoot a gun
To finish quickly

Question 83: What does "barking up the wrong tree" mean?

To climb a tree
To make a mistake
To shout loudly
To find the right person

Question 84: What does "keep something under wraps" mean?

To reveal a secret
To keep something secret
To wrap a gift
To share news

Question 85: What does "get the ball rolling" mean?

To play a game
To start something
To stop a project
To lose a game

Question 86: What does "get a kick out of" mean?

To feel angry
To enjoy something
To kick something
To feel sad

Question 87: What does "caught red-handed" mean?

To be embarrassed
To be caught in the act
To win a prize
To paint something

Question 88: What does "keep your chin up" mean?

To look down
To stay positive
To give up
To hide emotions

Question 89: What does "get cold feet" mean?

To feel cold
To become nervous
To run fast
To stay calm

Question 90: What does "jump on the bandwagon" mean?

To join a popular trend
To play music
To avoid trends
To start a band

Question 91: What does "kill two birds with one stone" mean?

To harm animals
To achieve two goals with one action
To fail at two tasks
To work slowly

Question 92: What does "in the driver’s seat" mean?

To drive a car
To be in control
To be lost
To follow orders

Question 93: What does "no pain, no gain" mean?

To avoid effort
Effort leads to success
To relax easily
To fail quickly

Question 94: What does "ride shotgun" mean?

To drive a car
To sit in the front passenger seat
To shoot a gun
To travel alone

Question 95: What does "hit the ground running" mean?

To fall down
To start quickly
To stop working
To run a race

Question 96: What does "blow off steam" mean?

To start a fire
To release frustration
To stay calm
To work harder

Question 97: What does "every cloud has a silver lining" mean?

Every situation has a positive side
Every day is rainy
Every problem is unsolvable
Every cloud is dangerous

Question 98: What does "jump ship" mean?

To sail a ship
To abandon a project
To start a new job
To travel by sea

Question 99: What does "break a leg" mean?

To get injured
To wish good luck
To stop performing
To fail badly

Question 100: What does "let sleeping dogs lie" mean?

To adopt a pet
To avoid causing trouble
To wake someone up
To start a fight

Question 101: What does "on the fence" mean?

To be decisive
To be undecided
To be confident
To be angry

Question 102: What does "hit the jackpot" mean?

To lose money
To win a big prize
To work hard
To fail badly

Question 103: What does "put all your eggs in one basket" mean?

To diversify
To risk everything on one plan
To save money
To cook breakfast

Question 104: Choose the correct meaning of "under the weather".

Feeling unwell
Feeling energetic
Traveling abroad
Working hard

Question 105: What does "on thin ice" mean?

To be safe
To be in a risky situation
To skate well
To feel cold

Question 106: What does the idiom "kick the bucket" mean?

To start a new project
To die
To win a competition
To quit a job

Question 107: What does "keep your fingers crossed" mean?

To wish for good luck
To hide something
To work hard
To avoid risk

Question 108: What does "see eye to eye" mean?

To disagree
To agree
To look closely
To avoid contact