Answer Key
Idioms (5)
Choose the correct expressions to complete the idioms.
- I can't stand his behavior any longer. I think I'll have to tell him some [home truths] .
- Thanks for the link to the article about the economic crisis. It gave me [food] for thought.
- I've been reading it over and over for hours. I'm even more confused than when I started. I can't make [head or tail] of it.
- Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. My lips are [sealed] .
- My colleague at work is playing cat [and mouse] with me. I'm not sure whether she likes me or not.
- Yes, yes, that's it. You've just [taken the words] right out of my mouth.
- Peter was hired even though he failed the business model tests. His father simply [pulled] a few strings.
- What I really like about this politician is that he calls a spade [a spade] . That's not very usual these days.
- We are going to stay in one of the best hotels in the resort. And the icing on the [cake] is it's all inclusive!
- We scored at the [eleventh] hour and the match ended up in a tie!
| Call a spade a spade. | = to speak openly and truthfully about something |
|---|---|
| Home truths. | = unpleasant fact about somebody that they do not want to accept |
| Play cat and mouse. | = treat somebody alternately cruelly and kindly, so they do not know what to expect |
| Pull strings. | = to use influential friends in order to obtain an advantage |
| My lips are sealed. | = you promise not to reveal a secret |
| Take the words out of somebody’s mouth. | = say exactly what somebody else was going to say |
| At the eleventh hour. | = almost too late |
| Can’t make head or tail of something. | = you can’t understand it at all |
| Food for thought. | = something that makes you think very hard |
| Icing on the cake. | = an extra benefit that makes a good situation even better |