Monday, January 12, 2009

Writing - Idioms (Part 2)

Idioms are one of the hardest parts of the English language. An idiom is a term or phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal definitions and the arrangement of its parts, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only through common use. (Additional information can be found on the July 29th blog post. Click that link to visit the previous idiom post.)

The phrase "keep your eyes peeled" is an idiom. You couldn't interpret that literally, as your eyes can be "peeled" the way a banana can be. But, figuratively, that means to keep your eyes opened and be on the lookout!

Test your knowledge of some common idioms that you may come across in writing & speaking. Try this Quia activity and then come back here to report which idioms (if any) were new to you and which one you were most familiar with already.

Quia activity: http://www.quia.com/mc/66234.html

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Idioms game was very easy for me because I have a good understanding of idioms. I played the game and got all correct.

Leonie Florestal

Anonymous said...

mirlene
I got a star on idioms.

Anonymous said...

This game was a lot of fun. I use idoms fairly often when talking with friends. It's like shooting fish in a barrel; especially when you can't find the right words to say. -Angelia M.

Anonymous said...

I tried out the idioms quiz twice and got them all right. I have a good understanding of idioms. That why I did well on them.

Christopher Nieto

Anonymous said...

I tried the idioms quiz and did very good I really enjoy doing idioms.

Sheila W.

Anonymous said...

I really like that game and I really like idioms.My favorite was "to keep a stiff upper lip"and"to be all smiles".Some of them I have not heard in a while like "to have a nose for news".

Anonymous said...

I Idioms game is very much interesting.Although some of it is new to me.
Dorothea Maxwell

Anonymous said...

I really like that game. I can learn so much from it, because I heard some of that, but I wasn't sure what's that mean. Now I do know more about Idioms.
note: English is my second langvage.
Beata

Anonymous said...

I did go on the Idioms game because I use a lot of them myself. Richard Adams

Anonymous said...

I liked the idiom game and got them all right too.


Gm

Anonymous said...

I love idioms but sometimes they are really difficult for me. I don't really use them all the time. I enjoyed the quiz, but some of them I had never heard or seen before.

Geraldine G.

Anonymous said...

I am familiar with all of these idioms. My favorite is a nose for news which means knowing where to look for information. I got a start on the quiz.

Abbey P.

Anonymous said...

I was not too familiar with a lot of them. The most familiar was "keep your eyes open".
I did good in the game though.

Margie

Anonymous said...

I like the idioms game I got all correct.
I like: Don't make any definite plans - To play it by ear.

Allison.

Anonymous said...

The idioms that were new to me are:

To have a nose for news & keep a stiff upper lip.

Even though I understood them and got them all correct, these I had never heard before and think they are great.

Melissa Lobsinger