Practice Exercise 1 – Gap Fill
Gap-fill: Use the 15 idioms to complete the dialogue between Jenny and Alisha.
at the end of the day/ under the weather/ recharge the batteries/ to kill some time/ a piece of cake/ on the fence/ over the moon/ blew my mind/ up for/ blow off steam/ Once in a blue moon/ Went above and beyond/ a pain in the neck/ it is what it is/ from time to time
Answers
Practice Exercise 2 – Which Idiom Am I?
How it works: One student secretly picks an idiom and gives a situation without saying it. Others guess the idiom.
Example clue: “I ran into my favourite celebrity while buying bread. I couldn’t believe it!” → Blew my mind!
- “Our waiter didn’t just serve our food—he sang happy birthday and brought us a free dessert.”
- “My train was late, so I went into a café and read a magazine while I waited.”
- “I still can’t decide if I want to take the job or not. Both options seem good.”
- “When I saw the Northern Lights for the first time, I just stood there in shock—it was incredible.”
- “The concert got canceled because of the rain. I’m disappointed, but there’s nothing we can do.”
- “Filling out this online form takes forever and keeps freezing. It’s so frustrating.”
- “I only eat dessert when it’s someone’s birthday—maybe two or three times a year.”
- “I’m not busy tonight. If you want to watch a movie, I’m totally ready.”
- “I usually cook at home, but every few weeks I go out for dinner as a treat.”
- “I finished the test in half the time—every question was super easy.”
- “I stayed home from school today because I’ve had a headache and a sore throat all morning.”
- “After a stressful day at work, I like to go to the gym and exercise hard.”
- “After thinking about all the pros and cons, the main point is that we just don’t have enough money for it.”
- “I spent the weekend in the mountains with no phone or internet. Now I feel totally refreshed.”
- “When I found out I had passed my driving test, I couldn’t stop smiling all day.”
- At the end of the day
- Under the weather
- Recharge the batteries
- To kill some time
- A piece of cake
- On the fence
- Over the moon
- Blew my mind
- Up for
- Blow off steam
- Once in a blue moon
- Go above and beyond
- A pain in the neck
- It is what it is
- From time to time
Answers
- “Our waiter didn’t just serve our food—he sang happy birthday and brought us a free dessert.” → Go above and beyond
- “My train was late, so I went into a café and read a magazine while I waited.” →To kill some time
- “I still can’t decide if I want to take the job or not. Both options seem good.” → On the fence
- “When I saw the Northern Lights for the first time, I just stood there in shock—it was incredible.” → Blow my mind
- “The concert got canceled because of the rain. I’m disappointed, but there’s nothing we can do.” → It is what it is
- “Filling out this online form takes forever and keeps freezing. It’s so frustrating.” → A pain in the neck
- “I only eat dessert when it’s someone’s birthday—maybe two or three times a year.” → Once in a blue moon
- “I’m not busy tonight. If you want to watch a movie, I’m totally ready.” → Up for
- “I usually cook at home, but every few weeks I go out for dinner as a treat.” → From time to time
- “I finished the test in half the time—every question was super easy.” → A piece of cake
- “I stayed home from school today because I’ve had a headache and a sore throat all morning.” → Under the weather
- “After a stressful day at work, I like to go to the gym and exercise hard.” → Blow off steam
- “After thinking about all the pros and cons, the main point is that we just don’t have enough money for it.” → At the end of the day
- “I spent the weekend in the mountains with no phone or internet. Now I feel totally refreshed.” → Recharge the batteries
- “When I found out I had passed my driving test, I couldn’t stop smiling all day.” → Over the moon
Practice Exercise 3 – Emoji Match!
Figure out the idiom that matches the emoji!
at the end of the day/ under the weather/ recharge the batteries/ to kill some time/ a piece of cake/ on the fence/ over the moon/ blew my mind/ up for/ blow off steam/ Once in a blue moon/ Went above and beyond/ a pain in the neck/ it is what it is/ from time to time
Questions:
- 😮🧠💥 2. 🕒➡️🕒 3. ⬇️🌧️🤒🛏️☕ 4. 🍰👌 5. 🌬️♨️ 6. 🚶♂️⬆️⬆️ 7. ❓🤷♂️❓ 8. 🔋🔌 🌙🔵📅 10. 🙋♂️🙌 11. 🤷 12. 😣👉🦒 12. ⬆️➡️🌙 13. 🌇 14. 🔪⏳
Answers
- 😮🧠💥 → Blew my mind 2. 🕒➡️🕒 → From time to time 3. ⬇️🌧️🤒🛏️☕ → Under the weather 4. 🍰👌 → A piece of cake 5. 🌬️♨️ → Blow off steam 6. 🚶♂️⬆️⬆️ → Went above and beyond 7. ❓🤷♂️❓ → On the fence 8. 🔋🔌 → Recharge the batteries 9. 🌙🔵📅 → Once in a blue moon 10. 🙋♂️🙌 → Up for 11. 🤷 → It is what it is 12. 😣👉🦒 → A pain in the neck 12. ⬆️➡️🌙 → Over the moon 13. 🌇 → At the end of the day 14. 🔪⏳ → To kill some time
🎧 Practice Exercise 4- Gap Fill Song
Task: Play the audio and complete the song lyrics by filling in the missing idioms from the list below. Use the correct form (e.g., past or present) to make each line grammatically correct.
Wordlist: over the moon/ under the weather/ / to kill some time/ a piece of cake/ blew my mind/ up for/ blow off steam/ Went above and beyond/ it is what it is/ recharge the batteries/ from time to time/ at the end of the day/ on the fence/ a pain in the neck/ Once in a blue moon
Woke up feeling kinda (1) __________,
Told myself it won’t last forever.
Need to (2) __________, slow it down,
The world won’t fall apart if I hang around.
Grabbed a coffee just (3) __________,
Wrote a few words, made a couple rhyme.
Life ain’t perfect, but that’s okay,
We’re all just learning, day by day.
’Cause (4) __________, we’ll be fine,
Sometimes it’s chaos, sometimes it shines.
It’s (5) __________ when your heart’s in it,
And even when you fall, you still win it.
Yeah, (6) __________, we’ll be alright,
We laugh, we cry, we say goodnight.
I’ve been (7) __________ about chasing dreams,
But your kindness (8) __________, it seems.
You (9) __________, no doubt,
You showed me what this life’s about.
Now I’m (10) __________, can’t help but grin,
Every loss just taught me how to begin.
We all need ways to (11) __________,
To wake again and chase that dream.
’Cause (12) __________, we’ll be fine,
Sometimes it’s chaos, sometimes it shines.
It’s (13) __________ when your heart’s in it,
And even when you fall, you still win it.
Yeah, (14) __________, we’ll be alright,
We laugh, we cry, we say goodnight.
(15) __________, we get it right,
We dance too long, we stay up all night.
Some days you’re (16) __________, that’s true,
But I wouldn’t trade this life with you.
So when it’s hard, just say with me,
(17) __________, let it be.
(18) __________, we lose our way,
But that’s alright — we’re here today.
Yeah, (19) __________, we’ll be fine,
Sometimes we crawl, sometimes we climb.
We live, we love, and we learn each time,
We laugh too loud, and that’s just fine.
Yeah, (20) __________, come what may,
We’ll find our light along the way.
Answers
Woke up feeling kinda (1) under the weather,
Told myself it won’t last forever.
Need to (2) recharge the batteries, slow it down,
The world won’t fall apart if I hang around.
Grabbed a coffee just (3) to kill some time,
Wrote a few words, made a couple rhyme.
Life ain’t perfect, but that’s okay,
We’re all just learning, day by day.
’Cause (4) at the end of the day, we’ll be fine,
Sometimes it’s chaos, sometimes it shines.
It’s (5) a piece of cake when your heart’s in it,
And even when you fall, you still win it.
Yeah, (6) at the end of the day, we’ll be alright,
We laugh, we cry, we say goodnight.
I’ve been (7) on the fence about chasing dreams,
But your kindness (8) blew my mind, it seems.
You (9) went above and beyond, no doubt,
You showed me what this life’s about.
Now I’m (10) over the moon, can’t help but grin,
Every loss just taught me how to begin.
We all need ways to (11) blow off steam,
To wake again and chase that dream.
’Cause (12) at the end of the day, we’ll be fine,
Sometimes it’s chaos, sometimes it shines.
It’s (13) a piece of cake when your heart’s in it,
And even when you fall, you still win it.
Yeah, (14) at the end of the day, we’ll be alright,
We laugh, we cry, we say goodnight.
(15) Once in a blue moon, we get it right,
We dance too long, we stay up all night.
Some days you’re (16) a pain in the neck, that’s true,
But I wouldn’t trade this life with you.
So when it’s hard, just say with me,
(17) it is what it is, let it be.
(18) From time to time, we lose our way,
But that’s alright — we’re here today.
Yeah, (19) at the end of the day, we’ll be fine,
Sometimes we crawl, sometimes we climb.
We live, we love, and we learn each time,
We laugh too loud, and that’s just fine.
Yeah, (20) at the end of the day, come what may,
We’ll find our light along the way.
