Today you are going to learn about some of the most common idioms in English.
But, what are idioms?
Idioms are expressions or phrases in a language that have a figurative meaning different from the literal interpretation of the words.
During this lesson, you will learn about about a variety of idioms that you can use at work .
Table of Contents
Examples of Idioms in English
These are some example of pretty common idioms in English
“kick the bucket” is an English idiom meaning “to die” , In
“This is The Last Straw” means something “The last problem that make you lose your patience”
Task #1 Key Vocabulary
Task#1.1
Make pairs and try and check what these words mean
Since there are a lot of idioms, we are going to focus on the 20 most common ones.
Task: Let’s Learn about Idioms Together
Task#1.2
Make pairs and try to figure out what these 20 idioms mean
These are the idioms that we are going to study today
| On the Same Page | When pigs fly |
| Uphill Battle | Up in the Air |
| Go For Broke | It’s not Rocket Science |
| Throw in the Towel | Bite the Bullet |
| Piece of Cake | Under the Weather |
| Put the Cards on the Table | Barking up the Wrong Tree |
| On the Same Boat | The Elephant in the Room |
| Excuse My French | Hold your horses |
| My Hands are Tied | On the Fence |
| The Upper Hand | Put all the Eggs in one Basket |
You can see the different idioms by checking these interactive cards
Task: Say the Idiom
Task#1.3
Check the card and say the idiom, the picture refers to
Task: Meaning of Most Common Idioms
Task#1.4
Match the Idioms with their corresponding meaning.
To make this task communicative:
- Student #1 reads the sentences and and students #2 looks for the idiom.
- Use expressions such as ”I think that description refers to”
- Student #1 confirms the response by saying “I agree with your response” or “I don’t agree with your response”
Task: Turn Phrases into Idioms
Task#1.4
Read the phrases and turn them into idioms.
For Example:
| Original Phrase | I feel a bit sick |
| Turned into an idiom | I am under the weather |
Main Task
Task#1.5
Make pairs and create a dialogue that includes three of the idioms studied today in class
Jose: Hi, I wanted to ask you a couple of questions
Manuel: Sure
Jose: Will you hire one more engineer?
Manuel: I don`t know, that is still up in the air
Jose: Do you understand that completing this project with one engineer is an uphill battle?
Manuel: I am aware of that
Jose: Excuse my French but taking this project under these circumstances was a fucking terrible idea.
Manuel: I know, we are doing the best we can
Additional Work
Task#1.6
Do this in case you want to practice a bit more
