🎭 Idioms and Phrases - Formula Sheet

🎯 Common Categories

Animal Idioms

Let the cat out of the bag → Reveal secret Rain cats and dogs → Rain heavily Cold fish → Unemotional person Wolf in sheep’s clothing → Deceptive person

Body Part Idioms

Break a leg → Good luck Cost an arm and a leg → Very expensive Keep an eye on → Watch carefully Bite your tongue → Stay silent

Color Idioms

Once in a blue moon → Rarely Green with envy → Jealous See red → Become angry Golden opportunity → Excellent chance

📊 Number-based Idioms

Common Number Idioms

On cloud nine → Very happy At sixes and sevens → Confused In seventh heaven → Extremely happy A dime a dozen → Very common

Quantity Expressions

By leaps and bounds → Rapidly Odds and ends → Various items Bits and pieces → Small parts Far and wide → Everywhere

🔢 Action/Movement Idioms

Movement Expressions

Hit the road → Leave/Start journey Jump on the bandwagon → Join trend Break the ice → Start conversation Turn over a new leaf → Change behavior

Success/Failure

Burn the midnight oil → Work hard Come rain or shine → Regardless of circumstances Face the music → Accept consequences Go the extra mile → Make extra effort

⚡ Time-related Idioms

Temporal Expressions

In the nick of time → Just in time Once in a while → Occasionally Against the clock → In a hurry Better late than never → It’s okay to be late

Opportunity Idioms

Make hay while the sun shines → Seize opportunity Strike while the iron is hot → Act at right time The early bird catches the worm → Acting early pays off Window of opportunity → Limited time

📝 Memory Techniques

Visual Association

Create mental images Connect with personal experiences Use story-based learning

Categorization

Group by themes (animals, colors, numbers) Organize by situations (business, personal) Classify by emotions (positive, negative)

Context Learning

Learn in example sentences Practice in conversations Use in writing exercises

🔍 Question Types

Direct Meaning

“What does ‘break a leg’ mean?” Answer: Good luck/wish success

Usage in Sentence

“Complete the sentence: Despite challenges, she decided to…” Answer: …burn the midnight oil for exams

Context Selection

“Choose appropriate idiom for situation where someone reveals secret” Answer: Let the cat out of the bag

⚡ Study Strategy

Progressive Learning

1. Learn 5 idioms daily
2. Create example sentences
3. Use in conversations
4. Review weekly
5. Test monthly

Practice Methods

Flashcards with meanings Context-based exercises Sentence completion tasks Usage identification practice

📚 Most Common Exam Idioms

High-Frequency List

1. Break the ice
2. Bite the bullet
3. Call it a day
4. Hit the nail on the head
5. Let sleeping dogs lie
6. Spill the beans
7. Take it with a grain of salt
8. Under the weather
9. When pigs fly
10. You can’t judge a book by its cover

Master Idioms - Learn in context, use in practice! 🎭