Idiom Trivia
Idioms are going to be used for extra credit.
The following sites can be used to find the meanings of various idioms, or
just for extra fun. You may use these sites as resources for your learning.
Idiom Places
http://www.idiomconnection.com
http://www.idiomsite.com
http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms
Other Resources
EXAMPLE: Use this format for all of your Idiom Trivia assignments.
"Ace up Your Sleeve"
Meaning: A surprise or secret advantage, especially something tricky that
is kept hidden until needed.
Origin: Back in the 1500's most people didn't have pockets in their
clothes, so they kept things in their sleeves. Later on, magicians hid
objects, even small live animals, up their sleeves and then pulled them out
unexpectedly to surprise their audiences. In the 1800's dishonest card
players secretly slipped a winning card, often an ace, up their sleeves and
pulled it out when nobody was looking to win the game.
Context Sentence: Although our opponents felt they had the game won in the
fourth quarter, our team still had an ace up their sleeves because we won
the game.
-You must paraphrase the meaning and origin using your own words.
-Remember that when you paraphrase you do not omit details!
-Use the idiom in a sentence to demonstrate understanding in context.
November 16-20
"Nothing to Sneeze At"
Meaning: Not small or unimportant; something to be taken seriously.
Origin: In the early 1800s people were already using this saying. Perhaps
it comes from the idea of turning your nose up at something or someone to
express scorn or contempt. Since sneezes come from your nose, something
that's "not to be sneezed at" should be treated as important and worthy.
November 9-13
"Ignorance is Bliss"
Meaning: it is better not to know bad new sometimes, especially if you're
happy
Origin: Many writers over the centuries have expressed this idea. The
Greek playwright, Sophocles, wrote it around 400 B.C.
Nineteen hundred years later Erasmus, a Dutch scholar, quoted it. Then
Thomas Gray, the British poet of the 1700s, used it in one of his poems. He
wrote: "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." It has been a
popular saying ever since.
November 2-6
"Pen is Mightier Than the Sword"
Meaning: Writing is more powerful than fighting.
Origin: This famous saying was first used in the 1600s. It started out
as “the pen is worse than the sword.” A pen and a sword have certain
characteristics in common. Both are thin, pointed, and handheld. History
has shown that writers and statesmen using their pens have often had a
greater effect on the course of events than military leaders and conquerors
wielding swords. Think of the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence,
and other important writings that have changed the course of history more
than wars.
OCtober 26-30
"Right off the Bat"
Meaning: Immediately, spontaneously, and without delay.
Origin: This saying comes from the game of baseball in the late 1800s. As
soon as a ball is hit by a bat, it flies away instantly, without a second's
delay.
October 19-23
"Out In The Boondocks"
Meaning: In remote places; in rural regions; in sparsely populated areas.
Origin: Tagalogs are native Filipinos who live in or near Manila, the
capital city of the Philippines. In the Tagalog language, "bundok" means
mountain. The United States military forces stationed in the area of the
Philippines in the first half of the 20th century extended the meaning of
the word from mountain to any place that is far from heavily populated
centers. Today, the saying is sometimes shortened to "in the boonies"
October 12-16
"When the Cat's Away, the Mice Will Play"
Meaning: When the person in charge is absent, people will usually do as
they please and take advantage of the freedom.
Origin: This proverb appears in many languages and has been in use in
English since the 1600s. If there's a cat in the house, the mice will tend
to stay hidden. But if the cat is gone, the mice will feel safer and
venture out. It's the same with people. When the authority figure (the
cat) is not there, the people being supervised (the mice) run free.
October 5-9
"Make Waves"
Meaning: to cause trouble; to upset matters; to create a disturbance
Origin: This 20th century American saying refers to keeping waters still. If
you want to sail peacefully on in your sailboat or float calmly on a raft,
you don't want anybody making waves. That might rock the boat or even flip
your raft over. A related idiom is "rock the boat
September 28 - October 2
"Add Fuel to the Fire"
Meaning: to make a bad situation worse; to do or say something that causes
more trouble, makes someone angrier
Origin: Thousands of years ago the famous Roman historian, Livy, used this
expression. If you pour water on a fire, it goes out. But if you put fuel
(like coal or wood) on a fire, you make it burn hotter and brighter.
If "fire" represents any kind of trouble, then anything you do to make that
trouble worse is "fuel." A similar expression is "fan the flames."
Speptember 21-25
"High Horse"
Meaning: Acting superior and arrogant as if you were better than other
people.
Origin: This saying goes back at least to the early 1700s. In the 14th
century, during ceremonial marches and royal exhibitions, well-known people
of high rank and superior position in society often rode on large horses
that were taller than the average horse. From that custom grew the idea
that a person who acts haughty, proud, or snobby is on a "high horse."
September 14-18
"Mad as a Hatter"
Meaning: Completely crazy, strange, eccentric.
Origin: Lewis Carroll created the character of the Mad Hatter in his
classic book, Alice in Wonderland. The expression "mad as a hatter"
comes from the early 1800s. One possible origin is a snake called an
adder.
People in England thought that if you were bitten by an adder, its poison
would make you insane. Some people pronounced "adder" as "atter," so if you
acted crazy, you were as "mad as an atter," which later became "hatter."
Another explanation of the expression's origin is that people who worked in
felt-hat factories in the 1800s inhaled fumes of mercuric nitrate, and, as a
result, developed twitches, jumbled their speech, and grew confused. The
condition was sometimes mistaken for madness and may have given birth to the
saying "mad as a hatter."
September 7th-11th
"Fight Tooth and Nail"
Meaning: To fight fiercely, furiously, and ferociously.
Origin: This vivid expression goes far back to a Latin proverb that became
a French saying centuries later and finally came into English in 1562. When
wild animals fight, they bite and claw each other. Sometimes people fight
fiercely, as if they were animals fighting a deadly battle "tooth and nail."
August 31st-September 4th
"Bring Home the Bacon"
Meaning: to support a family by working
Origin: This saying came from the contest at early American county fairs of
chasing after a greased pig. If you caught it, you could take it home as
your prize.
August 25th-28th
"Come Apart at the Seams"
Meaning: To become so upset that all self-control is gone.
Origin: A person doesn't actually have seams, of course, but think of a
piece of clothing under great strain. The garment might come apart at the
seams or rip open. Similarly, a nervous person under stress could "come
apart at the seams," or fall apart or break down.