Idiomatic Expressions Exercise
Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase that will complete the idiom used in the sentence.
1. The supervisor was fired because he had sticky ……………………………..
arms
hands
fingers
When you have sticky fingers you are a thief.
2. He really gave me a …………………………………….. for my money when we
played poker yesterday. He almost beat me.
swim
sprint
run
To give someone a run for their money is to compete with them at their level and make it
hard for them to succeed.
3. Why are you being so ……………………………………? You don’t even pay
for your drinks.
closefisted
hard-fisted
coldfisted
To be closefisted or hardfisted is to be stingy.
4. Whenever I eat out with my friends, I prefer to go
………………………………
French
Spanish
Dutch
To go Dutch is to pay for your own meal.
5. He had to ……………………………………. over a lot of money last month for
violating traffic rules.
shell
fork
spoon
To fork over a lot of money is to have to spend a lot of money.
6. ‘Do you think you could lend me some money?’ ‘No, I am in the
………………………………. this month’.
black
red
green
When you are in the red, you lose more money than you make.
7. The corrupt cops receive ……………………………………… for ignoring
certain crimes.
paybacks
throwbacks
kickbacks
To receive kickbacks is to receive bribes.
8. We have been living hand to ……………………………………. since I lost my
job.
head
face
mouth
To live hand to mouth is to live without a lot of money.
9. I don’t earn much from my job as a freelance writer, but I can make
ends ……………………………………
end
close
meet
To make ends meet is to earn enough money to pay for food and bills.
10. Why are you looking upset? Keep your ……………………………….. up.
eyes
face
chin
To keep your chin up is to stay strong.
11. ‘How are you doing in Singapore?’ ‘I’m still finding my
………………………………………’
leg
feet
stand
When you are finding your feet, you are adjusting to the new environment.
12. I thought the interview would be difficult but it was a piece of
………………………………………………
candy
cake
bread
When something is a piece of cake it is easy to complete or accomplish.
PLAY AGAIN !
Answers
1. The supervisor was fired because he had sticky fingers.
2. He really gave me a run for my money when we played poker yesterday. He almost beat
me.
3. Why are you being so closefisted / hard-fisted? You don’t even pay for your drinks.
4. Whenever I eat out with my friends, I prefer to go Dutch.
5. He had to fork over a lot of money last month for violating traffic rules.
6. ‘Do you think you could lend me some money?’ ‘No, I am in the red this month’.
7. The corrupt cops receive kickbacks for ignoring certain crimes.
8. We have been living hand to mouth since I lost my job.
9. I don’t earn much from my job as a freelance writer, but I can make ends meet.
10. Why are you looking upset? Keep your chin up.
11. ‘How are you doing in Singapore?’ ‘I’m still finding my feet.’
12. I thought the interview would be difficult but it was a piece of cake.