Hello everybody. Welcome back to English with Max. In this video we're going to do a little
idioms quiz. All of these idioms were included in the video I made last year about idioms, so
you might say that this is a form of revision. If you haven't seen that video or if you would
like to watch it again, you'll find a link to it in the description. So how is this going to work?
Well, I'm going to show you a sentence or a couple of sentences that include an idiom.
There will be a word missing. I'll then give you a few seconds to try to guess or
remember that word. There will be 20 in total. If you're new to my channel and you're
generally interested in improving your vocabulary, I'd just like to let you know that every two weeks
I also send out a short advanced English email lesson. It's absolutely free. You just
need to click the link in the description if you want to subscribe to that. Are you ready?
Number one. I was disappointed when the university rejected my application,
but shortly after that I was offered a great job, so perhaps it was a blessing in ____.
The word here is "disguise". The idiom is: a blessing in disguise.
If something is a blessing in disguise, it seems bad or unlucky initially, but actually leads to
a good outcome. Number two. I kept postponing my driving test, but one day i just bit the ____ and did it.
The word is "bullet". The idiom here is: to bite the bullet. To bite the bullet means
to force yourself to do something that's unpleasant or difficult.
Number three. Try to be polite when you tell your boss that you're quitting your job
because you don't want to _____ your bridges.
The word here is "burn". The idiom is: to burn one's bridges.
If you burn your bridges, you make it difficult or impossible to return to
a previous situation. We very often use it to talk about employment situations.
Number four. There was a traffic jam on the highway. I made it to the airport by the ____ of my teeth.
The word here is "skin". The idiom is: by the skin of one's teeth. If you do something by the skin of
your teeth, you manage to do something or succeed in doing something, but only just. We often use it
if we almost miss something like a plane or a train or if we almost fail a class or a test.
Number five. No, Frank, we can't buy a Harley- Davidson because it would cost an arm and a ___.
The word is "leg". To cost an arm and a leg. To cost an arm and a leg simply means to be very expensive.
Number six. Some people think that Lisa has been stealing money from the cash register, but I'm
going to give her the _____ of the doubt.
The word is "benefit". To give somebody the benefit of the doubt.
This means to treat somebody as if they are right or innocent, even if you're not sure about it.
Or because you can't prove it. Number seven. If you work in customer service,
you'll inevitably encounter annoying customers. You just have to ____ and bear it.
The word here is "grin". To grin and bear it. Literally, to grin means to smile widely
and to bear means to accept or endure something. To grin and bear it means to accept something
that's unpleasant or difficult without complaining. Number eight.
I have a ____ tooth, so if there's chocolate in my cupboard, it normally disappears rather quickly.
The word is "sweet". To have a sweet tooth.
To have a sweet tooth simply means to really like eating sweet things, like chocolate, cake, sweets, etc.
Number nine. Yes, Frank. The movie Speed 2 was indeed a pile of (bleep). You've hit the nail on the ___.
The word here is "head". To hit the nail on the head. To hit the nail on the head means to be exactly
right about something. Number 10. Ethel might look sweet and innocent, but don't judge a book by its ____.
The word here is "cover". Don't judge a book by its cover. You can also say "you can't judge a book
by its cover" or "you shouldn't judge a book by its cover". This means that you shouldn't
form an opinion of something or someone only from their appearance. Eleven. Our manager didn't
want all the employees to know that he was resigning, but somebody let the ___ out of the bag.
The word here is "cat". To let the cat out of the bag. This idiom means to reveal a secret,
normally without intending to. Number twelve. Prices have increased,
but wages have stagnated, so many people are finding it hard to make ends ___.
The word here is "meet". To make ends meet. This means to have just enough money to buy the things
that you need. It's usually used to talk about people who are struggling financially. Thirteen.
You need to study a long time if you want to become a vet, but no pain, no ___.
The word here is "gain". The idiom is: no pain, no gain. No pain, no gain just means that you need to
work hard to achieve something. Fourteen. George likes going to the opera, but it isn't Ethel's cup of ___.
The word here is "tea". To not be one's cup of tea. If something isn't your cup of tea,
it's not the type of thing that you like.
Number fifteen. Frank helps with the cleaning once in a blue ___.
The word here is "moon". Once in a blue moon. Once in a blue moon simply means very rarely.
Sixteen. Stop pulling my ____, Frank. I know that you did not clean the whole house by yourself.
This one is "leg". To pull somebody's leg. To pull somebody's leg means to
tell somebody something that's not true, as a joke.
Seventeen. Sophie is a loyal friend who has been there for me through ___ and thin.
This one is "thick". Through thick and thin. Through thick and thin means
in all situations, even the difficult ones.
Eighteen. The mayor had been accepting money under the ___ for many years before going to jail for corruption.
The word is "table" and the idiom is: under the table. Under the table means secretly and illegally.
It's normally about financial payments. Nineteen. Are you OK, George? You're looking a little under the ___.
The word is "weather". The idiom is: under the weather. Under the weather means slightly sick or unwell.
Number twenty. Frank doesn't know if he should continue working for me or become an Elvis impersonator.
He says it's still up in the ___.
The word is "air". Up in the air. Up in the air means uncertain or
not yet decided on. It's usually for plans or decisions. That's it, guys. Thank you very much
for watching. I hope that you learnt something today or that you were at least able to revise
your idioms. Let me know in the comments: Was this very easy for you or did you find it
a bit tricky? Also let me know if you'd like to see more of these types of videos, so
quiz- or test-type videos. Thanks again for watching, guys. I'll see you next time. Bye!