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  • Okay it's time to brush up on a few

  • awesome English idioms.

  • Don't jump ship just yet.

  • This is going to be a piece of cake.

  • If you don't know me, I'm Emma from mmmEnglish

  • and today I've got a challenge for you,

  • an advanced idioms quiz.

  • Using idioms is definitely a more advanced

  • level of communication in English

  • but one that you should definitely be aspiring to

  • because native English speakers use idioms all the time

  • and to sound more natural and creative and interesting

  • when you speak English,

  • you should definitely be learning

  • and practising some of them regularly.

  • Now as much as you dislike learning idioms,

  • they really are a wonderful part of language

  • because you can perfectly express how you're feeling

  • in a really entertaining way.

  • I could tell you that the car was going fast

  • or I could tell you that that

  • car was going lightning fast!

  • Idioms give me much more detail and expression

  • than just a normal adjective.

  • They also help to push your English to a higher level.

  • Native speakers use idioms all the time

  • so becoming familiar with them,

  • especially the common ones,

  • is really essential to help with your understanding.

  • And if you can start using these idioms as well,

  • in your writing and in your speech, well

  • you're going to sound much more advanced as well.

  • So today I'm going to challenge you with an idioms quiz

  • to see just how many of these idioms you really know.

  • So this quiz will help you to see how good you are

  • but even if idioms aren't really your forte yet,

  • then we'll be reviewing lots of them

  • as we go during this video so just get ready

  • to take some notes.

  • Now just in case you didn't realise it, this is also

  • a review of

  • all of the idioms lessons that I've made to date.

  • So if you get any of them wrong or you want to check

  • about the meaning of any of them,

  • then you can watch all of them

  • in my idioms lessons here, right here.

  • There's a whole playlist of them.

  • So if you nail this quiz, I'm just going to have to assume

  • that you have been watching

  • every single lesson of mine very diligently.

  • Okay so this is how it's going to work.

  • You'll see an idiom pop up on screen right here

  • and for each one I'm going to give you

  • three possible meanings

  • and you just need to choose which

  • is the correct definition.

  • So we'll start off with a few easier ones

  • that are very common and then we'll get going

  • with some more trickier ones.

  • I know that you like a challenge

  • so we're definitely going to give those tricky ones a go,

  • aren't we?

  • Make sure you keep score to see how many

  • you got right at the end

  • so we can all share our answers together.

  • If you get one wrong then just

  • pause the quiz for a moment,

  • write it down, try and use it in a sentence

  • straight away while it's fresh in your mind

  • and add it to the comments

  • because that's going to give me a chance to check it

  • for you and give you some feedback

  • on how you're using that idiom.

  • So it's a really good way to practise.

  • You're in control of this video! You can pause it,

  • write a comment and then keep going.

  • Okay here's the first one.

  • We're just warming up here, all right?

  • What does this idiom mean?

  • Does it mean to..

  • Or is it

  • Did you guess this one?

  • I think you probably did

  • but this is a really good example to remind us

  • not to get tricked by the literal meaning

  • of these idioms, right? Of the words in these idioms.

  • 'A piece of cake' is literally a type of dessert

  • but the idiom 'a piece of cake' is used to describe

  • a situation that's really easy.

  • All right here's the next one.

  • Does this describe someone who

  • does it

  • or does it

  • If you watched my lesson last week,

  • you probably know the answer to this one.

  • Now remember, we're not talking about someone

  • who literally loves bugs

  • so much that they wouldn't hurt a fly.

  • This idiom is great to use when you describe someone

  • who's very gentle and kind.

  • It's the total opposite of aggressive.

  • She's one of the kindest people that I know.

  • So far so good, right? Let's keep going.

  • Now is this

  • or can you use it when you have an injury

  • or does it mean

  • Have you heard of this one before?

  • A 'pain in the neck' is something or someone that's

  • really annoying.

  • All right here's the next one - one that I use all the time.

  • So does that mean

  • or

  • or

  • What do you think?

  • It means to leave a place.

  • Or to start going somewhere.

  • Hit the road Jack and don't you come back

  • no more, no more, no more..

  • Notice that you can use this idiom whether you're

  • leaving somewhere by foot, by car or by bike.

  • And if you hit the deck,

  • well that's when you fall down, right?

  • So keep that in mind I was trying to trick you.

  • If you hit the deck it means you fall over.

  • And it sounds kind of similar, doesn't it?

  • What about

  • Have you heard of it before?

  • Does it mean

  • or

  • What do you think?

  • Remember that we're not talking about

  • something literal, right? So don't get confused

  • by thinking that there was a boat and water involved

  • to use this idiom.

  • To 'jump ship' means that you're quitting something,

  • that you quit or you leave or you abandon

  • your teammates or a group of people, right?

  • You can use 'jumping ship' in any of those situations.

  • Annoying!

  • How are you doing so far?

  • Let's take this up a level.

  • These idioms are going to get a little trickier now.

  • What about when you have

  • Is that when

  • or does it

  • or is it

  • Which one?

  • It's C!

  • It's the desire to travel.

  • So someone with itchy feet is ready for a change.

  • They want to change their daily routine and just

  • get out on the road and see the world.

  • They want to travel.

  • Do you have itchy feet? I wonder.

  • Where would you like to travel to?

  • What places are on your bucket list?

  • That's another idiom right there!

  • Now what if I said you have your head in the clouds?

  • What do I mean?

  • Is that

  • or

  • or is it

  • Now if your head is in the clouds, then you're

  • dreamy and distracted

  • and you're thinking about other things.

  • Your mind is elsewhere, somewhere else.

  • You're not paying attention.

  • Ashley's a terrible driver!

  • I've got a few people in mind that I know

  • who sometimes have their head in the clouds.

  • But do you?

  • Do you know anyone who's got their head in the clouds?

  • If I said that I wanted to

  • do I want to

  • do I want to

  • or am I trying

  • How confident are you about this one?

  • This one is a very common one too.

  • If you have something that's worrying you, a problem

  • or something that's difficult to say

  • and you finally say it out loud to someone

  • then you've got it off your chest.

  • So when you get something off your chest,

  • you feel relieved. You feel much better.

  • I need to tell you that

  • something's been bothering me right?

  • This is quite a good way to start an awkward

  • conversation, you know, if you

  • have to tell your housemate that you're really

  • sick of cleaning up in the bathroom after them.

  • Now the next one is under the weather.

  • Quite a common one. But does it mean

  • or is it

  • Now this has nothing to do with the actual weather.

  • Answer A is the correct answer.

  • So when you're feeling low in energy, maybe your

  • head hurts or you have a sore throat,

  • you're feeling under the weather.

  • So it's never fun to feel under the weather

  • but it is important to note that this idiom

  • is used when you're not quite feeling a hundred percent.

  • Maybe you have the flu or a headache or something

  • but it's not used for serious illnesses,

  • just when you're feeling

  • not quite as good as you normally do.

  • Now what about

  • Does it mean

  • Does it mean

  • Or does it mean

  • So the answer is C.

  • Did you get that one?

  • Or are you having a change of heart

  • now that you're taking this idioms quiz?

  • Maybe you want to stop.

  • If you have a change of heart,

  • you change your opinion or your idea about something.

  • So let's look at a couple of examples.

  • All right, ready to take this quiz to a whole new level?

  • What about

  • Have you heard it before?

  • Does it mean

  • Or does it mean to be

  • Did you choose B?

  • If I was wrapped around someone's finger then I would

  • do anything for them

  • and if you have someone wrapped around your finger,

  • then you've got complete control over them

  • because they'll do anything to make you happy.

  • So if you think about kids,

  • often kids have

  • their parents wrapped around their fingers

  • and pay attention to who is wrapped around someone's

  • finger, right?

  • In this idiom.

  • The person wrapped around the finger is not the one

  • in control. They are the weakest one.

  • Now this idiom is most commonly used as a verb.

  • So we could say:

  • Here's another one that I use all the time.

  • So does that mean

  • Or does it mean

  • Or does it mean

  • I'm actually really awful at winging it,

  • it's not one of my skills. I'm a planner.

  • So if you wing something, you do it without a plan.

  • You improvise,

  • you make it up and you just invent it as you go.

  • How about this one?

  • Is that when you

  • Is it when you

  • Or is it when you

  • So when you choke on something while you're eating.

  • Now I'll give you a little hint here.

  • The idiom 'to be in/over your head'

  • has a very similar meaning.

  • So you can use both of these idioms

  • to describe someone who's trying to do something

  • that is above their abilities or it's too difficult for them.

  • Now can you think of a time when you

  • bit off more than you could chew?

  • It's not really a great feeling because

  • it's when you want to do something well

  • but you just have too much to do.

  • You've got too much on your plate.

  • That's another idiom right there.

  • You've got too much in your plate you're too busy, right?

  • It's too hard so you bit off more than you could chew.

  • What about if you

  • Does that mean

  • Or

  • Or

  • Well?

  • This one's tricky.

  • I'm actually trying to trick you here.

  • The answer is C.

  • This idiom is often used in a business context

  • and it's used to describe the benefits or positive things

  • that someone brings to a situation.

  • So if someone has a good idea or can contribute

  • something new or they have some kind of helpful skill,

  • then all of those things can be brought to the table

  • to contribute.

  • It's a skill that I can contribute.

  • And it's always a good idea to bring something

  • to the table if you're trying to be helpful.

  • If you're trying to be a good teammate

  • or if you want to make a good impression,

  • you bring something to the table.

  • Now you're doing awesome!

  • I've just got a couple more for you. What about

  • Is that when you're in

  • Or is it when you

  • Or does it mean

  • If you're in a pickle.

  • It's got nothing to do with pickles or even food, actually.

  • The answer is A

  • and it's when you're in a tricky or a difficult situation.

  • The car's just broken down and I'm late for work.

  • And lastly,

  • what if I said that something might

  • Would I be suggesting that I was

  • Or that I was

  • Or am I suggesting that I'm

  • Imagine that a hundred people arrived at your house

  • for a party.

  • Things would probably get out of hand,

  • you'd lose control.

  • Maybe. If a person's behaviour or a situation

  • gets out of hand,

  • then you're no longer able to control it.

  • Okay? You definitely don't want things to get out of hand

  • Well hey! You made it all the way to the

  • end of the idioms quiz - awesome work!

  • How did you go?

  • How many of them did you get right?

  • Share your score in the comments,

  • tell me which ones you got wrong.

  • If you add that to the comments,

  • then I'll share the link to the right idioms lesson

  • that you need to review.

  • And if you didn't get some of them right

  • then don't be disappointed

  • because you've had the chance

  • to learn some new ones, right?

  • In fact, if you did learn some new ones,

  • then make sure you pause this lesson right now

  • and write a sentence using them in the comments

  • so that I can check if you're using them correctly

  • and you help that information to stay in your head.

  • If you did pretty well with this quiz then share it with

  • your friends and see how they score.

  • A little friendly competition is always a good thing

  • I think so see if you can challenge them

  • to beat your score.

  • So now you can take a breath,

  • go and grab a drink of water and then come back

  • and we'll check out these lessons together next.

  • I'll see you in that one right now!

Okay it's time to brush up on a few

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