🎭 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! 🎭