English Language

Idioms and Phrases

680 Questions
All Idiom/Phrase Meaning 431 Error Detection in Idioms 73 Synonymous Idiom Replacement 58 Idiom Completion 46 Contextual Usage 22 Foreign Origin Phrase Meaning 1 One-Word Substitution 1 Prepositional Phrase Selection 1

Idioms and Phrases Questions

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the phrase amongst the given phrases which brings out the meaning of the idiom most appropriately:

To bring one’s eggs to a bad market

  1. To face a humiliating situation

  2. To bring one’s commodities to a market where there is no demand for them

  3. To show one’s talents before audience which is incapable of appreciating them

  4. To fail in one’s plans because one goes to the wrong people for help

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

To bring one’s eggs to a bad market means to fail in one’s plans because one goes to the wrong people for help.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the phrase amongst the given phrases which brings out the meaning of the idiom most appropriately.

To take the bull by the horns

  1. To punish a person severely for his arrogance

  2. To grapple courageously with a difficulty that lies in one's way

  3. To escape from a fierce attack

  4. To bypass the legal process and take action according to one’s own whims

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

To take the bull by the horns means to grapple courageously with a difficulty that lies in one's way.

Multiple choice

Directions: In the below written question, a sentence has been divided into four parts and marked 1, 2, 3 and 4. One of these parts contains a mistake in grammar idiom or syntax. Identify the part and mark it as the answer.

  1. The only persons in the theatre

  2. on that stormy night

  3. were the staff of the theatre

  4. and me.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

(4) and I. Instead of objective pronoun case (me) we will use the subjective pronoun case (I) as the reference is made to the subject and not the object.

Multiple choice

Directions: In the below written question, a sentence has been divided into four parts and marked 1, 2, 3 and 4. One of these parts contains a mistake in grammar idiom or syntax. Identify the part and mark it as the answer.

  1. She was as pretty

  2. if not prettier than

  3. any other girl who had come

  4. to the party.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The correct expression is “She was as pretty as”. As ... as is a correlative conjunction used to indicate the equality or sameness of two things. Here the comparison is made between “she” and “other girls”. Since the first 'as' is there the second 'as' needs to be there too. 'She was as pretty as any other girl who had come to the party.'