FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE
AND
IDIOMS
!!!
100
The morning he was supposed to give a presentation in class, Joe woke up with a frog in his throat. ‘You sound awful.’, said Joe”s friend Dan. Joe nodded. ‘I”m going to go talk to Miss Parsons about the presentation.’, Joe”s voice strained. What does “frog in his throat” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is ... sick?
100
The contest was over. When Coach Tanner announced that Alicia had won and presented her with a trophy, Jenny became green with envy. She had wanted that trophy since the contest was announced. Alicia was Jenny's friend and started to walk over to her to show her the trophy. What does “green with envy” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is ... jealous!
100
Eric sat outside the principal's office waiting to be called, He knew he shouldn't have thrown his sandwich across the lunchroom. Eric wondered what his punishment would be. The principal opened the door, ‘Come on Eric, time to face the music.’ What does “face the music” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is accept a consequence?
100
Everyone was looking forward to watching the school play. Caleb kept getting bumped by all the kids filing in. ‘There is no elbow room in here.’, Caleb said to his friend Sara, ‘I feel smushed.’ Just then, Caleb spotted some open space on the bleachers. What does “elbow room” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is enough space?
100
The new teacher walked into the room. Right off the bat, she started handing out a quiz! The kids rushed to get their pencils and start. Ben looked in his desk and couldn't find a pencil. He knew he shouldn't talk during a quiz, but he needed a pencil. He tapped his friend's shoulder. What does “right off the bat” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is right away?
200
Colin decided to make a model of the Eiffel Tower for his art project. The project was due by the end of the week. The night before the project was due Colin was working to finish it. ‘I didn't know how much work this would be.’ Colin said to his dad. ‘Maybe next time you will look before you leap.’ said Colin's dad. What does “look before you leap” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is think before you do something?
200
Tommy had gotten two warnings that morning for talking in class. Just as he was asking Kyle if he saw the game last night, Mr. Alan said, ‘Tommy, you're on thin ice already. Do you really want a third warning?’ Tommy looked at Kyle and frowned. What does “you're on thin ice” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is ... in a risky position?
200
Tyler and his dad went golfing together. It was turning into a great day. Tyler was even beating his dad for the first time! When the game was over, Tyler's dad asked, ‘ Do you want to drive the golf cart, just for kicks?’ What does “just for kicks” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is ... to do something for fun?
200
Jack woke up with a runny nose and a hacking cough. His head was pounding. His brother took one look at him and said, ‘Are you feeling a bit under the weather today?’. Jack just coughed. ‘Are you going to school today?’ asked Jack's brother. What does “feeling a bit under the weather” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is ... feeling sick?
200
Heather was new to Monica's school. Monica showed Heather around, invited her to sit with her at lunch, and asked her to be her partner for their science experiment. Heather thought Monica had a heart of gold. Just then her teacher asked everyone to pair up for an activity. What does “heart of gold” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is to be very kind?
300
Tammy hated speaking in front of groups, but she had a class presentation to give. She was explaining to her teacher how she really didn't want to speak to the class. Her teacher said she understood that Tammy didn't want to give the speech, but that she would have to bite the bullet and do her best since it was for a grade. What does “bite the bullet” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is ... do something even though you don't want to?
300
The race was heating up! The finish line was in sight. Darren and Madison ran as fast as they could. It looked like they crossed the finished line at the same time. The judge came out and said that the winner was Madison, by a nose! She beat Darren by 2 tenths of a second. Darren walked up and put his hand out. What does “by a nose” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is to win by a small amount?
300
It was the start of a new year, which meant a new class of kids. The teacher wanted everyone to stand up and share a fact about themselves. Everyone stayed quiet. ‘Someone needs to get the ball rolling.’ said the teacher. Just then a tall boy stood up. What does “get the ball rolling” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is .. to start something?
300
Jana was helping plan the 5th grade Fun Day! They were talking about new ideas for activities this year. They wanted something new that everyone would like. Jana suggested getting a bounce house. The group said that her suggestion was a breathe of fresh air. When they told the teacher in charge, she started to smile. What does “a breathe of fresh air” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is ... something new and refreshing?
300
Mr. Hannon wrote a problem on the board and asked his class to solve it. He said if anyone got it right they would get extra credit. When class was done, Mr. Hannon said only one student hit the nail on the head. He walked toward Jamie and handed her, her paper. What does “hit the nail on the head” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is to be exactly right?
400
Sean and Payton did not get along, so they were not thrilled when the teacher paired them up for a project. ‘I bet if we put our heads together, we can come up with a great project.’ said Sean. ‘Okay.’ said Payton, ‘I think we can get along, at least to get the project done.’ What does “put our heads together” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is to work together?
400
The Smith family got a new puppy. They decided to call him Patch. Patch would run and run and play and play. ‘Wow’ said their neighbor, ‘He really has a lot of get up and go.’ Just as he finished speaking Patch brought over a ball. What does “a lot of get up and go” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is to have a lot of energy?
400
Hannah had been putting off her history report for days. It was due in the morning, and she knew she had to put her nose to the grindstone to get the report done in time. She worked all night and just as the bus pulled up, the last page came off the printer. What does “nose the the grindstone” mean? What do you think will happen next?
What is to get to work?
400
Tracy couldn't wait for her big brother to come home! He was in the Marines and was finally coming home for good. She had the entire house decorated with streamers, balloons, and banners. Of course, there was tons of food. When her brother walked in he said, ‘Wow, did you go overboard!’ What does “go overboard” mean? How do you think Tracy feels?
What is to do something in excess?
400
Mrs. Miller went from organizing files, to answering her phone, to responding to an email. She had to close her door to keep out all the noise. Just when she finally got to work, her phone rang again. ‘Can I call you back?’ she asked, ‘I'm tied up right now.’ What does “tied up” mean? Where is Mrs. Miller?
What is to be busy?
500
DeSean had never played lacrosse before. He had always thought it looked fun and was excited to finally try it! He had a hard time passing and catching the ball. After they were done one of the players said, ‘ You look a little wet behind the ears. Don't worry though, you”ll get the hang of it.’ What does “wet behind the ears” mean? How do you think DeSean feels?
What is new at something or inexperienced?
500
Michelle and Danielle were finally getting to paint their rooms. Michelle wanted a bright pink room and Danielle wanted blue. ‘What do you think of this shade?’ asked Michelle. ‘It's not my cup of tea, but if that is what you like you should get it.’ said Danielle. What does “not my cup of tea” mean? Where are the girls?
What is not what you like?
500
Lela loved to paint pictures. She was sad because she ran out of her favorite paints last week. She was tickled pink when her dad came home and surprised her with new paints. What does “tickled pink” mean? How do you think Lela's dad feels?
What is to be very happy?
500
Bella was excited to see the new movie. She had gone to get popcorn and drinks before the show started. After she got the snacks, she had to find her friends. It was hard for her to find where her friends were sitting because everyone and their brother was there. What does “everyone and their brother”? Where do you think Bella is?
What is being very crowded or a lot of people?
500
Pete showed up late to work on his group project. There was so much snow that day he had to drive really slowly. When he got to the library he started digging through his bag. ‘I‘m going to take a shot in the dark here; you forgot your book.’ said Ryan. Pete nodded. ‘It's okay, we can share mine.’ said Ryan. What does “take a shot in the dark” mean? What time of year do you think it is?
What is to take a guess?
M
e
n
u