Add More Fun! Teaching Idioms #2

Teaching idioms can be a fun way to incorporate something useful and native into your ESL lesson. You could have an idiom segment each week where you teach a new idiom, or teach several at a time. Here’s a second go-to list for some great idioms if you want to give students a break from the serious pressure of studying and add a little interest to your lesson!

Money Idioms:

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Like a million bucks

“Wow, Mary, you look like a million bucks this evening. I love your dress!”

Bucks = USD

= Look amazing, handsome, beautiful

Costs an arm and a leg

“The price of chocolate has doubled. I nearly paid an arm and a leg for a small candy bar.”

= so expensive 

Break the bank

“Taking a week-long vacation would break the bank. There’s no way I could afford to do it.”

= so expensive 

Shelling out

“I wish I didn’t buy that new car now that I’m shelling out $1,000 a month in payments.”

= paying a lot 

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Fork over

“She had to fork over a lot of money for traffic fines last month.”

= paying a lot 

Went Dutch

“We had a date last night and we went Dutch. I paid for my coffee and she paid for her salad.”

= each pay for our own meal

Loaded

Billy paid his Harvard Law School tuition with cash. His family is loaded.”

= has a lot of money

Make Ends Meet

“I don’t make much from my job as a cashier, but I’m able to make ends meet. I always have enough money for rent and groceries.”

= have just enough money to live

Nature Idioms:

Under the weather

“She’s feeling a little under the weather so be quiet and let her rest.”

= feeling a little sick

Calm Before the Storm

“Everything with her boyfriend was going well, but she didn’t know it was just the calm before the storm.”

= calm moments before something bad happens

When it rains, it pours

“First he was laid off, then his wife got into a car accident. When it rains, it pours.

= When one thing bad happens, everything bad happens.

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Once in a blue moon

“He used to calls his parents once in a blue moon.”

= rarely

Beating around the bush

“I don’t have much time, so stop beating around the bush and tell me what actually happened.”

= to not be direct while speaking

Go with the flow

“Just go with the flow and see what happens!”

= be flexible, see what happens

Break the ice

“He made a weather joke to break the ice.”

= to stop awkwardness of not knowing someone, to start becoming friends

Cold as stone

“Men are often told to hide their feelings and thus, appear as cold as stone.”

= unfeeling, hard, emotionless

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Every cloud has a silver lining 

“Don’t worry about losing your job. It’ll be okay. Every cloud has a silver lining!

= every bad thing has a good part if you look hard enough