American Idioms – Part two Expressions that do not mean what they literally say.

Do you know the meaning of each word in the idioms? Birthday Suit Blowing one’s own horn Bone to pick Black Sheep Have Cold Feet Give the Cold Shoulder Burn Bridge Keep one’s fingers crossed Once in a Blue Moon Jump on the bandwagon Get Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed Bury the Hatchet Pull Strings Red Tape Fly off the handle When pigs fly

Give the student clues about the idiom you see. Do not use the any words from the idiom when you are giving a clue.

Idioms Black Sheep: “Uncle Tim was arrested last year, now he is the black sheep of the family.”

Idioms When pigs fly “I will go on a date with you when pigs fly.”

Idioms Bone to pick: “I’ve got a bone to pick with Bob, I heard he was making fun of me last night.”

Idioms Burn Bridges: “Even though we had a fight, there is no need to burn bridges.”

Idioms Fly off the Handle: “When Jack’s father found out about Jack’s bad grades, he really flew off the handle.”

Idioms Birthday Suit: “You’ll be very cold in the winter if you walk around in only your birthday suit.”

Idioms Blowing one’s own horn: “Tom always talks about his achievements, he is always blowing his own horn .”

Idioms Have Cold Feet: “The backup goalie was called into the game, but he got cold feet and refused to go in.”

Idioms Keep One’s Fingers Crossed: “Kelly is waiting to find out if she got into college; in the mean time she is keeping her fingers crossed.”

Idioms Give the Cold Shoulder: “At the party, Carl tried to talk to Suzanne, but she gave him the cold shoulder.”

Idioms Once in a Blue Moon “Once in a Blue Moon our basketball team will lose a game, but most of the time they win.”

Idioms Jump on the bandwagon: “Everyone has a cell phone. I want to jump on the bandwagon, but my parents won’t let me buy a cell phone.”

Idioms Get Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed “You’d better avoid the boss today, she got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

Idioms Red Tape “Paula had hoped to buy a house quickly with no problems but got caught up in a lot of red tape.”

Idioms Bury the Hatchet: “We have been fighting for many years, let’s bury the hatchet.”

Idioms Pull Strings “Pat was officially interviewed for the job, but he also had his uncle pull some strings for him to get the job.”

Make a sentence for each idiom Birthday Suit Blowing one’s own horn Bone to pick Black Sheep Have Cold Feet Give the Cold Shoulder Burn Bridge Keep one’s fingers crossed Once in a Blue Moon Jump on the bandwagon Get Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed Bury the Hatchet Pull Strings Red Tape Fly off the handle When pigs fly