You want to know why I've got a bee in my bonnet?

(a) a headache
(b) a fly in my head
(c) a problem on my mind
(d) a difficulty with my hair

English Idioms and Expressions, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #10 "Funny Idioms", answer 1

You want to know why I've got a problem on my mind?

Correct answer: (c) a problem on my mind

ESL/EFL Test #10 "Funny Idioms", question 2

Yes, tell me about it. I'm all ears.

(a) listening carefully

(b) listening quietly
(c) listening quickly
(d) listening completely

English Idioms and Expressions, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #10 "Funny Idioms", answer 2

Yes, tell me about it. I'm listening carefully.

Correct answer: (a) listening carefully

_________________
ESL/EFL Test #10 "Funny Idioms", question 3

You remember I told you about that car that cost me an arm and a leg?

(a) a fair amount of money

(b) a small amount of money
(c) a good amount of money
(d) a huge amount of money

English Idioms and Expressions, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #10 "Funny Idioms", answer 3

You remember I told you about that car that cost me a huge amount of money?

Correct answer: (d) a huge amount of money

You certainly couldn't call him modest because he's always blowing his own trumpet.

(a) saying how fit he is

(b) saying how healthy he is
(c) saying how clever he is
(d) saying how tall he is
 English Idioms and Expressions, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #24 "Idioms with phrasal verbs", answer 1

You certainly couldn't call him modest because he's always saying how clever he is.

Correct answer: (c) saying how clever he is

You can always rely on him to throw a spanner in the works and suddenly everything
stops.

(a) make things go wrong

(b) make things go slowly
(c) make things go quickly
(d) make things go right

English Idioms and Expressions, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #24 "Idioms with phrasal verbs", answer 2

You can always rely on him to make things go wrong and suddenly everything stops.

Correct answer: (a) make things go wrong

ESL/EFL Test #24 "Idioms with phrasal verbs", question 3

He tried and tried and tried but in the end he decided the time had come to throw in the
towel.

(a) stop running

(b) stop looking
(c) stop laughing
(d) stop trying

English Idioms and Expressions, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #24 "Idioms with phrasal verbs", answer 3

He tried and tried and tried but in the end he decided the time had come to stop trying.

Correct answer: (d) stop trying

ESL/EFL Test #24 "Idioms with phrasal verbs", question 4

My advice is to stop worrying about it and put your best foot forward.

(a) make a step

(b) make an effort
(c) make a start
(d) make a try

English Idioms and Expressions, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #24 "Idioms with phrasal verbs", answer 4

My advice is to stop worrying about it and make an effort.

Correct answer: (b) make an effort

ESL/EFL Test #24 "Idioms with phrasal verbs", question 5

We've had a lovely time and walked a long way but I think it's time to call it a day.

(a) halt
(b) cease
(c) stop
(d) end

English Idioms and Expressions, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #24 "Idioms with phrasal verbs", answer 5

We've had a lovely time and walked a long way but I think it's time to stop.

Correct answer: (c) stop

http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ae024/esl-test.php

English Idioms Test

This test is designed for students of English as a second and foreign language, and
allows learners to quickly assess their knowledge of English idioms and fixed
phrases. An idiom is a common expression that has acquired a meaning that cannot
easily be understood from the ordinary meanings of the words, as in “It’s raining
cats and dogs" meaning "it's raining very heavily". At the end of the test you will see
your test result and will be given a percentage. The test should take around 25
minutes to complete.

1) Hania and Joanna are as different as ……… and cheese?

a) biscuits

b) chalk

c) ham

d) jam

2) My father wants me to study law, but I have made up my ……… to become an

archaeologist, instead.

a) heart

b) head

c) brain

d) mind

3) If something frightens you it gives you the ……… .

a) wood

b) bulls
 c) willies

d) hots

4) You haven't been studying much recently and you'd better ……… if you want to pass
the Cambridge CPE exam.

a) thread your way through

b) meet your Waterloo

c) pull your socks up

d) change your spots

5) Magda was ……… after she heard that she had won a televison in a competition.

a) over the hill

b) on cloud nine

c) on the hop

d) over the peg

6) Donna ……… after her husband left her for a younger woman.

a) read between the lines

b) lead the field

c) took to the bottle

d) spared the rod

7) Don't throw that old FCE testbook away. It will ……… in handy when your sister is
studying for the college entry examination.

a) turn

b) find

c) come

d) give

8) Simon was given the cold ……… by the other teachers after informing the newspapers
about widespread corruption at the college.

a) chin

b) shoulder

c) neck

d) back

9) Wild boar haven't been seen in this ……… of the woods for about ten years because of
overhunting in the past.
 a) walk

b) ward

c) neck

d) leg

10) Charles has been in Kamila's ……… since he called her a fat slag.

a) bad letters

b) bad books

c) bad records

c) bad papers

11) The school director's resignation came like a bolt from the ……… . Nobody had
expected it.

a) green

b) red

c) black

d) blue

12) Marcin's father wasn't happy to find his son ……… drunk on the bathroom floor with a
bottle of Vodka beside him.

a) blind

b) stiff

c) deep

d) tight

13) The President is very old. He's as old as the ……… .

a) moon

b) grave

c) rock

d) hills

14) The Skwierzyna football team never win. So I wouldn't put my ……… on them if I were
you. You'll only lose it!

a) shoes

b) shirt

c) jacket

d) hat
 15) If you tell Maria there's a surprise English test today, you won't see her for ……… .

a) dust

b) cloud

c) rain

d) fog

16) Neil is famous for making up the most incredible stories, so you'd better take them
with a pinch of ……… .

a) snuff

b) pepper

c) salt

d) herbs

17) If you ……… you work very hard.

a) work to the winds

b) work like a new leaf

c) work your fingers to the bone

d) work until you are blue and black

18) It took me several seconds to grasp the meaning of her statement but finally the ………
dropped.

a) penny

b) axe

c) hammer

d) stone

19) Jarek is the best swimmer in the water polo team. He can ……… spots off everyone
else.

a) brush

b) knock

c) put

d) win

20) Magda has never turned her ……… on her family and offers help whenever they need
it.

a) hair

b) eyes
 c) back

d) stomach

21) The jacket fits like a ...... but the sleeve has a hole in it.

a) door

b) window

c) condom

d) glove

22) Joanna will never forgive you for letting the ……… . It was meant to be a secret!

a) cows out of the field

b) cat out of the bag

c) pig out of the poke

d) chickens out of the cage

23) John's mean down in the ……… since his girlfriend ditched him for his best friend.

a) pockets

b) dumps

c) heels

d) carpets

24) Ever since Hania told him she was pregnant, Christopher has been ……… himself with
worry.

a) next to

b) beside

c) beneath

d) over

25) I was knocked for ……… when Kate told me she had passed her driving test.

a) nine

b) eight

c) seven

d) six

26) A past experience you cannot change is ……… under the bridge.

a) a duck

b) water
 c) a boat

d) traffic

27) Somebody who is foolish or stupid is ……… .

a) soft in the head

b) riding high

c) over the moon

d) pushing up daisies

28) Mr Jones gave us ……… about losing our match against Gorzow.

a) cane

b) rod

c) stick

d) log

29) The children are really getting in my ……… . Tell them to go and play outside.

a) hair

b) nerves

c) mouth

d) books

30) Angela will ……… in front of her boss to get a pay rise.

a) hue and cry

b) bow and scrape

c) leap and bound

d) wine and dine

31) Mrs Raven isn't capable of controlling the class. She is so timid she wouldn't say
……… .

a) kill the fatted cow

b) put the cat among the pigeons

c) boo to a goose

d) cry wolf

32) Kate Moss looks like ……… . She's far too skinny!

a) a kettle of fish

b) a bag of bones
 c) a whale of a time

d) a bundle of nerves

33) Some of the boys in the class used to take the ……… out of Alfie's speech impediment.

a) hooray

b) mickey

c) cackle

d) hampers

34) If something ……… true it sounds true.

a) rings

b) chimes

c) shouts

d) beeps

35) I was ....... off with some rotten apples at the corner shop.

a) palmed

b) handed

c) armed

d) fingered

36) To ……… fun at someone is to laugh rudely at them.

a) give

b) stick

c) beat

d) poke

37) If the police find out it was us who smashed up the telephone box, we'll be in …… .

a) hot water

b) the beaten track

c) a mine of information

d) the drop of a hat

38) It's easy to get a place at the local College of English. They accept all and ……… .

a) people

b) road
 c) sundry

d) league

39) Bill is a ……… of habit. Every Sunday he goes for a swim in the river.

a) kind

b) animal

c) creature

d) type

40) The local Tesco hypermarket has been losing a lot of stock. It's high time they took a
tough ……… with shoplifters.

a) measure

b) line

c) penalty

d) discipline

41) I'm looking for a new place to live. My flat doesn't have enough space to swing a ………
cat.

a) crow

b) cat

c) dog

d) giraffe

42) My neighbour is almost 50 but wears very short skirts, and low-cut tops. She looks like
……… .

a) a duck out of water

b) mutton dressed as lamb

c) sheep from goats

d) she has a flea in her ear

43) If you draw a ……… over something unpleasant, you try to forget something and avoid
the subject.

a) scarfe

b) hat

c) hood

d) veil

44) Robin Hood was a ……… at archery. He always hit the target.
 a) dab hand

b) rough diamond

c) vested interest

d) fine hand

45) Why do our students alway cheat in tests? I don't know, I haven't the ……… .

a) foggiest thought

b) foggiest idea

c) foggiest notion

d) foggiest answer

46) Marta looks great! She's really dressed to ……… .

a) destroy

b) kill

c) murder

d) slaughter

47) If you hide your ……… under a bushel, you are too modest to boast about your skills.

a) beard

b) looks

c) light

d) mind

48) You can shout until you're ……… in the face but she won't hear you. She's as deaf as a
post.

a) blue

b) green

c) pink

d) black

49) The decision has already been taken, so there's no point in your ……… .

a) giving a tickle

b) taking the biscuit

c) being tickled pink

d) arguing the toss

50) She would have failed the practical exam by a long way, but the school decided to
……… the rules so that she passed.

a) bend

b) twist

c) skip

d) dodge

Solution to Quiz
Question 1=b
Question 2=d
Question 3=c
Question 4=c
Question 5=b
Question 6=c
Question 7=c
Question 8=b
Question 9=c
Question 10=b
Question 11=d
Question 12=a
Question 13=d
Question 14=d
Question 15=a
Question 16=c
Question 17=c
Question 18=a
Question 19=b
Question 20=c
Question 21=d
Question 22=b
Question 23=b
Question 24=b
Question 25=d
Question 26=b
Question 27=a
Question 28=c
Question 29=a
Question 30=b
Question 31=c
Question 32=b
Question 33=b
Question 34=a
Question 35=a
Question 36=d
Question 37=a
Question 38=c
 Question 39=c
Question 40=b
Question 41=b
Question 42=b
Question 43=d
Question 44=a
Question 45=b
Question 46=b
Question 47=c
Question 48=a
Question 49=d
Question 50=a

Note: The solutions in red are the ones to the questions you had incorrectly
answered.