1. IDIOMS AND PUNS
Literacy Station #8

2. Idioms
Idioms are cultural expressions and can be confusing because often times the saying has nothing to do with what the phrase actually means.

3. Examples
The next three slides contain examples of common idioms. Read the sentence for the idiom and think about what it means. After you have thought of what you think it means, click ahead to see if you are correct.
Ace Up Your Sleeve
Achilles’ Heel
Add Fuel to the Fire

4. Ace Up Your Sleeve
“I don’t know how Austin will get his parents to take him to the game, but I’m sure he has an ace up his sleeve.” Meaning: a surprise or secret advantage, especially something tricky Origin: Cheating card players could keep a valuable card up their sleeve (usually an Ace) and pull it out when no one was looking to win the game. It would work well unless all four of the Aces were currently in play.

5. Achilles’ Heel
I’m an All-Conference football player, but kicking is my Achilles’ Heel. Meaning: the one weakness, fault, flaw, or vulnerable spot someone has Origin: Achilles, a fictional character in Homer’s The Iliad, was dipped in the River Styx as a baby making any part of him that touched the water invincible. However, his heel was not touched by the water as that is where his mom held Achilles to dip him in the water. Achilles was a great warrior, but one day would fall in battle when a poison arrow hit his one weak spot, his heel.

6. Add Fuel to the Fire
“My parents were already mad with me, but when I brought home a failing report card it really added fuel to the fire.” Meaning: to make a bad situation worse; to do or say something that causes more trouble, makes someone angrier Origin: Adding fuel to a fire makes it burn hotter and larger than it previously had. With this saying, fire represents trouble and anything you add to it is the fuel that makes it worse.

7. Try Some on Your Own
The next slide will have several sentences which include idioms. The idioms will be underlined. Write down what you believe the idiom means and its affect on the sentence. An example has been done below for you. EXAMPLE: Mark enjoys being in the limelight. Wait until he sees his picture on the front page. ANSWER: Because Mark enjoys “being in the limelight” and the speaker is waiting to see his reaction when he sees he is on the front page of a newspaper, it is safe to assume that being in the limelight means being the center of attention or getting recognized. CLICK YOUR LEVEL BELOW TO ADVANCE TO INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE
LEVEL A
LEVEL B
LEVEL C

8. Individual Practice – Level A
He tried to convince his sister to do his chores, but he was beating a dead horse.
You can’t play football, work on the yearbook, and star in the play. You would be biting off more than you can chew.
On the night of the play, Amanda’s father told her to break a leg.
I’ve got to get home to do my chores. I’ll catch you later.
The bad guy bit the dust at the end of the movie.
Mr. Speight wasn’t worried about being the target in the dunking booth at the school carnival. He knew the kids couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.
When Laurie’s parents saw her failing report card, they chewed her out.
When John McInroe threw down the racquet after he lost the game, the ref told him to chill out.
Marcus, who spent all of his allowance in one day, is showing Michael how to budget his money. That’s a case of the blind leading the blind.
Jill slept overnight in front of the box office to get tickets. When we asked her why she said, “The early bird catches the worm.”
Continue to puns.

9. Individual Practice – Level B
Everyone at that table plays baseball. I guess that goes to show that birds of a feather flock together.
Mark had a close shave, he made it home one minute before curfew.
The brothers may be peaceful now, but this is only the calm before the storm.
Inviting thirty teenage boys to the pottery show was like letting a bull in a china shop.
It cost an arm and a leg to go to the Bahamas, so we decided to go to Myrtle Beach.
Don’t worry if he starts screaming about a monster under his bed. He always cries wolf.
I want to help the foreign-exchange student; they must feel like a fish out of water.
The dog is cute, but the owners let it get away with murder.
Sharon is busy as a beaver setting up her new laptop computer.
Your “broken arm” turned out to be just a bruise. Quit making a mountain out of a molehill.
Continue to puns.

10. Individual Practice – Level C
He tried to convince his sister to do his chores, but he was beating a dead horse.
I begged and cried to go to the game, but mom said I was crying crocodile tears.
Anthony thought his baseball card was rare, but it was a dime a dozen.
I spent the money I planned to earn and my neighbor got someone else to cut his grass. I shouldn’t have counted my chickens before they hatched.
When Ryan realizes he is wrong, he will have to eat crow.
Everyone was surprised when Matt won the school election because he was a dark-horse candidate.
Jake took Max’s lunch after he took his breakfast. That’s what I call an eye for an eye.
The principal vowed to get to the bottom of the spray-painted lockers.
Watch out! Dad got up on the wrong side of the bed.
I was hoping to get an extension on my project, but my teacher said, “No dice.”
Continue to puns.

11. Puns
Puns are a humorous use of words that involves a word or phrase that has more than one possible meaning
Content above provided by:
Encarta® World English Dictionary[North American Edition] © & (P) 2009 Microsoft Corporation.

12. Two peanuts are walking down the road; one was assaulted.
Examples
Read the pun and think about what it may mean or what double meanings it may have.
Two peanuts are walking down the road; one was assaulted.
When you think you know the double-meaning, click to see if you are right.
Assaulted could mean attacked; with peanuts it could mean that one was a salted.
Picture from:

13. Examples
Read the pun and think about what it may mean or what double meanings it may have.
“People are choosing cremation over traditional burial. It shows that they are thinking out of the box.”
When you think you know the double-meaning, click to see if you are right.
Thinking outside of the box means that you are thinking untraditionally. In this case it could also mean that you are thinking outside of the coffin (a type of box)
Picture from:

14. Try Some on Your Own
The next slide will have several sentences which include puns. Write down the words or phrases that make up the pun and what the double meaning is. An example has been done for you below: EXAMPLE 1: My pet turtle died; I’m not upset, just shell-shocked. ANSWER 1: “Shell-shocked” means you’re confused and slightly upset. It is also a play on words because of the association between turtles and shells. EXAMPLE 2: When the beautiful actress saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she’d just dye. ANSWER 2: “Dye” means to change the color of your hair. It is also a play on words because this was such bad news to her that she thought she’d die or pass away. CLICK YOUR LEVEL BELOW TO ADVANCE TO INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE
LEVEL A
LEVEL B
LEVEL C

15. Individual Practice Level A
Decimals have a point.
I try wearing tight jeans, but I can never pull it off.
A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.
Did you hear about the fire at the circus? The heat was in tents.
I've been to the dentist several times so I know the drill.
He didn't tell his mother that he ate some glue. His lips were sealed.
Pencil sharpeners have a tough life - they live off tips.
Once you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.
Waiters are good at multiplication because they know their tables.
A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tired.

16. Individual Practice Level B
When my math teacher said I was average - but he was just being mean.
A cardboard belt would be a waist of paper.
Novice pirates make terrible singers because they can't hit the high seas.
If towels could tell jokes they would probably have a dry sense of humor.
My dentist seems distracted, I think he was brushing me off.
A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was a nurse said 'No change yet'.
I was going to look for my missing watch, but I could never find the time.
There was a big paddle sale at the boat store. It was quite an oar deal.
Stealing someone's coffee is called 'mugging'.
It's a lengthy article on Japanese Sword Fighters but I can Samurais it for you.

17. Individual Practice Level C
I'm bad at math, so the equation 2n+2n is 4n to me.
Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat says to the other, “You stay here, I'll go on a head.”
A nut named Hazel held up a bank saying 'give me all the cashew have'.
Did you see the movie about the hot dog? It was an Oscar Wiener.
No one knew she had a dental implant until it came out in a conversation.
Smaller babies may be delivered by stork but the heavier ones need a crane.
My friend was fired from his job at the road department for stealing. I have to say I saw it coming. The last time I was at his house all the signs were there.
There was a shootout in The Gap. There were many casual-tees.
Drinking too much coffee can cause a latte problems.
If you said you were from South America, I would not Bolivia.