1. A peculiar phrase that can NOT be taken literally

2. Heart Idioms As a group, read each of the following idioms and match with the appropriate meaning. Write your answer on scratch paper or dry erase board. 1. cross my heart _____ a. to give up 2. lighthearted _____b. cheerful, free from anxiety 3. heart to heart _____c. the most important part 4. heartfelt _____d. makes one feel good, happy 5. warms the heart _____e. to be sad over a loss 6. broken hearted _____f. serious talk 7. lose heart _____g. sincere 8. heart of the matter _____h. to swear to be telling the truth

3. Answers to heart idioms As a group, read each of the following idioms and match with the appropriate meaning. Write your answer on scratch paper or dry erase board. 1. cross my heart H a. to give up 2. lighthearted Bb. cheerful, free from anxiety 3. heart to heart Fc. the most important part 4. heartfelt Gd. makes one feel good, happy 5. warms the heart De. to be sad over a loss 6. broken hearted Ef. serious talk 7. lose heart Ag. sincere 8. heart of the matter Ch. to swear to be telling the truth

4. Where do idioms come from? With each idiom below, try to figure out how the idiom was born. White Elephant-- The legend is that a king once gave a rare white elephant to a person on his court whom he did NOT like. The white elephant was sacred and couldn’t be made to work, but it cost a fortune to feed and take care of. The man couldn’t give it away because it was a gift from the king. The elephant caused the man to lose his money and his home-----it was not a gift you would want!

5. Where do idioms come from? With the idiom below, try to figure out how the idiom was born. Break a leg— Saying this to a performer is a tradition which means “Good Luck!” There was an old show business superstition that wishing someone good luck would jinx them and cause them to do poorly, so they would wish the performer just the opposite in hopes that he would do well!

6. Where do idioms come from? With the idiom below, try to figure out how the idiom was born. Catch someone red-handed This expression came from the circumstances of someone being caught in the middle of murder with blood on his or her hands. It was obvious that he was guilty. Today it means that someone is caught in the act of the crime.

7. Where do idioms come from? With the idiom below, try to figure out how the idiom was born. Kick the bucket This expression was used in England in the 16 th century. It came from the practice of hanging a criminal by having him stand on a bucket, putting a noose around his neck, and then KICKING the bucket out from under him. Today the saying refers to any manner of death.

8. Where do idioms come from? With the idiom below, try to figure out how the idiom was born. Bite the bullet This expression came from the 19 th century during war. There was a medical practice of giving a wounded soldier a bullet to bite before he was operated on without anesthetics on the battlefield. Biting on the soft bullet was a way to deal with the painful situation. Today it means to just go ahead and deal with the painful situation you have to go through.

9. Carousel Groups You will need 1 piece of paper per group. Write all names on the paper. As you move from group to group, make sure you title each section on your paper. Discuss as a group and record the meanings of any idioms you know.

10. Answers to Horse Idioms Horsing around ------playing rough Hold your horses ------wait Wild horses couldn’t keep me away –---- I will be there Straight from the horse’s mouth ------information came from the person it happened to Don’t put the cart before the horse – ----keep things in the right order

11. Answers to Baseball idioms Strike out ------Didn’t meet the goal Play ball -----– Get things started A ball park figure ------General estimate Throw a curve ball ------Didn’t work out like you wanted; problems arose Play hardball -------Not playing fair Way off base --------Wrong guess

12. Answers to Mouth Idioms You took the words right out of my mouth -----You said what I was going to say He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth- ------born rich Don’t put words in my mouth. ------ Don’t say I said something that I didn’t Put your money where your mouth is. ------Prove it!

13. Answers to Color idioms She is blue. -----She is sad He is a redneck. -----He is a country boy She has a green thumb. -----She has great luck with plants He’s yellow. -----He is a coward.

14. Answers to Food idioms 1. He’s a hot dog! He is a show-off 2. A hot tamale! She is beautiful! 3. As cool as a cucumber He is not nervous at all 4. Give me some sugar! Give me a kiss!

15. Answer to Food idioms 2 1. A piece of cake EASY!!! 2. This is cheesy! Lame! 3. As cold as ice Not very nice 4. The apple of my eye Very special person to me