I have finally completed my Idioms and Sayings series with a third exercise covering some common expressions in English. Sorry it’s taken me a couple of years to get back to this – it’s mostly because I forgot, but also the rest of the list went missing!

As a reminder, I’ve created a list of 45 popular sayings which I’ve split into 3 short exercises, and this is the final one. The first idioms exercise includes a more detailed introduction to idioms and sayings, and you can see the second exercise here.

Otherwise, let’s get going!

Idioms, Sayings and Proverbs Exercise 3

This is a simple exercise to try and get you thinking creatively about idioms and sayings. Below are 15 idioms and sayings, with example sentences. Can you guess their meanings? You may know the answers to some of these, but if not try and consider the possible message of the saying, then consider its purpose in the example sentence.

1. Beat around the bush

He seems to want something but he keeps talking about the weather; I wish he would stop beating around the bush and let me know what he really wants.

2. Cut corners

The bridge was unstable because the builders cut corners when they bought cheap materials.

3. Hit the sack

I’m too tired to watch TV tonight, I think I’ll just hit the sack.

4. No pain, no gain

My gym instructor never lets me take a break when things get hard, she just reminds me no pain, no gain!

5. The last straw

Our noisy neighbours are always playing music, but last night they didn’t stop until 2 a.m. It is the last straw – I am going to complain!

6. Speak of the Devil

“Howard is wearing the brightest pink shirt today, have you seen it? Oh, speak of the Devil, here he comes!”

7. Time flies when you’re having fun

We didn’t realise how long we had been playing board games until the clock struck midnight. Time flies when you’re having fun!

8. Back to the drawing board

Shirley tried to fix her cake by adding more sugar, but when it became too sweet she decided to go back to the drawing board and start a new one.

9. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it

It’s possible that there won’t be a taxi waiting for us outside the station, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

10. Wrap your head around something

I find it hard to wrap my head around some of the ideas in science fiction novels, but I still really enjoy the adventures!

11. Bite the bullet

Frederick had been hesitating for months, but he finally decided to bite the bullet and asked her to marry him.

12. You can say that again

“This is the best coffee I’ve ever tasted!”

“You can say that again, I love it!”

13. To make matters worse

Tim was already late for the meeting, and to make matters worse the elevators weren’t working.

14. So far so good

Only one more idiom left to learn, so far so good…

15. Call it a day

And now we’ve reached the end of my 45 sayings, we can call it a day!

Answers (Idiom and Saying Definitions)

Below are suggested definitions for the idioms and sayings; you may find some are slightly nuanced, and can carry extra meaning depending on how people use them. Many of these have slightly longer phrasing which me be adapted or shortened, and note that some will mostly be used in the negative.

Beat around the bush: to avoid doing/saying something; typically used in the negative (e.g. “Don’t/stop beating around the bush.”)
Cut corners: to do something badly/incompletely, usually to save time
Hit the sack: to go to bed (similarly “hit the hay”)
No pain, no gain: it takes hard work/effort/sacrifice to succeed/improve
The last straw: something that breaks your patience, i.e. the final problem in a number of them that leads to action
Speak of the Devil: said when someone appears who is being talked about
Time flies when you’re having fun: time seems to go quicker when you are enjoying yourself
Back to the drawing board: start again from the beginning
We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it: suggestion to leave a problem for later
Wrap your head around something: try to understand something
Bite the bullet: to do something you don’t want to
You can say that again: said to demonstrate agreement
To make matters worse: something that makes a bad situation even worse
So far so good: said when things are progressing well
Call it a day: to decide to stop doing something

That’s it then, the full 45 at last! Do check out the other exercises if you haven’t and come back to these expressions as they’ll help you sound natural. Any questions, do ask below.