Vocabulary and Word Skills Set 4
Vocabulary and Word Skills Set 4 moves from single words to short fixed phrases: idioms and other figurative expressions whose overall meaning cannot be worked out simply by adding up the meanings of the individual words. 11+ papers often test whether a pupil can recognise a common idiom and explain what it really means in a sentence.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Notice when a phrase, read literally, does not make sense in the sentence, such as a cat that cannot really be raining, which is a sign it is being used idiomatically rather than literally.
- Do not try to translate an idiom word by word; instead treat the whole phrase as a single unit with its own fixed meaning.
- Learn a bank of common idioms and what each one really means, for example 'to let the cat out of the bag' meaning to reveal a secret by accident, or 'to hit the nail on the head' meaning to describe something exactly and correctly.
- Use the surrounding sentence to check that your remembered meaning of the idiom fits the context, since some idioms are easy to half-remember or confuse with a similar one.
- Be alert to idioms used in a slightly unusual grammatical form, such as past tense or negative, since the fixed phrase can still be recognised even when its wording is adjusted to fit the sentence.
- When asked to explain an idiom, always give its real, non-literal meaning in plain English rather than simply repeating the phrase back.
Worked example
Explain what the idiom means in this sentence: 'When Priya finally admitted she had broken the vase, it was clear the cat was out of the bag.'
- Notice that 'the cat was out of the bag' does not make literal sense in a sentence about admitting to breaking a vase.
- Recall the fixed meaning of this common idiom: to let the cat out of the bag means a secret has been revealed, usually by accident or without meaning to.
- Check that this meaning fits the sentence: Priya 'finally admitted' something, which matches a secret coming out into the open.
- Adjust for the past-tense form used here, 'was out of the bag' rather than 'let the cat out of the bag', which still refers to the same idiom's meaning.
- Combine the idiom's meaning with the sentence's own details: the secret, that Priya broke the vase, had now been revealed.
- Final answer: the sentence means that Priya's secret, that she had broken the vase, had now been found out or revealed.
Practice questions
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Q1Explain what 'it was raining cats and dogs' means in the sentence: 'We cancelled the picnic because it was raining cats and dogs.'Show answer
Answer: It means it was raining extremely heavily; the idiom is not literal, it simply describes very heavy rain.
Q2Explain the idiom in: 'Once she realised her mistake, she decided to bite the bullet and tell her manager straight away.'Show answer
Answer: To bite the bullet means to face something difficult or unpleasant bravely and without delay, rather than avoiding it.
Q3'His excuse for being late didn't hold water.' What does 'didn't hold water' mean here?Show answer
Answer: It means the excuse was not convincing or logical; it could not withstand examination, like a container that leaks.
Q4Explain the idiom: 'After weeks of practice, the whole routine finally clicked into place for the dance team.'Show answer
Answer: It means everything suddenly made sense or worked well together, as though the separate parts had come together smoothly and successfully.
Q5'She was over the moon when she heard she had passed the exam.' What does 'over the moon' mean?Show answer
Answer: Extremely happy or delighted.
Q6Explain the difference in meaning between 'to jump on the bandwagon' and 'to hit the nail on the head'.Show answer
Answer: To jump on the bandwagon means to join in with something popular or fashionable, often just because others are doing it, whereas to hit the nail on the head means to describe or identify something exactly and correctly; the two idioms are unrelated in meaning.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
'When the fire alarm rang, the whole office was up in arms, certain it was another false alarm.' Explain what 'up in arms' means here, and explain how the context of a false alarm supports your answer. (3 marks)
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Read the sentence: 'The manager admitted the project had gone off the rails, and it would take months to get things back on track.' Explain the meaning of both idioms used here, and explain how the two idioms work together to describe the situation. (4 marks)
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A pupil wrote that 'to let the cat out of the bag' means 'to free a pet from a container'. Explain why this is incorrect, and give the correct meaning of the idiom, with an example sentence of your own. (3 marks)
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Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the vocabulary and word skills set 4 worksheet pack - 13 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
This topic is chapter 24 of 11+ English Workbook 3, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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