Common Idioms Trivia Quiz

Answer: burn the midnight oil

The expression alludes to using oil lamps while working at night. It is similar in meaning to "burn the candle at both ends", which means to work all day and night without getting rest.

Answer: to die

Many people think that this phrase refers to an old way of hanging yourself, but archaically, a "bucket" referred to a long beam where pigs were hung prior to being slaughtered for meat. The struggling animals would kick the bucket in their death throes.

Answer: give away a secret

"Spill the beans" dates back to when the ancient Greeks put beans in a jar when voting in an election. If someone knocked over the jar and caused the beans to spill out, the election results would become known prematurely.

Answer: raining heavily

The expression doesn't literally mean that cats and dogs are falling from the sky but it's an incorrect interpretation of the Greek phrase "cata doxa" - literally meaning contrary to experience or belief. Or possibly it comes from an older word catadupe, meaning a cataract (in the sense of a waterfall).

Answer: Good luck!

According to theater superstition, it's considered bad luck to directly wish someone good luck, so "break a leg" was used instead, even though it has a negative connotation outside of theater context.

Answer: a lot of money

This idiom originated in wartime, around the time of the U.S. Civil War. Soldiers were often in the line of fire and could potentially lose limbs in battle. Losing part of your own body is indeed a high price to pay. It may also relate to the saying, "I would give my right arm for that" - an arm and a leg is even more!

Answer: it's easy

This term originated in the Royal Air Force in 1930 for an easy mission but no one knows for sure where the reference to cake came from. It may come from a type of dance contest, popular in the 19th century, called a cakewalk - the couple who performed the most stylishly won a cake. By the start of the 20th century the term cakewalk was used to describe any pleasant activity.

Answer: unwell

"Under the weather" originated with sailors who would go below deck to because they were too ill to do any work on deck.

Answer: sleep

This idiom means to sleep. It came from the fact that Zs are typically used to represent snoring in cartoons.

Answer: get a head start

In many races a starting pistol would sound to signal that the competitors should begin. This applied to running races and horse races. Starting before the signal had been made was jumping the gun - and now it is applied in a range of situations.