ELU/Science
Instructor: Buthaina Al-Othman

What is An Idiom?

An idiom is a word or a phrase that cannot be taken in the literal meaning of the words. For example the idiom:

"a piece of cake", means “simple or easy”, and not the literal meaning of this phrase, which is a piece of cake that most of us love to eat or have with tea or coffee in the afternoon, and in a birthday party, for instance. This idiom, "a piece of cake", is used in a situation to describe a simple or easy task or thing to do.

See an example of how it is used in the following situation or sentence:

Ahmed spoke in English with me inside and outside the classroom, therefore doing his final oral presentation was a piece of cake.

• Activity 3:
  1. Click HERE to learn more about new idioms, included in Unit 1, Reading 2, "Changing the World Market".
  2. Click HERE to do a short quiz on idioms.
  3. Click HERE to do more quizzes, by Teachers at the Internet TESL Journal