Idioms: Fixed Expressions and What They Really Mean
An idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words. JAMB presents an idiom inside a sentence and asks for its meaning, or asks which option best explains an underlined expression. The examiner is checking whether you know the expression as a unit - literal reading is the standard trap.
How idioms are tested
- Meaning in context: The accountant was caught with his hand in the till - caught stealing.
- Replacing an expression: which option keeps the sentence's sense.
- Choosing the right idiom to complete a sentence.
High-value idioms
- bury the hatchet - end a quarrel and make peace
- beat about the bush - avoid coming to the point
- let the cat out of the bag - reveal a secret carelessly
- put the cat among the pigeons - cause trouble or controversy
- be in hot water - be in trouble
- once in a blue moon - very rarely
- a wild-goose chase - a futile search
- take the bull by the horns - face a difficulty boldly
- sit on the fence - refuse to take sides
- turn a deaf ear - refuse to listen
Worked example
After years of litigation, the two families finally buried the hatchet. Options: A. dug up old grievances B. settled their quarrel C. hid the evidence D. abandoned their property. Answer: B. Burying a hatchet is a ritual of peacemaking; the words after years of litigation signal the end of a conflict, confirming the idiomatic reading.
Traps that cost marks
- Reading literally: hand in the till is not about a hand.
- Confusing near-pairs: let the cat out of the bag (reveal a secret) against put the cat among the pigeons (provoke trouble).
- Idioms with fixed prepositions - on the fence, in hot water, at loggerheads with.
- Options that are emotionally right but structurally wrong; the answer must fit the grammatical slot.