Task 7.Look through the following idioms to do with food. Try to explain their meaning. Give the equivalent in your language.
| 1.To be in apple-pie | 9.To be a piece of cake |
| 2.To be a bad egg | 10.To be money for jam |
| 3.To know your onions | 11.To bite more than you can chew |
| 4.Cauliflower ears | 12.To save someone’s bacon |
| 5.To be someone’s cup of tea | 13.To be butter fingers |
| 6.To be as easy as pie | 14.Apple of someone’s’ eye |
| 7.To sell like hot cakes | 15.Sour grapes |
| 8.To go bananas | 16.To be no picnic |
Task 8.Complete the idioms in the sentences below using a word connected with food. The meaning of the idiom is given in brackets after each sentence. Choose from the box.
| apple | apple-pie | bacon | pie | butter |
| cake | cauliflower | chew | cup of tea | egg |
| grapes | hot cakes | jam | onions | picnic |
1. I don’t like parties. It’s not really my cup of tea. (It’s not something I really like or enjoy.).
2. My sister is so clumsy and is always dropping things. She’s a real _____________ fingers! (A very clumsy person.)
3. My neighbor tells me my New Year tree isn’t that good. But I’m sure it’s only sour____________ as I know he’d like one but can’t afford it.(He’s only pretending not to like it because he can’t have it himself.)
4. Your father is going to go ____________ when he finds out what you’ve done to the car! (He is going to be really angry.)
5. It’s no __________ finding a job these days – especially with high unemployment rates. (It’s not a very easy job.)
6. The band’s new CD only came out yesterday, yetit’s selling like_____________. (It’s selling quickly and in large numbers.)
7. She really loved her grandson. He was the ________ of her eye. (He was someone she really loved, her favorite relative.)
8. To some people, learning a foreign language is as easy as _____________. To others, it is really difficult. (It is very easy.)
9. The money my uncle left me in his will has certainly saved my _________. I don’t know how I’d have managed without it. (It has helped me get out of a very difficult situation.)
10. You can usually tell a boxer from his ____________ ears. (Ears that have been hit so much they are permanently swollen and a strange shape.)
11. I’ve got too much work to do at the moment. I think I may have bitten off more than I can _____________. (I may have taken on more work than I’m capable of doing.)
12. Although it was obvious the main speaker at the conference knew her ____________, she had such a boring voice that most people switched off or fell asleep during her talk. (She really knew her subject.)
13. If you ask me, babysitting is money for ____________. You get to watch TV, eat sandwiches and drink Coke and get paid for it! (It’s a very easy way to earn money.)
14. I’m not surprised he ended up in prison. I always thought he was a bad ____________. (He was a completely worthless person.)
15. The exam was so easy. It was a piece of _____________. (It was really easy.)
16. My son is so neat. His bedroom is always in___________order. To tell you the truth, Bob, I’m beginning to think there is something wrong with him! (It’s always neat and tidy.)
(adapted from Peter Watcyn. Test your idioms. Penguin English Guides, pp. 120-121)
Task 9. Writing. Do you know what to write in your Christmas card?