A Year’s Worth Of Idioms



Vocabulary Activity

The following is a list of idioms with days, months, and  related calendar terms.


A Monday morning quarterback : someone who says how an event or problem should have been solved after other people have already dealt with it.

A person Friday (or man/girl Friday): a person who does not very interesting work in an office. Man Friday is the servant in the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.
                             
April showers bring May flowers:  A proverb meaning that although rain in April is annoying, it starts the flowers growing.

A red-letter day: a day that is very important or very special.

Be knee-high by the 4th of July: Grown as tall as it should. Corn is supposed to be as high as someone's knee by July 4th.
Day in day out/  every other day: On alternative days. Also weeks/ years.

Days/ weeks/ months / years running: Consecutive. Days, weeks, months or years in a series.

From here till next Tuesday: for a great distance; for a long time.

Get the day off: have a day without working.

Have a face like a wet weekend: to look very unhappy.

Have seen better days: to be in bad condition.
                 
In a month of Sundays : for a long time.

In one's Sunday best: in one's best clothes; in the clothes one wears to church. 

It'll be a long day in January (when something happens) : Something will never happen.

Let’s call it a day: end the day's work; finish working for the day.

March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb: A proverb explaining that the month of March usually starts with cold, unpleasant weather, but ends mild and pleasant. 

Nine days' wonder:  something that is of interest to people only for a short time.

Slow as molasses in January / slower than molasses in January : very slow-moving.
Sunday driver: a slow driver who appears to enjoy the view, holding up traffic.

That Monday morning feeling : unhappy that the weekend has finished and you have to go back to work.

The dog days of summer:  The hottest days of the summer season.

The flavour of the month  : someone or something that has suddenly become very popular, but may not remain so for long.

Up to date : modern and trendy.


 Use terms from the idiom list to complete the sentences below:


  1. A snowstorm one week and warm weather the next. This year, March really is ....

  1. Dad spends all weekend watching TV. It'll be ... when he decides to do some exercise.

  1. Many people complain about all the rain this week but it’s good to remember that April showers ...

  1. The traffic on the way to the restaurant was slower than ...

  1. I haven't seen you ...! We should get together more often.

  1. Costume parties are suddenly ... of the month. I can’t wait until they are finally over.

  1. The crops look good this year. It must be all the rain. They are going to be knee high ...

  1. You can repeat that from ..., but he won't listen.

  1. He's had a face like ... all day.

  1. It’s nice that he always is in his ... whenever he goes out for dinner.

  1. It’s 9 PM, let’s ...  and go home already.

  1. It's easy to be a ... when you see results were not great. Criticizing the work of others now is really bad.

  1. Your look is very .... Do you follow fashion and trends?

  1. I’m a bit frustrated today but I guess it's just that .... It goes away by Tuesday.

  1. I need to ... tomorrow to get some medical tests done.

  1. The day I graduated was a real ... for my family and myself.

  1. We try to eat salads and fresh fruit during the .... Nobody feels like cooking in this heat.

  1. I go jogging ... because if I do it everyday I get bored.

  1. My old PC has ..., but at least it's still working.

  1. The scandal with Bob and David was a .... Now people never mention it.

  1. The bulletin board ad said, '... required for general office duties'.

  1. I don’t like to go fast, I'm a .... Sorry.

  1. I’ve been on a liquid diet for three .... I can’t wait to eat some solid food again.

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