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:
- A snowstorm one week and warm weather the next. This year, March really is ....
- Dad spends all weekend watching TV. It'll be ... when he decides to do some exercise.
- Many people complain about all the rain this week but it’s good to remember that April showers ...
- The traffic on the way to the restaurant was slower than ...
- I haven't seen you ...! We should get together more often.
- Costume parties are suddenly ... of the month. I can’t wait until they are finally over.
- The crops look good this year. It must be all the rain. They are going to be knee high ...
- You can repeat that from ..., but he won't listen.
- He's had a face like ... all day.
- It’s nice that he always is in his ... whenever he goes out for dinner.
- It’s 9 PM, let’s ... and go home already.
- It's easy to be a ... when you see results were not great. Criticizing the work of others now is really bad.
- Your look is very .... Do you follow fashion and trends?
- I’m a bit frustrated today but I guess it's just that .... It goes away by Tuesday.
- I need to ... tomorrow to get some medical tests done.
- The day I graduated was a real ... for my family and myself.
- We try to eat salads and fresh fruit during the .... Nobody feels like cooking in this heat.
- I go jogging ... because if I do it everyday I get bored.
- My old PC has ..., but at least it's still working.
- The scandal with Bob and David was a .... Now people never mention it.
- The bulletin board ad said, '... required for general office duties'.
- I don’t like to go fast, I'm a .... Sorry.
- I’ve been on a liquid diet for three .... I can’t wait to eat some solid food again.
