Fill in the blanks to form an idiom related to conversation and communication. The idioms used in this exercise are listed after the practice activity. It may be a good idea to study the list of idioms before trying the exercise.
Also see the Idioms Builder for practice with hundreds of idioms (including the idioms in this exercise).
Quiz-summary
0 of 30 questions completed
Questions:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
Information
.
You have already completed the quiz before. Hence you can not start it again.
Quiz is loading...
You must sign in or sign up to start the quiz.
You have to finish following quiz, to start this quiz:
Results
0 of 30 questions answered correctly
Time has elapsed
You have reached 0 of 0 points, (0)
Categories
- Not categorized 0%
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- Answered
- Review
-
Question 1 of 30
1. Question
1. I need to talk to somebody about this. If I don’t get this off my ____, I’m going to go crazy.
Correct
Incorrect
chest
-
Question 2 of 30
2. Question
2. His departure was supposed to be a secret, but somebody let the ____ out of the bag.
Correct
Incorrect
cat
-
Question 3 of 30
3. Question
3. They put me ____ the spot when they asked me if I was interviewing with other firms.
Correct
Incorrect
on
-
Question 4 of 30
4. Question
4. There are many billionaires who started from very humble beginnings, but I can’t think of any off the top of my _____ right now.
Correct
Incorrect
head
-
Question 5 of 30
5. Question
5. Stop _____ around the bush and tell me what you have to say.
Correct
Incorrect
beating
-
Question 6 of 30
6. Question
6. Some people are afraid of speaking up, but I’m never afraid to _____ my mind when I have something to say.
Correct
Incorrect
speak
-
Question 7 of 30
7. Question
7. Why are you asking me what he said? Why don’t you talk to him about it and get it straight from the _____ mouth.
Correct
Incorrect
horse’s
-
Question 8 of 30
8. Question
8. I wouldn’t trust everything Kevin says. He has a tendency to exaggerate and stretch the _____.
Correct
Incorrect
truth
-
Question 9 of 30
9. Question
9. To make a long _____ short, I moved to Chicago to be near my wife’s family.
Correct
Incorrect
story
-
Question 10 of 30
10. Question
10. I’d take his real estate advice with a grain of ______ if I were you. He’s never purchased a home.
Correct
Incorrect
salt
-
Question 11 of 30
11. Question
11. He’s a man of few words and gets right to the _____ when he has something to say.
Correct
Incorrect
point
-
Question 12 of 30
12. Question
12. Tim said he heard about the new initiative _____ the grapevine.
Correct
Incorrect
through
-
Question 13 of 30
13. Question
13. We have a monthly newsletter to keep everyone _____ the loop about company initiatives and events.
Correct
Incorrect
in
-
Question 14 of 30
14. Question
14. I felt _____ of the loop when I returned to the office after my two-week vacation.
Correct
Incorrect
out
-
Question 15 of 30
15. Question
15. My boss doesn’t micromanage, but he does try to _____ base with me at least once a day.
Correct
Incorrect
touch
-
Question 16 of 30
16. Question
16. I haven’t heard from Karla in a while. I think I’ll drop her a _____ later this week and see how she’s doing.
Correct
Incorrect
line
-
Question 17 of 30
17. Question
17. He’s not answering his cell phone or responding to emails. I simply can’t _____ a hold of him.
Correct
Incorrect
get
-
Question 18 of 30
18. Question
18. The two of them were drinking coffee and talking a mile a _____.
Correct
Incorrect
minute
-
Question 19 of 30
19. Question
19. This is a big decision. I’m going to have to _____ it over with my family, and then decide.
Correct
Incorrect
talk
-
Question 20 of 30
20. Question
20. Don’t worry, I won’t mention this to anyone. My _____ are sealed.
Correct
Incorrect
lips
-
Question 21 of 30
21. Question
21. Please keep it under your ______. It’s not public information yet.
Correct
Incorrect
hat
-
Question 22 of 30
22. Question
22. I told him a little white _____ so his feelings wouldn’t get hurt.
Correct
Incorrect
lie
-
Question 23 of 30
23. Question
23. Their engagement was a secret. I can’t believe you spilled the _____ and told everyone in the department.
Correct
Incorrect
beans
-
Question 24 of 30
24. Question
24. You have my undivided attention. I’m _____ ears.
Correct
Incorrect
all
-
Question 25 of 30
25. Question
25. You’re not going to convince Mark to change the bonus structure. You’re beating a dead _____.
Correct
Incorrect
horse
-
Question 26 of 30
26. Question
26. I know the name of the company but I can’t think of it now. It’s on the tip of my _____.
Correct
Incorrect
tongue
-
Question 27 of 30
27. Question
27. Colin really put his _____ in his mouth when he told everyone his salary. It’s against company policy.
Correct
Incorrect
foot
-
Question 28 of 30
28. Question
28. We went out for a few drinks but we didn’t talk about anything serious. We just _____ the breeze.
Correct
Incorrect
shot
-
Question 29 of 30
29. Question
29. Do you think it was a serious comment or do you think it was meant to be tongue in _____?
Correct
Incorrect
cheek
-
Question 30 of 30
30. Question
30. I’ve tried to express my concerns to Jack, but it’s no use. It’s like talking to a brick _____.
Correct
Incorrect
wall
Idioms about Conversation and Communication
Keeping/Divulging Secrets
let the cat out of the bag
To let the cat out of the bag means to reveal a secret by accident.
spill the beans
To spill the beans means to reveal a secret.
lips are sealed
If someone’s lips are sealed, it means they are not going to disclose information.
keep something under one’s hat
To keep something under one’s hat means to not disclose information to other people.
Lies/Dishonesty
(little) white lie
A (little) white lie is a lie told to be polite.
stretch the truth
To stretch the truth means to be untruthful by exaggerating.
Being Direct/Indirect
speak one’s mind
To speak one’s mind means to say what one really thinks.
beat around the bush
To beat around the bush means to avoid talking about what is important or what is on someone’s mind.
get right to the point
To get right to the point means to immediately start talking about what is important or what is on someone’s mind.
Getting in Contact with Someone
touch base
To touch base means to check in with someone.
drop someone a line
To drop someone a line means to write a short correspondence to someone.
get a hold of someone
To get a hold of someone means to get in contact with someone.
Other Idioms about Conversation and Communication
get something off one’s chest
To get something off one’s chest means to talk about something that has been bothering someone for a while.
off the top of one’s head
If something is said off the top of one’s head, it means the speaker is speaking without giving something much thought or doing any research on the topic.
put someone on the spot
To put someone on the spot means to force someone to answer a difficult question without prior warning.
straight from the horse’s mouth
Straight from the horse’s mouth means straight from the source.
to make a long story short
To make a long story short communicates that the speaker is only going to give the basic facts.
take something with a grain of salt
To take something with a grain of salt means to be skeptical about someone’s claims.
through the grapevine
If information is heard through the grapevine, it means the information was obtained through informal gossip or communication.
in the loop
Someone in the loop is part of a group that is regularly provided information about something.
out of the loop
Someone out of the loop is not part of a group that is regularly provided information about something.
a mile a minute
A mile a minute means extremely fast.
talk something over
To talk something over means to discuss something at length with the goal of making a decision.
I’m all ears
If someone is all ears, it means they are listening attentively and giving their undivided attention.
beat a dead horse
To beat a dead horse means: 1) to waste one’s time trying to do something that isn’t going to happen
2) to continue speaking about something that has already been resolved.
on the tip of one’s tongue
If something is on the tip of one’s tongue, it means that the person is almost able to remember the name of something.
put one’s foot in one’s mouth
To put one’s foot in one’s mouth means to say something stupid or hurtful that the speaker regrets saying.
shoot the breeze
To shoot the breeze means to casually chat about nothing in particular.
tongue in cheek
Something said tongue in cheek is said sarcastically.
like talking to a brick wall
We say that someone is like talking to a brick wall if they aren’t listening to their conversation partner.
Also see the Idioms Builder for practice with hundreds of idioms (including the idioms in this exercise).