Idiomatic Phrasal Verbs Quiz

Find the correct meaning of the highlighted idiomatic phrases in the given sentences.

1. John spent £500 of my money. I’ll never lend him my credit card again. I’ve 'learnt my lesson'.

someone finally becomes aware of the fact

you had a negative experience and decide to never let it happen again

figured out how to use the credit card

2. I don’t want to see him anymore. Why doesn’t he 'get the message'?

someone acts stupid when you tell the true facts

sending someone a text message

understands what someone means even if they don't say it directly

3. When her second novel was rejected by the publisher, she 'put it down to experience' and began another one.

instead of being upset from a bad experience, deciding to learn from it

decided to gain more experience on that

owing to lack of experience, plan to do another job

4. Richard Branson has no formal education, yet he has become successful through the 'school of hard knocks'.

someone achieved success in life because they worked hard in school

negative experiences that persist even after their success

experiences of hardship and disappointment that teach someone about life

5. She’s decided to write her memoirs to 'set the record straight' once and for all.

to tell true facts about something that people have a misunderstanding about

keep the memoirs up to date so that others may learn about it

someone becomes aware of the fact

6. I 'heard through the grapevine' that Eldrick and Shanice are getting a divorce.

someone's decision that makes other people pleased

to hear news from someone who had heard it from someone else

Someone does something silly that irritates them terribly

7. I thought I was driving through a meteor shower last night, but it turned out to be 'a figment of my imagination'.

something that happens to them that appears in someone's imagination

something that appears to be real but afterwards is actually imagined

anything that appears in their imagination becomes a real

8. A: How long has this milk been in the fridge? ; B: 'Beats me'. Check the expiry date.

You do this before you ask me

Please do not question me

I do not know

9. I think she’s 'having second thoughts about' leaving London.

to begin to doubt a decision that you have already made

made a different decision but carried out the old one

becoming confused as a result of two different thoughts

10. There are many helpful books that can advise on 'the ins and outs' of dieting.

to know about where to begin and where to end

all the details or facts that you need to know

the things we should do while we're on a diet