English Idioms Quiz: Guess the Figurative Meaning

'Break the ice' means to make a beginning or get through the first difficulty of starting a conversation or discussion, especially between people who feel awkward.

The phrase means making a beginning or getting through the first difficulty in conversation. It uses a physical image for a social action. A joke, question, introduction, or shared activity can break the ice when it makes the first exchange easier for people who feel awkward. The phrase can also describe starting a discussion after tension.

'Spill the beans' means to divulge secret or hidden information, whether the disclosure happens deliberately or accidentally before an announcement was ready.

The expression means revealing secret or hidden information. The beans are figurative, so the phrase does not describe dropping food. It applies when someone reveals a surprise, private plan, or concealed fact earlier than intended, before the people involved are ready to announce it. The disclosure may be accidental or deliberate.

'Once in a blue moon' means very rarely; it expresses an unusually low frequency without setting a precise number of days or a fixed calendar interval.

The phrase means very rarely and communicates scarcity while remaining informal and approximate. It should not be read as a promise that an event occurs only when a particular astronomical phenomenon appears or on a fixed schedule. The expression describes frequency, not a precise number of occurrences.

'Hit the nail on the head' means to identify or express something exactly, especially the central point or the correct explanation of a problem in context.

The expression refers to an accurate statement or diagnosis rather than a literal act of carpentry. The image works because striking the nail's head is the precise action needed. In conversation, it signals that someone has named the key fact, cause, or interpretation with unusual accuracy. It often marks agreement with a concise explanation.

To feel 'under the weather' means to feel ill or unwell, usually in a mild or nonspecific way rather than naming a particular medical diagnosis at first.

The expression means feeling sick or unwell. It is informal and does not identify the cause, severity, or medical treatment of the illness. It can describe a temporary low-energy day, but it is not a clinical description and does not indicate a particular diagnosis. Someone may use it before knowing why they feel unwell.