Idioms or Non-Idioms

I had so much fun reading different idiomatic expressions these past few days. However, there are times that I misunderstood or misused some of the idioms. So, I am posting this short exercise.

Determine if the common phrase in each two letters is idiom or non-idiom. a. My mother always asks for her cup of tea every morning. b. I don't like Gina. She is not my cup of tea.

c. Grace pressed on her pencil too hard and broke the tip off. d. Do not tip off Diana about our new club because she cannot keep a secret.

e.James got hot under the collar when Betty tricked him. f. When I put on my freshly ironed shirt, it was hot under the collar.

For letters a and b the common phrase is cup of tea. Obviously, a isn't an idiom because cup of tea literally means the tea in the cup which can be drunk. On the contrary, in letter b, cup of tea is an idiom which means someone's favorite. So, it is correct to say that Gina is not her favorite because Gina isn't her cup of tea. For letters c and d the common phrase is tip off. "Tip off" in letter c isn't an idiom because the sentence implies that Grace literally breaks the tip of her pencil off because she pressed it too hard. However, "tip off" in letter d means "give idea or hint or let someone know" and it is an idiom. Lastly, for letters e and f the common phrase is hot under the collar. "Hot under the collar" in letter e is an idiom which means "getting angry". James got angry with Betty because the latter tricked him. On the other hand, "hot under the collar" in letter f suggests a literal meaning thus, it isn't an idiom.

Refs

Filomena T. Dayagbil, et al. Developmental Reading 1: Idiomatic Expressions. pp. 51-53

cafetalk, 13-12-11 22:25, 13-12-11 22:26, Marz

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18-01-20 02:34, Noah