English Listening Lesson Library Online - www.elllo.org - Print Version Quiz 1) When you swim upstream, your work gets _____ .
a) easier b) harder 2) When someone has you by the gills, that is _____ .
a) good b) bad 3) If you are let off the hook, that is _____ .
Idioms #5 | Intermediate 5
a) good b) bad
Fish Idioms - Part 1 Learn idioms related to fish in these short conversations.
4) If you have bigger fish to fry, you _____ .
Task: Complete the conversation with words in the boxes. a) are free to help other people b) focus on your own thing Swim up stream A: How is the project _____ ? B: Slow. There is so much red tape to ___ with. A: That ______ frustrating. B: I know. It’s _____ swimming _____ stream. A: Well, don’t _____ up.
up • like deal • sounds going • give
swim up stream
Got me by the gills A: So _____’s business going? B: Not, good. I _____ a lot in taxes. A: Really how _____? B: Let;s just say a lot, and I have to ______. A: Oh no! Sounds like they _____ you by the ______.
gills • got owe • how much • pay
hook • let pay • later off • firm
Have bigger fish to fry A: Are _____ coming to _____ meeting? B: I can’t. I have _____ finish this project. A: But this meeting _____ important. B: I know, but right now I have bigger fish to ______. A: OK, ______ yourself.
suit • the you • to is • fry
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After a fish is caught, fisherman pick it up by the gills, the open area by its mouth. This phrase means that someone has you trapped or won't let you do as you wish. Let me off the hook When fisherman catch a fish, they sometimes release it by removing the fish hook and setting the fish free in the water. When you let someone off the hook, you let them go free, or you do not hold them accountable for something Have bigger fish to fry
Fishy A: Did you _____ Sue today? B: No, she called in _____. A: I saw ____ having lunch ____ David Smith. B: David Smith! ______ main competitor! A: Yeah, something seems _____!
When you swim up stream, you swim against the current so swimming is very difficult. This phrases means to do something that is difficult because of some kind of interference. got me by the gills
Let me off the hook A: Did Bob ____ you the money he owes you? B: No, but he said he would pay me ______. A: He has the money. Don’t ____ him fool you. B: I know. I need to be more _____ with him. A: You do! Don’t let him _____ the _____.
Vocabulary
her • see fishy • with sick • our
When you have bigger fish to fry, you are worried about one particular situation, and do not have interest in other matters that other people are concerned about. Fishy When something is fishy, that means it is strange or not right. You have a bad feeling that someone is hiding the truth about a situation, and you suspect something is wrong.