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English Language: Middle School: Grades 6, 7 and 8 Quiz - Idioms versus Metaphors (Questions)

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Idioms and metaphors are so very much alike that it is very easy to confuse them. There is a way, however, to tell the difference.

Idioms are words or phrases that say one thing but mean something else.

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For example, to say “She’s sharp as a tack,” does not really mean she’s a tack but, rather, it means her mental state is very good.

Metaphors are figures of speech that relate one thing with another thing. In other words, two things are compared to each other. For example, “life can be a circus”. This compares life with a circus.

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Below is a series of idioms and/or metaphors. Can you guess the correct answer that describes the true meaning of the idiom or metaphor?

Mr. Arnold would be BLIND AS A BAT without his glasses.

[ ]	lost
[ ]	funny looking
[ ]	unable to see
[ ]	scary

I could have sworn MY EARS WERE BURNING this morning.

[ ]	someone was talking about me
[ ]	my ears got sunburned
[ ]	my ears were infected
[ ]	my ears were blocked

My EYES ARE BIGGER THAN MY STOMACH when I go out to a restaurant.

[ ]	eyes are filled with amazement
[ ]	eyes take in everything on the menu
[ ]	eyes want to eat more than I can handle
[ ]	eyes get filled up with tears

Her voice cut like a knife in the night.

[ ]	voice - knife
[ ]	voice - night
[ ]	knife - night
[ ]	cut - night

Kelly always seems to have her NOSE IN A BOOK.

[ ]	nose sniffing pages in a book
[ ]	head hiding behind a book
[ ]	nose itching
[ ]	nose in a book to read

Her newborn baby looks just like an angel!

[ ]	newborn - baby
[ ]	baby - angel
[ ]	her - baby
[ ]	looks - like

When the song was over there wasn’t A DRY EYE IN THE HOUSE.

[ ]	anyone without tears
[ ]	a sound heard
[ ]	any water running
[ ]	an angry person in the house

I’ll jump out of a plane WHEN PIGS FLY.

[ ]	when pigs board an airplane
[ ]	never
[ ]	when pigs grow wings
[ ]	when farm animals do

When my sister gets up in the morning she looks just like Frankenstein’s bride!

[ ]	sister - morning
[ ]	sister - she
[ ]	Frankenstein's - bride
[ ]	sister - Frankenstein's bride

10.

My sister was ALL EARS when her boyfriend came around!

[ ]	was very attentive
[ ]	was spying
[ ]	was excited
[ ]	was very nosey

English Language: Middle School: Grades 6, 7 and 8 Quiz - Idioms versus Metaphors (Answers)

Mr. Arnold would be BLIND AS A BAT without his glasses.

[ ]	lost
[ ]	funny looking
[x]	unable to see
[ ]	scary

To say someone is blind as a bat means that their vision is extremely poor. In this case, Answer (c) is correct and this is an example of an idiom

I could have sworn MY EARS WERE BURNING this morning.

[x]	someone was talking about me
[ ]	my ears got sunburned
[ ]	my ears were infected
[ ]	my ears were blocked

When the phrase “my ears were burning” is used, it means that someone was talking about that person, generally out of sight or hearing distance of the person. Answer (a) is correct and this is an example of an idiom

My EYES ARE BIGGER THAN MY STOMACH when I go out to a restaurant.

[ ]	eyes are filled with amazement
[ ]	eyes take in everything on the menu
[x]	eyes want to eat more than I can handle
[ ]	eyes get filled up with tears

When someone says that their “eyes are bigger than their stomach” it means that what they can see with their eyes to eat is really more than what their stomach can handle. This is an idiom and Answer (c) is correct

Her voice cut like a knife in the night.

[x]	voice - knife
[ ]	voice - night
[ ]	knife - night
[ ]	cut - night

This sentence is an example of a metaphor at it compares two things, i.e., her voice and a knife, both of which are sharp. Answer (a) is correct

Kelly always seems to have her NOSE IN A BOOK.

[ ]	nose sniffing pages in a book
[ ]	head hiding behind a book
[ ]	nose itching
[x]	nose in a book to read

As two things are not being compared in this sentence, we know it is an idiom and the phrase “nose in a book” means to always be reading so that their nose is always in a book. Answer (d) is correct

Her newborn baby looks just like an angel!

[ ]	newborn - baby
[x]	baby - angel
[ ]	her - baby
[ ]	looks - like

This sentence is an example of a metaphor at it compares two things, i.e., newborn baby and an angel. Answer (b) is correct

When the song was over there wasn’t A DRY EYE IN THE HOUSE.

[x]	anyone without tears
[ ]	a sound heard
[ ]	any water running
[ ]	an angry person in the house

To say that there wasn’t “a dry eye in the house” means that no one was without tears. Answer (a) is correct and this is an example of an idiom

I’ll jump out of a plane WHEN PIGS FLY.

[ ]	when pigs board an airplane
[x]	never
[ ]	when pigs grow wings
[ ]	when farm animals do

How often have you ever seen a pig fly? Right – never! The phrase that something will happen when “pigs fly” means that it will never happen. Answer (b) is correct. This is also an example of an idiom as two things are not being compared

When my sister gets up in the morning she looks just like Frankenstein’s bride!

[ ]	sister - morning
[ ]	sister - she
[ ]	Frankenstein's - bride
[x]	sister - Frankenstein's bride

This sentence is an example of a metaphor at it compares two things, i.e., my sister and Frankenstein’s bride. Answer (d) is correct

10.

My sister was ALL EARS when her boyfriend came around!

[x]	was very attentive
[ ]	was spying
[ ]	was excited
[ ]	was very nosey

When someone is “all ears” it means that they are giving their full attention to something. Answer (a) is correct and this is an example of an idiom