This exercise tests your understanding of bird idioms.
Fill in the blanks.
1I accepted the first job offer I received. The salary was not very good, but a bird in the hand is worth ............... .
Wrong!
The idiom is "two in the bush" and means it is better to keep a certain thing than risk it for something uncertain.
2If something is strictly for the birds, it is ............... .
Wrong!
If something is "worthless", it has little or no value.
3To talk ............... is to talk bluntly, without mincing words.
Wrong!
To "turkey" in this idiom means to speak frankly and directly.
4To go cold turkey is to ............... .
Wrong!
To "kick a bad habit" means to stop doing something harmful or addictive.
5When you spit feathers, you are ............... .
Wrong!
If you are "angry", you are annoyed or furious.
6To lark about is to ............... .
Wrong!
To "fool around" means to behave in a silly or playful way.
7When you are up with the lark, you ............... .
Wrong!
To "rise very early" means to get up near the start of the day.
8An odd bird is an ............... person.
Wrong!
An "eccentric" person behaves in an unusual or slightly strange way.
9What does the expression "one swallow doesn't make a summer" mean?
Wrong!
"One success does not prove a lasting pattern" is the meaning of "one swallow doesn't make a summer".
10To clip someone's wings is to ............... .
Wrong!
To "limit their freedom or power" means to restrict what someone can do.
11If something makes your hackles rise, it makes you ............... .
Wrong!
If something makes you "angry", it annoys or irritates you.
12If you take to something like a duck to water, you ............... .
Wrong!
To "adapt quickly and naturally" means to feel comfortable with something new almost immediately.
Done.
Score: 0/12
Answers
- I accepted the first job offer I received. The salary was not very good, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush .
- If something is strictly for the birds, it is worthless .
- To talk turkey is to talk bluntly, without mincing words.
- To go cold turkey is to kick a bad habit .
- When you spit feathers, you are angry .
- To lark about is to fool around .
- When you are up with the lark, you rise very early .
- An odd bird is an eccentric person.
- What does the expression “one swallow doesn’t make a summer” mean? — One success does not prove a lasting pattern.
- To clip someone’s wings is to limit their freedom or power .
- If something makes your hackles rise, it makes you angry .
- If you take to something like a duck to water, you adapt quickly and naturally .
