The City of Ember
The City of Ember is a novel about a group of
people who have been moved to an
underground city to protect them from the
disaster that may kill all of mankind. The
people in Ember do not know they are in a
special protected place. Knowledge of the
outside world has been kept from them.
Doon, one of the main characters, goes to the
library to learn about fire. The library books
contain only bits of information. Read this
excerpt from The City of Ember about Doon’s
library experience.
Although he’d often found something interesting
in these searches, he’d never found anything
important. Today was no different. He did come
across a collection called Mysterious Words
from the Past, which he read for a while. It was
about words and phrases so old that their
meanings had been forgotten. He read a few
pages.
Heavens above
Indicates surprise. What “heavens” means is
unclear. It might be another words for
“floodlight.”
Hogwash
Means “nonsense,” though no one knows
what a “hog” is or why one would wash it.
Batting a thousand
Indicates great success. This might possible
refer to killing bugs.
All in the same boat
Means “all in the same predicament.” The
meaning of “boat “ is unknown.
The phrases Doon read are what is known
as idioms.

An idiom is an expression with a meaning
that cannot be guessed from the
meanings of the individual words.

Idioms are common and they occur
frequently in all languages.

An estimated 25,000 idiomatic
expressions may be found in the English
language.
Many idioms
are
expressions
used in
sports.
Football Idioms

carry the ball
to be in charge of something, to be responsible for something

game plan
to have a strategy

run interference
to intervene on behalf of someone in order to protect him or her from
something

tackle a problem
to attack a problem with much effort
Baseball Idioms

bat a thousand
a guess that is in a certain area or range, an approximate guess

come out of left field
to be completely unexpected, to be a surprise

cover all one’s bases
to thoroughly prepare for or deal with a situation
Pool Idioms

behind the eight ball
at a disadvantage

call the shots
to control something, to make the rules
Sailing Idioms

smooth sailing
something is going well and is having no problems

take the wind out of one’s sails
to become discouraged and lose one's enthusiasm
Boxing Idioms

blow by blow account
a description or account that provides much detail

saved by the bell
rescued from a bad situation at the last minute

hit below the belt
to not follow the rules, to do something that is not fair

in someone’s corner
on someone's side, supporting someone
Golf Idioms

make the cut
to meet or reach a required standard

on par with someone
equal in importance or quality to something or someone

par for the course
what is normal or expected in a given situation
Idioms may come from many
sources including:
Proverbs
- Myths
- Folklore
- Bible
- Shakespeare
- American Phrases
-
Examples
I had to race against time.
- to rush to beat a deadline
He’s in a rat race.
–a fierce struggle for success, especially in one's
career or business
I can't keep my head above water.
- to manage a situation
Can you name some of these?
hit a bull’s eye
to achieve the goal perfectly
folklore
a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
to reach the goal you wish to obtain
jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire
to go from one bad situation to worse situation
chained to the computer
to spend a lot of time working
rolling out the red carpet
doing everything possible to make someone welcome
Activity 1 – Idiom Cards

Match idiom pictures to their literal and
figurative meanings.
Activity 2

Complete the handout by
 Writing an idiom
 Write the idiom’s figurative meaning
 Draw a picture to illustrate the idiom.