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English Idioms Quiz #1

Fill the blanks in these English language idioms.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: October 2, 2014
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First submittedDecember 18, 2011
Times taken127,049
Average score76.7%
Rating4.40
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Idiom
Once in a blue moon
All bark and no bite
Barking up the wrong tree
Beat a dead horse
Off the beaten path
Wild goose chase
Pass with flying colors
A sight for sore eyes
Bats in the belfry
Turn over a new leaf
Idiom
Through gritted teeth
Any way, shape, or form
Back to square one
Back to the drawing board
'Til the cows come home
Chip on one's shoulder
Close but no cigar
From rags to riches
Get down to brass tacks
Living high on the hog
Idiom
Burn the candle at both ends
Last, but not least
Saved by the bell
The whole nine yards
Beating around the bush
Between a rock and a hard place
When it rains, it pours
Path of least resistance
The strong, silent type
Put one's best foot forward
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90 Comments
Savage
+9
Level 48
Dec 18, 2011
Off the beaten path. You should also accept track for that one :)
Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
Dec 18, 2011
Added that answer. Thanks!
wolfcat95
+8
Level 66
Oct 19, 2014
Don't know if it is an acceptable answer or not, as I wrote path, but I have also heard "trail."
AndrewR
+3
Level 25
Mar 25, 2021
Me too. I've always known it as "trail".
geoquizpro
+5
Level 59
Dec 18, 2011
agree with Savage, being English the first thing that comes to mind is track!!
sidhera
+3
Level 59
Dec 18, 2011
And here I've only ever heard it as "off the beaten path"! Learn something new every day :)
Tramp
+3
Level 76
Dec 18, 2011
Yep, it's Track. I've never heard anybody say "off the beaten path".
tuzdayschild
+12
Level 56
Oct 27, 2014
I've heard path and trail but never track. Just depends where you're from.
thequizmaster15
+1
Level 51
Jan 30, 2016
I agree
Ithabise
+8
Level 28
Dec 18, 2011
C'mon...'bat in the belfry' should be accepted.
Soccer99
+3
Level 81
Oct 19, 2014
Yes! That's how I know it!
hellodrew
+4
Level 65
Aug 18, 2015
agreed!
mbgillespi
+4
Level 72
Mar 2, 2018
Agreed!
Morpioniste
+1
Level 67
Dec 28, 2020
Never heard bat in the belfry, only bats. When and how would you use bat?
PitifulExcuse
+1
Level 62
Apr 3, 2024
no. one bat is fine. you need more than one for any affect to be apparent.
durstand
+2
Level 66
Dec 18, 2011
Never heard off the beaten track. It's always been path. Probably just a US/UK thing.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 72
Mar 22, 2019
Even if it is a uk/us thing i really find it weird that you guys have never heard the other expression. Are all of you so isolated? And dont get any input from outside your country?

meant for both us and uk. Cause if people from other countries have heard from it, how is it that guys stay oblivious from it? Knowing one term doesnt mean you are sheltered from hearing (about) the other

mrputter
+2
Level 82
Mar 16, 2022
🤷‍♂️ As a Canadian I've only ever really heard "path."

I've maybe heard "track" at some point before, but it's definitely not what comes to mind, and it sounds really weird to my ears.

yppiL
+1
Level 28
Sep 7, 2022
I say path as someone from the UK but to be honest I'm not sure if I say that because it's said here or because that's how Americans say it lol
MoogleCloud
+1
Level 61
Dec 18, 2011
I've always heard path never track.
delky06
+1
Level 28
Dec 18, 2011
100% with 2:14 left
BlendedCow
+3
Level 44
Jan 29, 2012
Never heard the brass tacks one.
Jezilly
+4
Level 80
Feb 5, 2012
Please accept "bat" in the belfry. Or "a bat".
STL1994
+1
Level 46
Mar 4, 2012
I've always said between a rock and a tough spot. I don't know maybe I am just weird...
joesoap
+1
Level 42
Apr 8, 2012
Ya, flog a dead horse... but not MOOSE for God's sake!
AleckrulesOK
+1
Level 19
Jul 2, 2012
OK, let's get down to brass tax - it's definitely FLOG" a dead horse. "Beat" sounds really silly.

I am correct - there are no pipistrelles in my belfry

gcgallagher
+10
Level 45
Jan 10, 2020
in america it's only ever "beat a dead horse"
cedje
+2
Level 47
Jul 22, 2012
LOL Beat a dead moose? Beat a dead head horse originates from driving a horse (argument) so hard it literally dies. To beat a dead horse is pointless, now to beat a dead moose, well . . . that one needs some explaining.

Easy quiz 2:45 never heard 'off the beaten track, I'm U.S based.'

JockShepshed
+1
Level 35
Sep 4, 2012
good one, might use this one down at the pub . . never heard of the 2high on the hog" though, but reading the explaination above, must be like "bringing home the bacon"
TheShadow
+3
Level 7
Dec 15, 2012
Huzzah! An English Quiz! Though, you still insist on spelling 'colour' without the 'u'.... Still.

Anyway, I've always heard off the beaten 'track'. I've heard 'path' once or twice, but always took it for a misquote. Interesting.

partdavid
+15
Level 71
Jan 15, 2013
Let's compromise and make it "Off the beaten horse."
joeyo
+1
Level 24
Mar 1, 2013
I feel stupid I thought it was brass tactics.
Shiloh376
+1
Level 76
Mar 7, 2013
Good idea, but really easy. There wasn't the slightest hesitation on any answer. Ok, maybe one or two. 2:34 left
Sifhraven
+2
Level 72
Mar 22, 2019
It is not all english speakers on this site. This might be a challenge for other people. Like the quizes days of the week, of count to 10 in this or that language. The people from that language could also say it is way to easy. But what you take for granted might be a (fun) challenge for others
BilltheDog
+2
Level 45
Dec 3, 2023
Go try one for Australian English or a second language if you have one. But I had fun getting them all right too.
CountryDaisy
+1
Level 24
May 1, 2013
This quiz was wonderful! I really enjoy this kind, I got them all with 2:50 remaining!
kshimizu
+2
Level 14
Mar 16, 2014
I'm from Indiana, USA, and I have never heard "Bats in the belfry," "Get down to brass tacks," or "The strong, silent type" in my life. Maybe we don't say those ones in the Midwest.
mathdrew
+1
Level 63
Apr 1, 2014
Lotta fun that was! Got 'em all ... and with 2:31 left.
Rozzi
+3
Level 61
Apr 21, 2014
I went for 'close but no banana' - am I the only one? Please accept banana!
ander217
+3
Level 75
May 15, 2014
I could only think of banana, too. It's a variation of the cigar phrase.
TheNewPotato
+2
Level 49
Feb 7, 2016
Banana was the first thing that came to my mind, as a die-hard Garfield fan
applescrumper
+2
Level 46
Apr 2, 2016
I went for "banana" at first, too. I feel like I've definitely heard that more often than I have "cigar," but I've ~read~ the cigar version more often, especially in older books. Maybe the banana version started out as a joking adaptation of the original? I wonder whether it could be slowly rising in favor as cigars grow less common in daily life while people go on eating as many bananas as ever.
QuizWol
+1
Level 59
Nov 15, 2018
not the only one!
Baltimorean
+2
Level 67
Oct 19, 2014
Then there was the ophthalmology clinic that advertised itself as a site for sore eyes.
smartcookie17
+2
Level 45
Oct 19, 2014
Baby monkeys are all rich. 'Baby monkeys, baby monkeys, riding on a pig, baby monkeys... baby monkeys, baby monkeys, backwards on a pig, baby monkeys...' look it up, seriously, it's HILARIOUS.
CyberSnare
+1
Level 60
Oct 19, 2014
I'm British and I've only ever heard of off the beaten track, never path.
Malbaby
+1
Level 70
Oct 19, 2014
Good Quiz

As an Australian always heard 'Track' never path ...... we say flog a dead horse and use 'brass tacks'..........

Burn the candle at both ends was a saying long before Roald Dahl was born!

kiwiquizzer
+2
Level 68
Sep 21, 2016
Ditto in NZ.
McKenzieFam
+1
Level 66
Aug 21, 2024
I thought it was "brass tax" lmao
leonora
+1
Level 40
Oct 20, 2014
Close but no cigar is American, it is hardly known in the UK. And I have never heard of 'the whole nine yards' - I suppose that must be American too, maybe from baseball?
typhon
+1
Level 51
Jul 13, 2018
During WWII, .50 caliber ammunition belts on American and other Allied fighter planes were 27 feet long - 9 yards. When an enemy fighter "got the whole nine yards," it meant the pilot fired every round at them to shoot them down.
RobNobody
+3
Level 78
Dec 15, 2020
That's just a folk etymology, and can't possibly be true as the saying predates WWI, much less WWII. In reality, no one knows where the phrase came from.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 72
Mar 22, 2019
Dont you read or watch tv? Non english speaker here, and have heard that sooo many times. Also surprised someone else had never heard of the strong silent type.
JackWhitfield
+3
Level 35
Oct 23, 2014
color? seriously? COLOUR
blizzrd33
+1
Level 80
Oct 13, 2019
Indeed. I'm certain nobody in England ever used "color" in that idiom.
Shiloh376
+1
Level 76
Jan 9, 2015
Too much time. Its really about how fast can you type your answer. 2 minutes would be plenty.
parsons8
+1
Level 27
Mar 12, 2015
Probably some dialectal differences. I have always heard "It never rains, but it pours" and "Back to the OLD drawing board" rather than the versions used here. Fortunately they were sufficiently similar to be very easy to get. Fun quiz!
sussexval
+1
Level 58
Jul 24, 2015
Never heard of living high on the hog. Hog is not a word generally used in UK - we say pig. Nor have I heard of close but no cigar - what on earth does that mean?
TheNewPotato
+1
Level 49
Feb 7, 2016
Close, but not quite
divantilya
+1
Level 36
May 11, 2018
A cigar is often handed out in celebration of an accomplishment (such as when a baby is born, the father hands out cigars) Therefore, "close but no cigar " means that ...whatever... was almost successful, but not quite.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 72
Mar 22, 2019
I keep getting baffled by english speakers not knowing some of these. How can it be that Í dó know them then?? It is not that i watch massive amounts of tv of read tons of books, but a lot of these feel as common as "how is it going" (what is going actually? I guess the same thing as what is "up" haha) I m not sure where i have picked them up.

(Not bragging of anything, but i really cant wrap my head around it. Ah there is a nice idiom too. Well actually... it sounds kinda gross and graphic..)

Karenina
+1
Level 76
Mar 21, 2020
Never heard of 'living high on the hog' (and I'm English)
RossWelsh8
+2
Level 43
Jul 27, 2015
I say flog a dead horse
Carry
+2
Level 63
Jan 29, 2016
Quite hard. I'm confident I know most of these in their German version which is sometimes very different. An example for one I know (beating around the bush): If I'd translate the German version back to English it would be something like "talking around hot mush".
TheNewPotato
+1
Level 49
Feb 7, 2016
Close but no banana doesn't work?
JessicaDR
+1
Level 62
Apr 24, 2020
sounds like you must be from the midwest?
cds
+5
Level 34
Mar 5, 2016
Boy, I feel dumb. All these years, I thought it was "brass tax" instead of "brass tacks." Now I have to completely revamp my imagery of the phrase.
quizmum63
+1
Level 28
May 27, 2016
off the beaten "track" is very Australian
divantilya
+1
Level 36
Nov 10, 2016
May I suggest that "off the beaten path" might be used by those who first got the idiom from either their bible or religious instructor, while "off the beaten track" is used by the more secular.
Bengus
+1
Level 59
Aug 19, 2021
It is very English too. We don't use any other word beside 'track'.
HectorVortac
+1
Level 48
Mar 6, 2018
Has anyone commented on 'beaten path' vs 'beaten track'? Lately?
jabegy
+1
Level 28
Mar 7, 2018
It's definitely 'off the beaten track', it's an English saying. The one I missed was high on the hog, never heard of it.
AJB2002
+2
Level 30
Nov 3, 2018
Surely passed with flying colors should be spelt colours (the proper English way)
bruhbruhbro
+1
Level 26
Apr 27, 2021
yeah but he is an american and there are more American English speakers than England I mean look at the population
Sifhraven
+1
Level 72
Mar 22, 2019
Didnt know the bats, tacks and hog. Though the first two sounds slightly familiar
KingWarfare846
+1
Level 53
Mar 21, 2020
"English Idioms" yet you spell colours with no 'u'
RobNobody
+1
Level 78
Dec 15, 2020
That's because "English Idioms" here means "Idioms in the English language," not "Idioms from England." English is also the most commonly-spoken language in the United States, so something can both be about the English language and use American spelling at the same time.
bruhbruhbro
+1
Level 26
Apr 27, 2021
its an american who made it
JessicaDR
+1
Level 62
Apr 24, 2020
Just an FYI, in America if someone said FLOG a dead horse, or really flog anything, it kind of has a sexual undertone. We have a few phrases that we say flog, its jokingly about doing something gross
ianb23ss
+1
Level 24
Oct 18, 2020
I take it you never had public floggings in the US then ...
JessicaDR
+2
Level 62
Apr 24, 2020
Also, a lot of people on here complaining that it is an "english idiom" quiz but the words aren't "English". That is because this was obviously done by an American. Dont forget, there are WAAAAYYYY more English speaking Americans than in UK. It might not be the same spellings or phrases, but its still the English language.... our nations just developed it differently over time.
bruhbruhbro
+2
Level 26
Apr 27, 2021
ok
HeyItsMeJJ
+1
Level 61
Nov 10, 2020
I think some of these aren't really idioms. Like, "The path of least resistance." Thats exactly what it means. Still, its pretty good.
Caro101
+3
Level 37
Dec 14, 2020
Living on the high hog??!! Never heard that one before! Kept on trying shelf :)
bruhbruhbro
+1
Level 26
Apr 27, 2021
never heard any of these except last but not least
CanadaMonarchist
+2
Level 73
Nov 10, 2021
Close but no dice?
gccwang24
+1
Level 52
Jan 21, 2023
That's mixing two idioms together
sekkeizu
+1
Level 24
Jul 15, 2023
14/30 and I've been "learning" or using English almost daily for 12 years, worse result than i was expecting, then again I've never heard anyone say half of these so they must be very seldomly used.
drinkBeerBeFree
+1
Level 48
Jul 12, 2024
"turn over a new page" should be accepted.
Eebo63
+1
Level 44
Sep 24, 2024
High on the hog is not a common idiom on the western Atlantic seaboard i.e. the UK....
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