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Idioms with as… as ranking activities

A LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS

Discussing and then remembering as... as idioms like "busy as a bee"

By: Alex Case
Level: All Levels
Theme: General
Study Area: Idioms
      Page: /

Lesson Plan Content:


Idioms with as… as ranking activities

Your feelings about idioms with as… as ranking

Rank the idioms below by how much you like them, thinking about things like:

  • how useful they could be in communication
  • how much sense they make
  • how colourful they are/ how evocative they are

Ones near the bottom of your list could be ones which are too obvious, don’t make sense, seem too specific to be useful, etc. When you finish, compare lists with someone else, changing your list if you agree that any of their rankings make more sense.

as busy

 

as a bee

with lots of things to do

as clean

as a whistle

 

no dirt

as different

 

as chalk and cheese

very dissimilar, particularly in personality

as easy

as ABC

 

very simple

as happy

as a clam

 

very contented

as old

 

as the hills

ancient

as quick

 

as a flash

very fast

as safe

 

as houses

a sure bet/ something that must happen

as sick

as a dog

very ill, often due to drinking

 

as tough

 

as old boots

food, e.g. a steak, that is difficult to chew

 

Positive and negative idioms with as… as ranking

Rank the idioms below by how complimentary they are/ how positive they are (top of the list) to how insulting/ how negative they are (at the bottom of the list). Then compare with someone else, changing your list if you accept their reasons why their list is different.

as blind

 

as a bat

with bad eyesight

as clear

 

as mud

very difficult to understand

as cool

 

as a cucumber

very calm

as cunning/ sly

 

as a fox

clever, but in a bad way

as deaf

 

as a doorpost

very hard of hearing

as drunk

 

as a Lord

having had too much alcohol

as gentle

 

as a lamb

very kind, soft or even passive

as greedy

 

as a pig

eating too much food

as hard

 

as nails

very strong (personality/ physique)

as thin

as a rake

very skinny

 

 

Common and less common idioms with as… as ranking

Rank the idioms below by how often you think they are used, then Google the top five to check (putting the idiom inside quotation marks, like “easy as pie”)

as easy

 

as pie

very simple

as flat

 

as a pancake

no hills or bumps

as light

as a feather

 

not heavy

as mad

as a hatter

 

crazy

as proud

 

as a peacock

thinking you have done something great

as quiet

 

as a mouse

softly spoken

as tough

as leather

 

meat or other food that is difficult to chew

as regular

 

as clockwork

happening often

as miserable

 

as sin

very sad

as white

 

as a sheet

with all colour gone, e.g. from fright

 -----------------------------------

Without looking at the cards above, write the missing part in each box below.

 

 

as a bee

with lots of things to do

 

as a whistle

 

no dirt

 

 

as chalk and cheese

very dissimilar, particularly in personality

 

as ABC

 

very simple

 

as a clam

 

very contented

as old

 

 

ancient

as quick

 

 

very fast

as safe

 

as houses

 

as sick

 

very ill, often due to drinking

 

 

 

as old boots

food, e.g. a steak, that is difficult to chew

as blind

 

 

with bad eyesight

as clear

 

as mud

 

as cool

 

as a cucumber

 

as cunning/ sly

 

as a fox

 

 

 

as a doorpost

very hard of hearing

as drunk

 

 

having had too much alcohol

as gentle

 

 

very kind, soft or even passive

 

 

as a pig

eating too much food

 

 

 

as nails

very strong (personality/ physique)

 

as a rake

very skinny

 

 

 

as pie

very simple

as flat

 

 

no hills or bumps

as light

 

 

not heavy

 

as a hatter

 

crazy

as proud

 

 

thinking you have done something great

 

 

as a mouse

softly spoken

 

as leather

 

meat or other food that is difficult to chew

as regular

 

 

happening often

as miserable

 

as sin

 

as white

 

 

with all colour gone, e.g. from fright

Check above. Other answers might be possible, so please check if you wrote something different.

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