My grandmother caught the eye of my grandfather when she was a waitress in Norway, but she thought he was full of himself because he liked fancy clothes. Over time, his frequent visits got on her nerves. One day, she put water in his usual seat as a joke. When he sat down, he was mortified and steered clear of her after that. Strangely, they would later meet again in America.

1. IDIOMATIC
EXPRESSION

2. Start Up!
Read the story then
answer the following
questions.

3. Full of Herself
My grandmother on my father's
side was a waitress at a cafe in
Norway when she caught the eye of
my grandfather. He came to her cafe
every day, but instead of falling for
him, she decided he was full of
himself because he liked to wear
fancy clothes.

4. She knew he liked her, but he rubbed
her the wrong way. Over time, his
visits got on her nerves.
One day, she decided to put
water in the seat where he always
sat. When he arrived for his
morning coffee, she smiled at him,

5. and he thought things were
looking up. But then he sat down
and was mortified. He steered
clear of her after that. She
thought her joke had done the
trick, but strangely enough, the
two would meet again in America.

6. Comprehension Questions:
1. Did anyone catch your eye
recently?
2. Have you ever fallen for someone?
3. Do you know anyone who is full of
himself or herself?
4. Do you know anyone who rubs you
the wrong way?

7. Comprehension Questions:
5. Is there someone else who gets on your
nerves?
6. Are things looking up for you right now?
7. Have you ever steered clear of
someone?
8. If you are sick and need to get better
fast, what does the trick?

8. All Ears!
Idiomatic expression, or
simply idiom, is a phrase whose
meaning is different from the
individual words that make it up.

9. IDIOM MEANING
catch the eye of
someone
to be attractive to
someone, to be
appealing
falling for someone falling in love,
getting feelings of
love or attraction

10. IDIOM MEANING
full of oneself to think oneself great or highly
important, to have too much
ego
rub someone the
wrong way
to have a personality or quality that gives
someone a negative feeling--sometimes
there is no bad intention and the person
who is "rubbed the wrong way" dislikes
the other (from the idea of petting a cat
or dog backwards)

11. IDIOM MEANING
things are looking up things seem to be better,
life could be improving or
good
steer clear of
someone
to stay away from a
person/thing
do the trick to solve the problem, to
work well

12. Skill Builder!
Identify the idiomatic expressions
used in the statements.
1. You were with your friends having a
good time then your mother called and
said, “Go home now, your father is looking
for you. He is boiling mad!”

13. 2. My best friend will join the Division Festival of Talents
tomorrow. Our teacher tells him to bring home the bacon.
3. Andrew will sing the Philippine National Anthem during
the program. I told him to break a leg and hug him tight.
4. “I don’t want to be Hailey’s friend anymore, she
stabbed me in the back!”

14. 5. “David isn’t the only guilty one here! After all, it
takes two to tango.”
6. “Why not go to the post office on your way to the
mall and kill two birds with one stone?”
7. “As a rule of thumb, you should usually pay for
your date’s dinner, too."

15. 8. “Hey. I’m feeling pretty angry right now. I’m
going to go blow off some steam.”
9. It looks nice, but it was a far a cry from the
house where she was born.
10. That won’t work. Let’s go back to the
drawing board.

16. Quiz Time!
Identify the meaning of the
italicized idiomatic expressions.
Choose your answer on the box
provided.

17. ____1. Mom said I should bring an umbrella
because it was raining cats and dogs outside.
____2. My uncle has a very beautiful garden
because he has a green thumb.
a. rarely f. very expensive
b. good at planting g. raining heavily
c. very easy h. to save money for unexpected event
d. hard working i. facing the same challenges
e. feeling sick/ill j. to work late at night

18. ____3. I can’t believe that our English exam
was just a piece of cake.
____4. My brother is burning the candle at
both ends. He is a working student.
a. rarely f. very expensive
b. good at planting g. raining heavily
c. very easy h. to save money for unexpected event
d. hard working i. facing the same challenges
e. feeling sick/ill j. to work late at night

19. ____5. Jill can’t come to school today. She is
feeling under the weather. She has a runny
nose and sore throat.
____6. I want to buy this luxury car. But it costs
an arm and a leg.
a. rarely f. very expensive
b. good at planting g. raining heavily
c. very easy h. to save money for unexpected event
d. hard working i. facing the same challenges
e. feeling sick/ill j. to work late at night

20. _____7. The best financial advice I got from my
father is to save for a rainy day.
____8. They are on the same boat. They both
don’t like their jobs.
a. rarely f. very expensive
b. good at planting g. raining heavily
c. very easy h. to save money for unexpected event
d. hard working i. facing the same challenges
e. feeling sick/ill j. to work late at night

21. ______9. Patricia joins parties once in a blue
moon.
______10. I have to burn the midnight oil for
the upcoming board exam.
a. rarely f. very expensive
b. good at planting g. raining heavily
c. very easy h. to save money for unexpected event
d. hard working i. facing the same challenges
e. feeling sick/ill j. to work late at night

22. Pick three (3) from the
italicized words. Use each in
a sentence.
1.
2.
3.