Idioms taken literally

Tests: 5 of 11 right · Exam: 0 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 9 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 25 of the language course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Your mate goes "animals really fell off roofs in storms, that's where cats and dogs comes from, fr." ("Fr" means for real.) What's fairest?

1. It came from a cartoon in 2010 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It comes from a real storm in Paris — no support
3. He's right, it's proven history, written down in old newspapers — no support
4. That story is not proven; nobody is sure of the origin — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Ruby's little bro cries "Mum wants Ruby to get HURT!" What would you tell him?

1. It means "dance faster" — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. He's right, Mum is cross about the school play — no support
3. In theatre "break a leg" means good luck — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It's about a broken chair — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if you translated "hang noodles on ears" word for word into English for a friend?

1. It would turn into "pull your leg" all by itself — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. They'd picture real noodles and miss the meaning — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. They'd understand it at once — score 3
4. It would mean exactly the same in every language — score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 22, line 3: «Languages change a little every generation, like a face in a flip-book; in 1066 French-speaking Normans took over England, thousands of French words poured in,…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «turn» (+2); the same doer «old english» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · right ✓

Your cousin from Newcastle says "howay man, that trainer cost an arm and a leg, canny dear." ("Howay" means come on; "canny dear" here means quite expensive.) What did the trainer cost?

1. Nothing, it was free — no support
2. Very little money — no support
3. A lot of money — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
4. His arm — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 10, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 25, line 9: «"Cost an arm and a leg" means cost a lot of money; it is a deliberate exaggeration, called hyperbole.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «cost» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «lot» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · right ✓

A Gen Z teen says "lowkey you hit the nail on the head, bestie." ("Lowkey" means a bit, quietly.) What does she mean?

1. You hurt your hand — no support
2. You told a lie — no support
3. You got it exactly right — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
4. You need a hammer — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 17, line 13: «"Lowkey" means a bit or secretly; "highkey" means very or openly.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «bit» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · right ✓

In a cartoon a man literally bites a bullet at the dentist. What's the real meaning of the idiom?

1. Shout at the dentist — no support
2. Face something unpleasant bravely — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 13
3. Eat something metal — no support
4. Keep your teeth clean and shiny every day — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 13, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 25, line 10: «"Bite the bullet" means face something unpleasant bravely; the story about soldiers biting bullets is often told but not proven.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «face» (+5); the same property (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «something» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓

Theo's mate goes "just spit it out, stop beatin' round the bush, bruv." What does he want?

1. Say it directly — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
2. Spit on the ground — no support
3. Go and play in the garden — no support
4. Run round the bushes — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 25, line 8: «"Beat about the bush" means avoid saying something directly; it comes from hunters beating bushes to scare birds out.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+5); the same property (+3). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Zoe asks "do parrots get sick after football?" What would you say?

1. It means the team has a pet parrot that watches — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Yes, parrots hate football — no support
3. "Sick as a parrot" just means very disappointed — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It means the players were ill — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗

An English cousin is scared when a Glasgow girl says "away and bile yer heid". What should he understand?

1. She really means to hurt him — ← Mova's choice · score 7
2. It's a recipe — no support
3. It means "come here quickly" — no support
4. It's a cheeky "go away", not a threat — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 17, line 2: «Picture one pizza and three generations: Grandad says "That's groovy!" (1960s), Mum says "That's cool!" (an old jazz word from the 1930s and 1940s that never d…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «mean» (+5); the same doer «mia» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Your dad says "Let the cat out of the bag" came from real market tricks, 100 percent. What's fair?

1. It came from a film — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It's a popular story, but there's no clear proof — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Yes, it's fully proven by old market records from London — no support
4. It came from Latin — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓

Sam laughs "you've only got two ears, Mum!" Which idiom works the same way, by picturing body parts?

1. Raining cats and dogs — no support
2. Give someone a hand — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
3. Over the moon — no support
4. Sick as a parrot — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 25, line 17: «"I'm all ears" means "I'm listening carefully"; other body-part idioms are "keep an eye on", "give someone a hand" and "a heart of gold".», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «give» (+4); the same thing acted on «hand» (+4); the same receiver «someone» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises an idiom?

1. A grammatical error tolerated in informal speech — no support
2. A word whose spelling is identical when reversed — ← Mova's choice · score 7
3. A fixed expression whose meaning is not derivable from the literal meanings of its constituent words — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. A word borrowed from another language without alteration — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 7, line 1: «English has four kinds of sentence: a statement tells (The cake is huge.), a question asks (What is that cake?), a command tells someone to do something (Eat t…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «english» (+3). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the meaning conveyed by the expression "to cost an arm and a leg".

1. To be obtainable without charge — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. To result in bodily injury — no support
3. To require great physical exertion — no support
4. To be exceedingly expensive — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

In respect of the origin of the expression "raining cats and dogs", select the response consistent with the established facts.

1. It was coined by Shakespeare in 1600 — no support
2. It derives from a Latin weather proverb — no support
3. It is proven to derive from animals falling from the roofs of houses in storms — ← Mova's choice · score 9
4. Its origin is uncertain and the popular explanations are unproven — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 25, line 6: «"Raining cats and dogs" means raining very hard; nobody knows for sure where it came from, and the stories about animals falling from roofs are not proven.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «fall» (+4); the same doer «animals» (+3); the same place «roofs» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Determine the most appropriate procedure for rendering an idiom into another language.

1. The omission of all figurative language — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The literal translation of each constituent word in its original order, without exception — no support
3. The substitution of an idiom of equivalent meaning in the target language — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The retention of the original words untranslated — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/25-idioms-taken-literally/