CDS English · Idioms and Phrases
Idioms for speaking, listening and taking a view
Idioms about how people talk, how they listen, and how they give an opinion or make a decision.
Why this matters
Speech idioms test the exact manner of speaking: too much, too boastfully, too timidly, or letting a secret slip. Opinion idioms separate giving a view from making a decision and from refusing to decide. Often all four options are about talking or thinking, so the small difference between them is the answer.
Concept 1 of 3: Ways of speaking
All of these idioms are about talk, so most options will be about talk too. Ask three questions. Too much or too little? Boasting, hiding or revealing? Confident or timid?
Definition
The groups:
- Too much: verbal diarrhoea (talking far too much).
- Skill: the gift of the gab (the ability to speak easily and confidently).
- Boasting: blow your own trumpet.
- Timid or evasive: mealy-mouthed (afraid to say things plainly).
- Revealing: spill the beans (let a secret out).
- Two meanings: a double entendre (a word or phrase with two meanings).
- Rude dismissal: cut the crap (an impolite way to say 'stop talking nonsense').
| Idiom | Meaning | Wrong option to avoid | Asked in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal diarrhoea | Talking far too much | To be sick | 2019 (I)Q |
| A double entendre | A word or phrase with two meanings | Something with both advantages and problems | 2019 (I)Q |
| Cut the crap | A rude way to tell someone to stop saying untrue or useless things | To talk about something important | 2019 (I)Q |
| The gift of the gab | The ability to speak easily and confidently | Ability to convince | 2023 (II)Q |
| Blow your own trumpet | Boast about your own achievements | Be very loud in company | 2025 (II)Q |
| Mealy-mouthed | Not brave enough to say things plainly | Habitually using harsh words | 2026 (I)Q |
| Spill the beans | Let a secret out | To let food go waste | 2026 (II)Q |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2025 · CDS (II) 2025 — English · Q33Easy
Example 1 · Idioms and Phrases · Idioms: Speech and Opinion
Directions: In the following items an idiom or a proverb is given. Select the response that most appropriately describes the meaning of the idiom or proverb and mark your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.
Blow your own trumpet
The skill, not its result
The gift of the gab is the ability to speak easily and confidently. Convincing people may follow from it, but 'ability to convince' names a result, not the skill. Writing and reading are not speech at all.
Mealy-mouthed is soft, not harsh
Mealy-mouthed people are too timid to speak plainly. 'Inflicting harsh words on others' is the opposite fault.
Medical and food pictures
Verbal diarrhoea is not an illness, and spill the beans has nothing to do with wasting food. The first is too much talk; the second is letting a secret out.
Concept 2 of 3: Opinions and decisions
Several different acts hide in this group: giving a view (my two cents, say your piece, take a stand), making a decision (the ball is in your court), refusing to choose (sitting on the fence), and arguing a side you do not hold (playing devil's advocate). Others weigh a choice (the pros and cons) or say the result is already certain (a foregone conclusion).
Definition
The groups:
- Giving a view: my two cents, say your piece, take a stand (publicly and firmly).
- Showing disapproval by action: vote with your feet (leave or stay away).
- Not deciding: sit on the fence.
- Your turn to decide: the ball is in your court.
- Weighing: the pros and cons (the good and bad points).
- Certain result: a foregone conclusion.
- Testing an idea: play devil's advocate (argue against it without really opposing it).
| Idiom | Meaning | Wrong option to avoid | Asked in |
|---|---|---|---|
| My two cents | My opinion | My money | 2018 (I)Q |
| Say your piece | Say what you think | Make your argument piece by piece | 2021 (II)Q |
| Take a stand | State your view on something publicly and firmly | To be firm on your work | 2020 (II)Q |
| Vote with your feet | Show you do not support something by leaving or staying away | To express a particular opinion | 2019 (I)Q |
| Sit on the fence | Avoid taking a side or a decision | Taking sides | 2023 (II)Q |
| The ball is in your court | It is your turn to decide or act | Not speaking directly about an issue | 2018 (I)Q |
| The pros and cons | The good and bad points of something | Like and dislike of a situation | 2020 (I)Q |
| A foregone conclusion | A result that is certain before it happens | An obvious speculation | 2022 (I)Q |
| Play devil's advocate | Argue against an idea, without really opposing it, to test it | To delay doing something | 2024 (II)Q |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2020 · CDS (II) 2020 — English · Q33Easy
Example 2 · Idioms and Phrases · Idioms: Speech and Opinion
Directions: choose the correct meaning of the idiom/phrase
Take a stand
Sitting on the fence is the opposite of taking sides
A person sitting on the fence will not choose. 'Taking sides' is the exact reverse, and it was one of the options.
Voting with your feet is always disapproval
Vote with your feet shows that you do not support something, by walking away. 'To express a particular opinion' is too general to be right.
Points, not feelings
The pros and cons are the good and bad points of a situation. 'Like and dislike' are a person's feelings about it, which is a different thing.
The devil's advocate does not really oppose
To play devil's advocate is to argue against an idea only to test it. If the option says the person truly wants to defeat it, it is wrong.
Concept 3 of 3: Listening and being talked about
Ear idioms are about attention. Pinned-back ears listen hard; half an ear barely listens; flapping ears try to overhear; burning ears sense that others are talking about you.
Definition
The four, from most attention to the odd one out:
- Pin back your ears: listen carefully.
- Listen with half an ear: not pay full attention.
- Someone's ears are flapping: someone is trying to overhear.
- Someone's ears are burning: someone feels they are being talked about.
| Idiom | Meaning | Wrong option to avoid | Asked in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pin back your ears | Listen carefully | Keep yourself from hearing bad things | 2021 (II)Q |
| Listen with half an ear | Not pay full attention | Being impartial | 2025 (I)Q |
| Someone's ears are flapping | Someone is trying to overhear a private talk | Someone in a state of excitement | 2025 (II)Q |
| Someone's ears are burning | Someone feels that others are talking about them | Being jealous of others | 2025 (I)Q |
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2025 · CDS (I) 2025 — English · Q31Easy
Example 3 · Idioms and Phrases · Idioms: Speech and Opinion
Directions: In the following items an idiom or a proverb is given. Select the response that correctly describes the meaning of the idiom or proverb and mark your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.
Listen with half an ear
Flapping and burning are different
Ears that are flapping try to overhear others. Ears that are burning belong to the person being talked about. One listens in; the other is the topic.
Half attention is not neutrality
Listen with half an ear means you are not paying full attention. 'Being impartial' reads 'half' as taking neither side.
No pins, no cleaning
Pin back your ears means listen carefully. 'To clean your ears with a pin' is the picture read literally.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
Ways of speaking7 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Wrong option to avoid | Asked in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal diarrhoea | Talking far too much | To be sick | 2019 (I)Q |
| A double entendre | A word or phrase with two meanings | Something with both advantages and problems | 2019 (I)Q |
| Cut the crap | A rude way to tell someone to stop saying untrue or useless things | To talk about something important | 2019 (I)Q |
| The gift of the gab | The ability to speak easily and confidently | Ability to convince | 2023 (II)Q |
| Blow your own trumpet | Boast about your own achievements | Be very loud in company | 2025 (II)Q |
| Mealy-mouthed | Not brave enough to say things plainly | Habitually using harsh words | 2026 (I)Q |
| Spill the beans | Let a secret out | To let food go waste | 2026 (II)Q |
Opinions and decisions9 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Wrong option to avoid | Asked in |
|---|---|---|---|
| My two cents | My opinion | My money | 2018 (I)Q |
| Say your piece | Say what you think | Make your argument piece by piece | 2021 (II)Q |
| Take a stand | State your view on something publicly and firmly | To be firm on your work | 2020 (II)Q |
| Vote with your feet | Show you do not support something by leaving or staying away | To express a particular opinion | 2019 (I)Q |
| Sit on the fence | Avoid taking a side or a decision | Taking sides | 2023 (II)Q |
| The ball is in your court | It is your turn to decide or act | Not speaking directly about an issue | 2018 (I)Q |
| The pros and cons | The good and bad points of something | Like and dislike of a situation | 2020 (I)Q |
| A foregone conclusion | A result that is certain before it happens | An obvious speculation | 2022 (I)Q |
| Play devil's advocate | Argue against an idea, without really opposing it, to test it | To delay doing something | 2024 (II)Q |
Listening and being talked about4 rows
| Idiom | Meaning | Wrong option to avoid | Asked in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pin back your ears | Listen carefully | Keep yourself from hearing bad things | 2021 (II)Q |
| Listen with half an ear | Not pay full attention | Being impartial | 2025 (I)Q |
| Someone's ears are flapping | Someone is trying to overhear a private talk | Someone in a state of excitement | 2025 (II)Q |
| Someone's ears are burning | Someone feels that others are talking about them | Being jealous of others | 2025 (I)Q |
Watch out for (10)
- The skill, not its result→ Ways of speaking
- Mealy-mouthed is soft, not harsh→ Ways of speaking
- Medical and food pictures→ Ways of speaking
- Sitting on the fence is the opposite of taking sides→ Opinions and decisions
- Voting with your feet is always disapproval→ Opinions and decisions
- Points, not feelings→ Opinions and decisions
- The devil's advocate does not really oppose→ Opinions and decisions
- Flapping and burning are different→ Listening and being talked about
- Half attention is not neutrality→ Listening and being talked about
- No pins, no cleaning→ Listening and being talked about
Test yourself on Idioms and Phrases
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