English Idioms 1
Collected by Trương Văn Ánh
Trường Đại học Sài Gòn

Idioms for Graduation Examination
1 going round in circles = continuing to talk about – or
going back to – the same idea without moving the
discussion on
2 losing your thread = forgetting what you were talking
about; bringing irrelevant ideas into the discussion
3 stumbling over your words = making mistakes while
speaking, often caused by a lack of vocabulary, which
can cause hesitation, repetition or mispronunciation

4 labouring the point = explaining or discussing
something at excessive length
5 beating about the bush = trying to avoid talking about
the central issue or problem, possibly because you
don't know enough about the subject, or because you
think it would be impolite to do so
6 talking at a mile a minute = speaking so quickly that
you cannot be understood

Exercise
Complete the sentences using the idioms
1 I got too nervous in the speaking test and kept …
2 I was really nervous at the start of of the speaking test
and I realized I was …, so I took a deep breath and
slowed down.
3 I am not going to … unless you start working harder in
class, you won't get more than 6.0 in your IELTS test.

4 This Reading question is impossible. I Keep thinking
I've got the answer, but then realise I haven't. I'm just …
5 My teacher gave me a lower score in my writing task 2
essay. She said my second paragraph was far too long
and I ended up … She said I should have moved on to
discuss some other aspects of the question.
6 In speaking part 2, the candidate began OK, but then
she … and started talking about things unrelated to the
task card.

Key
1 stumbling over my words / losing my thread / talking
at a mile a minute
2 talking at a mile a minute
3 beat around the bush
4 going round in circles
5 labouring the point
6 lost her thread

Good luck!