poetic device: Idioms

An idiom is a common expression that has a different meaning than the literal meaning of the words. For example, to say that someone “kicked the bucket” means that they died, not that they actually kicked a bucket, and to describe something as “a piece of cake” means it is very easy, not a literal slice of cake.

Each of these poems include at least one idiom, often in the final line of the poem, but sometimes more. See if you can find the idioms in each of these poems.

Sleeping Santa
I Finished My Homework
My Mother Drives Me Everywhere
On Halloween Night
My Dog Likes to Dig
Bob’s Job
Everything We Learn at School
Homework, I Love You
When Chemists Die, They Barium
The Size of Yankee Stadium
A Pair of Potatoes Were Talking
My Brother’s a Genius
The Armpit of Doom
A Shark is a Pet
If You Ever Meet an Elephant
The Dragons of Monster Town
Our Family Picnic
Cara’s Parrot
Buckaroo Huck
Forty Purple Porpoises
My Chicken’s On the Internet
Stumblebum Stan
Foolish Fiona
Molly Has a Myna Bird