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.

I Finished My Homework
Sleeping Santa
My Dog Likes to Dig
On Halloween Night
Bob’s Job
My Mother Drives Me Everywhere
The Armpit of Doom
Foolish Fiona
Homework, I Love You
Zzzzz
When Chemists Die, They Barium
My Chicken’s On the Internet
Steve the Superhero
Everything We Learn at School
How Did You Get So Mean by Kenn Nesbitt
How Did You Get So Mean?
My Brother’s a Genius
Our Family Picnic
Stumblebum Stan
A Shark is a Pet
Cara’s Parrot
Forty Purple Porpoises
A Pair of Potatoes Were Talking
The Dragons of Monster Town
If You Ever Meet an Elephant