Education and school idioms

Bo Brezovská
As easy as ABC
As easy as ABC
• Very easy
• Learning how to use a computer
was as easy as ABC for the children.
Bookworm
Bookworm
• someone who reads a lot
• My sister is a bookworm and is
always reading a book.
Copycat
Copycat
• someone who copies the work of
another
• The children called the girl a
copycat when they discovered that
she had copied part of the test
from another student.
Cow college
Cow college
• a school where farming/agriculture
is studied
• My cousin plans to go to a cow
college when he finishes high
school.
Crack a book
Crack a book
• open a book to study (usually used
in the negative)
• I did very well in the course even
though I didn't crack a book until
the last week of classes.
Cut class
Cut class
• not go to class
• I decided to cut class in order to
study for my geography test.
Draw a blank
Draw a blank
• get no response from someone
when you ask them a question
• The teacher drew a blank when she
asked about the boy's plans for the
weekend.
Drop out of school
Drop out of school
• stop attending school
• My friend dropped out of school
when he was seventeen and began
to drive a truck.
Eager beaver
Eager beaver
• someone who works very hard and
is very enthusiastic
• The young girl was an eager beaver
and always came to class before
the other students.
Flunk out
Flunk out
• fail a course or fail out of school
• The boy was very smart but he
always flunked out of his language
class.
Goof off
Goof off
• waste time
• My sister spent most of the week
goofing off and was not prepared
for her test.
Hit the books
Hit the books
• begin to study hard
• After playing all weekend I had to
hit the books on Sunday evening.
Old boy network
Old boy network
• the situation where people (usually
men) who went to the same school
help each other get good jobs
• It was an old law firm and being
part of an old boy network was
necessary to get a job there.
Put one´s thinking cap on
 Put one´s thinking cap on
start thinking in a serious manner
The boys put on their thinking caps and tried to
think of a new name for the school newspaper.
Teacher´s pet
 Teacher´s pet
the teacher's favorite student
My sister was always the teacher's pet when she
was in the first grade at school.
University of life
 University of life
earning from daily life and work rather than
going to university
My grandfather began to work on the family
farm when he was fourteen and learned
everything from the university of li
To be open minded
 To be open minded
If you are open-minded, you are willing to
consider new ideas and try new things.
Taking the bull by the horns
 Taking the bull by the horns
If you take the bull by the horns, you take control
of a difficult or challenging situation in a brave
and determined way.
When Jack was rejected by his local college, he
took the bull by he horns and applied to as many
other academic institutions as he could.
Honor roll
 Honor roll
a list of people or students with exceptional
achievements
My neighbor was on the honor roll during his
last year in high school.
To teach an old dog new tricks
 To teach an old dog new tricks
The older you are the more set in your ways you
become
He could never learn how to use the Internet.
Just shows you can't teach an old dog new tricks