ICSE Class 8 Vocabulary, Idioms and Figures of Speech: Meanings and Use

What Vocabulary, Idioms and Figures of Speech is about

Weightage: CISCE publishes no question paper or weightage for Class VIII English; your school sets and marks vocabulary questions, which also appear inside comprehension and literature answers.Source: CISCE Curriculum for Upper Primary Classes (VI-VIII), RDCD 2016, English (Class VIII)

Key concepts

Idioms: meaning and correct use

An idiom is fixed: you cannot change its words ('a piece of cake', not 'a slice of cake'). When using one:

• fit it into the grammar of your sentence (change the verb's tense: 'He spilled the beans');
• use it in a context that shows the meaning;
• keep most idioms for informal or narrative writing.

Common idioms: break the ice (start a conversation in an awkward situation); once in a blue moon (very rarely); hit the nail on the head (say exactly the right thing); burn the midnight oil (work late into the night); a blessing in disguise (something good that at first seemed bad); cry over spilt milk (regret what cannot be changed); under the weather (slightly ill); turn a deaf ear (refuse to listen); at the eleventh hour (at the last moment); hold one's tongue (stay silent).

Worked example

Use 'a blessing in disguise' in a sentence that makes its meaning clear.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Set up something that looked bad.
2. Show the good outcome.

Answer: 'Missing the school bus turned out to be a blessing in disguise: my father drove me, and I reached in time to see the bus stuck in a traffic jam.'

Phrasal verbs

A phrasal verb is a verb with a particle (preposition or adverb) that changes its meaning:

• look after (take care of), look up (search for information), look into (investigate), look down on (despise), look forward to (wait eagerly for: followed by a noun or -ing: 'I look forward to meeting you');
• give up (stop), give in (surrender), give away (reveal or donate);
• put off (postpone), put up with (tolerate), put out (extinguish);
• turn down (refuse), turn up (arrive), call off (cancel), carry out (perform).

Many have a formal one-word equivalent: postpone, tolerate, cancel, investigate. Use those in formal writing.

Worked example

Replace the phrasal verbs with one-word formal equivalents: 'The committee called off the meeting and will look into the complaint.'

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. call off = cancelled.
2. look into = investigate.

Answer: 'The committee cancelled the meeting and will investigate the complaint.'

Collocations and register

Collocations are word partnerships that sound natural to native speakers:

• adjective + noun: heavy traffic, strong tea, a high fever, a narrow escape;
• verb + noun: make a decision, do homework, take a photograph, pay attention, keep a promise;
• adverb + adjective: deeply grateful, highly unlikely, fully aware.

Register is the formality of language:

• formal: 'I regret to inform you...', 'kindly', 'request', 'inconvenience';
• informal: 'Sorry, but...', 'Can you...', 'hassle';
• technical: words of a subject ('photosynthesis', 'chlorophyll').

The curriculum also mentions formulaic expressions and expressions in dialogue: 'Excuse me, could you...', 'I'm afraid that...', 'Not at all', 'Never mind'.

Worked example

Correct the collocations: 'She did a mistake and made her homework late.'

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. 'make a mistake' (not do).
2. 'do homework' (not make).

Answer: 'She made a mistake and did her homework late.'

Figures of speech based on comparison

• Simile: compares two unlike things using like or as: 'Her smile was as bright as sunshine.'
• Metaphor: says one thing is another, without like/as: 'Time is a thief.'
• Personification: gives human qualities to non-human things: 'The leaves danced in the wind.'
• Apostrophe: speaks directly to an absent person, an idea or a thing: 'O death, where is thy sting?' (the Bible, 1 Corinthians 15:55)

To explain one in an answer: name it, identify the two things compared, and state the quality they share or the effect.

Worked example

Name and explain: 'The classroom was a zoo after the teacher left.'

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. No like/as; the classroom 'was' a zoo: metaphor.
2. Shared quality: noise, chaos, wild behaviour.

Answer: Metaphor: the classroom is compared to a zoo to suggest the noise and disorder of pupils behaving like excited animals.

Figures of speech based on sound and emphasis

• Alliteration: repetition of the same initial consonant sound in nearby words: 'Peter Piper picked a peck...'
• Onomatopoeia: words that imitate sounds: buzz, sizzle, crash, hiss.
• Hyperbole: deliberate exaggeration for emphasis: 'I've told you a thousand times.'
• Repetition / anaphora: repeating a word or phrase for emphasis or rhythm.
• Rhetorical question: a question asked for effect, not for an answer: 'Who doesn't love holidays?'

Worked example

Identify the figures in: 'The bees buzzed busily, and I waited for a million years.'

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. 'buzzed': imitates a sound.
2. 'bees buzzed busily': repeated 'b'.
3. 'a million years': exaggeration.

Answer: Onomatopoeia ('buzzed'), alliteration ('bees buzzed busily') and hyperbole ('a million years').

Figures of speech based on contrast

• Irony: the opposite of what is said or expected. Verbal irony: saying the opposite of what you mean ('What lovely weather!' in a storm). Situational irony: the outcome is the opposite of what was expected (a fire station burns down).
• Oxymoron: two contradictory words side by side: 'deafening silence', 'bitter-sweet', 'open secret'.
• Paradox: a statement that seems self-contradictory but contains a truth: 'The more you learn, the more you realise how little you know.'
• Antithesis: contrasting ideas in balanced phrases: 'Speech is silver, silence is golden.'
• Euphemism: a mild word for something unpleasant: 'passed away' for 'died'.

Worked example

Oxymoron or paradox? (a) 'a deafening silence' (b) 'Less is more.'

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. (a) two contradictory words together: oxymoron.
2. (b) a whole statement that seems contradictory but is true: paradox.

Answer: (a) oxymoron; (b) paradox.

Vocabulary, Idioms and Figures of Speech in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• Idioms, Phrasal Verbs, Collocations and Figures of Speech

How the school exam asks Vocabulary, Idioms and Figures of Speech

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember Vocabulary, Idioms and Figures of Speech

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• Simile Says 'like'

  S for simile, S for 'similar': it uses 'like' or 'as'.

  Use it when: Simile versus metaphor.

• Oxy-moron = sharp-dull

  The word itself is Greek for 'sharp-foolish': two opposites glued together.

  Use it when: Recognising oxymoron.

• Make and do

  Make = create something new (a cake, a mistake, a decision); Do = carry out a task (homework, the dishes, your best).

  Use it when: Collocations with make and do.

Vocabulary, Idioms and Figures of Speech: exam-level solved questions

Ordered from exam level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is marked: the value points the examiner looks for and the marks each earns.

Where students lose marks in Vocabulary, Idioms and Figures of Speech

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Literal use of an idiom

  Pupils write a sentence where the idiom could be read literally.

  Wrong working

  He spilled the beans on the kitchen floor.

  Right working

  He spilled the beans about the surprise party.

  ✓Do this: Make the context show the idiomatic meaning.

  Usually costs: The 'use' mark.

• ✗Mistake: Changing the words of an idiom

  Pupils remember the idea but not the exact words.

  Wrong working

  a slice of cake; once in a green moon

  Right working

  a piece of cake; once in a blue moon

  ✓Do this: Learn idioms as fixed chunks; only the verb tense may change.

  Usually costs: The whole item.

• ✗Mistake: Naming without explaining

  Pupils write only 'simile' or 'metaphor'.

  ✓Do this: Add what is compared with what and the effect or meaning.

  Usually costs: Half the marks.

• ✗Mistake: Confusing personification with metaphor

  Both are comparisons without 'like'.

  ✓Do this: If a thing is given a human action or feeling, call it personification.

  Usually costs: The name mark.

• ✗Mistake: Informal vocabulary in formal writing

  Pupils write as they speak.

  ✓Do this: Replace slang, contractions and casual phrasal verbs in letters, reports and applications.

  Usually costs: Expression marks in writing tasks.

Practice questions on Vocabulary, Idioms and Figures of Speech

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   'Once in a blue moon' means: (a) at night (b) very rarely (c) suddenly (d) very sadly

   Hint

   A blue moon is a rare event.

   Answer

   (b) very rarely.

2. Q2 · 3 marks · Very short answerExam level

   Choose the correct collocation: (a) strong rain / heavy rain (b) make / do your homework (c) take / make a photograph

   Hint

   Which sound natural?

   Answer

   (a) heavy rain; (b) do your homework; (c) take a photograph.

3. Q3 · 2 marks · Short answerExam level

   Use each idiom in a sentence that shows its meaning: (a) break the ice (b) cry over spilt milk

   Hint

   Create a situation around each idiom.

   Answer

   e.g. (a) 'At the new school, Kabir broke the ice by offering everyone his chocolates.' (b) 'You have already lost the match; there is no point crying over spilt milk, so start practising for the next one.'

4. Q4 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   Identify the figure of speech: (a) 'The thunder roared in anger.' (b) 'Life is a journey.' (c) 'Sweet sorrow' (d) 'Crash! The vase hit the floor.'

   Hint

   Comparison, contradiction or sound?

   Answer

   (a) personification; (b) metaphor; (c) oxymoron; (d) onomatopoeia.

5. Q5 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   Replace the informal phrasal verbs with formal words: 'We have to put off the trip, and the organisers will give back the money.'

   Hint

   postpone, refund.

   Answer

   'We have to postpone the trip, and the organisers will refund the money.'

6. Q6 · 2 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   Explain the irony: A man who is afraid of water wins a lottery prize: a free cruise.

   Hint

   Expected versus actual.

   Answer

   Situational irony: a prize should bring joy, but this one is a sea voyage for a man who fears water, so the reward becomes a burden, the opposite of what one would expect.

7. Q7 · 2 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   Rewrite the cliché simile 'as cold as ice' with a fresh simile for a winter morning in your town, and explain why a fresh comparison is better.

   Hint

   Use something specific and local.

   Answer

   e.g. 'The morning air was as cold as the steel railing of the school bus at dawn.' A fresh, specific comparison creates a sharper picture and shows original thought, while clichés are so familiar that readers no longer notice them.

8. Q8 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   Which phrase is suitable in a formal dialogue with a stranger? (a) 'Oi, where's the station?' (b) 'Excuse me, could you tell me the way to the station?' (c) 'Station, where?' (d) 'Tell me the station now.'

   Hint

   Formulaic polite expressions.

   Answer

   (b) 'Excuse me, could you tell me the way to the station?'

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.What is a collocation? Give two examples.Show answer

   A natural word partnership, e.g. heavy rain, make a decision.

2. 2.What does 'put up with' mean?Show answer

   Tolerate.

3. 3.What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor?Show answer

   A simile uses 'like' or 'as'; a metaphor states the comparison directly.

4. 4.Define situational irony.Show answer

   When the outcome is the opposite of what was expected.

5. 5.What is onomatopoeia?Show answer

   Words that imitate sounds, e.g. buzz, crash, hiss.

6. 6.What does 'under the weather' mean?Show answer

   Slightly unwell.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Can you give the meaning of ten common idioms and use each in a sentence?
• ☐Can you match phrasal verbs with formal one-word equivalents?
• ☐Can you correct make/do and other collocations?
• ☐Can you rewrite informal sentences in formal register?
• ☐Can you name and explain twelve figures of speech?
• ☐Can you write fresh similes and metaphors of your own?

Vocabulary, Idioms and Figures of Speech: frequently asked questions