Idioms Part 22 (Food - Nuts) Interactive Game

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

While in the last part of this series on Idioms, we drove you bananas, on this one, we'll drive you nuts! However, there's no sense in getting panicky. Let's take a closer look at some of these nutty idioms!

the nuts and bolts

This refers to the basic detailed practical information on how something works: Be patient. Jane will explain the nuts and bolts of the system to you.

for peanuts

When you buy something for peanuts, you buy it for very little money: My brother bought a new camera, so he sold his old one to me for peanuts.

hard (or tough) nut to crack

You use this expression to talk about someone or something that is difficult to deal with: I've been looking at this problem for days - it sure is one tough nut to crack!

in a nutshell

You say this when you want to sum something up, or you want to express something in a brief and direct way: Well, I won't go into all the details, but to put it in a nutshell, I lost my job.

drive someone nuts

To drive someone nuts is to really annoy someone:  Luigi is driving Samantha nuts, pestering her to go out to dinner with him.

go nuts

To go nuts is to go crazy, wild, excited, etc:

   When Lionel scored the winning goal in the last second of the match, the crowd simply went nuts!

   If we don't do something about those kids out there, we'll go nuts.

nuts about/over

When you're nuts about someone or something, you're very attracted to him or her or extremely enthusiastic about it:

   I listen to opera every now and then, but I don't go nuts over it.

   Edurne is nuts over the new guy in the office.

take/use a sledgehammer to crack a nut

If you imagine using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, you can imagine the situation. It means to use unnecessary force or energy: C'mon, you don't need to call an electrician to change a light bulb! It's like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut!

Now that you've learned all these nutty idioms, you're ready to put your memory to the test. Click on the image above to begin the game. Although it isn't necessary, registration at Purpose Games will allow you to keep track of your scores. Have fun!

Be sure to check out the rest in this series. Go to the index file and search (ctrl F) for 'Idioms'.