📖Definition
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is not worked out literally from each word. Beat around the bush means avoid saying something directly.
Knowledge Required
Learn common idioms as whole phrases with their meanings. Many idioms are figurative, so the literal picture may be misleading.
✅How To Answer
Ask whether the phrase is being used literally or figuratively.
Look at the situation suggested by the phrase and choose the meaning people usually intend.
Reject options that describe the literal words but not the idiom.
✏️Example
What does the phrase "beat around the bush" mean?
avoid saying something directly
✅Solution
The phrase does not mean walking in a garden or hitting a plant. It means avoiding the main point.
💡Multiple Choice Tip
Wrong answers often turn the idiom into a literal action. In idiom questions, the figurative meaning is usually the answer.
💡Tips/hints
Learn idioms in short example sentences: He beat around the bush before admitting the mistake.
Notice tone. Some idioms are informal, critical or humorous.