Idiom Charades

Teams take turns miming idioms without speaking. Teammates guess. The dual meaning (literal vs figurative) makes idioms especially fun to mime — the gulf between the two is the joke.

Procedure

1. Prepare cards with idioms the class has studied or will study. Example set:
   • spill the beans
   • cost an arm and a leg
   • under the weather
   • let the cat out of the bag
   • kick the bucket
   • pull someone's leg
2. Teams of 3–5. A player draws a card, reads it silently, and has 90 seconds to mime.
3. Team guesses the literal mime first (you spilled beans?), then works out the figurative meaning from context.
4. Point for guessing the idiom and naming its meaning in a sentence.

Why It Works

• Literal-figurative contrast: the mime forces the literal picture; the guess forces the figurative meaning. Both get processed.
• Strong memory: embarrassing or ridiculous mimes are sticky. Students remember the idiom the way they remember the mime.
• Cultural bridge: comparing idioms across students' L1s produces rich, authentic discussion.

Variations

• Idiom relay: after guessing, the team must use the idiom in a new original sentence for a double point.
• Drawing + miming: drawer can add one sketch per 30 seconds as a hint.
• Translation round: after each idiom, pairs find the closest equivalent in their own language.
• Idiom storytelling: use three guessed idioms in a 30-second improvised story.

Tips

• Pick idioms whose literal meaning is picturable. Break a leg = yes. Take it with a grain of salt = harder.
• After the game, build a short board list: idiom / literal meaning / figurative meaning / example sentence.
• Works especially well when followed by Collocation Pelmanism using idiom-meaning cards.