English Idioms

Get out of hand

Meaning:

• get out of control
• be difficult to manage

Frequency of Use: High

1. The class got out of hand when they had a new teacher for the day.
2. If the party gets out of hand, we’ll need to call the police.
3. How did the soccer game get out of control yesterday? I saw something in the newspaper. Was there fighting on the field?

1. If your next-door neighbor is holding a party, and things get out of hand, what will you do? Keep in mind that your neighbor is a giant football player with two angry dogs, and he never smiles.
2. Are there times when things get out of hand at work, school, or in your personal life? If so, please share your experiences.

You are taking the final grammar test in your English class, and halfway through the test, the teacher leaves to get something from her office. While she is gone, all of the students in the class start sharing the answers with each other, and things get out of hand when you refuse to accept their help. They threaten you to not tell the teacher. You say nothing, but the next day during class, the teacher announces that some students must have cheated on the test because many students had the same answers. What will you do: tell the teacher or risk what the other students might do to you? Your life could get out of hand either way.

Sometimes, learners know the meaning of an idiom, but they don’t know how to use it correctly in conversation or writing. Thus, this activity checks your grammatical accuracy with the idiom so you become more confident in using it.