English Idioms

Grin From Ear to Ear

Meaning:

• a wide, happy smile

Frequency of Use: Medium to High

1. My son grinned from ear to ear when he heard about the birthday party.
2. When I heard the good news, I couldn’t stop grinning from ear to ear.
3. You were grinning from ear to ear in your graduation picture. It must have been a special day.
4. The kids started grinning from ear to ear when they heard that classes would be cancelled for the day.

1. Which situations below make you grin from ear to ear with excitement? 

• • Your boss gives you a big raise.
  • The police stop you for speeding.
  • Your parents buy you a new car for your birthday.
  • A stranger gives you $1,000 for helping find his cat.
  • Your teacher gives you a longer grammar test than you expected.

When you come home from work, your roommate is grinning from ear to ear, but he won’t tell you the reason. However, you notice that he is preparing a nice meal, has nice flowers in a vase on the table, and asks if you are going out for the night. He also has an Italian dictionary sitting on the table. What do you think his plans are?

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.