I can not stop sharing this exerpt from the magazine called Humanising Language Teaching by Michael Berman on

http://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb12/less01.htmhttp://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb12/less01.htm

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Here are the questions :

Decide whether the following statements are true or false and give reasons for the choices you make:

1. All phrasal verbs are idioms and all idioms are phrasal verbs.
2. Idioms are a separate part of the language you can choose either to use or omit.
3. Idioms can be defined as colloquial expressions.
4. Idioms are fixed expressions that cannot be changed.
5. Words with grammatical functions can be used idiomatically.
6. All proverbs are idioms.
7. All proverbs are sayings.
8. You are more likely to find idioms in quality newspapers than in the tabloids or popular press.
9. All idioms, by definition, are clichés.
10. One of the problems for language learners is that idioms tend to be culturally bound.

All the answers are false except for numbers five, seven and ten. To find out the reasons, take a look at the explanations below:

1. False. All phrasal verbs are idioms but not all idioms are phrasal verbs. Certain idioms contain no verbs. You appeared "out of the blue" and caught me by surprise, for example.
2. False. They form an essential part of the general vocabulary of English and "I hope you get the point and see what I mean" to give you two examples!
3. False. They can appear in formal style and in slang, in poetry or in the language of Shakespeare and the Bible.
4. False. Not all idioms are fixed. Sometimes the tense of the verb can be changed: "I'm going to have forty winks" or "I had forty winks" And sometimes the adjective can be varied: "You'd better keep a careful/close/sharp/watchful eye on her"
5. True. An example is the use of SHALL to offer help or to make a suggestion: "Shall I carry the bag for you?" or "Shall we have an early night for a change?"
6. False. All proverbs can be used idiomatically but a number of proverbs are also statements of fact and easily understood in their literal meaning. For example: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again"
7. True. In the "Advanced Learner's Dictionary" a proverb is defined as "a short well-known sentence that states a general truth about life or gives advice" and a saying is defined as "a well-known phrase, expression or proverb"
8. False. You are far more likely to find idioms in the tabloids.
9. False. According to the "Advanced Learner's Dictionary" a cliché is a phrase "which is used so often that it is no longer interesting, effective or relevant" If this definition could be applied to all idioms, there would be little point in teaching them!
10. True. A good example of this is "as cool as a cucumber" The connection between cool and cucumber is far from obvious. However, every native speaker will naturally put the two words together. In English we say "as stubborn as a mule" whereas in Turkish the association is "as stubborn as a pig" In English we say "as strong as an ox" whereas in Dutch the association is "as strong as a bear"