Twenty-four classroom-safe idioms — each with its plain meaning and the Spanish & French
equivalents. Print, cut, and play: match, sort, and "translate the picture."
Tip: print on card stock, then cut along the dashed borders.
How to use the deck
Every card shows the same picture when a language uses the same image (a hand in
English and Spanish), or a different picture when the image changes (an arm and a leg
in English becomes an eye of the face in Spanish). That contrast is the teaching point.
Matching game. Cut the cards, cover the Spanish/French lines, and have partners match each
English idiom to its meaning — or to its home-language equivalent.
Same / different sort. Students sort the deck into two piles: languages that keep the
same picture vs. those that use a different picture.
"Translate the picture" talk. Read only the literal gloss ("cost an eye of the face")
and let students guess the English idiom, then act out both images.
Bring your own. Give students a blank card to add an idiom from their home language.
🟢 same picture — languages share the image🟣 different picture — the image changes