What do idioms have to do with the MICAT Descriptive Section?

More than you might think.

Idioms are figurative phrases whose meaning is different from their literal meaning. You understand them through context, interpretation and, often, a little bit of creative thinking.

Think about “break the ice.” Nobody is actually asking you to find a block of ice and smash it. You understand that it means to make people feel more comfortable in a new or awkward situation.

That little mental jump — from the literal image to the intended meaning — is exactly the kind of thinking that makes your creative muscles stronger.

Idioms are, in many ways, some of the most compact forms of storytelling. A few words can contain a situation, an emotion, an action and an entire idea.

Start building your idiom diet

Some common idioms worth knowing:

• Go the extra mile — to make an additional effort beyond what is expected.
• Break the ice — to make people feel more comfortable in a new or awkward situation.
• Beat around the bush — to avoid addressing something directly.

But don’t just memorise their meanings. Visualise them.

What does “going the extra mile” actually look like? Who is walking? Where are they going? Why are they going further than everyone else?

That is where things get interesting.

How does this help with MICAT’s Storytelling section?

In the second type of Descriptive question, you may be asked to construct a story by connecting a set of images.

A strong idiom vocabulary can help in at least three ways:

1. It trains you to make creative connections.
An idiom takes two seemingly unrelated ideas and connects them into a meaningful expression. That is exactly the kind of mental flexibility you need when looking at unrelated images and finding a story between them.

2. It encourages perspective shifts.
The literal meaning isn’t the real meaning. You have to look at something from another perspective. This trains your brain to move beyond the obvious interpretation of an image.

3. It gives you story ideas quickly.
When you’re working against the clock, you don’t have the luxury of waiting for inspiration. Idioms give you ready-made situations, conflicts and metaphors that can spark a narrative.

For example:

5 idioms that can get your storytelling brain moving

1. “Every dog has its day.”
Literal: Every dog gets its own day.
Figurative: Everyone gets a chance to succeed eventually.
Story possibility: A student who is always overlooked suddenly gets an opportunity to prove themselves.

2. “Cost an arm and a leg.”
Literal: Something costs someone’s limbs.
Figurative: Something is extremely expensive.
Story possibility: A character makes an outrageous sacrifice to achieve something they desperately want.

3. “Kill two birds with one stone.”
Literal: Killing two birds with a single stone.
Figurative: Accomplishing two things with one action.
Story possibility: A seemingly ordinary journey turns into an opportunity to solve two completely different problems.

4. “The ball is in your court.”
Literal: A ball has landed on your side of a sports court.
Figurative: It is now your responsibility to make the next move.
Story possibility: Two characters are waiting for one person to make a decision that will change both their lives.

5. “Catch someone red-handed.”
Literal: Catch someone with visibly red hands.
Figurative: Catch someone in the act of doing something wrong.
Story possibility: A character witnesses something they weren’t supposed to see — and now has to decide what to do with that information.

Notice what happened?

We started with a phrase. Then we moved from literal → figurative → situation → story.

That is creative thinking in action.

This is why our Creative Writing & Storytelling Workshop has a dedicated, fun segment built around exercises like these. We’ve seen a noticeable improvement in the way our students approach unfamiliar images, make connections and generate stories under time pressure.

Because creativity isn’t just about having “good ideas”.

It’s about training your brain to see possibilities where other people see disconnected things.

And yes, you can practise that.

If you’d like to work on your MICAT Descriptive Section through creative, practical exercises, DM @wieldingwordsworkshop