Slang and Idioms 02: to ace or to blow a test

Today's idiomatic expressions are very common when wanting to talk about tests or exams. To ace a test means 'to do extremely well' on it. For example, you might hear a student in the States say, "I aced my math test! I got a 98!"

The word 'ace' comes from the French 'as.' Originally, it meant the side of a die with just one mark and since it was the lowest role, it usually meant bad luck in Middle English. Later, it became the highest card in a deck of cards and thus meant excellance or high quality.

Another popular way of saying that you did well on a test is the expression, to pass a test with flying colors (US)/colours (UK). The origin of 'flying colors/colours' is military in origin and refers to a fleet sailing into port after a glorious naval victory with all their flags flying from the mastheads.

Now the opposite of 'to ace a test' is to blow a test. This means 'to fail it' or 'to make a big mistake.' For example you might say after a bad job interview, "I blew my interview!"