What’s the biggest obstacle in your journey of
exploring English? It could be grammar, pronunciation, or huge amount of
vocabulary that seems to be endless. Above all, idiomatic expressions that have
hidden, figurative meanings. Without understanding the cultural background or
conventional usage of idioms, one can hardly imagine what those words are
supposed to mean.
Using the given list of idioms and your imagination,
try to choose a proper expression to fill in the blank of each sentence below.
a. let one’s freak flag fly
b. go the extra mile
c. crunch time
d. dig in your heels
e. shape
up or ship out
f. rock
g. pull
a rabbit out of a hat
h. let the chips fall where they may
i. by the skin of one’s teeth
j.
get out of hand
1. How many times do I have to ask you to be punctual?!
______________________________________________. Otherwise, you’re grounded!
2. I have been barely sleeping lately since it is
______________________________ at work. Everybody including myself is working
to the bone day and night to meet the deadline.
3. As the party had picked up its crazy pace and
________________________________________, people started to drink, swear and
throw food at one another. Sense went out the window!
4. When my mother said she would become a pilot, her
parents called her insane. However, she
_________________________________________ and finally made her dream come true!
5. If things do not seem to go your way in your life,
don’t give up but ________________________________________. Then you’ll make it
in the end!
6. Don’t worry about what others would say about the
result this time. Just
_________________________________________________________.
7. Wow! I do love your voice! You
______________________!!!
8. When the bookworm Bill
____________________________________________ by his signature dance moves to
Beyonce’s tune “Freak ‘Em Dress” at the end-of-the-year party, everybody’s jaws
dropped.
9. When there was no hope at all, he
________________________________________________ and broke the logjam over the
issue.
10. Joe did not study hard and passed the exam
_____________________________________________.
Clues to Solve:
let one’s freak flag fly:
(verb) let others see one’s uniqueness/ or let loose, being down with one’s
cool self or inner freak that wants to come out, but often is suppressed by
social anxiety
go the extra mile:
(verb) to make a special effort/try very hard to achieve your goal
crunch time:
(noun) the period of time just before a project has to be completed and
everyone has to work hard
dig in one’s heels:
(verb) to stick to one’s guns/ to not change one’s mind or opinions or
compromise
Shape up or ship out:
(verb) either start performing better or leave
You rock!:
(full sentence) You are wonderful! You are great!
pull a rabbit out of a hat:
(verb) to do something unexpected that may have seemed impossible
let the chips fall where they may:
(verb) to do something without worrying about the effects of your actions (just
like a carpenter cuts off a tree without worrying about where the chips would
fall as the tree trunk is being cut)
by the skin of one’s teeth:
(adverbial phrase) by a very small margin/ narrowly
get out of hand:
(verb) to get out of one’s control
Answer Keys:
1. e. shape up or ship out 2. c. crunch time 3. j. got out of hand
4.
d. dug in her heels 5. b. go the
extra mile 6. h. let the
chips fall where they may
7.
f. rock 8. a. let his freak flag fly 9. g. pulled a rabbit out of a hat
10.
i. by the skin of his teeth
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