Thursday, October 31, 2019

Spooky Expressions on Halloween Day


Are you expecting grim grinning ghosts to come out to socialize tonight? With the Halloween mood fully ripe, let us go over some interesting idiomatic expressions containing spooky words. 😉
   

   1.  witch hunt: a situation where accusations are made freely, especially against someone or something that is not popular with the majority


   2.  ghost town: a once-flourishing town wholly or nearly deserted usually as a result of the exhaustion of some natural resource

   3.  skeleton staff: the minimum staff needed by a company during a time where most staff do not normally work, such as a holiday, weekend, etc

   4.  skeleton(s) in one’s closet / skeleton(s) in the cupboard: shameful or embarrassing secret

   5.  to jinx something: to bring bad luck

   6.  the witching hour: midnight

   7.  boogeyman: an imaginary evil character of supernatural powers, especially a mythical hobgoblin supposed to carry off naughty children.

   8.  to send shiver down one’s spine: to make someone feel very frightened or excited

   9.  like a rat leaving the sinking ship: used to describe people who leave a company, organization etc when it is in trouble

   10.              to quake in one’s boots: to be very nervous, frightened, and scared






Why don’t we use the above idioms in sentences?
   

   
   1.   When Paul’s wife said “Honey, we need to talk.”, he was _________________ in his boots and thought his old mistake came back to haunt him.

   2.   Joe was a great kid who always listened to his mom and dad, so there was no need for his parents to make up a story of a _____________________ to discipline Joe.

   3.   During the upcoming holiday, there will only be ______________________ staff on duty here.

   4.   Throughout 1950s in the States, Senator Joseph McCarthy led a _________________ hunt against people suspected of being communists.

   5.   A: Hey, are you out of your mind? So, you’re seriously fly solo in thunderstorm and lightning? I doubt you’ll make it to the island in one piece.

B: Oh, c’mon! Don’t _______________ it! I’ll be fine!

   6.   Guess I’ve gotta go to bed now. It’s past the ______________ hour.


   7.   The horror flick was way beyond what I had expected! It had sent _______________ down my _____________ from beginning to the end.

   8.   Since most of the big or small stores and shopping malls went out of business in that city, more and more people have started to move out like a ___________ leaving the _______________________________. The city has become a __________________ town now.

   9.   Jackson doesn’t want his fiancé to find out about his ________________ in the closet. He thought she might be disappointed if she learned about his past mistakes.





Answer Keys
   

   1.  quaking
   2.  boogeyman
   3.  skeleton
   4.  witch
   5.  jinx
   6.  witching
   7.  shiver, spine
   8.  rat, sinking, ghost
   9.  skeletons

No comments:

Post a Comment

BRAINTEASERS

Care for some silly but fun, brain-teasing riddles?   E.g., What gets shorter as it grows older?   => answer: a candle       1.  ...