This exercise tests your understanding of common idiomatic expressions in English. Fill in the blanks.
1. His jokes fell ………………………….
If something falls flat it fails to produce the intended result.
2. When his friend was in trouble, he took up the …………………………… on his behalf.
To take up the cudgels is to defend or support somebody.
3. By endorsing that forged document, he cut his own ……………………….
To cut your own throat is to behave in a way that will cause harm to you.
4. Once she entered the show business she seemed to carry all ………………………. her.
To carry all before one is to be completely successful.
5. It is always bad manners to …………………………… over your opponent.
To crow over is to exult loudly.
6. Her beauty took my ……………………………. away.
When something takes your breath away you are very much surprised by it.
7. Parental property is the ………………………………. of contention between the brothers.
The bone of contention is the cause of dispute.
8. When I met him at the party, he cut me ……………………………
To cut someone dead is to insult them by ignoring them deliberately.
9. There is no harm in using social media, but you must draw the ………………………….. somewhere.
To draw the line is to fix the limits.
10. My wife and I do not always …………………………….
To see eye to eye is to agree with.
11. He lost the game but put a brave ……………………………… on it.
To put a brave face on something is to accept an unpleasant experience courageously.
12. He is a far …………………………… from his idealistic brother.
To be a far cry is to be very different.
Answers
- His jokes fell flat.
- When his friend was in trouble, he took up the cudgels on his behalf.
- By endorsing that forged document, he cut his own throat.
- Once she entered the show business she seemed to carry all before her.
- It is always bad manners to crow over your opponent.
- Her beauty took my breath away.
- Parental property is the bone of contention between the brothers.
- When I met him at the party, he cut me dead.
- There is no harm in using social media, but you must draw the line somewhere.
- My wife and I do not always see eye to eye.
- He lost the game but put a brave face on it.
- He is a far cry from his idealistic brother.
