Show your true colors- To reveal who you really are

Ships used to be identified by their flag color

Talk to the hand- Be quiet because I don't want to hear it

Was found in a Wyoming newpaper advertisement in Oct. 1998.

Put a sock in it - Stop Talking

Socks were used to muffle grama-phones

Pipe Dream- an unrealistic hope or fantasy

Dreams experienced by smokers of Opium pipes

Wild goose chase- pursuing something pointless

horse racers chased the leader in a flying geese-like form

Excuse my french- pardon my swearing

Englishmen apologized for using french in conversation

Inthe same boat- Experiencing the same situation or condition as someone else.

Greeks sailed in small boats & faced the same challenges

Beating around the bush- To avoid questioning or avoid something in a roundabout way

In the 1500's, "Beaters" drove small animals out of bushes

Let the cat out of the bag- to give away a secret

Dishonest merchants put cats in bags instead of pigs

Spilled The Beans - Told a secret

Greece-one was voted to secret societies by beans in a vase

goody two shoes- someone who thinks they are perfect; teachers pet

a poor girl got new shoes & told people about her two shoes

Heavens to Betsy- Used to describe amazement

people came up with this non-curse word during Prohibition

jump on the bandwagon- to join the new activity

A politician used a bandwagon as people jumped on to join.

let the cat out of the bag - To give away a secret

Pigs were expensive so people put cats in bags instead

As mad as a hatter - completely insane or crazy

Mercury used in making hats made hatters appear crazy

Church Mouse- someone who is very poor or hungry

Churches had no stored food so the mice would starve.

Red-Letter Day- A day that is remembered as special or happy

Medieval church calendars wrote special occasions in red ink

chip on my shoulder - a person who seems angry all the time

in the 1700's, kids got punished by wood on shoulders

Baptism by fire - a very difficult first experience of something

Napoleon in Exile" describes soldiers attacked by enemy fire

Your name is mud - a person is in trouble or is worthless

In the 1700s mud was slang used by Union workers

At the drop of a hat - To do something instantly

people used it as a signal to start a race.

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Idioms - 5th hour

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Questions 21

Answers

1
Show your true colors- To reveal who you really are
In 2001 there was a debate about boys wearing pink
Ships used to be identified by their flag color
In the bible there is a verse about being yourself
C Lauper wrote a song, True Colors, about being yourself
2
Talk to the hand- Be quiet because I don't want to hear it
Was found in a Wyoming newpaper advertisement in Oct. 1998.
In a dispute, a man got his hand cut off to silence him.
A hand on the mouth meant to be quiet in the ancient days.
George Washington shoved his hand in the face of a person.
3
Put a sock in it - Stop Talking
Socks stuffed in pies as a practical joke
bullies in New York would stuff socks in others mouths
putting socks in shoes to protect them from a dog
Socks were used to muffle grama-phones
4
Pipe Dream- an unrealistic hope or fantasy
People who hit their head on pipes to hallucinate
Men would look through pipes and claim to see the Gods
Dreams experienced by smokers of Opium pipes
Children ran around with pipes like swords for fantasy play
5
Wild goose chase- pursuing something pointless
animals chasing geese for fun
hunting dogs retrieving hunted geese
cars following each other to be on time in traffic
horse racers chased the leader in a flying geese-like form
6
Excuse my french- pardon my swearing
This was a common battle cry used by Napoleon's soldiers
the first account of swearing was in french writing
In France non French speaking men were told excuse my french
Englishmen apologized for using french in conversation
7
Inthe same boat- Experiencing the same situation or condition as someone else.
Abe Lincoln was in a boat when he greeted new congressmen
Greeks sailed in small boats & faced the same challenges
People were in a boat together and it flipped
President Jackson sailed in the same boat with four citizens
8
Beating around the bush- To avoid questioning or avoid something in a roundabout way
In the 1500's, "Beaters" drove small animals out of bushes
King George III beat a bush to avoid questioning
Jeb Bush beat people who asked questions when he was young
When Circus Lions don't want to do tricks, they beat bushes
9
Let the cat out of the bag- to give away a secret
In Egypt cats were put in bags and given as gifts.
Dishonest merchants put cats in bags instead of pigs
A prisoner named Bill Cat was put in a bag as punishment
In New York, cat was a slang term for trash in the 1950's
10
Spilled The Beans - Told a secret
In Japan's ghetto snitches were killed by poisoned beans.
Greece-one was voted to secret societies by beans in a vase
Spilling beans was a federal offense, so it is kept secret
In the US someone spilled beans & didn't want people to know
11
goody two shoes- someone who thinks they are perfect; teachers pet
a poor girl got new shoes & told people about her two shoes
a man named Maxwell Goody started collecting shoes for kids
In an orphanage, the better you act the better shoes you got
one teacher gave new shoes to good students
12
Heavens to Betsy- Used to describe amazement
people came up with this non-curse word during Prohibition
Betsy Haverton fell into a coma and dreamed about Heaven
Betsy is a saint who appears in peoples sleep to help them
Heavens was a band who had Betsy as the lead singer
13
jump on the bandwagon- to join the new activity
Swarms of people jumped on bandwagons and caught criminals.
A mayor sat in bandwagon, people came to greet him.
A politician used a bandwagon as people jumped on to join.
Kids hopped on bandwagons after playing ball
14
let the cat out of the bag - To give away a secret
cats were put in bags and beaten illegally
In Greece when a cat was loud it would be put in a bag
people put their cat in bags to smuggle them on airplanes
Pigs were expensive so people put cats in bags instead
15
As mad as a hatter - completely insane or crazy
There was once an animal called a hatter that ate everything
Mercury used in making hats made hatters appear crazy
From "Alice in Wonderland", the character Mad Hatter
One day a famous hatter had enough and went insane
16
Church Mouse- someone who is very poor or hungry
Father Charles Mouse of TheCatholic church was very poor.
They called poor people who went to church,"Religious Mice."
People during the Great Depression started praying to mice.
Churches had no stored food so the mice would starve.
17
Red-Letter Day- A day that is remembered as special or happy
A teacher wrote F on a kids test in red ink when he failed
Medieval church calendars wrote special occasions in red ink
In ancient times animals were poisoned on certain days
Blood of dead animals when they were hunted down
18
chip on my shoulder - a person who seems angry all the time
in the 1700's, kids got punished by wood on shoulders
a game in the 1800's, kids played before a fight began
potato chips on your shoulder was a rank of superiority
a legend about an angry man with wood chips on his shoulders
19
Baptism by fire - a very difficult first experience of something
Describes blacksmith's suffering from their first burn
Witches would be burned to atone for sins
Common military slang, created by a the American Sniper
Napoleon in Exile" describes soldiers attacked by enemy fire
20
Your name is mud - a person is in trouble or is worthless
In the 1800's mud was considered un holy and rude.
During the Civil War, the Confederates called the Union mud.
In 1900s children threw mud at friends and go in trouble
In the 1700s mud was slang used by Union workers
21
At the drop of a hat - To do something instantly
people used it as a signal to start a race.
In the 19th century women would do it as a signal for dinner
Dropping hats became popular in gangs as a signal to shoot.
teachers would use it as a warning.

Idioms - 5th hour Flashcards | StudBud