Unit 15

Question 1

take something lying down

Answer 1

accept an offensive remark or act without protesting or reacting

Question 2

hot air

Answer 2

claims, promises or statements that sound impressive but have no real meaning or truth

Question 3

dig your heels/toes in

Answer 3

refuse to do something or to change your mind about something

Question 4

take the law into your own hands

Answer 4

do something illegal in order to punish somebody for doing something wrong, instead of letting the police deal with them

Question 5

seal someone’s fate

Answer 5

If an action, event, or situation …., nothing can stop some unpleasant thing happening to you

Question 6

stick to your guns

Answer 6

refuse to change your mind about something even when other people are trying to persuade you that you are wrong

Question 7

sit on the fence

Answer 7

avoid becoming involved in deciding or influencing something

Question 8

vote with your feet

Answer 8

show what you think about something by going or not going somewhere

Question 9

walk somebody off their feet

Answer 9

make somebody walk so far or so fast that they are very tired

Question 10

do the trick

Answer 10

succeed in solving a problem or achieving a particular result

Question 11

running battle

Answer 11

an argument that lasts over several different occasions

Question 12

be easier said than done

Answer 12

be much more difficult to do than to talk about

Question 13

be/feel hard done by

Answer 13

be or feel unfairly treated

Question 14

fall on deaf ears

Answer 14

be ignored or not noticed by other people

Question 15

grassroots

Answer 15

ordinary people in society or in an organization, rather than the leaders or people who make decisions

Question 16

behind closed doors

Answer 16

without the public being allowed to attend or know what is happening; in private

Question 17

call it a day

Answer 17

decide or agree to stop doing something

Question 18

cut no ice (with somebody)

Answer 18

have no influence or effect on somebody

Question 19

the law of the jungle

Answer 19

a situation in which people are prepared to harm other people in order to succeed

Question 20

chapter and verse

Answer 20

the exact details of something, especially the exact place where particular information may be found

Question 21

sit in judgement (on/over/upon somebody)

Answer 21

decide whether somebody’s behaviour is right or wrong, especially when you have no right to do this