Unit 38

Question 1

a bone of contention

Answer 1

sth which causes a lot of disagreement

Question 2

a bone to pick

Answer 2

sth you want to talk about because you are annoyed

Question 3

argue the toss

Answer 3

keep disagreeing with sth that is already decided

Question 4

pick holes in

Answer 4

find mistakes or problems in sth

Question 5

put the cat amongst the pigeons

Answer 5

do sth that causes a lot of trouble for other people

Question 6

sticking point

Answer 6

a subject which two sides in an argument cannot agree on

Question 7

out of the question

Answer 7

impossible or not allowed

Question 8

common ground

Answer 8

topics or areas which two sides can agree on

Question 9

put your foot down

Answer 9

use your authority to tell sb they must (not) do sth

Question 10

stand your ground

Answer 10

refuse to change your opinion or position when others try to persuade you to

Question 11

toe/tow the line

Answer 11

do what sb orders or expects you to do

Question 12

put in your place

Answer 12

let sb know they are not as important as they think they are

Question 13

clear the air

Answer 13

make bad feelings or disagreements disappear

Question 14

let sleeping dogs lie

Answer 14

ignore a bad situation from the past because you don’t want new problems

Question 15

hold out an olive branch

Answer 15

do or say sth to show that you want an argument to end

Question 16

water under the bridge

Answer 16

a problem or disagreement which happened in the past but that no one is upset about any longer

Question 17

let bygones be bygones

Answer 17

forget about a disagreement or unpleasant situation and move on