Vocab Chapter 20

Question 1

Come home to roost

Answer 1

Having disagreeable repercussions; boomerang

Question 2

Dutch treat

Answer 2

Meal or entertainment for which each participant pays his or her own share

Question 3

Eat crow

Answer 3

Be forced into a humiliating or extremely disagreeable situation

Question 4

Fish or cut bait

Answer 4

Proceed wholeheartedly or drop out altogether; stop procrastinating or temporizing

Question 5

French leave

Answer 5

Unauthorized, hasty, or secret departure

Question 6

Have an ax to grind

Answer 6

Have a selfish motive or ulterior purpose to promote

Question 7

Hold a candle to

Answer 7

Compare favorably with

Question 8

Hold water

Answer 8

Remain, logical, or consistent; stand up

Question 9

Lame duck

Answer 9

Elected official who remains in office for a brief period after a successor has been elected

Question 10

Pay the piper

Answer 10

Suffer the unfavorable consequences of one’s actions

Question 11

Play possum

Answer 11

Pretend to be dead or asleep; play dead

Question 12

Play the devil’s advocate

Answer 12

Uphold the wrong side of a cause for the sake of argument

Question 13

Poker face

Answer 13

Expressionless face, as that of an experienced poker player

Question 14

Red herring

Answer 14

Something used to distract attention from the real issue

Question 15

Roll out the red carpet

Answer 15

Show impressive courtesy

Question 16

Stick in one’s craw

Answer 16

Be intolerable and unacceptable to one

Question 17

Stick to one’s last

Answer 17

Keep to one’s own trade or field

Question 18

Whistle in the dark

Answer 18

Put on a show of confidence in the face of impending danger or defeat; try to keep up one’s courage

Question 19

White elephant

Answer 19

Possession entailing expense and trouble far greater than its usefulness to the owner

Question 20

Busman’s holiday

Answer 20

Holiday spent in an activity the same as, or similar to, one is occupation, as a bus driver who takes his family for a Sunday drive