Discovery Quiz – Lesson 9

We finally went to the most popular Italian restaurant in the city – but I wasn’t impressed. The food was OK, but nothing to write home about. “Nothing to write home about” means…

After I won the lottery, a lot of people who I hadn’t seen in years came out of the woodwork and acted like they were my best friends. To “come out of the woodwork” means…

I can’t believe I got a computer virus that erased my entire hard drive. I didn’t have a backup, so it’s over two years’ work down the drain. “Down the drain” means…

I normally don’t pay much attention to the police reports because our town is generally very safe – but it hit close to home when a 12-year-old girl was shot on the school bus – she was the same age as my daughter. If you say something “hit close to home,” it means…

I wish my sister would stop posting the details of her arguments with her boyfriend on Facebook. In my opinion, the internet is no place to air your dirty laundry. “Air your dirty laundry” means…

There were some complications with my work permit, but my job started last month, so I’m getting paid under the table while we wait for the permit to be finalized. If you are paid “under the table,” it means you are paid…

(at a restaurant): I’m terribly sorry for the delay – it’s inexcusable that you had to wait over an hour for your dinner. To help make it up to you, dessert is on the house. If food or drink is “on the house,” it means…

Over half the kids in this school drop out and don’t graduate, yet the principal always sweeps it under the carpet and claims we have a “strong educational tradition.” To “sweep something under the carpet” means…

If you’re planning to run for president, you can expect the media to investigate your entire past to see if you have any skeletons in the closet. A “skeleton in the closet” is…

I’m always afraid I’m going to forget something when packing for a trip, so I end up bringing everything but the kitchen sink! “Everything but the kitchen sink” means…

When I first started working in the publicity office for a celebrity, I was a doormat – I did whatever my superiors told me to, even if it was outside my area of responsibility. Now that I’ve got some experience, I’m better at setting boundaries. A “doormat” is a person who…

Sandy screamed at me when I borrowed a pencil from her desk. I think she got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. If you “get up on the wrong side of the bed,” it means you…

Amanda Hocking’s career as an author took off when she sold over a million of her novels electronically. Three years ago she was a nobody, and now she’s a household name. Describing someone as “a household name” means they are…