Some proverbs/idioms are given below together with their meanings. Choose the correct meaning of proverb/idiom.
Sow wild oats
Answer: C
It means irresponsible pleasure-seeking.
To sow one's wild oats is to indulge in the follies of youth before settling down - wild oats being a weed that yields no crop.
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Turn the tables
Answer: C
It means to reverse the situation.
To turn the tables is to reverse an advantage, from board games in which the board could be turned so that each player took the other's position.
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Take up the cudgels
Answer: B
It means to support.
To take up the cudgels for someone is to come forward in their defence, a cudgel being a short thick stick used as a weapon.
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Turn the corner
Answer: B
It means to pass a critical stage.
To turn the corner is to get past the worst point and begin to improve, especially in illness or in business.
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Tall talk
Answer: A
It means to exaggerate.
Tall talk is boastful and exaggerated speech - the same tall as in a tall story.
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Take with a pinch of salt
Answer: D
It means to accept with doubt.
To take something with a pinch of salt is to receive it with reserve, salt making an unpalatable dish easier to swallow.
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Take the floor
Answer: C
It means to make a speech.
To take the floor is to rise to address a meeting, the floor being the part of a chamber from which members speak.
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Throw up the sponge
Answer: C
It means to surrender.
To throw up the sponge is to admit defeat, from the boxer's second throwing the sponge into the ring to end the fight. Throwing in the towel is the same gesture.
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To throw cold water on
Answer: A
It means to discourage.
To throw cold water on a plan is to speak of it in a way that dampens enthusiasm.
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To take to one's heels
Answer: B
It means to run away.
To take to one's heels is to flee, the heels being all that is seen of a man running off.
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