Some proverbs/idioms are given below together with their meanings. Choose the correct meaning of proverb/idiom.
Nip in the bud
Answer: A
It means to destroy at the very beginning.
To nip in the bud is to stop something before it can develop, as a frost kills the bud before it opens.
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Off hand
Answer: B
It means without preparation.
Offhand means done or said without previous thought - and, as an adjective, curt in manner for the same reason.
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Oily tongue
Answer: C
It means flattering words.
An oily tongue speaks with smooth insincere flattery.
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Out of the woods
Answer: D
It means out of danger.
To be out of the woods is to have passed the worst of a difficulty, the traveller safely clear of the forest.
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Out and out
Answer: B
It means completely.
Out and out means thoroughly and in every respect.
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One's Achilles heel
Answer: D
It means a weak point.
Achilles was dipped in the Styx and made invulnerable everywhere but the heel by which his mother held him, and there Paris's arrow struck him.
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Off the hook
Answer: C
It means out of trouble.
To be off the hook is to be released from an obligation or a difficulty, like a fish that has got free.
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Pell-mell
Answer: A
It means in a jumbled way.
Pell-mell means in disorderly confusion, from the French pele-mele, a mixing together.
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Palmy days
Answer: B
It means prosperous days.
Palmy days are days of flourishing success, from the palm branch carried as a token of victory.
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Pass the buck
Answer: A
It means to shift the blame to another.
To pass the buck is to hand on a responsibility. The buck was a marker passed round a poker table to show whose turn it was to deal - hence also Truman's the buck stops here.
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