Some proverbs/idioms are given below together with their meanings. Choose the correct meaning of proverb/idiom.
By hook or by crook
Answer: B
It means by any means.
By hook or by crook means by fair means or foul. It is thought to come from the right of villagers to take firewood that could be reached with a shepherd's crook or a billhook.
Please log in or register to report this question.
Bandy words
Answer: A
It means to argue.
To bandy words is to exchange them in dispute, from the old game of bandy in which a ball was struck to and fro.
Please log in or register to report this question.
Break the ice
Answer: C
It means to speak first after a long silence.
To break the ice is to begin, overcoming initial stiffness - from the ice-breaking ship that opens a passage for those behind.
Please log in or register to report this question.
Bad Blood
Answer: B
It means bitter relations.
Bad blood between people is long-standing ill feeling.
Please log in or register to report this question.
Black and Blue
Answer: D
It means to beat very badly.
To beat someone black and blue is to leave them covered in bruises - the two colours a bruise passes through.
Please log in or register to report this question.
Browbeat
Answer: A
It means to bully.
To browbeat is to intimidate by a stern manner, the brows drawn down in a frown.
Please log in or register to report this question.
Bid defiance
Answer: B
It means to ignore.
To bid defiance to something is to refuse to be affected by it, openly setting it at nothing.
Please log in or register to report this question.
Blow one's trumpet
Answer: C
It means to praise oneself.
To blow one's own trumpet is to boast - sounding for oneself the fanfare a herald would properly sound.
Please log in or register to report this question.
Bury the hatchet
Answer: C
It means to make peace.
To bury the hatchet is to end a quarrel, from the Native American custom of burying weapons when hostilities ceased.
Please log in or register to report this question.
Bring to book
Answer: A
It means to punish.
To bring someone to book is to call them to account and make them answer for what they have done, the book being the record against which they are checked.
Please log in or register to report this question.
