Phrasal Verbs and Idioms Flashcards

Which of the following sentences is grammatically INCORRECT?

Answer: Management finally faced up it to.

'Face up to' is a three-part phrasal verb. Three-part phrasal verbs cannot be split: the object must go after the whole verb ('faced up to it'). Putting the pronoun between the particles ('faced up it to') is ungrammatical. The other three sentences place the object correctly after 'put up with', 'run out of' and 'do without'.

Read the sentence: "The final version of the policy was a far cry from what the minister had originally promised." What does 'a far cry from' mean here?

Answer: very different from

'A far cry from' is an idiom meaning 'very different from', and it often suggests that something is worse than expected. In this sentence, the final policy was very different from the original promise. The word 'cry' has nothing to do with an appeal, and the idiom says nothing about time or improvement.

After months of deliberation, the board decided to ______ the merger, citing unacceptable regulatory risk.

Answer: call off

'Call off' means to cancel something that was planned. The phrase 'citing unacceptable regulatory risk' gives a reason for stopping the merger, so 'call off' is the only logical choice. 'Call for' means to demand, 'call in' means to ask an expert to come and help or to request repayment, and 'call up' means to phone someone or summon them for military service.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm going to have to ______ it; I've already accepted a position elsewhere."

Answer: pass on

'Pass on (something)' means to politely decline an offer or opportunity, which fits a speaker who has already accepted another job. 'Pass over' means to ignore someone, especially for promotion. 'Pass off' means to falsely present something as something else. 'Pass out' means to faint or to hand things out.

"Just as Maria was about to announce her promotion, her colleague revealed his own engagement and completely stole her thunder." What does 'stole her thunder' mean?

Answer: drew attention away from her moment by doing something first

To 'steal someone's thunder' means to take attention or praise away from someone, usually by doing or announcing something before them. The colleague's engagement news took the spotlight just before Maria's announcement. Option B is a tempting distractor, but the idiom is about taking attention away, not about stealing someone's idea.

In "The effects of the anaesthetic are slowly wearing off," the particle 'off' expresses gradual weakening. In which sentence does 'off' have the SAME meaning?

Answer: After a few hours, the pain began to ease off.

In 'wear off' and 'ease off', the particle 'off' means that something is gradually becoming weaker until it stops. 'Go off' means to start suddenly, for example an alarm ringing or a bomb exploding. 'Doze off' means to fall asleep. 'Show off' means to display something proudly. Only 'ease off' describes something slowly getting weaker.