Collocation of the Week

Sabbatical announcement

2010-01-17T18:08:00.003+05:00

Dear readers,

With the advent of January, I have found that I have to reassess my priorities for the academic year. This unfortunately means that for the time being I am unable to continue writing Collocation of the Week. Hopefully, I will be able to return to it in 2011. In the mean time, I hope you find the archives useful.

Best regards,
Tony

a testing Christmas

2009-12-19T09:00:00.002+05:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

Christmas special
park yourself in front of the telly
stuff yourself
the crack of dawn
the year's must-have toy

At Christmas, the situation of the average middle-aged woman in Britain can be a fraught one.
To begin with, Christmas begins for her some time in January when she sets up a savings account with which to pay for the annual indulgence-fest 11 months later.
If she is wise, she may also begin her Christmas shopping at this point so as to avoid the general rush, or public madness, which begins to infect the shops at the end of October.
Of course, she will only know in December what is, and so she will have to battle it out with other parents to get hold of it, relying on intelligence gathered by her neighbours and friends.
The rest of December will be spent following the advice of magazines and preparing for a stress-free Christmas which never arrives.
She will make decorations, sew costumes for her children or grandchildren for the Nativity play at school, write Christmas cards on behalf of her family, and, above all, prepare food. Mountains of food - Christmas cake, mince pies, trifles, jam tarts and so many other delicious things with which her family will on the Big Day.
Her chief responsibility is, of course, the turkey - the flavourless bird only really eaten on December 25th, and December 26th, and December 27th, and December 28th, and for some time after that. The Christmas turkey is a special bird. It is closer to the size of an ostrich than a chicken, and rarely fits into a conventional oven at all. If it is bought frozen, it takes much of the rest of the year and a gang armed with hair-driers to defrost properly before it can be cooked. And as it is so big, our heroine has to get up at the, if not earlier, to put it in the oven so that it is ready in time for lunch.
Of course, a mother cannot rest after she has broken several fingers ramming the ostrich into the oven, albeit that it is 4 o'clock in the morning, because then her children will wake up to see what Santa has brought them.
Her children will then want breakfast, shortly after which, so will the rest of her guests. By the time breakfast is over, she has to prepare the rest of the Christmas lunch.
She sweats over the latest celebrity chef's recipe for roast potatoes, and frets over the readiness of the mighty turkey, and, when it is all but done, her husband will offer her a hand.
Carrying the turkey through to the table and carving it before the salivating diners, he somehow steals the glory that is rightfully hers. And then, everyone just eats the food and in a few minutes, they are done.
There is, of course, more washing-up to be done on this day of rest than on any other day of the year, but after that, finally, eventually, and with a small glass of champagne in her hand, she gets to and watch athat they have been repeating for the last 20 years.
But, of course, she doesn't because she falls asleep almost immediately and begins to plan next year's Christmas in her dreams...

this year's must-have toy

2009-12-18T09:00:00.001+05:00

the crack of dawn

2009-12-17T09:00:00.001+05:00

stuff yourself

2009-12-16T09:00:00.002+05:00

park yourself in front of the telly

2009-12-15T09:00:00.002+05:00

Christmas special

2009-12-14T09:00:00.001+05:00

an open test

2009-12-12T09:00:00.001+05:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

an open invitation
be an open book
be an open question
be an open secret
keep an open mind

It was that Donald was in love with Marie and that she was in love with him.
Everyone knew it.
Their friends knew it. Their families knew it. Their acquaintances knew it. Their enemies knew it.
The postman knew it.
The pub landlord knew it.
The TV repairman knew it.
The situation was.
Everyone knew it. Everyone.
Except, it seems, them.
And, then, one day, Donald, who had always about his relationship with Marie, suddenly had a revelation. What had he been thinking? It was crystal clear: Marie was the one for him. This wasn't anymore - what everyone else had known for ages, he now knew too.
There was nothing to think about. Nothing to consider. Nothing, in fact, to wait for.
Donald, who worked in an office in Land's End, dropped the file he was holding and, without waiting to pick up his coat, ran out into the blizzard and didn't stop.
He ran down the street, up a road, and clean out of the village.
And he kept on running. The wind howled and the snow fell, but he just ran and ran.
Heading south-west, he reached Glasgow in two days. But he didn't stop there.
He continued, running and running, down the west coast of Scotland, across the border into England, past Liverpool and Manchester and on and on.
All the time, he was just thinking about Marie. He had to be with her, he just had to be.
Days passed. A week. Donald didn't stop.
Eventually, some nine and a half days later, Donald approached the tourist centre at Land's End where Marie worked.
He slowed down a little. He knew he had to see her whenever he wanted, but he had never used it. What if she refused him? He couldn't bear it. He had run all this way, so certain, so convinced with every fibre of his being, but now, so close, he lost all conviction.
He decided to turn back. It would be for the best. Yes, he would go back.
But right then, Marie saw him. She screamed with joy and ran up to greet him.
He had made the right decision, after all.

keep an open mind

2009-12-11T09:00:00.001+05:00

be an open secret

2009-12-10T09:00:00.001+05:00

be an open question

2009-12-09T09:00:00.001+05:00

be an open book

2009-12-08T09:00:00.001+05:00

an open invitation

2009-12-07T09:00:00.001+05:00

a test worth noticing

2009-12-05T09:00:00.002+05:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

at short notice
don't take any notice
hand in your notice
sit up and take notice
until further notice

Living near the harbour, it was inevitable that Rafael would be drawn towards a life at sea.
He would watch the men loading up supplies, kissing loved ones goodbye, casting off into the sea, and then see them disappear into the horizon, some to return, some not.
Rafael's father was one of the ones who had not returned when he was but a baby. As a result, Rafael's mother was not happy with his interest in the sea at all and she endeavoured to bring Rafael up as genteel as possible. To this end, she made him wear ruffs and speak politely and read books on etiquette.
Naturally, the other boys teased Rafael about all this and his life at school was one long torment.
' of them,' advised his mother, but this was very difficult when they were punching him and throwing worms at him.
However, his mother's teaching and his classmates' teasing did nothing to diminish Rafael's appetite for the sea. Every afternoon after school, he would sneak down to the harbour and watch the boats and the sea and their endless undulating rhythm. When Rafael's mother found out, she was furious.
'The harbour is off limits,' she told him.
'But mother,' he cried, 'I love the sea!'
Upon hearing this, Rafael's mother finally had to of her son's obsession, and so, she felt she had no choice but to move as far inland as she could.

This was awful for Rafael, a kind of torment much worse than that dished out to him by the boys at his old school. Hundreds of miles from the sea, Rafael would spend hours gazing mournfully at the fields surrounding him, imagining - or was he? - that he could still smell the faint twang of salt in the air.
Many years passed like this, and with them Rafael's childhood.
When Rafael turned 18 and was finally free to do as he wished, he immediately took a job working in a bank. He could almost see the relief in his mother's face when he told her the news. She had been expecting him to run away to sea for years now, but here he was joining a bank. She was delighted that he had given up on a dangerous life at sea.

Rafael lasted 31 minutes and 15 seconds before he.
'O,' said his manager. 'This has come - you've only just arrived!'
'I'm sorry, it's just the shirt, the tie, the jacket, the chair, the desk, the walls, the people - I can't!' replied Rafael. 'They will kill me!'
As Rafael trudged home, he contemplated how he could tell his mother and how she would react.
But somehow, she already knew, and she was waiting at the gate for him with a kitbag ready-packed for his first voyage at sea.
'You're your father's son,' she said to his astonished face, 'and I couldn't be prouder of you. Now go.'

until further notice

2009-12-04T09:00:00.001+05:00

sit up and take notice

2009-12-03T09:00:00.001+05:00

hand in your notice

2009-12-02T09:00:00.001+05:00

don't take any notice

2009-12-01T09:00:00.001+05:00

at short notice

2009-11-30T09:00:00.001+05:00

identify this test

2009-11-28T20:19:00.003+05:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

identify somebody as something
identify somebody with something
identify something with something
identify with somebody
identify yourself

It was November, 21, 1991.
The matter was delicate and urgent. The Première was due to be held the next day. What could they do?
In such a case, they needed the best of the best.
Befitting his status as the best, he arrived at short notice. He wouldn’t say his name, and nobody knew it. He always simply as “The Cleaner”.

Things were about to take a turn for the worse. Walt Disney had always been family values such as decency, honesty, solidity and goodness. But its good name was about to be stained.

The animators of Beauty and the Beast had been checking the film reel one more time before the Première when they had noticed that in all the frames Belle was replaced with one of Cinderella’s evil ugly sisters.
Apparently the evil sister had been hatching her plan for years – she had just been waiting for a cartoon where another beautiful heroine, with accompanying angels, proclaiming endless love towards people and birds, would conquer the hearts of little girls. She hadn't succeeded with The Little Mermaid because it turned out that she suffered from aquaphobia, and she hadn't really fancied swapping with Sleeping Beauty as there was almost no action for her.
“Why is kindness and beauty always a happy marriage?” – Cinderella's evil sister asked the her younger evil sister. The latter one, of course, her elder sister as she wasn’t any prettier or happier, but she didn’t see what could possibly be done.
But the elder sister decided to prove the whole world wrong: she climbed out of the Cinderella reel and kicked Belle out of hers.

The Cleaner locked himself in the editing suite with the two reels for 8 long hours. No one dared to interfere - his clothing and demeanour a consummate professional.

To this day, nobody knows how he did it, but the Première was saved and they say the Cinderella’s ugly sisters’ faces looked even sourer than normal when re-watching the cartoon.

Many thanks to this week's guest contributor - Yulia.

identify with somebody

2009-11-27T09:00:00.001+05:00

identify something with something

2009-11-26T14:03:00.002+05:00

identify somebody as something

2009-11-25T10:05:00.002+05:00

identify yourself with something

2009-11-24T09:00:00.001+05:00

identify yourself

2009-11-23T09:00:00.001+05:00

mark this test

2009-11-14T09:00:00.001+05:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

black mark against somebody
marked man
not up to the mark
on your marks, get set, go
wide of the mark

The Fast Food Movement, an organisation of some five people based in Milan and devoted to eating as quickly as possible, was holding an extraordinary meeting.
The subject of the meeting was the behaviour of Paolo Fettuccine.
'Paolo Fettuccine,' said the President of the FFM in sonorous tones, while texting on his mobile, 'you are charged with eating breakfast slowly, supping your coffee and generally. How do you plead?'
'Not guilty!' declared Paolo while tapping furiously on the keys of his laptop. All five members of the FFM were busy interfacing with technology while taking part in the meeting.
Paolo had had a his name since he had been spotted cutting up small portions of his grilled panino by two other members of the FFM.
'It was too hot to eat,' Paolo added. 'You guys are so wrong about this. Really, you're totally....'
'Listen, we don't have time for a big speech,' interrupted the President. 'As you know, innocence is determined through a trial by ordeal. Before you are two quarter-pounder burgers, two extra-large fries and a giant cup of cola. You have 30 seconds to eat the lot. Do you understand?'
Paolo shrugged nonchalantly, but inside he was petrified. He had been doubting his allegiance to the FFM for weeks, ever since he discovered he had an ulcer. He couldn't give up though - he would never become slow!
'I understand, yes.'
The President raised his hand. 'Ok,!'
Paolo immediately started stuffing the food into his mouth, biting the burgers in half before swallowing the pieces whole. The chips quickly followed, leaving only the cola to wash it all down.
'...three, ...two, one! Time up!' shouted the President. 'Congratulations Paolo - you have survived the trial by ordeal. You may consider yourself no longer a. Bravo!'
Paolo winced. His ulcer was not happy but at least he, Paolo Fettuccine, could hold his head up high: he was fast again!

wide of the mark

2009-11-13T09:00:00.001+05:00

black mark against somebody

2009-11-12T09:00:00.001+05:00

not up to the mark

2009-11-11T09:00:00.001+05:00

marked man

2009-11-10T09:00:00.001+05:00

on your marks, get set, go

2009-11-09T09:00:00.001+05:00

a lie test

2009-11-07T09:00:00.002+05:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

let sleeping dogs lie
lie behind something
lie in
lie low
take something lying down

'The ducks are flying south early this year,' said the elderly gentleman in the raincoat sitting down next to the blonde woman in her mid 40s, who was also wearing a raincoat.
She paused before replying, giving the man a withering look. 'Yes, but the geese are still happy here.'
The man seemed to relax when he heard this confirmation of the code but the woman retained her peremptory manner. 'You're late,' she said.
'Yes, I do apologise,' the man replied. 'I had a - it was most gratifying. But it's put me behind schedule.'
They were in an art gallery and they sat opposite Repin's masterpiece The Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire.
'Do you know the story which that painting?' the man enquired.
The woman looked briefly at the cluster of strangely shaven Cossacks gathered around the composition of a letter.
'No, I don't. Nor do I care.'
'Well,' said the man, ignoring the woman's disdain, 'the Cossacks are replying to the Sultan's demand that they leave him alone. He refused to and goaded them into action. They, in turn, took the opportunity to insult him in the basest manner possible.'
'So?'
'So, it was unwise of him to expect that they would.'
The woman stared intently at the picture. 'Interesting. Are you threatening us?'
'Now, why would I do that when I've just remarked upon the imprudence of the Sultan. Perhaps, though, it might be wise of you to for a while.'
The woman winced. 'Really?'
The elderly man stood up. 'Really. Of course, you know, the most interesting thing about the painting is that the Cossacks never wrote such a letter. It's just a legend.'
'Fascinating,' remarked the woman as the man walked away. 'And look out for the geese.'

lie low

2009-11-06T09:00:00.001+05:00

take something lying down

2009-11-05T09:00:00.001+05:00

lie-in

2009-11-04T09:00:00.001+05:00

lie behind something

2009-11-03T09:00:00.001+05:00

let sleeping dogs lie

2009-11-02T09:00:00.001+05:00

a test to keep

2009-10-31T09:00:00.002+05:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

it'll keep
keep at something
keep in with somebody
keep to yourself
keep up

'How many's that you've done, Jerome?'
Jerome put down his knife for a second on the pumpkin-strewn table and lifted his head to think. After a pause, he said, '16, 709.'
The other man, Peters, looked amazed. '16, 709?'
Jerome nodded. 'Yup, I can hardly with demand.'
'Do you get a chance to do anything other than cutting up pumpkins? You must be at it nearly 24 hours a day.'
'25 would be closer to it,' Jerome grinned. 'But it's not like. If I don't do them for the Halloween, then I don't do them at all.'
'Don't you miss people? TV? Other stuff like that?'
'You know me, Peters. I like to. I never get bored of my own company.'
Peters nodded sagely. 'Then there's Mrs Jerome's love of pumpkin pie.'
'Ay,' chuckled Jerome. I have to her, that's for sure.'
'Well, you'd better, then. So long Jerome.'
'So long Peters,' said Jerome, turning to pumpkin 16, 710.

keep up

2009-10-30T09:00:00.001+05:00

keep to yourself

2009-10-29T09:00:00.001+05:00

keep in with somebody

2009-10-28T09:00:00.001+05:00

keep at something

2009-10-27T09:00:00.001+05:00

it'll keep

2009-10-26T09:00:00.001+05:00

join the test

2009-10-24T09:00:00.002+06:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

be joined at the hip
if you can't bet them, join them
join forces
join the club
join up

The two translators, Fyodor and Anton, stared at each other over a copy of War and Peace.
In front of Fyodor was a piece of paper with the words 'Chapter One' written on it.
In front of Anton was a similar piece of paper with the legend 'Chapter I' inscribed across the top.
After a long silence, Fyodor crossed out the 'One' and wrote 'Chapter 1' instead.
Anton shrugged as if acknowledging a concession. ',' he said, rubbing out 'Chapter' and replacing it with 'Chp. I'.
Fyodor snorted and immediately crossed out the '1' on his page and wrote in its place, 'Chapter the First'.
The two translators had been forced to by the publisher that was employing them. Either both of them worked on the translation, or neither of them did.
Anton rubbed his eyes. 'I can't do this,' he declared mournfully.
',' said Fyodor. 'Did Van Gogh have to share a canvas with Monet?'
Anton slapped the table in agreement. 'And what of Mozart? Was he with Salieri? Of course not!'
Fyodor cocked his head on one side. 'And who exactly is Salieri in this relationship?'
Anton sighed. 'That's it. I've had enough. See the world, meet interesting people, work in nice conditions - my mother told me translating would be a wonderful job, but I hate it!' he announced.
'Me too!' burst out Fyodor, suddenly feeling jubilant. 'I want to do something less aggressive. Let's! What do you say?'
'I say, yes!' And so saying, the two translators marched out of the room in good spirits.

be joined at the hip

2009-10-23T09:00:00.001+06:00

join up

2009-10-22T09:00:00.001+06:00

join the club

2009-10-21T09:00:00.001+06:00

join forces

2009-10-20T09:00:00.001+06:00

if you can't beat them, join them

2009-10-19T09:00:00.001+06:00

can you handle this test?

2009-10-17T09:00:00.001+06:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

fly off the handle
get a handle on something
handle well
handle with kid gloves
too hot to handle

'Okay, this one needs, you hear me? This one is special, with a capital SP.'
Fat Jacky Z nodded his head while he chomped down on his doughnut. After chewing for a good ten seconds or so, he asked, 'What's so special exactly? This is another freak show, no?'
Tomato Joe, who was, as always, busy peeling a tomato, sat at his desk. 'This is not what it is, Fat Jacky, no. Not at all what it is.'
Fat Jacky Z waved his half-eaten doughnut irritably through the air. 'So? Help me it, then, why don't you.'
'Ok, Fat Jacky, calm down. No need to. No need for that at all.'
Fat Jacky Z grunted as he took another big bite from his doughnut.
'No, what this is, is a girl called Geige from Europe some place, the Steppes maybe, I don't particularly care, maybe she don't know too well herself, it doesn't matter. Now, she is in the Big Apple, this is what matters.'
Fat Jacky Z shoved down the last of his doughnut and brushed the crumbs off his shirt. 'Joe, you're killing me here,' he exclaimed. 'Country girl comes to the big bad city. It's not exactly news, you know.'
Tomato Joe waved away his employee's objections. 'Give it a couple of weeks, Fat Jacky, and this Geige girl will be the talk not only of this town but every other one on the planet. I'm telling you, she will be.'
'Because?'
Tomato Joe tossed the skin of his tomato into the bin. 'Because she has a talking cow.'
'A talking cow?'
'U-huh. It's no bigger than a dog, but it speaks perfect English. Better than you and me, actually. Only, it don't without her, you understand. With her, it's as chatty as can be; without her, it goes all dumb.'
Fat Jacky Z nodded. 'Hence the kid gloves.'
'You have it in a nutshell, my fat friend. Be, as they say, as nice as pie.'

too hot to handle

2009-10-16T09:00:00.001+06:00

handle with kid gloves

2009-10-15T09:00:00.001+06:00

handle well

2009-10-14T09:00:00.001+06:00

get a handle on something

2009-10-13T09:00:00.000+06:00

fly off the handle

2009-10-12T09:00:00.000+06:00

a test of gain

2009-10-10T09:00:00.003+06:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

gain a foothold
gain admittance
gain credence
ill-gotten gains
nothing ventured, nothing gained

Aristotle leaned against the tall, white pillar, drinking in the sun, with his eyes closed.
'So Theophrastus, what do you think of my new book?'
Theophrastus, sitting on the step below him, looked up from the manuscript he had just finished. 'It's rubbish,' he said, throwing it to the ground.
Aristotle didn't move. 'Rubbish?' he queried.
'Yes,' confirmed Theophrastus. 'The theory of spontaneous generation, the idea that life comes from inanimate matter is just nonsense. Bees come from the carcasses of dead bulls? Oysters from slime? Worms from snow? Please. Who are you trying to kid? This theory will never with scientists.'
'Hmm,' said Aristotle. 'You don't think my ideas will with other philosophers, then?'
Theophrastus grimaced. 'Not a chance. You'll be lucky to to the library ever again, let alone the Scientific Association's annual conference if you publish this codswallop.'
'You don't think other scientists will spend the next 2000 years believing my theory and adding to it, for example, by saying that a scorpion is created by putting a piece of basil between two bricks in the sun?'
Theophrastus laughed. 'Yes, and by saying that a mouse can be generated from a piece of soiled cloth plus some wheat. No, I don't think so Aristotle.'
'O well,' exclaimed Aristotle, opening his eyes. ', I suppose. It's just that my publisher is hounding me for a new book, and I could really do with the cash.'
'Cash? And what would you do with the from this book? Get another bust made of you?'
'You may scoff, Theophrastus, but a man's worth is measured in how many busts he has of himself. And it always will be.' Aristotle picked up the manuscript. 'Now, how about if I tell my publishers that this is a comedy...?'

ill-gotten gains

2009-10-09T09:00:00.001+06:00

nothing ventured, nothing gained

2009-10-08T09:00:00.001+06:00

gain admittance

2009-10-07T09:00:00.001+06:00

gain a foothold

2009-10-06T09:00:00.000+06:00

gain credence

2009-10-05T09:00:00.001+06:00

a test of face

2009-10-03T09:00:00.000+06:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

cut off your nose to spite your face
face time
fall flat on your face
put your face on
take something at face value

Bobo and Hobo were in their caravan.
It was half past six and there were only 40 minutes before they were due to perform.
Bobo sat in front of a mirror applying his clown make-up. Hobo was lying on his back on the couch.
'Stop moping around and,' commanded Bobo. 'It's nearly time.'
'I can't think about laughter,' said Hobo miserably. 'I'm in love.'
Bobo snorted. 'Ha! You've barely spoken to her. You're in love with a dream, Hobo. If you had a little with her, you'd soon realise she's not all sweetness and light. Fire-eaters stink of petrol, you know.'
'Not Mamashka!' retorted Hobo. 'She smells like furniture polish, if anything. But no, I'm too scared to speak to her.'
'What are you worried about? Tripping up? is what you're meant to do - you're a clown for goodness' sake.'
'I'm not just a clown Bobo. You shouldn't. I have hidden depths.'
Bobo turned round to face Hobo. 'You have hidden depths?'
'Yes, I want to be a painter.'
'If you become a painter and leave the circus, you'd be - you'd never see her again.'
Hobo sighed. 'Well at least my anguish would be over....'

fall flat on your face

2009-10-02T16:22:00.000+06:00

take something at face value

2009-10-01T09:00:00.007+06:00

face time

2009-09-30T09:00:00.001+06:00

cut off your nose to spite your face

2009-09-29T09:00:00.001+06:00

put your face on

2009-09-28T09:00:00.001+06:00

a test of your dancing

2009-09-26T09:00:00.003+06:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

dance to somebody's tune
dance up a storm
lead someone a merry dance
make a song and dance about something
St Vitus's Dance

When Donatella walked into the consulting room of Dr Miaow she appeared very nervous.
She sat down and shuffled about on the chair.
She scratched her nose.
She rubbed her hands.
She banged her ankles together.
She looked about her and did everything but keep still.
Dr Miaow observed this for a few seconds before remarking. 'You look like you have. What's the matter?'
Donatella wiped her hand across her mouth. 'I hear voices Dr. In my head, I mean. I hear voices in my head.'
'And?'
Donatella looked puzzled. 'And what? Isn't that enough? Isn't that a bit strange?'
Dr Miaow harrumphed. 'Not at all, not at all. It's perfectly normal. Nothing to, I assure you.'
Donatella remained perplexed. 'You hear voices too?'
'Certainly, yes.'
'But whose?' she asked.
'Why, the little people in my head, of course.'
'The little people in your head?'
'Yes,' said Dr Miaow, gesticulating with his hands. 'They control motor functions, mainly, but they also help with cognitive tasks too. Stuff like that.'
Donatella nodded her head. 'Really? I never knew that. Well, listen, they're in there - is there anything I can do about it?'
Dr Miaow sighed. 'Not really. They don't, to be honest.'
'Really? You mean I'm not in charge of me?'
'O well, for the unimportant stuff, like your job, your hopes, desires, that kind of thing, sure - it's all you. But for the important matters like what you eat, when you eat and who your mate is, then it's all down to them.'
Donatella looked shocked. 'But what if they choose the wrong thing? Or?'
Dr Miaow snorted. 'If they do! My dear lady, you can be certain they do but I have found that if you shake your head violently enough it seems to knock them out of their seats and you'll have a couple of minutes to do what you really want.'

make a song and dance about something

2009-09-25T09:00:00.002+06:00

St Vitus's dance

2009-09-24T09:00:00.001+06:00

dance up a storm

2009-09-23T09:00:00.001+06:00

dance to somebody's tune

2009-09-22T09:00:00.001+06:00

lead someone a merry dance

2009-09-21T09:00:00.001+06:00

a breakneck test

2009-09-19T09:00:00.002+06:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

break the back of something
break the bank
break the deadlock
give a break to somebody
make a break for

Pompom Bugglewit, owner of the most famous tap factory in Hao, was feeling very pleased with himself.
It was only Tuesday and already he felt they had got over the most difficult part of the negotiations with the union - the thorny question of the pay rise. And now, having the negotiations, he figured it would now be just a question of dotting the "i"s and crossing the "t"s. He smiled complacently at Gufuffer Pluff, the union leader.
'This brings us to the most important of our demands,' said Pluff, peering at the notes below his glasses.
Bugglewit's smile faded. He sat up. 'The most important? But we've settled the pay issue.'
'Yes,' agreed Pluff. 'So now we need to settle the issue of the chocolate biscuits.'
'What chocolate biscuits?' asked Bugglewit.
'Good question. The ones we don't have.'
'The ones we don't have.'
Pluff shook his head. 'No, the ones we don't have. You have plenty with your tea. We, the workers, have none.'
'I'm not stopping you. What about that lady I to last week, the new tea-woman - you can send her out for some, if you give her the money.'
Pluff sighed. 'The members are very agitated about this, Mr Bugglewit.'
Bugglewit held up his hands. 'Ok, ok - I guess it won't to buy a few chocolate digestives. Sure.'
Pluff put his head in his hands as if he were suffering from a terrible strain. 'Mr Bugglewit - digestives? Do you eat digestives? Does senior management? I think not. We want chocolate hob-nobs!'
'Chocolate hob-nobs!' snorted Bugglewit. 'You should be so lucky!'
'In which case, my members will immediately go on strike,' Pluff said, standing up.
'Now, now, now,' implored Bugglewit. 'I'm sure we can find a way to. Plain hob-nobs, for example. Very tasty.'
Pluff sat down. 'If plain hob-nobs are the starting point, then I guess we may be able to make progress from there.'
Pompom Bugglewit considered this for a moment and then jumped up out of his chair. 'Never!' he shouted. 'The chocolate hob-nobs are all mine!'
And with that, he the door, screaming, 'You'll never take them off me alive!'

make a break for

2009-09-18T09:00:00.001+06:00

give somebody a break

2009-09-17T09:00:00.001+06:00

break the deadlock

2009-09-16T09:00:00.001+06:00

break the bank

2009-09-15T09:00:00.001+06:00

break the back of something

2009-09-14T09:00:00.002+06:00

a test of crying

2009-09-12T09:00:00.002+06:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

be a far cry from
cry off
cry over spilt milk
cry wolf
hue and cry

The story goes that when Clavineta was born, the midwife gently slapped the soles of her feet and she started to cry. However, Clavineta did not cry tears, but tiny seeds - exquisite little apple pips, in fact.
This was unusual, but not so unusual for the far north where unusual things happened every day. It was so cold that some days words froze in mid air, and the light was so bright in the summer it made a sound like a tortoise who has bells for teeth chewing lettuce.
Certainly Clavineta's parents did not seem to care. 'There's no use,' they said. 'She is healthy in every other way.' And they loved her so much that she hardly ever shed a tear anyway.
One day, when Clavineta was ten years old, she was playing ball with a baby seal and a penguin around the back of her house at the end of the village when she heard a from the front.
'What can the commotion be?' she wondered, idly.
When she got to the front of the house a horrible sight greeted her eyes. A huge crack had split a small iceberg off from the mainland on which her parents had been standing. Clavineta watched in horror as they clung onto the iceberg, drifting out into the cold cruel sea.
'We love you!' they shouted, before they disappeared.
Now an orphan, Clavineta had to go and live with her her aunt. It the loving home she had shared with her parents.
'You can call me Miss Splittle,' said her aunt. 'You will earn your keep here. I have no room for lazy-bones, girl.'
At this, the lonely and bereaved little Clavineta began to cry. However, instead of seeds, out came tears made of coal. They left little black trails down her cheek.
Clavineta's aunt watched her, somewhat taken aback for a minute. 'What have we here?' she asked herself, collecting some of the miniature lumps of coal in her hand. She sniffed them and then licked them. 'Coal!' she exclaimed. 'Lovely coal to keep me warm!'
As soon as Clavineta's aunt realised that Clavineta cried coal, she resolved to keep the poor girl as miserable as possible so that she would never have to go without her precious fire ever again.
She shouted at Clavineta, called her names, told her she was stupid, made her work all day long, and, worst of all, said bad things about her parents. Clavineta was almost permanently distraught.
Many years passed like this until one day, when Clavineta was outside sweeping the front porch with a hair brush, as ordered by her aunt, she saw a polar bear coming towards her.
Clavineta banged on the door. 'Let me in please Miss Splittle!' she yelled.
'Let you in?' exclaimed Clavineta's aunt. 'You'll stay outside until you're so cold you cry me some of that precious coal of yours.'
Clavineta banged on the door again. 'But Miss Splittle - there's a polar bear coming! I'll be eaten!'
Worried that she might lose her endless supply of coal, Clavineta's aunt relented and decided to let her in. 'You'd better not be, girl,' she warned Clavineta, opening the door.
As she did so, Clavineta turned round to see the bear pouncing. She instantly fainted, dropped to the floor and the bear flew straight over her and landed on her aunt instead, biting her head clean off.
When Clavineta came to, she saw the polar bear lying asleep next to her, a pile of her aunt's bones beside it.
Clavineta was so happy she couldn't but help hug and kiss the polar bear for ending her eight years of misery. As soon as she did so, the bear stirred, changing shape and shedding its fur coat to reveal a handsome young man with thick blond hair.
When they looked into each other's eyes, there was no doubt it was love at first sight.
'Thank you,' he said. 'I have been under the curse of an evil witch for many years. You have saved me.'
'Me too,' said Clavineta, so happy that, for the first time in her life she began to cry tears of joy. But this time it wasn't coal that she cried, but diamonds, dozens and dozens of twinkling diamonds.
'I must go and fetch horses,' said the man. 'We will travel a long way from here.'
'Yes,' said Clavineta, but she was wracked by doubt while she waited for the man. What if he? Nothing good had happened to her for so long she could scarcely bring herself to believe that something so good was happening now.
But it was. As promised, the man came back with the horses and they travelled the world together, living happily ever after on love and diamonds.

cry wolf

2009-09-11T09:00:00.002+06:00

hue and cry

2009-09-10T09:00:00.001+06:00

be a far cry from something

2009-09-09T09:00:00.001+06:00

cry over spilt milk

2009-09-08T09:00:00.001+06:00

cry off

2009-09-07T09:00:00.001+06:00

a testing ask

2009-09-05T09:00:00.001+06:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

don't ask

don't ask me

if you ask me

be asking for it

ask after somebody

'Yes, I saw it,' confessed the old man.
He was said to be 137, but he looked older, his fingers gnarled like exposed tree roots, and his hair sparse like frost-rimed weeds in winter farmland. He sat in a stout oak chair, bowed over a weak fire, staring into the pallid flames.
'It was the greatest thing ever to happen,' he mused. 'But no-one said a word about it. Ever.'
His name was Bo-Widdly Gon Fane, a common enough name in these parts, and he was the sole survivor of the short-lived war between the Republic of Pustula and the Kingdom of Vitristan. I had been trying to track him down for many years, and finally here he was.
'So, what exactly did happen Mr Gon Fane?'
He groaned. '. I don't want to talk about it.'

Nothing I could say seemed capable of changing his mind. I pleaded with him, offered him money, flattered him - none of it made any difference. He remained mute on the subject.
Feeling deflated, I returned to my hotel where I sat disconsolately at the bar. An old lady, perched like an antique carving, straight-backed, at a table near me obviously noticed my depression.
'What's the matter, son?' she inquired.
I explained to her my problem with Mr Gon Fane. She listened patiently and nodded her head at the end of my tale.
'Go back, son. I know old Bo-Widdly very well. He's as stubborn as a mule near thistles, but just tell him Rosa-Rosa was him.' She winked at me and went back to nursing her drink.

I thanked her heartily and ran back to find Mr Gon Fane. He sat, still hunched over the fire. Without turning round, he barked that he still had nothing to say.
I crouched down beside him. 'Rosa-Rosa said to say "Hi",' I replied, as nonchalantly as I could.
He grunted at that. ', you should take more care choosing the company you keep.'
I made no retort to this.
He sighed. 'Ok, if you really want to know...,' he trailed off. 'It all began when a Vitrian made a comment about the name of Rosa-Rosa's great-grandmother, after whom she is named - Rosa-Rosa Pug Harking-Box. He called her Plug-Ugly Barking-Hog, as I recall. Seems kind of quaint now, I don't doubt. But in those days it was a deadly insult. Yes, they alright.
Pretty soon, insults were flying back and forward between the Pustulans and the Vitrians. Insults led to fists, fists led to clubs, clubs led, in the end, to war. Every able-bodied man on both sides took up arms and prepared to fight for the honour of his country. I remember it like it was yesterday. Tens of thousands of us lined up on either side of the Ichthy Valley, our buttons and gun barrels gleaming in the sun. We stood there, staring each other down, waiting for the order. Suddenly, our commander shouted the command: "Fire!" And we did...'
Mr Gon Fane paused. A tear rolled down his left cheek. I hardly dared breathe.
'And then...'
'Yes?'
'And then...: fish!'
'Fish?'
'Yes, fish. Instead of bullets, fish came shooting out of all our guns. Can you imagine? Thousands of fish, flying idly though the air before splatting down into the valley floor. It was amazing. Of course, the Vitrians were shocked at first, but then they started laughing, thinking they had us cornered. They all fired at once while we stood there, in shock. But the same happened to them. Fish, everywhere.'
'What happened?'
'What happened? I'll tell you what happened. We tried everything. We shot our pistols and out came clown fish. We shot out cannons and out came dolphins and whales. We threw our grenades and they turned into squid on impact. Within minutes we were knee-deep in fish and crustaceans. The smell was unbelievable. What could we do? We had to get out of there as quick as possible.'
'But what caused it?'
Bo-Widdly Gon Fane chuckled. 'What caused it?!'

be asking for it

2009-09-04T09:00:00.001+06:00

ask after somebody

2009-09-03T09:00:00.001+06:00

if you ask me

2009-09-02T09:00:00.001+06:00

don't ask me

2009-09-01T09:00:00.001+06:00

don't ask

2009-08-31T09:00:00.001+06:00

take a test

2009-06-27T09:00:00.002+06:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

be taken in
not take kindly to something
take it from me
take some doing
take something out on somebody

When Aaron got the call he was already in a hurry as he knew Karan was going to arrive soon.
He picked up the phone. It was Bronwyn. 'Karan will be around in 15 minutes,' she said.
'Ok,' said Aaron, thinking and acting quickly. 'I'll quickly wash and shave now, then.' So saying, he put the phone down and rushed into the bathroom.
He was just lathering up when the phone went again.
Once more it was Bronwyn. 'Did you hang up on me?' she demanded. 'I people hanging up on me.'
'What are you talking about?' Aaron asked, caught completely by surprise.
', I didn't hang up on you!'
'You so did! You're obviously in a bad mood and you're me!'
'This is ridiculous Bronwyn. I just wanted to get on because Karan's coming round and I'm barely even up. I thought it would to make me even later than I am already for her, but somehow, with your help, I've achieved it! Obviously, I'm terrible sorry if I appeared brusque in any way.'
Bronwyn sighed. 'And that's you apologising is it? Well, I'm sorry too because I'm not by that for a minute. You're not sorry at all!' She slammed the phone down.
Aaron shook his head. 'O I'm sorry alright,' he muttered to himself. 'Sorry I ever picked the phone up!'

not take kindly to something

2009-06-26T09:00:00.003+06:00

take something out on somebody

2009-06-25T09:00:00.003+06:00

take it from me

2009-06-24T09:00:00.002+06:00

be taken in

2009-06-23T09:00:00.002+06:00

take some doing

2009-06-22T09:00:00.002+06:00

beat the test

2009-06-20T09:00:00.003+06:00

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrase from below and ONLY THEN click on the “gap” box to check your answer.

beat doing something

beat somebody down

beat somebody to the punch

it beats me

take some beating

It was hot.
It was hotter than hot.
It was so hot, even the air was melting.
Insects remained motionless in the shadows. Birds sat listlessly in the trees. Dogs lay in the shade, their tongues lolling carelessly on the parched brown grass.
There was not a breath of wind anywhere.
And the people? The people were very sad. They tried not to move and dreamt of snow. But none of this disguised the real source of their misery: there was no ice-cream left in the whole city. It was all gone.
Many had already left the city to go and find ice-cream elsewhere. 'It waiting here for some to arrive,' they said.
But then, one day, at the very height of the heatwave, a rumour began to circulate that there was a single ice-cream available for sale at Giuseppe's Gelateria. A whole cornet with vanilla ice-cream topped with chocolate and walnut bits.
Such an ice-cream would on an ordinary day, never mind in the middle of a heatwave with an ice-cream famine.
As soon as people heard about the ice-cream, they began to salivate. A cool breeze seemed to blow across their brows. It was the most beautiful thought in the world.
Slowly, people got to their feet and headed for the shop which was said to contain this legendary ice-cream.
At first, people headed there singly or in twos and threes. Soon they merged into bigger groups, huge gangs became crowds, and the crowds became throngs.
They chattered quietly to each other.
'Do you think there will be enough for everybody?'
' but my sister heard from her husband's aunt that it was a giant ice-cream.'
'How much do you think it will be?'
'I don't know, but if we stick together we'll be able to.'
'But there are so many of us....'
As more and more people joined the throng heading for the shop, some began to worry that there wouldn't be enough ice-cream to go round.
Some of the younger people broke into a gentle trot. Seeing them, others began to run even faster, determined to and get to Giuseppe's first.
Soon, everybody was running as fast as they could.
The energy generated by thousands of people running created a huge heat wave that roared in front of them. It rolled higher and higher - a true tsunami of heat.
Giuseppe, holding the ice-cream, saw the giant heat wave rolling towards him. Stunned by the size of it, he froze and couldn't move. The heat smashed over him, immediately melting the ice-cream.

beat doing something

2009-06-19T09:00:00.002+06:00

beat somebody down

2009-06-18T09:00:00.001+06:00