IDIOMS AND OTHER EXPRESSIONS THAT USED NUMBERS

CHECK YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR PHRASAL VERBS AND IDIOMS

IDIOMS AND OTHER EXPRESSIONS THAT USED NUMBERS

Sentences 1 – 20 all contain an idiom or other expression in bold that uses a cardinal number (1, 2, 3, etc) or an ordinal number (first, second, third, etc). Complete each idiom / expression with one word only, and write the word in the appropriate space in the grid on the next page. Each idiom / expression is explained in italics at the end of each sentence. The first and last letters of each word are already in the grid.

If you complete the grid correctly, you will reveal a four-word expression in the shaded vertical column. This expression can be used to complete sentence 21.

1	If you decide to sell your car, could you give me first _____? (to give someone the opportunity to buy something before offering it to anyone else)
2	She paid me a two-edged _____: she said that I was very good looking for a fat person! (capable of being understood in two different ways, or of having both good and bad effects)
3	Tom has got a one-_____ mind. He just thinks about girls all the time! (Tom thinks about the same thing all the time)
4	She sometimes arrives early, but nine _____ out of ten she's late. (nearly always)
5	"Do you think we'll win the match tomorrow?" "Maybe. We've got a _____-_____ chance." (our chances are equal. Note that the same word is used twice in this expression. You only need to write it once in the grid)
6	"I've failed my driving test twice, but I'm going to try again tomorrow." "Oh, well, good luck. Third time _____, right?" (a spoken expression that is used for saying that the third time you try something you will be successful when the first two times you were not successful)
7	When he asked me to marry him I said yes immediately, but now I'm having second _____. (to begin to doubt a decision that you have made)
8	I went to a party last night and had one too _____. (to drink too much alcohol)
9	"I haven't got any money." Well, that _____ two of us!" (a spoken expression used for telling someone that you are in the same situation as they are)
10	You're so two-_____! You tell me that I work hard and get good results, then you tell everyone else that I'm lazy and incompetent! (dishonest about your feelings, thoughts and beliefs, and tending to tell people whatever you think will please them)
11	Redheads Wine Bar is popular with thirty_____ professionals. (an adjective used to describe people between the ages of 30 and 39)
12	When I was young, we moved from the city to a one _____ town in East Anglia. (a place that is small and boring)
13	It was a very formal dinner party, so everyone was _____ up to the nines. (wearing extremely fashionable or, in this case, formal clothes)
14	OK, everyone, we've worked really well and got a lot achieved in the last couple of hours. Let's _____ five. (a spoken expression which means 'stop working for a short period of time')
15	How did you know I was in the house? You must have a sixth _____! (a special ability to feel or see things without using sight, hearing, touch, smell or taste)
16	Holly thinks she's an expert on computers, but she hasn't got the first _____ about them. (to not know anything about a subject, or not have the skills to do something)
17	"She hit me, so I hit her." "That was stupid. Two _____ don't make a right." (a spoken expression used for saying that you should not react to someone's wrong behaviour by doing something wrong yourself)
18	She's been in seventh _____ ever since she got the job. (to feel extremely happy)
19	When I saw my girlfriend coming out of a restaurant with a strange man, I naturally put two and two _____. (to guess what is happening or what something means based on what you have seen or heard)
20	I was supposed to come home by 10 o'clock, but I didn't get back until 4 in the morning. Naturally my mother gave me the third _____ and demanded to know where I had been. (to ask someone a lot of questions in a determined way)

Use the expression to complete this sentence:

21. Tickets for the concert will be allocated on a _____ _____, _____ _____ basis. (a four-word expression which is used for saying that if you arrive before other people, you will be given or sold something before them)

ANSWER KEY

1. refusal 2. compliment (We can also say a doubleedged compliment) 3. track 4. times 5. fifty 6. lucky 7. thoughts 8. many 9. makes 10. faced 11. something (Written as one word: thirtysomething. This can also be a noun: "The bar is very popular with thirtysomethings". We can also say twentysomething, fortysomething, fiftysomething, etc) 12. horse 13. dressed 14. take 15. sense 16. idea (We can also say She doesn't know the first thing about them) 17. wrongs 18. heaven (We can also say on cloud nine) 19. together 20. degree 21. First come, first served