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Vocab 24

Quiz yourself by thinking what should be in each of the black spaces below before clicking on it to display the answer.
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Question
Answer
Achilles' heel   vulnerable spot or weak spot  
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Armageddon   vast, decisive battle  
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bell the cat   do a daring, risky deed for the sake of others  
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between Scylla and Charybdis   between two equally difficult alternatives, neither of which can be avoided without incurring the other  
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carry coals to Newcastle   taking something to a place where it is plentiful and not needed; do something superfluous  
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Catch-22   paradox (contradiction) in an order or regulation that makes people victims of its provisions, regardless of what they do  
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crocodile tears   false tears; insincere show of grief  
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cross the Rubicon   take a decisive, irrevocable step  
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cry wolf   give alarm without occasion; give a false alarm  
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dog in the manger   person who prevents others from using something he or she cannot use and does not need  
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fifth column   subversive group of civilians working secretly within their own country to turn it over to an invading enemy  
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fourth estate   reporters; the press; journalism  
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Freudian slip   slip of the tongue by which it is thought a person unintentionally reveals his or her true feelings  
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Hobson's choice   choice of taking what is offered or nothing at all  
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hoist with one's own petard   blown up with one's own bomb; victimized by one's own schemes  
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juggernaut   massive, irresistible force crushing everything in its path  
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last straw   final test of patience or endurance  
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Midas touch   talent for making money in any enterprise one engages in  
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Murphy's Law   satirical maxim stating that if anything can go wrong, it will  
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open sesame   any means or formula that works like magic to help one achieve a desired end  
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Pandora's box   source of extensive unforseen troubles  
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Parkinson's Law   satirical maxim about the lack of productivity, stating that work expands to fill the time available for its completion; also, that the number of subordinates increases regardless of the amount or work produced  
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Pyrrhic victory   victory achieved at ruinous cost  
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sour grapes   disparagement of something that one does not or cannot have  
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Created by: meliiums
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