Derivation
Fill in the Blanks
Meaning
Who Said It
Picture It
100
In ancient Greek elections, votes were cast with beans — and revealing them early ruined the secrecy.
Spill the beans
100
A bolt from the _______
blue
100
To skip preliminaries and get straight to the important part.
Cut to the chase
100
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
Wayne Gretzky
100
100
When pigs fly
200
Soldiers might literally do this during surgery to endure pain.
Bite the bullet
200
Let sleeping ___ lie
Dogs
200
An obvious problem everyone is ignoring.
The elephant in the room
200
"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"
Neil Armstrong
200
200
Cry over spilled milk
300
Medieval markets where dishonest merchants would sell a pig in a sack, but sometimes swapped it for a less valuable animal.
Let the cat out of the bag
300
By the skin of your ___
Teeth
300
An idea or story that sounds impressive but is actually nonsense.
A mare's nest
300
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
J.R.R. Tolkien
300
300
Caught Red Handed
400
In early 20th-century carnival games, this was the prize you almost won.
Close, but no cigar
400
Take someone to ___
Task
400
To flatter or favor someone excessively, often in a servile way.
To dance attendance on someone
400
"A little bird told me"
The Bible, Ecclesiastes 10:20
400
400
Two peas in a pod
500
“hopelessly drunk” comes from how loose sailing ropes (sheets) would cause a ship to veer wildly when the wind hit them.
Three sheets to the wind
500
Cast your bread upon the ________
Waters
500
To exhaust yourself by overworking and partying too hard.
To burn the candle at both ends
500
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Bible or Abraham Lincoln
500
A tempest in a teacup