VOCABULARY
This word means “not fitting with the surroundings, out of place.”
If something makes you laugh uncontrollably, you do this.
to show someone that they are not as important as they thought
bring/take someone down a peg (or two)
Complete: “___ did I know that she was lying.”
Little
When someone carries a heavy responsibility or burden, it’s compared to this Greek hero carrying the world on his shoulders in literature.
To make a bad situation worse.
Exacerbate
If you are very busy or occupied with something.
tied up with
If you make a big mistake, you “have this on your face.”
egg on my face
Complete: “___ do we see this kind of mistake in professional writing.”
Rarely
A character in modern stories who spends their life chasing an unattainable dream, often fighting imaginary enemies, is sometimes compared to this knight from a Spanish novel.
Don Quixote
If your attempts are useless, you’ve tried this way.
to no avail
Governments sometimes do this to failing companies to keep them alive.
prop up
If you’re so embarrassed you want to disappear, you might “wish this would happen.”
the ground would open up and swallow me
Complete: “___ had I finished my work than the client called.”
No sooner
“The product launch was such a disaster it made Fyre Festival look well-organized.”
The Fyre Festival was a heavily promoted, fraudulent luxury music festival that became a notorious disaster in 2017.
his adjective means “extremely surprising” or “overwhelming in scale.”
Staggering
Problems may do this when they originate from earlier mistakes.
arise from
If you accept a failure or criticism bravely, you “____.”
take it on the chin
Complete: “___ did he apologize than he started making excuses.”
Hardly
Why do people sometimes allure to William Shakespear's "MacBeth"?
This person is unfairly blamed for problems.
Scapegoat
This adjective means impossible to fully understand or measure.
unfathomable
If you ruin an opportunity through carelessness, you “____.”
drop the ball
Complete: “___ then did she realize the truth.”
Only
“The negotiations collapsed completely—a real Waterloo moment for the CEO.”
The term originates from the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, where Napoleon Bonaparte was decisively defeated, ending his military dominance in Europe.