IDIOM QUIZ:
JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME AGAIN

The following dialogue is a spin-off from Stories from American History by Myrtis Mixon.

The Civil War, or War Between the States, was the bloodiest war in America's history. It was caused by differences between the industrial North and the agricultural South. The South depended on slaves for their large plantation economy. Southerners did not want to be controlled by the industrial North and wanted to leave the union and form their own nation, the Confederate States of America. President Lincoln fought to keep the country united.

The war lasted for four long years. Many young men, boys really, had to leave their families and fight in the war. Many did not return home. In this story, Johnny Comes Marching Home, Johnny and Jeff, two soldiers still in their teens, are returning home. They take a riverboat to Cincinnati to visit Johnny's parents before heading west.

While Johnny was away at war, his sweetheart, Susanna, married his brother. Johnny meets Susanna's sister, Rosie. During the 4th of July parade, Johnny helps Rosie catch her prize-winning pig. Johnny asks Rosie to marry him. After the wedding, Johnny, Rosie, and Jeff head west with the pig.


CHOOSE THE BEST IDIOM TO PUT IN EACH BLANK:

FATHER: Son, now that you're back home, your mother and I are ________.  We missed you very much, and we worried about you every minute you were away.
 
toast    sitting on top of the world    going to pieces

JOHNNY:I'm glad to be back.  I was afraid the war would be a ________, but we won the war and we've come home as heroes.  How is the farm?
 
a piece of cake    a lost cause    a dry run

FATHER:Johnny, it has been hard to keep the farm going without help from you and your brother.  I'm afraid the farm is just ________.
 
wearing off    coming clean    hanging by a thread

JOHNNY: I'm afraid you're not going to be too happy when I tell you what I ________.
 
am getting rid of    am turning down    have in mind

FATHER: I think I________.  What do you want to tell me?
 
upset the apple cart    smell a rat    turned over a new leaf

JOHNNY:Jeff has asked me to go out west with him, and I just can't ________.
 
turn him down    turn him on    turn him in

FATHER:What are you thinking?  Your mother and I will be ________ if you don't help out on the farm.
 
pushing up daisies    better off    toast

JOHNNY:Dad, you really need to ________.  I'm sure you'll manage just fine without me.
   
calm down    get cracking    shake a leg

FATHER:I feel sick.   I think I'm going to________!
 
bend over backwards    throw up    hit the sack

JOHNNY: Oh, by the way, there's something else that ________.
 
spilled the beans    slipped my mind    runs in the family

FATHER:I wish you'd ________ all this good news.  I really don't want to hear any more.  What do you want to tell me?
 
cut down on    rip off    keep an eye on

JOHNNY:Rosie, Susanna's sister, and I are going to ________.
 
tie the knot    cut a rug    jump to conclusions

FATHER:You're barely eighteen years old.  You don't have a job.  You don't have an education.  And you're ________.
 
bored to death    broke    down in the dumps


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