IDIOM QUIZ: SAMUEL CLEMENS
(MARK TWAIN)

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

As the story goes...Samuel Clemens' brother, Orion, asked Samuel to join him in the new Nevada territory, where Orion had accepted the job of Secretary of the territory.  Samuel's job as a riverboat pilot had been interrupted by the Civil War.  After two weeks as a soldier, Samuel was ready for a change.  Sam and his brother traveled by stagecoach for 20 days and 20 nights until they reached Carson City, Nevada.  While in Carson City, Samuel caught gold fever, but was unsuccessful as a miner.  While out West, Samuel Clemens became a writer and adopted Mark Twain as a pen name.
Here's the conversation that Sam had with his mother when he told her that he was going west.

CHOOSE THE BEST IDIOM TO PUT IN EACH BLANK:

SAM: Mom, Orion wants me to go out West with him and be his secretary.  I have ________, so I've decided to go.
          a big head    cold feet    itchy feet

MOTHER:Sam, ________, I would say that you're making a big mistake.
           off the top of my head    beating around the bush    standing up for you
SAM: I know you're just saying that because you don't want me to leave.  But you'll ________ not having me around.
           save face    be on cloud nine    get used to
MOTHER:You'll ________ working for your brother.  You have a good and interesting job here as a steamboat pilot on our river.  What's the matter with you?
          get in a jam    be bored to death    come out of your shell nerves
SAM: Right now, I'm a soldier, not a riverboat pilot.  However, you're right that I'm not really ________ a secretary.  That's why I'm planning on doing some prospecting.  Maybe I'll find a gold and get rich.
          chicken to be    cut out to be    hanging around
MOTHER: Do you think that mining is ________?  It's very dangerous.  You could get killed, and most prospectors don't get rich.
          a piece of cake    a bone to pick    a pipe dream
SAM: Take it easy, Mom.  I could get killed being a soldier, too.  You know that I've been in dangerous situations before.  I always manage to ________.
 
fall through    pull through    come across
MOTHER: I can see that you've ________.  Nothing I say is going the keep you here.
 
got a chip on your shoulder    made up your mind    drawn a blank
SAM:Mom, You're going to be happier ________.  You won't have to wash and iron my clothes, and you won't have to fix my meals.
 
in the long run    when hell freezes over    over the hill
MOTHER:Okay, I'll ________!  From the moment you told me that you were planning to leave, I was thinking about how wonderful it was going to be not to do your laundry and fix your meals.  Have a nice trip, Sam!
 
nip your plans in the bud    come clean    knock it off

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