IDIOM QUIZ: THE ROOSEVELTS

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

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) was the only American president elected four times. When he was 38, in 1920, he ran for vice president, but in 1921 he got polio. It looked like his political career was over. He was paralyzed. Up until Franklin's illness, his wife, Eleanor, had been content to be a traditional wife, raising her six children, staying in the background, and avoiding publicity. But while Franklin recovered, Eleanor kept the Roosevelt name in the public eye. She knew that her husband needed to continue his political career. In the following conversation, Franklin's strong-willed mother, Sara, tries to convince her son to retire from politics.


CHOOSE THE BEST IDIOM TO PUT IN EACH BLANK:

SARA:Oh, my poor son. We'll move to our country estate where you can rest, and you can put your political work ________.
 
aboveboard    on the blink    on the back burner
FDR:Well, obviously my political aspirations are going to have to ________ while I concentrate on my recovery, but I'm not moving way out to our country estate.
 
take a back seat    be out of this world    be up in arms
SARA:Calm down. You don't need to ________.   This is the most practical thing to do. You can't be in politics anymore.
 
get cold feet    shake a leg    get bent out of shape
FDR: If we move to the country, I'll be completely ________.  I'll never be able to get back into a leadership role.
 
out of the loop    shipshape    on the dot
SARA: You're lucky that we are ________. You can live the comfortable life of a country gentleman.
 
spic and span    well-to-do    out of sorts
FDR:You know, Mother, I'm not going to be satisfied unless I'm ________.  I won't be happy living the life of a country gentleman.
 
pulling someone's leg    pushing the envelope    out on a limb
SARA:Son, you'll be ________ if you don't take care of yourself. The best thing for you to do is to get complete rest and forget about all these political worries.
 
pushing up daisies    down-to-earth    in the red
FDR:Mom, I'm afraid you're ________. I'd rather die than quit politics.
 
hitting the sack    beating around the bush    beating a dead horse
SARA:That wife of yours is ________ , isn't she?
 
clamming up    egging you on    over the hill
FDR:That's right, Mother.  Eleanor is ________ with the doctor and my assistant. They also think I should keep politcally active.
 
walking on thin ice    in cahoots    getting even
SARA:Honey, if you don't take yourself out of politics, the public will ________.  They don't want a leader who can't walk.
 
give you the boot    blow off steam    be under the weather
FDR:You're ________. It won't be like that. You'll see.
 
bending over backwards    jumping to conclusions    letting the cat out of the bag
SARA:Well, Sweetie, I wish you weren't so ________.  I can see that I'm not going to change your mind.  I hope you're right.
 
hard-hearted    pig-headed    tongue-tied

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