acid batteries buttons cog cylinders fuse grease machine panic plug

rocket running science steam tick ticking wavelength whistles wires

Insert words from above into most appropriate sentences below

1) The team is well trained but next week’s match will be their __________ test. (Performance evaluation)

2) It’s a good telephone but it’s the bells and ___________ that the consumer likes most. (Extra features)

3) If we want this finished before we go home, we will have to put some elbow _____________ into it.
(Make a bigger effort)

4) You should be able to assemble it and have it working in less than 20 minutes. It’s not ______ science.
(Not difficult)

5) We still have until next Wednesday to finish it. It’s not time to hit the ____________ button just yet.
(Take emergency action)

6) We need funding to continue the research but the local authority is talking about pulling the _______.
(Stopping, preventing or discontinuing something)

7) I have taken this machine to pieces, reassembled it and taken it apart again but I still don’t know what
makes it ___________. (Understand how something works)

8) They thought she said the meeting was on Monday but they must have got their __________ crossed.
It was on Wednesday. (Get confused or misunderstand something)

9) I really should stop pushing his _____________ but he is just so easy to wind up. (Provoke)

10) The staff in the office work well together. The boss hasn’t been there for nearly a month but
everything is __________ over perfectly fine. (Operating or functioning well)

11) This office is a well-oiled ____________. (Well-organized and operating or functioning perfectly)

12) The project started well but seemed to run out of _________ towards the end.
(Lose enthusiasm or energy)

13) Jo and Terry work very well together. They are both on the same ____________.
(Share similar opinions or interests)

14) When they told her that she couldn’t go to the party, she really blew a ___________. (Got very angry)

15) She was ill for about a week but she has recovered pretty well and is firing on all ___________ again.
(In working condition – for a person, machine or system)

16) The new school should be up and ____________ by the beginning of September. (Ready for use)

17) He has pizzas down to a ____________. Nobody can make them like he does. (Perfected the process)

18) She decided to stay in at the weekend and recharge her ____________. (Relax and recover)

19) He has a well-paid job but he feels as if he is a very small ____________ in the machine. (Insignificant)

Follow up!
Now write five sentences using the expressions from above:
e.g. This machine uses cutting-edge technology. etc.

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 Which below do you think the true origins of the expressions?

1) What is the origin of the expression “acid test?”

a) This originates from British public schools of the early 20th century. During chemistry and physics exams, very strong,
corrosive acids would be used until health and safety laws prohibited their use. Many schools objected to these new laws
and would often say that the acid test was the only way to be sure that students really understood the subject.
b) This expression comes from the California Gold Rush of the mid-19th century. When gold was discovered in the
Californian hills, there a lot of fraudsters that would try and use different metals that would be made to look like gold.
Gold dealers would use nitric acid to test if the gold was genuine.
c) This expression comes from the 1960s and the Flower Power movement. Lots of young hippies were part of this
movement and many of them would use LSD, commonly called acid among the users. If drug dealers wanted to sell acid
to a group of hippies, one of them would volunteer to take the acid test to see if the LSD was good quality.
2) What is the origin of the expression “bells and whistles?”
a) This expression comes from the aristocratic mansions and castles of England from the 17th to the early 20th centuries. If
one of the noble inhabitants wanted anything, such as a cup of tea, something to eat, a fire lighted or even just the
curtains opened, a bell or whistle would be used to summon a servant to carry out the task. When electrical appliances
began to replace domestic staff in these stately homes, the features of these apparatus would be described as bells and
whistles.
b) This is originally a naval term from the 18th century and would refer to the various methods of communication on board
the ships of the British Royal Navy. A code was used aboard ship to inform the crew of what actions to take during battles
and for everyday naval routines. For example, three loud rings of the bell would summon the crew to battle stations, or
one long blow on a whistle would mean land was nearby.
c) In the 18th and 19th centuries, many western countries would literally use bells and whistles for public announcements
or even protests. They could be used to promote products that were on sale, draw attention to prominent charities,
protest against governments or even the behaviour of other countries. As such, the collocation of bell and whistles
became established as a word pair. The expression started to be used in car adverts in the early 1970s and then extended
to other areas of technological marketing.
3) What is the origin of the expression “elbow grease?”
a) This is an expression that was commonly used to refer sailors on ships and their habit of resting their elbows on the
table in order to feel some kind of balance because of the constant movement of the ship while at sea. As a result, the
food and grease from their meals would often get onto their elbows, and when they were working this would be jokingly
referred to as elbow grease, a vital lubricant.
b) This expression originated in a poem from the 1670s by an English “metaphysical poet” who went by the name of
Andrew Marvell. His use of “elbow grease” was a metaphor for hard, physical work.
c) From the 16th century onwards, people who were considered lazy were often portrayed by artists as resting their faces
in their hands with their elbows on the table. It would be said that they could not work as their elbows had gone rusty and
needed grease to become flexible again, hence the expression.
4) What is the origin of the expression “to not be rocket science?”
a) This expression originates from ancient China and refers to the art of making fireworks, with the most complicated of
them being rockets. Out of all the fireworks that exist, rockets are the most difficult to get to work correctly as at least a
little knowledge of aerodynamics is needed in order to get them to fly well.
b) This is related to the space race between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. At the time, rocket scientists,
usually Germans who were captured during World War 2, were considered to be the most intelligent people on the
planet, and rocketry was seen to be very complicated.
c) This expression actually comes from India and resistance to British rule during the 18th century. The Indian rebels of the
North, under the leadership of Sandokan, developed a rocket that would explode over British lines and cause series injury
to the troops. As such, the science used to develop these weapons was considered very complicated and the Indian rebels
that invented them were seen as extremely clever.
5) What is the origin of the expression “not push the panic button?”
a) The B-17 and B-24 bombers in WW2 were equipped with an emergency button for giving the order to bail out. This
would be used if the plane was so badly damaged that the only way to survive was to jump out with a parachute.
b) This expression comes from the first American nuclear power station that was completed in 1957. There was an alarm
to warn of the reactor going critical that could be pressed from the main control panel. This alarm was called the panic
button and was used 4 times in the first 5 years.
c) This expression relates to the industrial revolution and the first steam engines that were used to keep the mines in
Yorkshire and Derbyshire from flooding during the 18th century. Sometimes the giant steam engines that were used would
overheat. When this happened, there was no way to cool the engines down and an explosion was nearly always the
result. A panic button would be pushed to sound an alarm and evacuate the area.

iSLCollective.com
1) The team is well trained but next week’s match will be their acid test. (Performance evaluation)

2) It’s a good telephone but it’s the bells and whistles that the consumer likes most. (Extra features)

3) If we want this finished before we go home, we will have to put some elbow grease into it.
(Make a bigger effort)

4) You should be able to assemble it and have it working in less than 20 minutes. It’s not rocket science.
(Not difficult)

5) We still have until next Wednesday to finish it. It’s not time to hit the panic button just yet.
(Take emergency action)

6) We need funding to continue the research but the local authority is talking about pulling the plug.
(Stopping, preventing or discontinuing something)

7) I have taken this machine to pieces, reassembled it and taken it apart again but I still don’t know what
makes it tick. (Understand how something works)

8) They thought she said the meeting was on Monday but they must have got their wires crossed. It was
on Wednesday. (Get confused or misunderstand something)

9) I really should stop pushing his buttons but he is just so easy to wind up. (Provoke)

10) The staff in the office work well together. The boss hasn’t been there for nearly a month but
everything is ticking over perfectly fine. (Operating or functioning well)

11) This office is a well-oiled machine. (Well-organized and operating or functioning perfectly)

12) The project started well but seemed to run out of steam towards the end. (Lose enthusiasm or energy)

13) Jo and Terry work very well together. They are both on the same wavelength.
(Share similar opinions or interests)

14) When they told her that she couldn’t go to the party she really blew a fuse. (Got very angry)

15) She was ill for about a week but she has recovered pretty well and is firing on all cylinders again.
(In working condition – for a person, machine or system)

16) The new school should be up and running by the beginning of September. (Ready for use)

17) He has pizzas down to a science. Nobody can make them like he does. (Perfected the process)

18) She decided to stay in at the weekend and recharge her batteries. (Relax and recover)

19) He has a well-paid job but he feels as if he is a very small cog in the machine. (Insignificant)

iSLCollective.com
1) What is the origin of the expression “acid test?”
a) This originates from British public schools of the early 20th century. During chemistry and physics exams, very strong,
corrosive acids would be used until health and safety laws prohibited their use. Many schools objected to these new laws
and would often say that the acid test was the only way to be sure that students really understood the subject.
b) This expression comes from the California Gold Rush of the mid-19th century. When gold was discovered in the
Californian hills, there a lot of fraudsters that would try and use different metals that would be made to look like gold.
Gold dealers would use nitric acid to test if the gold was genuine.
c) This expression comes from the 1960s and the Flower Power movement. Lots of young hippies were part of this
movement and many of them would use LSD, commonly called acid among the users. If drug dealers wanted to sell acid
to a group of hippies, one of them would volunteer to take the acid test to see if the LSD was authentic.
2) What is the origin of the expression “bells and whistles?”
a) This expression comes from the aristocratic mansions and castles of England from the 17th to the early 20th centuries. If
one of the noble inhabitants wanted anything, such as a cup of tea, something to eat, a fire lighted or even just the
curtains opened, a bell or whistle would be used to summon a servant to carry out the task. When electrical appliances
began to replace domestic staff in these stately homes, the features of these apparatus would be described as bells and
whistles.
b) This is originally a naval term from the 18th century and would refer to the various methods of communication on board
the ships of the British Royal Navy. A code was used aboard ship to inform the crew of what actions to take during battles
and for everyday naval routines. For example, three loud rings of the bell would summon the crew to battle stations, or
one long blow on a whistle would mean land was nearby.
c) In the 18th and 19th centuries, many western countries would literally use bells and whistles for public announcements
or even protests. They could be used to promote products that were on sale, draw attention to prominent charities,
protest against governments or even the behaviour of other countries. As such, the collocation of bell and whistles
became established as a word pair. The expression started to be used in car adverts in the early 1970s and then extended
to other areas of technological marketing.
3) What is the origin of the expression “elbow grease?”
a) This is an expression that was commonly used to refer sailors on ships and their habit of resting their elbows on the
table in order to feel some kind of balance because of the constant movement of the ship while at sea. As a result, the
food and grease from their meals would often get onto their elbows, and when they were working this would be jokingly
referred to as elbow grease, a vital lubricant.
b) This expression originated in a poem from the 1670s by an English “metaphysical poet” who went by the name of
Andrew Marvell. His use of “elbow grease” was a metaphor for hard physical work.
c) From the 16th century onwards, people who were considered lazy were often portrayed by artists as resting their faces
in their hands with their elbows on the table. It would be said that they could not work as their elbows had gone rusty and
needed grease to become flexible again, hence the expression.
4) What is the origin of the expression “to not be rocket science?”
a) This is expression originates from ancient China and refers to the art of making fireworks, with the most complicated
being rockets. Out of all the fireworks that exist, rockets are the most difficult to get to work correctly as at least a little
knowledge of aerodynamics is needed in order to get them to fly well.
b) This is related to the space race between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. At the time, rocket scientists,
usually Germans who were captured during World War 2, were considered to be the most intelligent people on the
planet, and rocketry was seen to be very complicated.
c) This is expression actually comes from India and resistance to British rule during the 18th century. The Indian rebels of
the North, under the leadership of Sandokan, developed a rocket that would explode over British lines and cause series
injury to the troops. As such, the science used to develop these weapons was considered very complicated and the Indian
rebels that invented them were seen as extremely clever.
5) What is the origin of the expression “not push the panic button?”
a) The B-17 and B-24 bombers in WW2 were equipped with an emergency button for giving the order to bail out. This
would be used if the planes was so badly damaged that the only way to survive was to jump out with a parachute.
b) This expression comes from the first American nuclear power station that was completed in 1957. There was an alarm
to warn of the reactor going critical that could be pressed from the main control panel. This alarm was called the panic
button and was used 4 times in the first 5 years.
c) This expression relates to the industrial revolution and the first steam engines that were used to keep the mines in
Yorkshire and Derbyshire from flooding during the 18th century. Sometimes the giant steam engines that were used would
overheat. When this happened, there was no way to cool the engines down and an explosion was nearly always the
result. A panic button would be pushed to sound an alarm and evacuate the area.

iSLCollective.com