Auction House Puzzler, Idioms - Tight Corners: Vocabulary | 11th English : UNIT 4 : Prose: Tight Corners
Chapter: 11th English : UNIT 4 : Prose: Tight Corners
Tight Corners: Vocabulary
Vocabulary
(i) Auction House Puzzler
You have come across many terms associated with an auction, in the lesson. Now solve the crossword puzzle with words from the lesson. Make use of the clues given.
Across Down
1. conducts auction 1. painter
2. a protective garment 2. school of painting
3. strip with numbers 3. auction house
4. offer 4. Painting
Across
1. conducts auction - auctioneer
2. a protective garment - apron
3. strip with numbers - card
4. offer - bid
Down .
1. painter - Daubigny
2. school of painting - Barbizon
3. auction house - Christie
4. painting - art
(ii) Idioms: An idiom is an expression in English with a special meaning of its own. Idioms do not give the literal meaning of the individual words used in them.
You come across the idiom ‘by the skin of one’s teeth’ in the lesson. It means ‘a narrow escape’.
My friend escaped from the accident by the skin of his teeth.
(A) Here are some more idioms taken from the lesson. Find out their meanings and use them in sentences of your own.
1. tight corners : in a difficult situation
- When I got both medical and engineering seats I was in tight corners.
2. Shot his bolt : to exhaust one’s effort
- Virat Kohli played well in the first innings but he shot his bolt in the second innings
3. In a nice pickle : in a troublesome or difficult
situation
- The politician was in a nice
pickle when the income tax department had seized lakhs of rupees in
unaccountability.
4. have cold feet : feel nervous and anxious
- My friend always has cold feet
before the start of his program.
(B) Match the following idioms related to difficult situations with their meanings.
Answer: 1-c 2-d 3 - b 4-e 5 - a
(C) We use a variety of idioms in our daily life to describe various situations. Describe the narrator’s situation in your own words, making use of some of the new idioms you have just learnt.
A friend of the narrator took him to Christie’s an
auction house. The narrator had only sixty-three guineas, but he started
bidding for fun. Every time some other dealer offered more and the narrator did
not run any risks. A red-faced dealer offered four thousand
guineas for a picture, the n’arrator announced “And Fifty”. The first dealer
gave no sign of life. The narrator was caught in a tight
corner. The auctioneer declared the narrator as the buyer. The narrator
was at his wit’s end. He started thinking of how to escape. He
was ready to clutch at straws to escape. He felt he was hangout
dry. But a messenger from the red-faced dealer told the narrator to
receive fifty guineas and handover the picture to the dealer. Now, the narrator
felt himself on cloud nine (very happy). He was saved by
the cell. He escaped dishonor by a hair’s breath.
(iii) Phrasal Verbs:
Use the following phrasal verbs in sentences of your own. The first one has been done for you:
stand
i) up – Your statement will not stand up as proof in the court of law.
ii) for – My father always stands for truth and honesty.
iii) by – Come what may, I will stand by you.
look
i)int: The police looked into the matter of scandal case.
ii) at:
iii)through:
run
i) over :
ii) away :
iii) into :
put
i) on :
ii) up :
iii) off : The match has been put off due to rain.
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