Advanced English Conversations - Robert Allans, Ahmet Mustafaoglu, Metin Emir 2019

Set (66) - Nib it in the bud

Dialogue

Thomas: OK, that's the last straw! I told Mark to stop irritating his mates, but he’s taking no notice of that. I’ll teach him a lesson.

Diana: Come on! You’re making a big thing of it! He’s still too young to lay the blame on him.

Thomas: I know, but unless we nib it in the bud, he’ll end up going astray.

Diana: You’re right, but please don’t make waves. Or else we’re gonna be the talk of the town!

Thomas: Yeah, the last thing we need is to make the fry fly. I’ll hand him over to you; anyway.

Vocabulary

The last straw: the last of a succession of irritations or troubles that leads to a loss of patience, a disaster, etc.

Teach someone a lesson: punish or hurt someone as a deterrent or warning.

Make a big thing of: to exaggerate.

Lay the blame on: to blame.

Nip something in the bud: suppress or destroy something at an early stage.

Go astray: to go out of the right, good, or expected way; into error.

Make waves: to cause trouble; to create a disturbance.

The talk of the town: to be what everyone is talking about.

Make the fur fly: to cause a fight or an argument; to create an uproar.

Hand over: to delegate authority or responsibility to someone or something.

Exercise;

Fill in the gaps with the correct phrases;

the last straw

teach someone a lesson

make a big thing of

lay the blame on

nip something in the bud

go astray

make waves

the talk of the town

make the fur fly

hand over

a. Many politicians .......... in order to be kept in the media.

b. The public seems to be .......... the data breach about the company's lax security measures.

c. She has been unhappy with him for a long time but when he crashed her car, it was ..........

d. The strange behavior of the new mayor is ..........

e. By arresting all the leaders, they .......... the rebellion ..........

f. John tripped me, so I punched him. That ought to ..........

g. My mom will .......... if she finds out we took her car without asking.

h. Teens who have a conducive family atmosphere to fall back on hardly ever ..........

i. Don't .......... such a .......... missing the bus: there'll be another one along in a minute.

j. The soldiers were ordered to .......... their guns.