介绍:
) An Acid Test
-The team's new player has been doing well at training and in practice matches, but the acid test will come in her first real match.
-Sean has done well in his exams, but the acid test will be his 20 page dissertation.
-James has done well in his first stage job interview, but the acid test will be the later stage interviews.
Meaning:
An acid test is something that shows the true worth or value of something or someone.
Etymology:
Related to the fact that a test involving acid has been used for over a century to prove that a metal that looks like gold is, or is not, really gold.
2) A Ballpark Figure/ A Ball Park Estimate
-We don't know the exact cost, but a ballpark figure would be around six million dollars.
-When we asked Jim how fast he could run he gave us a ball park figure.
-I know you can't tell me exactly when it'll be finished, but can you give me a ballpark estimate?
Meaning:
If you give a ballpark figure or a ballpark estimate, you give a number which you think is fairly close to the actual one.
Origin:
From baseball, and probably having a history similar to that of the buzz lingo "in the same ballpark" which means "approximately the same amount".
3) Chickens Come Home to Roost
-Fred is in hospital with liver problems. I guess the chickens have come home to roost after all those years of heavy drinking.
-David has gotten in to trouble with gambling debts; the chickens will come home to roost when his bookie comes to see him.
-The chickens are coming home to roost for the executives who committed fraud in the nineties. They're being charged now even though they committed their crimes over ten years ago.
Meaning:
If chickens are coming home to roost, someone is suffering the unpleasant consequences of their bad actions in the past.
Etymology:
The fact that chickens usually come home to rest and sleep has long been known, but the idea was used figuratively only in 1809, when Robert Southey wrote, "Curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost."
