Idioms about Decisions

air B back call catch-22 evils fence gaslighting mind

Insert the words from above into the most appropriate sentences below.

1) Her decision to sell her business has just entered the point of no ____________ now that all the relevant
paperwork has been completed. (Impossible to change the decision)

2) I need my glasses because I have lost my glasses and I can’t find my glasses without my glasses. It’s a
typical _____________ situation. (Paradoxical situation that renders all decisions ineffective)

3) In the end, there are different ______________ for different folks. Not everybody is going to agree with
the decisions taken by the council but they should be respected.
(Differences are completely natural and should be expected and respected)

4) Once the meeting is over and the decisions have been made, nobody will be able to argue the ________.
(Contest the decision)

5) The company has been accused of using ______________ to convince voters to choose their candidate.
(Psychological manipulation and distorting the truth)

6) When they offered us a choice between a two-week holiday in Spain or a two-week holiday in Denmark,
we chose Spain. It was a _______________. We love the sun and beaches over there.
(A very obvious choice)

7) She told me that she still had not made up her ____________ about where to go on holiday. (Decided)

8) The housing market is not doing very well at the moment so Paul and Jane are in a ____________
regarding whether to sell their bungalow or not. (Unable to make a firm decision)

9) The Brexit debate was not the kind of debate where somebody could sit on the ____________.
(Not have an opinion or make a choice)

10) My father ran the company for 40 years but as he got older, he took a _____________ seat and let my
sister make all the important decisions. (Allow another person to decide what happens)

11) The team still don’t know who is going to be promoted to be the project manager. It’s still up in the
____________. (Nothing has been decided yet)

12) My wife is in two _____________ about that promotion they have offered her at work.
(She is finding it difficult to decide)

13) The second contract that they have offered us is the lesser of two _____________ and I think we should
choose that one. (The least unpleasant option)

14) If that doesn’t work we need an effective plan ________. (Alternative plan)

15) Once they have decided, they will not be able to change their ___________ afterwards.
(Make a different decision)

16) She has been offered a big promotion with lots of benefits and a considerable salary increase but she
will need to move away from her home town and family if she takes it. It’s a tough __________.
(A very difficult decision)

17) The menu was wonderful offering many delicious dishes. They were ____________ for choice and they
couldn’t decide what to have so they asked the waiter for a recommendation. (Many options)

Follow up!
Now write five sentences using the expressions from above:
e.g. I have a mind to vote for the opposition. etc.
 Idioms about Decisions: Origins Quiz
Which stories below do you think are the true origins of the expressions?
1) What is the origin of the expression “point of no return?”
a) In the middle ages, when boats crossed the English Channel to circumnavigate around the European coast, the middle of
this body of water was called “the point of no return.” In those days, voyages to Europe were very dangerous as the political
situation changed frequently and hostility to foreign sailors meant that the crews of these ships were often never seen again.
b) During the Second World War, military planes on missions would have to calculate when the fuel for the aircraft would run
out and at which point it would be safe to return to base. This point was called “the point of no return.”
c) This expression was originally a banking term and was used in the 18 th century. There was a great deal more risk to
investing money in the 18th century. However, there was also the chance of a much bigger profit than in today’s financial
markets due to the lack of regulations. The “point of no return” was when a lot of money had been put into something but
the outcome could not be properly foreseen. It could mean success, but it also could mean ruin.
2) What is the origin of the expression “catch-22?”
a) This expression is connected to the English sport of cricket. There was a rule whereby if a batsman hit the ball and
somebody caught it but not all of the 22 players were on the pitch, (11 for each team) the catch would not be counted. The
game became more regulated at the beginning of the 20 th century and it is now not possible to have less than 22 players on
the pitch at any time.
b) This expression comes from the very English sport of Angling; fishing with a fishing rod. If an angler catches more than 22
fish before the time limit of 4 hours, the competition is halted and all the fish from all competitors are counted. If the person
claiming to have caught 22 fish has been found to have caught less than the legal number or more, that person is
disqualified. Hence a reluctance on the part of many competitors to call out if they think they have caught 22 fish.
c) This expression comes from the book of the same name by Joseph Heller. In this book, a United States airman fighting in
the Second World War tries to get excused from combat duties and sent back home by pretending to go mad, as an insane
person is ill and is therefore unfit for combat. However, there is a little know rule in the American military that states that
war is a form of madness and all people fighting in a war must be mad to do it, which renders the insanity diagnosis invalid as
an excuse to exempt somebody from military service. It also states that anybody who tries to escape from fighting in a war
must be sane. Whatever you try to do to avoid combat is bound to fail.
3) What is the origin of the expression “different strokes for different folks?”
a) It can mean the way that an arm is moved. For example in rowing, we talk about strokes. It is also used to speak about
violence, as in beating somebody with a weapon or just with the hands. Muhammad Ali, the American boxer from the 1960s
and 70s, first used this expression during an interview when talking about how he would beat an opponent who was very
different from his previous opponents. This expression became popular as a result of the interview.
b) This expression is all about how cats will let some people stroke them but other people they will attack. The unpredictable
nature of cats is projected onto the different natures of people.
c) This expression comes from the medical profession and is all about the many ways that people can die. It also refers to
how some people can eat all the wrong foods, do no exercise, and live to an old age, and how some people do all the right
things and die of a stroke at an early age.
4) What is the origin of the expression “argue the toss?”
a) This expression comes from football. Before a match kicks off, the referee asks the team captains to choose which side of
the coin will land face-up when it is tossed into the air. The team that wins the toss, which can never be disputed, is the first
to kick off.
b) In the middle ages, when local aristocrats had made a wrong decision which resulted in some kind of loss to the king, that
aristocrat would be thrown into a river by the local inhabitants. If he survived, there would be no further punishment. He had
won the toss.
c) This comes from the very old English custom of pancake racing. A pancake race is when people run for 100 metres while
tossing pancakes into the air from their frying pans. The race is the argument, traditionally a religious dispute between
Catholics and Protestants, and the first competitor over the line wins the toss.
5) What is the origin of the expression “gaslighting?”
a) This expression comes from how unstable the first gas lighting system was when installed into houses in London. People
would sometimes become ill and confused because of badly installed systems. Some people would go mad as a result.
b) This comes from a play which was later made into two very successful films. The play is set in 19 th century London and is
about a man who convinces his wife that she is going mad so that he can carry out a criminal act without her noticing or
being taken seriously in case she reports him to the police. The gas lighting in the flat often flickers on and off while he goes
about his illegal activities in the flat above that of his and his wife’s.
c) This expression comes from the 18th century and is related to the “gaslighters” who would lure ships onto the rocks using
gas lights. These gangs of criminals would signal ships that were out at sea by using their gas lights, and tell them it was safe
to approach. The ships would then break up on the rocks and their cargo would wash ashore. The gangs would then steal
whatever they could find of the cargo and sell it on the black market.

Follow up!
Now write five false origins for the expressions from the other page.