Idioms — Set 54

Set 54 of Idioms covers 5 idioms: knock someone down a peg, cut and dried, open a Pandora’s box, put a sock in it, up the ante. Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.

1. knock someone down a peg · idiom/nɑk ˈsʌmwʌn daʊn ə pɛɡ/

   to humble someone by bringing them down a level

   The coach knocked him down a peg by making him run extra laps for showing off.

   Origin: From medieval naval flag systems — flags raised by pegs showed rank; lowering them reduced status visibly.

2. cut and dried · idiom/kʌt ənd draɪd/

   to be clearly defined or settled, leaving no room for change

   The decision is already cut and dried—there’s no room for discussion.

   Origin: From medicinal herbs — pre-prepared herbs were cut and dried, requiring no additional work before use.

3. open a Pandora’s box · idiom/ˈoʊpən ə pænˈdɔrəz bɑks/

   to start a situation that leads to many new problems

   By getting involved, he opened a Pandora’s box of problems.

   Origin: From Greek mythology — Pandora opened a forbidden jar, releasing all the evils of the world.

4. put a sock in it · idiom/pʊt ə sɑk ɪn ɪt/

   to tell someone to be quiet

   He kept complaining, so I told him to put a sock in it.

   Origin: British 1900s slang — putting a sock inside an old gramophone's horn muffled the music, lowering the volume.

5. up the ante · idiom/ʌp ði ˈænti/

   to increase the stakes or demands in a situation

   The company upped the ante by offering higher salaries to attract top talent.

   Origin: From poker — 'ante' is the bet players must put in before each round; raising it increased the stakes.