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1. What does “go astray” mean? 9. What does “go Dutch” mean?
a) To start smoking. a) To be very rude to people.
b) To say the wrong thing or accidently offend. b) To ride a bicycle.
c) To get lost or go the wrong way. c) To share a bill or cost of something.
d) To stop taking drugs or alcohol. d) To cooperate.

2. What does “go AWOL” mean? 10. What does “go with the flow” mean?
a) To go missing, not be where one is expected. a) To pass something and not realise it until it’s too late.
b) To spend all of one’s money. b) To have a shower.
c) To get something very wrong. c) To go to the toilet.
d) To stop working. d) To relax and do what others are doing or want to do.

3. What does “go awry” mean? 11. What does “go out on a limb” mean?
a) To go rotten or smelly. a) To take a chance or a risk for somebody else.
b) To go wrong or bad. b) To fall over.
c) To go back to where one started. c) To explore somewhere.
d) To go home. d) To avoid a large area.

4. What does “go beetroot” mean? 12. What does “go at it tooth and nail” mean?
a) To get embarrassed or angry. a) To avoid at all costs.
b) To get sunburned. b) To hate something.
c) To get tired or sleepy. c) To sleep too much.
d) To get hungry and thirsty. d) To do something with passion or intensity.

5. What does “go for a Burton” mean? 13. What does “go overboard” mean?
a) To like. a) To fall over.
b) To drink. b) To refuse to pay for something expensive.
c) To win. c) To do too much, or with too much enthusiasm.
d) To die. d) To not know how to explain something.

6. What does “go cap in hand” mean? 14. What does “go pear-shaped” mean?
a) To demand something in an aggressive manner. a) To go very well.
b) To beg or ask for a favour in a humble manner. b) To go wrong or bad.
c) To want something in a determined manner. c) To be nice to look at.
d) To leave somewhere in a hurry. d) To be complicated.

7. What does “go the distance” mean? 15. What does “go off on a tangent” mean?
a) To see very well. a) To look in the wrong place for something.
b) To travel a lot. b) To not like something that is popular.
c) To not be able to see clearly. c) To hold something very tightly.
d) To last, continue until finished. d) To talk about something irrelevant, not keep to the subject.

8. What does “go downhill” mean? 16. What does “go viral” mean?
a) To deteriorate. a) To publish online.
b) To be demoted. b) To become contagious.
c) To buy something cheaper than normal. c) To offend people.
d) To die. d) To be cured or immune from something contagious.

iSLCollective.com
 astray AWOL awry beetroot burton cap distance downhill
Dutch flow limb nail overboard pear-shaped tangent viral

Match the words in the box above with the sentences below.
You will need to conjugate the verbs or convert to plural when appropriate.

1. I went on an IT course at university that was quite difficult. For a short time, I really thought
that I wouldn’t go the ________ but I finished the course with reasonable marks.

2. The secretary has gone ________ and nobody in the office knows where anything is. We
keep calling her phone but she doesn’t pick up. I hope she is OK.

3. On our first date, my wife insisted that we go ________ when the waiter brought the bill to
the table.

4. When his trousers fell down while taking the floor in front of 200 delegates, he went
________. I really felt sorry for him.

5. The vacation plans went _________ when the flights were cancelled due to bad weather.
(2 possibilities)

6. The package went ________ somewhere on route to its destination and it cannot be found,
despite our best efforts. We will give you a full refund within the next 12 hours.

7. I don’t know what my neighbours are arguing about but they have been going at it tooth
and ________ for the best part of the afternoon. I wish they would stop shouting.
8. The party preparations started to go __________ when the caterer didn't show up on time.
(2 possibilities)

9. When the video of my father shouting at the TV during a football match went ________, it
took weeks before people forgot about it and stopped commenting on it in the street.

10. We didn’t have the money to fly the team home from India and we had to go ________ in
hand to the finance department to get the money to pay for their tickets back.

11. He seemed to respond well to treatment when he first arrived in hospital, but after a few
days everything started to go ________ and he is now in the intensive care unit.

12. The team were very happy with the new boss. It quickly became obvious that she
supported them and was happy to go out on a ________ for any of them in a crisis.

13. If Bill goes off on a ________ during the meeting, just tell him to keep to the point so we
can go home early, and he will do just that.

14. My boss really goes ________ when a customer visits the office. He has food and drinks
distributed everywhere, and he is clumsily polite to everybody. It’s downright creepy!

15. My wife is Indian, and the first time I met her family in Nagpur, I had no idea how to
behave so, I just relaxed and went with the ________. I had a lovely time!

16. The herd caught a rare disease and several cows went for a ________. Each cow was worth
more than a thousand pounds and the farmer is very upset.

iSLCollective.com
 Which below do you think the true origins of the 5 expressions?

1) What is the origin of the expression “go AWOL?”

a) This expression comes the military and dates from the 19th at the very least. It means “Absent WithOut Leave,” and
indicates that a soldier should be on duty but is not and that soldier doesn’t have permission to be absent.
b) This expression comes from a Victorian book of childcare. When something was considered bad for a child, parents would
say “Avoid With Our Love,” meaning that the child could not do or have this thing even though they wanted it, because it
was an act of love to deny them this.
c) This comes from the early days of air travel and means “All With Official Luggage.” If a bag went missing on the first
commercial flights, this was referred to as this rather than the company admitting that the bag was lost. Airlines were forced
to change the status of missing baggage to “lost luggage” in the 1960s because of a United States court ruling.
2) What is the origin of the expression “go for a Burton?”
a) Ralph Burton, an English politician, was credited with closing down many factories just before the depression hit Great
Britain in the 1930s. He was blamed for killing British industry and his name was associated with destruction from that time
till now.
b) The Welsh actor, Richard Burton, had a habit of dying in all his early films. If somebody died it was often said that they had
“gone for a burton.”
c) During World War 2, there was a beer called Burton’s that was very popular in Great Britain. If a British pilot was killed in
action, rather than say he was dead, the other pilots would say that he had “gone for a burton,” which was also the slogan
used by Burton’s brewery.
3) What is the origin of the expression “go Dutch?”
a) During the period of British history known as the “Anglo Dutch wars,” the United Kingdom was often competing
aggressively with the Dutch for trade routes on the high seas. As such, British sailors and soldiers would say derogatory
things about the Dutch. One of the things that was said was that the Dutch would never pay for a round of drinks and that
they were very mean with money, hence the expression.
b) There was a kind of door that was fashionable in the UK in the 18th century, which had a separate upper and lower part,
known as a Dutch door. If a bill was split down the middle, it would be compared to the door.
c) When William of Orange became King of England, he brought some Dutch habits with him. One of them was the Dutch
custom of everybody paying their own part of a restaurant bill rather than offering to pay out of generosity. For a short time
this became the fashion in London.
4) What is the origin of the expression “go cap in hand?”
a) This expression comes from the British military. If a soldier, airman/airwoman, or sailor is disciplined in the British military,
they must remove their headwear while their case is heard at the military tribunal. They are literally “cap in hand” until a
decision has been taken about their future.
b) In many countries in Europe, taking one’s hat off when entering a church or speaking to people of an elevated social
status used to be very common. Indeed, it is still the norm for people in Christian churches and some other religions. When
people would go to the bank during the early days of banking, the people working there were considered to be of a
reasonably high social status and the customers would be expected to take off their hats when entering the banks or
speaking to the bankers. Caps were worn by people from the lower socio-economic orders. Ordinary people would “go cap
in hand” to the banks when they needed anything connected to money or banking.
c) This expression relates to the early days of the police force. All sections of society had to refer to British police officers as
“Sir.” Even the aristocracy had to call a police officer by this title which was very unpopular not just with the upper classes
but with the officers themselves who were very embarrassed by it. Many officers, when in the company of the aristocracy
would remove their caps so that it would not be necessary for hose of the nobility to defer to them. The police would “go
cap in hand” when they wanted to speak to the upper classes.
5) What is the origin of the expression “go the distance?”
a) This phrase is connected to the first motor cars in the late part of the 19th century which were not very good and prone to
breaking down more often than not. If a car was any good, then it would “go the distance”. In other words, it would
complete the distance of the journey that the driver wanted to take.
b) This expression is a sporting expression and came from horse racing although it eventually ended up being used as a
boxing metaphor. When a horse “goes the full distance,” it completes the race and crosses the finish line. This started to get
used in boxing meaning that a fighter could last all of the rounds until the fight was complete and is now a common
expression for boxing matches but also for anybody in any situation, meaning that something will be completed.
c) This is an old expression and comes from agriculture during medieval times. Many agricultural workers, after the Black
Death, would travel from one farm to another farm, all over England. Before the Black Death, people worked for the same
rich, landowners. But due to the shortage of workers because of the high mortality rate of the pandemic, workers were
expected to “go the distance,” and work in other regions for other landowners. This led to better wages and conditions with
the result that many workers could pay to use primitive forms of public transport that sprang up as a result of demand.

Follow up!
Now write five false origins for the expressions from the other page.
iSLCollective.com
1. What does “go astray” mean? 9. What does “go Dutch” mean?
a) To start smoking. a) To be very rude to people.
b) To say the wrong thing or accidently offend. b) To ride a bicycle.
c) To get lost or go the wrong way. c) To share a bill or cost of something.
d) To stop taking drugs or alcohol. d) To cooperate.

2. What does “go AWOL” mean? 10. What does “go with the flow” mean?
a) To go missing, not be where one is expected. a) To pass something and not realise it until it’s too late.
b) To spend all of one’s money. b) To have a shower.
c) To get something very wrong. c) To go to the toilet.
d) To stop working. d) To relax and do what others are doing or want to do.

3. What does “go awry” mean? 11. What does “go out on a limb” mean?
a) To go rotten or smelly. a) To take a chance or a risk for somebody else.
b) To go wrong or bad. b) To fall over.
c) To go back to where one started. c) To explore somewhere.
d) To go home. d) To avoid a large area.

4. What does “go beetroot” mean? 12. What does “go at it tooth and nail” mean?
a) To get embarrassed or angry. a) To avoid at all costs.
b) To get sunburned. b) To hate something.
c) To get tired or sleepy. c) To sleep too much.
d) To get hungry and thirsty. d) To do something with passion or intensity.

5. What does “go for a Burton” mean? 13. What does “go overboard” mean?
a) To like. a) To fall over.
b) To drink. b) To refuse to pay for something expensive.
c) To win. c) To do too much, or with too much enthusiasm.
d) To die. *Very informal, normally used about people not d) To not know how to explain something.
really known personally, or animals. Used for plans too.

14. What does “go pear-shaped” mean? *

6. What does “go cap in hand” mean? a) To go very well.
a) To demand something in an aggressive manner. b) To go wrong or bad.
b) To beg or ask for a favour in a humble manner. c) To be nice to look at.
c) To want something in a determined manner. d) To be complicated.
d) To leave somewhere in a hurry. *Less formal than “go awry.”

15. What does “go off on a tangent” mean?

7. What does “go the distance” mean? a) To look in the wrong place for something.
a) To see very well. b) To not like something that is popular.
b) To travel a lot. c) To hold something very tightly.
c) To not be able to see clearly. d) To talk about something irrelevant, not keep to the subject.
d) To last, continue until finished.

16. What does “go viral” mean?

8. What does “go downhill” mean? a) To publish online.
a) To deteriorate. b) To become contagious.
b) To be demoted. c) To offend people.
c) To buy something cheaper than normal. d) To be cured or immune from something contagious.
d) To die.

iSLCollective.com
1. I went on an IT course at university that was quite difficult. For a short time, I really thought
that I wouldn’t go the distance but I finished the course with reasonable marks.

2. The secretary has gone AWOL and nobody in the office knows where anything is. We keep
calling her phone but she doesn’t pick up. I hope she is OK.

3. On our first date, my wife insisted that we go Dutch when the waiter brought the bill to the
table.

4. When his trousers fell down while taking the floor in front of 200 delegates, he went
beetroot. I really felt sorry for him.

5. The vacation plans went pear-shaped/awry when the flights were cancelled due to bad
weather. (2 possibilities)

6. The package went astray somewhere on route to its destination and it cannot be found,
despite our best efforts. We will give you a full refund within the next 12 hours.

7. I don’t know what my neighbours are arguing about but they have been going at it tooth
and nail for the best part of the afternoon. I wish they would stop shouting.

8. The party preparations started to go awry/pear-shaped when the caterer didn't show up on
time. (2 possibilities)

9. When the video of my father shouting at the TV during a football match went viral, it took
weeks before people forgot about it and stopped commenting on it in the street.

10. We didn’t have the money to fly the team home from India and we had to go cap in hand
to the finance department to get the money to pay for their tickets back.

11. He seemed to respond well to treatment when he first arrived in hospital, but after a few
days everything started to go downhill and he is now in the intensive care unit.

12. The team were very happy with the new boss. It quickly became obvious that she
supported them and was happy to go out on a limb for any of them in a crisis.

13. If Bill goes off on a tangent during the meeting, just tell him to keep to the point so we can
go home early, and he will do just that.

14. My boss really goes overboard when a customer visits the office. He has food and drinks
distributed everywhere, and he is clumsily polite to everybody. It’s downright creepy!

15. My wife is Indian, and the first time I met her family in Nagpur, I had no idea how to
behave so, I just relaxed and went with the flow. I had a lovely time!

16. The herd caught a rare disease and several cows went for a Burton. Each cow was worth
more than a thousand pounds and the farmer is very upset.

iSLCollective.com
1) What is the origin of the expression “go AWOL?”
a) This expression comes the military and dates from the 19th at the very least. It means “Absent WithOut Leave,” and
indicates that a soldier should be on duty but is not and that soldier doesn’t have permission to be absent.
b) This expression comes from a Victorian book of childcare. When something was considered bad for a child, parents would
say “Avoid With Our Love,” meaning that the child could not do or have this thing even though they wanted it, because it
was an act of love to deny them this.
c) This comes from the early days of air travel and means “All With Official Luggage.” If a bag went missing on the first
commercial flights, this was referred to as this rather than the company admitting that the bag was lost. Airlines were forced
to change the status of missing baggage to “lost luggage” in the 1960s because of a United States court ruling.
2) What is the origin of the expression “go for a Burton?”
a) Ralph Burton, an English politician, was credited with closing down many factories just before the depression hit Great
Britain in the 1930s. He was blamed for killing British industry and his name was associated with destruction from that time
till now.
b) The Welsh actor, Richard Burton, had a habit of dying in all his early films. If somebody died it was often said that they had
“gone for a burton.”
c) During World War 2, there was a beer called Burton’s that was very popular in Great Britain. If a British pilot was killed in
action, rather than say he was dead, the other pilots would say that he had “gone for a burton,” which was also the slogan
used by Burton’s brewery.
3) What is the origin of the expression “to go Dutch?”
a) During the period of British history known as the “Anglo Dutch wars,” the United Kingdom was often competing
aggressively with the Dutch for trade routes on the high seas. As such, British sailors and soldiers would say derogatory
things about the Dutch. One of the things that was said was that the Dutch would never pay for a round of drinks and that
they were very mean with money, hence the expression.
b) There was a kind of door that was fashionable in the UK in the 18th century, which had a separate upper and lower part,
known as a Dutch door. If a bill was split down the middle, it would be compared to the door.
c) When William of Orange became King of England, he brought some Dutch habits with him. One of them was the Dutch
custom of everybody paying their own part of a restaurant bill rather than offering to pay out of generosity. For a short time
this became the fashion in London.
4) What is the origin of the expression “go cap in hand?”
a) This expression comes from the British military. If a soldier, airman/airwoman, or sailor is disciplined in the British military,
they must remove their headwear while their case is heard at the military tribunal. They are literally “cap in hand” until a
decision has been taken about their future.
b) In many countries in Europe, taking one’s hat off when entering a church or speaking to people of an elevated social
status used to be very common. Indeed, it is still the norm for people in Christian churches and some other religions. When
people would go to the bank during the early days of banking, the people working there were considered to be of a
reasonably high social status and the customers would be expected to take off their hats when entering the banks or
speaking to the bankers. Caps were worn by people from the lower socio-economic orders. Ordinary people would “go cap
in hand” to the banks when they needed anything connected to money or banking.
c) This expression relates to the early days of the police force. All sections of society had to refer to British police officers as
“Sir.” Even the aristocracy had to call a police officer by this title which was very unpopular not just with the upper classes
but with the officers themselves who were very embarrassed by it. Many officers, when in the company of the aristocracy
would remove their caps so that it would not be necessary for hose of the nobility to defer to them. The police would “go
cap in hand” when they wanted to speak to the upper classes.
5) What is the origin of the expression “go the distance?”
a) This phrase is connected to the first motor cars in the late part of the 19th century which were not very good and prone to
breaking down more often than not. If a car was any good, then it would “go the distance”. In other words, it would
complete the distance of the journey that the driver wanted to take.
b) This expression is a sporting expression and came from horse racing although it eventually ended up being used as a
boxing metaphor. When a horse “goes the full distance,” it completes the race and crosses the finish line. This started to get
used in boxing meaning that a fighter could last all of the rounds until the fight was complete and is now a common
expression for boxing matches but also for anybody in any situation, meaning that something will be completed.
c) This is an old expression and comes from agriculture during medieval times. Many agricultural workers, after the Black
Death, would travel from one farm to another farm, all over England. Before the Black Death, people worked for the same
rich, landowners. But due to the shortage of workers because of the high mortality rate of the pandemic, workers were
expected to “go the distance,” and work in other regions for other landowners. This led to better wages and conditions with
the result that many workers could pay to use primitive forms of public transport that sprang up as a result of demand.

iSLCollective.com