Test: how well do you know popular English phrases

This turn confuses anyone. Mustard? Mustard? What does it have to do with it? We have no explanation for this, but to cut the mustard means “live up to expectations” or “meet expectations”.

At a time when electric lighting did not exist, it was necessary to work at night by the light of kerosene lamps. From here and this expression meaning "to stay up late".

To hit the nail on the head - get to the point. One of the oldest idioms of the English language. Its exact origin has not been established. Many have interpreted this expression as “harsh.” However, today the meaning of this phraseology can be correlated with the Russian “not in the eyebrow, but in the eye”.

To be on the fence - to be indecisive, to take a wait and see attitude. The idiom originating in the Middle English language (XI – XV centuries). At that time, the word fens meant the same thing as defense today - “defense”, “defense”. But today the word fence is a fence, and “sit on the fence” means the same as the Russian “sit on two chairs”: try to sit in two places at the same time.

This phrase means that a person does not know how to manage money, throws it away.

This phrase means: if the criticism is fair to you, you should take it into account.

To be blue or have the blues means feel depressed, that is, to feel very sad, depressed.