Carnival: clown, flag, mask

Carnival Idioms

Idiom Explanation Example
clown around behave foolishly or silly The kids were just clowning around – they didn’t mean to download a virus and delete all the files on the computer.
be a clown fool/a person who behaves unwisely That clown driving the car ahead of us just ran a red light!
fly/show/wave the flag show your support for someone/something Today, I’m flying the flag for breast cancer survivors by wearing a pink ribbon.
keep the flag flying continue to do/support something which is in danger of ending Mark has quit the club. If we want to save the burying beetle from extinction it’s up to you and me to keep the flag flying.
somebody’s mask slips somebody who has been pretending to be nice suddenly shows their true personality Janine’s mask slipped when she refused to give Sally a lift home in the rain. It seems she isn’t as nice as we all thought.
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Exercises

Complete the sentences with the words below.

clown – clowning – flag (x2) – mask

  1. Look at that girl over there! Walking around with a chicken on her head. What a  !
  2. They are trying to keep the   flying in the newspaper industry but there is a lot of competition online.
  3. April plans to be overly nice to her boss. She would like to get a promotion. I just hope she doesn’t let her   slip.
  4. Michael's way of flying the   is listening to Scottish music all day long.
  5. Daniel, stop   around and finish your homework!

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