The World of Words: Vocabulary for College Success ... - eLibrary

320 Chapter 10 Word Elements: Thought and BeliefThe Ostrich Doesn’t Do ItMany people believe that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when they areattacked by their enemies. However, this is only a legend: ostriches run away fromattackers just like any other animal. Nonetheless, the ostrich has given us theidiom bury your head in the sand. Ostriches do swallow pebbles to help themdigest food, and perhaps this gave them the appearance of burying their heads.NOTE: This idiom is used with a possessive pronoun, as in “I won’tbury my head in the sand” and “He is burying his head in the sand.”20. give carte blanche kärt blänshFrom French: a blank documentto give full, unrestricted powerDave was so busy that he gave his friend carte blanche toplan their vacation.After Damaris gave the art student carte blanche todecorate her apartment, she was shocked to find thatthe walls had been painted purple.A Way to SurrenderA carte blanche was originally a piece of paper with nothing but a signature onit, used when an army surrendered. The defeated leader would sign his name,and the victor could then write in the terms of surrender. In French, the wordscarte blanche mean “blank card.” It should be noted that French was, for centuries,the international language of diplomacy.21. leave no stone unturnedto search thoroughly; to investigate thoroughlyThe security guard left no stone unturned in his search forthe lost child.The Peace After the FloodAccording to the Bible, God punished the wicked world by sending a flood.However, God chose to save one good man, Noah, along with his family andone pair of each type of animal on Earth. Noah floated in an ark for the fortydays of the flood. When the waters at last went down a dove flew from the boatand brought back an olive branch as a symbol of the fact that God’s anger wasover, and a new peace had begun. Today, both the dove and the olive branchsymbolize an offer of peace.Copyright © Cengage Learning. All Right Reserved.