🗓️ Idiom: Tie Up Loose Ends (v)
💬 Meaning
- To complete any unfinished tasks or solve any small remaining issues.
- Often used before finishing a project, deal, or event to ensure everything is properly handled.
🧠 Example Sentences
- Before we launch the new product, we still need to tie up a few loose ends.
- She stayed late at the office to tie up all the loose ends before the meeting.
- We’ve handled the major parts of the deal—now let’s tie up the loose ends.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom likely comes from sailing or textile work, where “loose ends” (unsecured ropes or threads) need to be tied or finished to prevent problems. It was later used more generally to describe finishing off details in any task.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
Before closing the project, the manager asked the team to __________.
Answer
tie up loose ends
2. Choose the correct meaning of “tie up loose ends”:
A) To create more tasks
B) To finish small remaining tasks or issues
C) To start something new
Answer
B) To finish small remaining tasks or issues
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“We need to complete the final little details before the report is ready.”
→ Change the sentence using: tie up loose ends
Answer
We need to tie up loose ends before the report is ready.
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