1. He finally found his dream house and it was for sale. He said to himself, "By .......... or by crook, that house will be mine no matter how much it costs me."

2. Hasn't Tommy grown a lot? He was a foot shorter a year ago. He is growing by .......... and bounds, Cindy said to Maxine.

3. He had built the house and barn by the .......... of his brow. It had been hard and had taken years but the results were breathtaking and just how he wanted them to be.

4. Sir, I just called a .......... to operations due to a safety issue. The conveyor belt is off its rollers and is caught in the machine. Can you tell me who to call to have it fixed? Fred asked his boss.

5. I lost a hundred dollars last night playing poker. I had a four-card flush but I was betting like I had the flush. I thought I had tricked everyone and then Derrick called my .........., Paul said to Maureen.

6. I am sorry, guys. I am going to call it a .......... and go home to bed. I'll see you guys next week, Bill said to the group.

7. Tammy and I aren't dating anymore. We kept fighting and we finally decided to .......... it quits, Jake told his brother.

8. Boys! Settle down and quit calling each other .......... . It isn't nice, Sam told the kids.

9. Don't you feel bad about people losing their jobs as a result of your restructuring the company? the reporter asked the CEO. The CEO responded, "No, I don't. If I didn't restructure the company everyone at this company might have lost their job because we wouldn't be able to compete anymore. You can't make an .......... without breaking some eggs."

10. He really wanted to quit smoking .......... sticks but it is hard to quit. He tried to quit smoking cigarettes before and had not been able to quit.