1. He decided to retire. He had been calling the .......... at his company for more years than he could remember, and it was now time to relax.

2. The calm before the .......... was just about to end, and they would be arguing again soon. On average, he had about 15 minutes of peace after he got home from work.

3. Well, I might as well clean out my closet now, since I can't dance and it's too wet to .........., Kathy jokingly said to Greta.

4. He won't get the project done right. He couldn't do it for .........., Mike said.

5. I think that the Black& Decker drill is pretty good, but it can't hold a(n) .......... to the Dewalt drill, Arnie said to Adam.

6. That's the problem with a lot of department managers: they're good at improving their own department, but often it's at the expense of the organization as a whole. They can't see the .......... for the trees.

7. I think that lawyer's a .......... . and I would never hire him. He doesn't care about what happens to the company or making things right; he only cares about his fees, Maggie said.

8. I love that guy. He's like a .......... in a coal mine: he can spot trouble coming in the market from a mile away, the manager said.

9. I think that the carrot-and-.......... method works well in an office environment: the workers do what you want them to do, the boss opined.

10. I'm not going to .......... the can for you, Kyle. You're going to have to tell Dad what you did and own up to it, Mathew said.