Deck 17 Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Deck 17 Deck (100)
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1
Q

to subsume

A

include or absorb (something) in something else

  • ‘Most of these phenomena can be subsumed under two broad categories.’
2
Q

a maître d’

maître d’s (pl.)

A

the person in charge of a restaurant or of the people who bring food to your table in a restaurant
- ‘a maître d’hôtel’

3
Q

an incentive

A

something that encourages a person to do something

  • ‘Bonus payments provide an incentive to work harder.’
4
Q

obscene

A

morally wrong, offensive, rude, or shocking, usually because of being too obviously related to sex or showing sex
* obscenity

5
Q

to usher

A

to show someone where they should go, or to make someone go where you want them to go

  • ‘She ushered us into her office and offered us coffee.’
6
Q

to shriek

A

to utter a high-pitched piercing sound or words, especially as an expression of terror, pain, or excitement.

7
Q

to utter

A

to say something or to make a sound with your voice

  • ‘She sat through the whole meeting without uttering a word.’
8
Q

to walk out on sb

A

to suddenly leave your husband, wife, or partner and end your relationship with them

9
Q

sopping

A

extremely wet

  • ‘You’re sopping wet - go and get changed.’
10
Q

a significant other

A

A person with whom someone has an established romantic or sexual relationship

11
Q

to suck it up

A

to cope with something unpleasant without complaining

12
Q

to call it quits

A

to stop doing something

13
Q

to give/hand sth to sb on a (silver) platter

A

to allow someone to get something very easily, without having to work for it

14
Q

to grow on someone

A

to become increasingly liked or enjoyed by someone

  • ‘The new house slowly began to grow on her.’
15
Q

arm candy [U]

A

a very attractive person taken by another person to a social event in order to impress other people

16
Q

tad

A

a little, slightly

  • ‘The fish was OK, but the chips were a tad greasy.’
17
Q

to hit the sauce/bottle

A

to drink alcohol, especially rapidly and to excess; booze

18
Q

AWOL

A

Absent Without Official Leave

19
Q

a faculty

A

a special ability to do a particular thing

  • ‘She has a faculty for inspiring confidence in people.’
20
Q

to step up to the plate

A

to take action when something needs to be done, even though this is difficult

  • ‘In this crisis we all need to step up to the plate and make a difference.’
21
Q

to walk on eggs/eggshells

A

If you are walking on eggs/eggshells, you are being very careful not to offend someone or do anything wrong

  • ‘I feel like I walk on eggshells around you.’
22
Q

bogus

A

false, not real, or not legal

  • ‘She produced some bogus documents to support her application.’
23
Q

a bouncer

A

someone whose job is to stand outside a bar, party, etc. and either stop people who cause trouble from coming in or force them to leave

24
Q

a bystander

A

a person who is standing near and watching something that is happening but is not taking part in it

25
Q

from scratch

A

from the beginning

26
Q

to bail on someone

A

to break a date with someone; stand someone up

27
Q

in good/high spirits

A

happy, cheerful

28
Q

to get your head out of your ass

A

to stop being so consumed with yourself, and your own well being /=ogarnąć się

29
Q

to gussy sb/sth up

A

to make someone or something look more attractive or impressive

  • ‘She was all gussied up in a designer dress.’
30
Q

balmy

A

(of weather) pleasantly warm

31
Q

a butterball

A

a chubby or fat person

32
Q

beguiling

A

interesting or attractive, but perhaps not to be trusted:

  • ‘That’s a beguiling argument, but I’m not convinced by it.’
33
Q

if sb had their druthers

A

one’s preference in a matter.

  • ‘If I had my druthers, I would prefer to be a writer.’
  • ‘If he had his druthers, I suspect he’d still be in bed.’
34
Q

to shoot a text

A

the simple act of sending a text message

35
Q

an acquisition

A

the process of getting something

36
Q

a nutjob

A

a mad or crazy person

37
Q

the flavour of the month

A

a person or thing that is very popular at a particular time

  • ‘Environmental issues are no longer the flavour of the month.’
38
Q

to inundate

A

​to give someone so much work or so many things that they cannot deal with it all

  • ‘We have been inundated with requests for help.’
39
Q

a hump

A

a large, round raised area or part

  • ‘The car hit a hump in the road and swerved.’
40
Q

staggering

A

very shocking and surprising

41
Q

prevalent

A

existing very commonly or happening often

  • ‘These diseases are more prevalent among young children.’
42
Q

to lumber

A

to move slowly and awkwardly

43
Q

reservations [or U]

A

a doubt or feeling of not being able to agree with or accept something completely

  • ‘They shared deep reservations about his choice.’
    ! ‘He accepted my advice without reservation.’
44
Q

syntax

A

the grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence

45
Q

untiring

A

If someone has untiring energy, interest, or enthusiasm, their energy, interest, or enthusiasm never becomes weaker

46
Q

to contend

A

to say that something is true or is a fact

  • ‘The lawyer contended (that) her client had never been near the scene of the crime.’
47
Q

a subtlety

A

a small but important detail

48
Q

to be averse to doing sth

A

strongly disliking or opposed to an activity

49
Q

to make amends for

A

strongly disliking or opposed to

50
Q

to go without saying

A

be obvious

51
Q

to approve of sb doing sth

A

to have a positive opinion of someone or something

52
Q

to be an apple of sb’s eye

A

the person who someone loves most and is very proud of

53
Q

to account for sth

A

to be the reason for something, or to explain the reason for something

  • ‘She was asked to account for the missing money.’
54
Q

to amount to

A

to be the same as something, or to have the same effect as something

  • ‘What you’re saying amounts to blackmail.’
55
Q

to make a beeline for something

A

to move quickly and directly toward something

56
Q

to bump into sb

A

to meet someone you know when you have not planned to meet them

57
Q

to barter

A

to exchange goods for other things rather than for money

  • ‘He bartered his stamp collection for her comics.’
58
Q

abashed

A

embarrassed

59
Q

a foregone conclusion

A

a result that is obvious to everyone even before it happens

  • ‘It’s a forgone conclusion that Mark will get the job.’
60
Q

to make allowances

A

to accept behaviour that you would not normally accept because you know why someone has behaved that way

  • ‘We have to make allowances for his lack of experience.’
61
Q

in abeyance

A

halted temporarily; in suspension

62
Q

out and about

A

engaging in normal activity after an illness

  • ‘She should be out and about in a few days’ time.’
63
Q

to be of/have no fixed abode

A

to not have a permanent home

64
Q

in the abstract

A

in a general way

65
Q

of one’s own accord

A

If you do something of your own accord, you do it without being asked to do it

66
Q

to agree to differ/disagree

A

If two people agree to differ, they accept that they have different opinions about something and stop trying to persuade each other that they are right.

67
Q

in arrears

A

owing money that should have been paid already

  • ‘They are in arrears on/with their mortgage payments.’
68
Q

to cast aspersions on sb/sth

A

to criticize or make damaging remarks or judgments about someone or something

  • ‘His opponents cast aspersions on his patriotism.’
69
Q

to throw sb off balance

A

to confuse, surprise or upset someone for a short time by saying or doing something that they are not expecting

70
Q

on the ball

A

alert, active and aware of things

71
Q

to be beside oneself with

A

If you are beside yourself with a particular feeling or emotion, it is so strong that it makes you almost out of control

72
Q

to bide one’s time

A

to wait calmly for a good opportunity to do something

  • ‘She was biding her time until she could get her revenge.’
73
Q

to be in the black

A

not owing anybody any money

74
Q

to blaze a trail

A

to do something that has never been done before:

  • ‘Claude Debussy blazed a trail in music.’
75
Q

on the blink

A

When a machine is on the blink, it is not working correctly.

76
Q

to go by the board

A

to be forgotten or not used

  • ‘Does this mean our holiday plans will have to go by the board?’
77
Q

cut to the bone

A

reduced to the minimum

78
Q

to pick someone’s brain

A

to ask someone’s advice about a subject the person knows a lot about

  • ‘Can I pick your brain about how you got rid of those weeds?’
79
Q

a sitter

A

someone who is having their portrait painted

80
Q

to chuckle

A

to laugh quietly

  • ‘She was chuckling to herself as she read the book.’
81
Q

to guffaw

A

to laugh loudly, especially at something stupid that someone has said or done

82
Q

to sneer

A

to talk about or look at someone or something in an unkind way that shows you do not respect or approve of them

  • ‘You may sneer, but a lot of people like this kind of music.’
83
Q

to snigger

A

to laugh at someone or something in a silly and often unkind way

  • ‘What are you two sniggering at/about?’
84
Q

to beam

A

to smile with obvious pleasure

  • She beamed with delight at his remarks.
85
Q

to titter

A

to laugh nervously, often at something that you feel you should not be laughing at

86
Q

to grin

A

to smile a wide smile

87
Q

to grin and bear it

A

to accept something bad without complaining

88
Q

adroitly

A

very skilfully and quickly

89
Q

to sway

A

to persuade someone to believe or do one thing rather than another

  • ‘Her speech failed to sway her colleagues into supporting the plan.’
90
Q

affluent

A

having a lot of money or owning a lot of things:

affluent nations

91
Q

well off

A

rich

92
Q

revenue [U]

A

the income that a government or company receives regularly

93
Q

to appreciate

A

to increase in value

  • ‘The value of our house has appreciated by 50 percent in the last two years.’
94
Q

to work like a charm

A

to be very effective, possibly in a surprising way

95
Q

to be in sb’s good/bad books

A

If you are in someone’s good/bad books, they are pleased/not pleased with you

96
Q

a raw deal

A

bad or unfair treatment

97
Q

to lay the blame for sth on sb

A

to place the blame for something on someone

98
Q

new blood [U]

A

people with a lot of energy or fresh ideas who are brought into an organization in order to improve it

99
Q

unintelligible

A

impossible to understand

100
Q

a cliffhanger

A

a story or a situation that is exciting because its ending or result is uncertain until it happens