Deck 31 Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Deck 31 Deck (100)
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1
Q

brill

A

brilliant

2
Q

a ewe [yoo]

A

a female sheep, especially when fully mature

3
Q

a culprit

A

someone who has done something wrong

  • ‘Police hope the public will help them to find the culprits.’
4
Q

covert

A

hidden or secret

  • ‘covert actions’
5
Q

to boast about/that

A

to speak too proudly or happily about what you have done or what you own

6
Q

purview [U]

A

the limit of someone’s responsibility, interest, or activity

  • ‘This case falls outside the purview of this particular court.’
7
Q

to be out of sorts

A

to be slightly ill or slightly unhappy

8
Q

a meringue [muh-rang]

A

a very light, sweet food made by mixing sugar with egg white and baking it

9
Q

-scape

A

used to form nouns referring to a wide view of a place, often one represented in a picture

  • ‘landscape, seascape, cityscape’
10
Q

a perfect storm [S]

A

an extremely bad situation in which many bad things happen at the same time

11
Q

scat singing

A

singing in which the singer substitutes improvised nonsense syllables for the words of a song, and tries to sound and phrase like a musical instrument

12
Q

to sit on sth

A

to prevent people from knowing a piece of information

  • ‘The city council will presumably sit on the report until after the election.’
13
Q

to quaver

A

If a person’s voice quavers, it shakes, usually because of emotion

14
Q

a rota

A

a list showing when each of a number of people has to do a particular job

  • ‘a cleaning rota’
15
Q

to knock sth on the head

A

to prevent something from happening, or to finally finish something

  • ‘It’s nearly done - another couple of hours should knock it on the head.’
16
Q

under wraps

A

secret

  • ‘They tried to keep the report under wraps.’
17
Q

to get your wires crossed

A

When people get their wires crossed, they have a different understanding of the same situation

18
Q

supple

A

​bending or able to be bent easily; not stiff

  • ‘I’m not supple enough to touch the floor.’
19
Q

undue

A

to a level that is more than is necessary, acceptable, or reasonable

  • ‘This figure did not give rise to undue concern.’
20
Q

feasible

A

able to be made, done, or achieved

  • ‘With the extra resources, the project now seems feasible.’
21
Q

fallible

A

able or likely to make mistakes

  • ‘We place our trust in doctors, but they are fallible like everyone else.’
22
Q

panache [puh-nash]

A

a stylish, original, and very confident way of doing things that makes people admire you

23
Q

to give sth/sb a wide berth

A

to keep a reasonable distance from someone or something or avoid them

24
Q

a warehouse

A

a large building for storing things before they are sold, used or sent out to shops

25
Q

an usher

A

a man who shows people where they should sit, especially at a formal event such as a wedding or at a theatre or cinema

26
Q

nosh

A

food or a meal

27
Q

a pasture

A

a land covered with grass and other low plants suitable for grazing animals, especially cattle or sheep

28
Q

a crustacean

A

any of various types of animal that live in water and have a hard outer shell

29
Q

a crayfish

A

a small animal that lives in rivers and is similar to a lobster, or its flesh eaten as food

30
Q

an integument

A

an outer covering, for example a skin or shell

31
Q

to get someone committed

A

to place officially in confinement or custody, as in a mental health facility

32
Q

a prude

A

Use prude to describe someone who is too concerned with being proper or modest

33
Q

en suite

A

used to describe a bathroom that is directly connected to a bedroom or a bedroom that is connected to a bathroom

  • ‘All four bedrooms in their new house are en suite.’
34
Q

a loo

A

toilet

35
Q

an excerpt

A

a short extract from a film, broadcast, or piece of music or writing.

36
Q

cut from the same cloth

A

very similar in characteristics or behaviours

37
Q

an underdog

A

a person or group of people with less power, money, etc. than the rest of society

38
Q

a stupor

A

a state in which a person is almost unconscious and their thoughts are not clear

  • ‘He was lying under the table in a drunken stupor.’
39
Q

yesteryear

A

a time in the past

  • ‘the Hollywood stars of yesteryear’
40
Q

to vilify

A

to say or write unpleasant things about someone or something, in order to cause other people to have a bad opinion of them

  • ‘He was vilified by the press as a monster.’
41
Q

indignant

A

angry because of something that is wrong or not fair

  • ‘She wrote an indignant letter to the paper complaining about the council’s action.’
42
Q

chipped

A

with a small piece or pieces broken off

43
Q

clammy

A

sticky and slightly wet in an unpleasant way

  • ‘My hands felt all clammy.’
44
Q

to slouch

A

to stand, move, or sit in a lazy, drooping way

  • ‘Straighten your back - try not to slouch.’
45
Q

to cave

A

to agree to something that you would not agree to before, after someone has persuaded you or threatened you

  • ‘After protests from customers, the company caved and removed the item from its stores.’
46
Q

a footman

A

a male servant whose job includes opening doors and serving food, and who often wears a uniform

47
Q

a buzz cut

A

any of a variety of short hairstyles usually designed with electric clippers

48
Q

snide

A

derogatory or mocking in an indirect way

  • ‘snide remarks about my mother’
49
Q

matted

A

(especially of hair, wool, or fur) tangled into a thick mass

50
Q

extant

A

used to refer to something very old that is still existing

51
Q

a canid

A

a mammal of the dog family (Canidae e.g. dogs, wolves, coyotes, foxes)

52
Q

en masse

A

in a group; all together

53
Q

to wade

A

to walk through water or other liquid with some effort, because it is deep enough to come quite high up your legs, or thick

54
Q

shears

A

very large scissors

55
Q

a pick-me-up

A

something that makes you feel better, often a drink or a tonic (= a type of medicine)

56
Q

anodyne

A

intended to avoid causing offence or disagreement, especially by not expressing strong feelings or opinions thus seeming dull

57
Q

to converge

A

If lines, roads, or paths converge, they move towards the same point where they join or meet (to come from other places to meet in a particular place)

58
Q

wondrous

A

extremely and surprisingly good

  • ‘This wondrous city.’
59
Q

succinct

A

said in a clear and short way; expressing what needs to be said without unnecessary words

60
Q

a wager

A

something risked or staked on an uncertain event; bet

61
Q

to disillusion

A

to disappoint someone by telling them the unpleasant truth about something or someone that they had a good opinion of or respected

  • ‘I hate to/I’m sorry to disillusion you, but pregnancy is not always wonderful - I was sick every day for six months.’
62
Q

to drop out

A

to leave high school, college, university or another group

63
Q

Good gracious!

A

expression of surprise

64
Q

to fold

A

to back down from anything; to bitch out

65
Q

to dislodge

A

to remove something or someone, especially by force, from a fixed position

  • ‘The new employee dislodged her by moving into her office space.’
66
Q

unyielding

A

(of a mass or structure) not giving way to pressure; hard or solid

67
Q

a fulcrum

A
  1. the point against which a lever is placed, or on which it turns or is supported
  2. the main thing or person needed to support something or to make it work or happen
68
Q

viscid

A

having a glutinous consistency; sticky; adhesive; viscous.

69
Q

to afford

A

to allow someone to have something pleasant or necessary

  • ‘Her seat afforded her an uninterrupted view of the stage.’
70
Q

collusion

A

agreement between people to act together secretly or illegally in order to deceive or cheat someone

  • ‘It is thought that they worked in collusion with the terrorist network.’
71
Q

sketch

A

a term used to describe a situation, a person, a store, a restaurant, an item, basically any noun, that is of dubious character

72
Q

a wayfarer

A

someone who travels on foot

73
Q

a petrolhead

A

someone who likes and uses their car a lot, and does not want to use any other type of transport

74
Q

a paradigm

A

a model of something, or a very clear and typical example of something

  • ‘Society’s paradigm of the ideal woman.’
75
Q

the sitch

A

short for situation

76
Q

to droop

A

to bend or hang down heavily

  • ‘The flowers were drooping in the heat.’
77
Q

to and fro

A

in a constant movement backwards and forwards or from side to side

78
Q

slick

A

skilful and effective but not sincere or honest

79
Q

inter alia

A

among other things

80
Q

far-fetched

A

very unlikely to be true, and difficult to believe

  • ‘a far-fetched idea/story’
81
Q

ironclad

A

very certain and unlikely to be changed

  • ‘an ironclad/cast-iron alibi’
82
Q

vitriol

A

violent hate and anger expressed through severe criticism

  • ‘He is a writer who has often been criticized by the press but never before with such vitriol.’
83
Q

to repent

A

to feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one’s wrongdoing or sin

  • ‘He repented (of his sins) just hours before he died.’
84
Q

on a par with someone/something

A

equal or similar to someone or something

  • ‘In my opinion, none of the new jazz trumpeters are on a par with Miles Davis.’
85
Q

credentials

A

documents that state the abilities and experience of a person and show that the person is qualified for a particular job or activity

  • ‘I got my teaching credentials from San Jose State.’
86
Q

a merry-go-round

A

a carousel roundabout

87
Q

a flyer

A

a small piece of paper with information on it about a product or event (=ulotka)

88
Q

eldritch

A

weird and sinister or ghostly

  • ‘an eldritch screech’
89
Q

underbrush

A

shrubs and small trees forming the undergrowth in a forest

90
Q

raunchy

A

connected with sex in a very clear and obvious way

  • ‘a raunchy novel’
91
Q

vehement

A

expressing strong feelings, or shown by strong feelings or great energy or force

  • ‘Despite vehement opposition from his family, he quit school and became an actor.’
  • ‘Both men were vehement in their denial of the charges against them.’
92
Q

to pie someone

A

the act of ignoring someone when they are talking to you

93
Q

shotgun!

A

First person to call “shotgun!” gets the front passenger seat.

94
Q

a conveyor belt

A

a continuous moving strip or surface that is used for transporting objects from one place to another (=taśma transportowa)

95
Q

lace [U]

A

a decorative cloth made by twisting thin thread in delicate patterns with holes in them (=koronka)

96
Q

verisimilitude [ver-uh-si-‘mil-i-tyood]

A

the quality of seeming true or of having the appearance of being real

  • ‘The detail gives the novel some verisimilitude.’
97
Q

protean

A

easily and continuously changing

  • ‘the protean talents of this comedian’
98
Q

offal [U]

A

the organs inside an animal, such as the brain, the heart, and the liver, eaten as food

99
Q

to pencil sth/sb in

A

to arrange for something to happen or for someone to do something on a particular date or occasion, knowing that the arrangement might be changed later

  • ‘We’ll pencil in the dates for the next two meetings and confirm them later.’
100
Q

extortion [U]

A

the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats