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English Vocabulary > Books_2 > Flashcards

Books_2 Flashcards

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1
Q

Come up short

A

To fail to win or achieve something - We’ve been to the state tournament four times, but we’ve come up short every time.

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2
Q

Pander to [sb]/[sth]

A

To indulge [sb]/[sth] // Essere compiacente con, assecondare - Some newspapers feel they have to pander to the prejudices of their readers.

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3
Q

Curtail [sth] (v)

A

Accorciare / limitare, ridurre

  • We curtailed our vacation when the weather changed.
  • The students’ freedoms were curtailed because of their noise
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4
Q

Scores of [sth]

A

Un mucchio di, un sacco di

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5
Q

Nought

A

Zero (UK)

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6
Q

Rung (n)

A

Step of a ladder // Piolo

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7
Q

Doldrums

A

Tristezza, malinconia, depressione // crisi / depressione economica

  • Brett has been feeling in the doldrums since his favorite team lost the championship.
  • The country’s economy is in the doldrums now, but it should improve as the seasons change.
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8
Q

Lumber [sb] with [sth]

A

Burden with something unpleasant // Rifilare [qlcs] a [qlcn], addossare [qlcs] a [qlcn]

As usual, they lumbered me with the task of organizing everything

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9
Q

Fluff [sth]

A

To get something wrong // Sbagliare, cannare

The actor fluffed his lines several times during the performance.

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10
Q

See [sb] off

A

Chase away or dismiss // say farewall to [sb]

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11
Q

Lackadaisical

A

Not showing enough interest in something or not putting enough effort into it⇒ Apathetic // Apatico, indolente, svogliato

David has a rather lackadaisical approach to his work.

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12
Q

Rickety

A

Traballante, instabile, pericolante - Bob was cautious about sitting in the rickety chair, afraid that it would collapse under him

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13
Q

Scuttle [sth]

A
  1. Sink ship on purpose
  2. Cause [sth] to fail on purpose - John was fired when it was discovered that he had scuttled the project.
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14
Q

Drum up [sth]

A

Destare, stimolare - The company ran lots of TV commercials to drum up interest in their product.

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15
Q

Rife (adj)

A

Abundant, widespread - Poverty is rife in this part of the city.

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16
Q

Sway // sway [sth/sb]

A
  1. Ondeggiare, oscillare
  2. opinion, beliefs: influence - Jessica was sure she was right, but in the end, Dawn’s arguments swayed her and she changed her mind
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17
Q

Haggle over [sth]

A

To bargain for [sth] - The buyer and seller were haggling over the price of the house for a week.

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18
Q

Have a knack for doing [sth]

A

To have a talent or skill for [sth]

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19
Q

Bent on doing [sth]

A

Determined to do [sth] - That cousin of yours is bent on doing as much damage as he can.

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20
Q

Rallying cry

A

Slogan, motto, grido di battaglia - ‘Land and Liberty’ was the rallying cry of revolutionary Mexico.

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21
Q

Clampdown (n)

A

Enforcement of a restriction // Stretta, giro di vite, provvedimento restrittivo - The governor has ordered a clampdown on illegal immigration.

22
Q

Bombastic

A

Overblown, pretentious // Magniloquente, ampolloso - The dictator gave a bombastic speech to the masses

23
Q

In the thick of it // in the thick of things

A
  1. Sul più bello
  2. In azione - Tarzan was always in the thick of things when there was trouble in the jungle.
24
Q

Underwriter

A

Insurance company/agent

25
Q

Gloss over [sth]

A

Sorvolare su - She glossed over the details of her divorce.

26
Q

Rebuke (n, v)

A

Criticize, scold

27
Q

Double down

A

Raddoppiare la puntata / ribadire, insistere // Become more stubborn

  • When criticized for his views, he doubled down and his remarks caused more outrage.
  • When the interviewer questioned her, she doubled down on her support for the President.
28
Q

Earmark (v)

A

To set aside for a purpose // destinare, riservare - We have earmarked the chairs in the corner for tomorrow’s ceremony.

29
Q

Drubbing (n)

A

Bastonata

30
Q

Upend [sth]/[sb]

A

Overturn, defeat // change drastically

  • The knights wanted to upend the king and take over the throne.
  • After the fire, the principal upended the school’s crisis plans.
31
Q

Stymie [sth]

A

Thwart // ostacolare, intralciare, boicottare - Investigators have been stymied by uncooperative witnesses.

32
Q

Mettle (n)

A
  1. Strength of character // temperamento, tempra
  2. Coraggio, fegato
33
Q

Eke out something

A
  1. To obtain or win something only with difficulty or great effort - The company expects to eke out a small profit this year
  2. To use something slowly or carefully because you only have a small amount of it - They had to eke out their food rations so they would last a whole week.
34
Q

Muddle (n)

A

Pasticcio, confusione

35
Q

Hew [sth]

A

To shape, carve // Intagliare - The carpenter hewed the piece of wood skillfully.

36
Q

In the throes of [sth]

A

In the midst of, especially of a difficult struggle - The country was in the throes of economic collapse.

37
Q

Faff (n)

A

Fuss, bother // seccatura

38
Q

Hobble [sth]

A
  1. Restrict
  2. Azzoppare, mutilare
39
Q

Salvo

A

Verbal outburst // Sfogo

40
Q

Squall (n, v)

A
  1. Rainstorm // sudden wind
  2. Cry, scream
41
Q

Unfettered

A

Not restricted // Illimitato - The research team was granted unfettered access to the laboratory

42
Q

Be loath to do [sth]

A

To be reluctant to do [sth] - Sarah was loath to tell her mother what had happened.

43
Q

Splinter (v)

A

Break into splinters // Scheggiarsi, frantumarsi

44
Q

Behest

A

Strong request, command

45
Q

Be poised to do [sth]

A

Ready for // Essere in procinto di, essere sul punto di - He stood on the edge of the roof, poised to jump.

46
Q

Be on the ropes

A

To be in a very bad situation, in which you are likely to be defeated. - Behind the apparent success, the company was on the ropes.

47
Q

Brimming with [sth]

A

Full of // Colmo di

48
Q

No mean feat

A

A considerably great, difficult, or noteworthy achievement or outcome - They sold 1 million cards in the first year of business – no mean feat, given the problems many businesses are facing.

49
Q

Weary (adj)

A

Tired // sfinito, esausto

50
Q

Arrears (n)

A

Overdue payments // arretrati

English Vocabulary (20 decks)

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