Chapter 7 Flashcards
Skirmish
Meaning: 1. to fight for a short time with a small group of people. 2. to argue for a short time.
Examples: Police and protesters skirmished in the chilly rain.
Rebels skirmished with nearby American forces.
The parties skirmished about attorney fees.
Be endowed with
Meaning: to have a particular quality or feature.
Examples: Some lucky people are endowed with both brains and beauty.
Sardinia is generously endowed with prehistoric sites.
Australia is well-endowed with uranium resources, boasting one of the biggest reserves in the world at Olympic Dam.
Undermine
Meaning: lessen the effectiveness, power, or ability of, especially gradually or insidiously.
Examples: The president has accused two cabinet members of working secretly to undermine his position/him.
Suddenly she just turned on me and accused me of undermining her.
If you continually criticize children you can seriously undermine their confidence.
Grate on someone
Meaning: to annoy someone; to bother someone.
Examples: Your negative attitude really grates on me. Everything you say grates on me.
My obnoxious brother is grating on my nerves.
Your whining really grates on me.
Her snarky comments are really starting to grate on me.
Die down
Meaning: if something dies down, it becomes much less noisy, powerful, or active.
Examples: I waited for the laughter to die down before I spoke.
The wind died down during the night.
It was several minutes before the applause died down.
Grounding
Meaning: a knowledge of the basic facts about a particular subject.
Examples: This course is designed to give drivers a grounding in car maintenance.
His degree gave him a firm grounding in his field.
You need a good grounding in mathematics for this type of work.
Bitter pill to swallow
Meaning: an unpleasant fact or situation that is difficult to accept.
Examples: The truth about her family had been a bitter pill to swallow.
When Brett’s parents stopped giving him money to pay his bills and told him to get a job, it was a bitter pill for him to swallow.
Getting a poor performance review was a bitter pill to swallow.
Make a comeback
Meaning: to achieve a success after retirement or failure.
Examples: After being down five goals at the start of the third period, they made a remarkable comeback and tied the game with mere seconds to spare.
After analysts predicted her campaign was dead in the water two months ago, the candidate appears to be making an incredible comeback.
You’re never too old to make a comeback.
Curb
Meaning: to control or limit something that is not wanted.
Examples: The government should act to curb tax evasion.
You must try to put a curb on your bad temper/spending habits.
The police are trying to curb under-age drinking.
Head off
Meaning: 1. to try to stop something from happening. 2. to prevent someone from going somewhere by getting in front of them. 3. to leave a place (set off)
Examples: I’m calling the editor now to head off this story before they print it. (1)
Let’s try and head them off before they cross the bridge. (2)
Louise just headed off to the store, but you can probably still catch her, if you leave now. (3)
I think I can head her off before she reaches the police station.
Give someone a dose (a taste) of their own medicine
Meaning: give someone the same bad treatment that they have given to others.
Examples: Bill is always excluding me from things, so I’m going to give him a taste of his own medicine and not invite him to my party.
This team likes to play tough defense, so let’s give them a taste of their own medicine and not give them any space to score.
The famously aggressive interviewer was given a taste of his own medicine today when one caller asked him a series of very direct questions.
Skeptical
Meaning: not easily convinced; having doubts or reservations.
Examples: The public were deeply skeptical about some of the proposals.
Ruth is convinced that it’s a good idea but I’m deeply skeptical.
I’ve always been skeptical about alternative therapies.
Turmoil
Meaning: a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty.
Examples: The country is in a state of political turmoil.
The Stock Exchange is in turmoil following a huge wave of selling. Her mind was in turmoil.
She grew up in the turmoil of the 1960s.
Time out
Meaning: a short period in which a child has to stop an activity as a punishment for behaving badly. 2. A brief pause, break, or hiatus from something.
Examples: His dad put him in a timeout for telling lies. If you keep throwing your toys like that, I’m going to give you a time out!
I wish I had taken time out before starting this job—that might have kept me from getting burned out so quickly.
Take time out for lunch. Work will still be here when you get back.
Dabble
Meaning: take part in an activity in a casual or superficial way.
Examples: He first dabbled in politics when he was at law school. She dabbled with drugs at university.
When he was younger he dabbled in astrology.
