Deck 15 Flashcards
a seasoning
a substance, especially salt or pepper, that is added to food to improve its flavour
in jeopardy
in the risk of loss or injury; in peril or danger
- ‘The whole peace process is in jeopardy.’
hangry
becoming angry because you are feeling hungry
conducive
providing the right conditions for something good to happen or exist
- ‘Such a noisy environment was not conducive to a good night’s sleep.’
bluntly
If you speak bluntly, you speak without trying to be polite or considering other people’s feelings
- ‘To put it bluntly, I can’t afford it.’
to revel in sth
to get great pleasure from a situation or an activity
undoing [S.]
the cause of someone’s failure, or of someone’s loss of power or money
to unravel
to investigate and solve or explain (something complicated or puzzling)
- ‘They were attempting to unravel the cause of death.’
conducive
providing the right conditions for something good to happen or exist
- ‘Such a noisy environment was not conducive to a good night’s sleep.’
bluntly
If you speak bluntly, you speak without trying to be polite or considering other people’s feelings
- ‘To put it bluntly, I can’t afford it.’
to divvy sth up
to share out (often between a number of people)
- ‘They haven’t yet decided how to divvy up the proceeds from the sale.’
compulsively
too much and in a way that shows you are unable to stop
- ‘She exercises/cleans/works compulsively.’
an abomination
świństwo
= something that you dislike and disapprove of
a horndog
a man with strong sexual desires
to fornicate
to have sex with someone who you are not married to
to fall short (of)
to fail to reach its target
- ‘August car sales fell short of the industry’s expectations.’
a bottle blonde
a woman with artificially lightened blonde hair
derogatory
showing strong disapproval and not showing respects
- ‘He made some derogatory comment/remark about her appearance.’
to enthral
to keep someone completely interested
* enthralling
- ‘She had been so enthralled by the adventure that she had hardly noticed the cold.’
to reminisce
to talk or write about past experiences that you remember with pleasure
- ‘My grandfather used to reminisce about his years in the navy.’
an aficionado
someone who is very interested in and enthusiastic about a particular subject
- ‘an aficionado of French cinema’
to unsheathe
to draw or pull out (a knife, sword, or similar weapon) from its sheath or covering
an itinerary
a detailed plan or route of a journey
to be on a schedule
to be short on time
a libertine
a person, usually a man, who lives in a way that is not moral, having sexual relationships with many people
to look into something
to investigate something
- ‘I’ll have to look into that matter.’
thrifty
(adj.) using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully
a damsel
a young woman who is not married
to dawn on sb
If a fact dawns on you, you understand it after a period of not understanding it
- ‘I was about to pay for the shopping when it suddenly dawned on me that I’d left my wallet at home.’
off one’s rocker
mad
- ‘He looked so strange she thought he was off his rocker.’
(a)round the bend
crazy, beyond sanity
- ‘I think I’m going around the bend.’
fisticuffs
fighting in which people hit each other with their fists
preexisting
existing at an earlier time
- ‘a preexisting medical condition’
to flabbergast
to shock someone, usually by telling that person something they were not expecting
- ‘He was flabbergasted when we told him how cheap it was.’
contractual
relating to or contained within a contract (= legal agreement)
- ‘contractual conditions’
to put your best foot forward
to try as hard as you can
aw shucks
used to show that you feel embarrassed or shy
contrary to popular belief/opinion
something that you say before you make a statement that is the opposite of what most people believe
- ‘Contrary to popular belief, bottled water is not always better than tap water.’
all the while
for all of a period of time
- ‘There I was thinking you were hard at work and you were upstairs in bed all the while!’
to amass
to get a large amount of something, especially money or information, by collecting it over a long period
‘She has amassed a huge fortune from her novels.’
an imponderable
zagadka
= something that cannot be guessed or calculated because it is completely unknown
savoury
Savoury food is salty or spicy and not sweet in taste
a shrink
a psychiatrist or psychoanalyst
a zealot
a person who has very strong opinions about something, and tries to make other people have them too /= fanatyk
- ‘a religious zealot’
to fabricate
to invent or produce something false in order to deceive someone
- ‘He was late, so he fabricated an excuse to avoid trouble.’
a faux pas
words or behaviour that are a social mistake or not polite /= gafa, nietakt
to take every measure
podejmować wszelkie środki
= to take action to achieve a particular purpose
to allege
to say that someone has done something illegal or wrong without giving proof
to set about sth
to start to do or deal with something
- ‘I tried to apologize, but I think I set about it the wrong way.’
to undermine
to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually
- ‘Criticism just undermines their confidence.’
to dwindle
to become smaller in size or amount, or fewer in number
- ‘The community has dwindled to a tenth of its former size in the last two years.’
to subside
If a condition subsides, it becomes less strong or extreme
- ‘The police are hoping that the violence will soon subside.’
to seesaw
to change repeatedly from one emotion, situation, etc. to another and then back again
- ‘His mind seesawed between hope and despair all through those weeks.’
to intersperse
to mix one thing in with another in a way that is not regular
- ‘The documentary intersperses graphical animations with film clips of the actual event.’
elation [U]
a state of extreme happiness or excitement
strung out
very tired and worried
a catch-22 situation
an impossible situation where you are prevented from doing one thing until you have done another thing that you cannot do until you have done the first thing
to obfuscate
to make something less clear and harder to understand, especially intentionally
compliance [U]
the act of obeying an order, rule, or request
to swig
to drink, especially by swallowing large amounts in a series of single actions
*a swig
an ambiguity [C/U]
the fact of something having more than one possible meaning and therefore possibly causing confusion
- ‘We wish to remove any ambiguity concerning our demands.’
stale
no longer new or fresh, usually as a result of being kept for too long
- ‘The bread/biscuits/cake had gone stale.’
to repent of
to be very sorry for something bad you have done in the past and wish that you had not done it
- ‘He repented (of his sins) just hours before he died.’
to convey
to express a thought, feeling, or idea so that it is understood by other people
- ‘Few journalists have managed to convey the full horror of the situation.’
contrition [U]
a feeling of sorrow and guiltt for something bad that you have done
commendable
deserving praise
timely (adj.)
happening at the best possible moment
- ‘a timely reminder’
arcane
mysterious and known only by a few people
a layman
someone who does not have special knowledge of a subject
- ‘Could you please explain that in layman’s terms (= in a simple way) ?’
to rustle
If things such as paper or leaves rustle, or if you rustle them, they move about and make a soft, dry sound
* a rustle [S]
telltale
revealing, indicating, or betraying something
- ‘She found lipstick on his shirts - the telltale sign that he was having an affair.’
a boulder
a very large rock
a specimen
something shown or examined as an example; a typical example /= okaz
- ‘He has a collection of rare insect specimens.’
a nuisance
something or someone that annoys you or causes trouble for you
- ‘I’ve forgotten my umbrella - what a nuisance!’
altogether
in total, completely
- ‘She wrote less and less often, and eventually she stopped altogether.’
- ‘I’m not altogether sure I want that (= I have doubts about it).’
taut
tight or completely stretched
- ‘a taut rope’
to snarl
(of dogs) to make a deep, rough sound while showing the teeth, usually in anger
(of people) to speak or say something angrily and forcefully
- ‘“Go to hell!”, he snarled.’
to bewilder
to confuse someone
- ‘The instructions completely bewildered me.’
a muddle
an untidy or confused state
- ‘The documents were in a muddle.’
- ‘Whenever I go to Europe I get in a muddle about/over (= become confused about) how much things cost.’
a facet
one part of a subject, situation, etc. that has many parts
- ‘She has so many facets to her personality.’
notion
a belief or idea
- ‘He has some fanciful notion about converting one room of his apartment into a gallery.’
vague
not clearly expressed, known, described, or decided
fanciful
not likely to succeed or happen in the real world
a motif
a pattern or design
- ‘We chose some curtains with a flower motif.’
to facilitate
to make something possible or easier
a host of
a large number of something
- ‘There’s a whole host of reasons why he didn’t get the job.’
to grapple with sth
to try to deal with or understand a difficult problem or subject
- ‘Today, many Americans are still grappling with the issue of race.’
clutter
(a lot of objects in) a state of being untidy
- ‘Sorry about the clutter in the kitchen.’
esoteric
very unusual and understood or liked by only a small number of people, especially those with special knowledge
to extrapolate
to guess or think about what might happen using information that is already known /= przewidywać, wnioskować
- ‘You can’t really extrapolate a trend from such a small sample.’
to look down on sb
to think that you are better than someone
all-encompassing
including or covering everything or everyone; comprehensive
to look right through someone
to pretend not to see someone even while your eyes are directed toward that person
- ‘I smiled at him, but he looked right through me.’
to gut
to remove the inner organs of an animal, especially in preparation for eating it
- ‘She gutted the fish and cut off their heads.’
surreptitious
done secretly, without anyone seeing or knowing
- ‘I couldn’t help noticing her surreptitious glances at the clock.’
detrimental
causing harm or damage
- ‘These chemicals have a detrimental effect on the environment.’
to cite
to mention something as proof for a theory or as a reason why something has happened
- ‘She cited three reasons why people get into debt.’
to commemorate
to recall and show respect for (someone or something)
*commemorative
- ‘We commemorate those who lost their lives in the war.’
resultant
caused by the event or situation that you have just mentioned /= wynikły, wypadkowy
to empathize (with)
to be able to understand how someone else feels
- ‘It’s very easy to empathize with the characters in her books.’
