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My English > Deck 15 > Flashcards

Deck 15 Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

a seasoning

A

a substance, especially salt or pepper, that is added to food to improve its flavour

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2
Q

in jeopardy

A

in the risk of loss or injury; in peril or danger

  • ‘The whole peace process is in jeopardy.’
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3
Q

hangry

A

becoming angry because you are feeling hungry

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4
Q

conducive

A

providing the right conditions for something good to happen or exist

  • ‘Such a noisy environment was not conducive to a good night’s sleep.’
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5
Q

bluntly

A

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.’
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6
Q

to revel in sth

A

to get great pleasure from a situation or an activity

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7
Q

undoing [S.]

A

the cause of someone’s failure, or of someone’s loss of power or money

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8
Q

to unravel

A

to investigate and solve or explain (something complicated or puzzling)

  • ‘They were attempting to unravel the cause of death.’
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9
Q

conducive

A

providing the right conditions for something good to happen or exist

  • ‘Such a noisy environment was not conducive to a good night’s sleep.’
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10
Q

bluntly

A

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.’
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11
Q

to divvy sth up

A

​to share out (often between a number of people)

  • ‘They haven’t yet decided how to divvy up the proceeds from the sale.’
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12
Q

compulsively

A

​too much and in a way that shows you are unable to stop

  • ‘She exercises/cleans/works compulsively.’
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13
Q

an abomination

A

świństwo

= something that you dislike and disapprove of

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14
Q

a horndog

A

a man with strong sexual desires

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15
Q

to fornicate

A

to have sex with someone who you are not married to

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16
Q

to fall short (of)

A

to fail to reach its target

  • ‘August car sales fell short of the industry’s expectations.’
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17
Q

a bottle blonde

A

a woman with artificially lightened blonde hair

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18
Q

derogatory

A

showing strong disapproval and not showing respects

  • ‘He made some derogatory comment/remark about her appearance.’
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19
Q

to enthral

A

to keep someone completely interested
* enthralling

  • ‘She had been so enthralled by the adventure that she had hardly noticed the cold.’
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20
Q

to reminisce

A

to talk or write about past experiences that you remember with pleasure

  • ‘My grandfather used to reminisce about his years in the navy.’
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21
Q

an aficionado

A

someone who is very interested in and enthusiastic about a particular subject

  • ‘an aficionado of French cinema’
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22
Q

to unsheathe

A

to draw or pull out (a knife, sword, or similar weapon) from its sheath or covering

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23
Q

an itinerary

A

a detailed plan or route of a journey

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24
Q

to be on a schedule

A

to be short on time

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25
Q

a libertine

A

a person, usually a man, who lives in a way that is not moral, having sexual relationships with many people

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26
Q

to look into something

A

to investigate something

  • ‘I’ll have to look into that matter.’
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27
Q

thrifty

A

(adj.) using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully

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28
Q

a damsel

A

a young woman who is not married

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29
Q

to dawn on sb

A

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.’
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30
Q

off one’s rocker

A

mad

  • ‘He looked so strange she thought he was off his rocker.’
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31
Q

(a)round the bend

A

crazy, beyond sanity

- ‘I think I’m going around the bend.’

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32
Q

fisticuffs

A

​fighting in which people hit each other with their fists

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33
Q

preexisting

A

existing at an earlier time

  • ‘a preexisting medical condition’
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34
Q

to flabbergast

A

to shock someone, usually by telling that person something they were not expecting

  • ‘He was flabbergasted when we told him how cheap it was.’
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35
Q

contractual

A

relating to or contained within a contract (= legal agreement)

  • ‘contractual conditions’
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36
Q

to put your best foot forward

A

​to try as hard as you can

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37
Q

aw shucks

A

used to show that you feel embarrassed or shy

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38
Q

contrary to popular belief/opinion

A

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.’
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39
Q

all the while

A

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!’
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40
Q

to amass

A

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.’

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41
Q

an imponderable

A

zagadka

= something that cannot be guessed or calculated because it is completely unknown

42
Q

savoury

A

Savoury food is salty or spicy and not sweet in taste

43
Q

a shrink

A

a psychiatrist or psychoanalyst

44
Q

a zealot

A

a person who has very strong opinions about something, and tries to make other people have them too /= fanatyk

  • ‘a religious zealot’
45
Q

to fabricate

A

to invent or produce something false in order to deceive someone

  • ‘He was late, so he fabricated an excuse to avoid trouble.’
46
Q

a faux pas

A

words or behaviour that are a social mistake or not polite /= gafa, nietakt

47
Q

to take every measure

A

podejmować wszelkie środki

= to take action to achieve a particular purpose

48
Q

to allege

A

to say that someone has done something illegal or wrong without giving proof

49
Q

to set about sth

A

to start to do or deal with something

  • ‘I tried to apologize, but I think I set about it the wrong way.’
50
Q

to undermine

A

to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually

  • ‘Criticism just undermines their confidence.’
51
Q

to dwindle

A

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.’
52
Q

to subside

A

If a condition subsides, it becomes less strong or extreme

  • ‘The police are hoping that the violence will soon subside.’
53
Q

to seesaw

A

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.’
54
Q

to intersperse

A

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.’
55
Q

elation [U]

A

a state of extreme happiness or excitement

56
Q

strung out

A

very tired and worried

57
Q

a catch-22 situation

A

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

58
Q

to obfuscate

A

to make something less clear and harder to understand, especially intentionally

59
Q

compliance [U]

A

the act of obeying an order, rule, or request

60
Q

to swig

A

to drink, especially by swallowing large amounts in a series of single actions
*a swig

61
Q

an ambiguity [C/U]

A

the fact of something having more than one possible meaning and therefore possibly causing confusion

  • ‘We wish to remove any ambiguity concerning our demands.’
62
Q

stale

A

no longer new or fresh, usually as a result of being kept for too long

  • ‘The bread/biscuits/cake had gone stale.’
63
Q

to repent of

A

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.’
64
Q

to convey

A

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.’
65
Q

contrition [U]

A

a feeling of sorrow and guiltt for something bad that you have done

66
Q

commendable

A

deserving praise

67
Q

timely (adj.)

A

happening at the best possible moment

  • ‘a timely reminder’
68
Q

arcane

A

mysterious and known only by a few people

69
Q

a layman

A

someone who does not have special knowledge of a subject

  • ‘Could you please explain that in layman’s terms (= in a simple way) ?’
70
Q

to rustle

A

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]

71
Q

telltale

A

revealing, indicating, or betraying something

  • ‘She found lipstick on his shirts - the telltale sign that he was having an affair.’
72
Q

a boulder

A

a very large rock

73
Q

a specimen

A

something shown or examined as an example; a typical example /= okaz

  • ‘He has a collection of rare insect specimens.’
74
Q

a nuisance

A

something or someone that annoys you or causes trouble for you

  • ‘I’ve forgotten my umbrella - what a nuisance!’
75
Q

altogether

A

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).’
76
Q

taut

A

tight or completely stretched

  • ‘a taut rope’
77
Q

to snarl

A

(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.’
78
Q

to bewilder

A

to confuse someone

  • ‘The instructions completely bewildered me.’
79
Q

a muddle

A

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.’
80
Q

a facet

A

one part of a subject, situation, etc. that has many parts

  • ‘She has so many facets to her personality.’
81
Q

notion

A

a belief or idea

  • ‘He has some fanciful notion about converting one room of his apartment into a gallery.’
82
Q

vague

A

not clearly expressed, known, described, or decided

83
Q

fanciful

A

not likely to succeed or happen in the real world

84
Q

a motif

A

a pattern or design

  • ‘We chose some curtains with a flower motif.’
85
Q

to facilitate

A

to make something possible or easier

86
Q

a host of

A

a large number of something

  • ‘There’s a whole host of reasons why he didn’t get the job.’
87
Q

to grapple with sth

A

to try to deal with or understand a difficult problem or subject

  • ‘Today, many Americans are still grappling with the issue of race.’
88
Q

clutter

A

(a lot of objects in) a state of being untidy

  • ‘Sorry about the clutter in the kitchen.’
89
Q

esoteric

A

very unusual and understood or liked by only a small number of people, especially those with special knowledge

90
Q

to extrapolate

A

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.’
91
Q

to look down on sb

A

to think that you are better than someone

92
Q

all-encompassing

A

including or covering everything or everyone; comprehensive

93
Q

to look right through someone

A

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.’
94
Q

to gut

A

to remove the inner organs of an animal, especially in preparation for eating it

  • ‘She gutted the fish and cut off their heads.’
95
Q

surreptitious

A

done secretly, without anyone seeing or knowing

  • ‘I couldn’t help noticing her surreptitious glances at the clock.’
96
Q

detrimental

A

causing harm or damage

  • ‘These chemicals have a detrimental effect on the environment.’
97
Q

to cite

A

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.’
98
Q

to commemorate

A

to recall and show respect for (someone or something)
*commemorative

  • ‘We commemorate those who lost their lives in the war.’
99
Q

resultant

A

caused by the event or situation that you have just mentioned /= wynikły, wypadkowy

100
Q

to empathize (with)

A

to be able to understand how someone else feels

  • ‘It’s very easy to empathize with the characters in her books.’

My English (37 decks)

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