Deck 17 Flashcards
to subsume
include or absorb (something) in something else
- ‘Most of these phenomena can be subsumed under two broad categories.’
a maître d’
maître d’s (pl.)
the person in charge of a restaurant or of the people who bring food to your table in a restaurant
- ‘a maître d’hôtel’
an incentive
something that encourages a person to do something
- ‘Bonus payments provide an incentive to work harder.’
obscene
morally wrong, offensive, rude, or shocking, usually because of being too obviously related to sex or showing sex
* obscenity
to usher
to show someone where they should go, or to make someone go where you want them to go
- ‘She ushered us into her office and offered us coffee.’
to shriek
to utter a high-pitched piercing sound or words, especially as an expression of terror, pain, or excitement.
to utter
to say something or to make a sound with your voice
- ‘She sat through the whole meeting without uttering a word.’
to walk out on sb
to suddenly leave your husband, wife, or partner and end your relationship with them
sopping
extremely wet
- ‘You’re sopping wet - go and get changed.’
a significant other
A person with whom someone has an established romantic or sexual relationship
to suck it up
to cope with something unpleasant without complaining
to call it quits
to stop doing something
to give/hand sth to sb on a (silver) platter
to allow someone to get something very easily, without having to work for it
to grow on someone
to become increasingly liked or enjoyed by someone
- ‘The new house slowly began to grow on her.’
arm candy [U]
a very attractive person taken by another person to a social event in order to impress other people
tad
a little, slightly
- ‘The fish was OK, but the chips were a tad greasy.’
to hit the sauce/bottle
to drink alcohol, especially rapidly and to excess; booze
AWOL
Absent Without Official Leave
a faculty
a special ability to do a particular thing
- ‘She has a faculty for inspiring confidence in people.’
to step up to the plate
to take action when something needs to be done, even though this is difficult
- ‘In this crisis we all need to step up to the plate and make a difference.’
to walk on eggs/eggshells
If you are walking on eggs/eggshells, you are being very careful not to offend someone or do anything wrong
- ‘I feel like I walk on eggshells around you.’
bogus
false, not real, or not legal
- ‘She produced some bogus documents to support her application.’
a bouncer
someone whose job is to stand outside a bar, party, etc. and either stop people who cause trouble from coming in or force them to leave
a bystander
a person who is standing near and watching something that is happening but is not taking part in it
from scratch
from the beginning
to bail on someone
to break a date with someone; stand someone up
in good/high spirits
happy, cheerful
to get your head out of your ass
to stop being so consumed with yourself, and your own well being /=ogarnąć się
to gussy sb/sth up
to make someone or something look more attractive or impressive
- ‘She was all gussied up in a designer dress.’
balmy
(of weather) pleasantly warm
a butterball
a chubby or fat person
beguiling
interesting or attractive, but perhaps not to be trusted:
- ‘That’s a beguiling argument, but I’m not convinced by it.’
if sb had their druthers
one’s preference in a matter.
- ‘If I had my druthers, I would prefer to be a writer.’
- ‘If he had his druthers, I suspect he’d still be in bed.’
to shoot a text
the simple act of sending a text message
an acquisition
the process of getting something
a nutjob
a mad or crazy person
the flavour of the month
a person or thing that is very popular at a particular time
- ‘Environmental issues are no longer the flavour of the month.’
to inundate
to give someone so much work or so many things that they cannot deal with it all
- ‘We have been inundated with requests for help.’
a hump
a large, round raised area or part
- ‘The car hit a hump in the road and swerved.’
staggering
very shocking and surprising
prevalent
existing very commonly or happening often
- ‘These diseases are more prevalent among young children.’
to lumber
to move slowly and awkwardly
reservations [or U]
a doubt or feeling of not being able to agree with or accept something completely
- ‘They shared deep reservations about his choice.’
! ‘He accepted my advice without reservation.’
syntax
the grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence
untiring
If someone has untiring energy, interest, or enthusiasm, their energy, interest, or enthusiasm never becomes weaker
to contend
to say that something is true or is a fact
- ‘The lawyer contended (that) her client had never been near the scene of the crime.’
a subtlety
a small but important detail
to be averse to doing sth
strongly disliking or opposed to an activity
to make amends for
strongly disliking or opposed to
to go without saying
be obvious
to approve of sb doing sth
to have a positive opinion of someone or something
to be an apple of sb’s eye
the person who someone loves most and is very proud of
to account for sth
to be the reason for something, or to explain the reason for something
- ‘She was asked to account for the missing money.’
to amount to
to be the same as something, or to have the same effect as something
- ‘What you’re saying amounts to blackmail.’
to make a beeline for something
to move quickly and directly toward something
to bump into sb
to meet someone you know when you have not planned to meet them
to barter
to exchange goods for other things rather than for money
- ‘He bartered his stamp collection for her comics.’
abashed
embarrassed
a foregone conclusion
a result that is obvious to everyone even before it happens
- ‘It’s a forgone conclusion that Mark will get the job.’
to make allowances
to accept behaviour that you would not normally accept because you know why someone has behaved that way
- ‘We have to make allowances for his lack of experience.’
in abeyance
halted temporarily; in suspension
out and about
engaging in normal activity after an illness
- ‘She should be out and about in a few days’ time.’
to be of/have no fixed abode
to not have a permanent home
in the abstract
in a general way
of one’s own accord
If you do something of your own accord, you do it without being asked to do it
to agree to differ/disagree
If two people agree to differ, they accept that they have different opinions about something and stop trying to persuade each other that they are right.
in arrears
owing money that should have been paid already
- ‘They are in arrears on/with their mortgage payments.’
to cast aspersions on sb/sth
to criticize or make damaging remarks or judgments about someone or something
- ‘His opponents cast aspersions on his patriotism.’
to throw sb off balance
to confuse, surprise or upset someone for a short time by saying or doing something that they are not expecting
on the ball
alert, active and aware of things
to be beside oneself with
If you are beside yourself with a particular feeling or emotion, it is so strong that it makes you almost out of control
to bide one’s time
to wait calmly for a good opportunity to do something
- ‘She was biding her time until she could get her revenge.’
to be in the black
not owing anybody any money
to blaze a trail
to do something that has never been done before:
- ‘Claude Debussy blazed a trail in music.’
on the blink
When a machine is on the blink, it is not working correctly.
to go by the board
to be forgotten or not used
- ‘Does this mean our holiday plans will have to go by the board?’
cut to the bone
reduced to the minimum
to pick someone’s brain
to ask someone’s advice about a subject the person knows a lot about
- ‘Can I pick your brain about how you got rid of those weeds?’
a sitter
someone who is having their portrait painted
to chuckle
to laugh quietly
- ‘She was chuckling to herself as she read the book.’
to guffaw
to laugh loudly, especially at something stupid that someone has said or done
to sneer
to talk about or look at someone or something in an unkind way that shows you do not respect or approve of them
- ‘You may sneer, but a lot of people like this kind of music.’
to snigger
to laugh at someone or something in a silly and often unkind way
- ‘What are you two sniggering at/about?’
to beam
to smile with obvious pleasure
- She beamed with delight at his remarks.
to titter
to laugh nervously, often at something that you feel you should not be laughing at
to grin
to smile a wide smile
to grin and bear it
to accept something bad without complaining
adroitly
very skilfully and quickly
to sway
to persuade someone to believe or do one thing rather than another
- ‘Her speech failed to sway her colleagues into supporting the plan.’
affluent
having a lot of money or owning a lot of things:
affluent nations
well off
rich
revenue [U]
the income that a government or company receives regularly
to appreciate
to increase in value
- ‘The value of our house has appreciated by 50 percent in the last two years.’
to work like a charm
to be very effective, possibly in a surprising way
to be in sb’s good/bad books
If you are in someone’s good/bad books, they are pleased/not pleased with you
a raw deal
bad or unfair treatment
to lay the blame for sth on sb
to place the blame for something on someone
new blood [U]
people with a lot of energy or fresh ideas who are brought into an organization in order to improve it
unintelligible
impossible to understand
a cliffhanger
a story or a situation that is exciting because its ending or result is uncertain until it happens
