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My English > Deck 23 > Flashcards

Deck 23 Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

a shin

A

the front part of your leg between your knee and your foot

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2
Q

waterlogged

A

saturated with or full of water

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3
Q

to strain

A

to separate liquid food from solid food, especially by pouring it through a utensil with small holes in it:

  • ‘Could you strain the vegetables, please?’
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4
Q

to infuse

A

to fill someone or something with an emotion or quality

  • ‘The pulling down of the Berlin Wall infused the world with optimism.’
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5
Q

vacuous

A

not expressing or showing intelligent thought or purpose

  • ‘a vacuous remark/question/expression/smile’
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6
Q

you snooze, you lose

A

if you do not pay attention and do something quickly, someone else will do it instead of you

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7
Q

none the worse for wear

A

When you say that someone was none the worse for wear, what you mean is that the experience did not harm him in any way.

  • ‘Ramesh returned my scooter after six weeks. It was none the worse for wear.’
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8
Q

a ruffian

A

​a violent, wild, and unpleasant person, usually a man

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9
Q

curfew

A

a time by which a child must be home in the evening

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10
Q

crikey

A

an expression of surprise

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11
Q

a vagabond

A

a person who has no home and usually no job, and who travels from place to place

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12
Q

personable

A

having a pleasant appearance and character

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13
Q

to level with someone

A

to tell someone the truth, esp. when it may be unpleasant

  • ‘I’ll level with you – the salary is not particularly good.’
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14
Q

peachy fucking keen

A

An expression that everything is great, even when there are problems showing.

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15
Q

to put all one’s eggs in one basket

A

to make everything dependent on only one thing

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16
Q

iteration

A

the process of doing something again and again, usually to improve it, or one of the times you do it

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17
Q

to titillate

A

to make someone excited intentionally but only a little, usually with sexual images or descriptions

  • ‘So many adverts these days are designed to titillate.’
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18
Q

rife

A

If something unpleasant is rife, it is very common or happens a lot

  • ‘Dysentery and malaria are rife in the refugee camps.’
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19
Q

a penchant

A

a liking for, an enjoyment of, or a habit of doing something, especially something that other people might not like

  • ‘Her penchant for disappearing for days at a time worries her family.’
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20
Q

vexation [U]

A

worry or anger

  • ‘After several unsuccessful attempts to start his car, he swore in vexation.’
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21
Q

acrimonious

A

full of anger, arguments, and bad feeling

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22
Q

indispensable

A

Something or someone that is indispensable is so good or important that you could not manage without it, him, or her

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23
Q

to sidetrack

A

to direct a person’s attention away from an activity or subject towards another one that is less important

  • ‘Ruth was looking for an envelope in a drawer when she was sidetracked by some old letters.’
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24
Q

the status quo [kwoh]

A

the present situation

  • ‘Certain people always want to maintain the status quo.’
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25
Q

intrusive

A

affecting someone in a way that annoys them and makes them feel uncomfortable

  • ‘intrusive lighting’
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26
Q

to a T

A

precisely; exactly; perfectly; with great attention to detail

  • ‘The announcement of the political endorsement was timed to a T.’
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27
Q

insurmountable

A

too great to be overcome

  • ‘an insurmountable problem’
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28
Q

irate

A

very angry

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29
Q

a blitz (blitzes pl.)

A

a fast, violent attack on a town, city, etc., usually with bombs dropped from aircraft

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30
Q

convivial

A

friendly and making you feel happy and welcome

  • ‘a convivial atmosphere/host’
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31
Q

replete

A

well supplied

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32
Q

inanimate

A

showing no sign of life; lifeless

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33
Q

lavish

A

large in quantity and expensive or impressive

  • ‘lavish gifts/praise/banquets’
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34
Q

to overshadow

A

to cause someone or something to seem less important or less happy

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35
Q

delirious

A

unable to think or speak clearly because of fever or mental confusion

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36
Q

to beguile

A

to persuade, attract, or interest someone, sometimes in order to deceive them

  • ‘He was completely beguiled by her beauty.’
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37
Q

chock-full

A

completely full

  • ‘The whole room was chock-full of books.’
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38
Q

to perambulate

A

If you’re fond of strolling around your neighbourhood with no special destination, you like to perambulate.

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39
Q

to plod

A

to walk taking slow steps, as if your feet are heavy

  • ‘We plodded through the mud.’
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40
Q

to jolt

A

to (cause something or someone to) move suddenly and violently

  • ‘The train stopped unexpectedly and we were jolted forwards.’
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41
Q

prosaic

A

without interest, imagination, and excitement

42
Q

fortitude

A

courage in pain or adversity

43
Q

penitent

A

showing that you are sorry for something you have done because you feel it was wrong

44
Q

to curtail

A

to stop something before it is finished, or to reduce or limit something

  • ‘to curtail your spendings’
45
Q

to laud

A

to praise

46
Q

a conch

A

a large spiral shell, or the tropical snail-like sea creature that lives in it

47
Q

to conk

A

to hit someone, usually on the head with a heavy object

48
Q

exasperation

A

the feeling of being annoyed, especially because you can do nothing to solve a problem

49
Q

a propensity [S]

A

the fact that someone is likely to behave in a particular way, especially a bad way

  • ‘She’s inherited from her father a propensity to talk too much.’
50
Q

rivalry

A

a situation in which people, businesses, etc. compete with each other for the same thing

51
Q

to scavenge

A

to look for or get food or other objects in other people’s rubbish

52
Q

lugubrious

A

sad and serious

53
Q

diligent

A

careful and using a lot of effort

  • ‘a diligent student’
54
Q

disgruntled

A

unhappy, annoyed, and disappointed about something

55
Q

exuberant

A

(especially of people and their behaviour) very energetic

56
Q

to be no/little love lost between

A

If there is no/little love lost between two people, they do not like each other.

57
Q

variegated

A

having a pattern of different colours or marks

  • ‘variegated leaves’
58
Q

a moot point

A

a subject that people cannot agree about

59
Q

brick-and-mortar

A

existing as a physical building, especially a shop, rather than doing business only on the internet

60
Q

curative

A

able to cure or cause to get better

61
Q

unequivocal

A

leaving no doubt; unambiguous

62
Q

parsimonious

A

not willing to spend money or give something

63
Q

to stockpile

A

to store a large supply of something for future use

64
Q

sentient

A

able to experience feelings

  • ‘It is hard for a sentient person to understand how any parents could treat their child so badly.’
65
Q

poise

A

calm confidence in a person’s way of behaving, or a quality of grace and balance in the way a person holds or moves their body

  • ‘He looked embarrassed for a moment, then quickly regained his poise.’
66
Q

kith and kin

A

people you are connected with, especially by family relationships

67
Q

embolden

A

to make someone brave

  • ‘Emboldened by drink, he walked over to speak to her.’
68
Q

ditto

A

used to agree with something that has just been said, or to avoid repeating something that has been said

  • ‘Local residents are opposed to the proposal. Ditto many members of the city council (= they are also opposed).’
69
Q

ephemeral

A

lasting for only a short time

70
Q

tardy

A

slow or late in happening or arriving

71
Q

demure

A

(especially of women) quiet and well behaved

72
Q

impalpable

A

difficult to feel or understand:

73
Q

to nettle

A

to make someone annoyed or slightly angry

74
Q

acerbic

A

(especially of a comment or style of speaking) sharp and forthright

75
Q

jejune

A

very simple or childish

76
Q

loathsome

A

extremely unpleasant

  • ‘He’s a loathsome man.’
77
Q

detestable

A

used to refer to people or things that you hate very much

78
Q

exacting

A

demanding a lot of effort, care, or attention

  • ‘an exacting training schedule’
79
Q

dog days

A

the hottest days of the summer

80
Q

a fish out of water

A

someone who is uncomfortable in a specific situation

  • ‘I felt like a fish out of water at my new school.’
81
Q

to pass muster

A

​to reach an acceptable standard

  • ‘New teams won’t be admitted to the league if their stadiums don’t pass muster.’
82
Q

to rear its (ugly) head

A

(of something unpleasant) to appear

  • ‘Jealousy reared its ugly head and destroyed their marriage.’
83
Q

so to speak

A

used to explain that what you are saying is not to be understood exactly as stated

  • ‘I just love my little poodle. she’s my baby, so to speak.’
84
Q

dog-eat-dog

A

used to describe a situation in which people will do anything to be successful, even if what they do harms other people

  • ‘It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there.’
85
Q

to be/get bogged down

A

to be/become so involved in something difficult or complicated that you cannot do anything else

  • ‘Try not to get too bogged down in the details.’
86
Q

an old wives’ tale

A

a piece of advice or a theory, often related to matters of health, that was believed in the past but is now known to be wrong

87
Q

aghast

A

suddenly filled with strong feelings of shock and worry

88
Q

fastidious

A

​giving too much attention to small details and wanting everything to be correct and perfect

  • ‘He is very fastidious about how a suitcase should be packed.’
89
Q

percipient

A

good at noticing and understanding things

90
Q

to vitiate

A

to destroy or damage something

  • ‘a mind vitiated by prejudice’
91
Q

morose

A

unhappy, annoyed, and unwilling to speak or smile

92
Q

sullen

A

angry and unwilling to smile or be pleasant to people

93
Q

to instigate

A

to cause an event or situation to happen by making a set of actions or a formal process begin

  • ‘The government will instigate new measures to combat terrorism.’
94
Q

ostentatious

A

characterised by pretentious or showy display; designed to impress

95
Q

to repudiate

A

to refuse to accept something or someone as true, good, or reasonable

96
Q

to mar

A

to spoil something, making it less good or less enjoyable

  • ‘Sadly, the text is marred by careless errors.’
97
Q

inchoate [in-koh-eyt]

A

only recently or partly formed, or not completely developed or clear

  • ‘She had a child’s inchoate awareness of language.’
98
Q

irrepressible

A

full of energy and enthusiasm; impossible to stop

99
Q

feasible

A

able to be made, done, or achieved

  • ‘With the extra resources, the project now seems feasible.’
100
Q

aloof

A

not friendly or willing to take part in things

  • ‘She seemed rather aloof when in fact she was just shy.’

My English (37 decks)

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