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My English > Deck 27 > Flashcards

Deck 27 Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

to flummox

A

to confuse someone so much that they do not know what to do

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2
Q

at sb’s behest/at the behest of sb

A

because someone has asked or ordered you to do something

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3
Q

wet

A

used to describe someone who has a weak character and does not express any forceful opinion

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4
Q

a crony

A

a friend

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5
Q

cockamamie [kok-uh-mey-mee]

A

ridiculous, pointless, or nonsensical

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6
Q

parlance

A

a group of words or style of speaking used by a particular group of people

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7
Q

a kerfuffle

A

a commotion or fuss, especially one caused by conflicting views

  • ‘Tere was a kerfuffle over the chairmanship.’
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8
Q

heebie-jeebies

A

a state of nervous fear or anxiety

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9
Q

bubkes

A

absolutely nothing; something worthless

  • ‘We’ve gone from bubkes to big deals in a year.’
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10
Q

to traffic in sth

A

to buy and sell goods illegally

  • ‘They were arrested for trafficking in the eggs of protected species of birds.’
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11
Q

abstruse

A

difficult to understand

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12
Q

to overthrow

A

to defeat or remove someone from power, using force

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13
Q

an arms race

A

the situation in which two or more countries try to have more and stronger weapons than each other

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14
Q

for what it’s worth

A

​said when you are giving someone a piece of information and you are not certain if that information is useful or important

  • ‘For what it’s worth, I think he may be right.’
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15
Q

a dyke

A

a lesbian. Many people consider this word offensive.

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16
Q

to luck out

A

to be very lucky

  • ‘The Giants really lucked out in last night’s game.’
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17
Q

verbose

A

using or containing more words than are necessary

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18
Q

pungent

A
  1. A pungent smell or taste is very strong, sometimes unpleasantly strong
  2. Pungent speech or writing is very strongly felt:
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19
Q

indelible

A
  1. An indelible mark or substance is impossible to remove by washing or in any other way
  2. Indelible memories or actions are impossible to forget or have a permanent influence or effect
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20
Q

succinct [suh k-singkt]

A

said in a clear and short way; expressing what needs to be said without unnecessary words

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21
Q

condescension

A

behaviour that shows you think you are better or more important than someone

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22
Q

budding

A

beginning to develop or show signs of future success in a particular area

  • ‘While still at school she was clearly a budding genius.’
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23
Q

sequencing

A

the process of combining things in a particular order, or discovering the order in which they are combined

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24
Q

limp

A

soft and neither firm nor stiff

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25
Q

enervating

A

making you feel weak and without energy

  • ‘I find this heat very enervating.’
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26
Q

bona fide [boh-nuh fahy-dee]

A

real, not false

  • ‘Make sure you are dealing with a bona fide company.’
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27
Q

to neuter

A

to remove part of an animal’s sexual organs, so that it cannot produce young animals

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28
Q

dense

A

stupid

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29
Q

uxorious

A

showing too much love for your wife

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30
Q

bleak

A
  1. If a place is bleak, it is empty, and not welcoming or attractive
  2. If a situation is bleak, there is little or no hope for the future
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31
Q

a vice

A

Various activities considered immoral by certain people. Drug use, sexual promiscuity, prostitution, gambling, recklessness, cheating, lying, and selfishness are commonly considered vices.

  • ‘My one real vice (= bad habit) is chocolate.’
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32
Q

an ellipsis

A

a set of dots (…) indicating an ellipsis

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33
Q

a calamity

A

a serious accident or bad event causing damage or suffering

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34
Q

curt

A

If someone’s manner or speech is curt, it is rude as a result of being very quick

  • ‘Andy was very curt with him.’
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35
Q

out/down for the count

A

Having been, or very near to being, defeated, ruined, or overcome.

Likened to a boxer who has been knocked to the mat and cannot get to his or her feet before the referee counts to 10, thus losing the match.

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36
Q

wood

A

an erect penis

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37
Q

to belch

A

to allow air from the stomach to come out noisily through the mouth

  • ‘He belched noisily.’
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38
Q

brittle

A

delicate and easily broken

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39
Q

pliable

A

A pliable person is easily influenced and controlled by other people

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40
Q

a somersault

A

a rolling movement or jump, either forwards or backwards, in which you turn over completely, with your body above your head, and finish with your head on top again

  • ‘She was so happy she turned three somersaults on the lawn.’
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41
Q

to blow something out of proportion

A

to make something seem more important or serious than it really is

42
Q

illicit

A

forbidden by law, rules, or custom

  • ‘illicit drugs’
43
Q

in this day and age

A

in this day and age
​
- ‘at the present time’

44
Q

stark raving mad

A

totally insane, out of control, completely crazy

  • ‘When she heard about what happened at the office, she went stark raving mad.’
45
Q

a chokehold

A

a way of holding someone with your arm tightly around their neck so that they cannot breathe easily

  • ‘The officer had him in a chokehold.’
46
Q

a chasuble

A

an ornate sleeveless outer vestment worn by a Catholic or High Anglican priest when celebrating Mass

47
Q

engorged

A

If a part of the body is engorged, it has become swollen or filled with a liquid, especially blood.

48
Q

exigent

A

needing urgent attention, or demanding too much from other people

  • ‘an exigent problem’
  • ‘an exigent manager’
49
Q

force majeure

A

“superior force” - unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from doing something that is written in a legal agreement

50
Q

crises [cry-siz]

A

plural form of cirsis

51
Q

a gallows

A

a wooden structure used, especially in the past, to hang criminals from as a form of execution

52
Q

With a catch in her voice

A

With a little break in her voice caused by emotion.

53
Q

auspicious

A

suggesting a positive and successful future

54
Q

to infest

A

(of animals and insects that carry disease) to cause a problem by being present in large numbers

55
Q

true

A

fitted or positioned accurately

  • ‘None of the drawers were true.’
  • ‘Her aim is true.’
56
Q

a freelancer

A

someone who works on different projects with different companies instead of being a company employee

57
Q

from here on (out)

A

from this time forward

  • ‘From here on out, I’m making all the decisions.’
58
Q

to toe the line

A

to do what you are expected to do without causing trouble for anyone

59
Q

a chip off the old block

A

someone who is very similar in character to their father or mother

60
Q

a fluke

A

something good that has happened that is the result of chance instead of skill or planning

  • ‘The first goal was just a fluke.’
61
Q

a concourse

A

​a large space or room in a public building such as a station or airport that people meet in or pass through

62
Q

triage

A

the process of quickly examining patients who are taken to a hospital in order to decide which ones are the most seriously ill and must be treated first

63
Q

a skillet

A

a frying pan

64
Q

to be on the mend

A

to be getting better after an illness or injury

65
Q

to squander

A

to waste money or supplies, or to waste opportunities by not using them to your advantage

66
Q

countenance [U]

A

a person’s face or facial expression

67
Q

a tinderbox

A

a dangerous and uncontrolled situation in which violence is likely to happen

68
Q

a warm body

A

a person; just any person

69
Q

a sieve

A

a utensil consisting of a wire or plastic mesh held in a frame, used for separating solids from liquids

70
Q

Reverend

A

a title for a priest of the Christian Church

71
Q

to wind up

A

to find yourself in an unexpected and usually unpleasant situation, especially as a result of what you do

72
Q

DOA

A

Dead On Arrival

73
Q

CBA

A

abbreviation for can’t be arsed: used when you do not want to do something because you feel lazy

74
Q

on the dot

A

exactly on time

75
Q

cisgender

A

denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex

76
Q

to bow out

A

to leave a job or stop doing an activity, usually after a long time

77
Q

a flair [S]

A

natural ability to do something well

  • ‘He has a flair for languages.’
78
Q

to tend

A

to care for something or someone

79
Q

to tend bar

A

to work behind a bar serving drinks

80
Q

arid

A

(of land or a climate) having little or no rain; too dry to support vegetation

81
Q

the heart of the matter

A

the focal, central, or most important element of a topic, problem, or issue

82
Q

selfsame

A

exactly the same

  • ‘His father had suffered from the selfsame disease.’
83
Q

incontrovertible

A

impossible to doubt because of being obviously true

84
Q

to stipulate

A

to say exactly how something must be or must be done

  • ‘She agreed to buy the car, but stipulated racing tyres and a turbo-powered engine.’
85
Q

mush

A

If you describe something such as a book or film as mush, you mean that it is too emotional

86
Q

to show somebody the ropes

A

to explain to someone how to do a job or activity

87
Q

a welt

A

a raised, red area of skin caused by being hit or by cuts healing

88
Q

woe is me

A

said to express how unhappy you are

  • ‘I’m cold and wet and I don’t have enough money for the bus home. Oh woe is me!’
89
Q

chock-full

A

completely full

  • ‘The whole room was chock-full of books.’
90
Q

grating

A

A grating sound is unpleasant and annoying.

91
Q

to commiserate

A

to express sympathy to someone about some bad luck

  • ‘I began by commiserating with her over the defeat.’
92
Q

convoluted

A

Convoluted sentences, explanations, arguments, etc. are unreasonably long and difficult to understand

93
Q

munificent

A

very generous with money

94
Q

to castigate

A

to criticize someone or something severely

95
Q

a vocation

A

a type of work that you feel you are suited to doing and to which you should give all your time and energy, or the feeling that a type of work suits you in this way

96
Q

an avocation

A

work you do in addition to your main job or profession, especially for enjoyment

97
Q

to meddle

A

to try to change or have an influence on things that are not your responsibility, especially by criticizing in a damaging or annoying way

  • ‘My sister’s always meddling in other people’s affairs.’
  • ‘People shouldn’t meddle with things they don’t understand.’
98
Q

lenient

A

not as severe or strong in punishment or judgment as would be expected

99
Q

to eschew [es-choo]

A

to avoid something intentionally, or to give something up

  • ‘We won’t have discussions with this group unless they eschew violence.’
100
Q

pensive

A

thinking in a quiet way, often with a serious expression on your face

My English (37 decks)

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