Deck 31 Flashcards
brill
brilliant
a ewe [yoo]
a female sheep, especially when fully mature
a culprit
someone who has done something wrong
- ‘Police hope the public will help them to find the culprits.’
covert
hidden or secret
- ‘covert actions’
to boast about/that
to speak too proudly or happily about what you have done or what you own
purview [U]
the limit of someone’s responsibility, interest, or activity
- ‘This case falls outside the purview of this particular court.’
to be out of sorts
to be slightly ill or slightly unhappy
a meringue [muh-rang]
a very light, sweet food made by mixing sugar with egg white and baking it
-scape
used to form nouns referring to a wide view of a place, often one represented in a picture
- ‘landscape, seascape, cityscape’
a perfect storm [S]
an extremely bad situation in which many bad things happen at the same time
scat singing
singing in which the singer substitutes improvised nonsense syllables for the words of a song, and tries to sound and phrase like a musical instrument
to sit on sth
to prevent people from knowing a piece of information
- ‘The city council will presumably sit on the report until after the election.’
to quaver
If a person’s voice quavers, it shakes, usually because of emotion
a rota
a list showing when each of a number of people has to do a particular job
- ‘a cleaning rota’
to knock sth on the head
to prevent something from happening, or to finally finish something
- ‘It’s nearly done - another couple of hours should knock it on the head.’
under wraps
secret
- ‘They tried to keep the report under wraps.’
to get your wires crossed
When people get their wires crossed, they have a different understanding of the same situation
supple
bending or able to be bent easily; not stiff
- ‘I’m not supple enough to touch the floor.’
undue
to a level that is more than is necessary, acceptable, or reasonable
- ‘This figure did not give rise to undue concern.’
feasible
able to be made, done, or achieved
- ‘With the extra resources, the project now seems feasible.’
fallible
able or likely to make mistakes
- ‘We place our trust in doctors, but they are fallible like everyone else.’
panache [puh-nash]
a stylish, original, and very confident way of doing things that makes people admire you
to give sth/sb a wide berth
to keep a reasonable distance from someone or something or avoid them
a warehouse
a large building for storing things before they are sold, used or sent out to shops
an usher
a man who shows people where they should sit, especially at a formal event such as a wedding or at a theatre or cinema
nosh
food or a meal
a pasture
a land covered with grass and other low plants suitable for grazing animals, especially cattle or sheep
a crustacean
any of various types of animal that live in water and have a hard outer shell
a crayfish
a small animal that lives in rivers and is similar to a lobster, or its flesh eaten as food
an integument
an outer covering, for example a skin or shell
to get someone committed
to place officially in confinement or custody, as in a mental health facility
a prude
Use prude to describe someone who is too concerned with being proper or modest
en suite
used to describe a bathroom that is directly connected to a bedroom or a bedroom that is connected to a bathroom
- ‘All four bedrooms in their new house are en suite.’
a loo
toilet
an excerpt
a short extract from a film, broadcast, or piece of music or writing.
cut from the same cloth
very similar in characteristics or behaviours
an underdog
a person or group of people with less power, money, etc. than the rest of society
a stupor
a state in which a person is almost unconscious and their thoughts are not clear
- ‘He was lying under the table in a drunken stupor.’
yesteryear
a time in the past
- ‘the Hollywood stars of yesteryear’
to vilify
to say or write unpleasant things about someone or something, in order to cause other people to have a bad opinion of them
- ‘He was vilified by the press as a monster.’
indignant
angry because of something that is wrong or not fair
- ‘She wrote an indignant letter to the paper complaining about the council’s action.’
chipped
with a small piece or pieces broken off
clammy
sticky and slightly wet in an unpleasant way
- ‘My hands felt all clammy.’
to slouch
to stand, move, or sit in a lazy, drooping way
- ‘Straighten your back - try not to slouch.’
to cave
to agree to something that you would not agree to before, after someone has persuaded you or threatened you
- ‘After protests from customers, the company caved and removed the item from its stores.’
a footman
a male servant whose job includes opening doors and serving food, and who often wears a uniform
a buzz cut
any of a variety of short hairstyles usually designed with electric clippers
snide
derogatory or mocking in an indirect way
- ‘snide remarks about my mother’
matted
(especially of hair, wool, or fur) tangled into a thick mass
extant
used to refer to something very old that is still existing
a canid
a mammal of the dog family (Canidae e.g. dogs, wolves, coyotes, foxes)
en masse
in a group; all together
to wade
to walk through water or other liquid with some effort, because it is deep enough to come quite high up your legs, or thick
shears
very large scissors
a pick-me-up
something that makes you feel better, often a drink or a tonic (= a type of medicine)
anodyne
intended to avoid causing offence or disagreement, especially by not expressing strong feelings or opinions thus seeming dull
to converge
If lines, roads, or paths converge, they move towards the same point where they join or meet (to come from other places to meet in a particular place)
wondrous
extremely and surprisingly good
- ‘This wondrous city.’
succinct
said in a clear and short way; expressing what needs to be said without unnecessary words
a wager
something risked or staked on an uncertain event; bet
to disillusion
to disappoint someone by telling them the unpleasant truth about something or someone that they had a good opinion of or respected
- ‘I hate to/I’m sorry to disillusion you, but pregnancy is not always wonderful - I was sick every day for six months.’
to drop out
to leave high school, college, university or another group
Good gracious!
expression of surprise
to fold
to back down from anything; to bitch out
to dislodge
to remove something or someone, especially by force, from a fixed position
- ‘The new employee dislodged her by moving into her office space.’
unyielding
(of a mass or structure) not giving way to pressure; hard or solid
a fulcrum
- the point against which a lever is placed, or on which it turns or is supported
- the main thing or person needed to support something or to make it work or happen
viscid
having a glutinous consistency; sticky; adhesive; viscous.
to afford
to allow someone to have something pleasant or necessary
- ‘Her seat afforded her an uninterrupted view of the stage.’
collusion
agreement between people to act together secretly or illegally in order to deceive or cheat someone
- ‘It is thought that they worked in collusion with the terrorist network.’
sketch
a term used to describe a situation, a person, a store, a restaurant, an item, basically any noun, that is of dubious character
a wayfarer
someone who travels on foot
a petrolhead
someone who likes and uses their car a lot, and does not want to use any other type of transport
a paradigm
a model of something, or a very clear and typical example of something
- ‘Society’s paradigm of the ideal woman.’
the sitch
short for situation
to droop
to bend or hang down heavily
- ‘The flowers were drooping in the heat.’
to and fro
in a constant movement backwards and forwards or from side to side
slick
skilful and effective but not sincere or honest
inter alia
among other things
far-fetched
very unlikely to be true, and difficult to believe
- ‘a far-fetched idea/story’
ironclad
very certain and unlikely to be changed
- ‘an ironclad/cast-iron alibi’
vitriol
violent hate and anger expressed through severe criticism
- ‘He is a writer who has often been criticized by the press but never before with such vitriol.’
to repent
to feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one’s wrongdoing or sin
- ‘He repented (of his sins) just hours before he died.’
on a par with someone/something
equal or similar to someone or something
- ‘In my opinion, none of the new jazz trumpeters are on a par with Miles Davis.’
credentials
documents that state the abilities and experience of a person and show that the person is qualified for a particular job or activity
- ‘I got my teaching credentials from San Jose State.’
a merry-go-round
a carousel roundabout
a flyer
a small piece of paper with information on it about a product or event (=ulotka)
eldritch
weird and sinister or ghostly
- ‘an eldritch screech’
underbrush
shrubs and small trees forming the undergrowth in a forest
raunchy
connected with sex in a very clear and obvious way
- ‘a raunchy novel’
vehement
expressing strong feelings, or shown by strong feelings or great energy or force
- ‘Despite vehement opposition from his family, he quit school and became an actor.’
- ‘Both men were vehement in their denial of the charges against them.’
to pie someone
the act of ignoring someone when they are talking to you
shotgun!
First person to call “shotgun!” gets the front passenger seat.
a conveyor belt
a continuous moving strip or surface that is used for transporting objects from one place to another (=taśma transportowa)
lace [U]
a decorative cloth made by twisting thin thread in delicate patterns with holes in them (=koronka)
verisimilitude [ver-uh-si-‘mil-i-tyood]
the quality of seeming true or of having the appearance of being real
- ‘The detail gives the novel some verisimilitude.’
protean
easily and continuously changing
- ‘the protean talents of this comedian’
offal [U]
the organs inside an animal, such as the brain, the heart, and the liver, eaten as food
to pencil sth/sb in
to arrange for something to happen or for someone to do something on a particular date or occasion, knowing that the arrangement might be changed later
- ‘We’ll pencil in the dates for the next two meetings and confirm them later.’
extortion [U]
the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats
