General Vocabulary Flashcards
Punchline / Punch line
culminación (de una historia)
frase clave (de un chiste)
remate (de un chiste)
Scold
Regañar.
e.g. “As children get older, we spend more time scolding them and giving advice”
Tagline
slogan, promotional message (lema)
Launching
Starting
lanzamiento, presentación de un producto al mercado, p.e
Oversimplify
Simplificar (como trivializando) algo (un argumento, etc)
“I don’t really agree with that point. I think the author is really oversimplifying the situation.”
Fret
preocuparse, inquietarse (be upset, worry)
exp. “Don’t fret, I’ll take you to the movie”. No te apures, te llevaré al cine
To Thwart
frustrar, impedir (an attack)
desbaratar, estropear, boicotear (stop from happening)
“Mr. Richards thwarted Mr. Johnson’s plans when he revealed new information on the project”.
To Debunk
desmitificar.
“I’ve debunked this myth”
To be Bitter
estar amargado
“I’m just bitter”.
“bitter words” - cruel or harsh remarks. (palabras duras)
Outfit
(ropa) conjunto: she’s wearing a pretty outfit today, hoy lleva un conjunto muy bonito.
Leprechaun
[‘leprə’kɑ:n]
(Irish mythology: elf) duende, gnomo
Baffle
[‘bæfəl]
Confuse. (confundir, desconcertar)
“this baffles me”.
Recap
Summarize a story.
Rekindle
Make something burn again, either literally (like a fire) or figuratively (like a romance)
Reavivar.
Realign
Adjust two or more things so that they’re moving in the same way, like wheels on a car or members of a team, or the margins of a text.
a tournament is held (at a certain place and time)
A “tournament” is a competition between lots of people or teams. Usually one person or team is named as the champion at the end of the tournament.
To talk about a tournament happening, use the phrase “be held”, followed by the time of the tournament, the location, or both:
- “It’s held between late March to early April each year”
- “Where is next year’s tournament being held?”
Aside from tournaments, other events that are “held” include: conferences, concerts, meetings, a hearing
(being held: se celebra. “There’s a tournament being held in April”)
Boost
impulsar, impulso, estimular, promover, aupar…
“Learning with others in an active, group setting will give you the chance to monitor your own work and discover your own strengths and weaknesses. You will also find yourself helping those around you who need a bit of a boost!”
Markdowns
Rebajas (price cut) Saldos.
Quirky
Peculiar, Raro.
Receipt
A “receipt” is a piece of paper (or maybe an electronic document) which shows how much someone has paid for something. You get one of these when you buy something.
A common practice at stores in the United States is to allow customers to return items to the store that they don’t want, if they bring the receipt to prove that they bought the items at that store.
Edible
Comestible
Pester (someone)
To “pester” someone means to annoy them. It specifically means to annoy someone by asking them a question over and over, or reminding them of something again and again.
Example: It’s your first week at a new job. You’re being trained, so you’ve been asking your boss a lot of questions. You need to ask him one more question, but you’re embarrassed to bother him again. So when you go to his office, you say:
- “Sorry to keep pestering you, but who can I speak to about getting access to the shared drive?”.
(annoy, bother / molestar, incomodar, fastidiar)
Overhear (something)
To “overhear” something means to hear something in a conversation that you weren’t participating in. You can “overhear” conversations that other people were having: “I overheard Mariana and Hiro in the elevator saying that there might be layoffs soon”.
You can also “overhear” something on TV or the radio if you’re not directly watching or listening to it.
Also:
In the phrase “I can’t help but…” in the past tense (couldn’t), the words: “notice” or “overhear” are common. They’re a way to start a conversation with someone:
- “I couldn’t help but overhear you saying something about a film festival. Are you a filmmaker?”.
Rear View Mirror & Side Mirrors
Espejo Retrovisor.
There’s a mirror in the middle of a car which allows the driver to see behind the car. This is called the “rear view mirror”.
Cars also have mirrors that stick out from the side, which are not called “rear view mirrors”. They’re called “side mirrors” (espejos laterales)