Idioms Flashcards
CONVINCE
She was CONVINCED THAT she had been robbed.
Intractable
Difficult to control, manage, or manipulate; hard to cure; stubborn.
DO
I did not eat the cheese, but my mother DID (or DID SO).
EVERY
FOR EVERY dollar SAVED, THREE dollars ARE WASTED. SUSPECT: FO EVERY dollar SAVED, you WASTE THREE dollars.
MASS
The truck a HAS ten TIMES THE MASS of a small car.
Extraneous
Irrelevant; foreign, coming from without, not belonging.
Inconsquential
Insignificant, unimported. The sense here is that the thing is so small that it doesn’t even have consequences.
Sparing
Holding back or being wise in the use of resources; deficient. Be sparing with the ketchup in order to make it last longer, but don’t be sparing in praising your employees for a job well done.
Erratic
Inconsistent, wandering, having no fixed course.
Bygone
Past, former; that which is in the past (usually plural, as in the expression “Let bygones be bygones’’, which means to let the past go, especially by forgiving someone). “At the nursing home, the time to reminisce about bygone days was pretty much all the time.”
Assimilation
The process by which a minority group adopts the customs and way of life of a larger group, or process by which any new thing being introduced begins to ‘‘blend.’’’’ Words like Westernization or Amercanization refer to the process of assimilation into Western culture, American culture, etc.
Annul
Make void or null, cancel, abolish (usually of laws or other established rules). Most people associate this word with marriage-a marriage is annulled when a judge rules that it was invalid in the first place (because of fraud, mental incompetence, etc.), so it is as if it never happened. “Can we appreciate the art of a murderer? For many, the value of these paintings is annulled by artist’s crimes.)
Estimable
1) Worthy of esteem, admirable; 2) Able to be estimated
Redress
Setting something right after a misdeed, compensation or relief for injury or wrongdoing (noun); correct, set right, remedy (verb).
Dismiss
Put aside or reject, especially after only a brief consideration; allow to disperse or leave; fire from a job. To dismiss biases (biases is the plural of bias) in science is to rule out possible prejudices that could have influenced results. “Before I dismiss class, I want you to remind you of the importance of dismissing biases in your research by rulling out or adjusting for factors other than the variable you are testing that may have led you to your results.’’
Bogus
Fake, fraudulent. The back of this bodybuilding magazine is just full of ads for bogus products-this one promises 22-inch biceps just from wearing magnetic armbands.’’
Implode
Burst inward. Metaphorically, to collapse or break down.
Penumbra
Outer part of a shadow from an eclipse; any surrounding region, fringe, periphery; any area where something ‘‘sort of” exists.
Underpin
Strenghten, corrobate, support from below.
RANK
This problem RANKS AS one of the worst we have seen.
Befall
Happen to (used with something bad). The past tense is befell. ‘‘Disaster befell the company once again when CEO was thrown from a horse.’’
Faculty
An ability, often a mental ability.
LET
My doctor LETS me SWIM in the ocean.
PRIVILEGE
The academy gave senior cadets DANCING PRIVILEGES. SUSPECT: The academy gave senior cadets THE PRIVILEGE OF DANCING.