New Flashcards
If we club together, we’ll be able to get her the complete dinner set.
If a group of people club together, they share the cost of something between them
I might try my hand at a bit of Chinese cookery.
to try doing something for the first time
They made a bundle selling their business.
to earn a lot of money
If the European Central Bank believes the eurozone economy to be set fair, it can start to think about withdrawing the exceptional stimulus measures at its meeting in Estonia this week.
to be sunny and dry and not changing or expected to change
You can tell she’s in the loop. She always knows about policy decisions before the rest of us.
to have the special knowledge or power that belongs to a particular group of people
Garnish the dish with parsley before serving.
to decorate food with a small amount of different food
Repairing watches must be a very finicky job.
needing a lot of attention to detail
We cannot deduce very much from these figures.
to reach an answer or a decision by thinking carefully about the known facts
Falling house prices are illustrative of the crisis facing the construction industry.
helping to explain or prove something
She succeeded in conflating the three plays to produce a fresh new work.
to combine two or more separate things, especially pieces of text, to form a whole
They’re on track to make record profits.
making progress and likely to succeed
Getting the job finished in under a week was no mean feat.
to be a great achievement
Just a sliver of cake for me, please - I shouldn’t really be having any.
a very small thin piece of something, usually broken off something larger
His most trenchant criticism is reserved for the party leader, whom he describes as ‘the most incompetent and ineffectual the party has known’.
severe, expressing strong criticism or forceful opinions
The community centre scheme has run up against strong local opposition.
to experience an unexpected difficulty
The provincial government also soothed pastoralists with subsidies.
a sheep or cattle farmer
blustery weather
very windy
The political repression in this country is enforced by terror.
when people are controlled severely, especially by force
Rivalries have grown as each struggles to create global shipping hubs, airlines, media arms, expeditionary forces and financial districts.
a group of soldiers sent to another country to fight in a war
HLL Lifecare went from being a monopolist condom-maker to an also-ran, hence its more recent foray into vibrating gizmos.
someone in a competition who is unlikely to do well or who has failed
Greed has been the undoing of many a businessman.
the cause of someone’s failure, or of their loss of power or money
You seem mighty chipper this morning - what’s up?
very happy
We ate and drank copiously at the party.
in large amounts; more than enough
Reading should be an adventure, a personal experience full of serendipitous surprises.
occurring or discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way
Made by a local sculptor and muralist whose work graces the police headquarters, the international airport and the Saudi ambassador’s residence, among other prominent spots, it had been installed in front of the supreme court only months before.
the person making a large picture that has been painted on the wall of a room or building
The article is written in his usual punchy style.
expressing something effectively and with power
The oak was 2 metres in girth.
the distance around the outside of a thick or fat object, like a tree or a body 胴回り
an offbeat sense of humour
unusual and strange and therefore surprising or noticeable
He made several jokes and each of them fell flat.
If a joke, idea or suggestion falls flat, it does not have the intended effect
They accused him of playing into the hands of the enemy.
act in such a way as unintentionally to give someone an advantage 術中にはまる
Her face has graced the covers of magazines across the world.
When a person or thing graces a place or thing, they make it more attractive
There is traffic tailing back along the motorway for ten miles because of road repairs.
If traffic tails back, it forms a long line and moves very slowly or stops
It’s reckoned that someone in the government was in cahoots with the assassin.
acting together with others for an illegal or dishonest purpose
Are you impugning my competence as a professional designer?
to cause people to doubt someone’s character, qualities or reputation by criticizing them
Graeme was cock-a-hoop when Hibs won the championship.
extremely happy and excited about something
Ecological problems usually require holistic solutions.
dealing with or treating the whole of something or someone and not just a part
Aramco has a concession for 12 times more oil and gas than ExxonMobil and 27 times more than Shell.
a special right to property or land
a big piece of succulent steak
Succulent food is pleasantly juicy
a white-knuckle ride in a theme park
describes an experience or activity that makes you feel very frightened and often excited
The concert was supposed to be a charity event but it had strong political overtones.
something that is suggested, but is not clearly stated
The road to Ely leads out across the fens.
an area of low flat wet land
Tribal divisions and the dispersal of the population hampered resistance to Chinese authority.
spreading across or moving away over a large area, or making something do this
Regular exercise can result in a general diminution in stress levels.
reduction in size or importance
