New Words, Phrases, Idioms from Practice Tests (of Ms. Trtr) Flashcards
Look over sth:
- To quickly examine sth
Ex: The prospective buyer had decided to look over the property before committing himself
Put sth by:
- To save an amount of money to use later
Ex: I tried to put by a few pounds every week
On principle:
- if you do sth on principle, it means you do it because of a moral rule you follow
Salvage(v):
- to save goods from damage or destruction
Ex: Gold coins salvaged from a shipwreck
Lobby (v):
- to persuade an elected official to take a particular action or change a law
Ex: preservationists are lobbying their state lawmakers to legally restrict underwater searches and unregulated salvages
Spur sb on:
- to encourage sb
Ex: ambition spurred him on
Scour(v):
- to search a place or thing very carefully in order to try to find something
Ex: The police are scouring the area for the missing child
Rupture(v, n):
- To (cause sth) to explode, break or tear
- And occasion when sth explodes, breaks or tears
Ex: The news has ruptured the delicate peace between the rival groups
A rupture of the pipeline
Shun(v):
- to avoid sth or ignore sb
Ex: she has shunned publicity since she retired from acting
Quiver(v):
- To shake slightly often because of strong emotion
Ex: The dog quivered with fear
Flinch(v):
- to make a sudden small movement because of pain or fear
Ex: He didn’t even flinch when the nurse cleaned the wound
Cringe(v):
- To pull back in fear from sb or sth that seems powerful or dangerous
- to feel embarrassed and ashamed about sth
Ex: he cringes every time he hears the dentist‘s drill
I cringed at the sight of my dad dancing
Wince(v):
- to show pain or embarrassment suddenly and for a short time in the face
Ex: It makes me wince even thinking about eye operations
Up in the air:
- uncertain
Ex: The whole future of the project is still up in the air
Be under a cloud:
- To not be trusted or popular because people think you have done sth bad
Ex: The cabinet minister left office under a cloud after a fraud scandal
Be in the red:
- If you or your bank account are in the red you owe money to the bank
Shambles(n):
=clutter
- A state of confusion, bad organization, or untidiness
Ex: The train service has been a shambles since they introduced the new schedules
Rumpus(n):
Informal
- A lot of noise, esp. a loud and confused argument or complaint
Ex: there was a real rumpus going on in the house next-door last night
Fracas(n):
- A noisy argument or fight
Ex: he was injured in a Saturday-night fracas outside the park
Grimace(v, n):
- to make an expression of pain, strong dislike, etc. in which the face twists in an ugly way
Ex: he tried to stand and grimaced with pain
Put your feet up:
- to relax
(Out) in the sticks:
- a long way from a town or city
Ex: they live out in the sticks
Mystification(n):
- The state of feeling very confused because sb or sth is impossible to understand
Ex: and then, to the audience’s mystification, the band suddenly stopped playing
- A temporary mental condition in which someone is subconscious
Trance(v):
Ex: He sat staring out of the window as if in a trance
Evoke(v):
- to make sb remember sth or feel an emotion
Ex: that smell always evokes memories of my old school
Disclose(v):
Formal
- to make sth known publicly
Ex: The company has disclosed profits of over 200m pounds
In the manner of sth:
- in the style of particular person or thing
Depose(v):
- to remove sb important from a powerful position
Ex: King Charles I was deposed from the English throne in 1646
Provoke(v):
- to cause a reaction
- to make or try to make a person or an animal angry
Ex: The prospect of increased prices has already provoked an outcry
It was a vicious-looking dog and I didn’t want to provoke it
Sustenance(v):
Formal
- food
- the ability of food to provide people and animals with what they need to make them strong and healthy
Ex: during this freezing weather, the food put out by householders is the only form of sustenance that the birds have
A stick of celery does not provide much sustenance
Bloodcurdling(adj):
- causing a feeling of extreme fear
Ex: a bloodcurdling story/scream
Lurk(v):
- to wait or move in a secret way so that you cannot be seen
- (of an unpleasant feeling or quality) to exist although it is not always noticeable
Ex: sb was lurking in the shadows
Danger lurks around every corner
Rampant(adj):
- growing or spreading quickly in a way that is not controlled
Ex: weeds are growing rampant in the garden
Rampant corruption/inflation
Suffocate(v):
- to die because of lack of oxygen, or kill sb by preventing them from breathing
- to prevent sth/sb from improving or developing in a positive way
Ex: she suffocated him by holding a pillow over his head
If bacteria are allowed to run rampant and kept in check, they could virtually suffocate the oceans
Proliferate(v):
Formal
- to increase a lot and suddenly in number
Ex: small businesses have proliferated in the last ten years
Custodian(n):
Formal
- a person/organization with mantle of protecting or taking care of sth, or keeping sth in good condition
Ex: the custodian of a museum/castle
The library is a traditional custodian of information
Debilitate(v):
Formal
- to make sb or sth physically weak
= enervate
Ex: chemotherapy exhausted and debilitated him
Be in sync (with sb/sth):
- to work well together, to be in agreement, or to match well with sth/sb else
Ex: she found that the job was out of sync w/ her principles, and she had to leave
Graft(v):
- a piece of healthy skin or bone cut usually from a person’s own body and used to repair a damaged part in that person
Abdomen(n):
- Bụng
Amputate(v):
- to cut off a part of the body
Ex: they had to amputate his foot to free him from the wreckage
Regression(n):
Formal
- suy thoái (= a return to a previous and less advanced or worse state, condition, or way of behaving
Ex: a regression has occurred in the overall political situation
Cartography(n):
- the science or art of making or drawing maps: bản đồ học
Misdemeanor(n):
- a behavior that is bad or not moral
Ex: political/sexual misdemeanor
Mutiny(n):
- an occasion when a group of people defies orders and/or attempts to take control from people in authority
- to take part in a mutiny
Ex: conditions on the ship were often abominable and crews were on the point of mutiny
Circumnavigate(v):
Formal
- to sail all the way around sth
- to circumvent
Ex: they circumnavigated Cape Horn Island in canoes
Manufacturers and shops circumnavigated gun laws by providing realistic models that are unable to discharge missiles. (Circulate)
Incur(v):
Formal
- to experience sth, usually sth unpleasant
Ex: the play has incurred the wrath of both audiences and critics
Give sb chapter and verse on sth
- to tell sb all the details of sth, without missing anything out
Sth strikes a chord with sb
To cause people to agree with or approve of sth
In the abstract
- in a general way
- a state of not happening or being used at present
Abeyance(n):
Ex: The project is being held in abeyance until agreement is reached on funding it.
Pick sb’s brain(s):
- to ask someone who knows a lot about a subject for information or their opinion
Take to your heels
- to quickly run away
Hand in/and glove
- working together, often to do something dishonest
Take heart (from sth):
- to feel encouraged because of sth
If you make or lose money hand over fist, you make or lose a lot money very quickly
Reserve judgment on sth
- to refuse to give an opinion about sth until you know more about it
Ex: The three appeal judges reserved judgment on both cases.
Microbial (adj):
- relating to microbes
Beyond question
- completely certain or definite
- to get or produce sth, esp. in4 and response
Elicit (v):
Ex: The program has also elicited both positive and negative responses.
Reminisce about:
- to talk or write about past experiences that you remember with pleasure
Hale and hearty
- (esp. of old people) healthy and strong
- urgent and need to be dealt with immediately
Pressing(adj):
Ex: a pressing need for housing
a pressing issue
- completely developed or trained
Fully fledged/full-fledged(adj):
Ex: What started as a small business is now a fully fledged company.
After years of study, Tim is now a fully fledged architect.
Empty into sth:
- to flow into larger areas
Ex: The River Tees empties into the North Sea.
Blow the gaff
- to make known a secret
At/on the double
- very quickly and without any delay
In luck
- experiencing a surprisingly good situation
Frighten/scare sb out of their wits=frighten/scare the wits out of sb
- to make sb frightened
Under wraps
- secret
Bail sb up
- to talk with sb continuously and delay them
For good measure
- in addition
Jump in/throw sb in at the deep end
- to start or to make someone start a new and difficult job or activity without helping them or preparing them for it
Tempers get frayed:
- If you say that tempers are getting frayed, you mean that people are getting angry with each other.
Frown on/upon sth:
- to disapprove of sth
Ex: Smoking is frowned upon in many societies.
Incur(v):
- to experience sth, usually sth bad
Ex: to incur debts/bills
On the up (and up):
- honest and fair
- improving all the time
Ex: gareth bake is a brilliant young footballer who is on the up and up
Her career has been on the up and up since she moved into sales.
Worm sth out of sb:
- to try to get in4 from sb that they are trying to keep secret
Ex: He wasn’t going to tell me, but I managed to worm it out of him.
Be privy to sth:
Formal
- to have secret knowledge that few people know
Ex: Only top management was privy to (= knew about) the proposed merger.
Configure(v):
- to arrange something or put its parts together in a particular form or arrangement
Ex: Online buyers can build their own version of the car: many of the company’s customers configure their own vehicles.
Laden(adj):
- carrying or holding a lot of something
Ex: He always comes back from France laden with presents for everyone.
The table, as always, was laden with food.
Make/pull a face:
- grimace(v)
Ex: i knew my mother would pull a face the minute she saw my new haircut
Keep oneself to oneself:
- to tell others very little about oneself, and not to be very friendly or sociable
= self-contained(adj)
Ex: He likes to keep himself to himself.
Make a dash for sth
Entrance(v):
Be entranced with
/intrans/
- so captivating that you cannot take your eyes off them
Ex: He has entranced millions of people with his beautifully illustrated books.
Be on the scene
- to arrive
In the flesh:
- irl
Set my heart on doing sth
Get around to doing sth
- to do something that you have intended to do for a long time
Ex: I still haven’t got around to fixing that tap.
-  full of strongly felt and strongly expressed emotion
Impassioned (adj):
Ex: Relatives of the dead made an impassioned plea for the bodies to be flown back to this country.
- feeling or showing sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others, and wanting to help them
Compassionate(adj):
Ex: He was a wonderful listener and a deeply compassionate man.
- able to think clearly or make good decisions because of not being influenced by emotions
Dispassionate(adj):
Ex: In all the media hysteria, there was one journalist whose comments were clear-sighted and dispassionate.
If you describe a situation as a toss-up, you mean that either of two possibilities is equally likely
Ex: It’s a toss-up between Angela and Moira for the editor’s job.
- not important, or not relating to the subject you are thinking about
Immaterial(adj):
Ex: Whether the book is well or badly written is immaterial (to me) - it has an important message.
- suitable and right for the occasion
Apposite(adj):
Formal /aepowzait/
Ex: The film starts in a graveyard, an apposite image for the decaying society which is the theme of the film.
Be/weigh on your conscience
- to make you feel guilty
Ex: Yesterday I ignored an old woman who asked me for money in the street, and it’s been on my conscience ever since.
Be at your wit’s end:
- to be so worried, confused, or annoyed that you do not know what to do next
Under sb’s thumb
- under one’s control
Fall in with sb/sth
- to become friendly with sb or to support a plan
- a previous action or decision that can be used as a reason for allowing something else
Precedent(n):
Ex: This law sets a very dangerous precedent for all businesses.
If an experience stands sb in good stead, it is or will be of great use to them
Stand someone in good stead
Ex: Getting some work experience now will stand you in good stead (for) when you apply for a permanent job.
Weep oneself out
Cry out
Gloss over sth
- to treat something in a way that fails to recognize its importance or its faults
Overlook
Fob sb off (sth)
- to persuade someone to accept something that is of a low quality, or different to what they really wanted
Ex: The bank delayed on his compensation claim for eight years while attempting to fob him off with much smaller sums.
If something is carefully/well/badly thought out, it is carefully/well/badly planned
Ex: a well-thought-out plan
Harebrained/hair-brained(adj):
- of plans or people) silly or not practical
Ex: That sounds like another of his harebrained schemes!
Unerring(adj):
- always right
Ex: She brings an unerring sense of timing to the role.
- arguments between people who are blaming each other
Recrimination(n):
(=recriminations)
Ex: The peace talks broke down and ended in bitter mutual recrimination(s).
- the conditions that make available an opportunity to learn or experience new things
Exposure(n):
Ex:  Students deserve exposure to creative teachers.
Fob sb off with sth:
- to persuade someone to accept something that is of a low quality, or different to what they really wanted
- to try to stop someone from complaining or asking questions by telling them something that is not true, or giving them an excuse
Keep tabs on sth/sb:
- to watch sth or sb carefully
Ex: I like to keep tabs on my bank account so that I don’t spend too much.
- to get control or influence
- to be common among a group of people or area at a particular time
Prevail(v):
Formal
Ex: And did reason prevail over (= become a more powerful influence than) emotion?
This attitude still prevails among the middle classes.
- to firmly establish something, especially an idea or a problem, so that it cannot be changed
Entrench(v):
Ex: The government’s main task was to prevent inflation from entrenching itself.
- to dominate, to influence
Bestride(v):
Ex: america’s media companies bestride the globe
- providing the right conditions for something good to happen or exist
Conducive(v):
Ex: Such a noisy environment was not conducive to a good night’s sleep.
The relief worker:
- nhân viên cứu trợ
Pay over the odds
- to pay more for sth than it is really worth
Lay into sb:
- to attack sb physically or to criticize sb in an angry way
Ex: her father laid her into when she came home two hours later from a party
Play on sth
- make unfair use of sth
- sth that is so boring that it makes you very unhappy
Soul-destroying(adj):
Ex: Repetitive work can become soul-destroying after a while.
- giving you a sudden very strong feeling of fear
Heart-stopping(adj):
Ex: For a heart-stopping moment, she thought the man was going to kill her.
- a situation in which two people or groups share responsibility for running a government, organization, etc.
Power-sharing(n):
Ex: The two leaders presented this new era of power-sharing as a positive thing.
- making you think a lot about a subject
Thought-provoking(adj):
Ex: a thought-provoking book/film
Eat away sth:
- to gradually destroy or damage sth
Ex: most of the bodywork of the car has been eaten away by rust
Cave in:
- to break and fall into the space below
Ex: Because of the explosion, the roof of the building caved in, trapping several people.
Justified in
Ex: I think you were quite justified in complaining.
-to go somewhere with a person or group, usually when they have not asked you to go with them
Tag along:
Ex: I don’t know her, she just tagged along with us.
- to aim or point a gun, camera, light, etc. at someone or something
Train(v):
Ex: With five guns suddenly trained on him, he was understandably nervous.
By a mile/miles
- used to say something is much greater or better than something else
Ex: Restaurant food is better by miles/miles better than it used to be 20 years ago.
Over and above:
In addion to
Be on the level:
- to be acting or speaking honestly
Ex: are you sure he is on the level, i think it is too good to be true
- to destroy an idea or a piece of art or entertainment
Mutilate(v):
Ex: They have mutilated a beautiful film by making these changes.
- to damage and spoil the appearance of something by writing or drawing on it
Deface (v):
Ex: He was fined for defacing library books.
- to spread over a large area, or (especially of things made of cloth) to become filled with air and appear to be larger
Billow(v):
Ex: Smoke billowed (out) from the burning building.
Throw a (monkey) wrench in the works=throw/put a spanner in the works
- to do sth that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding
