Others: Summer 22

Question 1

Accolade

[ˈæk.ə.leɪd]

Answer 1

praise and approval:
He’s been granted the ultimate accolade - his face on a postage stamp.
Her approval was the highest accolade he could receive.

Question 2

a hotbed of something

[ˈhɑːt.bed]

Answer 2

a place or situation where a lot of a particular activity, especially an unwanted or unpleasant activity, is happening or might happen:
The police department was a hotbed of corruption.
In the 60s the city was a hotbed of crime.

Question 3

infinitesimal

[ˌɪn.fɪ.nəˈtes.ə.məl]

Answer 3

extremely small:

The amounts of radioactivity present were infinitesimal.

Question 4

Reluctant

[rɪˈlʌk.tənt]

Answer 4

not willing to do something and therefore slow to do it:

— I was having such a good time I was reluctant to leave.

Question 5

Misnomer

[ˌmɪsˈnoʊ.mɚ]

Answer 5

a name that does not suit what it refers to, or the use of such a name:
It was the scruffiest place I’ve ever stayed in, so “Grand Hotel” was a complete misnomer.

Question 6

to mitigate

[ˈmɪt̬.ə.ɡeɪt]

Answer 6

to make something less harmful, unpleasant, or bad:

It is unclear how to mitigate the effects of tourism on the island.

Question 7

Lame

[leɪm]

Answer 7

(especially of an excuse or argument) weak and unsatisfactory:
a lame excuse

Question 8

Insurmountable

[ˌɪn.sɚˈmaʊn.t̬ə.bəl]

Answer 8

(especially of a problem or a difficulty) so great that it cannot be dealt with successfully:
insurmountable difficulties
This small country is faced with an insurmountable debt.

Question 9

to double down on

Answer 9

to continue to do something in an even more determined way than before:
Expect to see Fox double down on its marketing efforts to give the movie a big boost.
Instead of learning from his mistakes, he’s doubling down.