phone 15

Question 1

string someone along

Answer 1

to deceive someone for a long time about what you are really intending to do:
She’s been promising to pay back the money for six months, but I think she’s just stringing me along.
He strung her along for years, saying he’d marry her and divorce his wife.

Question 2

sublease, sublet

Answer 2

an arrangement by which you allow someone to rent all or part of a building that you are renting from someone else:
There are concerns that downsizing companies might put too much office space up for sublease.

an arrangement by which someone rents all or part of a building from another person who rents it from the owner:
The head tenant will grant subleases in consideration of a premium and a low rent.

2) to allow someone to rent all or part of a house or other building that you are renting from someone else:
Our rental contract states that we are not allowed to sublet the house.
The tenant cannot sublet without the owner’s permission and cannot charge more than the regulated rent.
We have to inform the housing association if we sub-let a room.

Question 3

accrue

Answer 3

to increase in number or amount over a period of time:
Interest will accrue on the account at a rate of seven percent.
Little benefit will accrue to the city (= it will receive little benefit) from the new transport links.

Question 4

stoic

Answer 4

determined not to complain or show your feelings, especially when something bad happens to you:
We knew she must be in pain, despite her stoic attitude.
He showed a stoic resignation towards his fate.
Local people were stoical about the damage caused by the hurricane.

Question 5

suppress

Answer 5

to end something by force:
The Hungarian uprising in 1956 was suppressed by the Soviet Union.

2) to prevent something from being seen or expressed or from operating:
She couldn’t suppress her anger/annoyance/delight.
His feelings of resentment have been suppressed for years.
The British government tried to suppress the book because of the information it contained about the security services.
The virus suppresses the body’s immune system.

Question 6

interject

Answer 6

to say something while another person is speaking:
[ + speech ] “That’s absolutely ridiculous!” Mary interjected.

Question 6

prescribe

Answer 6

to tell someone what they must have or do, or to make a rule of something:
Penalties for not paying taxes are prescribed by law.
[ + that ] The law prescribes that all children must go to school.
[ + question word ] Grammatical rules prescribe how words may be used together.

Question 6

on the hoof, off the hook

Answer 6

If you do something on the hoof, you do it while you are moving about or doing something else, often without giving it the attention it deserves:
I’ve got a meeting downtown in 20 minutes so I’ll have lunch on the hoof.

2) If you are off the hook, you have escaped from a difficult situation:
get/let someone off the hook John’s agreed to go to the meeting in my place so that gets/lets me off the hook.

informal
extremely good:
That party was off the hook!
The next series is going to be off the hook.

Question 7

on the front burner

Answer 7

getting or needing immediate attention:
A few important members of Congress are making an effort to keep human rights on the front burner.

Question 8

insidious

Answer 8

(of something unpleasant or dangerous) gradually and secretly causing harm:
High blood pressure is an insidious condition which has few symptoms.

Question 9

rebuff

Answer 9

to refuse to accept a helpful suggestion or offer from someone, often by answering in an unfriendly way:
She rebuffed all suggestions that she should resign.

Question 10

reliant

Answer 10

C2
needing a particular thing or person in order to continue, to work correctly, or to succeed:
He’s completely reliant on his wheelchair to get about.
The project is heavily reliant on volunteers.

Question 11

harbor

Answer 11

to have in mind a thought or feeling, usually over a long period:
He harbored the suspicion that someone in the agency was spying for the enemy.
harbor verb [T] (HIDE)

to protect someone by providing a place to hide:
They were accused of harboring a fugitive.

Question 12

fugitive

Answer 12

a person who is running away or hiding from the police or a dangerous situation:
Thousands of fugitives are fleeing from the war-torn area.
fugitive from justice Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were fugitives from justice (= they ran away to avoid being tried in court).

2) (especially of thoughts or feelings) lasting for only a short time:
a fugitive impression

Question 13

recrimination

Answer 13

arguments between people who are blaming each other:
The peace talks broke down and ended in bitter mutual recrimination(s).

Question 14

truancy

Answer 14

the problem or situation of children being absent from school regularly without permission:
My daughter’s school has very good exam results and hardly any truancy.
Truanting was a serious problem in a fifth of the schools surveyed.

Question 15

stifle

Answer 15

to (cause to) be unable to breathe because you have no air:
He is said to have stifled his victim with a pillow.
We almost stifled in the heat of the city.

to prevent something from happening, being expressed, or continuing:
She stifled a cough/yawn/scream/sneeze.
I don’t know how I managed to stifle my anger.
We should be encouraging new ideas, not stifling them.

Question 16

adversity

Answer 16

a difficult or unlucky situation or event:
She was always cheerful in adversity.
The road to happiness is paved with adversities.

Question 17

objective

Answer 17

something that you plan to do or achieve:
Her main/prime objective now is simply to stay in power.
Can the sales team achieve/meet its financial objectives?

based on real facts and not influenced by personal beliefs or feelings:
an objective and impartial report
I can’t really be objective when I’m judging my daughter’s work.

Question 18

serene

Answer 18

peaceful and calm; worried by nothing:
She has a lovely serene face.

Question 19

contentious

Answer 19

causing , involving, or likely to cause disagreement and argument:
a contentious decision/policy/issue/subject
contentious views She has some very contentious views on education.
The director had a contentious relationship with the eccentric actor.

Question 20

contagious

Answer 20

A contagious disease can be caught by touching someone who has the disease or by touching an infected object, or by an infected person coughing, sneezing, etc. near you:
The infection is highly contagious, so don’t let anyone else use your towel.
There were fears the contagious disease could wipe out livestock over a wide area.

A contagious feeling spreads quickly among people:
Fear is contagious.
His presence was warm and his wit was contagious

Question 21

contiguous

Answer 21

next to or touching another, usually similar, thing:
contiguous with/to The two states are contiguous with/to each other, but the laws are quite different.

Question 22

disclosure

Answer 22

the act of making something known or the fact that is made known:
disclosure of Any public disclosure of this information would be very damaging to the company.
The newspaper made damaging disclosures of management incompetence.

2) a private financial record that a person or company must show to the government, investors, banks, etc. for business purposes, or the fact of making this record available:
Her financial disclosure describes her work for the company as “consulting/media/public relations.”
Disclosure of sales and operating profit has confirmed the company’s growth within the electronics sector.

3) C2
to make something known publicly, or to show something that was hidden:
The company has disclosed profits of over £200 million.
[ + that ] The police have disclosed that two officers are under internal investigation.

Question 22

turbulent

Answer 22

involving a lot of sudden changes, arguments, or violence:
a turbulent marriage
This has been a turbulent week for the administration.

full of confusion; lacking order:
His book discusses the turbulent years of the civil rights struggle.

Question 23

espouse

Answer 23

to become involved with or support an activity or opinion:
Vegetarianism is one cause she does not espouse.

Question 24

retract

Answer 24

to take back an offer or statement, etc. or admit that a statement was false:
retract an invitation/confession/promise
When questioned on TV, he retracted his allegations.

2) to pull something back or in:
The wheels retract after the aircraft takes off.
The cat retracted its claws.

Question 25

dissipate

Answer 25

to (cause to) gradually disappear or waste:
The heat gradually dissipates into the atmosphere.
His anger dissipated as the situation became clear.

Question 26

abjure

Answer 26

to say formally or publicly that you no longer agree with a belief or way of behaving:
He abjured his religion/his life of dissipation.

Question 27

conduce

Answer 27

to help make a particular situation happen or help produce a particular result:
the belief that technological progress conduces to human happiness

Question 28

lam

Answer 28

on the lam
Add to word list
escaping, especially from the police:
The robbers were on the lam for several days before they were caught.

Question 29

converge

Answer 29

If lines, roads, or paths converge, they move towards the same point where they join or meet:
converge at The paths all converge at the main gate of the park.
converge into Due to roadworks, three lanes of traffic have to converge into two.

If ideas and opinions converge, they gradually become similar.

to come from other places to meet in a particular place:
converge on Ambulances, police cars, and fire engines all converged on the scene.
100,000 people are expected to converge on the town for the festival.

Question 30

compulsive

Answer 30

doing something a lot and unable to stop doing it:
a compulsive liar/thief/eater
compulsive gambling
a compulsive eating disorder

C2
If a film, play, sports event, book, etc. is compulsive, it is so interesting or exciting that you do not want to stop watching or reading it:
I always find programmes about hospitals compulsive viewing.
Her latest book is compulsive reading/a compulsive read.

Question 31

foreclosure

Answer 31

the action of taking back property that was bought with borrowed money because the money was not being paid back as formally agreed, or an example of this:
She is another homeowner facing foreclosure.
His firm handles about 3,000 mortgage foreclosures a year.

the act of taking back property that was bought with borrowed money because the money was not being paid back as agreed:
There are concerns about the current housing market, where prices are falling and foreclosures are rising.
go into/enter/face foreclosure When a number of homes go into foreclosure, neighborhood home values take a heavy hit.
home/mortgage foreclosures
a foreclosure filing/notice/suit
a foreclosure auction/sale

Question 32

invincible

Answer 32

impossible to defeat or prevent from doing what is intended:
Last year the company seemed/looked invincible but in recent weeks has begun to have problems.

Question 33

racket

Answer 33

an unpleasant loud continuous noise:
They were making such a racket outside that I couldn’t get to sleep.

a dishonest or illegal activity that makes money:
They were jailed for running a protection/prostitution racket.
See also
protection

[ C usually singular ] disapproving
a way of making a large unfair profit:
Phone chat lines are a real racket.

Question 34

subpar

Answer 34

used to describe something that is below average, or below what is expected:
The economy posted sub-par annual growth of less than 2% for four straight quarters.
Does he deserve such a generous retirement package, considering the company’s subpar performance?
The new chairman is attempting to revamp operations after years of subpar results at the company.

Question 35

impinge on/upon someone/something

Answer 35

to have an effect on something, often causing problems by limiting it in some way:
The government’s spending limits will seriously impinge on the education budget.

Question 36

impetuously

Answer 36

in a sudden way, without considering the results of your actions:
People feel the minister often acts impetuously.
She could impetuously change her mind at any time.

Question 37

deem

Answer 37

C2
to consider or judge something in a particular way:
[ + obj + noun/adj ] The area has now been deemed safe.
[ + noun/adj ] We will provide help whenever you deem it appropriate.
[ + obj + to infinitive ] Anyone not paying the registration fee by 31 March will be deemed to have withdrawn from the offer.

Question 37

drawl

Answer 37

a slow way of speaking in which the vowel sounds are made longer and words are not separated clearly:
a southern/Texan/mid-Atlantic drawl

Question 37

used to refer to the special thing for which a person or place is particularly known:
The restaurant’s signature dish is seafood paella.
Some of the biggest fashion names from the 40s, 50s, and 60s continue to produce pieces in their signature

Answer 37

used to refer to the special thing for which a person or place is particularly known:
The restaurant’s signature dish is seafood paella.
Some of the biggest fashion names from the 40s, 50s, and 60s continue to produce pieces in their signature styles.

Question 37

cackle

Answer 37

to make the loud, unpleasant sound of a chicken:
The hens cackled in alarm.

disapproving
to laugh in a loud, high voice:
A group of women were cackling in a corner.
a cackling witch

Question 37

perpetual

Answer 37

continuing for ever in the same way:
They lived in perpetual fear of being discovered.
He has hard, cold eyes and his mouth is set in a perpetual sneer.
a perpetual student

often repeated:
perpetual vandalism

Question 37

sore

Answer 37

painful and uncomfortable because of injury, infection, or too much use:
All the dust has made my eyes sore.
I’ve got a sore back.
My feet were sore with all the walking.

angry because you feel you have been unfairly treated:
He accused me of being a sore loser (= someone who does not accept defeat well).

Question 37

gush

Answer 37

to flow or send out quickly and in large amounts:
gush (out) from Oil gushed (out) from the hole in the tanker.
gush from Blood was gushing from his nose.
Her arm gushed blood where the knife had gone in.

to express a positive feeling, especially praise, in such a strong way that it does not sound sincere:
[ + speech ] “You’re just so talented!” she gushed.

Question 37

exude

Answer 37

If you exude love, confidence, pain, etc., you show that you have a lot of that feeling:
exude confidence She just exudes confidence.

to produce a smell or liquid substance from inside:
exude something from something Some trees exude from their bark a sap that repels insect parasites.

Question 37

smackdown

Answer 37

an occasion when two people, companies, etc. compete with each other in order to win or achieve something :
Early episodes suggest that his actions will lead to the mother of all smackdowns, with no clear winner.
The situation became a full-blown smackdown between three federal agencies - Homeland Security, State Department, and the Department of Defense.
A smartphone smack-down is brewing.

a big and definite defeat :
have you not learned by now that smugness will get you nothing so quick as a karmic smackdown?
Does the fact that Connor received a smack-down mean he will back off?

an occasion when someone refuses to accept something in a very definite way:
The Republicans’ across-the-board smackdown of the motion indicated the party’s unity, he said.
Human rights and civil liberties groups see this decision as a long overdue presidential smack-down that recognizes the basic right of everybody in the United States to due process.

Question 37

prance

Answer 37

to walk in an energetic way and with more movement than necessary:
It’s pathetic to see 50-year-old rock stars prancing around on stage as if they were still teenagers.
She pranced into the office and demanded to speak to the manager.

Question 37

befit

Answer 37

to be suitable or right for someone or something:
She was buried in the cathedral, as befits someone of her position.