Set 8 Flashcards
hold sb to sth
hold sb to sth
to make somebody keep a promise; to make someone do what they promised or agreed to do; to demand that someone act on a promise or agreement
…We’ll hold him to the exact terms of the contract.
…They didn’t hold me to a month’s notice. “They didn’t hold me to a month’s notice” means that the speaker was not required to give a month’s notice before leaving their job or position. The phrase “hold to” means to make someone do what they have promised or decided. In this context, it means that the speaker was not required to fulfill the obligation of giving a month’s notice before leaving their job or position.
> Cambridge English Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary of English, Macmillan Dictionary
rough around the edges
rough around the edges
send for sb/sth
send for sb/sth
shroud
shroud
snide
snide
flagrant
flagrant
vouch for sb/sth
vouch for sb/sth
berate
berate
dismember
dismember
take sth by storm
take sth by storm
put in for sth
put in for sth
vigilant
vigilant
size up
size up
treasure trove
treasure trove
confide in sb
confide in sb
torrid
torrid
crude
crude
apprise
apprise
with flying colors
with flying colors
not mince (one’s) words
not mince (one’s) words
ask sb a favor (also ask a favor of sb)
ask sb a favor (also ask a favor of sb)
alas
alas
swoop
swoop
pragmatist
pragmatist
schematic
schematic
sovereignty
sovereignty
to fuss over sb/sth
to make a fuss over sb/sth
(also British to make a fuss of sb/sth)
to fuss over sb/sth
to make a fuss over sb/sth
to pay a lot of attention or too much attention to someone or something, especially to show that you are pleased with them or like them; If you fuss over someone, you pay them a lot of attention and do things to make them happy or comfortable.
…His aunts fussed over him all the time.
…Jess looked at the worried forehead wrinkles, the nervous hands fussing over the teacups, plum cake and shortbread.
to make a fuss of sb/sth
BRITISH
If you make a fuss of someone, you pay them a lot of attention and do things to make them happy or comfortable.
…When I arrived my nephews made a big fuss of me.
…Make a fuss of your dog when he behaves properly.
…Their grandmother made such a fuss of them.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Dictionary of English
to make a fuss
to kick up a fuss
to make a fuss
to kick up a fuss
INFORMAL
to complain or become angry about something, especially when this is not necessary; If you make a fuss or kick up a fuss about something, you become angry or excited about it and complain.
…I don’t know why everybody makes such a fuss about a few mosquitoes.
…I don’t know why you’re making such a fuss about it.
…She felt unenthusiastic and listless about the eclipse and couldn’t see why everyone else was making such a fuss.
…Josie kicked up a fuss because the soup was too salty.
…If enough parents kick up a fuss, you can change things.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary
fuss
fuss
noun
1 Fuss is anxious or excited behavior which serves no useful purpose: COMMOTION, excitement, agitation, uproar, to-do, ado /əˈduː/
…There was all that fuss over his marriage breaking up.
…They wanted a quiet wedding without any fuss.
…Until I heard her sing I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about(=why people liked it so much).
verb
1 If you fuss, you worry or behave in a nervous, anxious way about unimportant matters or rush around doing unnecessary things: WORRY, FRET, be agitated, be worried, take pains, make a big thing out of
…‘Stop fussing,’ he snapped.
…I wish you’d stop fussing – I’ll be perfectly all right.
…Jack was fussing over the food and clothing we were going to take.
→ fuss with/around/about
…Paul was fussing with his clothes, trying to get his tie straight.
…She fussed with a wisp of hair over her ear.
…A team of waiters began fussing around the table.
…Carol fussed about getting me a drink.
2 If you fuss over someone, you pay them a lot of attention and do things to make them happy or comfortable.
…His aunts fussed over him all the time.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus
frown on sb/sth
frown upon sb/sth
frown on sb/sth
frown upon sb/sth
teething troubles
(also teething problems)
teething troubles
(also teething problems)
contrite adjective
contrition noun
contrite adjective
contrition noun
subside
subside
appropriate
appropriate
smirk
smirk
reside
reside
go off at a tangent
go off at a tangent
whimper
whimper
blatant
blatant
indiscriminate
indiscriminate
deliberation
deliberation
arid
arid
fiend
fiend
to stand pat
to stand pat
strain
strain
fiddle
fiddle
arraignment
arraignment
inappropriate
inappropriate
scrabble
scrabble
ilk
ilk
exorbitant
exorbitant
as thick as thieves
as thick as thieves
jeer
jeer
fissure
fissure
latch onto sb/sth
latch onto sb/sth
snicker
snicker
frill
frill
dupe
dupe
glitz
glitz
fight tooth and nail
fight tooth and nail
fickle
fickle
reimbursement
reimbursement
muck
muck
excavation
excavation
can’t abide sb/sth
can’t abide sb/sth
flaccid
flaccid
I’m being cruel only to be kind.
I’m being cruel only to be kind.
…You may scoff but I honestly feel I’m being cruel only to be kind.
The phrase “You may scoff but I honestly feel I’m being cruel only to be kind” means that the speaker is doing something that may seem harsh or unkind but is actually for the benefit of the person they are doing it to. It’s a way of saying that sometimes you have to be tough in order to help someone in the long run.
My nerves are getting frayed
fray
…My nerves are getting frayed(= I am becoming nervous) from the constant noise around here.
> Cambridge Dictionary
bristle with sth
bristle
noun
…
verb
1 to behave in a way that shows you are very angry or annoyed: GET ANGRY, become infuriated, be furious, be maddened, bridle, become indignant, be irritated; take offense, take umbrage; be defensive
→ bristle with rage/indignation etc
…John pushed back his chair, bristling with rage.
→ bristle at
If you bristle at something, you react to it angrily, and show this in your expression or the way you move.
…He bristled at her rudeness.
…Ellis bristles at accusations that Berkeley’s experiment is ill-conceived.
2 if an animal’s hair bristles, it stands up stiffly because the animal is afraid or angry
3 If you say that a place or thing bristles with people or with other things, you are emphasizing that it contains a great number of them: ABOUND, swarm, teem, crawl, overflow, be alive, hum
…The country bristles with armed groups.
…The idea fairly bristles with controversy.
…On the plus side are the 19 selections recorded at the band’s 1980 performance at the Lyceum Theater in London, which bristle with excitement.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Dec. 2023
…In San Francisco, Cruise now offers rides in driverless Chevrolet Bolt AVs (for autonomous vehicles) that bristle with sensors—not only the usual cameras and radar, but also lidar—that feed data to a powerful computer system that makes decisions in real time about what the car is doing and facing.
—John Voelcker, Car and Driver, 31 July 2023
…In the posh Tuscan port town of Forte dei Marmi, the gaudy vacation homes for moneyed seasonal visitors all bristle with security cameras that surveil every square inch of space.
—Charles Bramesco, Vulture, 23 June 2021
> c. 1200 (implied in past-participle adjective bristled) “set or covered with bristles,” from bristle (n.). Of hair, “to stand or become stiff and upright,” late 15c. The extended meaning “become angry or excited” is 1540s, from the way animals show fight.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
analogy
a‧nal‧o‧gy
/əˈnælədʒi/
> late Middle English (in the sense ‘appropriateness, correspondence’): from French analogie, Latin analogia ‘correspondence, proportion’, from Greek, from analogos ‘proportionate’, from Latin analogia, from Ancient Greek ἀναλογία (analogía), from ana “upon, according to” + lógos “speech, reckoning”.
a‧nal‧o‧gous
/əˈnæləɡəs/
similar or comparable to something else either in general or in some specific detail; If one thing is analogous to another, the two things are similar in some way.
→ analogous to/with
…Marine construction technology is very complex, somewhat analogous to trying to build a bridge under water.
…Remote voting via the Internet is analogous to absentee voting and will have the same kinds of problems.
…The report’s findings are analogous with our own.
> mid 17th century: via Latin from Greek analogos ‘proportionate’ + -ous.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, MacMillan Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Oxford Dictionary of English, Wiktionary, Etymonline
analogous
a‧nal‧o‧gy
/əˈnælədʒi/
> late Middle English (in the sense ‘appropriateness, correspondence’): from French analogie, Latin analogia ‘correspondence, proportion’, from Greek, from analogos ‘proportionate’, from Latin analogia, from Ancient Greek ἀναλογία (analogía), from ana “upon, according to” + lógos “speech, reckoning”.
a‧nal‧o‧gous
/əˈnæləɡəs/
similar or comparable to something else either in general or in some specific detail; If one thing is analogous to another, the two things are similar in some way.
→ analogous to/with
…Marine construction technology is very complex, somewhat analogous to trying to build a bridge under water.
…Remote voting via the Internet is analogous to absentee voting and will have the same kinds of problems.
…The report’s findings are analogous with our own.
> mid 17th century: via Latin from Greek analogos ‘proportionate’ + -ous.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, MacMillan Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Oxford Dictionary of English, Wiktionary, Etymonline
have an axe to grind
have an axe to grind
“Having an axe to grind” means having a strong personal opinion about something that you want people to accept¹. It can also mean that the person has an ulterior motive or personal reasons for doing something¹.
…If someone is always talking about how great their company is and how much better it is than other companies, they might have an axe to grind because they want people to think their company is better².
… I need objective advice from someone with no axe to grind⁶.
Source: Conversation with Bing, 4/17/2023(1) HAVE AN AXE TO GRIND definition | Cambridge English Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/have-an-axe-to-grind Accessed 4/17/2023.
(2) The saying ‘Have an axe to grind’ - meaning and origin. - Phrasefinder. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/have-an-axe-to-grind.html Accessed 4/17/2023.
(3) Have an axe to grind - Idioms by The Free Dictionary. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/have+an+axe+to+grind Accessed 4/17/2023.
(4) HAVE AN AXE TO GRIND - Cambridge English Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/have-an-axe-to-grind Accessed 4/17/2023.
(5) HAVE AN AX TO GRIND | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/have-an-ax-to-grind Accessed 4/17/2023.
(6) https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/have-an-axe-to-grind
layman
layman
call out
call out
proprietary
proprietary
anonymity
anonymity
