Unit 11.1

Question 1

slushy

Answer 1

Slushy language is too emotional and romantic:

a slushy romantic novel

Question 2

get a grip (on yourself)

Answer 2

to make an effort to control your emotions and behave more calmly:
I just think he ought to get a grip on himself - he’s behaving like a child.

Question 3

rapture

Answer 3

extreme pleasure and happiness or excitement:
He listened to the music with an expression of pure rapture on his face.
The prime minister’s supporters greeted her speech with rapture.

Question 4

be at death’s door

Answer 4

to be very sick

Question 5

decidedly

Answer 5

certainly and obviously:
He was decidedly careful about what he told me.
An agreement is looking decidedly difficult according to the newspapers.

Question 6

disclose

Answer 6

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

Question 7

breakdown

Answer 7

a division of something into smaller parts:
We asked for a breakdown of the accident figures into day time and night time.
The rate of breakdown of muscle protein was assessed.

Question 8

lose one’s grip

Answer 8

to lose control of one’s thoughts and emotions : to lose one’s ability to think or behave in a normal way
I’ve never seen him so confused and indecisive—he really seems to be losing his grip.
The patient seems to be losing his grip on reality.

Question 9

clutch/grasp at straws

Answer 9

to be willing to try anything to improve a difficult or unsatisfactory situation, even if it has little chance of success:
She offered to take a pay cut to keep her job, but she was just clutching at straws.

Question 10

have sth up your sleeve

Answer 10

to have secret plans or ideas:

If I know Mark he’ll have one or two tricks up his sleeve.

Question 11

indeterminate

Answer 11

not measured, counted, or clearly known:
An indeterminate number of workers have already been exposed to the danger.
a man of indeterminate age

Question 12

determinate

Answer 12

fixed or exact:

A determinate sentence of imprisonment was imposed.

Question 13

grasp the nettle

Answer 13

to force yourself to be brave and do something that is difficult or unpleasant:
You’ve been putting off making that phone call for days - I think it’s about time you grasped the nettle!

Question 14

come/get to grips with sth

Answer 14

to make an effort to understand and deal with a problem or situation:
The president has failed to come to grips with the two most important social issues of our time.
I can’t seem to get to grips with this problem.

Question 15

make inroads/an inroad

Answer 15

to start to have a direct and noticeable effect (on something):
The government is definitely making inroads into the problem of unemployment.
We have not been able to make much of an inroad into the backlog of work.

Question 16

play into sb’s hands

Answer 16

to do something that one does not realize will hurt oneself and help someone else
You’re only playing into your accusers’ hands by making accusations in return.

Question 17

up for grabs

Answer 17

available and ready to be won or taken:

There are hundreds of prizes up for grabs.

Question 18

eccentric

Answer 18

strange or unusual, sometimes in a humorous way:
eccentric behaviour
eccentric clothes

Question 19

eerie

Answer 19

strange in a frightening and mysterious way:
She heard the eerie noise of the wind howling through the trees.
He had the eerie feeling that he had met this stranger before.

Question 20

freakish

Answer 20

very unusual or unexpected, especially in an unpleasant or strange way:
Freakish weather conditions have caused massive traffic jams in the area.
When you’re a child you always imagine that your own bodily imperfections are somehow freakish.

Question 21

peculiar

Answer 21

unusual and strange, sometimes in an unpleasant way:
She has the most peculiar ideas.
What a peculiar smell!
It’s peculiar that they didn’t tell us they were going away.

Question 22

fend off someone/something

Answer 22

to defend yourself successfully against an attack, criticism, or some other unwanted thing:
He’s an international celebrity with a staff to help fend off reporters.
The Social Democrat government fended off a challenge by the opposition to win re-election.

Question 23

pretense

Answer 23

a way of behaving that is intended to deceive people:
She made absolutely no pretence of being interested.
They kept up (= continued) a pretence of normality as long as they could.
The army has given up any pretence of neutrality in the war.

Question 24

upbeat

Answer 24

full of hope, happiness, and good feelings:

Live music and a parade set an upbeat mood for the official opening.

Question 25

bowl sb over

Answer 25

to knock someone to the ground by running into them :

She was almost bowled over by a huge dog.

Question 26

devastating

Answer 26

causing a lot of damage or destruction:
If the bomb had exploded in the main shopping area, it would have been devastating.
The drought has had devastating consequences/effects.

Question 27

affectionate

Answer 27

showing feelings of liking or love:
an affectionate kiss
He’s an affectionate little boy.

Question 28

irritable

Answer 28

becoming annoyed very easily:
Be careful what you say - he’s rather irritable today.
“Don’t disturb me again,” she said in an irritable (= angry) voice.

Question 29

peevish

Answer 29

easily annoyed:

a peevish, bad-tempered person

Question 30

testy

Answer 30

easily annoyed and not patient:
a testy old man
testy comments

Question 31

tetchy

Answer 31

easily made angry, unhappy, or upset:

Be careful what you say to Anna - she’s been a little tetchy lately.

Question 32

hurt

Answer 32

emotional pain:

The hurt after a relationship breaks up can be awful.