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English > Vocab 1-20 > Flashcards

Vocab 1-20 Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
0
Q

Detriment/detrimental

A

Noun

Injury, damage, or something that causes it, disadvantage

-skipping meals can be a detriment to your health

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1
Q

Ameliorate

A

Verb
To become better; to make better; to improve or enhance

-we expect business conditions to ameliorate but they worsened

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2
Q

Exotic

A

Adjective

1) introduced from another country; foreign
2) strikingly unusual, strange, or different.

1- the chrysanthemum, an exotic plant, was brought from the Far East
2- this wall paper has an exotic charm

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3
Q

Folly

A

Noun

Lack of good sense, a filling action or undertaking, mistake

  • it is a folly to begin a long drive. With a nearly empty gas tank
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4
Q

Impediment

A

Noun

Something that hinders or obstructs;an obstacle that gets in the way of something

-a persons lack of education can be an impediment to career advancement

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5
Q

Indolent

A

Adjective

Lazy; idle; lethargic

-I was so comfortable on the couch that I became a indolent and did not study

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6
Q

Parsimonious

A

Adjective

Unusually sparing in the spending of money; stingy; cheap

-the town was generous in its funding of road improvement, but too parsimonious in financing education

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7
Q

Raze

A

Verb

Destroy utterly by tearing down; demolish; level

  • the building was so badly damaged by the fire that it has to be razed
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8
Q

Reticent

A

Adjective

Inclined to be silent or secretive; uncommunicative; reserved

  • have you ever noticed that people who boast about their successes are reticent about their failures.
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9
Q

Retort

A

Verb

To reply in a quick, witty, or sharp manner

  • “giving up?” She asked. “Absolutely not!” I retorted.
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10
Q

Subvert

A

Verb

Overturn or over throw from foundation; undermine or go against (damaging something that took time to build up)(defeating the purpose)

  • we we are subverting our fuel conservation efforts when we heat rooms that are not occupied
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11
Q

Tractable

A

Adjective

Easily led, taught, or controlled; yielding; docile; gullible like a child

  • a child who misbehaves may be more tractable in a large one
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12
Q

Despise/ despicable

A

Verb
Look down upon with contempt or disgust; loathe; regarded as inferior
Adjective
Worthy of contempt, contemptible

  • the world admires heroes and despises cowards
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13
Q

Ebullient

A

Adjective

Overflowing with enthusiasm; exuberant; high spirited; vivacious

  • thousands of ebullient fans gathered at the airport to greet the new champions
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14
Q

Gall

A

Verb
To make sore; to irritate; to annoy
Noun
Brazen boldness; nerve

  • Charles had the gall to yell at Mama after 30 years of not speaking
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15
Q

Inane

A

Adjective

Lacking significance of sense; pointless; silly

  • the useless busy work the teacher gave was the most inane part of my day
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16
Q

Indemnify

A

Verb

Compensate for loss, damage, or injury; reimburse; to repay

  • mr. And mrs. White were indemnified for the loss of their house from the fire
17
Q

Peruse

A

Verb

Read; look at fairly attentively; study

  • you should peruse the newspaper each day to stay in touch with current events
18
Q

Spurn

A

Verb

To thrust aside with hatred or contempt; to reject

  • we wanted to assist, but they spurned all offers of aid
19
Q

Tepid

A

Adjective

Moderately warm, lukewarm

  • I always let the shower water run until it reaches a comfortable, tepid temperature
20
Q

“Rub someone the wrong way”

A

To do something that irritates or annoys

-the quickest way to rub someone the wrong way is to give him or her a dirty look

21
Q

“Straight from the shoulder”

A

In a direct, open way

-I decided to confront John and told him straight to the shoulder that I thought he was wrong

22
Q

“A pretty kettle of fish”

A

A messy or difficult situation; a problem

-when Steve backed his truck into a police car, he knew it would be a pretty kettle of fish

23
Q

“Eat humble pie”

A

To admit your error and apologize

  • after his candidate lost the election, the boastful campaign manager had to eat humble pie
24
Q

“A flash in the pan”

A

Something that is promising at the start, but then disappointing

  • the rookie hit many home runs during spring training, but turned out to be just a flash in the pan
25
Q

“Build upon sand”

A

To have poor or insufficient preparation

  • because the campaign managers failed to plan carefully, the entire campaign was built upon sand and failed miserably
26
Q

” bolt from the blue”

A

A great surprise

  • the news of the attack was a bolt from the blue
27
Q

“Wet blanket”

A

One who spoiled the fun

  • everyone wanted the party to go on, but Ronnie, was being a wet blanket and decided to go home to bed
28
Q

“Crocodile tears”

A

Insincere/ false tears

When the football player broke his leg, his substitute wept crocodile tears

29
Q

” throw down the gauntlet”

A

To challenge someone

  • the principal of our rival school threw down the gauntlet, and we had no choice but to accept the challenge
30
Q

“Worth ones weight in gold”

A

Extremely valuable; very useful

  • the coach said that the new star player was worth his weight in gold
31
Q

” on pin and needles”

A

To be on the edge, jumpy ; nervous; anxious

  • he was on pins and needles while he was waiting to go into the principals office
32
Q

” through thick and thin”

A

In spite of all sorts of difficulties

-true friends will stay by you through thick and thin

33
Q

“Maintain the status quo”

A

To keep things as they are

  • you were right when you said we ought to maintain the status quo and not change things too drastically
34
Q

“Red letter day”

A

A day of happiness, time for rejoicing

  • my read letter day came when I was chosen as sophomores class president
35
Q

“Let sleeping dogs lie”

A

To leave alone; avoid stirring up old hostilities

-the lawyer wanted to open up the old case, but his partner advised him to let sleeping dogs lie

36
Q

“Get up on the wrong side of the bed”

A

To be in a bad mood

  • when his mother yelled at him about his messy room, he accused her of getting up on the wrong side of bed
37
Q

“By hook or by crook”

A

Anyway at all; at any cost

  • because his car gave him nothing but problems, he decided to get rid of it by hook or by crook
38
Q

“Off the beaten path”

A

Not usual; out of the ordinary

  • the teachers ideas were sometimes off the beaten path, but seemed to keep the students engaged
39
Q

“In sevenths heaven”

A

The highest happiness is delight

  • Amanda was in seventh heaven when her mother let her go to the party

English (8 decks)

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