Words I come across daily II

Question 1

if people in a theatre, cinema etc are ?ing in the ? , they are laughing a lot

Answer 1

be rolling in the aisles
if people in a theatre, cinema etc are rolling in the aisles, they are laughing a lot

Question 2

? a ? in (?)
to get a chance to say something
Once George starts talking it’s difficult to ______.

Answer 2

get a word in (edgeways)
to get a chance to say something
Once George starts talking it’s difficult to get a word in edgeways.

Question 3

? the ? ? the ?
to bravely or confidently deal with a difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant problem
Nora decided to _ and organize things for herself.

Answer 3

take the bull by the horns
to bravely or confidently deal with a difficult, dangerous, or unpleasant problem
Nora decided to take the bull by the horns and organize things for herself.

Question 4

verb [intransitive, transitive]
if a boat _, or if you _it, it turns over in the water

Answer 4

cap‧size /kæpˈsaɪz $ ˈkæpsaɪz/ verb [intransitive, transitive]
if a boat capsizes, or if you capsize it, it turns over in the water

Question 5

if someone or something is ??, it has everyone’s attention, or is very important
Anne’s sculpture took _at the show.
The UN has moved to the _ of world politics.

Answer 5

centre stage
if someone or something is centre stage, it has everyone’s attention, or is very important
Anne’s sculpture TOOK centre stage at the show.
The UN has MOVED TO the centre stage of world politics.
* As she says herself, this is one lady born to be centre stage.

Question 6

adjective
angry and surprised because you feel insulted or unfairly treated
_ at/about
Liz was _ at the way her child had been treated.
an _reply

Answer 6

in‧dig‧nant /ɪnˈdɪɡnənt/ adjective
angry and surprised because you feel insulted or unfairly treated
indignant at/about
Liz was indignant at the way her child had been treated.
an indignant reply
—indignantly adverb
‘Of course I didn’t tell her!’ Sasha said indignantly.

Question 7

adjective
bad-tempered, unhappy, and silent
Daniel seems very _ and gloomy.

Answer 7

mo‧rose /məˈrəʊs $ -ˈroʊs/ adjective
bad-tempered, unhappy, and silent
Daniel seems very morose and gloomy.
(I notice that I tend to be quite morose at the end of my cycle.)
—morosely adverb
He stared morosely at the floor.
—moroseness noun [uncountable]

Question 8

(of the weather) unpleasantly warm and humid.
“it was a hot, very _ evening”

Answer 8

mug·gy
/ˈmʌɡi/
= humid
(of the weather) unpleasantly warm and humid.
“it was a hot, very muggy evening”

Question 9

polite, confident, and relaxed, sometimes in an insincere way SYN smooth

Answer 9

suave /swɑːv/ adjective
someone who is suave is polite, confident, and relaxed, sometimes in an insincere way SYN smooth
a suave and sophisticated gentleman
—suavely adverb
—suavity /ˈswɑː.və.ti/, suaveness noun [uncountable]

Question 10

adjective
friendly but quite polite and formal

Answer 10

cordial adjective
/ˈkɔːdiəl $ ˈkɔːrdʒəl/
friendly but quite polite and formal
The talks were conducted in a cordial atmosphere.
—cordiality /ˌkɔːdiˈæləti $ ˌkɔːrdʒiˈæ-, kɔːrˈdʒæ-/ noun [uncountable]

Question 11

? noun
1 [countable] a valuable bright green stone that is often used in jewellery
2 [uncountable] a bright green colour

Answer 11

em‧e‧rald /ˈemərəld/ noun
1 [countable] a valuable bright green stone that is often used in jewellery (ngọc lục bảo)
2 [uncountable] a bright green colour

Question 12

hard ? = hard work

Answer 12

[uncountable] especially British English informal hard work
Our success has been due to sheer hard graft.

Question 13

??
used to emphasize that someone is the best of a particular group

Answer 13

bar none
used to emphasize that someone is the best of a particular group
He’s the most talented actor in the country, bar none.

Question 14

having a lot of knowledge or information about a particular subject

Answer 14

en‧cy‧clo‧pe‧dic (also encyclopaedic British English) /ɪnˌsaɪkləˈpiːdɪk◂/ adjective
having a lot of knowledge or information about a particular subject
an encyclopedic knowledge of medieval literature
< => en‧cy‧clo‧pe‧di‧a (also encyclopaedia British English) /ɪnˌsaɪkləˈpiːdiə/ ●○○ noun [countable]
a book or CD, or a set of these, containing facts about many different subjects, or containing detailed facts about one subject
the Encyclopedia of Music

Question 15

adverb formal
in a way that is very noticeable or unusual

Answer 15

sin‧gu‧lar‧ly /ˈsɪŋɡjələli $ -lərli/ adverb formal
in a way that is very noticeable or unusual
a singularly foolish plan
He has singularly failed to live up to his promises.
So weirdly, the singularly pleasurable part about teaching is learning.

Question 16

? a ?
informal make a rude sound by putting your tongue out and blowing

Answer 16

blow a raspberry (also give a raspberry American English)
informal a rude sound that you make by putting your tongue out and blowing

She blew a raspberry at him as he drove off.

Question 17

?
(mainly US informal)
having strong, well-developed muscles, especially as a result of working out (= exercising in order to improve the strength or appearance of your body):

Answer 17

jacked
adjective mainly US informal
UK /dʒækt/ US /dʒækt/

having strong, well-developed muscles, especially as a result of working out (= exercising in order to improve the strength or appearance of your body):
He was trying to get himself jacked for the photoshoot.
These female weightlifters are absolutely jacked.

Question 18

adj
having your attention completely held by something, so that you cannot think about anything else

Answer 18

spellbound
adjective
UK /ˈspel.baʊnd/ US /ˈspel.baʊnd/

having your attention completely held by something, so that you cannot think about anything else:
The children listened to the story spellbound.
He held his audience spellbound.
Synonym
fascinated

Question 19

phrasal verb
(CONFUSE)
to cause an amount to be wrong or a person to be confused

Answer 19

throw off something/someone
phrasal verb
(CONFUSE)
to cause an amount to be wrong or a person to be confused:
They left very rich people out of the study so their spending would not throw off the results.
A busy morning can throw off my entire daily schedule.

Question 20

phrasal verb
UK /kʊk/ US /kʊk/
informal
to invent a story, plan, etc., usually dishonestly:

Answer 20

cook something up
phrasal verb
UK /kʊk/ US /kʊk/
informal
to invent a story, plan, etc., usually dishonestly:
She cooked up some weird scheme that was going to earn her a fortune.
I had to cook up an excuse about my car breaking down.

Question 21

typical of a person:

Answer 21

on brand
typical of a person:
Always late - that’s so on-brand.
I came with a duffel bag and left with a big suitcase - very on-brand for me.

Question 22

adjective
strongly believing in religion, and living in a way that shows this belief:

Answer 22

pious
adjective
UK /ˈpaɪ.əs/ US /ˈpaɪ.əs/
(RELIGIOUS)
strongly believing in religion, and living in a way that shows this belief:
She is a pious follower of the faith, never missing her prayers.

Question 23

a child who is regularly absent from school without permission

Answer 23

truant
noun
UK /ˈtruː.ənt/ US /ˈtruː.ənt/

[ C ] a child who is regularly absent from school without permission:
Police reports showed that the vast majority of crime committed by children was carried out by truants.

play truant UK (US usually play hooky)
to be regularly absent from school without permission:
Most parents are horrified when they discover their children have been playing truant from school.

Question 24

Pronounce ‘high’ and ‘higher’

Answer 24

high
adjective
UK /haɪ/ US /haɪ/

higher
adjective
UK /ˈhaɪ.ər/ US /ˈhaɪ.ɚ/

Question 25

decided or controlled by law:
_____ obligations

Answer 25

statutory
adjective
UK /ˈstætʃ.ə.tər.i/ US /ˈstætʃ.ə.tɔːr.i/
decided or controlled or required by law:
statutory obligations
In France everybody is entitled to a statutory 25 days a year holiday.
You have no statutory authority to order anybody to make a refund.
statutory duty/obligations/responsibilities
When managing agents are dealing with other people’s money, it is vital that this is covered by statutory regulation.
Unions want a statutory right to time off for training.
The Board of Management will submit the annual statutory accounts.
The government wants to increase the turnover threshold above which companies are required to have a statutory audit of their annual accounts.