Cambridge Dictionary:
π Turn a blind eye, phrase.
❓ Definition: Pretend not to notice.
❗️ Examples:
1. Please, don't turn a blind eye to what is happening.
2. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye or ear and pretend that all is well when many people are hurting and yearning for help.
3. In many ways, I think he's given the Saudis a pass and he's turned a blind eye to them.
4. It is a problem people are prepared to turn a blind eye to it because people rarely notice these sites as they are covered over.
5. Please, don't turn a blind eye or passively ignore what is happening.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Envy, verb.
π /ΛΙnvi/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Desire to have a quality, possession, or other desirable thing belonging to (someone else)
❗️ Examples:
1. He envied people who did not have to work at the weekends.
2. I envy Jane her happiness.
3. She imagined her home even lovelier than it was now, and she imagined everyone admiring her, envying her, wishing they, too, had such a gift.
4. You must mark out your territory as an artist, so that others learn to envy you and aspire to what you are doing.
5. Borges' characters can similarly be said to envy women their desire that they cannot understand and do not dare explore.
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π @cambridge_dic
π World view, noun.
❓ Definition: A particular philosophy of life or conception of the world.
❗️ Examples:
1. A Christian world view revolves around the battle of good and evil.
2. Apart from being completely unscientific and unsupported this whole line betrays a world view of utter despair.
3. This type is in quest for a comprehensive view, the world picture, the big answers to the big questions.
4. Labour have been severely punished for the social and economic policies that lie at the very core of their world view.
5. No, I'm watching the mind at work, moving fluidly between ideas before weaving them into a cohesive world view.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Exxy, adjective.
π /ΛΙksΙͺ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Australian • informal): Expensive.
❗️ Examples:
1. These places whip your flabby tummy into shape using fancy (and exxy) techniques.
2. While exxier than high-street brands, they are good quality.
3. I secretly find this more compelling and ogle-worthy than the exxy, front-of-book celebrity shoot!
4. Should they really be promoting these extreme, exxy services to young women?
5. The spread features a pair of silk shoes — too exxy to mention the price.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Irritant, noun.
π /ΛΙͺrΙͺt(Ι)nt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A thing that is continually annoying or distracting.
❗️ Examples:
1. In 1966 Vietnam was becoming an irritant to the government.
2. Still, these are mostly minor irritants that can easily be dismissed as necessary game requirements.
3. Another constant irritant for the judge was poor media reporting.
4. What should be a service to the community is seen as a major irritant.
5. - But Greenpeace had become a bigger irritant for the French than it had realised.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Out of context, phrase.
❓ Definition: Without the surrounding words or circumstances and so not fully understandable.
❗️ Examples:
1. The article portrayed her as domineering by dropping quotes from her out of context.
2. He twists words, quotes people out of context and stretches the truth to suit his purpose.
3. The embarrassment was such that Gilchrist found himself explaining that his words had been taken out of context.
4. She says her words were taken out of context, but soon submits her resignation.
5. He said that his words were taken out of context and he was sorry if he had offended anyone.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Bewitch, verb.
π /bΙͺΛwΙͺtΚ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Cast a spell over (someone)
❗️ Examples:
1. A handsome prince who had been bewitched by a sorceress.
2. According to historians, Boyan was not a magician in the sense that he was able to cast spells, bewitch people and transform into animals, but he was a learned man and a poet.
3. I was bewitched when I cast my eyes on him at my father's place.
4. Trying to remain calm Leo asked, And who is this lady sorceress that you say has bewitched men everywhere, and why should you warn me?
5. The witch doctor poisons a chicken, and, from the way the chicken staggers before dropping dead, the witch doctor determines that the rash has been caused by the client's sister-in-law bewitching him.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Erase, verb.
π /ΙͺΛreΙͺz/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Remove all traces of; destroy or obliterate.
❗️ Examples:
1. Over twenty years the last vestiges of a rural economy were erased.
2. The magic of the landscape erased all else from her mind.
3. If women participated in this myth-making in order to understand themselves and their place in the world, the traces have been erased or repressed.
4. In some parts of Latin America, there's been an attempt to erase many of the traces of liberation theology in any of its forms.
5. That element of my nightmare had been erased, diminished, dissolved.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Bonce, noun.
π /bΙns/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (British • informal): A person's head.
❗️ Examples:
1. He will be wearing a hat to stop his bonce from burning.
2. Men who maybe thinning on top should definitely wear one, after all not many of us (men or women) put suncream on our bonces.
3. It's all about what's going on in your bonce, and you're probably saying to yourself: I've have to do this perfectly.
4. I particularly like the second picture, During Therapy, where Shane appears to have a small Star Wars Skimmer balanced on his bonce.
5. He's trying to over compensate for the stuff he's losing on top of his bonce...I bet next time I go into that shop, he'll have it in a pony tail.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Vivid, adjective.
π /ΛvΙͺvΙͺd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.
❗️ Examples:
1. Memories of that evening were still vivid.
2. A vivid description.
3. New moving images may become as vivid and powerful as traumatic memories in the mind of a child survivor.
4. Kit could feel the anger coursing through his mind and everything was vivid and clear.
5. She had another terrible nightmare and could not shake the vivid images from her mind.
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π @cambridge_dic
π A trouble shared is a trouble halved, phrase.
❓ Definition (proverb): Talking to someone else about one's problems helps to alleviate them.
❗️ Examples:
1. The saying, a trouble shared is a trouble halved is just as true when it comes to your physical health as it is in relation to your emotional health.
2. They say a trouble shared is a trouble halved, but when holiday anxiety strikes, I suffer in silence.
3. Build a social support network of friends and family - remember a trouble shared is a trouble halved.
4. On the basis that a trouble shared is a trouble halved, I will share some of my troubles with you.
5. They say a trouble shared is a trouble halved and it's true.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Encompass, verb.
π /ΙͺnΛkΚmpΙs/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Surround and have or hold within.
❗️ Examples:
1. This area of London encompasses Piccadilly to the north and St James's Park to the south.
2. Surrounding me, encompassing my being as a whole, was a whirlwind of earth and wind, fire and water, increasing in intensity and speed.
3. A cacophony of pounding engines, honking of horns, screeching of brakes and Spanish profanity encompasses me, surround-sound style.
4. They had chosen to walk within the forest encompassing much of the land beyond the Estate.
5. Furthermore the constructed peptide is completely encompassed within the cutoff radius.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Ceasefire, noun.
π /ΛsiΛsfΚΙͺΙ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A temporary suspension of fighting; a truce.
❗️ Examples:
1. The latest ceasefire seems to be holding.
2. A ceasefire agreement.
3. War with people who break their ceasefire agreements is the default position.
4. Amid great excitement, the government and rebels reached a ceasefire agreement at the beginning of last year.
5. The Good Friday 1998 power sharing agreement led to a ceasefire by most of the paramilitary organisations.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Wazz, noun.
π /waz/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (British • informal): An act of urinating.
❗️ Examples:
1. Fine if you're just nipping in for a wazz; but anyone who comes in, drops their trousers and sits on the bog will be plunged into darkness before they've finished.
2. Suppose I was on a bus and desperately needed a wazz.
3. Incidentally, human urine is a rich source of nitrogen, an essential nutrient for kick-starting compost, so feel free to have a wazz in the heap if your neighbours aren't looking.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Birthplace, noun.
π /ΛbΙΛΞΈpleΙͺs/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: The place where something started or originated.
❗️ Examples:
1. Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance.
2. However, the balance of power could well shift full circle to Asia, the original birthplace of the game.
3. Soon the gene banks in Mexico, birthplace of the original corn varieties, may also be contaminated.
4. It does nothing to burnish the city's proud heritage as the birthplace of American freedoms.
5. The Wright Brothers were born in Ohio, hence Ohio is the birthplace of aviation.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Don't mention it, phrase.
❓ Definition: A polite expression used to indicate that thanks or an apology are not necessary.
❗️ Examples:
1. Thanks very much. Don't mention it, dear boy.
2. Man, don't mention it; what are friends for?
3. No, don't mention it; I'm sorry I knocked you over.
4. Please don't mention it, Vicki snapped slightly.
5. Please don't mention it again, she said plainly.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Solitude, noun.
π /ΛsΙlΙͺtjuΛd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: The state or situation of being alone.
❗️ Examples:
1. She savoured her few hours of freedom and solitude.
2. It tells us that God is, in a sense, a community of persons, not a solitary living in solitude, alone and distant.
3. As increasing numbers of people choose to live or work alone, solitude is often celebrated in 2001.
4. As someone whose self reposes on a great slab of solitude, such a situation would drive me nuts.
5. A lyrical, a scholarly, a fastidious mind might have used seclusion and solitude to perfect its powers.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Handed-down, adjective.
❓ Definition: Passed on to a later generation or age.
❗️ Examples:
1. Handed-down family recipes.
2. Without handed-down prejudices, children will behave in a spirit of complete even-handedness.
3. He was without personal vanity, surprising the Heythrop hunt by turning out in a yellow cardigan and his colleagues by wearing handed-down clothes and his son's shoes.
4. As for beauty, granny had to depend on handed-down tips and recipes made from easily obtainable ingredients.
5. The Hebrews must certainly have encountered them, and learned the handed-down traditions of early Mesopotamia, the myths and tales.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Herbert, noun.
π /ΛhΙΛbΙt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (British • informal): An undistinguished or foolish man or youth.
❗️ Examples:
1. A bunch of spotty herberts.
2. It also led to every soap in the country packing their screens with spotty herberts.
3. So we've a representative of a polytheistic society next to the peaceful and meditative Rothko and a load of outsider-art-influenced herberts.
4. I know everyone complains that TV is only worth watching for the late-night porn these days, but now I've discovered that's because of these all-in-black herberts who laud it under the title of Commissioning Editor.
5. In other words, we don't see the sun and certainly don't get the chance to go and lie in some park and sunbathe along with dozens of herberts who have taken a sick day because the sun's out!
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π @cambridge_dic
π Abate, verb.
π /ΙΛbeΙͺt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (no object): (of something unpleasant or severe) become less intense or widespread.
❗️ Examples:
1. The storm suddenly abated.
2. November to April is the wet season but heavy tropical storms can abate as suddenly as they arrive.
3. The spring saw the quick end of major combat abroad, while the threat of a widespread SARS epidemic abated.
4. The challenges of rising health care costs and Medicare premiums will not suddenly abate.
5. The increase in September over the previous year was a dramatic 61.5% and there is no sign of this trend abating.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Above and beyond, phrase.
❓ Definition: In excess of the expectations or demands of.
❗️ Examples:
1. She was always there to help us out in difficult times, above and beyond the call of duty.
2. And just ahead are our weekly tribute to a member of our Armed services who served above and beyond the call of duty.
3. She has been my campaign manager for three elections, and has served above and beyond the call of duty.
4. She said she appreciated their passion and their concern even above and beyond the official job.
5. No words can do justice to their efficiency, thoroughness, and all-around human compassion above and beyond the call of duty.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Enchanted, adjective.
π /ΙͺnΛtΚΙΛntΙͺd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Placed under a spell; bewitched.
❗️ Examples:
1. An enchanted garden.
2. A righteous emperor defeated the evil demon with the help of an enchanted sword.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Notorious, adjective.
π /nΙ(Κ)ΛtΙΛrΙͺΙs/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Famous or well known, typically for some bad quality or deed.
❗️ Examples:
1. Los Angeles is notorious for its smog.
2. He was a notorious drinker and womanizer.
3. The list is endless, but here are a few of the more notorious celebrations of recent times.
4. In the process he became the most celebrated, or at least most notorious, journalist of his era.
5. For Dylan is not only the most renowned protest singer of his era but also its most notorious renegade.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Disport, verb.
π /dΙͺΛspΙΛt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (also disport oneself • archaic, humorous • no object): Enjoy oneself unrestrainedly; frolic.
❗️ Examples:
1. A painting of ladies disporting themselves by a lake.
2. They disport as they please.
3. For self-help they started the Benevolent Association, and for distraction, played cards or disported in the gin mills, clubs, and theaters that then lined Ridge Road.
4. It was Ladies' Hour, and there were well-dressed women around me, some English and some Indian - overseeing their children as they disported in the pool.
5. Mary and her husband Dave first sampled the joys of disporting themselves in the scud on the beaches of Ibiza and decided to attempt to replicate the liberating experience in Scotland.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Cold feet, phrase.
❓ Definition: Loss of nerve or confidence.
❗️ Examples:
1. After arranging to meet I got cold feet and phoned her saying I was busy.
2. The Rochdale cabaret singer feared his Norwegian bride had got cold feet and decided to return to her homeland without him.
3. The central government has developed cold feet on the promised legislation to regulate fee and admissions in professional colleges.
4. Apparently, one - or possibly more - of the investors may have gotten cold feet.
5. They believed the hype about the cost and got cold feet.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Restrain, verb.
π /rΙͺΛstreΙͺn/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Prevent (someone or something) from doing something; keep under control or within limits.
❗️ Examples:
1. The need to restrain public expenditure.
2. He had to be restrained from walking out.
3. Younger children may strike their older siblings, while older siblings are restrained from hitting back.
4. They say the state banks were restrained from inflating to excess by the regular requirement that they pay their balances to the federal branch offices in hard money.
5. Headcount freezes mean they are restrained from filling existing vacancies or creating new ones.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Foretell, verb.
π /fΙΛΛtΙl/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Predict (the future or a future event)
❗️ Examples:
1. A seer had foretold that the earl would assume the throne.
2. In the Greek theatre Chorus speaks for the citizens, comments on events and foretells the future.
3. A science which teaches to judge of the effects and influences of the stars, and to foretell future events, by their situation and different aspects.
4. In pagan times poets were thought to be gifted with second sight, able in a trance or frenzy to foretell future events.
5. The true prophet does not foretell an inevitable future, but warns of likely consequences should a present course of action continue.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Minibeast, noun.
π /ΛmΙͺnibiΛst/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (British • informal): A small invertebrate animal such as an insect or spider.
❗️ Examples:
1. Explore the shore searching for minibeasts of the mud and rock pools with the Bay, Beasts and Banners workshop at the Platform, Morecambe, and the beach from 9.30 am.
2. An Explorer Day on May 28 will see an activity day for children and the chance to get up close and personal with minibeasts.
3. One of the strengths of the CD, according to its promoters, is that it is linked to the revised Irish curriculum covering topics such as weather, materials and change, human body, minibeasts, the solar system and inventions.
4. In Lansing, Michigan, the Young Entomologists' Society offers bug walk how-to's, lesson plans, bug swaps, edible ‘insects’ snacks like butterfly cookies, plus ‘Bugs on Wheels,’ a traveling minibeast zoo.
π One's line of country, phrase.
❓ Definition (British): A subject in which one is skilled or knowledgeable.
1. At the same time we're being encouraged to publish stuff in hard copy in journals, refereed journals and refereed books, which is my line of country.
2. Certainly it is not in the line of country that your Honour was talking about.
3. ‘Funny that, I had someone who shares your line of country in during the week,’ said Bob.’
@cambridge_dic
π Dumpling, noun.
π /ΛdΚmplΙͺΕ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A small savoury ball of dough (usually made with suet) which may be boiled, fried, or baked in a casserole.
❗️ Examples:
1. Both Chiao and Sharipov have requested a special take-out of dim sum dumplings and fried rice for their Christmas meal.
2. Appetizers include Spring Rolls, dumplings, Deep fried Wontons, a selection of salad rolls and even a Pan-Fried Turnip Cake.
3. Jacket potatoes are now becoming the preferred option to chips, pasta salads have replaced stew and dumplings, and beef burgers have made way for chicken tikka.
4. Vicky was particularly keen on the dim sum, which consisted of the Chinese dumplings, spinach wonton, Peking ravioli and mini-spring roll, served with a spicy soy dip and sweet chilli sauce.
5. I ordered a potful of chrysanthemum tea and a batch of the fried pork dumplings.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Cope, verb.
π /kΙΚp/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (no object): (of a person) deal effectively with something difficult.
❗️ Examples:
1. His ability to cope with stress.
2. It all got too much for me and I couldn't cope.
3. All I can say about it is nice people are easy to deal with and unpleasant people are much more difficult to cope with.
4. Urban and rural dwellers have adopted creative survival strategies, that have helped them cope with difficult times.
5. In a police interview the 39-year-old unemployed man, who is not being identified for legal reasons, admitted he found it difficult to cope with the children.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Peccant, adjective.
π /ΛpΙk(Ι)nt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (archaic): Having committed a fault or sin.
❗️ Examples:
1. The peccant officials fell on their knees.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Two of a kind, phrase.
❓ Definition: The same or very similar.
❗️ Examples:
1. She and her sister were two of a kind.
2. I myself had doubts at first until I went further in and found clothes that are two of a kind.
3. You're two of a kind - genetically designed to get into trouble - and all we bystanders can do is pick up the pieces and try to stick them back together again afterward.
4. Lizzie, can't you tell, we're two of a kind.
5. When I opened my eyes there she was - April from work, with her face up against mine telling me how we were two of a kind, and how we needed to do something about that, her and me.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Savoury, adjective.
π /ΛseΙͺv(Ι)ri/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: (of food) belonging to the category that is salty or spicy rather than sweet.
❗️ Examples:
1. Fresh pineapple is useful in savoury as well as in sweet dishes.
2. Leanne imagined thin, crispy crust smothered in sweet yet savory tomato sauce, warm cheese, pepperoni, and succulent mushrooms.
3. Maple syrup is no longer relegated to its standard role of sweetening pancakes and waffles; this versatile ingredient adds flavor to both sweet and savory dishes alike.
4. In general, most of the salt we consume is not added during cooking or at the table, but comes from processed foods such as bread, cheese, savoury snacks, breakfast cereals and ready-meals.
5. Nutmeg is as popular a spice for savoury dishes as sweet, lending a mellow flavour to rice puddings, sausages and mash, baked custards and fruit cake.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Dough, noun.
π /dΙΚ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (mass noun): A thick, malleable mixture of flour and liquid, used for baking into bread or pastry.
❗️ Examples:
1. Add water to the flour and mix to a manageable dough.
2. It is this technique that allows pastry doughs to rise and pie crusts to flake.
3. The oven can cook thinner doughs but not thicker ones.
4. Pour a little rose water in to fruit salads, use it to flavour thick syrups or add it to pastry and biscuit doughs, or whipped cream.
5. One outcome: lower-quality flour, resulting in doughs that were unable to withstand the rigorous mixing that's part of making bread.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Zambuk, noun.
π /ΛzambΚk/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Australian, New Zealand • informal): A first-aider, especially a member of the St John Ambulance.
❗️ Examples:
No examples.
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π @cambridge_dic
π A penny for your thoughts, phrase.
❓ Definition: Used to ask someone what they are thinking about.
❗️ Examples:
1. I haven't heard anyone say that for years - a penny for your thoughts.
2. Next time someone offers you a penny for your thoughts… sell!
3. So, a penny for your thoughts here: what criteria, if any, should be applied in selecting names?
4. When did the phrase "a penny for your thoughts" originate?
5. It's in this book that we find the earliest known citation of the line, "A penny for your thoughts."
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π @cambridge_dic
π Intervene, verb.
π /ΙͺntΙΛviΛn/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (no object • Law • with direct speech): Take part in something so as to prevent or alter a result or course of events.
❗️ Examples:
1. He acted outside his authority when he intervened in the dispute.
2. Their forces intervened to halt the attack.
3. US forces intervened in the mid-1960s to prop up the stooge government of South Vietnam, against the North.
4. For example, in 1845, as in 1806-07, British forces intervened in the River Plate.
5. A watershed was reached when NATO forces intervened in Kosovo in 1999.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Disinclined, adjective.
π /dΙͺsΙͺnΛklΚΙͺnd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (predicative, with infinitive): Unwilling; reluctant.
❗️ Examples:
1. The rural community was disinclined to abandon the old ways.
2. Audiences today are not only disinclined to listen to new music, they're reluctant to listen to anything unfamiliar.
3. The majority party is a closely-knit organization nationwide and is less popular among youths who are generally disinclined to go to the poll.
4. For the rest, the hand emerges abruptly from the kiosk without greeting or acknowledgement, and one is then disinclined to be pleasant in return.
5. All parties and institutions are affected by a climate of cynicism and mistrust in which society is disinclined to believe whatever it is told by authorities and experts.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Chuckheaded, adjective.
π /ΛtΚΚkΛhΙdΙͺd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Unintelligent, dim-witted, stupid.
❗️ Examples:
No examples.
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π @cambridge_dic
π The best thing since sliced bread, phrase.
❓ Definition (informal): Used to emphasize one's enthusiasm about a new idea, person, or thing.
❗️ Examples:
1. They think that she is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
2. She finally locates the Assistant Wine Whatever-His-Title-Is, and he of the broad-smile-on-a-wide-face recommends the wine as if it were the next best thing since sliced bread.
3. Some people are a little confused by this latest trend, wondering what all the fuss is about and why it's becoming the next best thing since sliced bread.
4. While some analysts think it's the next best thing since sliced bread, it has the feeling of WAP redux.
5. That's not to say there isn't a market there, rather that we haven't been convinced it's quite the next best thing since sliced bread.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Inquisitive, adjective.
π /ΙͺnΛkwΙͺzΙͺtΙͺv/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Having or showing an interest in learning things; curious.
❗️ Examples:
1. His poems reveal an intensely inquisitive mind.
2. This is one scientific journey that should interest those with an inquisitive mind.
3. I felt a calm but inquisitive interest in every thing.
4. I've always had an inquisitive mind about everything from flowers to television sets to motor cars.
5. While computer games ignited his interest in computers, his inquisitive mind made him pick up the nuances of computers in no time.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Acquiesce, verb.
π /ΛakwΙͺΛΙs/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (no object): Accept something reluctantly but without protest.
❗️ Examples:
1. Sara acquiesced in his decision.
2. The police reluctantly acquiesced to the proposals given no alternatives were offered.
3. However, to understand is not to acquiesce in or accept these developments.
4. Then folding the map away, he instructed her to start driving again and Andrea reluctantly acquiesced.
5. And so we yielded, acquiesced to that, and we hope that it's going to be done as soon as possible.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Dwaal, noun.
π /dwΙΛl/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (South African • informal): A dreamy, dazed, or absent-minded state.
❗️ Examples:
1. You're in a real dwaal!
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π @cambridge_dic
π Where there's a will there's a way, phrase.
❓ Definition (proverb): Determination will overcome any obstacle.
❗️ Examples:
1. I know it will be difficult but where there's a will there's a way.
2. There would be a problem playing all those games but where there's a will there's a way.
3. As they say, where there's a will there's a way, and if anything can be read into Sunday's game, and its scintillating finish, the will is certainly strong in Galway and Kerry.
4. The problem for the fixtures board might be finding an alternative but where there's a will there's a way.
5. It seems to me that in politics, as in life, where there's a will there's a way.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Conceal, verb.
π /kΙnΛsiΛl/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Prevent (something) from being known; keep secret.
❗️ Examples:
1. They were at great pains to conceal that information from the public.
2. The problem for me is how unfreedom is hidden, concealed in precisely what is presented to us as new freedoms.
3. The knowledge of this has always been there, but it's been half hidden, concealed for its own good.
4. Humankind's deceptive nature is probably the one thing we cannot hide or conceal.
5. She said he concealed his darker side behind a veneer of respectability in order to hide his true character from adoring fans.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Underneath, preposition.
π /ΚndΙΛniΛΞΈ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Situated directly below (something else)
❗️ Examples:
1. Our bedroom is right underneath theirs.
2. Four names written underneath each other.
3. She was no longer hiding underneath her black hair and had showed her true colors during the auditions.
4. A girl wearing thick sunglasses with her hair tucked underneath a black hat pushed her way through the crowd.
5. He fetched a garbage bag from underneath the sink and, without entering the bedroom, handed it to her.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Recreant, adjective.
π /ΛrΙkrΙͺΙnt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (archaic): Cowardly.
❗️ Examples:
1. What a recreant figure must he make.
2. For he did not dare give battle to our King of England; but, like a coward and a recreant knight, he made a lady, the Countess of Henaud, his messenger to come to our King and his Council, and pray that he would cease, and no more spill the blood of Christians or destroy their goods.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Flatten the curve, phrase.
❓ Definition: Prevent a rate or quantity from greatly intensifying or increasing within a short time.
❗️ Examples:
1. Taking actions to slow the spread of this virus will flatten the curve and protect the vulnerable.
2. Excessive falls in bond yields will flatten the curve and erode pension funds.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Surrender, verb.
π /sΙΛrΙndΙ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (surrender to • no object): Stop resisting to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority.
❗️ Examples:
1. Over 140 rebels surrendered to the authorities.
2. The policy, while savage, often meant the next towns along the way would surrender rather than resist.
3. Two days later, on May 2, 1945, all enemy forces in Italy surrendered unconditionally.
4. Noriega eventually surrendered voluntarily to U.S. authorities.
5. Enemy soldiers can also surrender and go home as civilians as soon as the war is over.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Veil, noun.
π /veΙͺl/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A piece of fine material worn by women to protect or conceal the face.
❗️ Examples:
1. A white bridal veil.
2. The simple veil headpiece works great with elaborate bridal gowns since the veil does not detract from the overall look.
3. Women wear long dresses with embroidered bodices and side panels, and tall hats with long white veils.
4. Black party hats with veils made of black pantyhose or some other translucent material can also be made.
5. For a dinner of state, like tonight, the dancers were covered in light, flowing material with veils, only their faces showing.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Purler, noun.
π /ΛpΙΛlΙ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (British • informal): A headlong fall.
❗️ Examples:
1. The horse went a purler at the last fence.
2. What the annoyance it was, was the ironing board coming a right purler as the flex wrapped itself around its legs.
3. Glenn McGrath's pre-match purler meant a surprise call-up for Michael Kasprowicz: ‘Yeah, it was a pretty amazing day all round,’ he admitted.
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π @cambridge_dic
π What goes around comes around, phrase.
❓ Definition (proverb): The consequences of one's actions will have to be dealt with eventually.
❗️ Examples:
1. And it's a powerful belief, offering both hope to the oppressed - suffering cannot last forever - and a warning to the oppressor - take care, what goes around comes around.
2. Watford were on the receiving end of some decisions tonight as we were on Saturday, so what goes around comes around.
3. But although I strive daily to do the right thing - believing firmly in the karmic law that what goes around comes around - I've never, ever aspired to returning to earth as the Dalai Lama.
4. I have no idea what makes someone go to those lengths, but I believe what goes around comes around and she has got what she deserved.
5. We're having to fund it too, because as in all things, what goes around comes around - although we were paying for legal aid anyway, but I don't suppose the Government's given that money back.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Reinforcement, noun.
π /riΛΙͺnΛfΙΛsm(Ι)nt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (mass noun): The process of encouraging or establishing a belief or pattern of behaviour.
❗️ Examples:
1. Positive feedback leads to reinforcement.
2. Teachers are often unaware that they encourage inappropriate behavior through reinforcement.
3. It is essential to teach and model desired behaviours, and the benefits of positive reinforcement are well established.
4. All owners will be told how to correct the dog's behaviour and how reinforcement of good behaviour will pay more dividends than punishment.
5. However, some will need continued encouragement and positive reinforcement from parents and teachers for this good start not to become swamped by schoolyard attitudes.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Passage, noun.
π /ΛpasΙͺdΚ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A narrow way allowing access between buildings or to different rooms within a building; a passageway.
❗️ Examples:
1. The larger bedroom was at the end of the passage.
2. The house is old and creaky, stairs to half-floors leading from narrow rooms and confusing passages as if designed by M.C. Escher.
3. Excavations revealed a massive timber gate about halfway along the passage allowing access to be controlled.
4. As one walks through the different rooms, passages and interstices of the gallery, there is a tremendous but transient concatenation of sound.
5. Within the narrow passages candles were placed along the walls, dimly lighting up the blood red stone.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Ooky, adjective.
π /ΛΚki/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (informal): Unpleasant or repellent.
❗️ Examples:
1. He's altogether ooky.
2. It's cold, and it's raining, and it's just ooky.
3. So… it's not a vanity thing, it's just because you don't want people to see your eyes looking a bit ooky after a long flight.
4. Now that Marilyn Manson and Coal Chamber are officially regarded as ‘poncey poseurs’ by the nocturnal set, Cradle of Filth make their rightful ascension to the throne of spooky, ooky gloom rock.
5. Today I got up after feeling all ooky yesterday due to the strain of trying to get firewood delivered in late October and decided that I wanted to hang up the blinds I bought a few months back.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Curiosity killed the cat, phrase.
❓ Definition (proverb): Being inquisitive about other people's affairs may get you into trouble.
❗️ Examples:
1. Defending, he said: ‘This is a case where curiosity killed the cat.’
2. Stuffed as we were, however, curiosity killed the cat - and it very nearly took us with it as we recklessly agreed to share a devilled chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream.
3. I won't reveal any more of the plot than that, but if there's a moral to this story, it's that old truism that says that curiosity killed the cat.
4. Didn't your mother ever tell you curiosity killed the cat?
5. That's awfully mean of you to tease me like that - curiosity killed the cat, you know.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Conceal, verb.
π /kΙnΛsiΛl/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Not allow to be seen; hide.
❗️ Examples:
1. A line of sand dunes concealed the distant sea.
2. My dark hair conceals my damp yellow eyes, like a funeral veil that hides a widow's tears.
3. She carefully picked up two small bottles, concealing one with the other.
4. The room in which was entered was both dead and dark, concealing everything that existed in it.
5. No legislation allows that drugs can be concealed in the patients' food.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Particle, noun.
π /ΛpΙΛtΙͺk(Ι)l/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Physics): A minute portion of matter.
❗️ Examples:
1. Tiny particles of dust.
2. Uncatchables were like magnets for loose electrons, and whenever they became solid, it was because they had attracted all of the minute particles of matter in the area towards them.
3. It is true that Newton did suggest that if we could know the forces that operate on the minute particles of matter, we could understand why macroscopic processes occur in the ways they do.
4. Cloud seeding is a snowmaking technique that discharges minute particles of a chemical called iodide into winter storm clouds to create snow.
5. His entire body was caked with minute particles of dried salt, and it was beginning to drive his Sentinel sense of touch off the irritation scale.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Sciolist, noun.
π /ΛsΚΙͺΙlΙͺst/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (archaic): A person who pretends to be knowledgeable and well informed.
❗️ Examples:
1. We've become so disappointed with, and repulsed by, the agenda-driven reporting of most of the paper's sciolist (useful word) columnists that we've cancelled our subscription.
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π @cambridge_dic
π People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, phrase.
❓ Definition (proverb): You shouldn't criticize others when you have similar faults of your own.
❗️ Examples:
1. So people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, eh?
2. The shadow environment secretary said: ‘It's all very well criticising the failure of America to sign up to Kyoto, but people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
3. Yes, it's an extremely derogatory term, and not one I would use myself, unless I'm angry of course, and even then I would feel uneasy (people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones).
4. One common test of abstraction is to explain what this means: ‘people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.’
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π @cambridge_dic
π Aisle, noun.
π /ΚΙͺl/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Architecture): A passage between rows of seats in a building such as a church or theatre, an aircraft, or train.
❗️ Examples:
1. The musical had the audience dancing in the aisles.
2. Turtle chose his seat on the train across the aisle from Tim in the row behind Megan and Jeff.
3. The bus was headed from the Western Wall to an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood on the city's outskirts, and families with children were packed in the seats and aisles.
4. Thirty unarmed INS agents accompanied the flight, guarding the handcuffed deportees in shifts, standing in aircraft's aisles at every fifth row.
5. At a humanist ceremony at York Crematorium, conducted by Maggie Blunt, mourners sat and kneeled in the aisles because every seat was taken.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Spare, adjective.
π /spΙΛ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: (of time) not taken up by one's usual duties or activities; available for leisure.
❗️ Examples:
1. He tried to write poetry in his spare time.
2. For most acts, this wouldn't work, but Lemon Jelly has a style that requires headphones and a spare 45 minutes to absorb the album from start to finish.
3. A question from another child revealed Mr Blunkett wishes he had more spare time.
4. I have more spare time and I'm more perceptive of my life and my surroundings.
5. With more spare time than younger people, we can spend some of it at the casino.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Agric, adjective.
π /ΛaΙ‘rΙͺk/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (West African): Relating to agriculture; agricultural.
❗️ Examples:
1. This policy will boost the country's output from the agric sector.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Back to the drawing board, phrase.
❓ Definition: Used to indicate that an idea, scheme, or proposal has been unsuccessful and that a new one must be devised.
❗️ Examples:
1. The government must go back to the drawing board and review the whole issue of youth training.
2. The developers must now go back to the drawing board in relation to this second phase of their project.
3. The regulations must be sent back to the drawing board and revised to conform to the real world.
4. York Council expects to send developers back to the drawing board over their proposals for the city's Barbican Centre.
5. They have also decided to go back to the drawing board on the idea for bus priority in Shipton Road between Loweswater Road and Rawcliffe Lane.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Leisure, noun.
π /ΛlΙΚΙ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (mass noun • leisure for/to do something): Time when one is not working or occupied; free time.
❗️ Examples:
1. People with too much enforced leisure.
2. Little did he realize the magnitude of the issue which he raised, and that it would occupy his leisure for nearly twenty years.
3. Rather than giving up work at the age of 65, they will ‘cycle’ between periods of work and leisure well into their golden years.
4. Intelligent soldiers never waste the long periods of leisure that characterize peacetime service.
5. I don't buy the idea that the pre-industrial period was a golden age of self-determination and leisure for the vast majority of the British.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Big Brother, noun.
❓ Definition: A person or organization exercising total control over people's lives.
❗️ Examples:
1. Big Brother will be watching you from this week when spy cameras start to operate in Essex.
2. For executives who want the Big Brother touch, there are monitoring systems to keep track of employees.
3. Until September 17 of last year, the Canadian government didn't have any Big Brothers on their payroll and we all lived together in blessed harmony within the wonderful realm of free speech.
4. There is much speculation about what it is that the Big Brothers from Brussels will say, good and bad, about Bulgaria.
5. We can help erode the power of these Big Brothers by highlighting some home truths.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Laud, verb.
π /lΙΛd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (formal • with object): Praise (a person or their achievements) highly.
❗️ Examples:
1. The obituary lauded him as a great statesman and soldier.
2. I imagine he's out there drawing cartoons somewhere or painting paintings, but no one's beating his door down lauding him as the great artist that he is.
3. He'd been a perfect gentleman, lauding me with compliments, calling when he said he would.
4. Well those who protect this system of conservatism and corporatism love lauding us with such flowery titles.
5. In the long term, in paradise, but also in the short term, as others from church lauded me for my suffering.
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π @cambridge_dic
π See the back of, phrase.
❓ Definition (informal): Be rid of (an unwanted person or thing)
❗️ Examples:
1. We were always glad to see the back of her.
2. This New Year's Eve I was alone, glad to see the back of 2004 and preparing to move forward in the coming year.
3. I won't be sorry to see the back of all these roadworks so we can all go about our daily business.
4. They will be glad to see the back of him in Edinburgh.
5. By the sounds of it, they're glad to see the back of him.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Rebel, noun.
π /ΛrΙb(Ι)l/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A person who rises in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or leader.
❗️ Examples:
1. Tory rebels.
2. Rebel forces.
3. This date marks the 200th Anniversary to the very day when the rebel leader ended his resistance and walked through the gates of Humewood and into captivity.
4. Forked story paths in the beginning allow you to choose between siding with the armed rebels in resistance or the Soviets in appeasement.
5. However, during the truce, the party's militia would respond with force in the event it came under attack from government security forces, the rebel leader said.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Influential, adjective.
π /ΛΙͺnflΚΛΙnΚ(Ι)l/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Having great influence on someone or something.
❗️ Examples:
1. Her work is influential in feminist psychology.
2. A quarter of a century on, the clergyman remains a powerful and influential figure even in death.
3. So, what do you think is the most important and influential car ever to be sold in Britain?
4. So a handful of votes will determine the direction of the world's most powerful and influential country.
5. National actors play important and influential roles at all stages of the EU policy process.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Femocrat, noun.
π /ΛfΙmΙ(Κ)krat/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Australian • informal): A female government official who advocates feminist policies.
❗️ Examples:
1. The report's author is Australia's senior femocrat.
2. I don't know if I meet the cut for being a femocrat.
3. Her pedigree's impeccable — author of the feminist bible and past editor of Ms Magazine, star femocrat (former head of the Office of the Status of Women), and CEO-class decision maker.
4. Now the femocrats are losing out in favour of families.
5. She continues to be fiercely supported and promoted by the horde of so-called international "femocrats".
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π @cambridge_dic
π Take root, phrase.
❓ Definition: Become fixed or established.
❗️ Examples:
1. The idea had taken root in my mind.
2. Spatial sequences merging across the shifting levels prevent fixed identities from taking root anywhere.
3. Because he had little to say about social need and there was no legislative provision for subsidising loss-making services, the idea took root that the issue had simply been ignored.
4. Nevertheless, the idea took root in their minds.
5. I quickly stomped on that idea before it fully took root.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Hatred, noun.
π /ΛheΙͺtrΙͺd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (mass noun): Intense dislike; hate.
❗️ Examples:
1. Racial hatred.
2. His murderous hatred of his brother.
3. They must make it clear that religious hatred will not be tolerated and they must be seen to take a stand.
4. It set an end to a terrible century of war and hatred between France and Germany.
5. I read them and am hurt by the injustice and often outright hatred of some of the posters.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Incite, verb.
π /ΙͺnΛsΚΙͺt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Encourage or stir up (violent or unlawful behaviour)
❗️ Examples:
1. They conspired to incite riots.
2. The Public Order Act of 1986 made it a criminal offence to incite racial hatred - but its provisions do not extend to sexual orientation.
3. I am aware that Britain has legislation which makes it a criminal offence to incite racial hatred.
4. Many priests refused to collaborate with the authorities, and some incited disobedience.
5. Generally, it is perfectly obvious what kind of language or imagery incites racial hatred.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Chutzpadik, adjective.
π /ΛxΚtspΙΛdΙͺk/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (informal): Especially in Jewish usage: showing chutzpah; impudent, impertinent; audacious, very self-confident.
❗️ Examples:
No examples.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Take something with a pinch of salt, phrase.
❓ Definition: Regard something as exaggerated; believe only part of something.
❗️ Examples:
1. I take anything he says with a large pinch of salt.
2. An AIB spokesman rejected the claim it was ripping off customers and said it took the report with a pinch of salt as it did not believe true like-for-like comparisons were made.
3. The next time someone says one bullet is vastly superior to another in regards to wind deflection, take their advice with a grain of salt and check for yourself.
4. Many personnel believe that no matter what they have to say, it will be taken with a grain of salt.
5. Since I had no recourse to take this route, I took the stories with a pinch of salt and never checked them out.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Instigate, verb.
π /ΛΙͺnstΙͺΙ‘eΙͺt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object • instigate someone to/to do something): Bring about or initiate (an action or event)
❗️ Examples:
1. They instigated a reign of terror.
2. I will be instigating legal proceedings.
3. Here the audience obtains a glimpse of the power bloc which oversaw and instigated the events.
4. Over the years she has instigated various events in the Court and the town itself.
5. Does the development team have the power and flexibility to instigate catastrophic events in the game?
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π @cambridge_dic
π Exaggerated, adjective.
π /ΙͺΙ‘ΛzadΚΙreΙͺtΙͺd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Regarded or represented as larger, better, or worse than in reality.
❗️ Examples:
1. An exaggerated account of his adventures.
2. Comic book characters are drawn with exaggerated features so you will remember them.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Bombogenesis, noun.
π /ΛbΙmbΙΚΛdΚΙnΙsΙͺs/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Meteorology • mass noun): A phenomenon or process in which there is rapid and sustained falling of barometric pressure in the centre of a low-pressure system, indicative of its strengthening into a powerful storm.
❗️ Examples:
1. The storm will intensify rapidly, so quickly, in fact, that it will likely undergo bombogenesis.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Let the cat out of the bag, phrase.
❓ Definition (informal): Reveal a secret carelessly or by mistake.
❗️ Examples:
1. Now that Viola had let the cat out of the bag, she had no option but to confess.
2. Gavin Anderson apologises to those in the know for letting the cat out of the bag about this secret haven.
3. So let the cat out of the bag: admit that what you're really up to is a satire on the state of arts funding.
4. The rather inappropriately named Defence Minister let the cat out of the bag by admitting that there isn't really a threat after all.
5. Two such academics were so upset by the broadcast they injudiciously let the cat out of the bag completely.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Belligerent, adjective.
π /bΙΛlΙͺdΚ(Ι)r(Ι)nt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Engaged in a war or conflict, as recognized by international law.
❗️ Examples:
1. A conference of socialists from all belligerent countries.
2. It is based upon the customary international laws of belligerent occupation, including the Hague Regulations.
3. It is widely recognized that access by belligerent groups to the gains from drug production and trafficking contributes to the intensity and prolongation of military conflict.
4. Take also the case of lawful belligerent reprisals (for example, the use of prohibited weapons).
5. Even between belligerent states, such treaties will not necessarily be suspended; a fortiori, if the conflict is not international, treaty rules will in general continue to apply.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Bill, noun.
π /bΙͺl/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A draft of a proposed law presented to parliament for discussion.
❗️ Examples:
1. A debate over the civil rights bill.
2. Within a few weeks a draft bill was presented to parliament; it had two clauses later to become sections 1 and 2 of the Act of 1916.
3. Last week, a private members' bill was presented to Parliament calling for a ban on masts near classrooms and homes.
4. The government has presented around 30 bills to the parliament, which it wants to pass rapidly during final two weeks of August.
5. I guess we can tell that we are at the dog-end when the best the Government can do is present to Parliament bills of this nature for consideration.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Kidstakes, plural noun.
π /ΛkΙͺdsteΙͺks/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Australian, New Zealand • informal): Nonsense; pretence.
❗️ Examples:
No examples.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Let sleeping dogs lie, phrase.
❓ Definition (proverb): Avoid interfering in a situation that is currently causing no problems but may well do so as a result of such interference.
❗️ Examples:
1. And God also seems to have the highest expectations of us, not settling for second-best or letting sleeping dogs lie.
2. So the Labor party is merely going along with the masses by letting sleeping dogs lie.
3. Somebody sent me an email that said this was all the fault of the U.S. because ‘we should have let sleeping dogs lie.’
4. But then maybe it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.
5. I'll let sleeping dogs lie for a bit on that front.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Plainly, adverb.
π /ΛpleΙͺnli/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: In a direct and honest way without concealment or deception.
❗️ Examples:
1. To speak plainly, I suffer from a lack of confidence.
2. I will ask you plainly: are you a spy?
3. As he told his tale, he spoke as plainly as he could.
4. To put it plainly, the young grandmaster made the opening look like it loses by force!
5. Make sure that the conditions for using this insurance are plainly stated in the house rules.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Proxy war, noun.
❓ Definition: A war instigated by a major power which does not itself become involved.
❗️ Examples:
1. The end of the Cold War brought an end to many of the proxy wars through which the two sides struggled to exert their influence.
2. People are supposed to ‘liberate’ themselves, not rely on some external force to come to their land and fight a proxy war for them.
3. Thus, as noted, David Aaronovitch describes the assault on Nicaragua as part of ‘the proxy war fought between the two superpowers for power and influence’.
4. Rollback was the American end of the proxy war fought between the two superpowers for power and influence in the developing world.
5. The proxy war in Kashmir between India and Pakistan also demonstrates that irregulars can fight limited wars for limited purposes, especially when the threat of nuclear war or conventional escalation is high.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Couply, adjective.
π /ΛkΚpli/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (informal, derogatory): Relating to or characteristic of a couple in a romantic or sexual relationship, especially when the relationship is regarded as particularly intimate or socially exclusive.
❗️ Examples:
1. They're out in the country having a lovely boozy time with other couply friends.
2. I turned on my computer to find the entire internet littered with red roses and sloppy, coupley mush.
3. Sometimes, the whole couply thing just works and it's great.
4. Rushing for mass and microwave dinners before heading out to a pub in Waterloo for what was an enjoyable but rather couply evening.
5. I was positioning them all couply when there was a knock at my door.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Be in the know, phrase.
❓ Definition: Be aware of something known only to a few people.
❗️ Examples:
1. He had a tip from a friend in the know: the horse was a cert.
2. In today's information-based society, there are few things more infuriating than not being in the know.
3. Well, I used to pride myself as being in the know but I have heard nothing about this idea.
4. Essentially, one needs to be in the know to make the most of Berlin's nightlife.
5. But you have to be in the know to have access to the best-kept secret in showbiz.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Earring, noun.
π /ΛΙͺΙrΙͺΕ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A piece of jewellery worn on the lobe or edge of the ear.
❗️ Examples:
1. Her wedding ring and plain gold earrings are her only jewellery, plus a few red beads and tight bangles on one wrist.
2. In the painting I am wearing a turquoise sari and some gold and ruby earrings with a necklace and a few bangles.
3. She was carrying a small black bag and wearing large silver hoop earrings and a rope bracelet.
4. Alicia returned her attentions to the mirror and slipped her favourite pearl drop earrings into her lobes.
5. He put the cloak back on me, and as I pulled the hood up, the edge caught my earring, and tugged it away.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Enact, verb.
π /ΙͺΛnakt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Make (a bill or other proposal) law.
❗️ Examples:
1. Legislation was enacted to attract international companies.
2. Remember, there has been no significant piece of reformist legislation enacted into law for nearly 30 years.
3. Rather, Parliament was enacting legislation in which a number of classes of persons have significant interests.
4. In the United States, several states have already enacted genetic privacy laws.
5. The statute was enacted pursuant to Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Fisho, noun.
π /ΛfΙͺΚΙΚ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Australian, New Zealand • informal): A person who catches or sells fish.
❗️ Examples:
1. The local fishos have dropped off the best of last night's catch.
2. I noticed a fisho wandering up the beach, his line straining and rod almost doubled over.
3. The fisho was a big Maori bloke, covered in those warrior tattoos.
4. I thought I'd try the local fisho, because if you were as multi-cultural as I am you'd recognise fish and chips as a valid regional cuisine.
5. I saw that it was indeed a very sad and tired looking fisho and instantly sensed that I would not be satisfied with the quality.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Jump on the bandwagon, phrase.
❓ Definition: Join others in doing or supporting something fashionable or likely to be successful.
❗️ Examples:
1. Scientists and doctors alike have jumped on the bandwagon.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Bandwagon, noun.
π /ΛbandwaΙ‘Ιn/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Used in reference to an activity, cause, etc. that is currently fashionable or popular and attracting increasing support.
❗️ Examples:
1. The environmental bandwagon is feeling mighty crowded.
2. Concerns over the risk posed by this emerging technology threaten to derail the bandwagon.
3. Apart from the integrated oil outfits, lots of other businesses are now climbing on board the environmental bandwagon.
4. FOXY BROWN is the latest member of the hip hop contingent to jump on the fashion bandwagon.
5. One thing Clinic could never be accused of is copying anyone's sound or jumping aboard the latest fashionable bandwagon.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Handwriting, noun.
π /ΛhandrΚΙͺtΙͺΕ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (mass noun): A person's particular style of writing.
❗️ Examples:
1. Her handwriting was small and neat.
2. And the style of your handwriting at that point of time could bare your soul in the presence of others.
3. The handwriting and style were that of a class geek that Jeremy probably bullied into writing.
4. Style, flair, neatness and layout of handwriting are the criteria that judges use to assess the entries.
5. I sometimes try to write in between the pictures but my handwriting does not seem to suit the style.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Beanfeast, noun.
π /ΛbiΛnfiΛst/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (British • informal): A celebratory party with plentiful food and drink.
❗️ Examples:
1. Cheerful music for beanfeasts.
2. A beanfeast of seminars and workshops.
3. A number of Lib Dem MPs maintained that the failure of their party to join the beanfeast on Thursday was one of strategy and leadership.
4. Our home-based patterns of socialising interfere with the necessary anarchy of the workplace beanfeast.
5. During the Golden Globe beanfeasts in LA earlier this month, the one man every star queued to meet was the shy, slightly stunned Paul Rusesabagina, the true hero of the story.
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π @cambridge_dic
π On the back foot, phrase.
❓ Definition (British): Outmanoeuvred by a competitor or opponent; at a disadvantage.
❗️ Examples:
1. Messi's early goal put Milan on the back foot.
2. The government found itself on the back foot as peaceful demonstrations continued.
3. By the early summer of 1918, the German submarines were clearly on the back foot.
4. The Irish government appeared to be put on the back foot.
5. The polls may not show much change but the government gives all the appearances of being on the back foot.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Absorb, verb.
π /ΙbΛzΙΛb/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Take in or soak up (energy or a liquid or other substance) by chemical or physical action.
❗️ Examples:
1. Buildings can be designed to absorb and retain heat.
2. Steroids are absorbed into the bloodstream.
3. Molecules may change their rotational energy levels by absorbing energy from electromagnetic radiation in the microwave region of the spectrum.
4. Carbon dioxide primarily absorbs infrared energy emitted by the Earth, thus contributing to the greenhouse effect and warming the Earth's surface and the atmosphere.
5. Electrons in the mineral absorb the energy from the activator and become excited.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Upcoming, adjective.
π /ΚpΛkΚmΙͺΕ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: About to happen; forthcoming.
❗️ Examples:
1. The upcoming election.
2. If he feels well enough and wants to run in an upcoming election, I'd vote for him again.
3. Do you think there has been a lack of international coverage of the upcoming elections?
4. The headland's fate now seems to hang in the result of the upcoming federal election.
5. It will be up to councillors to justify their decision at upcoming elections.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Hooroo, exclamation.
π /huΛΛruΛ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Australian • informal): Goodbye.
❗️ Examples:
1. Hooroo and see you next week.
2. His glossary includes ‘fair dinkum’ and ‘stonkered’, though not, surprisingly, ‘hooroo’ or ‘rumpty’.
3. Until next time, ‘hooroo’ from ‘vegemiterules’ xoxo.
4. So here comes September, and I've packed up my bucket bong and my collection of clocks and said hooroo to Australia, the land where nobody likes a bogan.
5. He poured forth a perfect uproar of liquid melody, punctuated with such hurroos and whoops of delight that he made me wonder if his lady love would like such college-song methods of serenading.
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π @cambridge_dic
