Cambridge Dictionary:
π Debby, adjective.
π /ΛdΙbi/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (informal): Characteristic of a debutante.
❗️ Examples:
1. A debby girlfriend.
2. I can't imagine Lauren Bacall playing a debby young English gel, can you?
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π @cambridge_dic
π Slippery slope, phrase.
❓ Definition: A course of action likely to lead to something bad or disastrous.
❗️ Examples:
1. He is on the slippery slope towards a life of crime.
2. This leads them down a slippery slope until, at the end of the play, they ‘tear each other's throats out’.
3. Not me, evidently: and so my first step was taken on that slippery slope leading down to a kind of gentle madness.
4. Critics say the law would be a slippery slope leading to anti-abortion laws in Canada.
5. In the very least, it is part of the slippery slope that has led to dislocation, desperation and even despair.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Ecstatic, adjective.
π /ΙͺkΛstatΙͺk/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Feeling or expressing overwhelming happiness or joyful excitement.
❗️ Examples:
1. Ecstatic fans filled the stadium.
2. When my eyes finally adjusted I was ecstatic with happiness.
3. Here's how ecstatic Boston fans got the news from their morning paper.
4. But I hoped he felt the same as I had, ecstatic and bubbling with happiness.
5. And when the game finally became available over the Internet last year, fans were ecstatic.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Errantry, noun.
π /ΛΙr(Ι)ntri/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (archaic, literary • mass noun): The quality or condition of being a traveller, especially a knight, in search of adventure.
❗️ Examples:
1. Sancho overhears the innkeeper saying errantry is a thing of the past.
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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 Suspend, verb.
π /sΙΛspΙnd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Temporarily prevent from continuing or being in force or effect.
❗️ Examples:
1. Work on the dam was suspended.
2. While immediate lay-offs have been temporarily suspended, the crisis continues with thousands of jobs among Rover's suppliers also under threat.
3. The traders have been forced to temporarily suspend trading as they do not want any more clients to fall into this black hole.
4. Recently Ryanair was forced to temporarily suspend services on its Strasbourg / London route.
5. Following the Thursday explosion, reports were circulated that claimed the security raid has been suspended and forces were ordered to retreat.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Otiose, adjective.
π /ΛΙΚtΙͺΙΚs/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Serving no practical purpose or result.
❗️ Examples:
1. There were occasions when I felt my efforts were rather otiose.
2. But in the hospital case such a purpose is otiose.
3. I agree with her submission that his construction would render paragraph 3 in practice otiose.
4. If so, it would be otiose for the officer concerned to give an explanation.
5. I think making a distinction between modern and pre-modern war is irrelevant and otiose here by the way.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Make ends meet, phrase.
❓ Definition: Earn just enough money to live on.
❗️ Examples:
1. They were finding it hard to make ends meet.
2. Some want to make enough money to make ends meet; others want money for extras or just a way to stay busy.
3. Liz and Nick were always out to work but they barely had enough money to make ends meet.
4. This will lead to loss of trade to the shopkeepers who are all having a hard enough time to make ends meet as it is.
5. By doing some casual work, like designing computer software, he has managed to make both ends meet and has enough left over to invest in his bicycle journeys.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Cleave, verb.
π /kliΛv/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (cleave to • no object): Adhere strongly to (a particular pursuit or belief)
❗️ Examples:
1. Part of why we cleave to sports is that excellence is so measurable.
2. Nobody gets points for being virtuous and cleaving to fidelity when there are no opportunities to do otherwise.
3. It struck a chord with one of the superstore's workers, who cleaves to anonymity presumably to cleave to her job.
4. I concluded that I rather regret not having completely cleaved to the letter of the law.
5. Jean Bodin's famous definition of 1576 of the commonwealth was one which the following century could instinctively cleave to.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Wettie, noun.
π /Λweti/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Australian, New Zealand • informal): A wetsuit.
❗️ Examples:
1. She straddles her board, facing out to sea, the water filling her wettie and growing warm against her body.
2. If you are a man, wear shorts over the wettie.
3. He says he needs this diet to prevent freezing in his wettie.
4. Pete sighed and retrieved his wettie out of the back and I stared out at the weather.
5. I didn't even have a wettie, due to my lack of faith in the wind.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Take a back seat, phrase.
❓ Definition: Take or be given a less important position or role.
❗️ Examples:
1. In future he would take a back seat in politics.
2. Yet the majority of the book emphasizes dinosaur osteology, systematics, and the fossil record; paleobiology takes a back seat to this important foundation.
3. But she piled on the pounds after the birth of her son, George, nine months ago and singing took a back seat as her confidence dwindled.
4. The role of the citizen is taking a back seat to decisions being made about our communities and the environment.
5. Was love more important than wealth or did romance take a back seat to social climbing?
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π @cambridge_dic
π Adhere, verb.
π /ΙdΛhΙͺΙ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (adhere to • no object): Closely follow, observe, or represent.
❗️ Examples:
1. The account adhered firmly to fact.
2. In numerous poetry collections, books of essays and fiction that followed, he closely adhered to this view of an unfettered aesthetic - not yoked to any ideology or dogma.
3. The association also holds cat shows and judges them based on how closely they adhere to the standards.
4. The play strikes me as an attempt to recreate a winning formula, adhering rather too closely to the mould of its last show, Hatched.
5. The script adheres pretty closely to the basic plot of the 1949 book, which imagined a totalitarian state where even the thoughts of its subjects are controlled by an all-seeing Big Brother.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Dastard, noun.
π /ΛdastΙd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (dated, humorous): A dishonourable or despicable man.
❗️ Examples:
1. The German player also seeks to reinsure the treaty by tying in the Swedish matter because he cannot rely on Russian compliance simply because the deal is good for both countries; that is, he must protect against fools as well as dastards.
2. You're one of those estate agent dastards - bumping up house prices beyond the reach of young working couples.
3. Victor Fisher, on hand outside the hall, charged the dissenting delegates with being ‘dastards and cowards, some of whom… were the paid agents of the enemy, and.., traitors not only to their country but to civilisation.’
4. Then, her mind was filled with an intense hate, a hate for the dastards that abducted her crewmates.
5. I had found the body underneath the floorboards, but I had yet to find the dastard that placed it there.
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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 Convo, noun.
π /ΛkΙnvΙΚ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (informal): A conversation.
❗️ Examples:
1. I struck up a convo with the girl sitting next to me.
2. Developing savvy in voicing yourself is a super way to keep any convo going.
3. My friend makes up an excuse to get off the phone five minutes into every convo.
4. Look attentive to let the person know you're into the convo.
5. No more endless discussions with your buds - his name is now banished from your convos.
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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 Cleave, verb.
π /kliΛv/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Split or sever (something), especially along a natural line or grain.
❗️ Examples:
1. The large axe his father used to cleave wood for the fire.
2. He swung the mighty blade with one arm cleaving the ground and splitting the tiles around it.
3. As we all know, this issue has caused massive issues for the party internally, this divide cleaves the party right down to its lowest level.
4. Especially around Washington, it was inevitable that speculation about the identity of the killer would cleave along ideological lines.
5. Forget about the digital divide - it's the domestic divide that really cleaves this country in two.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Glabrate, adjective.
π /ΛΙ‘leΙͺbrΙt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Botany Zoology): Free from hair or down; smooth.
❗️ Examples:
1. The mature leaves are glabrate on both sides.
2. I must add that the leaves of Q. serrata are glabrate as they get old.
3. The young twigs are glabrate, or only sparingly pubescent.
4. The very glabrate phase of the plant seems worthy of distinction.
5. It is a glabrate plant with linear herbaceous leaves.
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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 Henceforth, adverb.
π /hΙnsΛfΙΛΞΈ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: From this or that time on.
❗️ Examples:
1. Henceforth, parties which fail to get 5% of the vote will not be represented in parliament.
2. It stipulated that no concessions would henceforward be given to individuals, only to recognised institutions.
3. Besides, even if a sensible plan is henceforth followed, it will only prevent future mistakes.
4. Also I am having a party with my flatmate, who henceforth shall be referred to as Blondie.
5. Almost incidentally, on August 2, 1883, a decree went up in every town square in Russia: Yiddish theater henceforward would be illegal throughout the land.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Under the weather, phrase.
❓ Definition (informal): Slightly unwell or in low spirits.
❗️ Examples:
1. She was sufficiently under the weather to have to pull out of the championship.
2. He's been under the weather since he's been on his own.
3. I feel sick, have a painful headache and feel a bit under the weather, but I know that if I push myself and get out of bed I will feel better.
4. And every time I go for a stroll by the river when I'm feeling a bit under the weather, I come back home wondering why I felt so poorly in the first place.
5. So I'm more than a bit under the weather at present.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Calamity, noun.
π /kΙΛlamΙͺti/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: An event causing great and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster.
❗️ Examples:
1. Emergency measures may be necessary in order to avert a calamity.
2. The journey had led to calamity and ruin.
3. Nearly every calamity and malady known to humankind has a saint to look after it.
4. Plan for stress, say the experts, just like you plan ahead for any calamity you want to avoid.
5. There were those indeed who believed this calamity marked the end of the world.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Olivet, noun.
π /ΛΙlΙͺvΙt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: In full "Mount (of) Olivet". The Mount of Olives on the east side of Jerusalem, the scene of Christ's Ascension.
❗️ Examples:
No examples.
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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 Ban, verb.
π /ban/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Officially or legally prohibit (something)
❗️ Examples:
1. Parking is banned around the harbour in summer.
2. Cars were banned from the park all day in a bid to keep traffic disruption to a minimum.
3. York tourism boats can continue to ply their trade, but rowers are banned from the river.
4. We therefore, demand that the internet be permanently banned from American homes.
5. As a result of this, the islanders are banned from fishing in their own waters.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Every now and then, phrase.
❓ Definition: From time to time; occasionally.
❗️ Examples:
1. I used to see him every now and then.
2. Only the occasional deadpan one liner leaks out every now and again.
3. Perhaps it's healthy to have a kick in the teeth like that every now and then.
4. The Chief Minister encouraged a little spoken of question that comes up every now and then.
5. The muse may crave a spot of deprivation and misery every now and then to spark the old imagination, but there are limits.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Valley, noun.
π /Λvali/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A low area of land between hills or mountains, typically with a river or stream flowing through it.
❗️ Examples:
1. The Thames Valley.
2. The valley floor.
3. It has such beautiful farmland, mountains, valleys, and rivers that one-fifth of the country is designated as national parkland.
4. Mountains, valleys, and rivers provide memorable scenery for tourists.
5. The steep hills and valleys also offer superb rivers for white-water rafting.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Nunu, noun.
π /ΛnuΛnuΛ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (South African • informal): An insect, spider, worm, or similar small creature.
❗️ Examples:
1. The box gives protection against worms and other nunus.
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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 Bring about, phrasal verb.
❓ Definition (bring something about, bring about something): Cause something to happen.
❗️ Examples:
1. She brought about a revolution in psychoanalysis.
2. Well, he got involved with the actual methods of bringing this revolution about.
3. The important consideration is how those changes are implemented, how they are brought about and made effective.
4. What results have been brought about by this decision-making framework?
5. Sometimes these punishments are deserved but often they are brought about by unfortunate circumstances.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Nunu, noun.
π /ΛnuΛnuΛ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (South African • informal): An insect, spider, worm, or similar small creature.
❗️ Examples:
1. The box gives protection against worms and other nunus.
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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 Enact, verb.
π /ΙͺΛnakt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Put into practice (an idea or suggestion)
❗️ Examples:
1. The pressure group's aim was to see the proposals enacted.
2. The French Revolution was an attempt to enact his ideas.
3. Because real people formulate and enact political ideas, it is often easy to locate the supposed evil of a given idea in its human agent.
4. The National Security Adviser joined the President at the ranch to discuss enacting recommendations that could be implemented immediately by executive order.
5. He later challenged him to commit to enacting the recommendations of the report during his term as president.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Nunu, noun.
π /ΛnuΛnuΛ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (South African • informal): An insect, spider, worm, or similar small creature.
❗️ Examples:
1. The box gives protection against worms and other nunus.
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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 Plainly, adverb.
π /ΛpleΙͺnli/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Able to be perceived easily.
❗️ Examples:
1. A light was plainly visible.
2. She could plainly hear footsteps behind her.
3. A sinister yet plainly demarcated force of evil is ever-present in his films.
4. That same shock was now plainly visible in Mallory's eyes.
5. In that darkness, any little star showed as plainly as a sun.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Nunu, noun.
π /ΛnuΛnuΛ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (South African • informal): An insect, spider, worm, or similar small creature.
❗️ Examples:
1. The box gives protection against worms and other nunus.
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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 Point out, phrasal verb.
❓ Definition (point something out, point out something): Direct someone's gaze or attention towards, especially by extending one's finger.
❗️ Examples:
1. I pointed out a conical heap of stones.
2. He only survived because he was swept into a ditch and a man spotted him and pointed out a route to safety.
3. One would be hard pressed to point out a single fat man among these thousands.
4. As they drove, she played tour guide and pointed out spots of interest in Dover.
5. He pointed out the seat and I made my way towards it, my bag swinging in my hands.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Play-play, adjective.
❓ Definition (South African • informal • attributive): Not genuine; make-believe.
❗️ Examples:
1. They're at the age when they want more than a play-play watch.
2. Try your play-play ad campaign on somebody else's third World country.
3. Make up a younger sister and get the shop assistants to try on tops for you to get an idea of what to buy for your play-play sister's birthday.
4. Apart from this, all explosives were dangerous, and even small ‘play-play’ fireworks could be used to make bombs, he said.
5. The country's only independent newspaper and dispossessed white farmers face “play-play” legal instruments as their government continues to manipulate the law and legal institutions to suit its nefarious aims.
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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 Show round, phrasal verb.
❓ Definition (show someone round, show round someone): Point out interesting features in a place or building to someone.
❗️ Examples:
1. He showed us round and took us to the museum.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Play-play, adjective.
❓ Definition (South African • informal • attributive): Not genuine; make-believe.
❗️ Examples:
1. They're at the age when they want more than a play-play watch.
2. Try your play-play ad campaign on somebody else's third World country.
3. Make up a younger sister and get the shop assistants to try on tops for you to get an idea of what to buy for your play-play sister's birthday.
4. Apart from this, all explosives were dangerous, and even small ‘play-play’ fireworks could be used to make bombs, he said.
5. The country's only independent newspaper and dispossessed white farmers face “play-play” legal instruments as their government continues to manipulate the law and legal institutions to suit its nefarious aims.
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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 Mighty, adjective.
π /ΛmΚΙͺti/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Possessing great and impressive power or strength, especially because of size.
❗️ Examples:
1. Three mighty industrial countries.
2. Mighty beasts.
3. This mighty power will continue to press for county councillors to respect the professional judgement of their highway engineers and consultants.
4. This nation, once a mighty world power, is being systematically stripped of all its wealth and influence, and no-one bats an eyelid.
5. A glance at the current spate of hotel marketing deals makes it clear that tykes are wielding some mighty power.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Play-play, adjective.
❓ Definition (South African • informal • attributive): Not genuine; make-believe.
❗️ Examples:
1. They're at the age when they want more than a play-play watch.
2. Try your play-play ad campaign on somebody else's third World country.
3. Make up a younger sister and get the shop assistants to try on tops for you to get an idea of what to buy for your play-play sister's birthday.
4. Apart from this, all explosives were dangerous, and even small ‘play-play’ fireworks could be used to make bombs, he said.
5. The country's only independent newspaper and dispossessed white farmers face “play-play” legal instruments as their government continues to manipulate the law and legal institutions to suit its nefarious aims.
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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 Dog-end, noun.
❓ Definition: The last and least pleasing part of something.
❗️ Examples:
1. The dog-end of a hard day.
2. The cartoonists portray the dog-end days of December as Old Man Time, complete with scythe, calling the year to its doom.
3. Budget 2004 was one the government could have done without: an obligatory address in the dog-end of a parliament.
4. It's December at the dog-end of the last century and Liam slouches on a sofa in a Santa Monica hotel, curling his bottom lip and affecting disinterest.
5. I relaxed into the dog-end of the afternoon to enjoy the loch's beauty, vaguely aware of increasingly frantic efforts from the other end of the boat.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Play-play, adjective.
❓ Definition (South African • informal • attributive): Not genuine; make-believe.
❗️ Examples:
1. They're at the age when they want more than a play-play watch.
2. Try your play-play ad campaign on somebody else's third World country.
3. Make up a younger sister and get the shop assistants to try on tops for you to get an idea of what to buy for your play-play sister's birthday.
4. Apart from this, all explosives were dangerous, and even small ‘play-play’ fireworks could be used to make bombs, he said.
5. The country's only independent newspaper and dispossessed white farmers face “play-play” legal instruments as their government continues to manipulate the law and legal institutions to suit its nefarious aims.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Every man has his price, phrase.
❓ Definition (proverb): Everyone is open to bribery if the inducement offered is large enough.
❗️ Examples:
1. Last week he was appointed Senior manager there and it just goes to show that every man has his price.
2. I'm sure they have discovered it by now but aren't telling, but every man has his price.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Drink-driving, noun.
π /ΛdrΙͺΕkΛdrΚΙͺvΙͺΕ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (British • mass noun): The offence of driving a vehicle with an excess of alcohol in the blood.
❗️ Examples:
1. He recently served a four-month sentence for drink-driving.
2. French police found that Paul was over the legal limit for drink-driving at the time of the crash.
3. At the time of the chase, he was on bail for drink-driving and driving while banned.
4. He has been released on bail, pending analysis of a blood sample, for drink-driving.
5. They will contact the police immediately if someone fails to stop or are suspected of committing a crime such as drink-driving.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Play-play, adjective.
❓ Definition (South African • informal • attributive): Not genuine; make-believe.
❗️ Examples:
1. They're at the age when they want more than a play-play watch.
2. Try your play-play ad campaign on somebody else's third World country.
3. Make up a younger sister and get the shop assistants to try on tops for you to get an idea of what to buy for your play-play sister's birthday.
4. Apart from this, all explosives were dangerous, and even small ‘play-play’ fireworks could be used to make bombs, he said.
5. The country's only independent newspaper and dispossessed white farmers face “play-play” legal instruments as their government continues to manipulate the law and legal institutions to suit its nefarious aims.
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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 IKR, abbreviation.
❓ Definition (informal): I know, right? (used to express agreement or empathy)
❗️ Examples:
1. IKR. I was excited for this too.
2. IKR? It's so not fair.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Vernal, adjective.
π /ΛvΙΛn(Ι)l/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Of, in, or appropriate to spring.
❗️ Examples:
1. The vernal freshness of the land.
2. Of course, spring has its vernal breezes, thriving greenness, seasonal promises and so on.
3. This past spring, I visited one such impermanent place, a vernal pool tucked into the base of Ruffner Mountain.
4. The correct Latin term for spring flowering is vernal, as in Leucojum vernum, the spring snowflake, and Crocus vernus, the Dutch crocus.
5. Like its predecessors, the album arrives just in time for Spring and comes bearing more than a few certifiable vernal jams.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Second to none, phrase.
❓ Definition: The best, worst, fastest, etc.
❗️ Examples:
1. The group has a reputation that is second to none in the building industry.
2. The food was quite wonderful, the atmosphere perfect and the welcome second to none.
3. This is a country that's proven second to none when it comes to putting curling on the TV airwaves.
4. He worked harder than anyone and his course management was second to none.
5. The character design is second to none, and they've really taken advantage of the machine's strengths.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Negligence, noun.
π /ΛnΙΙ‘lΙͺdΚ(Ι)ns/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (mass noun): Failure to take proper care over something.
❗️ Examples:
1. His injury was due to the negligence of his employers.
2. Any casualty due to their negligence must be put up for a PIL and proper compensation demanded.
3. We cannot just say it was not negligence without a proper investigation.
4. Death due to negligence occurred in one per cent of this group.
5. The bus fell into the river due to negligence of the driver.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Foozle, noun.
π /ΛfuΛz(Ι)l/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (informal): A clumsy or botched attempt at something, especially a shot in golf.
❗️ Examples:
1. Overlooking the beach on Marco Island, the Marriott resort offers plenty of places - like Quinn's on the Beach - to forget all of one's dubs and foozles.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Take for granted, phrase.
❓ Definition: Fail to properly appreciate (someone or something), especially as a result of overfamiliarity.
❗️ Examples:
1. The comforts that people take for granted.
2. The right to own land and other property is taken for granted in many countries.
3. Everything ran smoothly for the next two months, but I guess I took things for granted.
4. I know I took you for granted, expecting you always to be around when that's not possible.
5. The problem with being an All-Star is that good performances are taken for granted and people expect more.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Abide, verb.
π /ΙΛbΚΙͺd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (abide by • no object): Accept or act in accordance with (a rule, decision, or recommendation)
❗️ Examples:
1. I said I would abide by their decision.
2. The serious collector of funny names accepts only those of real people, and abides by certain rules of the game, just as do those who fish for trout.
3. The PA said that it had always abided by the decisions of the court.
4. There was always the arguing, but in the end, the men had made a decision and all had abided by it.
5. If that is if that is a Government decision, we will always abide by the Government decision.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Abecedarian, adjective.
π /ΛeΙͺbiΛsiΛΛdΙΛrΙͺΙn/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Arranged alphabetically.
❗️ Examples:
1. In abecedarian sequence.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Been there, done that, phrase.
❓ Definition (informal): Used to express past experience of or overfamiliarity with something.
❗️ Examples:
1. I've been there, done that, got the video and the T-shirt.
2. It sometimes just feels like I've been there, done that!
3. I've been there, done that - it's for the younger players.
4. Yes, when it comes to writing 50,000 word novels in a month, I've been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.
5. I can quite confidently say that I've been there, done that, and come back.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Proverb, noun.
π /ΛprΙvΙΛb/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A short, well-known pithy saying, stating a general truth or piece of advice.
❗️ Examples:
1. Riddles, proverbs, and sayings that describe proper behavior for both young and old Kenyans are still common.
2. Beware of proverbs: they are a snare and a delusion.
3. To quote a Kannada proverb it is like water off a buffalo's back.
4. It's tough to choose a single epitaph for a man who invoked so many epigrams and proverbs.
5. It is better to light one candle than curse the darkness, as a rough translation of a Chinese proverb goes.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Emulous, adjective.
π /ΛΙmjΚlΙs/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (formal): Seeking to emulate someone or something.
❗️ Examples:
1. If he has, or gathers, a band of the emulous, we may look for some capital sport.
2. The difficulty of sorting out those confusions arises in part, of course, from the fact that, even before Edward Young's Conjectures on Original Composition, the tradition of ‘emulous imitation’ seemed in need of defense.
3. His concern to distinguish ‘emulous’ Imitation from simple theft may surprise some.
4. Emulous young writers.
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π @cambridge_dic
π In one's birthday suit, phrase.
❓ Definition (humorous): Naked.
❗️ Examples:
1. I wanna walk around in my birthday suit.
2. I told her that despite it being cooler than usual… I'm still sleeping in my birthday suit.
3. Women looked away and parents shielded their children's eyes as a foreigner with a receding hairline pranced on the New Delhi railway platform in his birthday suit.
4. And a foxy new foreign exchange student strolls around school in her birthday suit.
5. I had to strip off and stand shivering in my birthday suit in calf-high water while she helped me wash.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Subtract, verb.
π /sΙbΛtrakt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Take away (a number or amount) from another to calculate the difference.
❗️ Examples:
1. Subtract 43 from 60.
2. Dollar amounts were calculated by subtracting the rework cost from the Navy stock number ‘ready-for-issue’ value.
3. So to get the correct figure, we have to subtract the number of days when it was both.
4. Not only does the game add and subtract a number of different fields to generate a final total for a race, you can easily spend half a minute or more just watching the game tally up the number of mistakes you made.
5. The overconfidence indices were calculated by subtracting the percentage of correct answers from the mean percentage of certainty.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Peduncle, noun.
π /pΙͺΛdΚΕk(Ι)l/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Botany): The stalk bearing a flower or fruit, or the main stalk of an inflorescence.
❗️ Examples:
1. In angiosperms, trichomes may occur on leaves, petals, stems, petioles, peduncles and seed coats, depending on the species.
2. The reddish colour of the depistillated flower and its peduncle is a response to high light intensities during anthesis and should not be interpreted to indicate senescence.
3. Briefly, after harvesting, fruit peduncles were trimmed to uniform length with a scalpel, and each fruit was immediately placed in an autoclaved container with a nutrient solution.
4. The plant was separated into roots, leaves, fruits, peduncle, and stem.
5. Grape berries are borne on the end of a stalk, the pedicel, which in turn is borne on the bunchstem, or peduncle.
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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 Fund, verb.
π /fΚnd/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Provide with money for a particular purpose.
❗️ Examples:
1. The World Bank refused to fund the project.
2. By contrast, the citizen scientists would be funded by public money to do just that.
3. The money also funded film workshops at secondary schools and colleges across the region.
4. The project is funded by a four year grant from regeneration money provided by the government.
5. The answer is simple since any job in the public services is funded by tax payers' money.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Concatenation, noun.
π /kΙnkatΙΛneΙͺΚn/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A series of interconnected things.
❗️ Examples:
1. A concatenation of events which had finally led to the murder.
2. Extending from one end to the other is a great concatenation of human bodies linked by their reaching, touching, grasping, and leaning, each creating a dangerous possibility of human-to-human contagion.
3. All of these things came together to create this awful concatenation of these various factors, simply diabolically coming together.
4. In language, a lone signifier would be an utterly meaningless sound or concatenation of sounds.
5. Now, why, in that concatenation of facts, do you not have a basis on which the primary judge can find that to some extent there is evidence?
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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 Conspire, verb.
π /kΙnΛspΚΙͺΙ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (no object): Make secret plans jointly to commit an unlawful or harmful act.
❗️ Examples:
1. They conspired against him.
2. They deny conspiring to defraud the Inland Revenue.
3. They didn't lose their case because everyone conspired against them.
4. This type of public affirmation of the underdog was partly why his enemies conspired against him.
5. Before he died, he believed that his doctors had conspired against him.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Jam tomorrow, phrase.
❓ Definition (British): A pleasant thing which is often promised but rarely materializes.
❗️ Examples:
1. A promise of jam tomorrow wasn't enough to satisfy them.
2. Policy holders want cash today, not the promise of jam tomorrow, and if people don't appreciate that then they are out of touch.
3. He should realise that promises of jam tomorrow are not helping shopkeepers in his area to swallow difficulties forced on them by the loss of parking spaces.
4. Unfortunately, in the case of human and civil rights, promises of jam tomorrow are simply not good enough.
5. We have been promised jam tomorrow but we have never got it.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Legislation, noun.
π /lΙdΚΙͺsΛleΙͺΚ(Ι)n/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (mass noun): Laws, considered collectively.
❗️ Examples:
1. Housing legislation.
2. Those are the words that are used in sections of this type in a great deal of legislation.
3. This had made them exempt from certain legislation that does not apply to the Crown.
4. Many of these provisions may make sense if they are placed in ordinary legislation.
5. The legislation made the occupier liable and this was held to include the receiver.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Matzo, noun.
π /ΛmatsΙ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A crisp biscuit of unleavened bread, traditionally eaten by Jewish people during Passover.
❗️ Examples:
1. A box of matzos.
2. It crumbled like a piece of stale matzo.
3. Do you know the real reason why Jews have three matzoth at the Seder table?
4. For the few days of Passover, chametz and matzah are antithetical.
5. For example, one need not spend more than this amount for a tallit or tefillin, a sukkah or etrog for Sukkot, or matzah for Passover.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Many hands make light work, phrase.
❓ Definition (proverb): A task is soon accomplished if several people help.
❗️ Examples:
1. To quote the old saying, many hands make light work.
2. Just when you are thinking too many cooks spoil the broth, suddenly someone will remind you that many hands make light work.
3. Putting the Lantern Parade together is a huge job and many hands make light work.
4. But as many hands make light work, meals on wheels convenor Margaret Clark says she is always interested in hearing from people who can help getting the food to the clients.
5. The campaign was launched last Thursday night in the Seven Oaks Hotel but like all events, many hands make light work so the more people who can help make the event a success the better.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Earthquake, noun.
π /ΛΙΛΞΈkweΙͺk/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A sudden violent shaking of the ground, typically causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth's crust or volcanic action.
❗️ Examples:
1. When it came to measuring these big earthquakes, the Richter scale fell short.
2. Nine on the Richter scale indicates an earthquake of absolutely awesome destructive power.
3. This is one of the most destructive earthquakes of the twentieth century.
4. They are subject to periodic earthquakes and volcanic activity that can destabilize them.
5. Tsunamis are waves formed when huge masses of water are displaced by undersea volcanic eruptions or earthquakes.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Palmary, adjective.
π /ΛpalmΙri/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (literary): That bears or is worthy to bear the palm; holding the first or highest place; pre-eminent; excellent.
❗️ Examples:
No examples.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Answer to the name of, phrase.
❓ Definition (humorous): Be called.
❗️ Examples:
1. A missing gent answering to the name of Bloom.
2. The owner's children were distraught, as they had travelled as far as Wexford in search of their pet that answers to the name of Prince.
3. He answers to the name of Sam and was last seen on Sunday, September 22 in the Borris Road area.
4. The parrot, which is still missing, has red tail feathers and a blue plastic ring on his foot and answers to the name of Monty.
5. He is grey with a white nose and paws and was wearing a white collar, he answers to the name of Socks.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Subsequent, adjective.
π /ΛsΚbsΙͺkw(Ι)nt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Coming after something in time; following.
❗️ Examples:
1. The theory was developed subsequent to the earthquake of 1906.
2. Had they existed at any time subsequent to their split in 1983, they would have been big.
3. The theft of the items could have been subsequent to the murder and not the reason for it, for example.
4. Mr Milford's conviction has subsequent to the hearing been quashed and a retrial ordered.
5. This comes subsequent to Ganguly appointing two lawyers to handle his appeal.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Effulgent, adjective.
π /ΙͺΛfΚldΚ(Ι)nt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (literary): Shining brightly; radiant.
❗️ Examples:
1. Even in this instance, it shined through like the effulgent, yet blinding sun, eminently spreading the glow into the unsuspecting eyes of a person not protected by the shade of the trees.
2. In the night sky, nothing is brighter and more effulgent than the moon.
3. He who meditates becomes united with the effulgent Sun.
4. The soul is 10,000 times more effulgent than the sun, but the covering of ignorance is so strong that we appear to be like dead matter.
5. As I write I can still see the slender threads of gold emanating from an effulgent sun spreading over the feet of the ascending Christ like the sheerest fiber from a spider's web.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Nothing succeeds like success, phrase.
❓ Definition (proverb): Success leads to opportunities for further and greater successes.
❗️ Examples:
1. At the end of the day, nothing succeeds like success.
2. But in America, nothing succeeds like success.
3. In mitigation, this run of bad results was closely tied to a string of away fixtures that would test any team but it once again proved that if nothing succeeds like success then failure facilitates a firing.
4. You know that saying, nothing succeeds like success?
5. Well, its an old saying and a true one: nothing succeeds like success.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Tempt, verb.
π /tΙm(p)t/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (with object): Entice or try to entice (someone) to do something that they find attractive but know to be wrong or unwise.
❗️ Examples:
1. There'll always be someone tempted by the rich pickings of poaching.
2. Jobs which involve entertaining may tempt you to drink more than you intend.
3. Sometimes, he says, the bad spirits tempt him to do wrong.
4. Their main goal in life is to entice and tempt men.
5. She tempts him to drink and he loses his precious manuscript.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Put the bite on, phrase.
❓ Definition (North American, Australian, New Zealand • informal): Borrow or extort money from.
❗️ Examples:
1. A deadbeat diner tried to put the bite on a restaurant.
2. Damn, I thought, putting the bite on me for food money.
3. I'm no elitist and I'm all for genuine homeless people getting a better deal all round, but it beggared belief to see him shopping with the people he was putting the bite on just minutes before.
4. It is scandalous is that while Catholic schools across the country have missed out on anywhere between $560 million and $2-3 billion over the past four years, they have put the bite on parents to make up some of the difference.
5. Meanwhile, the governor - through a special economic development fund overseen by his office - also has been putting the bite on a host of companies and other special interests to contribute to his pet cause.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Not a bit of it, phrase.
❓ Definition (British): Not at all.
❗️ Examples:
1. Am I being unduly cynical? Not a bit of it.
2. After the torrential rain on Saturday, we had thought the event might be a bit of a wash-out, but not a bit of it.
3. It sounds like a recipe for gross self-indulgence, but not a bit of it: ‘I've actually lost nearly a stone and a half since coming here.’
4. When the Express closed, and then later the ill - fated Scottish Daily News, you'd have thought the bar would close but not a bit of it.
5. You would think after 20 years he would be jaded, but not a bit of it.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Whereas, conjunction.
π /wΙΛrΛaz/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: In contrast or comparison with the fact that.
❗️ Examples:
1. You treat the matter lightly, whereas I myself was never more serious.
2. She's the one who is moving on whereas her parents are stuck with the story, are stuck in the past.
3. He lived through his era, whereas so many of his friends died in racing accidents.
4. Nanjing has also in the past been the capital of China, whereas now Beijing has that role.
5. We have natural light whereas working underground we had artificial light.
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π @cambridge_dic
π The world, the flesh, and the devil, phrase.
❓ Definition: All forms of temptation to sin.
❗️ Examples:
1. Rossetti struggled with these words in her desire to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil.
2. A rich understanding of the roles of God, the world, the flesh, and the devil in suffering will aid counselors in determining the best responses to their clients' pain.
3. The daily, hourly conflict with the world, the flesh, and the devil, shall at length be at an end: the enemy shall be bound; the warfare shall be over; the wicked shall at last cease from troubling; the weary shall at length be at rest.
4. In other words, the world, the flesh, and the devil are formidable obstacles to responding to the light and grace that God gives.
5. Epicurus' dubious reputation reflected the Christian tendency to regard earthly pleasures as the evil lures of the world, the flesh, and the devil.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Definition, noun.
π /dΙfΙͺΛnΙͺΚ(Ι)n/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A statement of the exact meaning of a word, especially in a dictionary.
❗️ Examples:
1. A dictionary definition of the verb.
2. The Judge said she had, in the absence of any statutory definition, consulted several dictionaries for a definition of the word record.
3. No, it's not exactly the dictionary definition of the word.
4. The dictionary definition of the word is to ride on or along a wave on a board.
5. Your browser loads a page from an online dictionary with the definition of the word.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Passepartout, noun.
π /ΛpaspΙΛΛtuΛ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: (also passepartout frame) a picture or photograph mounted between a piece of glass and a sheet of card (or two pieces of glass) stuck together at the edges with adhesive tape.
❗️ Examples:
1. You find here vendors of Cardboard for passepartouts from Germany and Russia.
2. At Halbe you have a choice of five colours and a variety of thicknesses. You can choose between 1.5 and 3 mm thick passepartouts.
3. A looking glass of passepartout and blackened mercury.
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π @cambridge_dic
π None other than, phrase.
❓ Definition: Used to emphasize the surprising identity of a person or thing.
❗️ Examples:
1. Her first customer was none other than Henry du Pont.
2. The first victims of his surprise visit were none other than presspersons themselves.
3. And it was none other than Rossellini who advised him to turn professional.
4. This church is supposed to have been founded by none other than Charlemagne.
5. She's played by none other than Kitty Bruce, daughter of standup legend Lenny Bruce.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Respondent, noun.
π /rΙͺΛspΙnd(Ι)nt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Law): A party against whom a petition is filed, especially one in an appeal or a divorce case.
❗️ Examples:
1. Very well, and these other affidavits, I take it, are affidavits filed by the respondent.
2. The appellant's second ground of appeal is that the respondents are not suitable to be the donor's attorneys.
3. The first respondents to the appeal must pay the appellant's costs of the application.
4. Whether the respondents cross petition against the petitioners was demurrable and should be struck out.
5. The statutory amendments shift the evidential burden of proof to the respondent if the complainant proves what he or she is required to prove at the first stage.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Look on the bright side, phrase.
❓ Definition: Be optimistic or cheerful in spite of difficulties.
❗️ Examples:
1. ‘I expect I shall manage,’ she said, determined to look on the bright side.
2. He was always the one who looked on the bright side, the optimistic one.
3. With so many good things happening, it is so difficult not to look on the bright side, isn't it?
4. At first, anti-dam activists looked on the bright side.
5. The move might seem like nothing more than a disruption, but the director is looking on the bright side.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Affidavit, noun.
π /ΛafΙͺΛdeΙͺvΙͺt/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Law): A written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation, for use as evidence in court.
❗️ Examples:
1. A former employee swore an affidavit relating to his claim for unfair dismissal.
2. Would you read onto the record the affidavits that contain the evidentiary material that is before us?
3. When carrying out the enquiry the Court acts upon affidavits rather than oral evidence.
4. Although late in delivering the affidavits of documents the affidavits have now been delivered.
5. Put another way, it is the content of his affidavit or statement which determines the assertion.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Leporine, adjective.
π /ΛlΙpΙrΚΙͺn/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Of or resembling a hare or hares.
❗️ Examples:
1. That leporine, glazed gaze.
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π @cambridge_dic
π If you can't beat them, join them, phrase.
❓ Definition (humorous): If you are unable to outdo rivals in some endeavour, you might as well cooperate with them and thereby possibly gain an advantage.
❗️ Examples:
1. Steve took the view that if you can't beat them, join them.
2. You're saying if you can't beat them, join them.
3. But they have increasingly taken the view that if you can't beat them, join them, and begun offering similar, competitive services.
4. The only solution as far as I can see it is if you can't beat them, join them.
5. Like everyone says, if you can't beat them, join them.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Oath, noun.
π /ΙΚΞΈ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: A solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one's future action or behaviour.
❗️ Examples:
1. They took an oath of allegiance to the king.
2. From early days the taking of solemn religious oaths was regarded as an essential part of the political and social order.
3. For a few moments the couple find themselves in church or in the registry office watched by their closest family and friends, publicly swearing what amounts to a solemn oath of allegiance to each other.
4. Each individual undergoing treatment takes a solemn oath to change their behavior.
5. The Gods witness oaths, and will take note of how the oath-taker regards that oath.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Bricolage, noun.
π /ΛbrΙͺkΙΛlΙΛΚ/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (mass noun): (in art or literature) construction or creation from a diverse range of available things.
❗️ Examples:
1. The chaotic bricolage of the novel is brought together in a unifying gesture.
2. He has described the process of building it as one of bricolage, the French term for do-it-yourself.
3. Bricolage certainly jars and stirs the imagination, but is bricolage enough for reform?
4. They're photographic bricolage, re-interpreting neighbourhood texts in radical ways.
5. With a compositional logic of bricolage, the building looks ‘tinny ‘compared to its neighbouring institutions.’
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π @cambridge_dic
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 Solemn, adjective.
π /ΛsΙlΙm/ π¬π§
❓ Definition: Characterized by deep sincerity.
❗️ Examples:
1. He swore a solemn oath to keep faith.
2. And, beyond logistics, Carlton was a public servant, bound by a solemn sworn duty to uphold the law.
3. After marrying Romola he wounds her deepest feelings by betraying her father's solemn trust.
4. Her voice grew serious and I could tell her face was taking on the unfamiliarity of really being solemn and genuine about something.
5. Those entering a civil partnership will not do so lightly, and are making a solemn commitment of partnership and mutual support.
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π @cambridge_dic
π Adminicle, noun.
π /ΙdΛmΙͺnΙͺk(Ι)l/ π¬π§
❓ Definition (Scots Law): A document giving evidence as to the existence or contents of another, missing document.
❗️ Examples:
1. The trial judge took the view that the police officer's evidence of the defendant's being visibly shocked could be regarded as an adminicle independent of the defendant's evidence.
2. It can form one of the (at least) two adminicles of evidence that must exist before it can hold that the person who committed the crime was the accused.
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π @cambridge_dic
