may 2022

Are you kids strapped in back there?

How can you live in a state like that?

Her glasses were broken in the kerfuffle.

I am very positive that it should be valid!

What do you infer from her refusal? I inferred from her expression that she wanted to leave.

He successfully deflated his opponent's arguments. His lack of appreciation for her work deflated her. to deflate a balloon/tyre. The party's ambitions have been deflated by the two recent by-election defeats. They were totally deflated by losing the game

We're planning to hold the wedding reception in a marquee in the garden.

Stripping the walls was a real faff. Chopping all those onions is such a faff. We had the usual faff taking public transport.

Your problems will just snowball.

The philosopher wanted to distil knowledge from those texts.

She has clear-cut evidence that the company cheated her.

He's an effective enough politician but somehow he lacks the statesmanlike gravitas of a world leader.

The work of feminist scholars, both individually and collectively, has been greeted in some quarters with impatience, irritation, dismissiveness, even contempt.

He was dumbfounded by the allegations.

The new legislation is intended to stamp out child prostitution.

Elizabeth appeared at the door and said, "the girls so wanted you all to go as a threesome, I hope you don't mind dressing up.

Today's dinner was chicken with sprouts. Plant a twig in the ground, water it, and watch it sprout. He's sprouted from a boy into a man. John has sprouted a beard. The fields at this time of year are full of sprouts. a Brussels sprout

Where is the gimmick?

polar ice caps

the prudishness of Victorian Britain. Don't be such a prude.

Spring time signifies an outburst of beefcakes on the streets.

Crowdfunding provides locally sourced finance for renewable energy projects around the country.

She did a stencil of a rainbow on her daughter's bedroom wall. to draw or paint something using a stencil

Poor housing conditions are breeding grounds for crime. These animals always return to the same breeding ground.

summer time

Only in borderline cases (= cases where students might succeed or fail) will pupils have an oral exam. She was a borderline candidate for the job. The borderline between friendship and intimacy is often hard to define

The ending of the movie was awfully hokey.

heavy-duty tools/shoes

Most financial analysts have been surprised by the persistence of the recession. Her persistence and enthusiasm have helped the group to achieve its international success.

She resigned when she was relegated to a desk job. The story was relegated to the middle pages of the paper. If Southampton lose again they may be relegated from the Premier League to the First Division.

impose a total curfew. He was shot for breaking (= not obeying) the curfew. You'll be in trouble if you get home after curfew.

Freddie was an angelic-looking child with blond, curly hair, blue eyes, and dimples. The pane of glass had a small dimple in it.

Candyfloss is very sticky and too sweet for me.

The water might be enough with rationing, but not for coming down.

toiletry bag: a bag in which you put things for keeping yourself clean and tidy, especially when you are travelling

He certainly believed in preaching hellfire and damnation.

His latest movie is interesting, but not groundbreaking. innovative

Now, here was a bright spot in a bad morning.

He owns a flat in a condominium.

She surfaced out of water looking like a mermaid. He surfaced as the one who commited the crime. She couldn't surface because she was too drunk.

tertiary education

There was the rasp of a bolt and the door suddenly opened.

By ten o'clock I was feeling peckish, even though I'd had a large breakfast

God, free us from the original sin

It hasn't been all smooth sailing for him while looking for a new job. After all the changes, it is going to be plain sailing now.

I definitely have itchy feet. I can't imagine my life without traveling.

After three years of drought, the water in the lake had reached an all-time low.

a charming, lopsided grin

the ebb and flow of fashion the ebb and flow of human history

When he asked me her name, my mind just went blank. In the TV interview, they blacked out the victim's face.

We're aggregating something people love that's never been put together in one place."

finally, feeling outright dejected, we were not able to follow his lecture because of the high-flown, cerebral manner of speaking.

that strand of hair may be named an untamed straggler. After three and a half hours the stragglers were still coming through.

Every night I grapple with regret regarding my actions. I want to grapple with the strongest man in this gym. Check if all the grapples are locked tight. He grappled the rope on the roof.

drawstring hood, bag

She looked certain to win as she entered the final stretch. He fell as he galloped down the home stretch (= towards the finish). The elderly generally need far less rest than the young, and tend to sleep in several short stretches.

Going off the grid did not make economic sense either. What made you finally want to get off the grid? The university is getting off the grid - for good.

tense your muscles. The role will allow her to flex her acting muscles.

The suspect is now in custody. You will be remanded in custody until your trial. The court awarded/granted/gave custody of the child to the father.

I hadn't had enough sleep and was feeling kind of grumpy. a grumpy old man. Dad is always grumpy on Monday mornings.

a cranky baby He's been cranky all day.

She stutters a little, so be patient and let her finish what she's saying.

they are standing back-to-back. The office was full of computers, and we had to sit back to back in long rows

The idea that science is antithetical to the arts is wrong. Birth and death are antithetical

The band was belting out all the old favourites.

The roads are clogged with holiday traffic. Eating too much fat causes your arteries to clog (up). Leaves are clogging (up) the drain.

In the world of ballet, she was one of a kind.

Eight patients did not receive antimicrobial treatment in any of the study periods. It may prove to be a good source of antimicrobial chemicals.

The plaster on the walls was cracked and flaking. The torrential rain had plastered her hair to her head. She had plastered her bedroom walls with photos of pop stars. The car was plastered with mud.

Your muscles look so puny. When have you trained them the last time? You're puny, pathetic little man. My car only has a puny little engine. The party's share of the vote rose from a puny 13 percent in the last election to 21 percent this time.

Don't sit there gawking like that - give me a hand! They just stood there gawking at me.

The central bank has pulled off one of the biggest financial rescues of recent years. I can't believe you pulled that off.

The complaint against the bar could lead to revocation of its licence. They were working to reduce probation and parole revocations for offenders. The authorities have revoked their original decision to allow development of this rural area.

We seemed to spend the last mile of the walk knee-deep in sludge. The dirty water left a layer of sludge in the bottom of the pail.

Tag is my son's favourite play.

The girl shrugs and swipes the card a second time. I once pinched some strawberries when I was 4 or 5 years old

Don't you get fresh with me, son! • He started getting fresh with me.

She picked up a baseball bat and knocked him out with one slug. You're such a slug! He got slugged in the face and fell to the ground.

Some of his colleagues say that he's loud and obnoxious. When she's in a bad mood she's obnoxious to everyone.

I'll just fluff up your pillows for you.

Deep V-neck dresses and jumpsuits came in a satin-fluid material or scrunchy plastic sandwich wrap.

Diamonds are still valuable, even when they are flawed. His argument is deeply flawed. flawed beauty. flawed excavation finds.

You can't buy me into it, I won't change my mind. He bought me into trying this new product.

I think the quality of the food here has dropped a few notches recently.

Deciding where to put your washing machine and tumble dryer can often be a major headache.

burp a child

His behaviour amounted to serious professional misconduct. He gave what amounted to an apology on behalf of his company.

The cells are cultured in a laboratory and then analyzed. The scientists managed to culture a human's heart tissue.

I'm deputizing for (= doing the job of) the director during his absence.

The player tackled his opponent, taking control of the ball. I tackled the sail with a rope.