pages from new proficiency students book.pdf

8/18/2019 Pages from New Proficiency Students book.pdf

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/pages-from-new-proficiency-students-bookpdf 1/17

A p p en d ic es

Id io m s It ems included in this book ar e marked with an

ast erisk . *

A

above all most important of all; es pecially.

a bove and beyond greater than; mor e than.

the acid test a test that gives pr oof that cannot be

d oubted.

an acq uired taste something, es pecially f ood or

d rink , liked only after it has been tried sever al

times.

acr oss the boar d from or to ever yone or

ever ywhere eq ually.

actions s peak loud er than wor ds a per son is

jud ged mor e by what he d oes than by what he

says he will d o.

add insult to injur y to cause of fence to someoneafter one has alr ead y caused har m to him in some

other way.

after all when all things are consid er ed .

against (all) the od d s in s pite of the difficulties

which would usually mak e something im possible.

airs and graces proud behaviour , es pecially in

or d er to impr ess other people.

alive and kick ing still living and active.

all along fr om the beginning; all the time.

all and sund r y ever y per son without exception.

all ears k een to listen to what is a bout to be said .

'"all fingers and thum bs to lack the a bility,

es pecially for a shor t time, to use your f inger s tod o something practical.

'"all in tired af ter wor k , exercise, etc.

all in all when ever ything is consid er ed.

all of a piece of the same kind or q uality (as

something).

"'all the mor e even mor e.

"all the same but in s pite of that; nevertheless.

all told including everything or ever y bod y.

"all too often more of ten than you would lik e.

all well and good fine; q uite acce pta ble.

all's well that end s well when something dif f icult

end s ha ppily, ther e is no need to complain or be

disa ppointed about any tr ouble it may have

caused .

ar gue the toss to o p pose or ar gue with a decisionthat has alr ead y been taken and that cannot bechanged.

"at any rate at least; whatever else is true.

at arm's length far away, so that you d o not have

to touch something or become f r iend ly with

someone.

at the dou ble as q uick ly as possible; immed iately.

avoid something like the plague to d o ever ything possi ble to k ee p away from someone or not be

concer ned with something.

" back and f or th r e peatedly in one and then in

another direction.the back of beyond a place f ar away f rom a centr e

wher e many peo ple live.

back to the gr ind stone back to wor k .

bag and baggage with ever ything a per son owns

(used es pecially when a person is leaving a place.

the ball is in someone's court it is someone's turnto tak e action.

bang your head against a brick wall it is

someone's turn to take action.

bark u p the wr ong tree to direct your ef f or ts,

com plaints etc. in the wr ong d ir ection; to have thewr ong id ea a bout something.

(not) bat an eyelid not to show any signs of

emotion, e.g. of f ear , sur pr ise, etc. in your face.

be anybod y's guess (of an event, r esult etc.) to beuncertain.

be at someone's beck and call r ead y or for ced too bey the or d er s, wishes, etc. of another per son.

" be in care (of a child ) to be look ed after by the state(in an orphanage, temporar y home, etc.).

"' be on cloud nine to be ver y hap py, ecstatic.

'" be snowed und er to have so much wor k to do that

you can't manage. beat around the bush to d elay talking a bout the

most important part of a discussion, sub ject, etc.

beat someone at their own game to d o better thana per son in his own wor k or activities.

a bee in your bonnet an id ea or sub ject that onecannot sto p thinking or talking a bout, especially

that is not shar ed by others.

behind someone's back without the k nowled ge of

the per son concerned .

behind bars in pr ison.

behind the times not fashiona ble, usual, etc. at the particular time.

bend over backwards make a gr eat effort.

(as) blind as a bat una ble to see at all. br eak the back of to com plete or d o the most

diff icult or lar gest part of a job, etc.

bring home the bacon to succeed in d oing

something, for example, ear ning enough money tosu p por t your f amily.

" br ing out the best in someone to cause the best

par t of someone's char acter to be d is played .

." bring someone down a peg or two to cause

someone to become mor e humble.

in broad d aylight in the daytime, when an act that is

unlawf ul, es pecially r o b ber y, is a ble to be seen or d iscovered .

" butter wouldn't melt in his mouth someone has

the look of a well- behaved , honest person (usually

used when the speak er thinks that the person isnot so harmless as he looks).

" by all means cer tainly; yes (used to give permissionor agr ee to a r equest).

" by any chance per ha ps.

C

call a spad e a s pad e to s peak plainly and directly.

call it a d ay to finish or sto p doing something,

es pecially to sto p wor king.

call someone's bluff to tell someone to d o what

they thr eaten because you believe they have nointention of d oing it and you want to prove it.

call the shots to be in a position of author ity so that

you can give or d er s and mak e d ecisions.

chance your arm to tak e a r isk , especially something

you have not ex perienced bef or e.



~cheek by jowl if peo ple live or work cheek by jowl

they live or work ver y close together .

come to a bad end to come to some misfor tune,

es pecially an un pleasant d eath.

cost an arm and a leg to cost a lar ge amount of

money.

curiosity kiIled the cat used to tell someone not to

ask questions a bout something that d oes not

concern them.

"cut and dried a d ecision or r esult that is cut and

dried cannot now be changed.

"cut someone dead to pr etend that you have not

seen someone you know, usually because you ar eangr y, u pset, etc. with them.

"cut someone of f without a penny to not leave anymoney, pro perty, etc. in your will to someone

(who was ex pecting to receive an inheritance).

D

(as) d aft as a brush (of a per son) ver y silly; not a t all

sensible.

dance attendance on someone to give muchattention to a per son, es pecially in an ef for t to

please.

a dark horse someone who d oes not tell people

much and who has sur prising qualities or

abilities.

day after day ever y day; f or many d ays, one after theother .

day in, day out (of re peated actions) for several d ays

together ; one d ay af ter another .

(as) d ead as a dodo completely d ead or out of d ate.

(as) dead as a doornail completely d ead ; not living

or o perating.

the d ead of night the quietest dark est par t of the

night when ever yone is aslee p.(as) d eaf as a post completely d eaf (una ble to hear ).

"'(as) different as chalk and cheese used to descr ibe

two peo ple or things which ar e completelydiff erent f r om each other.

do someone a good / bad turn to do somethingthat is helpf ul, unhelpf ul, etc. (to someone).

donkey's years a very long time.

a dose of your own medicine the same tr eatment

as one gives to other peo ple, es pecially when it is

unfair or unpleasant.

down and out without a jo b or other means of su ppor t; homeless and living on the streets.

down-at-heel (of a per son's appearance) untid y,

uncar ed for , es pecially because of a lack of money.

drag your feet to d eli berately go slowly or d elay

something.

draw a blank to fail to d iscover something after sear ching har d and asking many q uestions.

draw the line to set limits, especially when you

refuse to go beyond these limits.

"drink like a fish to be accustomed to dr inking agreat d eal of alcohol.

drive a hard bargain to tr y to get r esults ver y

f avourable to your self, es pecially in a businessagr eement.

"(as) dull as ditchwater ver y bor ing.

E

eagle-eyed ver y attentive; watchf ul.

the early hours very early in the mor ning, usually

before the dawn.

easier said than done it is easier to tell someone

how to d o something than to do it.

(as) easy as pie ver y easy; r eq uir ing no effort at all.

eat lik e a hor se to eat a gr eat d eal.

eat your words to admit that something you havesaid was wrong.

the eleventh hour at the last possi ble moment.the end justifies the means if a r esult is good , it

does not matter if the method s used to get thisresult are unfair , unjust, violent, etc.

the end of your tether to be so worried , tired etc.,

that you f eel you can no longer deal with a

difficult or u psetting situation.

"every bit as used when saying str ongly that

someone is just as good , im portant as someone

else.

'''ever y once in a while occasionally.

F

"a face like thunder looking very angry.

"f ace the music to acce pt cr iticism or punishment for something you have done.

face to f ace in the actual pr esence (of another

per son).

"'f air and squar e honest, cor r ect or pr oper .

fall between two stools to be concerned with two

aims and to fail with regar d to both of them.

fall foul of to do something that annoys or off end s

(another person).

fall on d eaf ears (of r eq uest for hel p, etc.) to be or

r emain unnoticed or disr egard ed .

far and away by far ; a bsolutely.

far and wide over a large ar ea.

"'f ast and furious sud d enly and quickly in gr eat

q uantity or number s."fir st and for emost befor e ever ything else.

fir st things fir st used when th speaker think s that a

mor e important sub ject must be discussed or agreed fir st.

fit like a glove to fit (a per son) per fectly.

fly in the face of to show opposition to (a per son,

idea, etc.), es pecially in a violent way.

(a) fly in the ointment someone or something that

s poils, causes trouble, or lower s the value of

something.

a flying start an excellent star t.

"foot the biIl to pay the bill, es pecially when the bill

is ver y lar ge.

"'from ear to ear (of someone's smile) br oadly or wid ely.

"'from head to toe from the to p of your bod y to the

bottom.

"full of beans ver y lively; full of vigour , health, etc.

G

gain ground to get an ad vantage and become mor esuccessf ul.

get a word in ed geways to get a chance to s peak.

get away from it all to esca pe f rom the difficultiesand wor ries of d aily lif e, wor k, etc.

get even with to harm someone just as much as they

have harmed you.

get in on the act to take par t in something star ted byothers, in order to get the same success.



get off someone's back to leave a person alone; stop

annoying, arguing with, etc.

get of f the gr ound (of a business, plan, etc.) to become successful.

'"get on someone's nerves to cause someone to f eel

ir ritated .

"get on lik e a house on fir e to have an excellentr elationship or f r icndship with someone.

"get wind of something to hear or f ind out a bout

something secret or private, es pecially if you learnit accidentally or unoff icially.

"get your .own back on someone to d o something

that wIll harm or offend a per son who has caused you some harm or offence.

the ghost of a chance the smallest possi ble chance.

the gift of the gab an a bility t o s peak confid entlyand to per suade peo ple to d o what you want.

give your self air s to behave as if your ar e mor eim por tant, gr and er , etc. than your ar e, es peciallyto impr ess other s. .

give something up as a bad jo b to sto p tr ying to

d o something because the situation is not pr oductivc.

go begging to be unclaimed .

go from bad to wor se to become wor se.

great minds think alike all peo ple who ar e ver y

clever think in the same way (often us cd

humorously).

grin and bear it to acce pt and bear an un pleasant or

diff icult situation without com plaining, usually

because you realise therc is nothing you can do tomak e it better .

a hair 's breadth a ver y shor t distance or small

amount (used to indicate how close something isto something else).

"hale and hearty in good health; f it and well.

hand in glove in close association or partner shi p.

hand over fist (earning money) in lar ge amounts.

"'hand in hand holding each other 's hand , especially

to show lovc.

handle with kid gloves to tr eat someone ver y

caref ully bccause they easily becomc u pset.

"hard and fast f irmly; without moving or being

changcd .

"(as) har d as nails ver y har d ; not f eeling any

emotions, es pecially fear or sympathy.

hard up having little or no money.

hate lik e poison to hate (someone) ver y much.

"'have a good eye for colour to have a talent for

combining, choosing, etc. colour s.

"have a head f or heights to not be afr aid of heights.

have a nodding acquaintance with to have only aslight knowledge of (a su bject or per son).

':'have a nose for trouble to be inter ested in and good at discovering pro blems, tr ouble, etc.

"have a(n) (good ) ear f or to have a (good )

und erstanding of music, languages, etc.

have got something d own to a fine art to have

learned to d o something perf ectly.

"have the courage of your own convictions

to be brave enough to sayar do what you think is

r ight even though other peo ple may not agr ee or appr ove.

have your cak e and eat it to tr y to enjoy or get

ad vantage f r om two things when using or d oingone of them makes the other impossible.

"have your head in the cloud s to s pend too much

time thinking about things that you would like tod o.

"high and mighty talking or behaving as if you think

you ar e mor e im portant than other peo ple.

(a) home truth a fact or true statement a bout

someone that is unpleasant when he is told aboutit.

hustle and bustle conf used and busy activity.

the icing on the cake a d esir able ad d ition, of ten

unneccssar y and used simply as an attraction.

':'in any case vvhatever the situation; whatever mayha p pen or has ha ppened.

'"in good shape tit; in good health.

"in perf ect health with no health pro blems at all.

in someone's bad books to not be in f avour withsomeone.

in the bag cer tain; sur e.

in the balance in an und ecided or uncertain state,es pecially one between two opposite possi bilities.

"'in the pink f eeling ver y well, in good health.

"in tip-top condition in perfect cond ition.

the ins and outs the small d etails, of ten dif ficult to

ex plain or under stand , of a system, oper ation, etc.

to all intents and purposes in all important ways or as f ar as you can see, jud ge, etc.

J

a Jack of all trad es a per son who has the a bility to

do many d iff er ent k ind s of work , although notnecessar ily ver y well.

jock ey for position to tr y to get into the best

position or situation.

jump in at the d ee p end to choose to d o or be

mad e to d o a.ver y d if f icult jo b without having pr e pared f or It.

jump to conclusions to decid e that something is

true too quick ly, without k nowing all the f acts.

jump to it to show immediate and ra pid willingness,e.g. to o bey an or d er .

just my luck ty pical of someone's usual fortune,

usually used af ter an unfor tunate event has tak en place.

k ee p a low profile to behave q uietly and avoid

d oing things that will make peo ple notice you.

k ee p an eye on to watch car efully in ord er to look after .

k ee p an ace / card up your sleeve to have an id ea,

plan etc. that you kee p secr et in or d er that it may be used at the bcst possible moment.

k ee p up a p pear ances to continue to d o what isex pected in pu blic, es pecially in ord er to hid e

something that you do not want other s to k nowa bout or that may not be ap pr oved of .

(a fine/ pr etty/etc.) kettle of fish a state of affair sthat is confused , d ifficult, dif f er ent fr om ex pected ,

etc.



(not) know someone from Adam (not) to k nowsomeonc at all.

kick your heels to waste time waiting f or something.

k now lik e the back of your hand to k now

something ver y well ind eed.

know no bound s something has no limits.

(in the) la p of luxur y having an easy, comfor table

lif e with plenty of money, possessions etc.

leading light a per son who is ver y impor tant and

famous, es pecially an im por tant mem ber of a

gr oup.

let the cat out of the bag to accid entally reveal asecr et.

lie through your teeth to tell lies in an open and unashamed manner .

like a bear with a sor e head bad -temper ed ,

im patient or d iscontented.

"Iik e a bull in a china shop to k ee p knocking things

over , d r o pping things, break ing things etc."lik e a r ed rag to a bull ver y likely to make

someone angr y or upset.

like water off a duck 's back if ad vice, warnings, or r ud e r emark s are like water of f a duck's back to

someone, they have no eff ect on them.

look a gif t hor se in the mouth to look for faults or

other things to com plain about in something that

is fr eely off er ed.

look daggers at someone to give f ierce or angr y

looks to a per son.

'>Iook like mutton dr essed as lamb an of f ensivee:-..- pr essionmeaning a woman who is tr ying to

look vounger than she r eally is.

look on the bright side to see the good points in

omething that is bad in other ways.

lose your bearings to become sudd enly confused

and not k now where you are or what you should

be doing.

10 1 0 ' your grip to become less confid ent and less a ble

a deal \\'ith a situation.

10 1 0 ' your temper to become angr y.

10 1 0 ' your touch to lose your a bility to d o something.

loud and clear ver y clear ly; with strong emphasis.

"10\10' at f irst sight when two people fall in love withach other the fir st time they meet.

"linJe IO\-e lost between two people there is grcat

·"lik e.

mad a a hatter ver y mad or silly.

and mild extr emely q uiet and gentle.

a k illing 10 mak e a lot of money in a shor t-e.

a mountain out of a mole hill to treat a

if it \\'as ver v serious when in f act it is

owances f or 10 tak e into consid eration

. • ct5 or cond itions).

a:rJJ.elr r d siO pur something r ight, f or example- .- ~ _ au ar e any or bv being k ind to

ha\e off end ed.

meet 10 ha\·e just enough money to

aeed .a do omething easilv and

make or break to cause either the complete success

or ruin (of a person or thing).

meet your match to find your self o pposed by

someone that is likely to beat you in an argument,

at some activity, etc.

"a mixed bag a thoroughly var ied mixtur e (of peo ple

or things).

be music to someone's ears (of a piece of news, an

event, etc.) to givc someone pleasur e.

the more the merrier a gathering of peo ple becomes

more lively as mor e peo ple join it (usually said to

invite other s).

move heaven and earth to tr y ver y har d to achieve

something.

mudd y the water s to mak e things mor e complicated

or confusing in a sihwtion that was sim ple before.

the nak ed eye without the hel p of any instrument.

the name of the game the main id ea; exactly the

right id ea.

a narrow shave a situation in which you only just

avoid an accid ent or something.

a nasty piece of work sam cone who is d ishonest,

violent, or likcly to cause tr ou ble.

a near miss a narr ow esca pe, es pecially when two

moving objects nearly hit each other .

near est and dear est your f amily or closest r elatives.

"'neck and neck level or cven in a race.

(as) neat as a new pin ver y neat, tid y and clean.

a new broom a per son who has just bcen put inchar ge of an or ganisation and mak es manychanges.

a night owl a per son who stays up late at night.

nip something in the bud to pr event somethingf rom becoming a problem by stopping it as soonas it star ts.

nuts and bolts the basic pr actical d etails.

an object lesson a ver y clear example, e.g. of how to

d o something which other s should learn f r om.

odds and ends ar ticles of diff er ing types, espccially

ones that have been for gotten a bout.

"off and on with interruptions; irregular ly.

"off colour not f eeling ver y well.

off limits beyond the ar ea where someone is allowed

to go.

off the hook to no longer be in a diff icult situation."off your own bat without asking f or the hel p,

ad vice, permission, etc. of any other per son.

"'(as) old as the hills ver y old .

an old hand to have a lot of ex periencc of something.

an old wives' tale a f oolish, old -fashioned belief or

stor y.

"'on balance consid ering ever ything.

"on no account in no case; not for any rcason.

"on the ball ver y lively and attentive.

"on the card s possi ble; lik cly to hap pen.

·'on the whole generally.

·'once and for all now and for the last time.

once in a blue moon extr emely rarely.



one and all ever y bod y (used when talking to a cr owd

or a group of people).

"'out of action not able to work for a certain time

because of damage or illness.

out of harm's way not in a position to cause or suffer any danger.

"out of thin air from nothing; fr om nowhere."'over and above in addition to.

overstep the mark to do or say more than you

should , and off end people or mak e them angr y.

"pack your bags to leave, especially because of a

disagr eement, etc.

paddle your own canoe to d e pend on your self and

no one else.

paint something in glowing colours to describesomething using a lot of praise.

par for the course not dif ferent from what youwould usually ex pect; ty pical.

parrot fashion r e peating certain word s or id easwithout really under standing their meaning.

"a piece of cake something that can be done or o btained ver y easily.

"'play something by ear to deal with matter s asthey arise, without making plans in ad vance.

"'play your cards right to act in a correct or clever

way in ord er to gain an ad vantage in a par ticular

situation.

pop the question ask someone to mar r y you.

practise what you pr each to do yourself what you

have ad vised others to d o.

"'(as) pretty as a picture very beautiful.

pride of place a high or leading position.

pull a fast one to deceive or cheat.

pull someone's leg to makc a jok e by tellingsomeone something that is not actually true.

"'put all your eggs in one basket to depend

completely on one thing or one course of action

in ord er t o get success.

"'put someone's back up to annoy a person by

saying or doing something bad or off ensive.

"'put in an appearance to go somewher e or attend a

par ty etc., es pecially because you f eel it is your

duty to attend.

"'put your back into to mak e the gr eatest possible

effort to do something.

pure and simple and nothing else (used to give

emphasis to an answer which the s peak er believesto be the cor rect and only one.

(as) quick as lightning / a flash ver y quickly.

quick off the mark to be quick to under stand things

or react to situations.

quick on the uptake to be fast at lear ning or

und er standing things.

(as) quiet as a mouse very quiet.

the rat race the struggle f or success in your job,

business, etc., es pecially in a large town or city.raise the roof to mak e a ver y loud noise when

singing, cele brating etc.

read between the lines to guess someone's r ealfeelings fr om something they say or write.

(as) red as a beetroot red in the face from feeling

awk ward or ashamed .

red-handed when someone is caught doingsomething unlawf ul.

rhyme or reason meaning, under stand a ble cause,ex planation.

(as) right as rain quite alright, es pecially whencompared to what might be ex pected.

rise to the bait to act in exactly the manner that

someone else ho ped you would.

rise through the ranks to o btain a high position inan organisation after long ex per ience in lower

positions.

round the clock all day and all night withoutstopping.

"run down tir ed, lacking in ener gy.

run the gauntlet to be criticised or attacked by a lot

of people.

run to ground to manage to find someone or something after sear ching hard.

a running battle an ar gument that continues or isr e peated over a long per iod of time.

"safe and sound safe and unharmed.

(as) safe as houses ver y saf e.

'''save the day to br ing success when failure seems

certain.

scare you out of your wits make you extremely

frightened.

scrimp and save to be ver y car eful a bout how youspend your money, es pecially in order to save

money."'second to none better than all other s.

"'(not) see eye to eye to always disagr ee with

someone.

"'see the back of to get rid of or be finished withsomeone or something.

"set the ball roIling to star t an activity, conver sation,discussion, etc. going.

set your sights on to decide that you want

something and will mak e a determined effor t to

achieve it.

settle a scor e to get r evenge for a wrong or in jur y

that one has suffered.

shake in your shoes to tremble with f ear.

a shot in the dark a guess that is mad e with littledirect knowled ge and is therefore not lik ely to be

r ight.

shrug your shoulders to lift u p your should ers in a

gestur e of refusal, disappointment, disinter est, etc.

"(as) similar as two peas in a pod very similar to(something); almost exactly the same.

"'sing like a lark to sing beautif ully.

at sixes and sevens confused , in a mess.

smart aleck a per son who has a ver y high opinion of

himself and think s that he knows everything.

snap someone's head off say something to someone

in a ver y angry way.

spill the beans to r eveal or make known (a secret,

piece of information, etc.)steal someone's thunder to get the success and

pr aise someone else should have got, by doing

what they had intended to do.



ste p by ste p gr adually, one bit at a time.

(a) storm in a teacup an unnecessar y ex pr ession of

str ong f eelings about something that is ver yunimportant.

tak e advantage of to mak e use of (a person) for your own good or pr of it.

take something amiss to be of fend ed by something,often because you have misund erstood .

tak e something in your strid e to not allow

something to annoy, embar r ass, or upset you in

any way.

tak e into account to think about or consid er

something or someone when mak ing a jud gement

or decision.

'''tak e the wind out of someone's sails to make

someone lose their confidence, es pecially bysaying or d oing something unex pected .

'''take to something like a duck to water to lear n

how to do something ver y easily.

teething troubles pr o blems which occur at the

beginning of a pr o ject, o pening of a business, etc.

think twice to reconsid er a d ecision you have alread y

taken or think car ef ully befor e d oing something.

throw good money af ter bad to s pend mor e money

while attem pting to r egain what has alr ead y beenlost.

throw someone off their balance to cause a per sonto become confused or annoyed .

throw your weight about / around to give or d er s,

es pecially to impr ess other people.

tip the balance to inf luence the r esult of an event in

one par ticular way when several r esults ar e

possible.

';'to and fr o f ir st in one d irection and then another .to no avail without success.

';'toe the line to do what other people in a job or

organisation say you should d o, whether youagr ee with them or not.

'''tongue in cheek if you say something with your

tongue in your cheek , you say it as a jok e.

'''(as) tough as old boots ver y str ong and a ble to

bear pain, har d ship, etc.

tr ead on someone's toes to of f end someone,

es pecially by becoming involved in something that

they ar e r esponsi ble f or .

'''tr ied and tested used f or something which has beenchecked and a bout which ther e is no d oubt.

rurn a blind eye to pr etend not to see something,es pecially something immor al, unlawf ul etc.

rur n the tables to change a situation so that one

gains a position of ad vantage, after being at a

d isad vantage.

"tur n your hand to something to begin or tr y to d oa jo b, task , etc.

in the twink ling of an eye within a ver y shor t time;\'er y quick ly.

twist someone's arm to force or per suad e someone

to do something, f or example, by thr eats.

an ugly duck ling a dull, ordinar y child , plan, etc.that develops into a ver y inter esting and successf ul

one.

"'und er the weather not f eeling ver y well.

und er someone's thumb under the contr ol or

inf luence of someone.

und er your breath (to say something) q uietly so that

other people can't hear you.

und er way in pr ogr ess.

an unknown quantity a person whose intentions,a bilities, etc. are unknown.

up against in o pposition to or in com petition with.

up and about a ble to walk and f unction normally

after an illness, accid ent, etc.

up and down varia ble, e.g. in health.

an uphill battle a ver y d if f icult stmggle.

the upper hand the position of power or contr ol; the

advantage over someone.

vanish into thin air disappear completely, as if by

magic.

a vicious cir cle a situation in which a cause

pr od uces a r esult that itself pr oduces the or iginal

cause.

in view of after tak ing something into consid eration.

walk of lif e ty pe of wor k , tr ad e, pr of ession or social

position.

walls have ear s even the most secr et and pr ivate

conversation may become known to other peo ple.

(as) warm as toast very war m, es pecially as

com par ed to the cold outside.

"washed out tir ed and lack ing ener gy.

waste your br eath to s peak without effect, es pecially

when you ar e tr ying to per suad e someone of something.

watch someone like a hawk to watch someone very

closely, es pecially to catch him d oing something

wr ong.

wear and tear d amage or loss of quality or valued

suf f ered dur ing usual or d aily use.

'''weather the stor m to manage to get through a

dif ficult per iod.

'''well and truly completely.

a whale of a time a ver y good or en joyable time.

whet someone's a ppetite to mak e someone eager to

o btain, learn, see, etc. more.

win hands down to win without d if f iculty, ver y

easily.

by wor d of mouth s pok en and not wr itten.

the wor se for wear ver y tir ed ; lack ing ener gy,

es pecially after work ing har d.

would give your right ar m to be willing to give up

something of great value.

year in, year out (always the same) one year after another.

the year dot the beginning of time; a long time ago.



P b r as a l v er b s

LONGMAN~

f'hY~v~

~

The d efinitions in

this list ar e based

on the LongmanPhmsal Vm' bs

Dictionary. We

r ecommend that you

use this dictionar y

for f urther r efer ence

and stud y.

A

act out to per f orm the events in a stor y, play, or asituation.

act up to behave bad ly, used es pecially a boutchild ren.

angle for to tr y to get something, by ask ing or talk ingabout it in an indir ect way.

answer back to answer someone rud ely or say thatyou disagr ee with them, when you should o beythem and be polite to them.

answer f or if you have to answer f or something bad that you have done you ar e r es ponsi ble f or it.

ask af ter to ask a bout someone, es pecially abouttheir health or what they have been doing.

B

back down to acce pt that you cannot win anar gument and stop tr ying to win, or acce pt thatyou ar e wr ong and change your d ecision.

back of f to stop tr ying to influence or f orce someoneto do or think something.

" back someone up to suppor t someone by saying

that they are telling the tr uth.

bail someone out to hel p someonc to get out of tr ou ble, especially by giving them money whcnthey have financial pro blems.

bang on to talk continuously a bout something in a boring way.

bear out to su pport what someonc has said or wr itten and so help to prove that it is tr ue.

bear up to r emain cheer f ul and not be badly aff ected by a bad situation, illness etc.

beef up to impr ove something by mak ing it stronger ,mor e power ful mor e ef f ective, etc.

black out to sudd enly become unconscious.

blow over if an argument or unpleasant situation blows over , it is f or gotten or no longer seems

important."blow up to d estr oy something using a bomb.

"' boil away if liq uid boils away, it disappear s and changes into steam because it has been boiled f or a long time.

boil down to if a situation, pr o blem, d iscussion, etc. boils down to something, that is the main par t or cause of it.

" bottle something up to k eep a str ong feeling suchas anger or unhap piness hidd en and not tall,about it or show it.

bow out to give u p an im por tant position or jo b, sothat someone can tak e your place.

bowl over if you are bowled over by something, youar e ver y impr essed by it because it is so beautiful,exciting, etc.

"' break down 1) if a substance break s d own, itchanges as a r esult of a chemical pr ocess; 2) if amachine br eak s d own, it stops work ing becausether e is something wr ong with it.

"break even if a business br eak s even it mak es thesame amount of money as it s pend s and so mak esneither a pr ofit nor a loss.

" br eak in 1) to get into a building by using f or ce,usually t o steal something; 2) to sudd enly saysomething when someone else is s peak ing, so thatthey have to stop talking.

"'br eak of f if you br eak of f something that you ar edoing, you sto p doing it.

"br eak out to escape f r om pr ison.

" break up 1) to br eak into smaller pieces or par ts; if a marr iage br eaks up, it end s; 2) if a school br eak s u p, classes end and the holid ays begin.

"'bring about to mak e something ha ppen, es pecially achange or better situation.

" bring in 1) to includ e or mention something,es pecially f or a par ticular pur pose; 2) to ear n a

par ticular amount of money.

bring off to succeed in d oing something that is ver y

difficult.

"' bring on to mak e a pr oblem, illness or pain star t toha p pen.

" bring out to make a par ticular q uality or taste morenoticeable.

" br ing up to mention a su b ject or star t to talk aboutit dur ing a conver sation or discussion.

"bring someone up to char ge someone with a crimeand mak e them a p pear bef or e a cour t of law.

"' build up to grad ually increase in size, amount or strength.

" burn up to use ener gy or get rid of unwanted f atf rom your bod y by d oing physical exer cise.

burst out to sudd enly star t to laugh or cr y.

butt in to interrupt a conver sation in a rud e way, by

saying something when it is not your turn tos peak

C

call by to sto p and visit someone for a short time,es pecially when you are on your way tosomewher e else.

call in to make a short visit to a per son or place,es pecially when you ar e going somewher e else.

call off 1) to stop an event that has been ar ranged fr om taking place, es pecially because of a

problem; 2) to order an animal or per son to sto pattack ing someone.

call on 1) to visit someone for a short time; 2) tof ormally and pu blicly ask someone to d osomething.

call round to go to someone's house for a short timeto visit them.

"calm down to stop feeling angr y or upset.

carr y off to succeed in d oing something d iffer ent,es pecially when ther e is a good chance that youwill f ail.

"carry out to do something that you have organised or planned.

cash in on to mak e a profit f rom a situation or ~et anad vantage f r om it, es pecially in a way that other

peo ple think is unfair or dishonest.

"'catch up 1) to gr ad ually get closer to a moving person or vehicle, by moving f aster than theymove; 2) to improve so much that you r eachthe same stand ar d as someone else who was

better than you.

"change into to become something com pletelydiffer ent.



~change over to to stop doing or using one systemor thing. and to start d oing or using a diff er entone instead .

~clear up 1) if an illness or inf ection clear s up, or if medicine clear s it up, it gets better and d isap pear s; 2) to put things back wher e theyar e usually k e pt and mak e a place clean and tid y;

3) to solve a pr oblem or d eal with a disagr eement;-± ) (intr ansitive) if the weather clear s u p, it stopsr aining and becomes more pleasant.

"come across to find something or meet someone bychance, when you ar e not ex pecting it.

"come across as to seem to be a particular ty pe of person or thing.

"come bef or e to be br ought to a per son or gr oup inauthor ity in ord er to be jud ged.

"eome between to spoil the r elationship betweentwo or mor e peo ple, by causing problems or ar guments.

"come out if the true inf ormation a bout somethingcomes out, it becomes known, es pecially af ter

being ke pt secr et.

~eome round to become conscious again, f or

exam ple, af ter an accid ent or an o per ation."come to to become conscious again, f or exam ple,

af ter an accident or an o per ation.

"come u p if a subject, name, etc. comes u p in aconver sation or meeting, it is mentioned or d iscussed .

"eome up with to think of an id ea, plan or answer .

"eome upon to meet someone or f ind something bychance or when you do not ex pect it.

"eut across to inter ru pt someone by sayingsomething.

"cut someone off to tak e away someone's right tor eceive your money or pr o perty when you d ie.

o"d elve into to tr y to find mor e d etailed inf or mation

[hat is not well know.

d ie away if something such as sound , light, or the\\'ind dies away, it gr adually becomes weaker and [hen stops.

"d ig up 1) to discover hidd en or for gotteninfor mation by careful sear ching; 2) to dig and remove something f r om the ground that is

bur ied there.

d i p into 1) to use part of an amount of money thatYOU had intend ed to k ee p; 2) to read shor t par tsof a book , magazine etc., without read ing the\\'hole thing.

"do someone out of to cheat someone by not givinghem money that they are owed , or somethinghat should belong to them.

d o up to re pair or d ecor ate a build ing, so that itlooks much better .

d rag on if an event d r ags on, it continues f or toolong.

d r ag u p to mention an unpleasant event or stor yabout something that happened in the past, eventhough i[ is em bar r assing or u psetting.

d r an- on to use k nowled ge, inf ormation or your per sonal ex periences to help you d o something.

d ran- something out to mak e something continue'or longer than is usual.

d r aw up to pre par e a contr act, or a list or plan.

eQ:0 on to encourage someone to do something,

5 peciall\' omething that is not sensi ble or saf e.

ek e out to mak e money, f ood or su pplies etc. last aslong as possible by using them car ef ully becausevou only have a small amount availa ble.

end up to be in a situation that you d id not intend or want to be in, because of something that hasha ppened to you or something you have d one.

even out to mak e something become mor e eq ual, by

shar ing or s pread ing something mor e equally.

F

fall a part if an or ganisation, r elationshi p etc. f allsa part, it is not wor k ing successf ully any mor e and may fail com pletely.

fall away if land , a road etc. f alls away, it slo pesd own, es pecially sud d enly.

fall back on to use something because other thingshave failed or because there is no other choicelef t.

"'fall for 1) to suddenly f eel ver y attr acted to someoneand feel that you love them; 2) to be trick ed into

believing something that is not hue.

fall in with to acce pt someone else's plan, suggestion,

etc. and not tr y to change it or d isagree.fall off if the amount, r ate, etc. of something falls off ,

it d ecreases or becomes lower .

"fall out to have an ar gument with someone and stop being friend ly with them.

fall through if a plan f alls through, something pr events it f r om hap pening or being com pleted su ccessfully.

fan out if a grou p of peo ple fans out, they movef or ward s and away from each other and s pr ead over a wid e area.

f ill someone in to tell someone a bout things thathave hap pened recently.

fit up pr ovid e someone or something with theeq ui pment, f urnitur e, etc. they need.

fizzle out to gr adually become less str ong, successf ul,

etc. and then end or disa ppear .flag down to mak e a vehicle sto p by waving at its

d r iver .

flak e out to suddenly f all aslee p because you ar e ver ytir ed .

flar e up if something such as violence, or anger f lar esup, it sudd enly starts or gets much wor se.

fob off to stop someone asking questions by givingthem ex planations, excuses etc. that ar e not tr ue.

G

"gabble away to talk quick ly for a long time in a waywhich is bor ing or d iff icult to und er stand.

gang up to join together in a grou p to attack or o ppose someone.

gear up to pr e par e for something that is going toha ppen soon.

get about to be a ble to move ar ound a place.

"'get something across (to) to succeed in mak ingsomeone und er stand an idea or message.

~get ahead to be successful in your job so that youcan pr ogr ess to a mor e im portant jo b.

':'get along (with) if two or more peo ple get along,they have a fr iendly r elationshi p.

get at to criticise someone in an unf air and annoyingway.

':'get away with to not be noticed or punished whenyou have d one something wrong.

get back at someone to do something to hurt or har m someone, in ord er to punish them for

hurting or har ming you.



·"get (your own) back on someone to d o somethingto hurt or har m someone, in or d er to punish themf or hurting or har ming you.

get by to have enough money to buy the things youneed to live, but no mor e.

"get someone down if a situation gets you d own, itmak es you feel tir ed and unha ppy.

get down to to finally make a serious effort and startd oing something.

·"get in if a tr ain, ship or plane gets in at a par ticular time, it ar r ives at that time.

·"get of f 1) to leave the place where you are, or tostart a journey; 2) to not be punished for a crimeor something you have d one wr ong.

"get on 1) to be successful in your jo b so that youcan pr ogr ess to a more important job; 2) tocontinue d oing something that you were d oing

bef or e; 3) if two or more peo ple get on, they havea f r iendly r elationship.

get out of to avoid d oing something you have promised to do or ar e supposed to do.

"get over to begin to f eel better af ter a shock or anex per ience which u pset you.

get something over to succeed in communicatingid eas so that other peo ple under stand them.

get something over with to f inish somethingunpleasant of dif ficult that you have to d o.

·'get through to to succeed in mak ing someoneund erstand something, es pecially when this isdiff icult.

get u p to to d o something, especially something thatother peo ple d o not a pprove of .

"give away 1) if a company gives away a product,they give it to people f or f r ee in ord er to attr actmor e customer s; 2) to let someone know a boutsomething that should be a secret, es pecially bymistak e.

'·'give out 1) to pr od uce something such as heat, asmell, light, etc; 2) if a machine gives out, it sto pswork ing.

"give your self up to allow the police or enemysold iers to make you a pr isoner when they have

been tr ying to catch you.

go along with to acce pt a par ticular id ea or plan,especially because it might cause tr ouble if you d onot.

"go down if a computer goes down, or the tele phonelines go d own, they sto p wor k ing because of af ault.

'-'go in for to d o, use, have, etc. a par ticular ty pe of thing, because you lik e it.

go off 1) to stop liking someone or something youused to lik e; 2) if food goes of f , it is not good toeat, because it has been k e pt too long; 3) if a

bomb goes of f , it ex plodes.

go und er if a business goes und er, it has to close because it d oes not make enough money.

grind on to continue for a long time in a slow and boring way.

H

hammer away (at) to wor k hard at something for along time in a determined way.

hammer out to get an agreement with another per son, or ganisation, etc. af ter a lot of d iscussion.

·"hand down to givc or teach something to someone,especially a younger mem ber of your family, sothat they will have it or know a bout it af ter youhave d ied .

hand over to give something to someone, especially

af ter they have ask ed f or it.

hang back to not move forward , es pecially becauseyou ar e shy, ner vous, etc.

hang together if a book , film, etc. hangs together , itis good because it is well-or ganised.

hang up to end a tele phone conver sation by puttingthe r eceiver d own.

"ha ppen on to find something or meet someonewhen you do not expect it.

hid e out to stay somewher e secr et, es pecially in ord er to esca pe f r om your enemies.

·"hit upon to think of an id ea or a plan, especiallyone that is successf ul.

hold off 1) to d elay doing something; 2) to pr eventsomeone from being successful when they ar eattack ing you.

hold on to wait for a short time.

hold out f or to r ef use to acce pt anything less thanwhat you have asked f or .

hold something over someone to use infor mationa bout someone to make them do what you want,es pecially by threatening them.

"hold up 1) to stop a vehicle or go into a bank , sho p

etc. with a gun and d emand money f r om people;2) to d elay someone or something.

home in on to d ir ect your attention toward s a particular su bject.

·'hunt down to search f or a per son or an animal bychasing thcm until you catch them.

iron out if you ir on out small problems, you d ealwith them.

J

jabber away to talk q uick ly and f or a long time in away that is d if ficult to und er stand .

·' join in (with) to start doing or becoming involved in something with other people.

join up to become a member of the armed forces.

jot down to quick ly write something on a piece of pa per so that you d o not for get it.

jut out to come out beyond the edge of something.

K

k eel over to f all over sid eways, es pecially because youfeel weak or unstead y.

'·'l,ee p up with to wr ite to, tele phone, or meet af r iend r egular ly, so that you d o not f or get eachother .

knit together 1) if peo ple or things k nit together ,they work together well; 2) if broken bones k nittogether, they join and gr ow together again.

knock something down to r ed uce the pr ice of something.

knuckle down to start to wor k mor e seriously thanyou have been doing.

knuckle under to agree to d o what someone istr ying to for ce you to do.

L

'·'lash out (at) to sud d enly s peak angr ily to someoneor sudd enly tr y to hit or attack someone.

laugh something off to pr etend that you ar e notupset by criticism by laughing and mak ing jok esa bout it.

"layoff to sto p em ploying a wor k er because ther e isnot enough work for him or her to d o.

"lead to to cause something to ha p pen, es peciallysome time later .



"'let someone down to fail to d o something thatsomeone is relying on you to do, in a way that isdisa p pointing.

let someone in on something to tell someone a bouta secr et.

"'let off 1) to not punish someone when they haved one something wr ong; 2) to make something

such as a bomb ex plod e.

"let out to allow someone to leave somewher e.

let up if bad weather or an un pleasant situation letsu p, it stops or becomes less bad.

live up to to be as good as people ex pect or hope.

"'look ahead to think about what will hap pen in thefutur e, so that you can make plans f or it.

"'look down on to think that you ar e better thansomeone else, for exam ple because you ar e mor esuccessf ul, or of a higher social class than theyar e.

look in to visit someone for a short time.

look into to find out more a bout something bygetting all the necessar y inf ormation.

look on to watch something while it is ha ppening

and do nothing to sto p it."'look through to r ead something quickly and not

ver y car efully.

"look up to tr y to f ind inf ormation a bout somethingin a list, book ,etc.

"'look up to to ad mire and r es pect someone, for example because they ar e old er than you or havemor e ex perience.

"'loom ahead if an un pleasant or worrying situationlook s ahead, it is going to ha p pen soon and peo ple ar e wor ried or fr ightened .

M

"mak e away with to steal something and esca pewith it.

"'mak e for to move towar d s something."mak e off to leave q uick ly, es pecially in order to

escape.

"'mak e off with to steal something and esca pe withit.

mak e something out to manage to see or hear something, but with d ifficulty.

make something over to someone to off icially givemoney or proper ty to someone.

"mak e up 1) if two people who have had anar gument mak e up, they talk to each other and agr ee to become friend s again; 2) to think of something new using your imagination, for example a stor y or a song.

mak e up for to d o something good for someoneafter d oing something bad to them, so that they

forgive you.mess up to s poil something, make it d ir ty or untid y.

mount up to incr ease and become large, usuallyabout d e bts and costs.

move up to move a little, es pecially in a row of seats,etc. so that ther e is mor e s pace f or other s.

muddle through to succeed in doing something eventhough you ar e not or ganised or d o not knowwhat you are d oing.

N

nail someone / something down to makesomething f inal and d efinite, es pecially by makingsomeone agree a bout s pecific details.

narrow down to r ed uce the number of things or people you can choose f r om, by getting r id of those that are not suitable.

nod off to begin to slee p when you do not intend to.

oopt out to d ecid e not to join a gr oup or tak e part in

a system.

own up to admit you have d one something wr ong.

p

pan out if an id ea or plan pans out, it is successf ul.

"' pass away to die.

pass something off as to make peo ple believe thatsomething is better or mor e valueable than itr eally is.

"' pass on to d ie.

"' pass out to lose consciousness.

pass up to not take an opportunity when it becomesavaila ble.

patch something up if you patch u p a relationshipor f r iend shi p, you stop ar guing and agr ee to

be friend s.

"' pay off 1) to stop employing a worker af ter payingthem the wages you owe them; 2) to givesomeone money so that they will not tell other

people about something, es pecially somethingd ishonest or illegal; 3) to pay all the money youown someone; 4) if something that you do paysof f , it is successful or worth doing.

"' payout to pay money to someone because they ar eowed it.

" pe p someone up to give someone more energy and mak e them f eel less tir ed .

perk up to become mor e cheerf ul or have moreenergy.

peter out if something peter s out, it becomes less and less str ong and finally disappear s.

pick on someone to treat one per son badly in a waythat seems unfair .

pick someone out to choose one particular personor thing f r om a group.

pick over to examine a gr oup of things car efully inor d er to choose the ones you want.

pick up if a situation pick s up, it gets better .

pick something up to lear n how to do something bywatching other s r ather than being taught.

pick up on to notice something and r ealise it isim portant.

"' piece together to put together all the infor mationthat you have a bout a situation in order to tr y tound er stand the truth.

pile in to enter a place or vehicle together with a lotof other peo ple.

"' pipe down to talk more q uietly or to stopcom plaining.

pitch in to hel p other people to d o work , especiallyin a willing and cheerful way.

"' play along to pr etend to agree with someone or todo what they want you to do, in ord er to avoid annoying them.

"' play someone along to d eliberately encour agesomeone to believe something that is not tr ue,es pecially that you intend to mar r y them.

"' play down to tr y to mak e people believe thatsomething is less im por tant or serious than itreally is.

"' play on to d eli berately use an id ea or an emotion inor d er to do or get what you want.

"' play up (intr ansitive) if childr en play u p they behave badly and cause trouble for the adult they ar ewith, es pecially as a way of having f un.

"' play something up to emphasise a quality or a fact,in order to attr act people's attention to it or tomak e it seem mor e important than it really is.



"plough through to read, write or deal with all of something when there is a lot to do and it takes along time.

"point out to tell someone something that they need to realise, because it is important in a particular situation.

polish off to finish food and drink, or work , quicklyand easily.

"'pore over to read or study something very carefullyfor a long time.

press ahead (or press on) to continue doingsomething in a determined way, especially when itis difficult.

"pull in 1) if the police pull someone in, they takethcm to a police station in order to ask themquestions, because they think the person may havecommitted a crime; 2) if a train pulls in, itarrives; 3) to attract people in large numbers.

'''pull off 1) to succeed in doing or achievingsomething difficult; 2) if a vehicle pulls off theroad it leaves the road.

pull out 1) if a vehicle pulls out it moves forward onto a road; 2) if a train pulls out it starts to leavethe station; 3) to stop being involved insomething.

pull over if a vehicle pulls over , it slows and movesto the side of the road and stops.

"pull through to succeed in staying alive and gradually get better after you have been seriouslyill or injured.

pull up if a vehicle pulls up, it stops somewhere.

push ahead (or push on) to continue doingsomething even though it is difficult.

push someone around to tell someone what to doin a mde way.

"put something across to explain your ideas,opinions etc. clearly so that other people canunderstand them.

put back to arrange for something to happen at alater date than was planned.

put (an animal) down to kill an animal withoutcausing it pain because it is ill.

put someone down to criticise someone in anunkind way which makes them seem stupid or unimportant, especially when other people are present.

"'put in for something to make an official request to be allowed to do something or have something.

"put something off 1) to make a light stop working by pressing a switch; 2) to delay something untillater.

put someone off 1) to stop someone from likingsomething; 2) to distract someone.

"'put on (a play etc.) to arrange for a performance,competition, etc. to take place.

"'put on (weight) to become fatter and heavier.

"'put something out to make a fire, candle or cigarette stop burning.

put someone out to cause extra work or trouble for someone.

"'put up with to acce pt an unpleasant situation or someone's annoying behaviour withoutcomplaining.

R

rabbit on to talk for a long time in a boring or annoying way.

rake in to earn a large amount of money.

rake off to get part of the profits of a businessdishonestly.

rake up to talk about something unpleasant from the past that other people do not want to talk about.

rattle off to say something quickly without stopping,for example a list that you have learned.

rattle on to talk quickly and for a long time in a boring way.

"'reel off to say something quickly and easily,especially a list of names, numbers, etc.

"'result in if something results in a situation or event,it causes the situation or event to happen.

rip off to cheat someone by making them pay muchmore than the usual price for something.

rule out to decide that something is not possible; tomak e it impossible for something to happen.

run across to meet someone or find something bychance.

"run down if a batter y, watch etc. runs down, itgradually loses power until there is none left.

run someone down 1) to drive into and hurt or killsomeone; 2) to criticise someone or something,especially in a way that seems unfair.

"'run into to meet someone you know by chancewhen you did not expect to meet them.

'''run on 1) to use a particular kind of fuel of power supply; 2) to continue happening for longer thanwas expected .

"run out if you mn out of something you have nomore of it left because you have used all of it.

run through to quickly r ead or look at something,especially in order to check it.

run up against to have to deal with unexpected problems or difficulties.

S

"'sail through to pass an examination very easily and successfully, or to deal with a difficult experiencewithout having any problems.

"scrape through to only just succeed in passing anexamination, or in winning an election, race or competition.

"see someone off 1) to go to the airport, trainstation etc. to say goodbye to someone who isleaving; 2) to chase someone away.

see someone out to show a visitor the way to leave a building by walking there with them.

"'see something through to continue to dosomething until it finishes, even if it is difficult or you do not like doing it.

seize up if a machine seizes up, its moving parts stopworking and can no longer move.

sell out to do something that is against your beliefsor principles in order to get power , money, etc.

'''send down to put someone in prison."send out to broadcast a message or to produce

sound or light.

"'send someone up to make someone seem silly bycopying them in a funny way.

set about to start doing something, especiallysomething that needs a lot of time and effort.

"set someone down if the driver of a bus, taxi or train, sets you down somewhere, he or she stopsthere and lets you get out.

"'set off 1) to make something such as an alarmsystem start operating; 2) to start to gosomewhere.

set on (upon) someone to sudd enly attack someone.

"set out 1) to start a journey, especially a long journey; 2) to explain ideas, facts, etc. in a clearlyorganised way.

"set up to start a business or organisation.



enle do'>\-n to start living i n a place with thei tention of staying ther e, of ten with a hus band or \\ife.

en]e u p to pay what you owe on an account or bill.

ho" up to arr ive, es pecially at a place wher e peo pleare ex pecting you.

single out to choose someone or something f r omamong a group of similar peo ple or things.

"sink in (intr ansitive) if infor mation, id eas or factssink in, you gr adually und er stand them and r ealisctheir f ull meaning.

~sink (money) into if you sink money into a business or pr oduct you pr ovid e a lot of moneyfor it because you think you can mak e a profitlater .

""slave away to work ver y har d f or a long timewithout much time to r est.

sli p off to leave a place quick ly and quietly, so thatno-one notices you going.

sli p out if a r emark sli ps out, you say it withoutintend ing to.

slip up to mak e a car eless mistake, es pecially whenvou'r e doing your jo b.

sna p up if you sna p u p a chance to d o something,vou take it as soon as you can bef or e it is too late.

sold ier on to continue doing something, evcn thoughit is d iff icult or un pleasant and nced s a lot of eff ort.

"s par k f r om if an event or situation s park s f r omsomething, it is caused by it.

s pell something out to ex plain something clearlyand in d etail.

splash out to s pend a lot of money on something,es pecially something ex pensive which you do notneed .

s pr ing up to sud d enly a ppear or start to exist.

sq ueak through to only just succeed in doingsomething, for exam ple, passing a test.

sq uirr el something away to save something and putit in a saf e place.

stamp something out to completely get r id of something that is d anger ous or that youdisa p pr ove of .

stand down to agree to leave your job or off icial position so that someone else can d o it instead.

stand for to r e pr esent a wor d or phrase or id ea.

(not) stand for to ref use to acce pt a situation.

stand in to d o someone else's jo b f or a shor t period of time.

stand out to be ver y easy to see or notice.

start out to begin to go somewher e.

stave off if you stave of f something bad or unpleasant, you pr event it f r om ha p pening.

steal u p to move q uietly toward s someone until youare ver y near them.

"stem fr om to d evelo p as a result of something.

ste p down to leave an im portant jo b or of f icial position, es pecially so someone else can d o it.

ste p up to incr ease the amount of effort, pressure,s peed etc.

stick out to point outwar d s or u pward s, beyond theend of something.

stick to to continue d oing what you have d ecide or promised to d o.

stir u p to d eliber ately cause tr ou ble or bad f eeling.

StOp by to visit a place f or a short time.

tO p of f to StO p dur ing a journey, for exam ple to seesornethino or have a rest.

510"a"ay to hid e on a shi p, plane etc. in or d er tou \-el \\ithollt paying.

strik e out to start moving in a particular dir ection.

"'stumble upon to d iscover something, es peciallysomething im portant or inter esting, when you d id not ex pect to.

sum up to d escri be something using only a f ewwor d s.

T

tak e after someone to be lik e your mother, f ather ,etc. because you look like them, or because youhave a similar char acter .

"'tak e against someone to start to d islik e someone,es pecially without a good reason.

tak e something down to wr ite something thatsomeone is saying.

"'take someone in to completely d eceive someone sothat they believe a lie.

"take something in to under stand news and inf ormation and r ealise its meaning and im por tance, es pecially bad or shocking news.

"'tak e of f 1) if a bir d or plane tak es of f , it leaves the~round and rises into the air ; 2) to sud d enly star t

being successf ul; 3) if a play or r adio or televisionshow is tak en of f , it is no longer perf or med or

br oad cast.

"'take someone off to co py the way someone speak sor behaves in or d er to mak e peo ple laugh.

"'take something on to agree to d o some work or acce pt some r es ponsi bilities.

"'tak e someone on to start to em ploy someone.

"'take over to get control of a com pany by buying itor buying most of its shar es.

'·'tak e over (f rom) to start being r es ponsible for somethin~ or doing a job that someone else wasr esponsi ble f or bef or e you.

"'tak e to (d r ink /dlUgs) 1) to start drink ing a lot of alcohol or using d lUgs; 2) to star t to lik e a per sonor place, es pecially when you f ir st meet them or

star t to go ther e."'tak e up 1) to start doing a par ticular activity or kind

of wor k ; 2) to start to have a new position of res ponsi bility; 3) to tr y to mak e peo ple payattention to a pr o blem, by complaining or

pr otesting in sup por t of someone's rights.

"talk back to answer your par ent, teacher , manager ,etc. r ud ely af ter they have criticised you or told you what to d o.

"'talk down to to talk to someone as if you believethat they ar e less intelligent than you ar e.

"talk someone into something to per suad esomeone to d o something by ex plaining to themwhy they should d o it.

"'talk someone out of something to per suadesomeone not to d o something that they wer e

intending to do, by ex plaining to them why theyshould not d o it.

"talk someone round to per suad e someone tochange their o pinion and agr ee with you.

"'talk something through to d iscuss all the details of a pr o blem, id ea etc. in ord er to und er stand it

better and d ecid e what to d o.

""team up (with) to join together with another personor or ganisation in ord er to do somethingtogether.

"'tell someone off if someone such as a teacher or a par ent tells you of f, they s peak to you angr ilya bout something wrong that you have d one.

"think out to plan something car ef ully and in d etail bef or e you d o it.

"'think over to think ver y car ef ully a bout an idea or

plan bef ore you d ecid e whether you will acce pt itor agr ee to it.



"think up to find a new idea or suggestion bythinking about it and using your imagination or intelligence.

throw up 1) if something throws up new ideas, it produces them; 2) to vomit, be sick.

"'tire someone out to make someone very tired.

"toil away to work very hard for a long period of

time."trace back to manage to find someone or something

by investigating what they have done in the past.

track down to manage to find someone or somethingafter a lot of effort, by searching for them.

,·'trawl through to read or deal with all of somethingwhen there is a lot to do and it takes a long time.

tune in to listen to or watch a particular programmeon the radio or television.

turn against to stop liking or supporting someone.

turn away to not allow someone to enter a place.

"'turn back to stop when you are travelling and startgoing back in the dir ection that you came from.

turn down to decide not to accept an offer or opportunity.

"turn yourself in to go to the police and admit thatyou are responsible for a crime.

,·'turn into to change and become a different type of thing or person.

"turn off to make a light, machine or engine stopworking, by pressing a switch, turning a tap etc.

,·'turn something round 1) to make a business,organisation, economy, etc. successful again after ithas been unsuccessful; 2) to complete the processof making a product or providing a service.

V e r b s a n d p r e p o s i t i o n s A

abandon someone to

abbreviate to

abide by

absent yourself from

abstain from

accord with

account for

accuse someone of

acquaint someone with

acquit someone of

act for adapt to

add on / in

adhere to

adjust to

admire someone for

admit to

admit someone to

(a place)

advise against / on

agree to / on / with /

over

ascend to

aim for / at

allow for allude to

amount to

answer to someone

apologise to someone

for something

arrest for

appeal to

appear to

apply to someone for

something

approve of

arrange for

arrest someone for

something

avail yourself of

align with

argue with / about / over

/ for / against

ascribe something to

someone

ask for / after / about

assign something to

someone

associate with

assure someone of

something

attach to

attend toattribute something to

"'turn to (someone) to go to someone for advice,sympathy or help.

"'turn up (intransitive) to arrive somewhere, especiallywhen you are not expected.

"'turn something up to find something by searchingthoroughly for it.

W

"wade through to spend a lot of time reading or dealing with something that seems very long and

boring.

ward off to prevent something from harming you.

waste away to become very thin and weak, especially because you are ill or not getting enough food .

wear away if something wears away, it becomesthinner because it has been used a lot.

wear down to gradually make someone feel tired and less able to do something.

wear off if a feeling or the effect of something wearsoff, it gradually becomes weaker and disappears.

whip through to do a piece of work or read something very quickly.

"'wind something down if something that people aredoing winds down, they gradually do less of it

before stopping completely.

"wipe out to destroy or get rid of somethingcompletely.

"'work out 1) to succeed in understanding something by thinking carefully about it; 2) to do physicalexercises in order to keep your bod y fit and strong.

work up to to gradually get ready to do somethingthat seems difficult.

B

base something on

ban someone from

be absent from

be absorbed in

be accustomed to

be acquainted with

be ashamed of

be associated with

be attached to

be composed of

be dedicated to be devoted to

be given to

be intended for

be involved with / in

be made from / of

be opposed to

be suited to

beg something of

someone

beg for

begin by / with

believe in

belong to

benefit from bet on something

beware of

blame for

blame something on

someone

boast of / about

borrow from

C

campaign for

care about / for

cater for / to

centre onchallenge someone to

charge someone with (a

crime) / for (a product

or service)

choose between

classify as

coincide with

collaborate with someone

on something

collide with

combine with

comment on

commit to

communicate with / to

compare to / with



com plain a bout Iof I to d ispose of Iwith H Ncom pensate for disqualif y f rom hap pen to negotiate with (a per son) <com pete against Iwith (a d issuade someone from harmonise with on (a sub ject)

person) I in (a contest) distance yourself from head f or I towards nod to Iatcomplain about distinguish between hel p your self to notif y of

something to someone divid e into I among I by hesitate over Ia bout

compliment someone on d r ess in hind er someone f rom 0comply with dr ink to hint at o b ject toconcentrate on d well on Iupon ho pe for occur toconfer with someone something oper ate on

a bout somethingI o pt f or Iagainst loutof

conf ess toE identify with or iginate f rom

conf ide in economise on implicate someone inconfine (someone I elaborate on impose on Psomething) toelope with impr ess on Iu pon pard on f or conf orm toemanate fr om improve on par t withconf ront someone withembar k on Iupon includ e (someone I partici pate inconf use something Iemerge from something) in peck atsomeone withencour age someone in ind ulge in persist incongratulate someone on

something infect with plead guilty toconjure up

end in I

with inf er from plead withconsent to engage in inform on Ia bout Iof point atconsist of enlist in I for ingr atiate your self with pose f or cons pire againstenter into inquire into Ia bout praise for contr ast with I toentitle someone to insist on pr ay tocontribute toeq uip with insur e against prefer toconver t to I intoescape f rom intend to prepare for convict of I toevolve into interf er e with pr esent with I toconvince someone of exchange f or intr oduce to press f or co-o per ate with I inexclud e someone f r om invest in prevent fromcorres pond with I to something involve (someone) in prid e yourself oncount on excuse someone for I issue with (a passport) profit fromcouple something with f r om

pr ohibit fr omcredit someone with ex pel f romJ promise tocriticise someone f or I on ex periment with I on

jok e about Iwith prosecute someone f or cure someone of extr act from jud ge fr om I by pr otect someone against I

exult infrom

0

K protest a bout I against Id ate f rom Fk nock at Ion at

d eal with I in fail ink now of Iabout provid e with I for

d ecid e about Ion I familiarise your self with punish someone for against featur e inLd ef end f r om I against feed onlabel as

Qd ef ine as

fight for Iagainst Iwith I q ualif y as Ifor d elight in a bout lack inq uar r el with (a per son) Idemand from focus on laugh at Ia bout Iwith

about lover (a subject)d e par t f r om for give someone f or lead to I into

q uote fromd e pend on Iupon free from lectur e on Ia boutder i,-e from lie to I a bout

R

descend to G limit your self to react to Iagainstdespair of gain by I f rom link something I someone

r eason with (a person)to Iwithdetach fr omgaze at Iupon

long for I to about Ion (a subject)deter f rom

r eckon on Iwithdetem1ine on I to

giggle atlook f or war d to

recommend to I for glance atd iagnose as

glar e at recover f romd iffer f r om I in I on I

glisten with M

r ef er toabout marvel atrefrain f romdir ect at I toward s

gloat over meet with

regar d someone asgraduate f r om I indisagr ee ,\ith I on I

grapple with mention toregister with Iat I for a bout

gr umble to Iat Iabout I misinf orm aboutr e pent of d:sap pr o\<e of

over mistak e someone f or r elate todiscour age someone from

guess at mix withr elease f r omGruss omething with

cs. - ,,~someone fr om



relieve someone of search for suff er from / with Usomething seem to supply with und er take to

r ely on / u pon send f or surr end er to use for / asremind of sentence to sus pect someone of r emove from se par ate from / into sympathise with Vr e place with / by shelter f r om var y in

r e ply to shoot at T view asr e port to / on shout at / about tamper with volunteer for r eser ve for signal to tend to vote f or / to / againstr esign from smell of testif y to vow tor esign your self to s pecialise in thank someone for r esolve to s pend (money/time) on thr eaten to / with Wr esor t to spy on throw at / to wait for / onr espond to / with star e at tie to war n a bout / againstr estrict to steal f r om trad e in watch f or r esult in / from steel oneself to transf orm into wave atr etir e from / to strive f or translate f rom ... into win at / inr evert to subject someone to tr eat oneself to wink atrevolve around submit to tr eat for (illness) with wish for rhyme with subsist on (med icine) wor r y about / over

rob someone of substitute (one thing) f or tr ansfer someone /something (another) something from ... toV

succeed in / at trick someone intoS succumb to triumph over

yearn for

save f rom sue for tr ust with / to

A d jec t iv es a n d p r ep o s i t io n s

A astonished by / at conscious of d evoted to

able to attached to consistent with disa ppointed in / about /

absent fr om averse to content with withabsorbed in awar e of contrar y to dis pleased with

accepta ble to convenient for dissatisf ied with

accompanied by B convinced of d istressed by

accor ding to bad at cr azy a bout divisible by

accounta ble to beneficial to cr edited with d oomed to

accustomed to bound to critical of doubtf ul a bout

acq uainted with br illiant at crowd ed with dr essed in

active in busy with cur ious about / to d ue to / for

addicted to

adequate for C 0 E

adjacent to ca pa ble of d amaging to eager f or

afr aid of / to careless of / about d ear to eff icient in / at

agr eea ble to cer tain of / about d edicated to eligible f or

aller gic to char acteristic of def icient in engaged in

amena ble to clever at / with d elighted to / with / engrossed in

angr y with / at / about close to a bout enthusiastic about

annoyed a bout / with / at combined with d e pend ent on envious of

anxious about / to committed to d e pr ived of equal to

appar ent from composed of d escended f r om eq uivalent to

appr eciative of concerned about / with d estined for essential to / f or

a p pr ehensive of / a bout conf id ent about / of d etermined to evocative of

a p pro priate to / for conf ined to d etrimental to excellent at / for

ashamed of / to connected to / with d evoid of excited a bout / by / at



exempt from inadeq uate for 0 slow at

ex perienced in / with inca pable of o bedient to soluble in

ex pert in inclined to obliged to s b f or sth sor r y a bout / for

ex posed to ind e pendent of oblivious to subject to

ex pr essive of indiffer ent to off end ed at / by successf ul at / in

inex perienced in opposed to sufficient f or F inf erior to optimistic a bout suita ble for

f aced with innocent of suited to

f aithf ul to inse para ble from p superior to

f amiliar with / to intent on peculiar to sur e of / a bout

f amous for inter ested in pessimistic about surprised at / a bout / by

f atal to / for involved with / in pleased at / with / a bout suspicious of / about

favour a ble to irrelevant to polite to sym pathetic towards

f earful of irr es pective of poor in / at

fit for possessive about T

f luent in J pr ef er a ble to thankf ul for

f ond of jealous of pr e judiced against toler ant of

fortunate in pr eoccu pied with tr ue to / of fraught with K pr evious to typical of

f r ee from / to k een on / to proficient at / in

frightened by / at / by kind to / of pr one to U

f rustr ated by / in proud of unable tof ull of L unawar e of fur ious at / with / a bout lacking in R uneasy a bout

lad en with read y for unfaithful to

G lia ble for / to red olent of unf it for

generous to sb with limited to / in related to unfortunate in(money) loyal to relevant to uninter ested in

glad of luck y at / in r eminiscent of unqualified for

good at / for / with / to renowned for unwilling togr ateful to s b for sth

M r espected for QUiltvof

mad e of / f rom r esponsible to sb for sth V

married to r estricted to valid f or H

mind f ul of visi ble to / f r omhappy at / with

missing from S vital toharmf ul to

mistaken about / in sacr ed to vulner a ble tohonest about / in

mod est about saf e fromho peless at / with

satisf ied with / by Whorrified at

N sensi ble of war y of

native to sensitive to willing to

necessar y for / to separ ate from worried a bout

ideal :'or negligent of ser ious about worthy of :de. ·cal to

ner vous of / about shy of / with:2- 0 ant of new to sick with- :le [Q

noted for similar to;-.. "':ca-ed in



N o u n s a n d p r e p o s i t i o n s

A

absorption inabstinence fr om

a buse of ( power)

access to

admission to I of

af f inity with

animosity toward s

a ptitud e for

assault on

attachment to

attend ance on I at

attitud e to I toward s

aversion to

avoidance of awar eness of

B

ban on

basis for I of

belief in

benef it of

br each of

br eak from

C

centre of

choice of I between I incombination of

concern a bout

conf id ence in

conf usion about

connection between

consciousness of

control over I of

craving f or

crime against

cruelty to

cur e for

D

d amage to

d anger of

d eath by

d ecline in

d ecr ease ind elay in

d emand for

d esir e for

d eviation from

d evotion to

difficulty in

d iscussion about

d islik e of

d isr egard for

d istaste f or

E

ease of emphasis on

encounter with

exce ption to

exclusion of sb f r om sth

F

f aith in

f ear of

f lair for

f lock of

f low of

fluency in

freedom from

G

generosity towar ds

gr ievance against

grud ge against

H

heir to

hostility toward s

impact on

impr ession of improvement in

ina bility to

inconsistency in

inconvenience toincr ease in

intention of

inter est in

intimacy between

J

jinx on

judgement of I on I

a bout

justif ication for

K

k ey toknowled ge of I a bout

L

longing for

lack of

love of

M

master y of

mistrust of

Nnecessity for

oo bjection to

obsession with

p

portent of

possi bility of

postscr ipt to

potential for

pr ecaution against

pr edis position toward s pr elud e to

prid e in

pr oof against

propensity for I to pr otection against

Q

quality of

q uest for

R

receipt f or I of

r ecipient of

r eduction in

r ef er ence to

r efuge from

r elief fromr emed y for

r es ponsi bility f or I to

rise in

S

sequel to

shot at

s pecialist in

stock of

su bstitute for

successor to

surge in

T

talent for

taste in

tendency to I toward s

traitor to

tribute to

trust in

U

und er curr ent of

und er stand ing of

unit of

upshot of u psur ge of I in

u pturn in

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