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Aversion: dislike or unwillingness to do sth *oathing' loathsome'loathe: intense hatred Abhorrence' abhorrent' abhor: intense disgust Scorn' scornful' scorn: lack of respect $evulsion' revolting' revolt: strong disgust $epulsion'repulsive' repulse: opposite of strong attraction
"xtrovert: sociable Diffident: lacks confidence$ has a low opinion of himself Aloof: unfriendly and not sociable )aughty: unfriendly and thinks herself better than others Disdainful: does not believe others deserve respect 1napproachable: not easy to be sociable with Conceited: thinks herself wonderful &lirt: makes constant romantic approaches
Character traits:
-a2ve: willing to believe simple things perhaps because of ine perience ,ullible: easily deceive Conscientious: always takes his work very seriously .bstinate/ pig&headed "stronger#: unwilling to change 1nscrupulous: lacking in moral principles
Sadness:
o be out of sorts: slightly unhappy or ill o be down in the dumps: unhappy 0s not the end of the world: what has happened wont cause any serious problems o grin and bear: accept a situation because you cannot change it o be a misery guts: someone who complains all the time and is never happy o suffer from sour grapes: to be jealous about sth you cannot have o put a damper on sth: stop an occasion from being enjoyable
o be fed up 3to the bac( teeth4: o be at ones wits end: o have it up to here with sth: 1sed about other people 3informal4: )ave' throw a fit: ,o off the deep end: ,o spare: Do his nut: %low a fuse: &ly off the handle: o spit blood: %low your top: .n the warpath: )ot under the collar: angry and embarassed *i(e a red rag to a bull: sth that it is likely to make sb angry o have your blood up: very angry and may react violent o be after sbs blood: to want to catch sb and hurt him or punish him o be out for blood: to be determined to find sb to blame for sth bad that has happened
Angry relationships:
Drive sb up the wall: make sb very angry Drive' send sb round the end' twist: make sb very angry $ub sb up the wrong way: make sb annoyed ,et' put sb bac( up: make sb annoyed $uffle sb feathers: make sb annoyed Put' send the cat among the pigeons: do or say sth that makes other people angry or worried -ot be on spea(ing terms: be so anger with each other that they refuse to speak to each other ,ive sb an earful: tell sb how angry you are with them ,ive sb a piece of your mind: tell sb how angry you are with them
o have a similar ring to it: sound familiar o ring a bell: to have a vague memory but cannot remember e actly
-ot (nowing:
-ot to have a clue: dont know at all -ot to have the faintest idea: really dont know at all -ot to have the foggiest idea: absolutely dont know at all Cannot for the life of me remember: cannot remember at all o be out of touch: not know the latest developments
Coming to conclusions:
o put two and two together: to conclude from the facts you know o get the wrong end of the stic(: to come to the wrong conclusion
Sth does the tric(: -olves a problem very well Sth is the be+all+and+end+all of sth: is the most important thing Sth is' turns out to be a blessing in disguise: has a good effect although at first it seemed it would be bad o go places: to be successful )it the big time: to be very successful and make lots of money o ma(e a go of sth: very successful with sth
&ailure:
o be a victim of your own success: your success has negative effects -ot to have the ghost of a chance: not to have a chance at all o give up the ghost: to stop trying to succeed because you know it wont work o leave your mar(: to have an effect that changes sth/ sb for ever
)aving problems:
o come up against a bric( wall: sth is blocking me from doing what + want o be in dire straits: in a very difficult situation o have dug yourself into a hole: have caused myself a problem o have spread yourself too thin: To be trying to do too many things at the same time o have been left holding the baby: others have left you to deal with the problem alone o have been got over a barrel: to have no choice over what can you do o have come up against a stumbling bloc(: a problem which stops you from achieving sth o be clutching at straws: to be in such a difficult situation that you will try anything he last straw: the last in a series of events that makes it imposible for you to accept the situation any longer
he answers to my prayers: sth/ sb you have needed for a long time o wave a magic wand: find an easy way to solve a problem ie up a few loose ends: deal with the last few things before everything is completed &all into pieces: understand sth Pic( up the pieces: try to return to normal
Criticising people:
o be all sweetness and light: friendly and pleasant$ in false way ,etting'granting on my nerves: irritating$ annoying me ,ive a hard time: make sb suffer$ feel guilty Po(e fun at sb: make fun of sb o add insult to in!ury: to make a bad situation even worse o cast aspersions on sth: criticise o be an out+and+out: completely/ totally
$ough and ready: crude and lacking sophistication Commenting on people and their actions hrow the baby out of the bathwater: change things$ but loose god and bad things ,et' !ump' leap on the bandwagon: get involved in sth that it is already successful Play devils advocate: pretend to be against sth Drive sb to distraction: make sb very angry or bored 7a(e an exhibition of yourself: do things in public that make you look stupid Do sth under false pretences: tell lies about what you are or do -ever do anything by halves: make effort and do things well 0s a laughing stoc(: is laughed by everyone
Stri(e while the iron is hot: do sth while you have the chance to succeed 0t is a bit over the top: more e treme than it is necessary 0t is !ust not on: not appropriate 0t would not be at the top of my agenda: not the most important priority for me
Ad!ectives:
%lunt: to say what you think even if it is impolite %rash: to be annoyingly loud$ overconfident and aggressive Calculating: to get what you want by carefully planning without caring about anyone else Callous: cruel and heartless Cantan(erous: bad&tempered Curt: abrupt$ rude when you talk 0n/uisitive: always trying to find out about other peoples lives/ interested in many things and always wanting to know more about them Persistent: refuse to give up $ec(less: do dangerous things without thinking about the conse'uences $uthless: cruel$ cold$ have no mercy or feelings for others S/ueamish: do not like unpleasant thinks like blood or needles Sullen: bad&tempered and do not speak much ;olatile: lose their temper very easily Withdrawn: 'uiet$ do not like talking to others Avid: very enthusiastic %latant: very obvious$ done without shame or embarrassment "to describe bad things# %reathta(ing: very beautiful$ surprising or impressive ,ripping: "films$ books# very e citing )arrowing: shocking$ making you feel upset "not for people#
*ax: not strict$ not careful enough "measures$ safety$ security# *enient: not strict "for people in positions to punish$ teachers$ etc# 7eteoric: very sudden and 'uick 7isleading: giving the wrong idea or impression Piercing: 2oud "noises# Prolific: producing a large number of work Staunch: loyal Sweeping: too general and not valid "for statements#/ large and affecting everyone "changes# Watertight: impossible to prove wrong Ad!ectives with similar meanings: Dreary: boring and depressing 7undane: ordinary$ boring "jobs usually# edious: boring$ frustrating &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Atrocious: e tremely bad Dreadful: very bad *ousy: very bad &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &lawless: perfect$ with no faults 0mpeccable: perfect 1nblemished: sth that has not been spoilt or harmed &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Arduous: tiring$ involving a lot of effort ,ruelling: tiring$ lasting a long time Strenuous: involving a lot of physical effort &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& %edraggled: untidy$ dirty and wet "people# Dishevelled: untidy Scruffy: untidy "people places#/ old and worn out "clothes# &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Astute: clever at understanding people and situations Crafty: clever and good at using deception to achieve success Shrewd: clever and showing good judgement Wily: clever$ e perienced at deceiving people and not easily deceived &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Conventional: ordinary$ normal
!3
7ainstream: ordinary$ conventional$ neither strange nor e treme $un+of+the mill: ordinary$ nothing special
Pair phrases:
o arrive in dribs and drabs: in small 'uantities and at irregular intervals %right and early: very early %y and large: generally o be few and far between: very difficult to find o ma(e a song and dance about it: complain too much .dds and ends: small unimportant objects o be part and parcel of: a basic and fundamental part of sth Pride and !oy: sth/ sb a person is proud of Prim and proper: very conservative and easily offended Pushing and shoving: pushing "crowded places# Safe and sound: safe and unharmed Spic( and span: very clean ouch and go: doubtful 1p+and+coming: sb who shows a lot of promise and will be successful Well and truly: completely "used with lost and beaten#
Animals:
o be as blind as a bat: to have poor eyesight 8ou can=till the cows come home: but it wont: you can do sth for a long time but it wont change anything
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A dar( horse: sb who people know very little about o be dogged by sth: sth keeps causing you trouble and it wont go away &or don(eys years: for a long time o duc(: to avoid sth which is going to hit you by lowering your head 0t is li(e water off a duc(s bac( for sb6: sth does not affect you because you are accustomed to it &ishy: suspicious o hound sb: to persistently follow sb he lions share: the biggest part o rabbit on: to talk for a long time in a boring way $atty: bad&tempered o have a whale of a time: to really enjoy yourself A wild goose chase: a search for sth unlikely to find o worm your way out of sth: to avoid doing sth
People:
A bit of an old woman: always complaining A nosey par(er: too interested in things that dont concern you A clever dic(: a person who thinks he is always right A down+and+out: a person who has no home or money and lives in the streets A confirmed bachelor: a man who has never been married and probably will never be A bac(seat driver: a passenger in the back seat who keeps telling the driver how he should drive An un(nown /uantity: a person or thing whose 'ualities are still not known A wet blan(et: a person who is not enthusiastic about anything he salt of the earth: a very good an honest person *oose cannon: a person who behaves in a way that nobody can predict he life and soul of the party: the most amusing and interesting person at a party A #e(yll and )yde: a person who lives separate lives A slowcoach: a person who moves$ acts or works very slowly &riends in high places: to know important people who can help you Put in a good word for you: to praise sb to sb else in order to help him get a job 7overs and sha(ers: people with power in important organi4ations hrow the weight around: to use your power in a bad way At your bec( and call: always ready to obey sbs orders *ay down the law: to tell sb what he should or should not do in a forceful way Call the shots: To be the person who controls the situation
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Pull a few strings: To control events or the actions of other people "at out of the palm of my hand: To trust sb and be willing to do what he says Wear the trousers: To be the person who makes most of the decisions Carry a lot of weight: have lot of influence Pass the buc(: make sb else responsible )old the fort: 5ave the responsibility for sth
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