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elaborate

containing a lot of careful detail or many detailed parts:, to add more information to or explain something that you have said

counsel (V/N)

to give advice, especially on social or personal problems: The police have provided experts to counsel local people affected by the tragedy. My job involves counselling unemployed people on/about how to find work.

impugn

to cause people to doubt someone's character, qualities, or reputation by criticizing them:

come to a head/bring sth to a head

If something comes to a head or someone brings something to a head, a situation reaches a point where something must be done about it: Things hadn't been good between us for a while and this incident just brought it to a head.

sheer

used to emphasize how very great, important, or powerful a quality or feeling is; nothing except: The suggestion is sheer nonsense. extremely steep; almost vertical Sheer clothing or material is so thin, light, and delicate that you can see through it

wry

showing that you find a bad or difficult situation slightly funny: a wry smile/comment

divergent

different or becoming different from something else: They hold widely divergent opinions on controversial issues like abortion. a divergent approach/attitude divergent interests/opinions/views

relish (v/n)

to like or enjoy something: I always relish a challenge. [+ -ing verb ] I don't relish telling her that her son has been arrested.

renown

the state of being famous: a woman of great renown Her renown spread across the country.

apprenticeship

a period of time working as an apprentice

ecstatic/enraptured/rapturous

extremely happy

ingenious

(of a person) very intelligent and skillful, or (of a thing) skillfully made or planned and involving new ideas and methods: an ingenious idea/method/solution

put sb up

to provide someone with a place to stay temporarily: Sally is putting me up for the weekend.

winding road

1

suspension bridge

a bridge that is supported by strong steel ropes hung from a tower at each end of the bridge

salacious

causing or showing a strong interest in sexual matters: a salacious book/joke/comment

indigenous

used to refer to plants and animals that grow or live naturally in a place, used to refer to, or relating to, the people who originally lived in a place

grueling

extremely tiring and difficult, and demanding great effort and determination: Runners are taking part in a grueling 100-mile race in the mountains above Los Angeles.

run rings round sb

If someone runs rings round you, they are very much better, faster, or more successful at something than you are: Our girls' hockey team have run rings round all their opponents this year.

pull a fast one

to successfully deceive someone: You paid too much - I think he pulled a fast one on you.

set in stone

to be very difficult or impossible to change: The schedule isn’t set in stone, but we’d like to stick to it pretty closely.

run a tight ship

to control a business or other organization firmly and effectively: Ruth runs a tight ship and has no time for shirkers.

run counter to

in a way that opposes something: Bob's decision not to take the job ran counter to his family's expectations.

set the scene

to describe a situation where something is about to happen: First, let's set the scene - it was a dark, wet night with a strong wind blowing. to make something possible or likely to happen: His resignation set the scene for a company crisis.

run/take a risk

to do something that might be dangerous: Don't take any risks - just call the police. You're running a big risk if oil prices drop sharply.

pull your weight

to work as hard as other people in a group: The others had complained that Sarah wasn't pulling her weight.

set your heart on sth/doing sth

to want to get or achieve something very much: She's set her heart on having a pony.

not set the world on fire

to not be very exciting or successful: He has a nice enough voice but he's not going to set the world on fire.

set the record straight

to tell someone the true facts about a situation that the person had not understood: I had to set him straight about what really happened.

set your teeth on edge

to annoy you very much: The kids screaming in the next room really set my teeth on edge.

set your sights on

to decide to achieve something: Jenny has set her sights on winning the competition.

set the wheels in motion

to do something that will cause a series of actions to start: I thought a phone call to the right person might set the wheels in motion

brink

the point where a new or different situation is about to begin: Extreme stress had driven him to the brink of a nervous breakdown. Scientists are on the brink of (= extremely close to) a major new discovery.

dissuade

to persuade someone not to do something: I tried to dissuade her from leaving.

deter

to prevent someone from doing something or to make someone less enthusiastic about doing something by making it difficult for that person to do it or by threatening bad results if they do it:

for the duration of

for as long as something lasts: I guess we're stuck with each other for the duration (of the trip).

opt

to make a choice, especially of one thing or possibility instead of others: Mike opted for early retirement. [+ to infinitive ] Most people opt to have the operation.

scrumptious

tasting extremely good

luscious

having a pleasant sweet taste or containing a lot of juice

lossy

involving the loss of data or of electrical energy: Lossy file compression results in lost data and quality from the original version.

give sth off

to produce heat, light, a smell, or a gas " That tiny radiator doesn't give off much heat"

morbid

too interested in unpleasant subjects, especially death: a morbid fascination with death, relating to or caused by disease: She had to have gastric bypass surgery to avoid dying from morbid obesity.

depreciate

to (cause something to) lose value, especially over time: Our car depreciated (by) $1,500 in the first year we owned it. In the last year our house has depreciated in value.

cutail

to stop something before it is finished, or to reduce or limit something: to curtail your vacation/spending With all the snow, our daily walks have been severely curtailed.

concerted

planned or done together for a shared purpose: The richer countries of the world should take concerted action to help the poorer countries.

reconcile

When two people are reconciled, they become friendly again after they have argued/to find a way in which two situations or beliefs that are opposed to each other can agree and exist together

bewilderment/puzzlement

confusion

bewildered (n/v)

confused and uncertain: Arriving in a strange city at night, I felt alone and bewildered.

lateral

relating to the sides of an object or plant or to sideways movement: lateral movement Trim the lateral shoots of the flower (= the ones that grow sideways from the main stem of a plant).

run-of-the-mill

mediocre/ordinary

call on sb

to ask someone in a formal way to do something: They're calling on all men and boys over the age of 14 to join the army. formal I now call on everyone to raise a glass to the happy couple.

scrounge (inf)

to get things, especially money or food, by asking for them instead of buying them or working for them: Peter never buys anything - he just scrounges (off his friends).

unearth

to discover something in the ground: Building at the site was halted after human remains were unearthed earlier this month. to discover proof or some other information, especially after careful searching

flout

to intentionally not obey a rule, law, or custom: Many motorcyclists flout the law by not wearing helmets. The orchestra decided to flout convention/tradition, and wear their everyday clothes for the concert.

harangue

to speak to someone or a group of people, often for a long time, in a forceful and sometimes angry way, especially to persuade them: A drunk in the station was haranguing passers-by.

yank

to pull something forcefully with a quick movement: He tripped over the cord and yanked the plug out. She yanked open the cupboard door and everything fell out.

evocative

making you remember or imagine something pleasant: evocative music a sound evocative of the sea

dragoon

in the past, a soldier who rode on a horse and carried a gun

dragoon sb into sth

to force or persuade someone to do something unpleasant: [+ -ing verb ] I've been dragooned into giving the after-dinner speech.

dreary

boring and making you feel unhappy/tedious/

overreach

overreach yourself to fail by trying to achieve, spend, or do more than you can manage: Companies that overreach themselves soon find themselves in debt.

premise

an idea or theory on which a statement or action is based: [+ that ] They had started with the premise that all men are created equal. The research project is based on the premise stated earlier./assumption

consoloation

something that makes someone who is sad or disappointed feel better: If it's (of) any consolation (to you), you're not the only one he was nasty to. I didn't know what to say - I just offered a few words of consolation.

vilify

to say or write unpleasant things about someone or something, in order to cause other people to have a bad opinion of them: He was vilified by the press as a monster.

itinerary

a detailed plan or route of a trip: The tour operator will arrange transport and plan your itinerary.

long-standing

having existed for a long time

slender

thin and delicate, often in a way that is attractive: He put his hands around her slender waist. The plant's leaves are long and slender./small in amount or degree: a man of slender means

amelioration (n/v)

the process of making a bad or unpleasant situation better: Regular exercise can provide gradual amelioration of anxiety. Treatment for her allergies led to the amelioration of her symptoms. See

prudent

careful and avoiding risks: [+ to infinitive ] It's always prudent to read a contract carefully before signing it./cautious

catch sb off guard

to surprise sb by doing something that they are not expecting or ready for

savory

Savory food is salty or spicy and not sweet in taste: a savory dish/sauce/flavor/If you say that something is not savory, you mean that it is not pleasant or socially acceptable: That hotel doesn't have a very savory reputation.

blow your lid/top/stack

to become extremely angry: My father will blow his top when he sees what happened to the car.

strive

to try very hard to do something or to make something happen, especially for a long time or against difficulties: [+ to infinitive ] Mr. Roe has kindled expectations that he must now strive to live up to.

predicament

an unpleasant or confusing situation that is difficult to get out of or solve: With no money and no job, he found himself in a real predicament.

proponent

a person who speaks publicly in support of a particular idea or plan of action: He is one of the leading proponents of capital punishment.

bliss

perfect happiness: Lying on a sunny beach is my idea of sheer bliss. wedded/domestic bliss

infectious

able to infect someone: infectious diseases

transient

lasting for only a short time; temporary: A glass of whiskey has only a transient warming effect. The city has a large transient population (= many people who are living in it only temporarily).

virulent

disease or poison is dangerous and spreads or affects people very quickly: A particularly virulent strain of the flu has recently claimed a number of lives in the region./full of hate and violent opposition: She is a virulent critic of U.S. energy policy.

constraint

something that controls what you do by keeping you within particular limits/unnatural behavior that is sometimes the result of forcing yourself to act in a particular way: She tried to appear friendly, but her constraint was obvious.

assorted

consisting of various types mixed together: a case of assorted wines

decree

an official statement that something must happen: More than 200 people were freed by military decree. to officially decide or order that something must happen

restraint

a rule or an agreement that limits the freedom of a person, organization, or country, or that prevents something from growing or increasing: restraints on sth The bill urges the government to impose restraints on imports.

succumb

to lose the determination to oppose something; to accept defeat/ to die or suffer badly from an illness: Thousands of cows have succumbed to the disease in the past few months.

underling

a person of low rank and little authority who works for someone more important: She surrounded herself with underlings who were too afraid of her to talk back.

limbo

an uncertain situation that you cannot control and in which there is no progress or improvement: Until we have official permission to go ahead with the plans we're in limbo.

endeavor

to try to do something: Engineers are endeavoring to locate the source of the problem.

faltering

losing strength or purpose and stopping, or almost stopping: This legislation is designed to stimulate the faltering economy. moving awkwardly as if you might fall: She took a few faltering steps.

under the auspices of sb/sth

with the protection or support of someone or something, especially an organization: Financial aid is being provided to the country under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund.

take pride in sth/sb

to feel very pleased about something or someone you are closely connected with: If you don't take professional pride in your work, you're probably in the wrong job.

red ink

a situation in which a company is losing a lot of money: The line between profitability and red ink in a bookstore is so thin that even the little decisions are important.

blue-chip

company or investment is one that can be trusted and is not likely to fail.

green shoots

(used especially in newspapers) the first signs of an improvement in an economy that is performing badly: the green shoots of recovery

white goods

large electrical goods for the house, such as stoves and washing machines

remote

slight: a remote possibility The chances of a visit by Martians to Earth are remote./not very friendly or showing little interest in other people: Her manner was remote and cool.

aloof

not friendly or willing to take part in things: She seemed rather aloof when in fact she was just shy./

be like a deer/rabbit caught in the headlights

to be so frightened or surprised that you cannot move or think: Each time they asked him a question he was like a deer caught in the headlights.

frown on/upon sth

to disapprove of something: Smoking is frowned upon in many societies.