wwords

7/27/2019 Wwords

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How in the world

Pay off = informal (of a course of action) yield good results; succeed: all the hard work I

had done over the summer paid off

pay someone off = dismiss someone with a final payment:

When directors are fired, they should not be lavishly paid off

pay something off = pay a debt in full: I’ve saved up enough to

pay off my mortgage

in the pay of = employed by: mercenaries in the pay of one or

other of the competing local rulers

jinx = (noun) a person or thing that brings bad luck: he regarded her as a jinx because shehad lost her husband

chessy = ( informal)

cheap and of low quality: cheesy motel rooms

hackneyed and obviously sentimental: an album of cheesy pop hits

(of a smile) exaggerated and likely to be insincere: a cheesy grin

for the record = so that the true facts are recorded or known: for

the record, I have never been to the flat

a matter of record = a thing that is established as a fact through

being officially recorded: it is a matter of record that the bank

deposited £50 million his adherence to the Liberal Party is a

matter of record

off the record = not made as an official or attributable statement:

all this is off the record

on record : 1. (also on the record) used in reference to the

making of an official or public statement: I would like to place on

record my sincere thanks

2.officially measured and noted: it proved to be one of the

warmest Decembers on record

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be hung-up on sth = to be extremely interested in or worried by a particular subject and spend an

unreasonably large amount of time thinking about it

Why are the British so hung-up on class?

beyond a shadow of a doubt = If you know or believe something beyond a shadow of adoubt, you are certain that it is true

He is responsible beyond a shadow of a doubt.

beyond the grave = after death

Do you think there's life beyond the grave?

beyond compare [literary] = Something that is beyond compare is so great that nothing can be

compared to it

Her beauty is beyond compare.

beyond the pale = If someone's behaviour is beyond the pale, it is unacceptable

Her recent conduct is beyond the pale.

beyond your wildest dreams = to a degree or in a way you had never thought possible

Suddenly she was rich beyond her wildest dreams.

The scheme succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.

beyond/without number [literary ] = too many to count

An earthquake in the city could result in deaths beyond number.

beyond a joke = If something is beyond a joke, it has stopped being funny and is now a

serious matter

I used to think he was funny, but his behaviour has now gone way beyond a joke.

Smother =

•to kill someone by covering their face so that they cannot breathe

They threatened to smother the animals with plastic bags.

•

to kill something by covering it and preventing it from receiving the substances and conditions it needs for life

Snow soon smothered the last of the blooms.figurative I tried desperately to smother a sneeze (= I tried not to sneeze) during his speech.

•

to stop a fire from burning by covering it with something which prevents air from reaching it

I threw a blanket over the cooker to smother the flames.

SIDS = abbreviation for sudden infant death syndrome: a medical condition in which a baby dies suddenly while

it is sleeping for no obvious reason

7/27/2019 Wwords


MISFORTUNE

trot sb out [M often passive] disapproving = to send someone to represent or defend your idea or opinion in

public, in a boring and familiar way

Whenever the President is in difficulties, her spokesman is trotted out to face the press.

Mojo = a quality that attracts people to you and makes you successful and full of energy

He's definitely lost his mojo.

He needs to get his mojo working if he's going to win the election.

keep track = to make certain that you know what is happening or has happened to someone or

something

My sister has had so many different jobs, I find it hard to keep track (of what she's doing).

and so on (also and so forth) together with other similar things

schools, colleges and so on

and all and everything else

She bought the whole lot - house, farm, horses and all.

UK slang too I'd like some and all.

and all that [i nformal] and everything related to the subject mentioned

She likes grammar and all that.

and/or used to mean that either one of two things or both of them is possible

Many pupils have extra classes in the evenings and/or at weekends

Crack under pressure

Flagship = the best or most important product, idea, building, etc. that an organization owns

or produces

This machine is the flagship in our new range of computers.

The company's flagship store is in New York.

up-and-coming =likely to achieve success soon or in the near future

up-and-coming young actresses

7/27/2019 Wwords


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