English

Dish out

Give something freely and in large amounts. the politician was famous for dishing out favors to his pals. You dish it out but you can't take it.

Forfeit

Give up on account of an error, failure to fulfill an agreement; confiscate as punishment. Forego

Part with

Give up, let go of; leave the company of someone. Janice hated to part with her cat, but the landlord wouldn't allow pets

Mope around

Go about in a depressive state

Run afoul of

Go against. Act in a way against the rules or law. He ran afoul of his supervisor, who complained to the mayor about his work.

Bode well

Indicate or predict good things for someone. Bode I'll. lets hope all her days spent reading the dictionary bodes well for h

In a roundabout way

Indirectly

Pump up

Inflate; exercise to make muscles bigger

Bounce

Informal: dismiss (someone) from a job. "those who put in a dismal performance will be bounced from the tour"

Steep

Infuse, brew (peppers ~ in olive oil)

Unwholesome

Insalubrious

Emblazoned

Inscribe. T-shirts emblazoned with the names of baseball teams. His name emblazoned across the top.

Small fry

Insignificant people. "high-ranking officials escaped prosecution while numerous small fry were imprisoned".

Take a dig at

Insult, needle someone. You're always taking digs at people who think they're your friends. Jed took a jab at Tom about the way he was driving.

Beckon

Make a hand gesture, acenar. He beckoned to the kid and gave her 5 dollars. Miranda beckoned Chris over.

Turn a profit

Make a profit, line one's pockets

Wrest

Seize, extract, take (~ back control). Pull, jerk or force by a violent twist (she ~ the suitcase from the chauffer's grasp)

Self-restraint

Self-control

Grandstand

Sensacionalizar, polemizar

Tender

Sensível. My arm is still very tender after the vaccines

To be a life line

Ser uma salvação

Rash of

Series of unpleasant events, an outburst. A ~ of robberies. A string of.

Stake

Support a tree with a stake. The trees have to be staked. Brace, prop up. Mark an area with stakes so as to claim ownership.

Bear out

Support or confirm something. We're hoping you can bear out his statement.

Shoo-in

Sure victory, safe bet. The elections should be a shoo-in for the GOP.

Off balance

Surprised or confused. The teacher gives unannounced tests to keep the class ~.

Waltz in

To enter briskly, without hesitation, and with self-confidence: He waltzes in every morning at 9:30 and doesn't care what his boss thinks.

Waft

To float easily and gently, as on the air; drift: The smell of soup ~ from the kitchen. Putrid smell ~ over.

Frame

To portray in a particular, often deceiving manner. He expects his supporters to rally behind him because he framed the situation as foreigners attacking our sovereignty.

Slight

Treat disrespectfully, insult, freeze out. He was talking about how the media slights him.

Do right by someone

Treat fairly.

Make light of something

Treat something as if it were unimportant or humorous.

Gnaw at

Trouble, worry or annoy someone. Corroer.

Edge out

Trump, top

Test the waters

Try something new

Thread

Twist and turn from to side while moving somewhere. Weave. She threaded her way through the tables.

Domineering

Tyrannical. He has a domineering nature

A third wheel

Uma vela. An unwanted third party accompanying two people on a date.

Under a cloud

Under suspicion. He left under something of a cloud accused of misappropriating funds.

Get a handle of

Understand, grasp

Ineffable

Undescribable.

Unbridled

Unfettered, unrestrained. Untrammeled. Unbridled anger.

Forlorn

Unhappy, desolated, abandoned. Lovelorn: bereft of love, unhappy because of a unrequited love.

Unscathed

Unharmed, intact

Unsettle

Unnerve, fluster

Unfettered

Unrestrained, unlimited

Throw someone for a loop

Upset or confuse someone because they do not expect something

Above board

Upstanding. Honest, legitimate and open.

Sic

Urge to attack (someone). He ~ the dogs on the intruders.

Exhort

Urge, encourage, beseech

Pull rank

Use one's higher status to compel obedience

Decoy

Usually a person, device, or event meant as a distraction, to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for.

Faint

Vague, barely perceptible

Competitive edge

Vantagem competitiva

Up in arms

Very angry, rebellious

Fit to be tied

Very angry. Daddy was fit to be tied when I separated from Hugh.

Thick as thieves

Very close friends. Jen and she are ~.

Intricate

Very complicated or detailed

A mile a minute

Very fast. His mind was going a mile a minute. He was talking a mile a minute.

Palsy-walsy

Very friendly and intimate

Heinous

Vile, dreary (~ act, crime)

Wicker

Vime. Wicker basket

Call on

Visit (someone); I ~ my neighbors last night and returned a book I had borrowed.

You nailed it down

Você tocou bem no ponto! Falou tudo!

Crawl space

Vão

Slog

Wade; trudge; plod (through); work hard. ~ one's guts out

Tread

Walk in a specified way (past tense trod). He trod on a mine. Plod, trudge, tramp, stomp, pound.

Amble along

Walk slowly and leisurely; mosey along. To mosey down to the shops.

Vindicate

Warrant, justify, back up, prove true, substantiate

Burn through

Waste money. We burned through $800 of fireworks.

Gully

Water-worn ravine

Dither

Waver, falter, be indecisve

Put through

We finally got money to put our son through college

It's in our best interest

We might as well, we'd better

Feeble

Weak, frail. Flimsy

Muscle wastage

Weakening because of lack of use or illness. Atrophy.

Run ragged

Wear (someone) out

Tip the scales

Weigh a certain amount. He ~ at just over 250 pounds.

Plucky and put-upon

Well dressed

Stick the landing

When a gymnast lands a tumbling pass, vault, or dismount without moving his/her feet

Trail off

When a person's voice or a similar sound trails away/off, it becomes quieter and less confident and then stops completely: His voice trailed off as he saw the look on her face.

Foreclose

take possession of a mortgaged property as a result of the mortgagor's failure to keep up their mortgage payments. "the bank was threatening to foreclose on his mortgage"

Surmise

suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it."I can only surmise that they're plotting against me". Fanigle - plot.

Hire out

take a job : to work for wages or a salary She hired out as a cook. He's a teacher most of the year, but in the summer he hires himself out as a tour guide.

Cut corners

take shortcuts; to save money or effort by finding cheaper or easier ways to do something. Skimp on = stint on, cut back on, economize on, be parsimonious with.

Rib

tease good-naturedly. "the first time I appeared in the outfit I was ribbed mercilessly"

Fall away

to distance oneself from someone; to end an association with someone. The candidate's supporters fell away from her when they heard about the scandal.

Cut corners

to do something in the easiest, quickest, or cheapest way, often harming the quality of your work We've had to cut corners to make a film on such a small budget.

Play your cards right

to do the correct things to achieve a desired result

Run up against

to experience difficulty with someone or something Sometimes you run up against a colleague who just doesn't want you to succeed. I ran up against some regulations that were incredibly stupid.

Wash out

to fail and be removed from something, such as school. I studied all I could, but I still washed out. I don't want to wash out. It's my whole future.

Plop down

to fall or cause to fall with the sound of a plop: the stone plopped into the water. He plopped down the newspaper on the table.

Pale in comparison

to fall short of, come up short

Send shivers up your spine

to feel very frightened or excited

Get in

to find time to do something. I'd like to get in some skiing while we're in Colorado. I just got my workout in.

wince (v)

to flinch; make a pained expression

Make a pass at someone

to flirt with or suggest sexual activity with someone. Can you believe it? Larry made a pass at me! No one ever makes a pass at me.

brow-beat

to frighten with a stern manner of harsh words; to bully. Harass, intimidate, hound. They browbeat the witness into changing her testimony

Dispense with

to get rid of someone or something; to brush someone or something aside. I think we will dispense with that subject for the rest of the day. We will have to dispense with the expensive gifts this year.

Come down the pike

to happen or appear He's the worst writer to come down the pike in a long time.

Take a knock

to have an experience that makes someone or something less confident or successful; to be damaged. Her reputation ~ when she lost her job. Take a hit

Double as

to have two functions. The couch ~ spare bed.

Step on the gas

to hurry up; to make a vehicle go faster. (As if stepping on an automobile's accelerator. step on the gas. We are going to be late! step on it! Let's go!

Heckle

to interrupt (someone, such as a speaker or performer) by shouting annoying or rude comments or question

Chart out

to lay out a plan or course for someone or something. I charted out all hospitals along the way. The navigator charted the course out for the captain.

Drone on

to lecture or narrate in a low-pitched, dull, and boring manner. The dull old professor ~ about Byro. Go on

cast aspersions on

to make a rude and insulting remark. I resent your casting aspersions on my brother and his ability! It is rude to cast aspersions on people in general.

Drive up the wall

to make you very unhappy and full of anxiety or anger. Just the thought of it~.

Rustle up

to manage to prepare a meal, perhaps on short notice. I think I can rustle something up for dinner. Please rustle up something to eat. Slap together, throw together.

Jam out

to move one's body enthusiastically while listening to music.

Hustle

to move or cause to move hurriedly or furtively: he hustled her out of sight. To deal with or cause to proceed hurriedly: to hustle legislation through. To swindle; to obtain something dishonestly or illegally. to hustle money from old ladies; the car dealer tried to hustle us.

Cut out

to move out of a line of traffic The other car/driver cut out from behind and sped ahead of us. Suited. I'm not cut out for line of work.

Haul ass

to move very quickly, especially in order to escape When the shooting started we ~ out of there. We'll be late if we don't ~

Crank out

to produce something quickly or carelessly; to make something in a casual and mechanical way. John can crank a lot of work out IN NO TIME FLAT. The automated production line could really crank out parts, but the quality was shoddy.

Talk something up

to promote or speak in support of someone or something. I've been talking the party up all day, trying to get people to come. They keep taking up the candidate as if he represented a real change.

Check out

to prove to be correctly represented. Everything you told me checks out with what other witnesses

Strain at the leash

to pull very hard on its leash. It's hard to walk Fido, bec

Put up

to put in storage, place in a container or receptacle. He put his lunch up in a bag.

Stub

to ram one's toe accidentally against some hard object. She ~ her toe on the bottom step. Jammed finger. Slam finger, trap or catch finger in door. Smashed fingers

Buck off

to rear up in an attempt to shake off its rider. The horse tried to buck Sharon off, but she held on tight. The horse bucked off its rider.

Turn tail

to run away, usually because you are frightened When I saw him, I turned tail

Throw down a gauntlet

to say or show that one is ready to fight, argue, or compete with someone : to challenge someone <The company threw down the gauntlet and told the union that this offer for a contract was final.>

Scrabble

to scratch or grope around with one's fingers; to find, collect, or hold on to something

Turn out

to send someone out of somewhere. I didn't pay my rent, so the manager turned me out. I'm glad it's not winter. I'd hate to turn out someone in the snow.

Peer through

to stare through a partial barrier, such as a window, drapes, the haze, the fog, etc. George peered through the drapes and spied on the party next door. Sally peered through the haze as best she could, trying to see if the way was clear.

Get on your soapbox

to start expressing strong opinions, especially about a subject that people are bored of hearing you speak about

Come around to

to start to accept and support (something, such as an idea) after opposing it People are starting to come around to the idea.

Lie in wait

to stay hidden, ready to attack. Police said the suspect was lying in wait in a dark hallway. This person was found behind a wall, as if he were lying in wait for someone. 2. to delay doing something until the best time for it. The smart thing to do is lie in wait for the right time to ask for a raise. Lie low

Keep on top

to stay well-informed about the status of someone or something. I need to keep on top of the president, because I am doing a report on him. News is easy to get these days, and I do what I can to keep on top.

Sideswipe

to strike with a glancing blow along the side. The tax sideswiped a parked car. Broadside.

Pick brain

to talk with someone to find out information about something

Try your hand at

to try doing something for the first time. I might try my hand at a bit of Indian cooking. Dabble in.

crack the whip

to try to make people work harder or faster

Shunt

to turn off to one side : shift <was shunted aside>

Run something down

to use something having batteries, a motor, or an engine until it has no more power and it stops. To review something from top to bottom, such as a list; go over something

snivel

to weep or cry with sniffling

Froth up

to whip or aerate something until it is frothy.

Box out

to zone out someone's presence, shut someone out, block someone from the area by position of your body

Get through to

to ​succeed in making someone ​understand or ​believe something: I don't ​seem to be ​able to ~ (= ​communicate with) him these ​days.

Snare

trap for catching birds or animals, typically one having a noose of wire or cord. The hare was caught in a snare

Ruse

trick; stratagem

Bite off more than you can chew

Get ahead of oneself. to do or say something sooner than it ought to be done so that the proper explanation or preparations have not been made.

See red

Get angry, hit the roof

Make out

Get by, come along. How are you ~ now that summer's over? To discern or see, especially with difficulty: I could barely ~ the traffic signs through the rain. could not ~ what she said.

Alight

Get down from (a bus, cab), get off. ~ from a bus. (Formal)

Tie one on

Get drunk, tore up from the floor up

Go ballistic

Get enraged, blow up

Have a buzz on

Get intoxicated, tipsy. Both of them had a buzz on by the end of the celebration.

Knock off

Get off work; deduct from a final price (~ 30%)

Get under one's skin

Get on one's nerve; irk, annoy. Get a rise out of someone

Go into tailspin

Get out of control

Get bounced

Get redirected. Her calls get bounced to me.

Throw or toss on the scrap heap

Get rid. Many people over forty who can't find a job feel they've been thrown on the scrap heap. (usually passive)

Get a grip

Get your act together; pull oneself together

Cut your teeth

Get your first experience of a particular type of work and learn the ropes (on). She ~ on a local newspaper before landing a job on a national daily

Get groove on

Get your rocks off. To enjoy yourself by dancing Expect to get your groove on to Jeanne O's smooth, soulful sound.

Give an upper hand

Give a leg up

Mark down

Give a low score (teacher). Reduce prices.

Demote

Give a lower rank position usually as a punishment. De-rank.

Beget

Give rise to, bring about. Violence begets violence

Scowl at someone

Give someone an angry look

Give a wide berth

Give someone space

Flip someone off

Give someone the middle finger

Pudge

Fat on a person's body, a short chubby person

Head case

Lunatic, maniac

Miffed

Mad

Deranged

Mad, insane. Off one's rocker, lunatic

Follow to the tee

Seguir à risca

Impound

Seize (car)

Curry favor with

Fawn over, Butter up to, suck up to, brownnose; schmooze

Turn a blind eye

Fazer vista grossa

Recoil at

Flinch back in horror or disgust, cringe

Bead

Form droplets. Sweat beaded across the dancer's nose and brow.

Racketeering

Formação de quadrilha

Will power

Força de vontade

Potty-mouthed

Foul-mouthed

Furrow one's brow

Franzir a sobrancelha

Stowaway

Freeloader, Free-rider

Seize up

Freeze or halt; to grind suddenly to a stop. The engine ~.

Strike fear

Frighten, terrify

Caper

Frolic, jump, bounce. The children are ~ about.

Stick in the mud

Fuddy-duddy

Soot

Fuligem. Black powdery flaky substance produced by the burning of organic matter.

Take a cue

Get a hint from someone

Catch a lift

Get a ride

Clinch a berth

Get a slot (in a game). They clinched a berth to the playoffs.

Stay strapped

Have a gun on oneself. I always stay strapped.

Draw together

Bring together, bond, unify. The death of their child had ~ them together.

Crisp

Brisk; nippy; cool

Suds

Bubbles that form on top of water. Soap suds - froth made of soap

Cost overrun

Budget overrun, cost exceeding the contract amount

Seawall

Bulkhead, seawall. Retaining wall to contain flooding.

Down in the dumps

Bummed, sad

Increase

Bump up, beef up, ramp up, ratchet up, amp up, bolster (up), prop up, boost, raise, elevate, spike, step up; surge.

Seething with anger

Burn with anger

Singe

Burn, sear

Zapped

Bushed, worn-out, tuckered out

Broke down

Busted; ugly

Horn in on

Butt in on

Deal in

Buy and sell something. My uncle is a stockbroker. He deals in stocks and bonds. My aunt deals in antiques.

Ever so slightly

By a small amount, a little bit. The perfume is ever so slightly infused with a hint of vanilla. Let me tweak your nose just ever so slightly.

Prance around

Flounce, strut, swank. Swagger around. Walk or move around with ostentatious, exaggerated movements. Step in a showy manner. He ~ the apartment in his underwear.

Bone-jarring

De chacoalhar os ossos.

Blind-alley

Dead-end. ~ job. He reached a ~.

Jerk around

Deceive someone about whether or not you intend to do something; mess around. String along, stall, lead on.

Seemly

Decorous, proper, in good taste. Comely (pleasant to look, esp of women)

Dock

Deduct (money). they docked the money from his salary. Workers had their pay docked.

See fit

Deem appropriate, adequate (to do something)

In deep with

Deeply in debt. She's in deep with her credit card. He's in deep with the department store.

Clobber

Defeat heavily

Trounce

Defeat heavily in a contest, crush

Clean up on

Defeat or vanquish, kill, as in We're cleaning up all the other teams

Vanquish

Defeat, conquer, beat

Roll over

Defer or postpone a payment, use later on

Shortfall

Deficit; shortage

Flout

Defy, fail to observe (rule, law)

do a double take

Delayed reaction to a surprising or significant situation after an initial failure to notice anything. Smith passes the car and does a double take as he realizes it is on fire. I swear I did a double- take when I spotted that $100 bill lying in the

Hinge on

Depend on

Sap

Deplete; wear away; wane.

Harness

Derive (energy) from

Spin off

Derive from something larger (a product or company)

Lust after someone

Desire someone sexually

Evict

Despejar (house)

Throw off the scent

Despistar

Mess up one's sleep pattern

Desregular o relógio biológico

Detail

Detailing a car requires going way beyond the usual vacuum and wash job. It means paying attention to the tiny details that add up to make the car look show-worthy. My dad's having his car detailed because he's selling it

Gutted

Devastated

Industrious

Diligent and hard-working

Obtuse

Dim, dim-witted, slow-witted, slow on the uptake, moronic. Lunkhead

Impair

Diminish, harm, undermine, hobble.

Windfall

Dinheiro caído do céu. Jason got a sudden ~ that allowed him to pay for a college tuition.

Scroungy

Dirty, shabby, unkempt

Crummy

Dirty, unpleasant or of poor quality

Dejected

Disappointed, bummed

Under the guise of

Disguised as

Relieve from duty

Dismiss from duty

Flippant

Disrespectful. I don't mean to be flippant with you

Rock the boat

Disturb a stable situation

Partition

Divider. A structure dividing a space into two parts, especially a light interior wall.

Watershed

Divisor de águas

Oblige

Do a favor or service. This chair won't ~.

Pick up the slack

Do the job that someone has stopped doing but which still needs to be done

Sidestep

Dodge, skirt, evade an issue. Step to the side.

Smacker

Dollar bill. A lousy smacker was all she left for a tip.

Goofus

Doofus, idiot, yahoo (violent noisy person)

Stipple

Dot, speckle

Put down

Down payment. To put only 5% down to own your home

Chug-a-lug

Down, throw back, knock back, chug, gulp down

On the fence

Indecisive; undecided; vacillating/ waffling between positions

Have something down pat

Learn something so well, thoroughly rehearsed.

Leave high and dry

Leave helpless and unsupported. All me workers quit and left me ~.

Bar examination

Legal profession exam in order to be qualified to practice law

Jilt

suddenly reject or abandon (a lover). "he was ~ at the altar by his bride-to-be"

Slip

Fluctuate. Other tasks may be non-critical and can slip a few days without making the whole project late.

Lint

Fluff, lint. I brushed a little lint off her collar.

Woobie

Fluffly blanket

Henchman

Flunky, aid, stooge. Faithful political supporter.

Rattle

Fluster; unnerve. The accident rattled me

Grub

Food

For days on end

For days in a row

For kicks

For fun, for the thrill

Have a way with

Have a particular talent for dealing with or ability in. "she's got a way with animals"

Pack a punch

Have a powerful effect. That tequila shot ~. To be capable of hitting with force.

Hold office

Have an important position

Get one's jollies

Have pleasure in doing something. He gets his jollies by watching TV all day.

Musclebound

Having excessive muscles

Pell-mell

Helter-skelter, in a disorganized manner. I ran ~ into the kitchen. The things were piled ~ in the room.

Hem and haw

Hesitate, dither, shilly-shally

Ulterior motives

Hidden motive

Desensitize

Less sensitive. "people who view such movies become desensitized to violence"

Take it in stride

Levar na boa

Wallow

Lie and bathe in mud or water (of animals)

Spur

Encourage, give an incentive, prompt, prod, goad. Her sons' passion for computer games spurred her on to set up a software store"

Stamina

Endurance

Offals

Entrails and organs of an animal

Shroud

Enwrap

Fleeting

Ephemeral; transitory; short-lived.

Tantamount

Equal to, equivalent in seriousness to. The resignation was tantamount to an admission of guilt

Rig with

Equip with, fit with. Rigged with explosives.

Beat the rap

Escape being punished

Slip through the cracks

Escape from or be missed by something organized to catch or deal with one.

Board off

Hide something by putting wooden board over or around it. Part of the garage has been ~ during building works.

Pecking order

Hierarchical system, chain of command

Rube

Hillbilly, redneck

Stymie

Hinder, foil, thwart

Clip

Hit with a sharp and quick blow; * ~ me under the eye. Swat, smack, whack, strike, spank.

Pack rat

Hoarder

Husky

Hoarse, croaky, guttural

Stymie

Hobble sb, Prevent or hinder the progress of.

On the up and up

Honest, above board.

Fair and square

Honestly, fairly without cheating

Heave

Lift or haul (a heavy thing) with great effort. "she heaved the couch back into place". Hump, lug.

Eavesdrop on

Listen in on, overhear

Pine for

Long for, grieve for

Far be it from me to

Longe de mim... (Recusar ajuda, fazer algo...)

Dead ringer for

Look exactly like someone. She's a ~ for Taylor Swift. Look-alike

Double cross

Hoodwink; Gyp; Defraud. To deceive by double dealing. To cheat by reneging on something you said you would do.

Go flat

Lose its fizz, get skunky (beer)

Gyp

Hoodwink; double-cross. Defraud. Cheat, swindle. Gyp people into buying things.

Gas-guzzler

A car that guzzles/consumes too much gas or inefficently

Good luck charm

A charm or amulet that's believed to bring good luck

Bounce

A check that bounced. To be sent back from the bank.

In a flutter

A condition of nervous excitement or agitation

Cornucopia

A container that's horn-shaped and full of fruits and veggies; abundance.

Deed

A document that transfers ownership of property from one party to another.

Hoax

A fabricated falsehood made to masquerade the truth

Bust

A failure; a flop: "The home-style bean curd is a bust, oily and rubbery". It was a bust from day one.

Spoof

A type of satire

Sink in

(of words or facts) be fully understood or realized. "It's finally ~"; "bad news often takes time to ~". "Peter read the letter twice before its meaning ~"

Pace

(often foll by: about, up and down, etc) to walk with regular slow or fast paces, as in boredom, agitation, etc: to ~ the room.

Sultry

Hot and muggy. Attractive, erotic. She has a ~ voice.

Crouch down

Hunker down, squat down

Catch on

(to something) Fig. to figure something out. I finally caught on to what she was talking about. It takes a while for me to catch on. To become popular.

Feature

(transitive) (US) If you feature something, you consider (or imagine) it. I cannot feature that happening.

Hold over sbs head

(transitive, idiomatic) To harp on; to remind continuously (especially of a misstep or defeat) I get one parking ticket and he holds it over my head for six months.

lickety-split

(adj.) as fast as possible

Bootleg

(especially of liquor, computer software, or recordings) made, distributed, or sold illegally. Unlicensed. Bootleg videotapes.

Barnyard

(especially of manners or language) uncouth; characterized by a lack of propriety; coarse, indecent, earthy. "a polite way of avoiding barnyard language". "Making barnyard noises". Inappropriate, churlish

Stand in for

(idiomatic, transitive) To replace; to act as a double or substitute for. I asked my colleague to stand in for me so I could take the day off.

Spill over

(of a bad situation or strong emotion) reach a point at which it can no longer be controlled or contained. "years of frustration spilled over into violence"

Beam down

(of a light or light source) shine brightly. The sun was beaming down on me. The sun beamed down.

Squeamish

(of a person) having strong moral views; scrupulous. "she was not squeamish about using her social influence in support of her son". Easily made to feel sick.

Chart

(of a record) enter the weekly music charts at a particular position. "the record will probably chart at about No. 74". Her song was streamed more.

Fraught

(of a situation or course of action) filled with or destined to result in (something undesirable). "marketing any new product is fraught with danger". Rife with.

Bob

(of a thing) make a quick short movement up and down. The bottle bobbed in the water. Bobbed my head in response to her question. Bob for apples.

Come off

(of an action) succeed; be accomplished. "if you make this meeting come off, you're probably looking at a promotion". Come through

Shake a leg

Hurry up, as in Shake a leg or we'll miss the plane.

Cross my heart

I promise.

A great many

A very large number of (people, things, etc.). A great many people have joined the protest to voice their concerns over increased taxes.

Yoke

A wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart that they are to pull

Function

An official ceremony or a formal social occasion: disliked attending receptions and other company functi

Run over

1) To cause something to move or flow over or across the surface of something: I ran cold water over my burned hand. 2) To read or review something quickly: Let's run over the song one more time before we record it. 3) To go beyond a limit: The meeting ran over by 30 minutes. 4) To drive over something.

Ream out

1) to scold someone severely. The teacher really reamed him out. The coach reamed out the whole team. 2) to widen or clean an interior cavity or channel by scraping, grinding, or drilling. Ream the opening out so the flow will be faster.

Catch on

1. To snag something on something: I caught the sleeve of my jacket on a branch, and it ripped. 2. To understand or figure something out: We played a practice game so that the new players could catch on before we started betting. We were slow to catch on to the swindler's tricks.

Do-over

An opportunity to try or perform something a second time.

Slow poke

An unnecessary slow person

Burn up

Anger someone a lot. I was really burned up by her comment.

Satchel

A bag with a strap

Goon

A bully or thug, especially one hired to terrorize or do away with opposition. "a squad of goons waving pistols"

Reboot

A film or television show that is a remake of an earlier production, typically with a different or refreshed viewpoint. Re-run.

Tall order

A goal that is hard to fulfill or achieve

Din

A loud, confusing mixture of sounds

Imprint

A mark or impression produced by pressure

Muckety muck

A person of great importance or self-importance. "a big Hollywood muckety-muck"

Linchpin

A person or thing vital to an enterprise. Regular brushing is the linchpin of all good dental hygiene

Drag

A person that is tedious or boring. He's such a drag.

Bruiser

A person who is tough and aggressive and enjoys a fight or argument. 'thick-necked bruisers in shell suits'. Political bruiser.

Holdout

A person who refuses to reach an agreement until certain terms are met.

Headspace

A person's state of mind or mindset. 'if you're not in the right headspace for this stuff it's going to bore you, no matter how well it's done'

Non-starter

A person, plan or idea that has no chance of succeeding

New lease on life

A renewed outlook on life.

Awning

A rooflike structure, often made of canvas or plastic, that serves as a shelter, as over a storefront, window, door, or deck.

Lair

A secret place where a person seeks concealment or seclusion

Inkling

A slight knowledge, a smattering, hint

Skirmish

A small battle (border ~ are common), fight, brawl, fray, tussle

Powerhouse

A source of inspiration or influence. One having great power. Seaweed is a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals. He is a powerhouse of ideas.

Speed wobble

A speed wobble is when the handlebars wildly oscillate. You're going down a fast descent and all of a sudden your bike starts to speed wobble and shimmy beneath you. She got speed wobbles while she was biking down the hill.

Penchant

A strong liking for something;

Repartee

A swift witty reply. She's good at repartee. I replied with a repartee.

Dud

A thing that fails to work properly or is otherwise unsatisfactory or worthless. All three bombs were dud. He's a complete dud incapable of even hitting a ball.

Stake a claim

Announce that something belongs to you

Vex

Annoy, irk, pester, rag on

All bets are off

Anything can happen; the future is uncertain.

Mollify

Appease the anger

Bear down on

Apply maximum effort and concentration.

Here's the rub

Aqui está o problema

Slug it out

Argue intensely about something

Pitfalls

Armadilhas, unsuspected difficulty or danger. The pitfalls of working abroad are many.

Titillate

Arouse, excite, tickle, tantalize (food to titillate the most jaded of the palates; magazines to titillate men)

Haul in

Arrest, imprison, put in jail, detain, take into custody

Ordnance

Artillery, military supplies

Jettison

Abandon, give up, discard. Madagascar jettisoned plans to expand its airport.

Floor

Accelerate rapidly. he floored the pedal and was 2,000 feet away when that car bomb exploded. He floored the van

Take someone up on something

Accept what has been offered. He offered to sell me his car for two thousand bucks. You think I should take him up on it?

Roll up

Accumulate (he ~ a fortune in commodity trading); arrive in a vehicle (they ~ I'm a taxi at 8pm)

Gang up

Act as a group (~ on someone). Unite against

play fast and loose

Act irresponsibly

Suitor

Admirer

Rough up

Beat up, bust up, pummel, pound, bash in

Creep up on

Advance slowly or stealthily, as in The cat crept up on the bird, or Autumn is creeping up on us

Jittery

Aflito, edgy, nervous, jumpy, uneasy. Keyed up

Travail

Agony, suffering, labor

Jibe with

Agree with, match. My calculations jibe with the ones that the accountant made. Your story doesn't jibe with what we heard from the arresting officer. Alternate meaning: mocking insult.

See eye-to-eye

Agree, have similar views. even best friends can't expect to ~ on everything

Buy-in

Agreement to support a decision. The CEO got a buy-in from all his vice-presidents to launch the product

Hold tight

Aguenta aí!

All along

All the time; from the beginning

Assuage

Allay, ease, soothe

For all I know

As far as I know; I really don't know. She came in late because she had an accident, for all I know.

As fate would have it

As fats has decided. He was sure of winning the race, but as fate would have it, he got stuck in the middle with his car catching fire from no where.

To the hilt

As much as possible, to a maximum degree. He backed his wife up ~. We're already being taxed ~.

Staggered

Blown out of the water; Flabbergasted; astounded; bowled over; mindblown; apalled. Stagger: arrange (events, payments, hours, etc.) so that they do not occur at the same time; spread over a period of time.

Brazen

Bold and without shame

Bang

Bombar, to be appealing and exciting (of a party, place). The club was bangin last night man, you should have come out.

Pepper with questions

Bombard with questions

Lose one's footing

Lose one's balance. He * and slid into the water.

Switch off

Alternate performing a task. We switch off the baby-sitting every Friday so one of us can go to the movies

Hopscotch

Amarelinha. Rapturous (blissful) kids playing hopscotch.

Dazzled

Amazed, impressed, awed

Rounds

Ammunition

Rampage

Amoklauf, riot, rage

Feat

An act or accomplidhment of grrat courage

Settlement

An amount of money that someone receives as part of such an agreement; compensation.

White paper

An authoritative report on a significant issue

Accolade

An award or privilege granted as an acknowledgment of merit. UB holds the proud accolade of the worlds coldest capital.

Romp

An enjoyable time of rough and noisy play. A romp in the snow.

Uptick

An increase, rise

Convene

Assemble, gather together, huddle up

Stumped

At a loss (of a question)

At close range

At a short distance

In broad daylight

At daytime

On the line

At risk, in jeopardy.

While are at it

At the same time you're doing something else. Aproveitando/aproveita e. Come visit us next month and while you're at it you can help us move to our new apartment.

In their glory

At their best

Far along

At what stage; how ~ is she in her pregnancy? They are further ~ in their construction plans than in thought.

Set upon

Attack violently; beat up; subdue

Foray

Attempt to become involved in a new activity. My first foray into journalism.

Tout

Attempt to sell something typically by pestering people in an aggressive way. Peddle, hawk. Acclaim. The hotel was touted as the best in Europe.

Up for grabs

Available for anyone who wants to compete; not yet claimed. The senate's seat is *. The election is *.

On hand

Available. To keep sth ~. To be ~.

Barrage

Bombard. His doctor was barraged with unsolicited advice. "she was not prepared for his barrage of questions".

Mace

Borrifar spray de pimenta

Disenfranchisement

Loss of civil rights such as voting

Renege

Break one's word/vow. ~ on a promise.

Give suck to

Breastfeed, nurse

Huff and puff

Breathe heavily with exhaustion; pant.

Cursory

Brief, quick (~ research, glance, reading)

Bristle with

Brim with, be full of

Drum up

Bring about by persistent effort. ~ support for the amendment. ~ more customers.

Spark off

Bring on, trigger, give rise

To and fro

Back and forth. With hurricane force winds, the building will sway to and fro.

Ill repute

Bad name. Women of ill repute. House of ill repute (whorehouse).

Drag through the mud

Badmouth, speak negatively

Fall through on someone

Bail on someone; cancel on someone; stand someone up; blow someone off.

Kitchen twine

Barbante (cotton cord)

Haggle

Bargain

Harp on

Bater na mesma tecla

Turn your frown upside down

Be happy after being sad

Go off the deep end

Be irrationally carried away, act irresponsibly or heedlessly. For example, Just because you like her looks doesn't mean you should go off the deep end and propose.

Take offense to

Be offended. I took offense to them having Christmas decorations up by October.

Reside

Be situated, be found. The paintings now ~ on the walls of a restaurant

Bear the brunt

Bear the worst effect of (a blow, attack etc.)

Bust up

Beat up, batter (someone); break up (the rocket ~ in midair; who ~ the plates?)

Feel a rush of blood to the face

Become angry or excited (Blood rushes to the head or face).

Wig out

Become extremely excited

Thin out

Become less concentrated; The crowd began to ~ as we got a little farther from the theater.

Let up

Become less intense. The rain is letting up. To relax one's efforts. She was so far ahead that she could afford to let up a bit.

Bind

Become stuck, stick. A ~ door. Applied lubricant to keep moving parts from ~.

Bum

Beg or borrow. They * money off him. Can I * a drag off your cigarette?

Come down with

Begin to suffer with (a flu etc)

Disparage

Belittle, make light of, diss.

Double up

Bend over or curl up, typically in pain

Wager

Bet (more formal term), gamble. I would wager that there were more votes for Jen than for Mike.

Above reproach

Beyond suspicion, perfect, such that no criticism can be made

Squabble

Bicker, quarrel over a small matter, quibble

Blare

Blast; (cause) to sound loudly and stridently. A stereo ~ in the apartment. Don't ~ the stereo. She was ~ Drake off her phone.

Gore

Blood that has been shed, esp clotted

Belch

Blow, give off, expel, eject

Deep

Low-pitched (of sound). He makes this deep sound

Toss around

Bounce off an idea, throw it out there

Sure-fire

Bound to be successful. "A ~ way to do something"

Cop out

Bow out, blow off, stand up

Absent-minded

Brainscattered

Gall

Brazen boldness, insolence

Tote

Lug, carry, schlep, haul

Page someone

Call someone's name on speakers

Send for

Call; order or instruct someone to come. Summon. ~ the police.

Straitjacket

Camisa de força

Stub

Canhoto; the part of a ticket returned to the user

Seed bed

Canteiro (plot of garden)

Enthralled

Captivated

Spellbinding

Captivating, absorbing, compelling

Fizz

Carbonated gas in drinks

Happy-go-lucky

Carefree, blithely unconcerned, not worried about anything

Go steady

Carry on (with someone); see someone, date someone.

Hump

Carry something heavy, lug. Charlie humped his rucksack up the stairs to his flat.

Rock-hewn

Carved in stone, stone-cut, hew (#conform to).

Swept up

Caught up, suddenly involved in something to the hilt. Read this before you get ~ in fear-mongering. He went to Venice, got so ~ in that place and never left

Throw a wrench in the works

Cause something to fail

Get off the ground

Cause something to start happening or functioning

Blow in

Cause to collapse. "The explosion ~ the walls or windows". To be pushed inward. "I opened the screen and several flies ~."

Tether

Chain up, lash to

Speak to

Chamar a atenção de

Flip channel

Change channel

About-face

Change of opinion, swing of opinion

Change one's stripes

Change one's opinions, ideology

Trend

Change or develop in a general direction. Skies trend clearer with sunset. Unemployment has been trending upwards.

Funnel

Channel, pump. Guide or channel (something) through or as if through a ~. "some $12.8 billion was ~ through the Marshall Plan". Assume the shape of a ~ by widening or narrowing at the end. "the crevice ~ out"

Price out of the market

Charge so much for a product or service that no one will buy it, as in Asking $10 each for those old records is pricing yourself out of the market.

Gimcrack

Cheap, tacky. A gift shop selling gimcrack badges, keyrings and bottle openers

Scope out

Check out

Bubbly

Cheerful, lively, showing good spirits

Nippy

Chilly, cool, cold

Gnaw

Chomp on, chew on, nibble on. ~ at.

Cakewalk

Cinch, absurdly easy task

Hoops

Circular bands of metal; jump through the ~: do a lot of extra work so you can have or do something. "I really had to ~ at work, but I got the raise."

Girth

Circumference (of body parts, eg waist)

End-run

Circumvent, evade

Arraign

Citar. call or bring (someone) before a court to answer a criminal charge. "her sister was arraigned on attempted murder charges"

Clamber

Climb, scramble

Nearer the time

Closer to the time. Just let me know nearer the time your whereabouts and I'll try to come.

Duds

Clothes. Pack warm duds. Bathing duds.

Inkling

Clue, idea. She had no inkling

Sandbag

Coerce, force, bully. She sandbagged us into cleaning up their mess. He sandbagged me to make dinner for them. Railroad.

Slump over

Collapse; fall over forward

Swab

Collect a sample from (a person, for example) using a ~. Small piece of absorbent material attached to an end of a stick.

Rejoinder

Comeback, reply

Reassure

Comfort, encourage; console, solace

Flap

Commotion, uproar, fuss. She created a flap with her controversial statements.

Equate

Compare, put on an equal footing with. He equates criticism with treachery.

Bone-dry

Completely dry

Knock socks off

Completely surprise or overwhelm, please sb

Convoluted

Complex and Difficult to follow; ~ answer.

Overarching

Comprehensive

Crook

Con man, dishonest person

Snotty

Conceived, snobbish, arrogant

Squeak by

Escape, barely manage one's existence. To manage just to squeeze past someone or something. I squeaked by the fat man in the hallway only to find myself blocked by another. Sally just barely squeaked through the interview, but she got the job. My parents squeaked by on a limited income. That was a narrow squeak!

Coop someone up

Confine someone to a small place

Addled

Confused, mixed-up. You're talking to me like an addled romantic.

Accede

Consent, assent

Collude

Conspire, scheme, plot, be in cahoots

Hit someone up

Contact someone with a request or demand. Why not ~ him up for assistance on the rebuilding project?

Farm out

Contract out. To give work or responsibilities to other people Magazines often farm out articles to freelance writers. If you can't finish the reports by next week, you should farm them out.

Bastardize

Corrupt or debase (something such as a language or art form), typically by adding new elements. 'a strange, bastardized form of French'. The Italians bastardized pizza

Spunky

Courageous and determined; ballsy; gutsy; tenacious; strong-willed

Plaster

Cover, smother, slather, smear. She gets sunburn even when she ~ herself in lotion. ~ a wall with pictures. ~ advertisements on doors.

Fraidy cat

Coward, afraid of everything

Erupt with laughter

Crack up, Howl with laughter, sidesplitter

Pump out

Crank out, churn out, produce continually

Crater

Crash, fall. Colapse catastrophically. Sink, go down, plummet. We just cratered in the polls. The economy is about to crater.

Jones

Crave. She was jonesing for a drink

Crackpot

Crazy eccentric person.

Figment of one's imagination

Creation, invention off someone's head

Slink off

Creep away furtively

Cut someone off above/at the knees

Cripple someone. These boots cut me off above the knees.

Snarky

Critical; cranky; cantankerous; crotchety.

Rag on

Criticize severely, rip or tear or lash into, lambaste, lash

Pan

Criticize severely, scorch (somebody)

Muddle

Crush the ingredients to release the most flavor for drinks. ~ the lime with sugar

Crossover

Cruzamento. Fusão (música). The interchange of sections. You'd think this a crossover between a soap opera and a banana republic.

Cubby hole

Cubicle, small wooden compartment

Whammy

Curse, hex. Zica. She was convinced he had put the whammy on her.

Be onto something

Estar ligado em algo. I'm ~ your tricks.

Capacity crowd

Estádio lotado

Nail down

Force someone to give precise information or opinions, as in The reporter pinned down the governor on the issue of conservation measures.

Forsake

Forego, give up, ditch; abandon.

Wear and tear

Damage as a result of normal wear or aging. The couch shows lots of ~.

Dash

Dash, Scoot, zip, blow, Rush, dart, bolt, scamper, scurry, scuttle, whiz, hustle, sprint. The car tore down the road.

Pry away

Draw something away. Once my son got his own laptop, I could scarcely pry him away from it.

Poke a hole

Drill; make a hole

Fall off the wagon

Drink after a period of abstinence; relapse.

Hop the curb

Drive onto the curb, mount the pavement

On account of

Due to, because of, owing to

Vapid

Dull, insipid, uninteresting.

Con

Dupe, fool

Lo and behold

E adivinha o quê? Used to present a new scene, situation, or turn of events, often with the suggestion that although surprising, it could in fact have been predicted. "you took me out and, lo and behold, I got home to find my house had been ransacked"

Ring-fence

Earmark; specify that funds may only be used for a specific purpose, especially government funds. Roughly 90% of government spending is ~ and needs congressional approval

Testy

Easily irritated; grouchy

Nonchalant

Easy-going, relaxed

Wax and wane

Ebb and flow

Stoked

Elated, ecstatic, thrilled, excited

Decrepit

Elderly and infirm. Worn out.

Weed out

Eliminate for the sake of singling out something

Shave off time

Eliminate time. Save time. The new high speed trains will shave 25 minutes off the journey time.

At issue

Em questão, em discussão. At issue are a series of sanctions against the rogue nation.

Out of the woodwork

Emerging from oBscurity or out in the open from a place of concealment. When the cake appeared, all the office people suddenly came out of the woodwork

Bellow

Emit a deep, loud roar. He bellowed in agony.

Stunted

Emotionally stunted, kept from growing or developing

Pop a wheelie

Empinar

Hot air

Empty, exaggerated talk. Conversa fiada

Kick the can

Empurrar com a barriga

Galore

En masse, in abundance, by the score.

Dead on

Exactly right. Right on

Puffery

Exaggerated or false praise

Dandy

Excellent. Things are fine and dandy. That's a dandy way to get around it.

Sappy

Excessively sentimental, schmaltzy. Tear-jerking.

Hard-pressed

Experiencing difficulty. To be ~ to do something. You'd be ~ to find a better deal than that.

Go off on someone

Explode; tear into someone

Blow the lid off

Expose to public view (also: ~ cap ~)

Gouge

Extort, blackmail, gouge someone

Tease out

Extract (information) with difficulty. The director aim to ~ emotions from the audience. Pry information from someone. Glean

Pry

Extract, tease out, open with difficulty. To be nosy about. He tried to ~ the secret out of his sister. He finally ~ the door open. It took hours to ~ the banana apart from my hair. I don't mean to ~ but who's that girl?

Balls out

Extreme, with reckless abandon and extreme courage. You have to go balls out to win this game.

Gin up

Fabricate, concoct, devise fraudulently

drop the ball

Fail at something

Fall down on the job

Fail to do one's job adequately, lie down on the job, drop the ball

Keel over

Faint, pass out

Prop guns

Fake guns

Feign

Fake, simulate, pretend (~ surprise)

Fall behind on

Fall behind on one's bills, fail to pay overdue bills, skip out on one's bills.

Face-plant

Fall onto face

Straw man

Fallacy. an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent's real argument.

Phony

False, insincere. Phony baloney (fake).

Have got it in for

Feel a particular dislike of (someone)

Feel one's oats

Feel energetic, frisky or empowered

Sense of foreboding

Feeling that something bad will happen. I have a sense of foreboding.

Sour grapes

Fig. something that one cannot have and so disparages as if it were never desirable.

Step into the vacuum

Fill the void

Top off

Fill up (sb's glass). ~ their ice teas.

Vitriolic

Filled with hate

Flipper

Fin (shoes used for swimming)

Read into

Find an additional hidden or unintended meaning in something that is said or written, as in What I read into that speech on foreign policy is that the Vice President plans to run for President

Get your bearings

Find out where one is or what to do next. Orient oneself

Out of way

Finished, completed. I'm sure glad to have that test out of the way. I'll be happy to have all this medical stuff out of the way. Remarkable. Secluded

Train of thought

Fio da meada. I cannot seem to follow your train of thought on this matter. I lost my train of thought.

Conniptions

Fit of rage, tantrums

Mesh together

Fit together. I don't think you and Mesh ~ well together. Their interests and personalities ~ perfectly together.

Rigged to

Fitted with, equipped, connected to

Limber

Flexible, able to move and bend freely. ~ up his legs. Antonym: taut.

String along

Go along with someone, accompany or follow, tag along. Stall, keep someone waiting or in a state of uncertainty (the company ~ the job candidates before hiring someone else)

Go postal

Go ballistic

take the plunge

Go for it, take a chance, risk it

Make a beeline for

Go in a straight line towards

Tootle

Go or travel in a leisurely way. Amble, mosey, walk, scramble. She was tootling around the town.

Go haywire

Go out of control, malfunction. The binding machine has gone haywire.

Pore over

Go over, go through. To read or study something carefully and thoroughly: The engineers pored over their calculations looking for errors.

Go through a rough patch

Go through a difficult time. Be in a tough spot; be in dire straits. Fall on difficult times.

Retire

Go to bed

Creep up

Go up, bump up. I set the temperature to 65 but it would creep up to 75

Good grief

Good lord

Glom on to

Grab or Hold on to. The child glommed on to the mother's arm. To focus the attention on or become interested in someone or something: The media glommed on to the heartbreaking story.

Gunk

Greasy sticky residue or accumulation. ~ on the oil filter.

Grabby

Greedy

Mettle

Grit; guts; moral fiber; strength of character. Prove your ~ (show that you're brave)

Fumble

Grope awkwardly to find something (~ for the keys). To say or do hesitantly or awkwardly (~ words, he ~ the introduction badly). Drop the ball while playing (American football)

Drum something into someone's head

Hammer into someone's head, knock (some sense) into someone's head

Roust

Harass, treat roughly

Tough call

Hard decision

Elbow grease

Hard work. Apply ~.

Shoot the breeze

Have a chat

Rear-end

Have a fender-bender

Fall into place

If things fall into place in a situation, they happen in a satisfactory way, without problems If a project is well-planned, everything should fall into place.

The straight and narrow

If you keep on the straight and narrow, you behave in a way that is honest and moral. The threat of a good beating should keep him on the straight and narrow. Have you ever been tempted to stray from the straight and narrow?

Set in one's ways

If you say that someone is set in their ways, you are being critical of the fact that they have fixed habits and ideas which they will not easily change, even though they may be old-fashioned.

If you wanna put it out there

If you're interested in knowing the facts

Affect

Imitate (accent)

At the ready

Immediately available for use. Ready for use

Engulf

Immerse, swamp

Untenable

Impractical. The prices are so high as to be nearly untenable.

On the mend

Improving in health or condition.

Gingerly

In a careful cautious manner. He sat down very gingerly.

Over a barrel

In a dilemma, in a situation in which someone has no choice about what to do. He got me ~.

In a nutshell

In a few words, concised, summed up briefly

In a split second

In a jiffy, right away, very quickly

In a huff

In an angry, offended manner; walk off/leave/come in/be ~.

Sheepishly

In an embarrassed, coy manner

In concert with

In combination with, jointly, in collaboration

Roll out

Inaugurate

Motley crew

Incongruously varied in appearance (of a crew). A motley crew of discontents and zealots. A motley assortment of upscale bars.

Despondent

In low spirits from loss of hope or courage. Discouraged.

Under belt

In one's experience. achieved; counted or scored. "Minnie has over four hundred wins under his belt." "By his mid-teens, Liszt had three years of intensive concertizing under his belt."

Go out on a limb

In or into a position where one is not joined or supported by anyone else. Take a risk; hazard a guess. 'I wouldn't go out on a limb like this if I didn't have the data to justify it'

Tattered

In tatters

In the boonies

In the countryside, in a rural backwater

Down the line

In the future; at an unspecified point later.

Privy to

In the know about, informed of, in on, acquainted with, apprised of. He was not privy to the discussions.

In the dead of the night

In the middle of the night

Afoot

In the pipeline, in progress. Plans are afoot for the festival

All told

In total. All told she'd cowritten 8 hits.

No matter how you slice it

In whatever way you consider this; no matter how you try to portray something.

Dial up or down

Increase or decrease the intensity. He's dialed down the rage thus seems to permeate his novels. Dial down your expectations. Dial up the action in his next movie.

Go through the roof

Increase to a high level. Get angry.

Spike

Increase. Contaminate drink surreptitiously. Put an end to, put to rest. "he doubted they would spike the entire effort over this one negotiation". "Dems need to win over just one republican to spike her nomination.

Pipe up

Interject a comment; to interrupt with a comment. Nick ~ with an interesting thought. To join a conversation with an opinion, especially unexpectedly: You should have ~ if you didn't agree with us

Glimmer

Intermittent or dim flash of light. Faint manifestation or indication; a trace. A shred of hope

Spotty

Intermittent, splotchy (splotchy five o'clock shadow, scruff)

Make of

Interpret. What do you ~ this news?

Cut in

Interrupt a conversation; also, interpose oneself between dancing partners and replace one of them. For example, Before Walter was done talking, Marion cut into his conversation, or Jane was quite pleased when Arthur cut in on their dance

Spidey sense

Intuition, gut feeling

Probe into

Investigate, look into, scrutinize, pore over

Superimpose

Lay over, on top of. Sobrepor

Learn the ropes

Learn how to do a job; get the hang/ knack of something.

Far off

It's not that far off. It may as well happen.

McGyver

Jerry-rig, to repair in a makeshift manner.

Keep apprised

Keep abreast, get up to speed, keep in the loop or posted.

Bear in mind

Keep in mind that this is the busiest season so forward planning is essential

String along

Keep someone waiting or in a state of uncertainty; also, fool or deceive someone. Jerk around, give someone the runaround

Stave off

Keep something away or keep from happening. Forestall, avoid, bypass, foil, deflect, divert. Ward off (avert). Ward off infections, babies

Look over one's shoulder

Keep watching for threats or dangers

Keep your eyes peeled

Keep your eyes open, watch for

Crux

Key point. That's the crux of the matter

Bump off

Kill, murder

Bend over backwards

Knock oneself out, make every effort, try one's hardest

Carp

Kvetch, beef, bellyache. Complain or find fault continually, typically about trivial matters. "I don't want to carp about the way you did it"

Dearth

Lack of. Dearth of people with security clearance. Dearth of ideas.

Feckless

Lacking in spirit and strength. Worthless, useless. the feckless bum hasn't gotten off our sofa for ten days. Feckless mama's boy

Catch wind of

Learn of; hear about something

Swish

Make a rustling sound. Zip. A car swished by. Rustle - make a soft, muffled crackling sound like that caused by the movement of dry leaves or paper. "she came closer, her skirt swaying and rustling

Take stock of something

Make an appraisal of resources and potentialities. I spent some time yesterday ~ of my good and bad qualities. We all need to ~ now and then.

Strain

Make an effort to, exert oneself, knock oneself out. He was straining to complete the coursework.

Impersonate

Make an impression

Gouge

Make an indentation or rough hole with a gouge. The paper is to keep cars from gouging the tree barks. Gouge out - force out. His eyeballs were gouged out.

Keep in line

Make certain that someone behaves properly.

Make headway

Make great strides, make progress

Crack wise

Make jokes

Skeeve out

Make one's skin crawl, gross out

Bury the hatchet

Make peace, mend fences, make amends

Hit home

Make sense; add up; to be understood

Fine-tune

Make small adjustments, tie up loose ends.

Draw out

Make someone more social, cause someone to speak. cause to speak, "Can you draw her out--she is always so quiet"

Take the edge off

Make something less harsh; tone something down

Chafe

Make sore by rubbing against something

See to it

Make sure that, encarregar-se de, dafür sorgen dass. I will personally ~ that you never speak to her again.

Jerry-rigged

Makeshift, made in a hastily manner. A jerry-rigged plywood ramp ran to the side door so that his mother, Inez Graney, could come and go in her wheelchair.

Caked on makeup

Makeup that looks like a cake frosting

Turn of phrase

Manner of expression

Watchword

Mantra, buzzword

Call a foul

Marcar falta

Disenfranchised

Marginalized

Rubdown

Massage

The lesser of two evils

Menor de dois males

Taxing

Mentally demanding, strenuous, wearing

Muck up

Mess up, ruin; foul up. Gum up

Bugger up

Mess up, spoil, ruin

Foul up

Mess up, spoil. Wreck, ruin. Don't foul up this time!

Scramble

Mix up, muddle, jumble up, confuse. I'm a little ~.

Dollop

Modicum, splash, small portion, esp soft food. A ~ of soft serve/cream.

More than you can shake a stick at

More than you can count. There are more billionaires here than you can shake a stick at.

Morsel

Morsel, dollop, tidbit. Small piece of.

Dapple

Mottled or spotted marking, as on a horse's coat.

Bumble

Move clumsily, stagger (before I ~ back home) Buzz, hum. Fumble

Blow

Move fast in relation to something; "I was ~ by traffic on my bike; the boy ~ past the stands on his bike".

Table-hop

Move from table to table

Slalom

Move on a course with many twists and turns; zigzag.

Hustle

Move or act rapidly and energetically. We ~ to get dinner ready on time.

Work the nerve up

Muster up courage, buck up.

Marshal

Muster, gather, assemble (marshal esp. of troops)

Hoof it

My car was being repaired, so I decided to hoof it to the train station.

Bleed

My clothes tend to ~ with the first wash. When color, dye in a clothing piece comes off.

chump change

N. Amer. informal a small or insignificant sum of money

In the cross hairs

Na mira (de ataque, crítica). Her independence put her in the cross hairs of some local politicians. Manila is in the cross hairs as typhoon Lola sweeps through the country.

Bust someone's chops

Nag. Berate, hound someone to elicit action.

Spring chicken

Naive young woman

umbrage

Offense or annoyance (usually as take umbrage, meaning become offended or annoyed)

Chew out

Scold; tell off; dress down; rake over the coals. Rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprove, admonish, chide, criticize, upbraid, take to task, read someone the riot act, castigate; tell off, give someone a talking-to, give someone what for, give someone a dressing-down, give someone a tongue-lashing, rap over the knuckles, bawl out, come down on, tear into, blast; ream (out), zing, berate, lambaste "she berates him so often, he barely hears the words anymore"

Scoop

Scoop up, pick up, lift. Before she could respond, the door burst open, Nova rushed in, scooped her off the floor and held her in his arms

Taper

Narrow or thin out. Become narrower toward one end. The tail ~ to a rounded tip

Gnarly

Nasty

Need a bellhop?

Need help putting your bag up?

Remiss

Negligent

Rake in

Net, earn, bring in, raise, gross (profits)

Cancel out

Neutralize, counterbalance, offset.

Rookie

Newbie

Tidings

News; "I bring good ~".

Finicky

Nitpicky; Fussy; picky; over particular; persnickety

No one will be the wiser

No one will never know

No sweat

No problem

Put out feelers

Scour

Carton

Package made of waxed cardboard or plastic. Carton of milk. Eggs carton.

Paper over

Patch up, gloss over, smooth over. To solve a problem temporarily They papered over their disagreements in order to end the meeting on a positive note.

walk the beat

Patrol on the job (police, guard)

Short fuse

Pavio curto

Foot the bill

Pay all the costs of something

Spring for

Pay another's expenses, treat, as in I'll spring for the dinner this time.

Go Dutch

Pay for himself or herself

Pick up the tab

Pay the bill

Lapsed

Nonpracticing. No longer following and practicing the rules of a religion or doctrine. Lapsed Catholic.

Hooey

Nonsense

Prying

Nosy, snoopy, meddling

Unwitting

Not done on purpose, unintentional. Unwittingly. Inadvertently

On the outs

Not on friendly terms. Trump is * with Gen Kelly

unfazed

Not perturbed, not disconcerted. To faze = to rattle = to unnerve

Lax

Not strict enough; careless or negligent. " ~ parents who let their kids stay out as late as they want"

Aggravation

Nuisance, bother. It's not worth the ~.

Don't beat yourself up

Não se martirize

Bond

Obligation

hellbent on doing something

Obsessed with doing something

Source

Obtain. A bar ~ ingredients from onsite gardens.

Geezer

Odd old cranky man

Rife

Of frequent occurrence; abundant, plentiful; widespread.

Congenial

Of pleasant disposition

Off-kilter

Off balance, off-center, skewed, off-balance

Pitchy

Off-pitch, out of tune

Racket

Noise, uproar. The sixth grade cannot concentrate on the pyramids for all this racket!

Gaunt

Scraggy, emaciated, haggard, scrawny. He was looking gaunt and tired.

Dated

Old, ultrapassado

On a roll

On a streak of success

On the ropes

On the verge of defeat

On the cusp of

On the verge of, about to.

By and large

On the whole, all in all. Mammals have, by and large, bigger brains than reptiles.

Pizazz

Oomph

Quarry

Open-pit mine

Stretch oneself too thin

Or to spread oneself too thin. to try to do too many things at the same time, so that you cannot give enough time or attention to any of them I realised I'd been spreading myself too thin so I resigned as secretary of the golf club.

Out of whack

Out of adjustment; inoperative. The gears are ~, but it still goes. I think my left eye is ~.

Winded

Out of breath

Askew

Out of line. You can park ~.

Facile

Over simplistic

Put money down

Pay, give a downpayment. Did you settle your bill? Yeah, I put down 15 bucks. I put 10k down on the apartment.

Step over the line

Overstep the bounds, go overboard

Go over well

Pegar bem. To be wel accepted or received. He offered a tip to the Japanese server which didn't go over well.

On second thought

Pensando bem

Rake

Scratch; scrape; graze

Squeal

Screech, shriek

Scamper

Scuttle; scurry

Troll for

Search for carefully

Rummage through

Search through, go through, sift through, scour

Totaled car

Perda total (vehicle)

Go through

Perder. The kids go through clothes in no time as they grow so fast. As crianças perdem as roupas muito rápido ao crescerem.

Rendition

Performance or interpretation (esp of a dramatic role or piece of music)

Mystified

Perplexed, dumbfounded

Coax

Persuade gradually or by flattery.

Wheedle

Persuade or coax. Most officers can wheedle their way into traveling to mindanao.

Coax

Persuade, talk into.

Tiff

Petty quarrel. She was walking home after a tiff with her boyfriend. We have our tiffs here and there.

Pikayune

Petty, worthless. A picayune squabbling of party politicians.

Mattock

Pickax, hoe

Snippet

Piece of information; fragment; ~ of the video

Riddle

Pierce, perforate. Riddled with holes. Riddle the target with bullets

Abode

Place of residence (literary). Welcome to my humble abode!

Repose trust in someone

Place trust in

Digs

Place, dwelling, crib, home; joint

Cycle around

Plan around. I ~ my activities around the moon Jen ~ her outdoor activities around the daylight hours.

Pour into a role

Play a role, impersonate

Predicament

Plight, difficulty

Slump

Plummet, plunge, decrease, fall, drop, decline, shrink, lower, contract, sink, dip, nose-dive, go down, tumble

Scuff

Poke at something with one's foot. There was so much glass on the floor, they were ~ it aside so we didn't slip.

Controversy

Polêmica

Divvy up

Portion out, divide and dole out.

Knock out

Render unconscious by a blow or some other means. For example, It was just a swinging door, but it knocked her out, or Just one of those sleeping pills can knock you out cold.

Replicate

Repeat (mistake)

Sub in

Replace or take someone's place. The guy ~ for me. Sit in for someone. sit in on as in I'm just sitting in for Harold, who couldn't make it.

Gird one's loins

Prepare oneself to do something difficult

Locked and loaded

Prepared

Foreshadowing

Presage, portend

Spring on

Present or disclose something to someone unexpectedly or suddenly: They ~ the news on all their friends that they were having a baby.

purse your lips

Press lips together. Picker lips

Stunt

Prevent from growing. A disease that ~ growth. Curb, inhibit

Hold down

Prevent something from advancing; Once that team gets going, you can't hold them down. To keep a job for an extended period of time; to digest Dodd successfully. I'm so sick, I haven't been able to ~ anything.

Preempt

Prevent, forestall. The government preempted a war.

Price point

Price range

Enjoin someone from

Prohibit someone from

Pop the question

Propose (marriage)

Taunt

Provoke or challenge someone with insulting remarks. Insulting remarks (noun).

Taunt

Provoke someone, sneer at.

Elicit

Provoke, cause to happen

Rake over the coals

Reprimand. Talk about unpleasant things from the past that other people would prefer not to talk about (usually in continuous tenses) There's no point in raking over the coals - all that happened twenty years ago, and there's nothing we can do about it now.

Called for

Required, demanded. I don't think a break at this time is called for. I really don't think that remark was called for.

Drill down on

Research

Unyielding

Resolute, not willing to change or be persuaded.

Retribution

Retaliation. Out of fear of retribution.

Dry-heave

Retch; gag up; gag reflex without vomiting

Withhold information

Reter informação

Composite sketch

Retrato falado

Rollback

Reversal of course

Nuzzle up to

Push or rub with the nose. Buttercup loved to nuzzle up to me. She nuzzled my legs.

Nickel and dime

Put a financial strain on (someone) by charging small amounts for many minor services. 'we don't nickel-and-dime our customers like some vendors that charge extra for every little utility'

Put to rest

Put an end to a rumor; to finish dealing with something and forget about it. I've heard enough about Ann and her illness. I'd like to put the whole matter to rest. I'll be happy to lay it to rest, but will Jane?

Coral

Put livestock in a coral. Pen in, coop up. The goats were coralled at night.

Exert oneself upon

Put/make effort to

Funky

Quaint, unpretentious, offbeat, unconvential; having a foul odor.

Spar

Quarrel; spat; be at loggerheads

Tiff

Quibble, run-in

Lay off

Quit, knock off. I lay off work at 5pm. I need to lay off beer. Lay off! Back off!

Knock it off

Quit, stop, lay off what you're doing

Off-color

Racy, risqué, bordering on indelicacy or impropriety.

Make a stand

Rail against, speak out against. To make a determined effort to defend something or to stop something from happening There comes a time in every close game when a team has to rise up and make a stand.

Bucket down

Rain heavily. From May to June the rain buckets down.

Up the ante

Raise the stakes; redobrar as apostas

Scrape up

Raise. We had to scrape up 10k.

Gamut

Range, scope, breadth. The complete range or scope of something. "the whole gamut of human emotion"

Come out on the bottom

Rank bottom, come out in the last place

Echelon

Rank, chain of command. He reached the upper echelons of government.

Come of age

Reach adult status. I was awed when she had come of age.

Peruse

Read carefully. He has spent countless hours in libraries ~ art history books.

Reverse-facing

Rear-facing

Stoop so low

Rebaixar-se; I would never ~ as to take money from my children.

Log up

Record an amount of. Some suburban neighborhoods ~ levels up in the 900s.

Ring up

Record the sale of something on a cash register.

Catch one's breath

Recuperar o fôlego

Recoup

Recuperate. See how much money can be recouped. He recouped from a loss.

Whittle down

Reduce size gradually as if by ~ with a knife. The couple ~ their debt by making small payments.

Braise

Refogar, simmer, stew.

Reword

Reformulate, rewrite, change words.

Brace

Reinforce, make a structure stronger or firmer with wood, iron or other forms of support. The posts were ~ by lengths of timber.

Rebuff

Reject in a rude manner. Turn down.

Shoot down

Reject, defeat; also, expose as false. For example, It was the best idea I could come up with, but they unanimously shot it down

Gloat

Rejoice, relish, delight, revel in

Backslide

Relapse; revert to old habits

At ease

Relaxed and comfortable, laid-back, without worries

Get behind

Relevar. I really can't get behind a pop song that's advocating for women abuse.

Heirloom

Relic passed down through family. Family heirloom

Reflect back on

Reminisce; to remember or think about someone or something. When I reflect back on the years I spent with my parents, I think I had a good childhood. I like to reflect on my great-grandmother.

Dislodge

Remove or force out from a position

Ludicrous

Ridiculous

Sanctony

Righteousness accompanied by an unwarranted of moral superiority. Cut the sanctimony!

Cut into

Rub on. The dress was cutting into me. It was so tight it was rubbing against my skin.

Bolt

Run away quickly; dash; take flight; hightail it; hotfoot it;

Step out of the cocoon

Sair do casulo

Saving grace

Salvação, lifeline. My saving grace in the drudgery of daily grind.

Waterlog

Saturate with water. The race was called off after parts of the course were found to be waterlogged.

Squirrel away

Save up as for future use. I got some money squirrels away.

Rattle off

Say quickly. She rattled something off im French.

Intersperse

Scatter between other things , pepper, dot. "interspersed between tragic stories are a few songs supplying comic relief". "Regular flavored jelly beans interspersed with disgustingly flavored ones".

Deride

Scoff as, ridicule

Berate

Scold, rebuke, reproach

Dead ass

Seriously. To be completely and honestly serious. I was dead ass crying when she lost the election. I dead ass need some pills. Did he really jump the fence? I'm dead ass.

Cap

Set an upper limit on (decided to ~ cost-of-living increases). To write in capital letter

Raggedy

Shabby, not in good condition.

Hole in the wall

Shabby, rundown place

Carpool

Share a ride; share car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car.

Twangy

Sharp (of sound). Agudo

Keen

Sharp, precise. Keen eye, keen ear.

Plaster

She gets sunburn even when she ~ herself in lotion. ~ a wall with pictures. ~ advertisements on doors.

Plunk down

Shell out, pony up money

Glisten

Shine with light reflected off a moist or polished surface. Glimmer, shimmer, scintillate

Quiver

Shiver

Mean mug

Shoot a dirty look at sb

Short out

Short circuit.

Terse

Short, brief, sparing in the use of words, to the point, blunt

Clamor

Shout loudly and insistently for somethig (of a group of people)

Yell at the top of one's lungs

Shout out loud

Sneer at

Show contempt for

Gnashing of teeth

Show of anger, angry complaining. There was a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth over the new fee structure.

Scoff at

Show ridicule or scorn for someone

Well taken

Shrewd and accurate (points, comments). Her point is ~.

Pipe down

Shut up, become quiet, silent

Pipe down

Shut up, become quiet, silent. Simmer down

Sift

Sieve, put through a sieve. Examine thoroughly.

Telltale sign

Sign (of), something that indicates or revelas an information

Jacked up

Significantly increased. Jacked up prices. Overly stimulated. Jacked up on coke.

Gag

Silence. Trying to gag the media.

Drivel

Silly nonsense

Ditzy

Silly, scatterbrained

Homespun

Simple and unsophisticated. Homespun philosophy.

Tank your career

Sink your career

Take a load off

Sit down and relax

Fly

Sit well with. I'd like to go on a fishing trip with my buddies for the week, but that wouldn't fly with my wife!

Rifle through

Skim through. The police rifled through the papers

Cut class

Skip class; play a hooky

Slack up on

Slack on, work slowly or lazily, idle

Drag through the mud

Slander, slam someone. Talk trash; smear or taint or harm someone's reputation.

Cobble together

Slap together, put together, assemble hastily, mend or patch up. They cobbled up a solution. We cobbled together that report just last night.

Shack up

Sleep together w/ sb, live in sexual intimacy

Grind to a halt

Slow down and stop. Every day about noon, traffic in town grinds to a halt.

Devious

Sly, shifty, underhanded. Wily, cunning

Nick

Small cut; * up the kitchen counter.

Dribs and drabs

Small scattered amounts

Trifles

Small things

Ripple

Small wave

Whiff

Smell; trace, suspicion. All it took was a whiff of scandal. Catch a whiff of (smell)

Wail

Sob, moan

Fall prey to

Somebody/something to be harmed by someone or something. We worry that our children will fall prey to the influence of bad kids. Patients may fall prey to dishonest salespeople who say they can cure their pain.

Claims adjuster

Someone who investigated insurance claims.

Snooze

Something boring or uninspiring. Man, that novel is a snooze!

Cinch

Something sure or easy: Fixing this leak is a cinch.

Heart murmur

Sopro no coração.

Herky jerky

Spasmodic, marked by sudden stops. A herky-jerky home movie shown on an old projector. Jerky.

Coo

Speak in a soft gentle voice. He was cooing at toddlers. Trump was cooing to Mexican President

Pageantry

Spectacle

Hurtle

Speed, rush. Move or cause to move at a great speed, typically in a wildly uncontrolled manner. "a runaway car hurtled toward them". The car went hurtling through the streets. Zip

Veg out

Spend time idly, bum around

Chug out

Spew out, belch, give off. The car chugs out diesel fumes. Emit a series of regular muffled explosive sounds, as of an engine running slowly.

Slosh

Spill, slop (over). Beer ~ over the side of the glass.

Splatter

Splash a liquid over a surface

Splatter

Splash over a surface

Chip in

Split, contribute (financially)

Scrape by

Squeak by, squeeze by, manage to get by

Shoehorn

Squeeze, squish, force or compress into an insufficient space or period of time. She's trying to shoehorn a year's worth of classes into a single semester. The parking garage was shoehorned between the buildings.

Spurt out

Squirt out

Squash

Squish, scrunch, squeeze, crush

Dead in the water

Stalled, unable to function. Morrer na praia

gawk at

Stare openly and stupidly

Take up

Start an activity. Become interested or engaged in a pursuit. "she took up tennis at the age of 11"

Hit the ground running

Start the day energically

Garrison

Station (troops) in a particular place

Swipe

Steal, pinch, filch

Spring from

Stem from, result from

Starchy

Stiff, formal. Prim and proper

Penny pincher

Stingy, cheap person

Jog into action

Stir into action; put into motion, swing into action

Sow discord

Stir things up, plantar discórdia

Amass

Stockpile, gather

Bog down

Stop developing, slow down. The movie bogs down after a really great beginning.

Level off

Stop increasing

Bow out

Stop taking part in an activity or give up a position

Staunch

Stop the flow of (blood vessels)

Run of bad luck

Streak of bad luck. I'm having a run of bad luck at the moment.

String out

Stretch. The workers strung the wires out. To make something longer than usual or necessary; prolong something: The prosecution strung out the trial hoping to get the time to gather more evidence.

Come up dry

Strike out. To be unsuccessful. "experiments have so far come up dry"

Wallop

Strike very hard. He ~ the back of my head with a chair.

Flak

Strong criticism

Bogged down

Stuck; prevented from making progress

Beefcake / Stud Muffin

Stud muffin. Hot buff (naked) guy

Cram for a test

Study hard for a test. Burn the midnight oil.

Knuckle under to someone

Submit to someone, bow to someone

Catch sight of

Suddenly notice, glimpse

sink through the floor

Suffer extreme embarrassment

Morose

Sullen, sulky, surly, ill-tempered

Take up for

Support (in am argument)

Ride out

Survive or outlast something; endure something: I rode out the war as a nurse. Many people left before the storm, but we stayed and ~ it out. Only two companies managed to ~ the depression—all the rest went bankrupt. Travel out of a place in a vehicle or on a horseback.

Leery

Suspicious or wary. Guarded

Pounce on

Swat at

Is second only to

Só vem atrás de

Crockery

Tableware, china, utensils

Strike terror

Tacar terror

Take a beat

Take a moment to relx

Take to someone

Take a shine to someone, grow find of someone

Seize on

Take advantage of (~ the attacks to lobby for guns)

Detract

Take away the value or worth. "These quibbles in no way ~ from her achievements".

Hold your horses

Take it easy

Wash out

Take out the strength and vitality. The flu washed me out.

Take upon oneself

Take the initiave

Take center stage

Take the most prominent position.

Run one's mouth

Talk a lot

Talk someone's ear off

Talk endlessly

Flap one's lips

Talk foolishly or idly

Go over someone's head

Talk or deal with someone's boss without talking to them first.

Peace out

Tap out, die

Plug leaks

Tapar vazamentos

Pillory

Taunt, lambaste, ridicule somebody publicly.

Tatter

Tear up, shred, frazzle

Crawl with

Teem with, brim with

Fib

Tell unimportant lies, little lies.

Doggedly

Tenaciously, persistently

Taut

Tense, tightly stretched. ~ nerves, muscles. Antonym: limber

Vacant lot

Terreno baldio

Pick of the litter

The best of the group

Go above and beyond

To do more or better than would usually be expected of someone: He's always been a good friend, but while I was ill he really went above and beyond.

Show Sb up

To outperform or outclass someone; to make someone look unskilled or inadequate by comparison with one's effort or talent.

Blowhard

The definition of a blowhard is a person who boasts in an obnoxious or unpleasant way.

Hit out of the park

To do or perform something extraordinarily well; outdo oneself; to produce or earn an exceptional achievement. An allusion to hitting a home run in baseball that lands outside the stadium. Great job on that report, Jacobs—you really hit it out of the park!

Beat to the punch

To do something before someone else does. I wanted a new car, but Sally ~ me ~.

Go to town

To do something eagerly and as completely as possible "Angie and Phil have really ~ on their wedding."

Slot

To place or fit into a slot: You've been slotted for four o'clock.

To be wrapped on

To be finished with, to have gotten through. I'm wrapped on Season 1 of the Cobblestone Corridor

Be at liberty

To be free, allowed, entitled to do something

Slug

To be idle. Stagnate. The man sat and ~ on his porch"; "He ~ in bed all morning". Hit hard.

Put someone out

To be inconvenient to someone, to bother. Indont mean to ~ you ~.

To be cowed

To be intimidated

To be about to the end of something

To be nearly out of something

Play with a full deck

To be of sound mind: didn't seem to be playing with a full deck.

Smitten

To be smitten with someone, infatuated with. Swoon over.

To be cut out for something

To be suited for something

Call the shots/ tune

To be the person who makes all the important decisions and who has the most power in a situation She was used to calling the shots, to being in charge.

Glum chum

The opposite of a fair-weather friend, a foul-weather friend only seeks you out if they have a problem, need a shoulder to cry on, a ride to town

Starters

The opposite of bench players. A player who begins any given game as the first to play in a specific position

Clambake

The opposite of sausage fest (where the crowd is almost exclusively female)

Sit under

To be under the instruction or ministration of. I won't let my children sit under a teacher that indoctrinates them with Islam.

Elude

To be unnattained by, fail to be grasped or escape the memory. A point that ~ the audience. A name that eludes me. Dodge, evade (a question...)

Show through

To be visible or evident through something: Her slip shows through her dress. Your arrogance shows through despite your attempts to be friendly.

Belfry

The part of a bell house in which bells are housed

Act up

To become active or troublesome after a period of operating normally: My knee starts acting up when the weather is cold. My allergies are acting up.

Drive a hard bargain

The shopkeeper drove a hard bargain, but we eventually agreed on a price for the vase.

Warp

To become bent or twisted out of shape: The wooden frame warped in the humidity.

Glaze over

To become covered with a coat of ice or glaze. To assume s dull, uninterested appearance. "My eyes ~ when I hear all those statistics" " the chef ~ the cake with chocolate frosting".

Cop a plea

To plead guilty to a lesser charge so as to avoid standing trial for a more serious charge.

Get in on

To become involved with, or participate in, some group, organization, or activity. Let me know if you'd like to get in on our party this Saturday. Why don't you go get in on the fun with the other kids?

Put a plug in the jug

To become permanently sober; to give up intoxicants, especially alcohol.

Board

To board a dog or cat. To provide housing services for pets. Boarding kennel.

See through

To cause or help someone to manage or survive: I have enough savings to see me through a month without work. We'll see you through until you finish college. That won't see us through the weekend.

Render

To cause to be. He had a viral infection in his infancy that rendered him deaf.

Make one's rounds

To circulate through a group or place. Oh, I'm just making my rounds, but I'll be back to chat some more before the night is over. All the big news makes the rounds after homeroom, and everyone has the most current gossip by lunch.

Roll around

To come to pass. Used of times, seasons, or scheduled events: When the holidays roll around, I'll go visit my family. When June rolls around, I'll go swimming in the lake.

Make up

To compensate for something, such as a previous debt or bad behavior: They didn't charge me the right amount last month, but made up the difference in this month's bill. I'm sorry I forgot your birthday—I'll make it up to you by taking you out to dinner.

Go up against

To compete with someone; to face someone in competition. She is going up against Rodney in the spelling bee. The champ went up against the challenger in a match last Friday.

Nurse

To consume slowly, especially in order to conserve: ~ one drink all evening. Treat carefully (esp to prevent an injury). "He nursed his injured knee by shifting his weight to the other leg"

Kick in

To contribute something, especially money: The boss ~ $20 for the office party. I ~ a few bucks in to buy them a gift

Scrunch

To crumple or squeeze; hunch: scrunched up their shoulders; scrunch one's nose against a window.

Bamboozle (v)

To deceive by elaborate trickery

Breath one's last

To die, pass away

Bundle

To dispatch or dispense of quickly and with little fuss. He was bundled into the aircraft

Charade

Travesty, farce. I didn't want to play along with the charade anymore.

Toss around

Think or consider; float; discuss informally. We've been ~ the idea of moving to a warmer climate

This time around

This particular time

G-string

Thong, fio dental

Through thick and thin

Through good times and bad times

Lob

Throw, chuck, fling (esp. a ball or missile). He lobbed the ball over their heads. It may act as nor'easter, lobbing some sustained precipitation at us from offshore.

Chuck

Throw, toss, hurl, fling, dump. Someone chucked a brick through the window

Lash to

Tie to; chain to; ~ to a mast or tree or bunk

Pucker up

Tighten the lips together into a circle as if to kiss.

Tip

Tilt

on the take

To accept bribes. It turned out the police officer was on the take

Stand on ceremony

To act in a formal, ceremonious or overly polite manner. Please make yourself at home - there's no need to stand on ceremony.

Forge

To advance with an abrupt increase of speed: forged into first place with seconds to go. They forged ahead with their plans. If you're depressed, don't think you can buck up and forge through, seek help!

Toggle back

To alternate between two or more electronic, mechanical, or computer-related options, usually by the operation of a single switch or keystroke: toggled back and forth between two windows on the screen

Piss on someone's party

To be a party pooper, buzzkill

Buzz

To be abuzz, the department was ~ with rumors. Fly low (aircraft) - the plane ~ the control tower.

To be a hoot

To be amusing, very funny. What a ~ that must be. The weekend was a ~.

To be brought on by

To be caused by

Model after

To be designed after something. One of Disney roller coaster was modeled after the Matterhorn.

Hit the spot

To be exactly right. That drink really ~.

Duplicitous

Treacherous, deceitful

Brood

To focus the attention on a subject persistently and moodily; worry: brooded about his future; brooded over the insult for several days. To be depressed: All he seemed to do was sit and brood.

Hold up the end (of the bargain)

To fulfill or attend to one's obligation(s) or promise(s) as agreed; to do one's agreed part in some arrangement. I've paid my share setting up this business—now it's time for you to hold up your end. Jackie didn't hold up her end of the bargain, so we're excluding her from the deal.

Settle old scores

To get vengeance on someone for a past wrong or grievance; to punish someone for causing one harm or misfortune in the past

Push around

To give someone orders in a forceful or unpleasant way; bully someone: The seniors and juniors pushed around the younger students. You shouldn't let your boss push you around like that!

Put on equal footing with

To give the same rights and conditions as someone you are competing with

Run over

To go beyond a limit: The meeting ran over by 30 minutes. To overflow. Stop pouring water in, the bucket is running over

Reconnoiter

To go on reconnaissence (of a territory)

Have it out with someone

To have an argument, verbal fight, or frank discussion (with someone), especially to settle something that has caused anger, frustration, or annoyance. I had to have it out with my roommate because he never does his share of cleaning in the house.

Get a second wind

To have increased energy or strength after feeling tired or weak

To be lost on someone

To have little or no impact or effect on someone; to not be valued, appreciated, or understood by someone. The human cost necessary to make these first-world comforts is a hard truth that is lost on most consumers.

Tend

To have the care of; watch over; look after: ~ a child. To manage the activities and transactions of; run: ~ bar; ~ a store in the owner's absence.

Snarl

To involve someone or something in or as if in a tangle. Mix up. Their lawyers snarled us up in litigation for years. Don't get me mixed up in your affairs. An accident snarled traffic for hours.

Keep someone on their toes

To keep one attentive, active, busy or alert. He gave me a couple of extra things to do just to keep me on my toes.

Canoodle

To kiss and cuddle amorously

Bump

To knock to a new position; shift: bumped the crate out of the way.

Glean from

To learn something or figure something out using some information gathered bit by bit: We were able to glean information about their past from the conversation we overheard. I gleaned from these various articles that there was serious trouble brewing in the government.

Take someone to task

To lecture, berate, admonish, or hold somebody accountable for his or her actions. I took him to task for the crudeness of his manners.

Dummy up

To make a mock-up or prototype version of something, without some or all off its intended functionality. The carpenters dummied up a set of simple props for the rehearsals.

Pull out all the stops

To make every effort to achieve something Both sides promise to pull out all the stops, running more TV and newspaper ads and making more phone calls to supporters. I'm pulling out all the stops to have the best party ever.

Soup up

To make more powerful, especially add speed to an engine. Pimp out a car.

Plow

To make or form with driving force: I ~ my way through the crowd. ~ his car into the crowd.

Square away

To make someone or something ready; put something in order: I ~ my remaining office work before I went on vacation.

Tuck someone in

To make someone secure in bed for sleep, especially by tucking bedclothes into the bed

To soften the blow

To make something unpleasant easier to accept.

Buck

To make sudden jerky movements; jolt: The motor bucked and lurched before it finally ran smoothly. To oppose directly or go against.

Doctor up

To modify something so as to improve or conceal its taste or appearance: The chef doctored up the bland fish by seasoning it heavily. I doctored the eggs up with a little oregano. Spruce up, jazz up, spiff up, tidy up

Home in

To move or advance toward a target or goal: The missile first homed in, then hit its target. The investigators were homing in on the truth.

Mill around

To move or circulate in a confused or disorderly manner within a limited area.

Crank

To move or operate (a window, for example) by or as if by turning a handle. He cranked down the handcuffs. Tighten the cuffs.

Barrel

To move or progress rapidly. ~ along the highway.

Storm

To move or rush tumultuously, violently, or angrily: ~ up the embankment; ~ out of the room. ~ down the escalators. Attack, assault. Refugees ~ the embassy.

Dart

To move suddenly and rapidly: The dog darted across the street. Her eyes darted around the room

Flounce

To move with exaggerated or affected motions: flounced petulantly out of the house.

Shuffle

To move with short sliding steps, without or barely lifting the feet. The crowd ~ out of the theater.

Take some doing

To need a lot of effort It took some doing, but I finally got the manager to agree to hire you.

Let slide

To not do anything about something

Cramp someone's style

To prevent someone from enjoying themselves as much as they would like, especially by going somewhere with them Are you sure you don't mind your old mother coming along with you? I'd hate to cramp your style.

Grub up

To procure something by or as if by digging in the ground for it: The bird grubbed up some worms from under the rock.

Whir

To produce a vibrating or buzzing sound. The fan whirred in the window.

Come through with

To produce or deliver something as promised. Finally, Bob came through with the money he had promised. I knew he would come through. He came through with a table at that legendary restaurant.

Ply with

To provide (with) or subject (to) repeatedly or persistently. He ~ us with drink the whole night.

Loop in

To provide up-to-date information; inform. She sent an email to ~ the staff about policy changes

Flip for

To react enthusiastically or passionately to someone or something: I flipped for the new bartender. Sunbathers will flip for these new stylish swimsuits.

Pare down

To reduce the size or amount of something by gradually taking away parts of it: We should pare down the supplies we keep in our storage room until we have only what we absolutely need. The article was too long, and it took me a long time to pare it down.

Bank on

To rely on someone or something: You can bank on her to get the job done when it has to be done quickly. I wouldn't bank on the bus arriving on time.

Write up

To report someone in writing, as for breaking the law: The police officer wrote me up for speeding. The cop wrote up the pedestrian for jaywalking. If you did something like that where I work, I'd write you up for harassing.

Line up

To schedule someone or something [for something]. Please line somebody up for the entertainment. We will try to line up a magician and a clown for the party. They lined up a chorus for the last act. We lined up to work on this project.

Ring true

To seem to be accurate or sincere. Something about the story didn't quite ring true.

Scrape the bottom of the barrel

To select from among the worst

Pit against

To set someone or something in competition with or opposition to someone or something else: The civil war ~ brother against brother.

Spring a leak

To start a leak. The boat sprung a leak.

Get a jump on

To start something ahead of others, in order to gain an advantage. If we want to beat the competition, we should really get a jump on this project.

Come into being

To start to exist

Railroad

To steamroll. To rush or push (something) through quickly in order to prevent careful consideration and possible criticism or obstruction: ~ a special-interest bill through Congress. Force someone into something with haste. Ram through. They rammed the bill through the city council.

Hold out hope

To still hope for something unlikely to happen. We don't hold out much hope of finding more survivors

Come to a standstill

To stop, grind to a halt. Traffic came to a standstill.

Shoot for

To strive or aim for something; have something as a goal. "I might not have the report finished by Tuesday, but I'm ~ Monday"

Freeze in one's track

To suddenly stop doing what one was doing

Bring around

To sway, win over. To persuade someone to adopt a particular point of view or to do something: The employees tried to bring around their boss to their way of approaching the problem. He was reluctant to come with her, but she brought him around.

Trade off

To take turns: My roommate and I trade off washing the dishes. Exchange. Don't trade off job security for more money.

To the gills

To the brim. Packed to the gills with gadgets

Go off the reservation

To think or act differently or contrary to the accepted norm

Rack brain

To think very hard; struggle to think or remember

Run down

To trace the source of: The police ran down all possible leads in the case. The cops ran down his driver license.

Box in

To trap or confine someone or something in a limited space or region: We boxed in the left corner of the living room with a new wall and curtains. The enemy forces had boxed us in on all sides. To prevent someone from acting freely, usually by creating restrictions or obstacles: Being too strict will box in your students and prevent them from being creative. I want to make some changes at the office, but my boss has boxed me in with too many rules.

Give the hard sell

To try hard to persude someone to buy something even if they don't want to. All I did was ask for a price list and a carpet salesman started giving me the hard sell.

Put a spin on

To twist a report or story to one's advantage

Parlay

To use to great advantage or transform into something better: parlayed some small investments into a large fortune.

Throw your weight around

To use your position or influence to unfairly get what you want. Most of the time the department manager just throws his weight around to remind you he can always fire you.

Manhole

Top opening to an underground utility vault. Scuttle hole - entrance hole to attic

Hint

Touch, dash, smidgen, smattering, pinch, tad, speck, tinge, modicum, whiff, shred, bit

Potty trained

Trained to use the toilet

Tug at the heartstrings

When something ~, it makes you feel strong love or sympathy towards someone or something.

When push comes to shove

When things get a little pressed. Na hora H.

Locked in

When you can't get out of a contract, you are locked in.

Willynilly

Whether you like it or not. You'll be forced to collaborate willynilly. Without direction or planing. "The cars were parked willy-nilly"

In the line of duty

While doing your job, as part of one's duties.

Brandish

Wield, wave around

Get on someone's good side

Win someone's approval or support. It's a good idea to get on your manager's good side when you start a new job.

Ad-lib

Wing it, improvise

Stamp out

Wipe out, eradicate

Sage

Wise. Sage advice.

Tinged with

With a touch of, with a hint of. Her next question ~ a bit of resentment was...

Hold out

Withhold cooperation, agreement, or information, as in We've asked for a better deal, but they've been ~ for months. It is also put as ~ on, as in They were still ~ on some of the provisions, or He's not telling us what happened; he's ~ on us.

Straight up

Without ice. Absolutely.

Work the rope line

Work the room. In American political terminology, a politician "walking down the rope line" or "working the rope line" is shaking hands of his or her supporters and guests.

Bust ass

Work very hard. Apply elbow grease. Slog his guts out. overexert.

Grind

Work, job

Loop around

Wrap around

Grapple

Wrestle

Crease

Wrinkle, crumple, crinkle

Scrawl

Write or draw hastily or awkwardly

Lay down

Write or say plainly. The coach ~ the rules for all team members. ~ a full new version of her song.

Off-base

Wrong, mistaken. You're way off base if you think that teaching the basic skills is a waste of time. I may be way off-base.

Fallout

radioactive particles that are carried into the atmosphere after a nuclear explosion or accident and gradually fall back as dust or in precipitation. The adverse side effects or results of a situation.

Toe the line

accept the authority, principles, or policies of a particular group, especially under pressure. Play by the rules; conform, obey/abide by/follow the rules.

Re-up

renew an arrangement, such as an employment contract or membership agreement. "I'm not likely to re-up with this phone company"

Weasel

achieve something by use of cunning or deceit. "she suspects me of trying to weasel my way into his affections". Treacherous deceitful person.

Flip the script

reverse the usual or existing positions in a situation; do something unexpected or revolutionary. "Campbell flips the script on the old beauty-and-the-beast formula"

Clunker

an old, run-down vehicle or machine. He's got loads of money but still drives that old clunker.

Country bumpkin

an unsophisticated or socially awkward person from the countryside. Rube, hick.

Lose face

suffer a loss of respect; be humiliated. "the code of conduct required that he strike back or lose face"

Bounty

Yield of a crop. summer's ~ of plump tomatoes The cottage is filled with a ~ of fresh flowers.

Yuk it up

Yuk it up. Laugh, joke, clown around, good around

Grate on

annoy someone; to rub someone the wrong way. Your negative attitude really grates on me. Everything you say grates on me.

Parry

answer (a question or accusation) evasively. "he parried questions from reporters outside the building"

Heebie-jeebies

apprehension and nervousness

Drape

arrange (cloth or clothing) loosely or casually on or around something.

Play it cool

to appear to be less interested in or excited than you really are. Play something off as something.

Countermand

revoke (an order). "an order to arrest the strike leaders had been countermanded". Overrule, rescind, override

Pencil in

schedule a tentative appointment with someone: We ~ him in for lunch next Monday. The interviewers ~ the applicant for the end of the week.

Scuff

scrape or brush the surface of (a shoe or other object) against something. "I scuffed the heel of my shoe on a stone"

Forfeit

lose or be deprived of (property or a right or privilege) as a penalty for wrongdoing. "those unable to meet their taxes were liable to forfeit their property".

Split hairs

to argue about very small differences or unimportant details; quibble

Change of pace

a change from what one is used to. "the magenta is a change of pace from traditional red"

go into overdrive

a state of high or excessive activity. "the city's worried public relations arm went into overdrive"

Kickback

a sudden forceful recoil. "the kickback from the gun punches your shoulder"

Boon

a thing that is helpful or beneficial. Godsend. "the navigation system will be a boon to both civilian and military users"

Bromide

a trite and unoriginal idea or remark, typically intended to soothe or placate. "feel-good bromides create the illusion of problem solving"

Spout

a tube or lip projecting from a container, through which liquid can be poured. "a teapot with a chipped ~ ". Spew.

Ilk

a type of people or things similar to those already referred to. "the veiled suggestions that reporters of his ilk seem to be so good at"

footloose and fancy-free

able to travel freely and do as one pleases due to a lack of responsibilities or commitments. "I am footloose and fancy-free —I can follow my job wherever it takes me

Wash over

[for a powerful feeling] to flood over a person. A feeling of nausea washed over me. A strong feeling of satisfaction washed over me.

Smackdown

a bitter contest or confrontation.

Conundrum

a confusing and difficult problem or question. "one of the most difficult conundrums for the experts"

Shell game

a deceptive and evasive action or ploy, especially a political one. "officials played a shell game by loading prisoners onto buses during population counts at the jail"

Pantywaist

a feeble or effeminate person.

Misgivings

a feeling of doubt or apprehension about the outcome or consequences of something. "we have misgivings about the way the campaign is being run"

Passing fancy

a feeling of liking or attraction, typically one that is superficial or transient. "this does not mean that the law should change with every passing fancy". She was just a passing fancy to him.

Barge

a flat-bottomed boat for carrying freight, typically on canals and rivers, either under its own power or towed by another.

Sap

a foolish and gullible person. "He fell for it! What a sap!"

Chump

a foolish or easily deceived person.

Rip-off

a fraud or swindle, especially something that is grossly overpriced. "designer label clothes are just expensive rip-offs"

Hail

a large number of objects hurled forcefully through the air. "a hail of bullets". Volley, burst

Contraption

a machine or device that appears strange or unnecessarily. complicated, and often badly made or unsafe. Jeepney is a contraption of materials classified as junks

Gorge

a narrow valley between hills or mountains, typically with steep rocky walls and a stream running through it. Gorge on food.

Bash

a party or social event. "a birthday bash"

Paragon

a person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality. "it would have taken a paragon of virtue not to feel viciously jealous"

Pawns

a person used by others for their own purposes. "they had allowed themselves to be used as pawns within the Cold War"

Enabler

a person who encourages or enables negative or self-destructive behavior in another. "he criticized her role as an enabler in her husband's pathological womanizing"

Laggard

a person who makes slow progress and falls behind others.

Shill

a person who pretends to give an impartial endorsement of something in which they themselves have an interest. To talk about or describe someone or something in a favorable way because you are being paid to do it

Rogue

a person whose behavior one disapproves of but who is nonetheless likable or attractive (often used as a playful term of reproof). Criminal, yahoo, bandits

Pound

a place where stray animals, especially dogs, may be officially taken and kept until claimed by their owners or otherwise disposed of. 2) a place where illegally parked motor vehicles removed by the police are kept until their owners pay a fine in order to reclaim them.

On the stump

a politician who is on the stump is travelling to different places in order to make speeches and get support, especially before an election On the stump in North Dakota, Anderson took time out to give this interview to our reporter.

Haul

a quantity of something that was stolen or is possessed illegally. Stash "they escaped with a haul of antiques"

Ditty

a short simple song. "a lovely little music-hall ditty"

Potshot

a shot aimed unexpectedly or at random at someone or something with no chance of self-defense. "a sniper took a potshot at him"

The third degree

a situation in which someone tries to find out information by asking you a lot of questions Where have I been, who have I been with! What's this? The third degree? If I'm even half an hour late she gives me the third degree

Rough-and-tumble

a situation in which the people involved try hard to get what they want, and do not worry about upsetting or harming others, and you think this is acceptable and normal. ⇒ ...the rough-and-tumble of political combat.

crapshoot

a situation left to chance; a gamble

Squalor

a state of being extremely dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of poverty or neglect. "they lived in squalor and disease".

Kowtow

act in an excessively subservient manner. "she didn't have to kowtow to a boss"

Play the hardball

act strong and aggressive about an issue with someone. Things are getting a little tough. The president has decided to play hardball on this issue. If he wants to play hardball with us, we can play that way, too.

Tack on

add something that is extra. When we got the bill there was an extra 20% ~ as a service charge. I read my essay again and ~ an introduction on.

Countenance

admit as acceptable or possible. "he was reluctant to countenance the use of force" synonyms:

In one fell swoop

all at the same time

Con job

an act or instance of duping, swindling, or persuading by deception.

Exchange pleasantries

an agreeable or amusing remark, often one made in order to be polite: they exchanged pleasantries. We exchanged pleasantries about the weather.

Get a head start

an early start on something, [before someone else starts]. (*Typically: get ~ have ~ give someone ~.) I was able to get a head start on my reading during the holidays. If I hadn't had a head start, I'd be behind in my reading.

Boondoggle

an expensive and wasteful project usually paid for with public money. Critics say the dam is a complete boondoggle.

Garnish

seize (money, especially part of a person's salary) to settle a debt or claim. "the IRS garnished his earnings"

As it stands

as something is now

Badger

ask (someone) repeatedly and annoyingly for something; pester. "journalists badgered him about the deals". Badgered the boy into cleaning his room

Strafe

attack repeatedly with bombs or machine-gun fire from low-flying aircraft. Shell, bomb, bombard.

Curb appeal

attractiveness of the exterior of a house viewed from the street

Self-righteous

aving or characterized by a certainty, especially an unfounded one, that one is totally correct or morally superior. Preachy, claiming moral high ground.

Fudge

avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues). ~ on an issue. To act in an indecisive manner: always ~ on the important questions.

Chip on shoulders

bad attitude that tends to get someone easily upset. He has a chip on his shoulders.

See to it

be careful or certain to do something; make certain of something. Providenciar. I will see to that right away!

Slack

be careless or remiss in doing: slack one's duty. Sorry for slacking on posting lately

Bereaved

be deprived of a loved one through a profound absence, especially due to the loved one's death. "the year after they had been bereaved"

Rain out

be rained out To be delayed, postponed, or cancelled due to the rain. I was really looking forward to the football match this weekend, but it was rained out. Spectators are to be aware that there will be no refunds issued if the event is rained out.

in a rut

be stuck in a monotonous routine

Wise up

become aware of what is really happening —often + to They finally wised up to the fact that they were being cheated.

work up an appetite

become hungry following physical excersise

Knot up

become tangled or tied. Dar um nó. My shoelaces ~. If you don't comb your hair, it will ~. Something I ate has ~ my stomach.

Take to

begin or fall into the habit of. "he took to hiding some secret supplies in his desk"

Take up with

begin to associate with (someone), especially in a way disapproved of by the speaker. "he's taken up with a divorced woman, I understand"

Take at face value

believe that the way things appear is the way they really are. Levar ao pé da letra

Buckle

bend (something) out of shape. "a giant oak buckles the sidewalk" (of a person) yield or collapse under pressure. "a weaker person might have buckled under the strain"

leaps and bounds

big jumps, big progress. Our company has progressed leaps and bounds this year.

toot one's own horn

boast, brag about one's talents

Flub

botch or bungle (something). "she glanced at her notes and flubbed her lines"

Wiggle room

capacity or scope for negotiation or operation, especially in order to modify a previous statement or decision. "he had precious little wiggle room because of the budget deficit"

Blindside

catch (someone) unprepared; attack from an unexpected position.

Get out of one's hair

cause someone to stop annoying oneself. What do I have to do to get this guy out of my hair

String out

cause something to stretch out; prolong something. Strung out - intoxicated.

Leery

cautious or wary due to realistic suspicions. "a city leery of gang violence". You've got to be leery of those slick salesmen.

Bleak

charmless and inhospitable; dreary. "he looked around the bleak little room in despair" (of the weather) cold and miserable. "a bleak midwinter's day"

Wash up

clean [oneself] up for something, such as a meal. Please wash up for dinner. Go and wash up!

Broadside

collide with the side of (a vehicle). "I had to skid my bike sideways to avoid broadsiding her". T-bone: his car rolled over and was T-boned by an oncoming vehicle. Sideswipe.

Bellyache

complain noisily or persistently. "heads of departments bellyaching about lack of resources"

Squeaky clean

completely clean. "squeaky clean restrooms" beyond reproach; without vice. "politicians who are less than squeaky clean"

In the thick of

completely involved in an activity or a situation At first George didn't want to have anything to do with planning our wedding, but he's in the thick of it now. Although he denies it, the company's treasurer was in the thick of the illegal activities.

Fiddly

complicated or detailed and awkward to do or use. "replacing the battery is ~"

Bravado

confident or brave talk or behavior that is intended to impress other people

Muddle through

cope more or less satisfactorily despite lack of expertise, planning, or equipment. "we don't have an ultimate ambition; we just muddle through". Sorry, but I can't help you - you'll just have to muddle through on your own.

gumption

courage and initiative; common sense. Backbone, nerve

Strewn with

covered with untidily scattered things

Fence

deal in (stolen goods). "after stealing your ring, he didn't even know how to fence it"

Fleece

deceive and take money from (someone)

Trounce

defeat heavily in a contest. "the Knicks trounced the Rockets on Sunday"

Hung up

delayed or detained for a time

Whitewash

deliberately attempt to conceal unpleasant facts about (a person or organization). "his wife must have wanted to whitewash his reputation". Don't whitewash what happened

Skedaddle

depart quickly or hurriedly; run away. "when he saw us, he skedaddled". Turn tail.

Merit

deserve or be worthy of (something, especially reward, punishment, or attention). "the results have been encouraging enough to merit further investigation". A second conviction merits execution.

Newfangled

different from what one is used to; objectionably new. "I've no time for such newfangled nonsense"

ragamuffins

dirty, ragged child, disheveled, poorly dressed

crestfallen

discouraged, dejected, downcast

Turn up

discover or locate someone or something. To be found. To happen.

Ruffle

disorder or disarrange (someone's hair), typically by running one's hands through it. "he ~ her hair affectionately". An ornament gathered into a frill. A flounce.

Concoct

make (a dish or meal) by combining various ingredients. Prepare, assemble. "they ~ relish from corn that is so naturally sweet no extra sugar is needed".

Guilt trip

make (someone) feel guilty, especially in order to induce them to do something. "a pay increase will not guilt-trip them into improvements"

Pull your weight

do your fair share of work, pitch in.

Tool around

drive or jaunt about, going from place to place without any specific direction or goal

throttle back

ease off; take something easy. to reduce the amount of fuel flowing to an engine by adjusting the throttle.

For the taking

easily available If you're interested in the job, it's there for the taking.

Channel

emulate or seem to be inspired by. "Meg Ryan plays Avery as if she's channeling Nicole Kidman"

Fluff

entertainment or writing perceived as trivial or superficial. "the movie is a piece of typical Hollywood fluff"

Entrench

establish (an attitude, habit, or belief) so firmly that change is very difficult or unlikely. "ageism is entrenched in our society"

Smack-dab

exactly in a particular place, especially in the middle of somewhere (always + adv/prep ) She lives smack-bang in the middle of London.

Sputter

make a series of soft explosive sounds. The engine ~ and stopped. Buck.

Barring

except for; if not for. "barring a miracle, you'll lose". Barring that, you're through here.

Pay lip service

express loyalty, respect, or support for something insincerely. You don't really care about politics. You're just paying lip service to the candidate. Don't sit here and pay lip service. Get busy!

Sweep down

extend gracefully, especially in a long curve: The hills sweep down to the sea.

Bells and whistles

extra, fancy add-ons or gadgets. I like cars that are loaded with all the bells and whistles. All those bells and whistles add to the cost. Trimmings.

Fall flat

fail miserably when attempting to achieve a result, especially jokes. His jokes ~.

Strike out

fail or be unsuccessful. "the company struck out the first time it tried to manufacture personal computers"

Gloat

feel or express great, often malicious, pleasure or self-satisfaction: Don't gloat over your rival's misfortune.

Reel

feel taken aback, disoriented, or bewildered, typically as a result of an unexpected setback. "the unaccustomed intake of alcohol made my head ~". "The murder had our town ~". "I'm still ~ from the shock of hearing it". Pull by winding a line on a ~.

Thread the needle

find harmony or strike a balance between conflicting forces, interests, etc.

File in

for a line of people] to move into something or some place. The people filed into the hall quietly. Everyone filed in quietly.

Haze

force (a new or potential recruit to the military, a college fraternity, etc.) to perform strenuous, humiliating, or dangerous tasks. "rookies were mercilessly hazed"

Muscle in on

force a way into someone's business or other relationships in order to control them Russell was the governor's closest friend, and he didn't like it when someone tried to muscle in on that relationship

Spook

frighten; unnerve. "they ~ a couple of grizzly bears" (especially of an animal) take fright suddenly. "he'll ~ if we make any noise". Run off.

Wrap head around

get your head around something (informal) to be able to understand something (usually negative) He's tried to explain the rules of the game dozens of times but I just can't get my head around them. I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that coal burns for so long

Rip on

give someone a hard time; to hassle someone. Stop ripping on me! What did I do to you? Tim is ripping on Mary and she is getting really mad.

Write off

give up on someone or something as a dead loss, waste of time, hopeless case, etc. Don't write me off as a has-been. We almost wrote off the investment as a dead loss.

Double back

go back in the direction one has come. "he had to double back to pick them up"

Overshoot

go past (a point) unintentionally, especially through traveling too fast or being unable to stop. "they overshot their intended destination". The plane overshot the runway.

chip away

gradually and relentlessly make something smaller or weaker. To complete small, incremental portions of a task. Try not to get too overwhelmed about cleaning the house and just chip away at it one room at a time.

Raise a hue and cry

make an issue about something; to alert people to a problem or difficulty. The city council raised a hue and cry about the mayor's proposed budget.

Gallows humor

grim and ironic humor in a desperate or hopeless situation.

in a bind

in a difficult situation that you do not know how to get out of

On the fly

in a hurry You can't make this dinner on the fly, you need a whole day.

Through and through

in every aspect; thoroughly or completely. "Harriet was a political animal through and through"

Drown out

make it impossible to hear something. The plane was flying so low, the roar of its engines ~ our conversation.

Have an ax to grind

have a selfish reason for saying or doing something The best reporting is done by people who don't have an ax to grind. After you get the same complaints from a number of people, you begin to think it may not be just people who have personal axes to grind.

Put stock in

have a specified amount of belief or faith in. "I don't put much stock in modern medicine"

Smack of

have a taste, flavor, trace, or suggestion: a compliment that smacks of condescension. It smacks of a coup, which could be a great blow to the nation at large.

Have no business doing something

have no right to do something or be somewhere. "he had no business tampering with social services"

Bleary-eyed

having eyes that look very tired and watery.

Sagacious

having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment; shrewd.

Cradle

hold gently and protectively. "she cradled his head in her arms"

Go with a bang

if an event, especially a party, goes with a bang, it is very exciting and successful A karaoke machine? That should help your party go with a bang!

In fits and starts

if something happens in fits and starts, it often stops and then starts again Replies are arriving in fits and starts. Also in fits and spurts.

No rhyme or reason

if there is no rhyme or reason why something happens, there is no obvious explanation for it I don't know what makes her behave like that. There's no rhyme or reason to it.

Fall into place

if things fall into place in a situation, they happen in a satisfactory way, without problems If a project is well-planned, everything should fall into place.

Put down to

if you put something down to a particular reason, you think it has happened for that reason I put his irritability down to tiredness.

At the drop of a hat

immediately; instantly; on the slightest signal or urging. (Alludes to the dropping of a hat as a signal.) John was always ready to go fishing at the drop of a hat. If you need help, just call on me. I can come at the drop of a hat.

In a pinch

in a critical situation; if absolutely necessary. There are room for four patients, five in a pinch. I'm in a bit of a pinch here.

Kick into high gear

in or into a state of great or intense activity <The project is now in high gear.> <Fuel prices are expected to rise as the summer travel season kicks/moves into high gear.>

Sweet talk

insincerely praise (someone) in order to persuade them to do something.

In over your head

involved in a situation that is too difficult for you to deal with Historians say that as president, Harding was a man who was in over his head.

Out of your depth

involved in something that is beyond one's capabilities.

Vault

jump over (an obstacle) while propelling oneself with one's hands or a pole. "Ryker vaulted the barrier". He vaulted over the gate.

Listless

lacking energy and enthusiasm. Apathetic

Preach to the choir

make one's case primarily to one's supporters; to make one's case only to those people who are present or who are already friendly to the issues.

put a damper

make something less enjoyable; have a dulling or numbing influence on something. Deter, discourage. The bad news really ~ on everything. The rainy weather put ~ on our picnic.

Pace out

measure by paces: to pace out the distance.

fall in with

meet by chance and become involved with. "he fell in with thieves". She fell in with a bad crowd

Jockey for

struggle by every available means to gain or achieve something. "both men will be jockeying for the two top jobs". Vie for, jostle for, contend.

Shindig

large, lively party, especially one celebrating something.

Jump ship

leave any post or position; to quit or resign, especially when there is difficulty with the job. None of the editors liked the new policies, so they all jumped ship as soon as other jobs opened up.

Leave in the lurch

leave someone waiting for or anticipating your actions. Where were you, John? You really left me in the lurch. I didn't mean to leave you in the lurch. I thought we had canceled our meeting. Leave high and dry.

fickle (adj)

likely to change opinion unpredictably (vacillating, mercurial)

Liable

likely to do or to be something. "patients were liable to faint if they stood up too suddenly". He's liable to start something if provoked.

Bill

list (a person or event) in a program. "they were ~ to appear but didn't show up". Charge.

Leer at

look or gaze in an unpleasant, malicious, or lascivious way.

Garden-variety

of the usual or ordinary type; commonplace. "they are your everyday, garden-variety Americans". Vanilla.

Psych

mentally prepare (someone) for a testing task or occasion. "we had to psych ourselves up for the race". Y'all psyched for work yet?

Plug

mention (a product, event, or establishment) publicly in order to promote it. "during the show he plugged his new record". She plugged her new film. "he threw in a plug, boasting that the restaurant offered many entrées for under $5"

Hobnob

mingle, usually with the upper class of society

Skulk around

move in a stealthy or furtive manner

Scooch

move in or pass through a restricted space. "waiters kept trying to scooch by" move (something) a short distance or into a restricted space. "scooch your sleeping bags close together". Scoot over. Scooch over, make room for mama on the couch.

Flutter

move or fall with a light irregular or trembling motion. "the remaining petals fluttered to the ground". The flags fluttered.

Careen

move swiftly and in an uncontrolled way in a specified direction. "an electric golf cart careened around the corner". The semi-truck clipped the car and and sent it careening over the edge of the road.

Whizz

move swiftly in the air. The bottle whizzed toward him. Our emergency vehicles whizzed past us on Glenwood

Pushback

negative or unfavorable response. "there's been some strong pushback from Republicans on this"

Stage fright

nervousness before or during an appearance before an audience.

No holds barred

no limits or controls This is comedy with no holds barred, and it may offend some viewers. I like nothing better than a fight with no holds barred.

Lowbrow

of, relating to, or suitable for a person with little taste or intellectual interest <a lowbrow horror movie>. I like to read lowbrow stuff too every now and again.

Chummy

on friendly terms; friendly. "she's become pretty chummy with Ted lately"

Undaunted

not intimidated or discouraged by difficulty, danger, or disappointment. Unabashed. Local morale is ~ as ever.

Jab

poke, pierce, stab (jab a knife into the log; jab at the pickles with the fork)

Blow-by-blow

precisely detailed (~ account of facts)

Menial

not requiring many skills and lacking prestige (menial job)

Zilch

nothing. "I did absolutely zilch" not any; no. "the character has zilch class"

Finagle

obtain (something) by devious or dishonest means. "Ted attended all the football games he could finagle tickets for"

Out of depth

out of your depth knowing very little about a subject I know I'm out of my depth with teenagers.

Beyond the pale

outside the bounds of acceptable behavior. "the language my father used was ~"

Be beside oneself

overcome with worry or anger; distraught. "she was beside herself with anguish"

Goober

person from the southeastern US, especially Georgia or Arkansas.

Drifter

person who is continually moving from place to place, without any fixed home or job.

Blow hard

person who talks too much and who has strong opinions that other people dislike

Disabuse

persuade (someone) that an idea or belief is mistaken. "he quickly disabused me of my fanciful notions"

Nip

pinch, squeeze, or bite sharply. "the dog nipped him on the leg"

Stomping ground

place where someone regularly spends time; a favorite haunt.

Canvas

question (someone) in order to ascertain their opinion on something. "they promised to canvass all member clubs for their views". The police were canvassing through the crowd asking if anyone saw anything.

Schtick

presentation or sales pitch, from yiddish slang, implying phoniness or slickness, lack of substance with focus on style. Grandma Zeidel gave her usual shtick for serving take-out for dinner instead of cooking, claiming that her oven was broken and the cleaning lady forgot to do the dishes again.

Preclude

prevent from happening; make impossible. "the secret nature of his work precluded official recognition". His difficulties precluded him from leading a normal life.

Come in hot

pulling into a parking spot, taking a turn, or just driving in general all at an extreme, and reckless rate of speed. He's coming in hot.

Gun for

pursue someone or something relentlessly in order to overcome or destroy: Look out; they're jealous of you and they're gunning for you.

Snuff out

put a sudden end to something: The war has snuffed out many young lives. I had a promising career as a dancer, but a tragic injury ~ it out

Throw out

put out of alignment. When there's an injury. After working out, she ~ her back out. He ~ his shoulders trying to lift that heavy box.

Bristle at

react angrily at

Wait in the wings

ready to do something or to be used at the appropriate time. "there are no obvious successors waiting in the wings"

At beck and call

ready to obey someone. At one's disposal. At one's command. What makes you think I wait around here at your beck and call? I have to leave for work, you know! It was a fine hotel. There were dozens of maids and waiters at our beck and call.

compunction (n)

regret; remorse; misgiving; qualm; scruple

Swing

succeed in bringing about. "with us backing you we might be able to swing something"

Scalp

sell (a ticket) for a popular event at a price higher than the official one. "tickets were scalped for forty times their face value"

Scalp

sell (a ticket) for a popular event at a price higher than the official one. "tickets were scalped for forty times their face value".

Sell short

sell somebody/something short to not appreciate the qualities of someone or something as much as they deserve I think her presentation really sold Morocco short. She doesn't succeed in job interviews because she always sells herself short.

Hamstring

severely restrict the efficiency or effectiveness of. "we were ~ by a total lack of knowledge". With both hands tied

roly-poly

short and plump; pudgy *Short, worm-like armadillo bugs are also called this

Callous

showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others. "his callous comments about the murder made me shiver". Insensitive, hard-edged.

Thumb one's nose at

sign of derision made by putting your thumb on your nose and wiggling your fingers.

Ride the bench

sit on the sidelines rather than participate in a game or event.

Simper

smile or gesture in an affectedly coquettish, coy, or ingratiating manner.

Laughing stock

someone who does something very stupid which makes other people laugh at them (usually + of ) I can't cycle around on that old thing! I'll be the laughing stock of the neighbourhood.

Offshoot

something (such as a business) that develops from something larger : a branch that grows on one of the main stems of a plant. Squiggle - a short line drawn in an irregular, curving way.

Doozy

something outstanding or unique of its kind. "it's gonna be a doozy of a black eye". It was a doozy of a hailstorm.

red herring

something that draws attention away from the main issue. Decoy

All hands on deck

something that you say when everyone's help is needed, especially to do a lot of work in a short amount of time We've got to get all this cleared up before they arrive so it's all hands on deck.

shoot off one's mouth

speak without discretion; to speak too loudly or freely, especially about sensitive topics or information

Twirl

spin quickly and lightly around, especially repeatedly. "she twirled in delight to show off her new dress"

Overrun

spread over or occupy (a place) in large numbers. "the Mediterranean has been overrun by tourists"

Jam

squeeze or pack tightly into a specified space. "four of us were jammed in one compartment". become or make unable to move or work due to a part seizing or becoming stuck. "the photocopier jammed"

Go off the rails

start acting in a strangely way that is not acceptable to society

Rabble-rouse

stir up the emotions or prejudices of the public; agitate

Bang

strike; handle noisily. He ~ the pots in the kitchen. I ~ my nose on the door.

Redolent

strongly reminiscent or suggestive of (something). "names redolent of history and tradition"

Fling

throw forcefully, impetuously, or casually <~ herself down on the sofa> <clothes were ~ on the floor> <He leaned back and ~ his leg over the arm of the chair>. to place or send suddenly and unceremoniously <was arrested and ~ into prison>. Kick or plunge vigorously (of an animal).

Spitball

throw out (a suggestion) for discussion. "I'm just spitballing a few ideas". Bounce around, bounce off.

Nuts and bolts

the mundane workings of something; the basics of something. You have to know the nuts and bolts of writing. Can you walk us through the nuts and bolts of what's going on?

Ridership

the number of passengers using a particular form of public transportation. Ridership is going up tonight because of NFA finals.

Rank and file

the ordinary members of an organization as opposed to its leaders

Take it upon oneself

to accept responsibility for something without being asked to: He took it upon himself to personally thank each person at the meeting

Give someone a runaround

to act in a way which makes it difficult for someone to do something, for example by refusing to tell them things they need to know I'm trying to get a visa, but the embassy staff keep giving me the runaround.

Roll with the punches

to adjust to difficult events as they happen roll with it She had to perform shortly after her brother died, but she rolled with the punches and put on a great show.

Earshot

the range or distance over which one can hear or be heard. "she waited until he was out of earshot before continuing"

Sweep

the range or scope of something. "the whole sweep of the history of the USSR"

Paper trail

the records left by a person or organization in the course of activities

Peanut gallery

the top gallery in a theater, where the cheaper seats are located. a group of people who criticize someone, often by focusing on insignificant details.

Trimmings

the traditional accompaniments to something, especially a meal or special occasion. A roast turkey with all its trimmings. He was offered an ambassadorship with all the trimmings that go along with it.

Let ride

to allow something to continue or remain as it is. It isn't the best plan, but we'll let it ride. I disagree with you, but I'll let it ride.

Cook up

to arrange or plan to do something with someone. I tried to cook something up with Karen for Tuesday. I want to cook up something with John. Let's see if we can cook something up.

Take a swing at

to attempt to punch someone. He took a swing at me! Tom took a swing at Bob, but Bob ducked out of the way.

Hide your light under a bushel

to avoid letting people know that you are good at something, usually because you are shy

Be in business

to be able to start doing something because you have everything you need to do it As soon as I find my map and my keys we're in business.

Verge on

to be almost identical to something; Approach, come close to, as in Her ability ~ on genius.

Come through

to be approved; [for something] to gain approval. Our mortgage loan approval finally came through! Your papers came through, and you can be sure that the matter has been taken care of. If the deal comes through, he may come visit us.

Play second fiddle

to be in a less important position than someone or something else. You'll have to choose between your wife and me. I won't play second fiddle to anyone.

Weigh in at

to be measured as being a particular weight tip the scales at something Both fighters weighed in at 162 pounds. The baby weighed in at 6 pounds, 9 ounces. Tip the scales at.

Be in a different league

to be much better than something or someone else: Our last hotel was good but this was in a different league.

Tough it out

to be strong while experiencing difficulties, brazen it out

Draw the short straw

to be the member of a group who has to do an unpleasant job Sorry, Jim, you drew the short straw. You're on toilet-cleaning duty.

Come into one's own

to become independent; to be recognized as independent and capable, usually after much effort or time. Maria is coming into her own as a concert pianist.

Take umbrage

to become upset and angry about something someone has said or done (often + at ) He took great umbrage at newspaper reviews of his book. The minister took umbrage when colleagues queried her budget plans.

Go through the roof

to become very high. These days, prices for gasoline are going through the roof. The cost of coffee is going through the roof.

Amount to

to become worthwhile or successful. I hope Charles ~ to something some day.

Start in on

to begin dealing with, discussing, or chastising someone or something. Please don't start in on me again! You said enough the previous three times. When will you be ready to start in on painting the house?

Catch up with

to begin to have an effect on someone The lack of sleep caught up with her, and she began to doze off.

Lord it over

to behave as if you are better than someone else and have the right to tell them what to do. She likes to lord it over the more junior staff in the office.

pin something on someone

to blame something on someone; to frame someone for a crime; depend on sth for a particular result (~ all my hopes on him)

Trot someone or something out

to bring out and display someone or something. The boss trotted the new vice president out for us to meet.

broach / float

to bring up a sensitive subject for discussion. Float

Set somebody off

to cause someone to become excited and upset My sister was an unpredictable young woman, and I never knew what would set her off.

Rope into

to cause someone to get involved in some project. She's always trying to rope me into her club. Let's rope in someone to help with cleaning up. I roped myself into being an emcee.

Strike a chord with someone

to cause someone to remember something; to remind someone of something; to be familiar. The woman in the portrait struck a chord with me, and I realized that it was my grandmother. His name strikes a chord, but I don't know why.

Run up a bill

to cause something to reach a high level or large amount. Carol ran up a huge phone bill last month, calling the UK and Mexico.

Gum up

to cause something to stop working well Don't send any attachments or pictures, because they tend to gum up my computer. You're gumming up work. These new regulations have gummed our procedures up, and we can't get anything done on time. The cash register gummed up.

Take with a grain of salt

to consider something to be not completely true or right I've read the article, which I take with a grain of salt.

Come down on

to criticize someone or something It seems that if you give an opinion about something, people come down on you.

Push in

to crush something in; to make something cave in. He ran at the door and pushed it in. He pushed in the door.

Lead someone on

to deceive someone in order to get what you want from them She led him on for five months while she was going out with another guy.

Take for a ride

to deceive someone. You really took those people for a ride. They really believed you. I was taken fora ride on this matter. Pull a fast one, pull one over.

Level at

to direct something at someone or something; to aim a remark at someone. The sheriff leveled his rifle at the fleeing bandit. Why did you think you had to level that barrage of words at me? I didn't make the problem. Sam leveled an acid comment or two at the committee.

Pin down

to discover the facts or exact details about something The fire department is trying to pin down the cause of Wednesday's fire. So far we haven't pinned down a date. To get specific information from someone It is not easy to pin down a politician who won't even tell you if it's raining or snowing

Woo

try to gain the love of (someone, typically a woman), especially with a view to marriage.

grasping at straws

trying to find some way to succeed when nothing you choose is likely to work

Swivel

turn around a point or axis or on a swivel. The film swivels frantically between first responders, survivors and investigators.

Slew

turn or slide violently or uncontrollably in a particular direction. "the Chevy slewed from side to side in the snow"

Make sb

tv. to identify someone. The cop stared at Bart and tried to make him, but failed to identify him and let him go.

Doughy

unhealthily pale : pasty <a doughy face>

Mislay

unintentionally put (an object) where it cannot readily be found and so lose it temporarily. "I seem to have mislaid my car keys"

fluke (n)

unlikely chance occurrence. Acaso

Vixen

unpleasant and angry woman, harlot.

Clammy

unpleasantly damp and sticky or slimy to touch. "his skin felt cold and clammy". My hands were clammy.

Until such a time as

until the time when : until <He will be suspended from work until such time as this matter has been resolved.>

Tagger

urban graffiti writer

Coax

use flattery or gradual persuasion to obtain something from. "we coaxed money out of my father"

Gravy train

used to refer to a situation in which someone can make a lot of money for very little effort. "come to Hollywood and get on the gravy train"

Bang for the buck

value for money; performance for cost. "this cross between a sports car and a family sedan gave a lot of bang for the buck"

Hot on the trail of

very close to finding or catching up with someone, some creature, or something. I am hot on the trail of the book that I have been seeking for months.

harebrained

very foolish, foolish, asinine, ill-judged

Sashay

walk in an ostentatious yet casual manner, typically with exaggerated movements of the hips and shoulders. "Louise was sashaying along in a long black satin dress". Sashay away!

Diddle

waste time: diddled around all morning.

In rare form

well prepared for a good performance; at one's best. The goalie is in rare form today; that's his third great save already. We are not exactly in rare form on Monday mornings.

Whitebread

white-bread people or things are ordinary and boring, and often those that are typical of white, American people (always before noun) It's a movie about middle America - white-bread characters living white-bread lives.

With flying colors

with great success She took a driving test and passed with flying colors. My brother always managed to get through his courses, although not always with flying colors.

End for end

with the ends, or the position, reversed. The waves will turn you end for end over and over again

Broad

woman

Eke out

~ a living. Support oneself. Supplement what is thought to be deficient; "He ~ his meager pay by giving private lessons". Moonlight - many instructors moonlight as consultants.

Smooth over

~ relations. Make strained relationships more amiable.

Slope

~ up or down. Slant upward or downward. The ramp ~ up to the door, allowing wheelchairs to enter. The wide white beach ~ down to the azure water. Tilt, angle off.

Landslide victory

~ victory. To win by a ~.

to put it mildly

É um eufemismo

Last bullet in the chamber

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