General 04

slack

(1) Lack of tension/ tautness LULL; RELAXATION (2) Sluggish; idle, barely moving LAX, NEGLIENT, REMISS, CARELESS, LOOSE, SLOW The US stimulus package will increase domestic inflation, but not to a dangerous level, Boone said, because "there is a lot of slack in [US] labour markets".

inform

(v) inspire, animate; give substance, essence, or context to; be the characteristic quality of A love of nature informed his writing. zugrunde liegen

crush

A great crowd: a crush of spectators it appeared that the crush had occurred after celebrants slipped on stone steps leading into a narrow passageway with a sloping, metal-covered floor

hinge

A point or circumstance on which subsequent events depend. The Exodus from Egypt was the hinge of Israel's fate, and in the end God alone brought it to turn.

nut

A small block of metal or wood with a central, threaded hole that is designed to fit around and secure a bolt or screw.

mug shot

A straightforward head-and-shoulders shot.

writ large

All climate models suggest that by 2040, Earth will warm by 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, above the limit set by the Paris Agreement on irreversibly rising seas. "This is hell and highwater writ large," says Edinburgh University climatologist Dave Reay of the report. Signified, expressed, or embodied in a greater or more prominent magnitude or degree: "The man was no more than the boy writ large" (George Eliot).

laggard

Although in general reducing class sizes is not the most cost-effective response, Estonian pupils have benefited from the demographic shift, which has made it easier to give pupils, especially laggards, extra help. A person who lags behind.

mortar

An indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as (mortar) bombs

CPIH

As of 21 March 2017, the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) became our lead inflation index; it is the most comprehensive measure of inflation as it includes owner occupiers' housing costs and Council Tax, which are excluded from the CPI.

Taxable person

Assujetti

conquest

Capture or taking of something by force

naff

Chiefly British Slang Unstylish, clichéd, or outmoded.

egregiously

Conspicuously bad or offensive Chinese authorities blocked the account of Xiaohongshu, a popular social-media and shopping app. Its crime was to ask users to tell it ("loudly!") what day it was. Egregiously, it did so on June 4th, the 32nd anniversary of the massacre of protesters around Tiananmen Square. Allusion to that day is strictly forbidden in China. It is unclear whether Xiaohongshu actually had Tiananmen in mind, or was just happy it was Friday.

knock-on

Cyber experts said these hacks were not the work of Black Shadow but knock-on hacks by criminals who used the personal data Black Shadow had posted. resulting inevitably but indirectly from another event or circumstance: the works closed with the direct loss of 3000 jobs and many more from the knock-on effect on the area.

desolate

Deserted and lonely A year after Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in a fairy-tale wedding, she said in an extraordinary interview broadcast on Sunday night, her life as a member of the British royal family had become so emotionally desolate that she contemplated suicide.

to caution against

He also cautioned against drawing conclusions from random video clips.

petulant

Irritable or short-tempered

Tuber

Knolle

lap, lap of honour

One complete round or circuit, especially of a racetrack, (General Sporting Terms) a ceremonial circuit of a racing track, etc, by the winner of a race Despite the almost lap-of-honor feel to the parliamentary hearing, Vestager faces tough choices when she takes office in November.

gerund phrase

Question 1 W​hich two entries would need to be recorded to log Lou receiving a $100 payment for a weeding job he completed for Ms. Rosa?

RPI

Retail Price Index - UK measure of the changes in the prices of a basket of typical consumer goods.

under wraps (Informal)

Secret or concealed: "The news was kept under wraps for the three-day weekend" (Boston Globe). Republicans have kept tonight's details under wraps, but we do know the the theme is "Land of Promise"

brook

Suffer or tolerate

tail risk

Tail risk, sometimes called "fat tail risk," is the financial risk of an asset or portfolio of assets moving more than 3 standard deviations from its current price, above the risk of normal distribution.

coal-fired power plant

The analysis concluded that the emissions from a single coal-fired power plant were likely to result in more than 900 deaths

to gel

The new players have gelled very well with the rest of the team. When she was 13, she set her father up on a date with someone she thought gelled with his personality.

to upend

The result, which upended the predictions of most pollsters and investors. to upend = to turn upside down

clanking

a loud, sharp sound, made by pieces of metal banging together Another group loaded equipment with a heavy clanking into their boat

ploy

a tactic intended to frustrate, embarrass, or gain an advantage over an opponent

Trade-off

an alternative that we sacrifice when we make a decision

beyond the pale

beyond the pale Irrevocably unacceptable or unreasonable: behavior that was quite beyond the pale.

bottom of the barrel

bottom-of-the-barrel agencies that care about nothing but cost the bottom of the barrel noun phrase : the lowest possible condition, level, etc.<After the divorce, Tim felt he had reached/hit the bottom of the barrel.><The excessive coverage of the scandal signals that the news media may have finally hit/reached the bottom of the barrel.>

puerile

childish; immature

whimper

cry weakly or softly

loaded deck

deck of cards which has been tampered with for somebody's advantage.

runaway

denoting a situation in which something increases or develops very quickly and cannot be controlled The Cop26 conference in Glasgow in November is widely viewed as a crucial moment in the world's remaining chances to avoid a runaway climate emergency.

disappear into thin air

disappear suddenly and completely Mounjaro regulates blood sugar, suppresses appetite and, if one is to believe the hushed accounts recently exchanged at an Upper East Side hair salon, makes excess pounds disappear into thin air.

butt heads

engage in conflict or be in strong disagreement

be in someone's gift

if something is in your gift, you have the right to give it to someone All major offices remained in the gift of the crown. It is in the EU's power to create a market. It is in the gift of gas-producing countries to ensure large-scale hydrogen supplies. But for either to happen, both must jump together.

spat

informal: a brief, petty dispute Mr Scholz's diplomatic victory is therefore pyrrhic. It came at the cost of the first big public spat between Ukraine's allies.

slim pickings

little or no success in getting something because there is not very much of it remaining: Buyers who have waited for bargains at the end of the year will find slim pickings.

make a dent in something

make little progress in something make a dent in the seemingly endless task of demining swaths of the country

upshot

outcome; final result

Accrual Basis Accounting

reporting income when it is earned and expenses when they are incurred

Consideration

something of value exchanged for something else of value

to flout

speed limits are flouted to disregard

Aridification

the process by which a humid region becomes increasingly dry, as by climatic change or human interference with the ecology. Both aridification and the spread of grassland, for instance, changed the possibilities of species spreading themselves into new areas, especially if they could stand upright and move on two feet.

accrue

to accumulate over time

to swipe

to hit with a hard sweeping blow The World Health Organization agreed to begin an inquiry into the global response to the pandemic, at the end of a rocky annual meeting in which the U.S. and China swiped at each other.

to grip

to hold tightly For a year and a half, covid-19 has gripped one country after another.

grapple with

to struggle with As more than a dozen countries grapple with outbreaks of monkeypox, health officials worldwide are rushing to assess reserves of vaccines and treatments that may be needed to contain the spread.

to goad

to urge on From the European policy's elite's own hand-wringing to the tough-love style of goading from the sidelines in the form of editorials and op-eds, there is a widespread sense that the very foundations of the EU must be rethought.

chuffed

very pleased

heads up

warning

kink

whim, eccentricity

tongue in cheek

with) tongue in cheek, ironically or mockingly; insincerely.

absent

without Without: "Absent a legislative fix, this is an invitation for years of litigation" (Brian E. O'Neill). Mr. Biden has set an ambitious target for the United States to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power sector by 2035 and from the entire economy by 2050. However, it is far from certain that the United States could reach those goals absent new legislation from Congress — a difficult prospect, given the Democrats' razor-thin one-vote majority in the Senate.

to dabble

work at in a nonserious fashion; splash around; move noisily in a liquid I'm pretty sure a number of people here dabble in both translation and monolingual copywriting.

confidence comes by foot and leaves by horse

"They say confidence comes by foot and leaves by horse," said Jules Kortenhorst, chief executive of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a research organization focused on transforming the global energy economy. "The world has missed the U.S. in this incredibly important setting over the past for years. Rebuilding confidence will come by foot for Biden the same way confidence in the U.S. under Trump left by horse." The actual, somewhat lengthy, meaning of the proverb is that a single stupidity can ruin trust or reputation that took years to build.

moot

(adj.) open to discussion and debate, unresolved; (v.) to bring up for discussion; (n.) a hypothetical law case argued by students

soporific

(adj.) tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy; (n.) something that induces sleep soporific (adj.) ˌsäpəˈrifik Causing sleep. The movie had great actors, but the soporific scenes lulled the audience to sleep. From the Latin for "to sleep." This word can also describe something that is boring and tedious.

to field

(informal) to handle, deal with phone calls to position in a given location, to field an army

plaudits

(n. pl.) applause; enthusiastic praise or approval Germany should deserve plaudits: including aid channelled via the European Union, it has given more military and financial help to Ukraine than any country bar America.

blugeon

(n.) a short club used as a weapon; (v.) to strike with a heavy club; to use force or strong arguments to gain some point How many years can Israel's brutal regime of settler-colonialism against Indigenous Palestinians last without US arming, funding, keeping its European poodles under control and, most importantly, wielding its bludgeon against anyone suggesting accountability?

opprobrium

(n.) disgrace arising from shameful conduct; contempt, reproach Finkelstein argues that many Israeli Jews see the ongoing occupation and the West Bank settlements as problematic; that they benefit only a small segment of Israel's Jews; that they complicate security arrangements; that the occupation is expensive; and that it earns Israel near-universal opprobrium.

skirt

(v) border, lie along the edge of , go around; evade I get your reluctance to come between parent and child. Here, though, it seems pretty low-risk to skirt the culture wars on transgender issues and chart a path of kindness.

taunt

(v.) to jeer at, mock; (n.) an insulting or mocking remark

jostle

(v.) to make or force one's way by pushing or elbowing; to bump, shove, brush against; to compete for The house needs some work. That does not deter the well-heeled crowd which jostles outside its gate—the bidding is frantic.

contrive

(v.) to plan with ingenuity, invent; to bring about as the result of a scheme or plan But under its chancellor, Olaf Scholz, it has nonetheless contrived to appear reluctant and hesitant.

keen

. I can recommend Michael as a keen communicator with a finely tuned sense of detail. As website and publications editor he performed his tasks with his trademark thoroughness and care. Michael can be relied upon to catch those details that others miss. He is critical when the need arises and contributes the extra something needed to create a polished product. He was loyal to ENSP and its Executive Board and during a difficult period of this organisation he continued to produce quality output, support and advice.

jitters, get into the meat and bones of teaching

. If you've never taught before, English or otherwise, maybe it's not such a good idea to sign up to teach abroad without preparing first. One of the easiest ways to ease those initial classroom jitters is to sign up for a TEFL course that gets into the meat and bones of ESL teaching to foreign students. Once you complete this course, whether online, in person, or both, teacher responsibilities like classroom management, assessment and evaluation, and lesson planning won't seem so scary after all!

to book a suspected offender

. To record information about (a suspected offender) after arrest in preparation for arraignment, usually including a criminal history search, fingerprinting, and photographing. The former president was booked but not handcuffed, and he did not have to submit to a mug shot.

rout

1. a. A disorderly retreat or flight following defeat. b. An overwhelming defeat. 2. a. A disorderly crowd of people; a mob. b. People of the lowest class; rabble. 3. A public disturbance; a riot. An equity rout on Thursday pushed Wall Street's S&P 500 gauge down 3.3 per cent, in a sign of the increasingly gloomy market outlook as the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank followed the Federal Reserve in raising interest rates to tackle soaring inflation.

caveat

1. a. A warning or caution: made a recommendation with many caveats. b. A qualification or explanation. 2. Law A formal notice filed by an interested party requesting postponement of a court proceeding or other action until the filer can be heard. At the election that followed, Unionist candidates emphasised their readiness to extend to Ireland' a measure of Local Government similar to that which has worked so well', albeit with the caveat that this would be tailored' according to the peculiar circumstances of that country' While a disappearing-brow act can sometimes be blamed on hormonal issues such as hypothyroidism or heredity, it's usually just part of the normal aging process, says Wu. The fix? Try the prescription drug Latisse. It's FDA approved for the growth of eyelashes, but it works on brows, too, Wu says. The only caveat: It'll take longer than the standard 3 to 4 months to see results, because eyebrow skin is thicker than the skin around your lashes, she says.

trope

1. A figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a metaphor.

grandstand

1. A roofed stand for spectators at a stadium or racetrack. A stampede early Friday at a mountainside religious celebration in Israel that drew tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews left at least 44 people dead and scores more injured. Initial reports indicated that a grandstand had collapsed.

fuse

1. A safety device with a thin metal strip that will melt if too much current passes through a circuit. 2. A cord of readily combustible material that is lighted at one end to carry a flame along its length to detonate an explosive at the other end.

sliver

1. A slender piece cut, split, or broken off; a splinter: slivers of broken glass. 2. A small narrow piece, portion, or plot: a sliver of land. Some time last year, during the height of the pandemic, I picked up a little sliver of a book I've had for years, a version of The Rule of St Benedict, an ancient guide to monastic values written by the 6th-century abbot Benedict of Nursia.

to scuttle

1. A small opening or hatch with a movable lid in the deck or hull of a ship or in the roof, wall, or floor of a building. 2. The lid or hatch of such an opening. tr.v. scut·tled, scut·tling, scut·tles 1. Nautical a. To cut or open a hole or holes in (a ship's hull). b. To sink (a ship) by this means. 2. To thwart, ruin, or terminate: "a program [the] President ... sought to scuttle" (Christian Science Monitor). President Joe Biden made an overture to Iran, offering formally to join talks about its nuclear programme—without prior conditions—with an eye to re-establishing a multilateral accord struck in 2015. Donald Trump scuttled the deal in 2018;

plug

1. An object, such as a cork or a wad of cloth, used to fill a hole tightly; a stopper. 2. A dense mass of material that obstructs a passage. 3. A usually cylindrical or conic piece cut from something larger, often as a sample. 4. Electricity a. A fitting, commonly with two metal prongs for insertion in a fixed socket, used to connect an appliance to a power supply. b. A spark plug. The plug of my mobile phone.

gambit

1. An opening in chess in which the player risks one or more minor pieces, usually a pawn, in order to gain a favorable position. 2. A maneuver, stratagem, or opening remark, especially one intended to bring about a desired result.

hamstring

1. Any of the tendons at the rear hollow of the human knee. 2. or hamstrings The hamstring muscle. 3. The large tendon in the back of the hock of a quadruped. tr.v. ham·strung (-strŭng′), ham·string·ing, ham·strings 1. To cut the hamstring of (an animal or a person) and thereby cripple. 2. To destroy or hinder the efficiency of; frustrate: "These worthwhile books are often hamstrung by unimaginative formats and inaccurate art" (Don Lessem). No details of this campaign are provided other than the capture of some chariots and the hamstringing of the enemy horses.

to double down

1. In blackjack, to double one's wager after seeing one's initial hand of cards, with only one more card allowed to be drawn afterward. Having already lost a massive sum, he decided to double down an already huge bet to try to win back some of his money. 2. By extension, to significantly increase or strengthen effort, investment, or resolve toward some goal, strategy, or action so as to maximize the potential yield as a result. The president made clear that he intends to double down the government's involvement in the war overseas. With the market booming, many companies are doubling down their development in mobile apps and games.

grunge

1. Informal Filth; dirt. 2. Rock music that incorporates elements of punk rock and heavy metal, often expressing a bleak or nihilistic outlook.

paramount

1. Of chief concern or importance: "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union" (Abraham Lincoln). 2. Highest in rank, power, or authority: the paramount leader of the nation.

ap·o·plex·y (ăp′ə-plĕk′sē)

1. Sudden impairment of neurological function, especially that resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage; a stroke. 2. A sudden effusion of blood into an organ or tissue. 3. A fit of extreme anger; rage: "The proud ... members suffered collective apoplexy, and this year they are out for blood" On one level, the EU leader was apoplectic. One senior EU official summed up, with evident disgust, the spin coming from Downing Street thusly: "Blaming EU for not wanting a deal, instead of talking and coming forward with operational proposals on how to solve the consequence of Brexit."

prowess

1. Superior skill or ability. 2. Superior strength, courage, or daring, especially in battle. Whenever I hear people express themselves comfortably, and not self-consciously, in a foreign language, I am impressed. These fluent speakers of a language are not just performing to demonstrate their prowess, nor pretending to be a native speaker. They are just using the skill they have acquired through a lot of hard work, in order to connect with people of a different culture.

to spook

1. To haunt. 2. To startle and cause nervous activity in; frighten: The news spooked investors, and stock prices fell. Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, fired his central-bank governor after he raised interest rates to tame inflation, as central-bank governors do. Markets were spooked by the sacking, and the lira sank.

dick

1. Vulgar A penis. 2. Vulgar A person, especially a man, regarded as mean or contemptible. 3. Chiefly British A fellow; a guy.

marquee

1. a tall rooflike projection above a theater entrance, usually containing the name of a currently featured play or film and its stars. 2. a rooflike shelter, as of glass, projecting above an outer door and over a sidewalk or a terrace. 3. Also, marquess, marquise. British. a large tent or tentlike shelter with open sides, especially one for temporary use in outdoor entertainments, receptions, etc. Flanked by ministers in a marquee filled with Israeli flags in the settlement of Mevo'ot Yericho, Netanyahu said on Sunday that annexing the Jordan Valley - which straddles the Jordanian border and the northern Dead Sea - "guarantees that the [Israeli] military will be here forever".

to pelt

1.a. To strike or assail repeatedly with thrown objects: pelted each other with snowballs. See Synonyms at barrage2. b. Archaic To strike (someone) with blows, as with a club. 2. To hurl or throw (missiles): children who pelted stones at the neighbors' windows. 3. To fall upon; strike repeatedly: Hailstones pelted the tent. v.intr. 1. To fall heavily or abundantly; beat: The rain pelted down all day. 2. To move at a vigorous gait: "A rider on a lathered horse came pelting down the Orange Plank Road" (Stephen W. Sears).

weave

2. A hairstyle in which hair extensions are attached to existing strands of hair. If I wanted to get on in corporate life, my natural hair had to go. A weave would cost more than getting my hair straightened;

to snipe at each other

2. A shot, especially a gunshot, from a concealed place. intr.v. sniped, snip·ing, snipes 1. To shoot at individuals from a concealed place. 2. To shoot snipe. 3. To make malicious, underhand remarks or attacks. His description from the "geniza" finds in Egypt of a family sniping at each other in letters springs most readily to mind.

to stand down

2. To withdraw, as from a political contest. EU member states Hungary and Slovakia have purchased Sputnik V vaccines using emergency rules, but the Slovak prime minister was forced to stand down last month after his decision to buy the Russian jab sparked a backlash from his own ministers.

span

: the spread or extent between abutments or supports (as of a bridge) also : a portion thus supported

marly

A crumbly mixture of clays, calcium and magnesium carbonates, and remnants of shells that is sometimes found under desert sands and used as fertilizer for lime-deficient soils.

breach

A data breach occurs when the data for which your company/organisation is responsible suffers a security incident resulting in a breach of confidentiality, availability or integrity. If that occurs, and it is likely that the breach poses a risk to an individual's rights and freedoms, your company/organisation has to notify the supervisory authority without undue delay, and at the latest within 72 hours after having become aware of the breach. to breach a company = to cause a data breach

curtsy

A downward movement of the body by bending the knees. a girl's or woman's formal greeting made by bending the knees and lowering the body She described learning how to curtsy moments before she was introduced to Queen Elizabeth II

standard

A flag, banner, or ensign, especially: a. The ensign of a chief of state, nation, or city. b. A long, tapering flag bearing heraldic devices distinctive of a person or corporation. c. An emblem or flag of an army, raised on a pole to indicate the rallying point in battle. d. The colors of a mounted or motorized military unit.

spew

A large oil spill from an unknown source has devastated sea life in the Mediterranean and spewed tons of tar across more than 100 miles of coastline from Israel to southern Lebanon. 1. To send out or force out in large amounts: a volcano that spewed molten lava; spewed invective at his opponent. 2. To vomit or otherwise cast out (matter) through the mouth. v.intr. 1. To flow or gush forth: Water was spewing from the hydrant. 2. To vomit.

standard bearer

A leader of a movement or party an officer of an army, company, or troop, who bears a standard; - commonly called color sergeantor color bearer; hence, the leader of any organization; as, the standard bearer of a political party. When he was first elected president of France in 2017, Emmanuel Macron immediately became a standard-bearer for radical centrism.

Supply of services for consideration

A titre onéreux The following transactions shall be subject to VAT: (a) the supply of goods for consideration within the territory of a Member State by a taxable person acting as such; Sont soumises à la TVA les opérations suivantes: a) les livraisons de biens effectuées à titre onéreux sur le territoire d'un État membre par un assujetti agissant en tant que tel;

incendiary

A year after Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in a fairy-tale wedding, she said in an extraordinary interview broadcast on Sunday night, her life as a member of the British royal family had become so emotionally desolate that she contemplated suicide. 1. a. Causing or designed to cause fires: an incendiary device. b. Of or containing chemicals that produce intensely hot fire when exploded: an incendiary bomb. c. Intentionally started or set: an incendiary fire. 2. Tending to arouse strong emotion or conflict; inflammatory: an incendiary speech. 3. Causing a strong burning sensation in the mouth; very hot: incendiary wasabi.

trounced in the first German election

Among the anti-democratic tactics Mr. Trump has adopted are some that were commonly employed by leaders like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia — refusing to concede defeat and hurling unfounded accusations of electoral fraud. The tactics also include undermining confidence in democratic institutions and the courts, attacking the press and vilifying opponents. Like Mr. Trump, those leaders feared that accepting defeat would expose them to prosecution once they left office. Mr. Trump does not have to worry about being charged with war crimes and genocide, as Mr. Milosevic was, but he does face a tangle of legal problems. Michael McFaul, the U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama and a frequent critic of Mr. Trump, described the president's "refusal to accept the results of the election" as "his parting gift to autocrats around the world." An early draft of the playbook used by leaders who never admit defeat was written in 1946 by the Socialist Unity Party, a communist outfit in the then Soviet-controlled eastern lands of Germany. Trounced in the first German election after World War II, the party, known as the SED, greeted its defeat with a bold headline in its newspaper — "Great Victory for SED!" — and took over ruling East Germany for the next 45 years. It never risked a competitive election again.

as of the time I'm writing this

As of the time that I am writing this,

Barking up the wrong tree

Bark up the wrong tree: to be wrong about the reason for something or the way to achieve something. Unfortunately; I barked up the wrong tree when I counted on Jessie. It turned out that she had also been planning to get rid of me. I barked up the wrong tree when I applied to such good colleges with my average grades.

honeycomb

Bienenwabe, Honigwabe to him your friendship will be sweeter than the dripping of the honeycomb

tell-all tale

Billed as the tell-all tale of the year, Prince Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey has become TV's biggest money spinner, as broadcasters look to cash in on guaranteed television ratings gold.

to be on a pace

Britain is on a pace to give the first shot of a two-dose coronavirus vaccine to its entire population by the end of June, if it can avoid supply and logistical issues that threaten to slow one of the world's fastest rollouts.

spoil

But 17% of voters spoiled their ballots to voice their discontent, more than voted for any single candidate. to spoil a ballot A ballot may be spoilt in a number of ways, including: Failing to mark the ballot at all (blank vote), or otherwise defacing the ballot instead of attempting to vote. Filling out the ballot in a manner that is incompatible with the voting system being used, e.g.: Marking more choices than permitted (overvoting), or fewer than necessary (undervoting). Filling a preference ballot out of sequence, e.g. 1-2-2-3-4 or 1-2-4-5-6, 1-4-2-4-5. In most cases, only the first two choices in these examples would be counted as valid. Adding a write-in candidate when such an option is not permitted. The vote for this candidate would be discarded. Filling the ballot in a manner that makes the voter's decision unclear. Physically deforming ballots, especially those counted by machine. Making marks on the ballot other than those necessary to complete it, from which the voter's identity can be ascertained, compromising the secrecy of the ballot.

Immuno-compromised

But that vaccine is associated with side effects and shouldn't be given to certain patients, including those who are immuno-compromised.

don't sit smugly on your high horse

Don't sit smugly on your high horse and call me a troll when you come from a country that pretends its 300 years of racist, bloodthirsty exploitation never happened.

to dog

Dr. Fauci's answers to the questions that continue to dog us, well over a year into the pandemic, reflected his dual role: officially, as President Biden's chief medical adviser, and unofficially, as the public's chief medical assuager. To track or trail persistently

to apportion blame

Eli Levy, a spokesman for the police, said an investigation was underway but that it was too early to apportion blame or speak of negligence.

spat

Europe Unveils Plan to Shift From Fossil Fuels, Setting Up Potential Trade Spats

protracted

Extended in time; prolonged The bank's "Global Economic Prospects" report warned that the world is entering a "protracted period of feeble growth and elevated inflation"

feel like two cents

Feel like two cents: to have a feeling of complete worthlessness or unimportance. I'm glad to have finally broken up with Steven, he always made me .......

feel like two cents

Feel like two cents: to have a feeling of complete worthlessness or unimportance. It's such a shame we are so broke. Everyone is splurging out there; I feel like two cents.

To field a call

For Esteban Bullrich, the minister in charge of education from 2010 to 2015, the initial aim was to make sure that pupils were being taught. Teachers were spending 12-15 days per year on strike, or about 7% of the time they should be in class, according to his calculations. To try to reduce those absences he first made his mobile-phone number public and began fielding calls directly from angry teachers. He extended the school day (informal:) to deal with, handle phone calls

cancel culture

French politicians, high-profile intellectuals and journalists are warning that progressive American ideas — specifically on race, gender, post-colonialism — are undermining their society. "There's a battle to wage against an intellectual matrix from American universities,'' warned Mr. Macron's education minister. Emboldened by these comments, prominent intellectuals have banded together against what they regard as contamination by the out-of-control woke leftism of American campuses and its attendant cancel culture. : to withdraw one's support for (someone, such as a celebrity, or something, such as a company) publicly and especially on social media <... the internet has canceled her over her alleged anti-black and homophobic past. — Angie Dare> the practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling (see 1cancel 1e) as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure <For those of you who aren't aware, cancel culture refers to the mass withdrawal of support from public figures or celebrities who have done things that aren't socially accepted today. This practice of "canceling" or mass shaming often occurs on social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. — Demetria Slyt>

Get out of herr

Get out of here!: used to express disbelief. ........................ . She would never say such a thing about me.

to come off the boil

Global house prices have certainly come off the boil. boil= the act or state of boiling

Jittery

Having or feeling nervous unease: The FT says May's efforts to reassure a jittery international community that Brexit would not mean a retreat from the world were met with a mixed response

to double down on

He appeared to double down on a strategy of trying to win by energizing those who...

to have no truck with

He holds few principled convictions and has no truck with consistency. We have no truck with that style of gutter journalism. to avoid or whish to avoid dealings or being associated with

to swallow the bait

He's a shrewd fox! He won't swallow the bait this easy. John: It's all a hoax. I must admit that I've swallowed the bait. to respond to someone's actions or words in the way that they intended

hart

Hirsch from yedid nefesh: beloved of the soul, compassionate father, draw your servant to your will, then your servant will hurry like a hart to bow before your majesty

befuddled , to befuddle

His victory sent shockwaves through financial markets that are befuddled by the outcome. to cause to become unable to think clearly

tongue-in-cheek

Humorous or intended as a joke, though seeming or appearing to be serious. Hyphenated as "tongue-in-cheek" if used before a noun. I thought it was obvious that my comments were tongue in cheek, but I guess I delivered them with too much of a straight face, because it seems like I offended several people at the party.

To bark up the wrong tree If you ask Peter about cars, you're *barking up the wrong tree*, he knows nothing about cars.

I barked up the wrong tree when I applied to such good colleges with my average grades. to be wrong about the reason for something or the way to achieve something. John: Unfortunately; I barked up the wrong tree when I counted on Jessie. It turned out that she had also been planning to get rid of me.

evasive with the answer

I consider myself to be Hebrew, because I'm often asked "where (I'm) from", indicating that the questioners detect something "non-European" about me (though I'm typically evasive with the answer because I don't consider it to be a pertinent line of interrogation).

(to) chart a path forward

I get your reluctance to come between parent and child. Here, though, it seems pretty low-risk to skirt the culture wars on transgender issues and chart a path of kindness.

who nit pick you to death

I shoot mostly for mid-tier clients - not those that demand every word pass 5 levels of quality control from editors who nit pick you to death, nor bottom-of-the-barrel agencies that care about nothing but cost.

I would hate you to do s.th.

I would hate you to lose your chance at a good job. I would hate you to fail the exam. it tends to be used with things that happen to the other person involuntarily

in the way of

I would recommend looking at what the BDÜ has to offer in the way of help for newcomers, networking opportunities (likely to be online at the moment but still useful) and training.

to billow out

I've returned to letting a small stretch of the morning billow out between the pages of a book.

swallow the bait

If you swallow the bait, you completely accept something, especially an offer that is a trick or way of getting something from you. Swallow the bait: to respond to someone's actions or words in the way that they intended. He's a shrewd fox! He won't swallow the bait this easy.

Grit

If you're a good writer, freelance success is totally achievable. Regardless of what the overall economy is doing. Or how the market is evolving. But it won't happen on its own. You need a good amount of grit. Plus smart strategies, proven processes, good habits and consistent execution.

on the hook

Implicitly, they buy into the antisemitic slander that every Jew is on the hook for the misbehavior — real or perceived — of any Jew. caught in a difficult or dangerous situation; "there I was back on the hook"

to game out

In a gathering Cold War atmosphere, American officials are gaming out responses should Russia resort to battlefield nuclear weapons. 1. To examine or investigate various possible scenarios, strategies, possibilities, etc., as to how something could be accomplished or may pan out. A noun or pronoun can be used between "game" and "out." We gamed the attack out from every conceivable angle. Analysts are gaming out the fallout from the senator's actions.

to spook

In the wake of June's Brexit vote - which sent global businesses scrambling to size up what that surprise outcome might mean for them, Mr. Trump has been more outspoken about the pitfalls of global trade deals and has vowed to roll them back. That has spooked global executives and industry officials who depend on them. to frighten

to throw

Informal To lose or give up (a contest, for example) purposely.

hard-nosed outlook

Informal. hardheaded or tough; unsentimentally practical: a hard-nosed leader. Underpinning the hard-nosed military convictions of much of the British political leadership was undoubtedly the Christian-Zionist factor - the romantic appeal of the return of the Jews to Zion after two thousand years, which founded on Old Testament Christianity, was part of their Victorian upbringing, even if most were agnostic in their views.

sewn up

Informal. to get, have, accomplish, or control successfully or completely: to sew up a deal; to sew up votes at a convention. At the time I saw it as a reminder that their old-boys (or old-girls) network had pretty much sewn up the openings for junior translators at the European institutions...

disingenuous

Insincere, not genuine To frame Palestinian resistance as motivated by an irrational seething anti-Semitism—as Stephens does—and not by opposition to land theft is wildly disingenuous.

boiler

Israel today is a boiler with way, way too much steam building up inside, and the bolts are about to fly off in all directions.

earful (ˈɪəfʊl)

It turned out that he had poor computer skills, and years of alcoholism had largely ruined his ability to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time. Needless to say, I got an earful from the colleague for wasting his time.

CAI

It was almost as if European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was actively trying to rile the European Parliament (EP) over the EU's bilateral investment deal with China. After jamming through a (still provisional) deal in the dying days of last year, she triumphantly wrote on Twitter that the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) "promotes our core values" and "provides us a lever to eradicate forced labour" — a highly quixotic claim given China's continued oppression of Uighurs.

disingenuous

It would be disingenuous to say „oh I've worked it all out down to the last period".

feeding frenzy

Just as sharks engage in a feeding frenzy when they sense blood in the water, the media "attack" when they sense wrongdoing or scandal in government, and devote great amounts of coverage to such stories. 1 : a frenzy of eating : a wildly aggressive attack of prey by an animal or group of animals sharks in a feeding frenzy Chemoreception seems to be highly developed in this snake and the smell of prey is sufficient to initiate a feeding frenzy. — Douglas Cable et al. 2 : an intensely and often wildly competitive and aggressive human activity likened to frenzied feeding by predatory animals They do not relish the journalistic feeding frenzy that will greet the senator's likely appearance on the witness stand. — U.S. News & World Report Before ransomware evolved into a full-scale global epidemic plaguing businesses, hospitals, schools and local governments, cyber insurance was a profitable niche industry. It was accused of fueling the criminal feeding frenzy by routinely recommending that victims pay up, but kept many from going bankrupt.

Keep one's nose clean

Keep one's nose clean: to stay out of trouble. Sid's got to ........................... or he'll end up back in prison.

liverwort

Leberblümchen

Let bygones be bygones

Let bygones be bygones: to allow the unpleasant things that have happened in the past be forgotten. They decided to ...................... and made peace with each other.

let bygones be bygones

Let bygones be bygones: to allow the unpleasant things that have happened in the past be forgotten. They decided to ...................... and made peace with each other.

Like-for-Like Sales

Like-for-Like Sales The comparison of a company's sales over a given period of time to the sales from a different period of time that resulted from the same or similar activities. For example, if a company has $3 million in sales in 2009 from its flagship store, this is compared to its sales from the same flagship store in 2008 and not to any of its satellite stores. Comparing like-for-like sales ignores the effects of expansion or other changes in activities that could distort comparisons from year to year. Shares in Walmart fell by 6.5% as markets closed despite its revealing record-high Christmas sales. Like-for-like sales at the world's largest bricks-and-mortar retailer grew by 8.6% year-on-year in the quarter to the end of January, and operating income swelled by 3.1%.

up my street

Lucky for you, our online TEFL courses are very reasonably priced. Investing a TEFL certificate means you will have the potential to travel the world and teach. But if that isn't up your street, then you can also stay at home and teach in your slippers. What's better than having access to unlimited cups of tea and coffee?

to keep one's nose clean

Mike: What's wrong with you these days John? You have always kept your nose clean! Sid Sid's got to keep his nose clean or he'll end up back in prison. to stay out of trouble

drag

Most of the drag from housing on GDP growth from now on should be marginal. Bremse anything that hinders or obstructs

tout

Mr Bannon was charged last year with defrauding hundreds of thousands of Trump supporters who donated to a crowdfunding campaign to build a wall on the US-Mexico border touted by the president during his 2016 election campaign. Mr Bannon had pleaded not guilty and was released on bail pending his trial. 1. To promote or praise energetically; publicize: "For every study touting the benefits of hormone therapy, another warns of the risks" (Yanick Rice Lamb). 2. To solicit or importune: street vendors who were touting pedestrians.

defraud

Mr Bannon was charged last year with defrauding hundreds of thousands of Trump supporters who donated to a crowdfunding campaign to build a wall on the US-Mexico border touted by the president during his 2016 election campaign. Mr Bannon had pleaded not guilty and was released on bail pending his trial. To take something from by fraud; swindle: defrauded the immigrants by selling them worthless land deeds.

off-ramp

Mr. Biden has been looking to help the Russian president find an "off-ramp" that might avert the worst outcome a short steep one-way road by which traffic can leave a motorway or highway

on the fence

Not making a decision or taking a side when presented with two options or possibilities; undecided. You can't stay on the fence any longer—you need to choose which of the two candidates we should hire. The committee has been on the fence about the issue for years, so don't expect any action any time soon.

fool

Now, negotiators have said they have a "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" attitude about the United States and will insist the Biden administration prove it can do what it claims

engrossing

Occupying one's complete attention; wholly absorbing: read an engrossing book. The ratings aren't in, but tonight many watchers were reminded of the skill, empathy and just all-around mastery of communication and focus of Oprah Winfrey as interviewer. Even if it was all showbiz, even it was all an act, for viewers it felt engrossing and moving.

to be cooped up

One flight that was subject to Scottish rules had only a handful of passengers, despite having 60 seats booked. The others may have taken flights to England and then travelled overland to Scotland, to avoid being cooped up in costly hotels.

to latch on to an idea

One point in this book that did give birth to some controversy was the suggestion I made that one of the biblical writers in particular (the author of the text known among scholars as "J") may have been a woman. This became a subject of much debate as other scholars, drawing on my research, latched on to this idea. To become fixated on or accepting of some idea, notion, or belief. I don't know why he's latched on to this idea of moving to Canada, but he seems dead set on it now. I'll try to get the rest of the board members to latch on to your plan if you can show some more data to back it up.

interloper

One that interferes with the affairs of others, often for selfish reasons; a meddler. 2. One that intrudes in a place, situation, or activity: "When these interlopers choke out native species, ecologists see a danger signal" (William K. Stevens). 3. Archaic a. One that trespasses on a trade monopoly, as by conducting unauthorized trade in an area designated to a chartered company. b. A ship or other vessel used in such trade. Sand, a self-avowed post-Zionist who teaches at Tel Aviv University, is apparently driven by the desire to prove that Ashkenazi Israelis are interlopers in the Middle East.

puppeteer

One who entertains with and operates puppets The report found that the platforms are particularly poor at acting on antisemitic conspiracy theories, including tropes about "Jewish puppeteers", the Rothschild family and George Soros, as well as misinformation connecting Jewish people to the pandemic.

wonk

One who studies an issue or a topic thoroughly or excessively

heel

Oppression; tyranny: under the heel of Stalinism; the heel of an autocrat. Russian forces have taken over one of the Donbas's two provinces, Luhansk, and are now trying to bring the other, Donetsk, to heel as well. to bring to heel = to get under control

dog whistle

Politics. a political strategy, statement, slogan, etc., that conveys a controversial, secondary message understood only by those who support the message: His criticism of welfare was a dog whistle appealing to racist voters. The cognitive dissonance that conservative Jews and many Israelis who supported President Trump's foreign and fiscal policies while ignoring the dog whistles to various right-wing extremists runs deep.

Glide path

Predetermined imaginary path to the landing strip in the horizontal plane The path of descent of an aircraft, delineated by a radio beam that directs the pilot in landing the craft. Britain has a target of a 68% reduction of emissions by 2030 and by 78% by 2035. Its goal is for net-zero emissions by 2050. Net-zero is the glide path.

roll over

President Biden on Thursday declared that the United States would no longer be "rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions." 1. To defer or postpone payment of (an obligation). 2. To renegotiate the terms of (a financial deal). 3. To reinvest (funds from a maturing security or from a tax-deferred account) into a similar security or account

Gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power. Joe Manchin, a Democratic senator, said he would oppose a sweeping voting-rights bill that would protect voting access across America and outlaw gerrymandering.

hamstrung

Protests continued in Myanmar against a military coup. Many civil servants have stopped work. Public services and many financial transactions are hamstrung.

fool's errand

Reading the forums here, you would get the idea that in today's day and age it's a fool's errand to attempt to make a living as a freelance translator.<

on the back foot

Russian president Vladimir Putin's administration has been on the back foot since losing thousands of square kilometres of territory to Ukrainian forces this month, increasing the clamour from pro-war hawks for full-blown annexation and mobilisation. In a position of disadvantage, retreat, or defeat. A large portion of our funding was cut at the last minute, so we were starting this project on the back foot from the get-go. The once-dominant airline company has been on the back foot ever since several no-frills competitors entered the market.

see eye to eye

See eye to eye: Agree with someone. Jerry: I don't want to make waves here, but I don't think Kim is making a good financial decision for our company. Linda: Oh, I don't know. Maybe you just don't see eye to eye?

toast

Slang One that is doomed, in trouble, or unworthy of further consideration. Two years passed and Bricker's weight was unchanged. Then the pandemic hit. "When we went into lockdown, I took it very seriously. With my health problems, I knew if I got COVID, I would be toast," he says.

earth-shattering

So, electing a Jewish politician would not be the least bit earth-shattering or historic- it already happens often.

Flash in the pan

Something that is initially successful or promising but quickly fails; from old flintlock muskets that were fired when the flint struck a spark to ignite a small amount of gunpowder in the weapon's "pan" that would then ignite the main charge. Often it would be only the powder in the pan that ignited and the gun failed to fire. Thanks for this measured view, Simon. And much as I hate being called an SO stalwart, I can't deny that I have been an enthusiastic supporter of the group for some time, although I have had concerns about the founder's ever-changing, flash-in-the-pan schemes for several months now, as I discussed with colleagues in San Francisco. There's nothing like a bucket of cold water as a wake-up call, though, and Thursday's announcement was precisely that. Thanks, but no thanks - I've definitely seen enough! I hope the new group takes off; looking promising at the moment. Thanks for stepping up to the mark :-)

to go

Sorry to hear about your experience, Dominika. My experience was definitely not the same. All of my professors at University of Leeds were committed to the cause and we were fortunate to have a lot of resources and support on campus, not to mention time spent abroad as part of our course of study. It really goes to show what a difference there can be between one university and another.

spill the beans

Spill the beans: to tell people secret information. Our agent's let us down and spilled the beans. Our secret recipe is the talk of the town right now. Trust her to ..................., she never could keep a secret.

pockmarked

Strengthening the eu's internal structures, by filling the gaps in its pockmarked constitution, is seen as the best way of protecting it from external threats. 1. A pitlike scar left on the skin by smallpox or another eruptive disease. 2. A small pit on a surface: The gophers left the lawn covered with pockmarks. tr.v. pock·marked, pock·mark·ing, pock·marks To cover with pockmarks; pit.

Shelter in place

That said, another recent nber paper failed to find that countries or American states that were quick to implement shelter-in-place policies had fewer excess deaths than places which were slower to act. Shelter in place means finding a safe location indoors and staying there until you are given an "all clear" or told to evacuate. You may be asked to shelter in place because of an active shooter; tornado; or chemical, radiological, or other hazard.

fibre optic broad band

The French resort is installing fibre-optic broadband, another enticement for remote workers.

wager

The average maturity of American treasuries has fallen from 17 months to 63. Central banks have been making a similar wager. Because the reserves they create to buy bonds carry a floating interest rate, they are comparable to short-term borrowing. Gambling, except Cards) an agreement or pledge to pay an amount of money as a result of the outcome of an unsettled matter

span

The distance between supports for a beam, girder, truss, or other horizontal structural member; to carry a load between supports. The apparent attack sent two of the Kerch Bridge's road spans crashing into the sea

roil

The one-state reality has especially roiled the politics of Jewish Americans.

hackles

The visit is almost certain to raise hackles across the west, at a time when Europe, the US and their allies are at pains to present a united front of opposition to Russian belligerence.

by way of

Therefore, when helping professionals on campus attempt to reach out, whether informally or by way of specific programs designed to support, it is appropriate to reflect on the stark differences and similarities between college attendance and military service, especially as they apply to the help-seeking attitudes of female veterans.

accrue

They will ensure that VAT on services will accrue to the country of consumption,

snag

Think teaching English abroad is just for the cool kids? You couldn't be any more wrong. It's a popular misconception that teaching English abroad in your 30s is a complete no-no. Many still believe that it's a rite of passage strictly for folks just out of university who have no clue what they want to do with their lives, who are trying to pay off sky high student loans asap, or who just want to have a bit of adventure before getting married, having kids, snagging a cushy corporate job, signing up for a mortgage, and otherwise "settling down."

wall-to-wall consensus, endow

Third, the entire theater surrounding the Judea and Samaria regulations reveals no dispute. On the contrary - it reveals the wall-to-wall consensus among the public and the legislature (elected by the part of the public endowed with political rights) regarding the regime of Jewish supremacy over the Palestinians.

tarnish

This can taint the TEFL industry and tarnish many legitimate companies with the same brush. One of the reasons why people feel that online courses aren't useful is because they are likely to have come across so many scam companies.

bail, release, indictment, produce evidence

Those who were attacked are sent to prison and released on excessive bail and without indictments, after the police were unable to produce evidence against them.

spell

To add up to; signify: Their unwise investment could spell financial ruin. v.intr.

go a long way toward doing something

To be particularly helpful or useful in achieving some action or goal. Don't do anything rash—patience will go a long way toward bringing you allies in this situation. You know, apologizing would go a long way toward mending your friendship with John.

To know you onions

To be very knowledgeable or skilled in some area. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. I think Nicole is our best candidate for the job—when it comes to corporate accounting, she really knows her onions. The first thing to remember is knowing your onions. Analysts have long complained that Novo's focus on diabetes-related illnesses make it the least diversified big pharma firm in Europe. But that is orthodoxy gone mad. One of the beauties of the firm, whose founders first made insulin in Denmark in the 1920s, is specialisation.

to be out about something

To discuss or reveal something in a direct, candid, or honest fashion. I really appreciate how she is out about her mental health struggles—it helps to break the stigma. If Dan Brown is your kink, then be out about it.

renege

To fail to carry out a promise or commitment: reneged on the contract at the last minute. There's not much direct cost to reneging: the labour standards provisions in the deal are not subject to trade sanctions if violated.

To have a taste of one's own medicine

To have a taste of one's own medicine: when someone gets the same bad treatment that he has been giving others.

to have a taste of one's own medicine

To have a taste of one's own medicine: when someone gets the same bad treatment that he has been giving others. He got .............................. when she decided to turn up late.

to drive someone up the wall

To irritate and/or annoy very much to the point of exasperation. Are isolated men driving American women up the wall? A week on vacation with my relatives is enough to drive me up the wall. That loud beeping noise is driving me up the wall!

decamp

To leave suddenly or unexpectedly. In San Francisco house prices are a tenth off their peak, as tech types have decamped to Florida and Texas.

to ping

To make a sharp, high-pitched, metallic sound. Informal To reach out to (someone), as by text message or email, to establish or maintain communication: Ping me when you get home safely. Britain's prime minister and finance minister began self-isolation after a government app pinged them after contact with someone who has tested positive for covid-19.

To flout

To mock, treat with contempt The finance ministers from Europe's five largest economies have warned the Trump administration that Republican tax cut plans would flout international agreements and undermine trade, threatening to turn a Washington policy battle into an international row.

to take down

To put down in writing: take down a letter. Port staff in Northern Ireland have expressed anxiety about suspicious activity around their workplace, including apparent attempts by people to take down car registration numbers.

To unmoore

To release from moorings The invasion of Ukraine has unmoored the domination of free-market orthodoxy.

bawl (one's) eyes out

To sob or weep loudly, uncontrollably, and for a long period of time. After we broke up, I just lay on my bed and bawled my eyes out.

hold off on sth

To stop or delay doing something: Let's hold off until we have more data. Don't hold off on asking questions 'cause there's no such thing as a dumb question.

sustain

To support for an extended period of time

circle the wagons

To take a defensive position; become defensive EU27 capitals quickly circled wagons. Simon Coveney, the Irish deputy prime minister, wrote that Tusk's criticism of Johnson "reflects the frustration across EU and the enormity of what's at stake for us all.

engage

To win over or attract: His smile engages everyone he meets. Plan and deliver fun and engaging lessons to young learners Use social media to engage students, from TikTok to Twitter, Facebook to Buzzfeed

to plunge into a crisis

Two days after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake toppled thousands of buildings and plunged cities across Turkey and Syria deep into crisis, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to an area near the epicenter today was met with frustration.

to conflate

Usage Note: Traditionally, conflate means "To bring together; meld or fuse," as in the sentence I have trouble differentiating Jane Austen's heroines; I realized I had conflated Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse into a single character in my mind. In our 2015 survey, 87 percent of the Usage Panelists accepted this traditional usage. Recently, a new sense for conflate has emerged, meaning "To mistake one thing for another," as if it were a synonym for confuse. In 2015, our usage panelists found this new sense to be marginally acceptable, with 55 percent accepting the sentence "People often conflate the national debt with the federal deficit; when the senator talked about reducing the debt, he was actually referring to the deficit."

torrid

Very hot, parching, burning; passionate

money-spinner

a business or product that makes a lot of money for someone Billed as the tell-all tale of the year, Prince Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey has become TV's biggest money spinner, as broadcasters look to cash in on guaranteed television ratings gold.

figment

a mere product of mental invention; a fantastic notion: The noises in the attic were just a figment of his imagination. a feigned, invented, or imagined story, theory, etc.: biographical and historical figments.

reveler

a person who is enjoying themselves in a lively and noisy way The largest monkeypox clusters have been reported in Europe, particularly in Spain, prompting some experts to hypothesize that the outbreaks originated in that country. Spanish officials are investigating two potential sources: a Gay Pride event held in the Canary Islands beginning on May 5 that drew about 80,000 revelers, as well as a sauna in Madrid.

catbird seat

a position of great prominence or advantage, Week after week I happily was assigned and submitted magazine articles, for a trade publication group, which owns 5 magazines. I had a smattering of other article assignments every month in the industries as well because my name and reputation were "getting out there". I used to earn US$ 0.75 - $1.25 per word for these 800-3000 word feature articles. I was in the catbird seat and these print magazines went out to all the industry players.

Things have come to a pretty pass.

a pretty pass old-fashioned a bad situation: Things have come to a pretty pass when a referee can no longer be trusted. It's come to a pretty pass when a bloke can't even enjoy a quiet round of golf these days.

aphorist, aphorism

a short, concise statement of a principle As the taboo had strengthened, seeking to acquire nuclear weapons had come to be seen as the mark of a barbarian. Avoiding any explicit mention of actually using the ones you already had was the mark of a gentleman. If there was a certain hypocrisy about all this—which there was—it was one that exemplified the French aphorist La Rochefoucauld's definition of the term: the tribute that vice pays to virtue.

sheep pen

a small area of land surrounded by a fence in which sheep are kept a tent or a hut and a sheep pen crop up from nowhere in the heart of grazing land, fields and orchards belonging to Palestinians.

Slough of Despond

a state of extreme depression; from the Slough of Despond, deep bog into which Christian falls on the way from the City of Destruction and from which Help saves him in the allegory Pilgrim's Progress (1678) by John Bunyan The British economy is in a generation-long slough of despond, a slow-burning economic catastrophe.

capstone

a stone that forms the top of wall or building, The highest point as of achievement, In the final days of his presidency, the Obama Administration opened a trade case against China that was meant as a capstone to his economic battles with Beijing.

boiler

a tank that heats water

Ballpark

a tract of land where ball games, especially baseball, are played. a baseball stadium. —adjective Informal. being an approximation, based on an educated guess: Give me a ballpark figure on our total expenses for next year. —Idioms in the ballpark, Informal. within reasonable, acceptable, or expected limits: The price may go up another $10, but that's still in the ballpark.

CPIH

a version of the CPI that takes into account the housing costs of owner-occupiers and the council tax

pandemonium

a wild uproar, din, or commotion Why rising interest rates have not yet created property pandemonium.

bane

a. A cause of harm, ruin, or death: "Obedience, / Bane of all genius, virtue, freedom, truth, / Makes slaves of men" (Percy Bysshe Shelley). b. A source of persistent annoyance or exasperation: "The spellings of foreign names are often the bane of busy copy editors" (Norm Goldstein).

bump

a. A raised or rounded spot; a bulge. b. A slight swelling or lump. c. Informal See baby bump. 3. A rise or increase, as in prices or enrollment. Despite a bump in the total fertility rates (TFR) of some European countries in the very late twentieth century (the 1980s and 1990s), especially France and Scandinavia, they never returned to replacement level; the bump was largely due to older women realizing their dreams of motherhood.

tie

a. To equal (an opponent or an opponent's score) in a contest. b. To equal an opponent's score in (a contest): tied the game with minutes remaining. This month, scientists announced that 2020 was tied with 2016 for the hottest year on record.

hog

a. a greedy or selfish person; b. to be greedy; to take more than one's fair share; to hoard Although the world is set to produce around 11bn doses of vaccine this year, it will be months before all those jabs find arms, and longer if rich countries hog doses on the off-chance that they may need them.

truant

absent without permission The authorities have arrested democrats, threatened truant bureaucrats with prison and tried to disperse crowds with water cannons and rubber bullets.

a hostage to fortune

an action or statement that could create problems for you later a hostage to fortune idiom 1 British : something (such as a promise or an action) that someone has made or done that may cause problems in the future 2 US : a person whose future success or failure is controlled by luck or fortune

cast-iron

an alloy of iron, carbon, and other elements, cast as a soft and strong, or as a hard and brittle iron. 1. made of cast iron. 2. not subject to change or exception: a cast-iron rule. 3. hardy: a cast-iron stomach. However, the weaker alternative of ratifying the CAI in return for China producing a cast-iron road map (or some other mixed metaphor, perhaps a concrete timeline or a titanium alloy route-finder) for future action on forced labour is, let's say, touchingly trusting, given Beijing's unparalleled skills at bureaucratic obstructionism.

meme

an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture Paul ingram, who manages a ranch in rural Texas, is not the type you would normally associate with a weight-loss fad. The drug he uses, Ozempic, is now a meme.

CPI (Consumer Price Index)

an index of the cost of all goods and services to a typical consumer The CPI continues to be published; it is used in the government's target for inflation and is produced to international standards in line with European regulations.

fledgling

an inexperienced person, beginner; a young bird about to leave the nest; inexperienced, budding A young bird that has left the nest and has usually acquired flight feathers, but is often not yet able to fly. 2. A young or inexperienced person. adj. New and untried or inexperienced: a fledgling enterprise. A novel coronavirus that has brought China to a halt this year is boosting another fledgling industry: telemedicine.

squadron

an operational unit in an air force consisting of two or more flights of aircraft and the personnel required to fly them squadron of fighter aircraft to Cuba and a warship carrying nuclear warheads,

*********

an unpleasant person 1. A rubber or plastic container that is filled with water and usually fitted with a nozzle for use in douching. 2. Vulgar Slang A foolish or contemptible person.

at (someone's) door

at (someone's) door As a charge holding someone responsible: You shouldn't lay the blame for the fiasco at her door. The dramatic changes in manufacturing employment can be laid at the door of economic globalization.

nuts and bolts

basics, practical details

nettlesome, adjective

causing irritation, vexation, or annoyance. EU carriers are avoiding Belarus since Alexander Lukashenko, the country's president, forced a flight to land in Minsk in order to arrest a nettlesome journalist on board.

crosshairs

center of interest Now, the sector isn't just in the criminals' crosshairs. It's teetering on the edge of profitability, upended by a more than 400% rise last year in ransomware cases and skyrocketing extortion demands.

rapturous

characterized by, feeling, or expressing great pleasure or enthusiasm Filled with or characterized by great joy or rapture; ecstatic. While initially rapturous in their coverage of the couple, Britain's tabloids turned against them, publishing unflattering articles about how they flew on carbon-spewing private jets and restricted access to their newborn son.

woke

chiefly US slang : aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)

sleight of hand

cleverly executed trick or deception (magic); skill and dexterity The Balfour Declaration was the product of neither military nor diplomatic interests but of prejudice, faith and sleight of hand. The men who sired it were Christian and Zionist and, in many cases, anti-Semitic. They believed the Jews controlled the world.

associated with

connected with something else But that vaccine is associated with side effects and shouldn't be given to certain patients, including those who are immuno-compromised.

cabal

conspiratorial group of plotters; a secret plot or scheme The alt-rights believe that a Jewish cabal controls the U.S. government, media, and universities, and is pursuing its aim of white genocide by spreading anti-white tropes and encouraging African-American civil rights groups.

writ

court order The Palestinian security forces have very little prospect of re-establishing their writ in Jenin in the foreseeable future.

cut no ice (with)

cut no ice To make no effect or impression: an objection that cut no ice with management. Even if the term «Palestinian » was a Soviet invention (even though "Palestine" had been the common name for the place among outsiders since Roman and even Greek times) that does not mean that there is not now a people who call themselves that and are so called by most others. Your refusal to acknowledge that fact and incorporate it into your thinking about this conflict does not cut much ice with most people, so better you stop repeating it and try and think of something more productive to say.

cut to the chase

cut to the chase To get to the matter at hand. Let's cut to the chase then: why does the Jewish periphery — and especially the Mizrahi periphery — vote right?

big box retailers

discount stores that offer a narrow but deep assortment of merchandise Target, an American big-box retailer, lowered its profit forecast, saying it has too many unwanted goods. KEY TAKEAWAYS A big-box retailer is a store that occupies a large physical footprint while offering a wide variety of products to its customers, often in bulk. Designed to be a one-stop-shop for customers, big-box stores can offer great convenience and value. Some criticize big-box stores for displacing smaller mom-and-pop shops and aggressive pricing practices when dealing with vendors and suppliers. A big box store's customer service typically pales in comparison to smaller, local businesses. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/big_box_retailer.asp

to do someone's bidding

do someone's bidding idiom Save Word variants: or less commonly do the bidding of someone Definition of do someone's bidding : to do what one is told or ordered to do especially by one in a position of power or authority He was at the beck and call of powerful interest groups and was always willing to do their bidding.

perfunctory

done without care; in a routine fashion Cut corners: do something perfunctorily so as to save time or money. The government cut corners when they built the school with bad materials, and put everyone in danger.

perfunctory

done without care; in a routine fashion requires more than a perfunctory mention.

bolt

door bar; fastening pin or screw; length of fabric

irascible

easily angered, irritable easily provoked, testy, touchy, short-tempered: an irascible boss; an irascible response As an international statesman, Mr Macron correctly identified the threat to the Western order from a rising China and an irascible Russia.

buzzy

exciting, especially because a lot of things are going on At her wits' end, Ms. Berger visited a doctor who suggested she try tirzepatide, marketed under the brand name Mounjaro, a buzzy new diabetes drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration in May 2022.

accrued expenses

expenses incurred but not yet paid in cash or recorded

fiendish

extremely cruel or unpleasant; devilish

nefarious

extremely wicked A charming first encounter quickly turns into something more nefarious when bookstore manager Joe takes a very strong liking to grad student Beck.

feckless

feckless Also found in: Thesaurus, Wikipedia. feck·less (fĕk′lĭs) adj. 1. Careless and irresponsible: "political prestidigitation designed to distract public attention from his feckless flouting of basic ethical principles" (Doug Ireland). 2. Feeble or ineffective: "Pickering's life was routinely threatened, and one feckless attempt had already been made to kidnap or kill him" (Garry Wills). During the euro-zone crisis, the debate over bail-outs was steeped in the idea that diligent Germans were bailing out feckless Greeks (rather than the feckless German and French banks who lent them the money in the first place).

glib

fluent in an insincere manner; offhand; casual He told the New York Times that what had disturbed him most was the glib fashion in which his colleagues—arms-control specialists, no less—revelled in talk of nuclear war.

boilerplate

generic document that uses standard language and a fill-in-the-blank format to outline expectations between parties

high bar

gymnastic apparatus consisting of a bar supported in a horizontal position by uprights at both ends For viewers to come together in this age and in this economy for television at an appointed time — interrupted by commercials even! — requires a high bar.

slog

hard work done persistently And as for tackling Chinese, if it is not your native language and you have not lived there for years I think that would be a very hard slog to reach the kind of native-speaker competency you would need to be a successful translator and/or interpreter. Other colleagues may disagree.

deleterious

harmful, injurious What asset price inflation does do is exacerbate inequalities between winners and losers. And when the bubble eventually does burst, it causes significantly deleterious economic outcomes as asset prices unwind to their "natural" state.

home in on

home in on (something) home in on (something) 1. To identify and move toward the position of a target. Their new heat-seeking missiles can home in on targets from over 3,000 miles away. Police are homing in on the criminals' hideout. 2. To get incrementally closer to discovering or understanding something. It has taken multiple drafts, but I think I'm finally homing in on the right tone for my novel. Scientists said they are homing in on a cure for the terrible disease. 3. To focus one's attention or concentration on something. There was so much wonderful stuff in that movie, so I don't know why you're homing in on one single problematic scene. My professor loves to ramble for 10-20 minutes before finally homing in on the topic of the day's lecture.

hone in on

hone in on (something) (redirected from hone in on) hone in on (something) To focus or concentrate on something. A common misspelling of "home in on (something)." Their new heat-seeking missiles can hone in on targets from over 3,000 miles away. Scientists said they are honing in on a cure to the terrible disease. There was so much wonderful stuff in that movie, so I don't know why you're honing in on one single problematic scene.

embrace

hug; adopt or espouse

vanishingly

in such a manner or to such a degree as almost to become invisible, nonexistent, or negligible Threats of nuclear attack like those made in the 1940s and 1950s had become vanishingly rare.

scupper

informal British: to wreck, ruin, our plans were scuppered A long-overdue agreement on sending tanks had been hoped for when the Western allies gathered at Ramstein. But Mr Scholz scuppered that, only to yield on January 25th, after withering criticism from his allies.

gavel

judge's hammer

keep one's nose clean

keep one's nose clean Fig. to keep out of trouble, especially trouble with the law. I'm trying to keep my nose clean by staying away from those rough guys. John, if you don't learn how to keep your nose clean, you're going to end up in jail. Sid's got to keep his nose clean or he'll end up back in prison.

lapse

lap 3 (lăp) v. lapped, lap·ping, laps v.tr. 1. To take in (a liquid or food) by lifting it with the tongue. 2. To wash or slap against with soft liquid sounds: waves lapping the side of the boat. lap up To receive eagerly or greedily: lapping up praise. For an American audience that has lapped up the palace intrigue depicted in the popular TV series "The Crown," it was the equivalent of an explosive bonus episode — one promoted in a week of charges and countercharges about the role Meghan played in the House of Windsor.

shake-up

large changes made in an organization to improve it Obama's election proved a big shake-up for the US systems

fleeting

lasting for a very short time

deciduous

laubabwerfend

locked and loaded

locked and loaded [Military slang for an M-16 rifle with magazine inserted and prepared for firing] Said of a removable disk volume properly prepared for use - that is, locked into the drive and with the heads loaded. Ironically, because their heads are "loaded" whenever the power is up, this description is never used of Winchester drives (which are named after a rifle).

serendipity

luck, finding good things without looking for them They need help getting into shape. Novo Nordisk is their new port of call. It has been a wild ride. Following Ozempic's serendipitous success, the firm's newest potential blockbuster, Wegovy, was the first drug in years that America's Food and Drug Administration (fda) approved for obesity.

To moore

moor 1 (mo͝or) v. moored, moor·ing, moors v.tr. 1. To make fast (a vessel, for example) by means of cables, anchors, or lines: moor a ship to a dock; a dirigible moored to a tower. 2. To fix in place; secure: a mailbox moored to the sidewalk with bolts. See Synonyms at fasten. 3. To provide with an abiding emotional attachment: a politician moored to the family back home.

queasiness

nausea; the feeling of sickness to the stomach n 1999 nina tannenwald, a political scientist at Brown University, wrote a paper analysing something she had observed among generals, politicians and strategists: the "nuclear taboo". This was not, she argued, simply a matter of general queasiness or personal moral qualms; it had important consequences.

all but

nearly, almost: all but crying with relief. Without you the job would have been all but impossible. We had all but given up hope. dinner is all but on the table, so don't go anywhere

blandishments (plural n.)

nice things that you say or do to convince someone to do something The mixture of norms, treaties, mutual assurances, blandishments, suasion, technical mechanisms, fear and taboo which has kept the world from seeing nuclear weapons used against armies or cities since 1945 was looking pretty ragged even before Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, warned on February 24th that third parties standing in Russia's way risked "consequences...such as you have never seen in your entire history".

nimble

nimble Also found in: Thesaurus, Wikipedia. nim·ble (nĭm′bəl) adj. nim·bler, nim·blest 1. Quick, light, or agile in movement or action; deft: nimble fingers. 2. Quick, clever, and acute in devising or understanding: nimble wits. See Synonyms at dexterous. German leadership in Europe makes people uneasy, particularly Germans. In private, Mrs Merkel used to point out that Germany was unsuited for such a role since the country was itself a mini-eu, its complicated federalism built on delicate compromise. Nimble decisions were impossible in such circumstances.

spurious

not genuine, authentic, or true; not from the claimed, pretended, or proper source; counterfeit.

spurious

not genuine, not true, not valid I've also decided to leave alone many of the spurious remarks Stephens makes about anti-Semitism, which merit an article of their own, because they derail the discussion and take the focus off of Israel's record

demur

object The global supply of the Soviet-style weapons the Ukrainian army is trained to use is running low. Finland and South Korea have been willing suppliers, but other nations, including Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Peru, have demurred.

ragged

old and torn The mixture of norms, treaties, mutual assurances, blandishments, suasion, technical mechanisms, fear and taboo which has kept the world from seeing nuclear weapons used against armies or cities since 1945 was looking pretty ragged even before Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, warned on February 24th that third parties standing in Russia's way risked "consequences...such as you have never seen in your entire history".

on a roll

on a roll : in the midst of a series of successes : on a hot streak—sometimes used with a modifier<has been on a brilliant roll> I thought 100k would be the ceiling but got surprised when things kept getting better. Stick with it when you're on a roll... next year you can double it easily with proper planning and time management!

op-ed

op-ed (ˈɒpˌɛd) n (Journalism & Publishing) a. a page of a newspaper where varying opinions are expressed by columnists, commentators, etc b. (as modifier): an op-ed column in the New York Times. [C20: from op(posite) ed(itorial page)] Collins English Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

if not

other passages—the parables of the vineyard (21.33-45) and the wedding feast (22.1-14), the invectives against the Pharisees (23.3-36), and the self-curse of "all the people" that Jesus' "blood be on us and on our children!" (27.25)—suggest a strained if not broken relationship between Matthew's intended readers and the synagogue. 1. if not - perhaps; indicating possibility of being more remarkable (greater or better or sooner) than; "will yield 10% if not more"; "pretty if not actually beautiful"; "let's meet tonight if not sooner"

beyond the pale

outside the bounds of acceptable behavior The lack of nuclear wars in the years since America's destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, she argued, was not simply a matter of deterrence. It had also relied on a growing sense of the innate wrongness of nuclear weapons putting their use beyond the pale.

egregiousness

outstanding badness or viciousness public international law provides the framework necessary for capturing the egregiousness of these 'clearance operations' (ethnical cleaning of Rohingyas in Myam Mar)

egregious

outstandingly bad

quixotic

overly idealistic; impractical It also goes against the EU's quixotic demand for an end to hydrocarbon extraction in the Arctic.

to pack heat

pack heat To have one or more firearms, especially handguns, currently on one's person. Everyone in that gang packs heat, so I'd steer clear of them if I were you! I make sure I'm always packing heat when I go through this part of town. Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, signed four decrees to make it easier to pack heat. Ordinary Brazilians will be allowed to buy as many as six guns (up from four) and carry two at once.

varnish

paint that provides a hard glossy transparent coating His purpose was to deliver a barely varnished ultimatum to the Palestinian president.

beyond the pale

pale n. 1. A stake or pointed stick; a picket. 2. A fence enclosing an area. 3. The area enclosed by a fence or boundary. 4. a. A region or district lying within an imposed boundary or constituting a separate jurisdiction. b. Pale The medieval dominions of the English in Ireland. Used with the. 5. Heraldry A wide vertical band in the center of an escutcheon. tr.v. paled, pal·ing, pales To enclose with pales; fence in. Idiom: beyond the pale Irrevocably unacceptable or unreasonable: behavior that was quite beyond the pale. Either the world was with America or against it. Linked to that is the assumption that friends want to remake themselves in America's image, while foes are beyond the pale.

sleuths

people who try to solve crimes or mysteries

nonplussed

perplexed To put at a loss as to what to think, say, or do; bewilder.

to pore

pored pore1 [pôr, pōr] vi. pored, poring [[ME poren < ?]] 1. [Now Rare] to gaze intently 2. to read or study carefully: with over [to pore over a book] 3. to think deeply and thoroughly; ponder: with over Member states pore over a draft budget.

to put paid to

prevent a person from doing (something he planned or wanted to do). The rain put paid to our visit to the zoo Jewish parties from across the political spectrum were in advanced talks with Ra'am, an Arab party, over forming a new government—one that would replace Mr Netanyahu. But the violence has put paid to those plans.

oblige

provide a service or favor for someone Recently, one of the kids informed the group they would like to be called a different name — one that is typically associated with a different gender. The kids have obliged their friend, and I would be happy to, as well.

stealth

quiet, secret, or sneaky behavior Charles Michel, president of the European Council, on Monday accused Russia of using its leverage over the world's food supply as "a stealth missile against developing countries."

a devil-may-care attitude

reckless, defiant of authority; In principle, if you survive a life-threatening disease, you may count yourself as one of the lucky ones and the devil may care.

rarefied

refined A year after Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in a fairy-tale wedding, she said in an extraordinary interview broadcast on Sunday night, her life as a member of the British royal family had become so emotionally desolate that she contemplated suicide.

refraction

refraction re·frac·tion (rĭ-frăk′shən) n. 1. The deflection of a wave, such as a light or sound wave, when it passes obliquely from one medium into another having a different index of refraction. 2. Astronomy The apparent change in position of a celestial object caused by the bending of light rays as they enter Earth's atmosphere. 3. Medicine a. The ability of the eye to bend light so that an image is focused on the retina. b. Determination of this ability in an eye. "in the polytheistic world of Hellenism . . . all beliefs were admitted as refractions of the same eternal light";

riff

riff (rĭf) n. 1. Music A short rhythmic phrase, especially one that is repeated in improvisation. 2. A repeated or varied theme, idea, or phrase: gave us another of his riffs on the decline of civilization. Mr. Trump riffed for an hour, falsely accusing Democrats of using the threat of the coronavirus, which has disproportionately affected people of color, to try to "steal" the election by increasing mail-in voting.

upend

set or turn (something) on its end or upside down. "she upended a can of soup over the portions" Now, the sector isn't just in the criminals' crosshairs. It's teetering on the edge of profitability, upended by a more than 400% rise last year in ransomware cases and skyrocketing extortion demands.

hone

sharpen; increase; whet For all his ena-honed competence, Mr. Macron has failed to restore hope to France's left-behind.

to shun

shun (shŭn) tr.v. shunned, shun·ning, shuns 1. To avoid using, accepting, engaging in, or partaking of: shun someone's advice; shun public recognition; shun fatty foods. 2. To refuse to accept socially; avoid having social contact with: "Oddly, by being one of the few players who spoke candidly about the business of baseball, he was often shunned by the business world itself" (David Grann). 3. To stay away from; not go to: "He shunned the elevator and started up the broad marble stairs" (Frederick Irving Anderson). Jewish modernizers, who were known for shunning the beards worn by traditional Eastern European Jews.

diffident

shy, lacking self-confidence; modest, reserved hesitant to assert oneself; timid Balfour was Weizmann's most important convert, because behind a diffident manner lurked a sharp intellect and steely will, much needed in overcoming the hesitations of Foreign Office officials and colleagues. Once convinced of a case, he was a hard man to deflect.

dinghy

small boat Under cover of darkness, a group of soldiers heaved their dinghy off the sand into the water.

Consideration

something of value exchanged for something else of value The following transactions shall be subject to VAT: (a) the supply of goods for consideration within the territory of a Member State by a taxable person acting as such; Sont soumises à la TVA les opérations suivantes: a) les livraisons de biens effectuées à titre onéreux sur le territoire d'un État membre par un assujetti agissant en tant que tel;

spoil

spoil noun \ ˈspȯi(-ə)l \ 1a: plunder taken from an enemy in war or from a victim in robbery the bandits escaped with their lives but not with the spoils Here's a great story of how starting with yourself works where whining and pretending everybody owes you doesn't. Now go use some of your spoils to buy bitcoin:)

to spurn

spurn (spûrn) v. spurned, spurn·ing, spurns v.tr. 1. To reject with disdain or contempt. See Synonyms at refuse1. 2. Archaic To kick at or tread on disdainfully. v.intr. To reject something contemptuously. n. Archaic 1. A contemptuous rejection. 2. A kick. [Middle English spurnen, from Old English spurnan; see sperə- in Indo-European roots.] spurn′er n.

ogle

stare at; observe in an obvious manner you are not here to be ogled, but those bracelets, they jangle

galvanise

stimulate by shock; stir up; revitalize

parsimonious

stingy, miserly; meager, poor, small

cautionary tale

tale to warn of a danger Stories about playing with matches do not have happy endings. An illustration from "The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches" from Struwwelpeter, by Heinrich Hoffman, 1858. A cautionary tale is a tale told in folklore, to warn its listener of a danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is stated: some act, location, or thing is said to be dangerous. Then, the narrative itself is told: someone disregarded the warning and performed the forbidden act. Finally, the violator comes to an unpleasant fate, which is frequently related in expansive and grisly detail. Those whose job it is to enforce conformity therefore frequently resort to cautionary tales. The German language anthology, Struwwelpeter, contains tales such as "Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug" (The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches);

suasion

the act of persuading The mixture of norms, treaties, mutual assurances, blandishments, suasion, technical mechanisms, fear and taboo which has kept the world from seeing nuclear weapons used against armies or cities since 1945 was looking pretty ragged even before Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, warned on February 24th that third parties standing in Russia's way risked "consequences...such as you have never seen in your entire history".

supplication

the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly In this fnal hour, as we realize the inner gates will have to close, we begin to turn from supplication toward making peace. We start on the road to accepting the new year, whatever our fate in it will be. (Rabbi Arthur Green, b. 1941)

Groupthink

the mode of thinking that occurs when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives There is another, more profound, example of the danger of climate groupthink.

Abutment

the outermost end supports on a bridge, which carry the load from the deck

notch up

to achieve There is a sense in Germany that Mr Scholz has notched up a diplomatic victory. By digging in his heels, he has forced the Americans to offer 31 of its Abrams tanks.

dither

to be indecisive Most recently he has dithered over tanks.

trounce

to beat severely, defeat The second election in Greece in a month was won by the conservative New Democracy party, which now holds a rare majority in parliament. After winning the previous election in May the party called for a new ballot to give it a bigger mandate; it trounced the left-wing Syriza party by 23 percentage points.

trounce

to beat severely, defeat In the election in 2017 Mr. Macron trounced Marine Le Pen, a nostalgic nationalist, by 66% to 34%.

bed in

to become normal and start working properly To establish a harmonious and efficient concomitance. Sometimes after installing new software, you just need a period of time to bed in with the computer before you're used to it again. The close energy relationship has its roots in a historic agreement between then West Germany and the Soviet Union in 1970, which saw the Germans pay for Soviet natural gas with exports of steel pipes. "It was a great deal for everybody, including the Soviets," says Eon's Birnbaum. "They got their export infrastructure financed from the West . . . and we got cheap gas." As the relationship bedded in, Russia gained the reputation as a reliable supplier that kept pumping gas even when the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan brought east-west tensions to boiling point.

hedge its bet

to bet upon both sides; that is, after having bet on one side, to bet also on the other, thus guarding against loss. But since the Abraham accords were signed, no additional Arab countries have sought to normalize relations with Israel, and Saudi Arabia has continued to hedge its bets by holding off on establishing formal ties with Israel.

to bind

to bind the wounds of division

vaunt

to boast; to brag about And endless occupation makes Israel's vaunted democracy less about Jewish self-determination than it is about ethnic subjugation.

purport

to claim; to have or to give the false impression of being To have or present the often false appearance of being or intending; claim or profess: a novel that purports to be a sailor's memoir; an author who purports to have witnessed the events.

vindicate

to clear from blame .To clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting arguments or proof: "Our society permits people to sue for libel so that they may vindicate their reputations" If a person or their decisions, actions, or ideas are vindicated, they are proved to be correct, after people have said that they were wrong. [formal] The director said he had been vindicated by the experts' report. Ministers and officials are confident their decision will be vindicated.

rustle up

to collect or get together, as by foraging Governments with small majorities or none at all can get things done, if they rustle up allies and their opponents are divided or feeble.

to fly in the face

to completely oppose what seems sensible or normal In a punchy first interview, Jonas Gahr Store, Norway's new prime minister, told the Financial Times that Europe's green transition required his country to keep drilling. A rapid end to Norwegian hydrocarbon supplies, he said, "would put a stop to an industrial transition that is needed" to decarbonise. It is, of course, a self-serving argument. It flies in the face of the International Energy Agency's road map to net zero, which calls for no more investment in new oil and gas developments.

preen

to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care

to account for

to explain The first and last pages of this book recognize the greatness of the Bible, its beauty and its power. What comes in between is a picture of how critical biblical scholarship accounts for this greatness.

topple

to fall forward a magnitude 7.8 earthquake toppled thousands of buildings

scrap

to fight Low growth puts pressure on public sector wage settlements — if the pie isn't growing, no wonder there is such a scrap over each slice.

spill the beans

to give away a secret Our agent's let us down and spilled the beans. Our secret recipe is the talk of the town right now.

to inform

to give evident substance, character, or distinction to; pervade or permeate with manifest effect: A love of nature informed his writing.

trot out

to give the same excuses, facts, explanations, etc. for something that have often been used before Given just how frequently the arguments Stephens advances are trotted out, it's worthwhile to try and dispel the most prominent ones.

to teethe

to grow teeth Mr Gove admitted that the problems arising from the Northern Ireland protocol — part of the Brexit deal — were more than just "teething problems" as claimed by prime minister Boris Johnson last month.

bark up the wrong tree (idiom)

to have the wrong idea about how to get or achieve something Waste one's efforts by pursuing the wrong thing or path, as in If you think I can come up with more money, you're barking up the wrong tree. This term comes from the nocturnal pursuit of raccoon-hunting with the aid of dogs. Occasionally a raccoon fools the dogs, which crowd around a tree, barking loudly, not realizing their quarry has taken a different route. To attempt or pursue a futile course of action, often by making some kind of suggestion or request. If you think I'll help you cheat, you're definitely barking up the wrong tree! I barked up the wrong tree when I applied to such good colleges with my average grades.

roil

to make a liquid cloudy or muddy; to stir up or agitate; to make angry; rile The one state reality has especially roiled the politics of Jewish America.

to demur

to make objection, esp. on the grounds of scruples; take exception; hesitation Not to be confused with: demure - shy; modest; reserved; retiring Only in Mt 27.25 are "all the people" depicted as clamoring for Jesus' crucifixion and insisting, when Pilate demurs, "His blood be on us and on our children."

ramp up

to make something increase in amount (phrasal verb) Global stocks and government bonds sold off on Monday as investors ramped up their expectations of central banks raising interest rates aggressively to curb scorching inflation

ramp up

to make something increase in amount (phrasal verb) ramp 1 (rămp) n. 1. An inclined surface or roadway connecting different levels. 2. A mobile staircase by which passengers board and leave an aircraft. 3. A concave bend of a handrail where a sharp change in level or direction occurs, as at a stair landing. Phrasal Verbs: ramp down To decrease in volume, amount, or rate: As the project ramped down, several employees were laid off. ramp up To increase in volume, amount, or rate: The factory ramped up production to meet the increased demand.

flout

to mock, treat with contempt Ms Le Pen would flout EU rules by favouring French citizens for everything from housing to jobs.

to streak

to move at high speed Mr Kiselev laid out the launch options he had in mind. One was a Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (icbm) shown streaking towards Britain.

spur

to move to action The Brigades' expanding firepower spurred Israel into more drastic action.

flub

to perform poorly The combined market capitalisation of Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly easily eclipses that of AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer put together. In the eyes of some pundits, Novo has flubbed its lead. It underestimated demand, mishandled supply and let this slow down its ambitions to roll out Wegovy in Europe.

inform

to pervade or permeate with manifest effect: A love of nature informed his writing. Bernd Lange, the German chair of the EP's international trade committee, comes from the centre-left Socialists and Democrats parliamentary grouping and is somewhere close to the median opinion on trade in the EP. He's a moderate kind of chap, with his long-term membership of the IG Metall trade union informing his support for labour standards combined with a concern for the commercial interests of industry.

attenuate

to reduce in force or degree; to weaken The prospect of an attenuated struggle has started to seep into Mr Zelensky's speeches.

rebuff

to reject bluntly Italy's Northern League would soon enter government as half of an all-populist coalition that flirted with leaving the euro and rebuffed migrants rescued in the Mediterranean.

to torch

to set fire to Lethal attacks by Palestinian youths against Israelis are coinciding with an expansion of Israeli settlements and the torching of Palestinian villages by settlers,

ensconce

to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place The new generation of Republicans is less circumspect about their antipathy towards Jews, and even further ensconced in baseless conspiracy theories tinged with historic antisemitic tropes.

rise to the challenge

to show that you can deal with a difficult situation successfully And be supportive of the mother as she processes what may be distressing news for her. Let's hope she rises to the challenge.

to mangle

to spoil; ruin; mar badly: to mangle a text by careless typesetting. Kevin Lossner More or less, yes. Are there so-called professionals at that level? Oh yes, far too many. That's why I am glad I don't work in a corporate environment full of such morons any more. It's one thing if the Japanese coworker mangles his English and needs a little basic help, but if I am surrounded by natives who went through the same school system I did, I just look for the exit.

bounce

to spring back after hitting something Mr Scholz's caution has made it seem as if he was bounced into promising anti-missile systems by America.

pilfer, to pilfer

to steal In the past few weeks, ransomware criminals claimed as trophies at least three North American insurance brokerages that offer policies to help others survive the very network-paralyzing, data-pilfering extortion attacks they themselves apparently suffered.

ransomware

to stem the impact of the biggest single global ransomware attack Ransomware is an ever-evolving form of malware designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering any files and the systems that rely on them unusable. Malicious actors then demand ransom in exchange for decryption.

withering

to weaken, to decay of a look, remark, etc.) intended to make someone feel silly or ashamed She gave him a withering look. withering criticism A long-overdue agreement on sending tanks had been hoped for when the Western allies gathered at Ramstein, an American base in Germany, on January 20th. But Mr Scholz scuppered that, only to yield on January 25th, after withering criticism from his allies.

tub-thumping

tub-thumping Forceful or aggressive promotion of one's agenda through public speech or other means. Primarily heard in UK. I wish they would quit their tub-thumping and get on with the show. We don't care about their politics. Belgians' lack of national pride is a refreshing break from the tub-thumping nationalism in Russia, China or even the United States.

To give a down and dirty look

unvarnished, the down and dirty truth, the unvarnished truth, not adorned or glossed Take the mystery and myth out of the ATA Certification Exam! Presenters Michele Hansen and Holly Mikkelson give you a down and dirty look at the exam—everything from how passages are selected to what the graders are looking for to why exams are graded the way they are. [more]

no less

used to suggest, often ironically, that something is surprising or impressive. immerhin He told the New York Times that what had disturbed him most was the glib fashion in which his colleagues—arms-control specialists, no less—revelled in talk of nuclear war.

plodding

walking slowly; working slowly at a boring task Coming to China gave me a chance to retry learning a language from scratch and another opportunity to redeem myself. So I did my best studying, practicing, and plodding away.

flagging

weakening The upshot is that a pandemic-induced housing boom in the world's richest countries is likely to be followed by the broadest housing market slowdown since the financial crash. This, in turn, could add further pressure on to flagging economies.

well-heeled

wealthy

stodgy

well-run Spanish firms are likely to go under due to lack of state support, while stodgy German competitors are kept alive by German taxpayers, undermining the "fair fight" logic of the single market. 1. a. Dull, unimaginative, and commonplace. See Synonyms at dull. b. Old-fashioned and stuffy: "Why is the middle-class so stodgy—so utterly without a sense of humor!" (Katherine Mansfield). 2. Indigestible and starchy; heavy: stodgy food. 3. Solidly built; stocky

good with

yes good for me... i think there should be nothing to prevent a spontaneous schmooze just happening Im good with nothing planned

to zap

zap (zăp) Informal v. zapped, zap·ping, zaps v.tr. 1. a. To strike (an object or target) with a beam of energy, an electric current, or supernatural power: In the movie, the alien zaps the scientist with a ray gun. b. To expose to radiation, as to cook or examine: zap food in a microwave; zap luggage with x-rays at a security checkpoint. c. In science fiction and fantasy, to transport (a person or thing) into another place or time instantaneously, as with an energy beam. 2. a. To destroy or kill: "when the dinosaurs got zapped by whatever zapped the dinosaurs" (Laura Kasischke). b. To deplete or obliterate: "His personal funds were zapped in the merger" (Patricia Haley). 3. To have a sudden and powerful effect on: "His ... narrative runs marvelously on and on, zapping the reader with often surprising and ... painful glimpses" (Publishers Weekly). The hope is that drug companies can tweak vaccines to zap these mutants.