Advanced Vocabulary for English Language Learners

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

To run someone ragged

To run someone ragged - to keep someone or something very busy.

Example - "This busy season is running us all ragged at the store."

Image - http://www.markmerrill.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/09-23-14-run-ragged.jpg

Plethora

Plethora - a large or excessive amount of something.

Example - "She's received a plethora of advice but a paucity of assistance."

Image - http://somedayiwontsuck.com/comics/plethora.jpg

Shotgun marriage

Shotgun marriage - a marriage that is arranged to avoid embarrassment due to an unplanned pregnancy, rather than out of the desire of the participants.

Image - http://www.rd.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/shotgun-wedding-af.jpg

Monday, January 25, 2016

I"ll cross that bridge when I come to it

I"ll cross that bridge when I come to it - something that you say in order to tell someone that you will not worry about a possible problem but will deal with it if it happens.

Example - "- What if the flight is delayed? - I'll cross that bridge when I come to it"

Image - http://cdn.mymarkettoolkit.com/90/gallery/large/forestriverbridge_20461.jpg

To double back

To double back - to turn and go back in the direction you have come from.

Example - "We realized we had taken the wrong road and had to double back."

Image - http://pathmegazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Wrong-Way-Turn-Back-Sign-K-7427.gif

To vie for

To vie for - to strive in a competition for

Example - Deborah spent most of the dinner staring blatantly at Steven, vying for his attention whenever possible.

Image -https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BNoz-0AqDmw/maxresdefault.jpg

Clout

Clout - influence

Example - "Does he have enough clout to do that?

Image - http://quotespictures.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/kindness-solves-more-problems-than-diplomacy-wealth-intelligence-clout-force-law-and-dominion-combined.jpg

Out of harm's way

Out of harm's way - in a safe place

Example - "Some of the fortune was placed overseas out of harm's way"

Image - http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-occupy-yourself-and-you-will-be-out-of-harm-s-way-ovid-114-99-82.jpg

Acquittal

Acquittal - judgement, as by a jury or judge, that the defendant is not guilty of a crime as charged.

Example - "The jury quickly agreed on a verdict of not-guilty, and the acquittal was greeted by the populace with shouts of triumph."

Image - http://lowres.jantoo.com/law-policing-criminal-prison-prisoner-passing_time-crime-12247250_low.jpg

Red-eye flight

Red-eye flight - any flight departing late at night and arriving early the next morning.

Example - "My sources tell me he's taking the red-eye to Buenos Ayres"

Image - http://www.travel4seniors.com/images2/stories2/srredeye.jpg

Don't hold your breath

Don't hold your breath - something that you say in order to tell someone that an event is not likely to happen.

Example - "She said she would phone but don't hold your breath for that."

Image - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxjZCmngd8S_SBb1PB3xQI9jUK8peIIvpEIBtyDX9fGdENGbpbhAfyTUoSVPvfLa813mwscp9xzI7lRj2PrHfaK5dxwnXp6LpT9dVhRyBU77sv38PLACDxJZCmKEoHfyVe_rxJ2RDdi4c/s1600/Don%2527t+hold+your+breath+-+Expression.gif

Friday, January 22, 2016

Laconic

Laconic - using very few words

Example - "The laconic reply suggested a lack of interest in the topic"

Image - http://wordinfo.info/words/images/laconic-1.jpg

Thursday, January 21, 2016

To liken

To liken - to resemble, to compare.

Example - "The pain is likened to being drilled through the head"

Image - http://cfile21.uf.tistory.com/image/22078E4652B1D65C07625A

In check

In check - under control

Example - "We need to find a way to keep inflation in check"

Image - http://media.philly.com/images/103013_undercontrol_600.jpg

Debacle

Debacle - a complete failure; a fiasco.

Example - "After the debacle of her first book, she had trouble getting a publisher for her next novel"

Image - http://aggarwalbanking.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/debacle.gif

Parched

Parched - extremely thirsty.

Example - "I'm parched. I'll die without a drink"

Image - http://static1.squarespace.com/static/51215266e4b0dce195c4b675/t/52e81ed2e4b0a27c3e35efdb/1390943960801/feeling-parched-cracked-earth.jpg

To drop back

To drop back - to move more slowly than other people so that you are behind them.

Example - "She dropped back to let me pass"

Image - https://d2gg9evh47fn9z.cloudfront.net/thumb_COLOURBOX10212610.jpg

Confounded

Confounded - used for emphasis, especially to express anger or annoyance.

Example - "This is a confounded lie"

Image - http://www.gocompare.com/coveredcontent/coveredimages/241001/confounded-man-one.png?view=Standard

Time is of the essence

Time is of the essence - said when something must be done immediately.

Image - http://www.geekyedge.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Time-is-of-the-Essence.jpg

To break something to

To break something to - to make bad news known to someone.

Example - "He was trying to break the terrible news gently to his father"

Image - http://www.interactiveingredients.com/wp-content/uploads/bad-news.jpg

Whim

Whim - a capricious or eccentric and often sudden idea or turn of the mind.

Example - "He quit his job on a whim."
"She bought it on a whim"

Image - http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0682/2583/t/2/assets/logo.png?8406776571484320652

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

To run amok

"To run amok - to behave in a wild or unruly manner."

Image - http://i2.examiner.co.uk/incoming/article6247052.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/PW261013Gzombie-06.jpg

Far be it from (for) me to...

Far be it from (for) me to... - used to express reluctance to do something which one thinks may be resented.

Example - "Far be it from me to speculate on his reasons"
"Far be it from me to tell you what to do"

Image - http://i3.cpcache.com/product_zoom/673314074/far_be_it_from_me_beach_tote.jpg?color=Navy&height=460&width=460&padToSquare=true

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Forthcoming

Forthcoming - willing to divulge information

Example - "She had never been forthcoming about her time in the States"

Image -http://images.vancepublishing.com/insidethespa/Media/EditLiveJava/0807secrets.jpg

Sobriquet

Sobriquet - a person's nickname.

Example - "She answered to the sobriquet 'Duchesse'"

Image - http://the-penultimate-word.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/sobriquet.jpg

To tweak

To tweak - to change something slightly especially in order to make it more suitable.

Example - "The software is pretty much there - it just needs a little tweaking"
"You just need to tweak the last paragraph and then it's done."

Image - http://www.davidjameshood.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/tweak.jpg

Pedestrian

Pedestrian - without any imagination or excitement; dull; unimaginative.

Example - "Her latest play is more pedestrian and less ambitious than her earlier work."

Image - http://cdn.quotationof.com/images/unimaginative-quotes-3.jpg

To glad-hand

To glad-hand - to be very friendly to people you have not met before, as a way of trying to get an advantage.

Image - http://zapatopi.net/blog/jiu-jitsu_kusa_zuribiki_1.png

In the wind

In the wind - likely to occur.

Example - "Big changes are in the wind"

Image - https://michelemacchini.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/foglie.jpg?w=640

Monday, January 18, 2016

No rest for the weary

No rest for the weary - you must keep persevering no matter how tired or overworked you are.

Image - http://daisyjanie.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83453d93d69e2013486126b37970c-800wi

It's your dime!

It's your dime - it essentially means it is your turn to talk. It derives from when pay phones used to cost a dime to make a call, so if you are the one who paid to make a call, you have the floor.

Friday, January 15, 2016

To pull the ripcord

To pull the ripcord - to save yourself before whatever you're attempting ends in disaster.

Image - https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/115/279145382_ecc31bf107_b.jpg

To read into

To read into - to attribute some interpretation or meaning to something, especially an unintended meaning.

Example - "Don't read too much into her remark - it's hardly representative of her opinion."

Image - http://www.ptab-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2015/08/iStock_000054226410_Small.jpg

To drag your heels/feet

To drag your heels/feet - to do something slowly because you do not want to do it.

Example - "I suspect the management is dragging its heels on the case"

Image - https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/5f/93/aa/5f93aa6dfce2d83b4387110c5865ea18.jpg

Fixer-upper

Fixer-upper - a house in need of repairs, usually for sale at a low price.

Image - https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--6ZaPLPAa--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/18luraujwedf9jpg.jpg

Upstanding

Upstanding - honest, respectable.

Example - "Peter is an upstanding member of the community"

Image - http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-QUMRxC6Deg/maxresdefault.jpg

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Worked up

Worked up - emotionally excited and especially angry or upset.

Example - "She was all worked up because of the noise"

Image - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicDjPgr3WKyxnlDi983lvu_5snkbzuhhidqTdby4wCrRQkDFhIIrKT07ik511eDIkg5wufAKfJlgdfzdqqGg8D_obg-8VFPOpW6MF0y75ZO6n6WkaGat1v2PEjmQPCCuzKT899vq9Z63QA/s1600/angry_baby.jpg

Hush-hush

Hush-hush - highly secret or confidential.

Example - "This is a hush-hush research unit."

Image - https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ijyPOsOdm98/maxresdefault.jpg

A stroke of genius

A stroke of genius - an act of genius; a very clever and innovative idea.

Example - "Your idea at the last meeting was a stroke of genius"

Image - http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/fall2011/images/large-images/Features_Stroke_Large.jpg

To hobnob

To hobnob - to mix socially, especially with those of perceived higher social status

Example - "She often has her picture in the paper, hobnobbing with the rich and famous."

Image - https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/travel-tourism-hobnobbing-hobnobs-super_rich-riches-wealth-hscn994_low.jpg

To clutch at straws

To clutch at straws - the act of reaching for a solution no matter how irrational or inconsequential.

Example - "I'm clutching at straws here. I really don't know what to do."

Image - https://guypedliham.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/3-3.jpg

To whet

To whet - to excite or stimulate

Example - "Here's an extract to whet your appetite"

Image - https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LGnE4ENjCyM/maxresdefault.jpg

To cut your teeth

To cut your teeth - to get your first experience of a particular type of work and learn the basic skills.

Example - "She cut her teeth on a local newspaper before landing a job on a national daily"

Image - http://couchsurfingstories.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/First-experience-couchsurfing.jpg

Hotbed

Hotbed - an environment promoting the growth of something, especially something unwelcome.

Example - "The country was a hotbed of revolt!"

Image - https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GAV0sBROMCw/maxresdefault.jpg

Purse your lips

Purse your lips - to press your lips together and outwards because you are angry or thinking.

Example - "Martha pursed her lips disapprovingly"

Image - http://41.media.tumblr.com/5a5e261bb4d81b868870ae2167d642e3/tumblr_nfx7r5OG9R1r236gjo1_1280.jpg

Creature comfort

Creature comforts - material comforts that contribute to physical ease and well-being, such as good food and accommodation.

Example - "I'm a long way from home and the only creature comforts I have are a television."