Glow

A nightlight glowed dimly in the corner of children's bedroom. (continous light & heat)

They came bak from their week by the sea, glowing with health /excitement.

Blow the whistle on sb/sth: cause sth bad that someone is doing to stop, especially by bringing it to the attention of other people.

A wide spectrum of opinion was represented at the meeting; The group includes students from both ends of the social spectrum. (a range of); Appear in the light spectrum.

Most of so-called special offers come with string attached. (involves special demands or limits)

The children are vert attached to their grandparents / toys. (like very luch)

She attaches great value to being independent / attach any importance & significance to these rumours.

He managed to keep/stay afloat by holding on to the side of teh boat; Many small businesses are struggling to keep/stay afloat.

Things were going well for her till she fell foul of her director. (have a disagreement with sb)

I don't want David organizing the party after the way he fouled things up last year (to soil sth by making a mistake or doing sth stupid)

She ran out on him two months ago, leaving him to look after their two children. (end relationship) Do you know Sarah has ditched her boyfriend? (get rid of, stop). This course is really tough, sometimes I feeling like packing it in!!! (stop doing sth). He's fes up with her so he packed her in.

Not content with having upset her, he then inisulted her sister. (in additional to sth wrong)

I wanted to two weeks' holiday but had to content myself with one becasue..(do/have sth although it's not exactly you want)

Content Sb/Sb is contente with sth/to do sth

We always patronize ...the foos is so good. (Be a regular customer)

She was accused of abdicating all reponsability of the project. (stop controlling & managing sth that you're in charge of).

It was remisse of me to forgive to give you the message. (carless, not do a duty well enough)

We must not flinch from (making) difficult decisions. (avoid doing sth unpleasant & painful)

It was shrewd move to buy your house before the property prices syarted to rise. She was shrewd enough not to take the... (having or based on a clear understanding and good judgment of a situation, resulting in an advantage)

Seat covers on trains take a lot of wear and tear. (damage which happens to an object in ordinary use during a period)

The newspapers are panting for/after details of.. (want it very much) (breathe quickly and loudly through your mouth)

Rubbing salt in a poorly sealed wound.

Abandon Forsake

The heroine forsook him for another lover; Don't forsake him in his hour of need; She felt forsaken by her family. He deserted his wife and family for another woman. (to abandon, to desert, to leave sb)

At the sound of air raid siren, they abandoned the town; ran to the shelters.

He abandoned himself to his emotions; (allow youself to be controlled completely by...)

The train lurched forward and some people standing fell over. (move in a way not regular or normal, uncontrolled, making sudden movements backwards or forwards, from side to side)

We seem to lucrch from crisis to crisis.

They suddenly walked (drove) off and left me in the lurch. (leave some one at a time when they need to stay and help them). He deserted the company and left his colleagues in the lurch.

He left me stranded in the town with no car and no money for a bus; If the tide comes in, we'll be stranded on these rocks. They stole all of his money and left him stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Let's drop the business and start again. (abandon)

He quit his job/You really ought to quit smoking.

He jilted her for his best friend's sister. (finish a romantic relationship suddenly & unkindly) She jilted him and went off with another fellow.

New evidence invalidate that argument/will/contract/law/agreement; (nullify). All my hard work was nullified when I lost my notes;

To quash a proposal; His conviction was quashed after his counsel argued that the police evidence was a tissue if lies. (refuse)

I'd love to know what she thinks about things, but she always keeps her own consel. (not say what your opinions are)

Primer Coat

It's best to use a coat of primer before the top coat. Before travelling to the target, now is time to put the primer paint: reinforce the basics.

As he left the theatre, the singer was set upon by fans desperate for autographs. (to surround or catch someone and prevent them from escaping)

He was set upon by a vicious dog ([often passive] to attack someone)

She seems set on marrying him. (to be determinated to do sth)

He sets himself up as an expert on vegetable growing, but he doesn't seem to me to know much about it. (to say that you are a particular type of person)

The book is an honest-to-goodness account of her early life. (real or true)

I got into drugs because I was hanging around with the wrong people. (to spend time with someone)

You eat a massive plate of food for lunch, whereas I have just a sandwich.(Compared with the fact that, but)

She sat with her hands folded demurely in her lap. (especially of women and children quiet and well behaved)

This action is barbaric - and I use the word advisedly. (If you say you are using a word advisedly, you mean you are choosing it after thinking about it very carefully)

Her exquisite figure was shown off to the full in a drop-dead black dress. He turned up to the concert with a drop-dead gorgeous woman on his arm. [always before noun] a drop-dead person or piece of clothing is very beautiful

I think my watch is bust. (broken) More than twenty companies in the districtwent bust during the last three months. (If a company goes bust, it is forced to close because it is financially unsuccessful.)

She'd cooked up some weird scheme that was going to earn her a fortune. (to invent a story, plan, etc., usually dishonestly) I had to cook up an excuse about my car breaking down.

Thousands of people are starving to death while the world shrugs its shoulders(= shows no interest or care). The stock market shrugged off the economic gloom and rose by 1.5%. ( in order to say you do not know or are not interested)

up to adverb ( less than or equal to but not more than); until; to be the responsibility of someone;

He looks very suspicious hanging around by the bins - I'm sure he's up tosomething. (to be doing something, often something bad or illegal, usually secretly)

on the latch: closed but not fastened

It took me ages to latch on to what she was talking about. (to begin to understand sth)

Unfortunately the press have already latched onto the story. (to become interested in and use it)

She latched onto me as soon as she arrived, and I had to spend the rest of the evening talking to her. (stay close to someone or spend a lot of time with them, usually when they do not want you with them)

A line of male dancers gyrated to the music while the audience screamed their appreciation. (turn around and around on a fixed point, usually quickly; dance, especially in a sexual way)

The numbers are too small, I can't make them out at all. I can't make out your writing. She is a strange person and I can't make her out at all. (see, hear or understand something or someone with difficulty)

The business made out better than expected in 1992 and profits were slightly up. (deal with a situation, usually in a successful way) How are you making out in your new job?

A long line of traffic edged its way forward. (move slowly with gradual movements or in gradual stages, or to make someone or something move in this way)

Inflation has edged up to 5% over the last two years. Those who disagreed with the director's viewpoint were gradually edged out of (= forced to leave) the company.

His apology took the edge off her anger (make something unpleasant have less of an effect on someone)