profile the amount of public attention and notice that something receives We need to increase our company's profile in Asia. There is a growing number of women in high-profile positions (=positions where they are noticed) in the government.
profile a side view of a person's face Drawing profiles is somehow easier than drawing the full face. The actor is photographed in profile, smoking a cigarette. I watched her a moment, admiring her angelic face in profile.
keep a low profile to avoid attracting attention to yourself He's been in a bit of trouble recently so he's trying to keep a low profile.
appeal when a lot of people are asked to give money, information or help They're launching (= starting) an appeal to raise money for famine victims. The police have issued an appeal to the public to stay away from the centre of town at the weekend.
They're appealing for clothes and blankets to send to the devastated region. The police are appealing to the public for any information about the missing girl. I tried to appeal to (= ask for support based on) his sense of loyalty, stressing how good the company had been to him.Church leaders have appealed to the government tohalt the war.
appeal a request especially to a court of law to change a previous decision He won his appeal and the sentence was halved. She has lodged (= made) an appeal against the severity of the fine.
They're appealing to the High Court to reduce the sentence to a fine. The parents appealed against the school's decision not to admit the child.
appeal the quality in someone or something that makes them attractive or interesting Parties on river-boats have lost their appeal since one sank last year killing thirty-three people.
I haven't been skiing - it's never really appealed. It's a programme designed to appeal mainly to 16 to 25 year-olds. I think what appeals to me about his painting is the colours he uses.
brim to become full of something, especially a liquid Her eyes brimmed with tears when she heard that he was alive.
practically almost or very nearly She blamed me for practically every mistake in the report. These changes would cost us practically nothing. It's practically impossible for me to get home in less than an hour. They used to argue all the time and now they've practically stoppedtalking to each other.
practically in a way that relates to real situations and actions rather than ideas Theoretically, it's a good idea to live without a car, but practicallyspeaking, it would be difficult to manage without one.
be between the devil and the deep blue sea to have two choices but both of them are equally unpleasant or not convenient
a bolt from/out of the blue something completely unexpected that surprises you very much The news of his marriage was a bolt from the blue.
out of the blue If something happens out of the blue, it is completely unexpected One day, out of the blue, she announced that she was leaving.
until you are blue in the face If you say or shout something until you are blue in the face, you are wasting your efforts because you will get no results You can tell her to tidy her room until you are blue in the face, but she won't do it.
once in a blue moon not very often My sister lives in Alaska, so I only see her once in a blue moon.
pucker He puckered his lips and kissed her. Her mouth puckered (around..) and I thought she was going to cry.
blush to become pink in the face, usually from embarrassment I always blush when I speak in public. I blush to think of what a fool I made of myself.
incredulous not wanting or not able to believe something, and usually showing this A few incredulous spectators watched as Paterson, ranked 23rd in the world, beat the champion."Did you see that?" she asked incredulously.
falter to lose strength or purpose and stop, or almost stop The dinner party conversation faltered for a moment. Her friends never faltered in their belief in her. Nigel's voice faltered and he stopped speaking.
excruciating extremely painful an excruciating pain in the lower back extremely boring or embarrassing His confession, when it came, was excruciating.
roster a list of people's names, often with the jobs they have been given to do If you look on the duty roster, you'll see when you're working: you're one of only o handful of servers scheduled.
dawn We left at the break of dawn. He left the house just as the day was dawing.the dawn of sth the start of a period of time or the beginning of something new The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the dawn of a new era in European history. We worked from dawn to dusk, seven days a week.
dawn to become known or obvious Gradually the truth about him dawned. It eventually (in the end, especially after a long time or a lot of effort, problems, etc)dawned that he wouldn't be coming back. It might take him ages but he'll do it eventually.
false dawn something which seems to show that a successful period is beginning or that a situation is improving when it is not The increase in sales at the end of the year proved to be a false dawn
If a fact dawns on you, you understand it after a period of not understanding it I was about to pay for the shopping when it suddenly dawned on me that I'd left my cheque book at home.
We'll have to leave at the crack of dawn. very early in the morning, especially at the time at which the sun first appears
The darkest hour is just before the dawn said to emphasize that things often seem at their worst just before they get better
subdued If a colour or light is subdued, it is not very bright; If a noise is subdued, it is not loud; If a person is subdued, they are not as happy as usual or they are quieter than usual;
subdue to reduce the force of something, or to prevent something from existing or developing The fire burned for eight hours before the fire crews could subdue it. He criticized the school for trying to subdue individual expression.
go about sth to begin to do something or deal with something What's the best way of going about this? How can we go about solving this problem? She was pretty subduced during the shift, going about her duty almost like a robot.
out of place in the wrong place or looking wrong The boy looked uncomfortable and out of place among the adults.
make of sth/sb If you ask someone what they make of someone or something, you want to know their opinion about that person or thing, often because there is something strange about them Can you make anything of this information? What do you make of the new boss? I don't know what to make of it.
dodge to avoid being hit by something by moving quickly to one side He dodged to avoid the hurtling bicycle.to avoid something unpleasant The minister dodged questions about his relationship with the actress.
snug (of a person) feeling warm, comfortable and protected, or (of a place, especially a small place) giving feelings of warmth, comfort and protection We curled up in bed, all snug and warm, and listened to the storm outside. fitting closely These shoes are a bit too snug - do you have them in a larger size?
facet She has so many facets to her personality. Every facet of her appearance was turning him on, make his stir beneath his jean.
catty describes words, especially speech, which are unkind because they are intended to hurt someone She's always making catty remarks about her sister. SHe gave him a catty look, then her eyes glittering mischievously.
cagey unwilling to give information He was very cagey about what happened at the meeting.
edge a small but noticeable amount of anger in someone's voice There's a definite edge to/in her voice when she talks to her husband.
nibble to eat something by taking a lot of small bites Have you got some peanuts for us to nibble while the party warms up? A mouse has nibbled through the computer cables. She nibbled her lower lip as she thought. to bite something gently and repeatedly
lewd (of behaviour, speech, dress, etc.) sexual in an obvious and rude way a lewd suggestion, her legs parted, not lewdly, but more than would be causual.
conceal to prevent something from being seen or known about; to hide something The listening device was concealed in a pen. It was said that the police concealed vital evidence. I tried to conceal my surprise when she told me her age. Is there something you're concealing from me? He was carrying a concealed weapon.
be riveted to not be able to stop looking at something because it is so interesting or frightening It was an amazing film - I was absolutely riveted. His eyes were riveted on the television. Once again, my eyes were reveted to her barely-concealed, bulging..
coy intentionally keeping something secret She's very coy about her age. (especially of women) being or pretending to be shy, modest or childish, or to have no confidence She gave me a coy look from under her schoolgirl's fringe.
blurt sth out to say something suddenly and without thinking, usually because you are excited or nervous He blurted everything out about the baby, though we'd agreed to keep it a secret for a while. She suddenly blurted out, "I can't do it".
He fantasized about winning the Nobel Prize.
bad blood feelings of hate between people because of arguments in the past There has been bad blood between the two families for years.
sweat blood
to make a great effort We sweated blood to get the work finished on time. I've been sweating blood over this report.stir the blood stir your blood If something stirs the blood, it makes you feel excited tales to stir the blood
be (only) flesh and blood to have normal human limits, needs, etc Of course I find pretty young women attractive - I'm only flesh and blood.
sb's blood is up If your blood is up, you feel very angry.
Blood is thicker than water. said to emphasize that you believe that family connections are always more important than other types of relationships
thorn a small sharp pointed growth on the stem of a plant The thorn went deep into the flesh of my hand. thorn in your flesh/side a person or thing that repeatedly annoys you or causes you pain A relentless campaigner, he was a thorn in the government's side for a number of years.
flesh sth out to add more details or information to something These plans need to be fleshed out with some more figures. put flesh on (the bones of) sth to add more details to a plan, idea, argument, etc. to make it better or more complete
in the flesh in real life, and not on TV, in a film, in a picture, etc I've seen her perform on television, but never in the flesh.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. said when you would like to do something, but you do not have the time, skills or energy necessary to do it
