BOOSTING YOUR VOCABULARY
BOOSTING YOUR VOCABULARY
BOOSTING YOUR VOCABULARY
Wholesome (adj)sano
-Wholesome food helps keep you healthy.
-This movie is wholesome family entertainment.
-wholesome food
-good, wholesome family entertainment
-He looks like a nice, wholesome young man.
Hit the town (phrase) to go out and have fun – paint the town (red)
-It's Saturday night! Let's hit the town!
-I'm ready to paint the town red with a few of my closest friends.
-We're on our way to paint the town.
Greenwashing/ greenwash (n-U) behaviour or activities that make people believe that a company is doing more
to protect the environment than it really is:
-The campaign was little more than greenwashing to improve the oil company's image.
-The environmental movement has warned consumers against greenwashing, saying that when businesses use terms
terms such as "environmentally friendly" and "green" they are often meaningless.
-The ads are nothing but greenwash, a thin attempt to make the company seem eco-conscious.
-A new report reveals how these so-called sustainable policies may in reality be greenwash.
Greenwash (v)
-A group of climate-concerned Amazon employees wrote in a Twitter post that the company "greenwashes its
emissions growth.
Sell-by date = pull date (n-C) a date printed on a product such as food after which it should not be sold
-Never eat meat that is past its sell-by-date.
-bear/carry/have a sell-by-date
Compare best-before date / expiry date / use-by date
BOOSTING YOUR VOCABULARY
Through thick and thin (idiom) To stay with someone or something “through thick and thin” is to persevere
through good times as well as bad:
-She stood beside her friend through thick and thin.
-She has stuck with me through thick and thin.
Be not a fair-weather friend (n) someone who is a good friend when it is easy to be one and who stops being one 2
when you are having problems
-I thought Gene would always stick by me, but when I got into trouble, he turned out to be a fair-weather friend.
Mainstay (n.-C) the most important part of something, providing support for everything else (the mainstay of
sth) -Antibiotic therapy is the mainstay of treatment for many infections.
-Cattle farming is the mainstay of the country's economy.
-The white blouse will be the mainstay of your wardrobe this summer.
in the fast lane (idiom) in a way that is exciting and slightly dangerous/ If you say that someone lives their life in
the fast lane, you mean that they live in a way which seems full of activity and excitement but which often involves a
lot of pressure:
-He lived life in the fast lane when he was young. -Brenda is a lady who loves life in the fast lane. -They want to
make life in the fast lane even faster.
Tainted (adj) /ˈteɪn·tɪd/ (ECHADO A PERDER- VICIADO – CORROMPIDO): spoiled; damaged in quality, taste,
or value tainted seafood / tainted election results
rustle sth up (phr.v-infml) /rʌsəl/: to make something quickly, usually a meal from the food that is available:
-Give me a minute and I'll rustle something up for supper.
-Give me a minute and I’ll rustle up some scrambled eggs.
go with the flow (idiom – informal – C2): to do what other people are doing or to agree with other people because it
is the easiest thing to do Just relax and go with the flow!
come up against sth (phr.v.-C1) : to have to deal with a problem If you come up against difficulties, let me know
and I'll help out.
Gaslighting (n-U) /ˈɡæs.laɪ.tɪŋ/: the action of tricking or controlling someone by making them believe things that are
not true, especially by suggesting that they may be mentally ill (manipulación psicológica)
-Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse.
-His gaslighting was a deliberate attempt to convince her that she was losing her grasp on reality.
train-spotting--> the practice of watching trains, particularly as a hobby, with the aim of noting distinctive
characteristics.
hanger-on (n-C) disapproving a person who tries to be friendly and spend time with rich and important people,
especially to get an advantage:
-Wherever there is royalty, there are always hangers-on.
-Wherever there are rock stars, there are always hangers-on.
Lookout (n-C) 1-a person who watches for danger: One of the burglars waited outside to act as a
lookout.
2-a high place where a person can look at what is happening in the area around them, especially in
order to watch for any danger - or admire the beauty of the place (viewpoint)
bystander (n-C) a person who is standing near and watching something that is happening but is not taking part in
it: -innocent bystander Many innocent bystanders were injured by the explosion
upturn≠ downturn (n-C) (especially in economics) an improvement or a change to a higher level or value (repunte,
giro positivo) -A sharp upturn in the economy
stick together (phr.v - infml)stuck | stuck: If people stick together, they support and help each other.
The country's foreign minister said that it was important for small nations to stick together.
If people stick together, they stay close to each other:
The two brothers always stick together at school.
stick around (phr.v-ifml): to stay somewhere for a period of time You go - I'll stick around here a bit longer.
lifelong (adj.-C1) lasting for the whole of a person's life She was a lifelong member of the Labour party.
a lifelong habit
be getting on = (US) informal be getting up there: 1-to be getting old be getting on (a bit) He's getting on (a bit) -
he'll be 76 next birthday. 3
2-If you say it's getting on, or time is getting on, you mean it is becoming late It's getting on - we'd better be going.
within / in walking distance: not very far / close enough to reach by walking
buzz (v-infml) BUSY or EXCITED buzz verb (BUSY OR EXCITED)
1-to move around quickly or with a lot of energy:
Reporters were buzzing around, trying to get the full story.
From here you can see cars buzzing along the motorway.
2-C2 (of a place) to be full of people or activity:
The airport is buzzing as Christmas nears.
buzz with At this time on a Saturday, the restaurant is buzzing with customers.
The whole town buzzed with rumours.
3-(of a person or their mind) to be thinking about many different things at the same time:
I had so many questions - my head was buzzing.
My mind was buzzing and I just couldn't get to sleep.
Karina's on great form. She's buzzing with new ideas and projects.
His mind buzzed with all the possibilities that lay before him.
at leisure/ at your leisure (phrase): If someone does something at leisure or at their leisure, they enjoy
themselves by doing it when they want to, without hurrying.
-You can take the documents home and study them at (your) leisure.
-Go shopping at your leisure.
Soak up sth (phr.v.) 1-(USE ALL):to use up all or most of a supply of something, especially a supply of money:
-The repairs on our house soaked up all our savings
2-(INFORMATION) – informal: to understand and remember information well:
-Given the right environment, children are like sponges and will soak up information.
3-to enjoy the effects or experience of something as much as possible:
-I love to lie on the beach and soak up the sun.
-Just stroll around the bazaar and soak up the atmosphere.
“por los pelos” manage to scrape by / barely pass / pass by the skin of your teeth: I hadn’t studied much and
barely passed (just barely/ very narrowly)
Narrow escape (idiom C2): a situation in which you avoid danger although you very nearly do not:
We got out in time but it was a narrow escape.
There were several narrow escapes from drowning, but somehow each time he survived.
He had a very narrow escape from death when his aircraft came down in a storm.
She had a narrow escape yesterday when the coach that she'd been travelling in careered off
the road and ended up upside down in a ditch.
Have a close shave (n): a situation in which you come very close to a dangerous situation:
I had a close shave this morning - some idiot almost knocked me off my bike.
Artefact (n- C) - (US usually artifact) - /ˈɑːr.t̬ə.fækt/: an object that has been made by a person, such as a tool or
a decoration, especially one that is of historical interest:
-The museum's collection includes artefacts dating back to prehistoric times.
-The house displays a number of paintings of the poet, as well as his typewriter and other personal artefacts.
Cut-off marks/grades: the minimum score that a candidate needs to pass an exam in order to get admission to their
dream colleges, schools, universities, etc.
See eye to eye with sb: to have the same opinion as someone else We will never see eye to eye on this matter.
agree: We agree on most things.
be in agreement: The whole family is in agreement with her.
concur /kənˈkɜːr/ (fml): I completely concur with everything that's been said so far.
be of the same mind: We are of the same mind when it comes to prison reform.
be on the same page: Everyone in the office has to be on the same page about what our top priorities are.
Carpool (n-v): to travel together in someone's car, making a regular journey to work or school:
The campaign asks drivers to voluntarily carpool or use the bus on high pollution days.
Ron's father carpooled to work each day to a chemical plant an hour away. 4
Carpooling (U): Carpooling saves on travel expenses.
We share carpooling duties.
Buzz (v): 1-(make a noise) I can hear an insect buzzing.
My phone buzzed at five in the morning and woke me.
2-(press a buzzer to get sb’s attention) I buzzed him but there was no answer.
The first person to buzz may answer.
3-(let sb in a place by pressing a button that opens a door) buzz someone in
Press the intercom and I'll buzz you in.
We were buzzed into the lobby.
A secretary buzzed them up to the conference room on the top floor.
4-to move around quickly or with a lot of energy:
Reporters were buzzing around, trying to get the full story.
From here you can see cars buzzing along the motorway.
5-(of a place) to be full of people or activity:
The airport is buzzing as Christmas nears.
buzz with At this time on a Saturday, the restaurant is buzzing with customers.
The whole town buzzed with rumours.
6-(of a person or their mind)
I had so many questions - my head was buzzing.
My mind was buzzing and I just couldn't get to sleep.
Karina's on great form. She's buzzing with new ideas and projects.
His mind buzzed with all the possibilities that lay before him.
7-to talk in an excited way about something:
Everyone was buzzing about how cool this place was.
Political bloggers buzzed over this unexpected turn of events.
8-be buzzing (infml) to be very excited and happy or energetic:
It's all going really well for me here. I'm buzzing!
Lighten up (infml phr.v.): to become more relaxed and less serious (alegrarse, relajarse)
Oh, lighten up! I was only joking!
I wish she'd just lighten up.
“te escucho entrecortado”: You are breaking up / I hear you cut off
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