Lesson Three. To pre-empt - Chapter Five

Advanced everyday english: Advanced vocabulary, phrasal verbs, idioms and expressions - Collins Steven 2011

Lesson Three. To pre-empt
Chapter Five

Examples:

✵ A: it’s really down to you to pre-empt another fiasco at head office.

 B: Why me? Any suggestions I make are made a mockery of

✵ The Government should have pre-empted the unrest that was brought about by its policy of allowing unlimited immigration into the country.

✵ Officially, Israel’s pre-emptive strike against Iraq’s nuclear installations did not comply with international regulations, but, off the record, most governments were grateful that a clear future threat had been nipped in the bud.

Makeshift (Temporary, imperfect—often used for accommodation)

Examples:

✵ They all took the mickey out of a makeshift tree-house I built in the garden for my son. I’m not an adept carpenter by any stretch of the imagination.

✵ The refugees are going through a great deal of hardship in having to live in the makeshift shelter organised by the United Nations troops. Medicines and food supplies are dwindling too.

To build up, build-up (noun)

i. (To increase, accumulation—especially over a period of time)

Examples:

✵ A massive backlog of claims has built up over the Christmas period.

✵ I don’t want to build up your hopes too high, but the odds are you’ll be shortlisted for the prize.

✵ The Government have pledged to reduce the build-up of patients waiting to have operations. New regulations, however, will take some time to be phased in.

ii. (To make someone/something seem important)

Examples:

✵ In the aftermath of the war, the press built him up to be a hero, but in reality he bluffed his way to the top of the army and was a fairly pathetic leader of men.

✵ The whole issue was built up to such a degree that most people had lost track of its original purpose.

iii. (To regain weight—usually after suffering from an illness)

Example:

✵ Your sister was asking after you yesterday, and I told her that you needed building up before you could face the world again.

To huddle, huddled (To keep close together, often for warmth or because of fear, [huddled] kept close together)

Examples:

✵ As the cold nights drew in, the Jones family often found themselves huddling around the fire.

✵ The only stumbling block remaining was what the troops would do with the many refugees they had found huddled together under makeshift tents.

Cue (A signal for action, something said or done by an actor that tells another actor that it is his turn to speak or do something—note the expression “on cue ” , which means on time. It is used to express the idea of something happening when one thought it might.)

Examples:

✵ Writing off his wife’s car was the final straw: that was his cue to stop driving.

✵ When she started to disrupt the party, that was our cue to leave. The horrible “music” was doing my head in anyway.

✵ One actor to another: When I stick out my leg, that’s your cue to waffle on about your illness.

✵ The outlook seemed quite promising until I noticed some dark clouds overhead... and then, right on cue, it started pouring with rain . I can’t get my head round English weather at all.

To cram

i. (To study intensively for an exam, usually at the last minute)

Examples:

✵ You’ll have to put it tactfully to Mrs. Smith, but unless her son crams for this exam, he doesn’t stand a chance of getting through. He’s left it a bit late.

✵ There’s always a frenzy of activity just before exams. Our students tend to cram, many of them doing nothing during the rest of the year... but those ones get their comeuppance.

ii. (To pack things or people into a small space)

Examples:

✵ Sorry to butt in, but there are more than twenty fans crammed into the entrance hall, waiting to see you.

• I felt a bit uneasy having to cram £2,000 into my top pocket.

I didn’t relish the idea of travelling on the underground like that.

To be under no illusions (To know and understand what is really happening instead of imagining how things could be, to be realistic)

Examples:

✵ Don’t worry, I’m under no illusions: I know that meeting my mother will bring out the worst in him. I’m dreading it.

✵ Let me make it clear: were acting under no illusions. We are quite aware that, by and large, our competitors have cornered the market.

Yob (Hooligan, an uncultured, uneducated, violent youth)

Examples:

✵ We shouldn’t be complacent about the recent reduction in crime. We still have many pubs crammed full of drunken yobs who get a buzz out of causing havoc in town centres on their way home.

✵ He’s quite streetwise; he knows how to stick up for himself if he comes across any yobs on his way home.

To be off one’s head/rocker, to be out of one’s mind (To be crazy or mad) Colloquial

Examples:

✵ You must have been off your head trying to rub her up the wrong way. You know what a temper she has. She could have killed you.

✵ He’ll be in his element spending time with John. He’s also off his rocker. They will really take to each other.

✵ He left her stranded at the side of the road with no means of getting home. He must be totally out of his mind.

To grovel (To flatter, be excessively pleasant to someone, often because one feels guilty about previous bad behaviour, or because one wants something from them)

Examples:

✵ I’m under no illusions: I know they will want me to grovel before they let me back into the club. No way!

✵ Let him wallow in his misery before forcing him to make a grovelling apology.

Image

“He’s quite streetwise; he knows how to stick up for himself if he comes across any yobs on his way home.”

(see page 73)