More Advance English

Colloquial

Colloquial - (of language) used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary

and by extension (phrase)

and by extension - taking the same line of argument further

Examples:

The study shows how television and, by extension, the media, alter political relationships

Rangers gives farmers unique insights into the conditions of their particular vineyard and, by extension, help them to improve production.

To take someone through something

To take someone through something - To describe a situation, to

explain something to someone

Examples:

Policeman: Take me through exactly what was going on in your mind when

you inadvertently passed a red light. .. madam.

Commentator to footballer: Can you take us through your second goal? The goalkeeper looked absolutely gobsmacked.

Skirmish - a small fight/minor battle

Examples:

The rebels refused to back down over their demands for the

Russian army to release some o f its prisoners. This resulted

in countless skirmishes all over the capital.

It was a foregone conclusion that there would be a few

skirmishes between the parties during the run-up to the election.

To unnerve/unnerving (To scare, to make one feel nervous, frightening/

worrying)

Examples:

He tried to unnerve me by building his brother up to be a

real tough guy. But I knew all along that he was just a wimp.

I must say, I find the upsurge in yobbish behavior in modern

society to be rather unnerving. The Government’s recent attempts

to improve behavior in schools are only skimming the surface.

Hype - Intensive promotion

Examples:

The hype surrounding her latest CD was a bit over the top; it’s

really nothing to write home about.

All the hype going around about his new book put me off

buying it. I’m very choosy about what I read these days.

To string someone along - To mislead or deceive someone by making them believe one thinks the same way, or has the same desires—note the phrase “to string a sentence together”, which means to be able to express oneself clearly. It is generally used in a negative sense to indicate that someone isn't very intelligent)

Examples:

She felt jaded by the whole affair and didn't cotton on to the

fact that he was just stringing her along until the end.

Don’t take her word for it; I reckon she’s simply stringing

you along. You do need to get to the bottom of this.

Some of these yobs can’t even string a sentence together.

‘Thick’ is an understatement to describe these people.

Pushover Colloquial Someone with whom it is easy to get one’s own way—see Practical Everyday English, page 165, easy to convince

Examples:

She may be down to earth, but by no stretch of the imagination

is she a pushover. You’ll have to come up with something

much more convincing.

He’s sulking because he thought his mum would be a pushover

when it came to lending him her car. He turned out to be very

mistaken.

Uproar - Angry protest or criticism

Examples:

There was uproar from jazz fans when, despite all the hype,

Jazz FM started to play bland, hotel lounge music.

By and large, the public didn't create much uproar when the

electoral system was changed. Few people these days bother

to take any interest in anything which requires them to think.

To undermine - To ridicule someone/something, to make someone in a position of authority feel worthless/weak

Examples:

Confidence in our sporting ability in this country has been

undermined by the fact that in recent years we have become

the laughing stock of the world.

They didn't want to come over as if they were undermining

his authority, although it’s quite apparent to anyone following

this story that power has shifted away from him.

I’m under no illusions: you've been undermining me all these

years and a grovelling apology won’t make any difference now.