More Advanced Everyday English

To dumb down, dumbing down To make something which should be

difficult or intellectually demanding easy or undemanding, so that it is more accessible to the general public, making something too easy—a negative term

Examples:

I don’t like to undermine teachers, but even they will admit, off

the record, that the subjects they’re teaching our teenagers,

have been dramatically dumbed down since we were at school.

It is quite pathetic to see how many of the quality newspapers

are guilty of dumbing down just to increase sales... but my

wife thinks I’m being pompous.

The upsurge in university applications is probably down to the

perpetual dumbing down of entrance exams. Even my thick

brother can get in!

To emerge, emerging To present oneself, often after being hidden or

unknown, to become evident, [emerging] up and coming

Examples:

He emerged from the corner of the room, which had been

crammed full of tourists. He must have nearly passed out in

that heat.

It soon emerged that the police had tried to pre-empt another

frenzied attack by the demonstrators.

In the aftermath of the slump, some o f the emerging industrial

nations had been building up their defense forces.

Disgruntled Angry and dissatisfied because things have not turned out as expected

Examples:

It is clear that many members of the public are disgruntled

because they feel the Government have been stringing them

along. But I’m never taken in by any o f the hype politicians

come out with.

The shareholders are disgruntled at the fact that some of

the directors have been raking it in this year. The directors

claim, on the other hand, that as they have invested their own

personal wealth in the company, they are entitled to reap the

rewards.

To grate on someone To irritate or annoy someone—usually through a

noise, habit or type of behaviour-also note the adjective “grating”, which generally describes an

unpleasant sound which is difficult to tolerate

Examples:

The dumbing down of BBC news will definitely grate on you

after a while.They talk to us like children. So patronising!

A: Her loud laughter is beginning to grate on me.

B: Yes, it’s doing my head in as well.

It was the sound of her grating voice that was my cue to get

going. I know it wasn’t very tactful of me but I couldn’t wait to

get home.

Blatant Obvious, clear, indiscreet, unashamed—often used for something negative)

Examples:

His perpetual blatant lies have led everyone to mistrust him.

He and his honest brother are like chalk and cheese.

Grovelling is often said to be a blatant expression of fear.

Telling him he was an absolute pushover was being a bit blatant.

You could have gone about it in a more subtle way.

To die down To become calmer/quieter— used for a situation

Examples:

Once the current uproar has died down, we hope the other row

over who has the right to receive the endowment will blow over.

After the storm had died down, we all tried cramming into

the car. It was a bit of a fiasco.