• for proficiency and communication
• Merck Manual English
• Xinhua English
• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

Dictionary

• Oxford English Dictionary

Pronunciation

• reduction
  • for [fr] o dropped
  • to [t/d]
• meaning chunk, there's a surreal body

Feel

• the taxi driver hulked out (lose control)
• he is a little on edge (nervous).
• I'm pissed (drunk and angry).
• You still walk on eggshells around him (nervously)
• he has cold feet - too fearful to undertake an action

Mind

• She retorted
• keep a level head.
• she's a know-it-all.
• don't patronize me (敷衍).
• I consent (agree).
• Things won't always be bleak.
• We're gonna get through it together.
• You don't have to give up everything about your old life.
• Palindromes (a word or phrase read the same backward or forward).
• clear as day (easy to understand; understood)
• He's so hard-headed (tough)
• You say potato (no one is wrong)
• they try to suss out (to inspect or investigate) whether it is safe to put patients in an awe-inducing environment.
• she is no damsel in distress and isn't haughty (disdainful, arrogantly superior).

Act

• cut someone some slack (lower some expectation)
• hit the ground running, meaning starting the year with full speed.
• every year the family does a convoy in Vancouver along the Burrard St
• what can I do for you today?
• the cat's out of the bag - secret revealed.
• tell me about it - informal - ironic acknowledgement of one's familiarity with a difficult situation
• knock yourself out (help yourself).
• he's trolling (deliberately upsetting somebody)
• how did it go with the person?
• never let your standards slip.
• it rings the bell (sounds familiar)
• let's hit the road (let's go).
• tell some off
• I'll run it by you (ask you first).
• it came out of the blue (unexpected)
• it's not picking, it's looting.
• could you scootch?
• I can pull this off (do this well)
• when will you wrap up work today? when will you clock out today? when will you finish work today
• he will laugh at your expense.
• he likes to talk back.
• fondle - touch lovely
• the pandemic has accentuated that.
• they do a bit.
• he bailed on me (didn't show up)
• the night went south (deteriorate)
• it gets the best of you (defeated someone).
• The government across the globe saw fit to enact strict environmental policies.
• It's your responsibility to correct that mistake. You're going to write an affidavit to that effect now.
• In a bid (in an attempt) to manage the surging demands on visa services, the Canadian government has implemented a new cap on international student study permits aimed at stabilizing the intake of applications.
• Anthology is a public collection of poems.
• They rein in (limit or control) the technology.
• the tacky (cheap, gaudy) hotel.
• as we navigate the ebbs and flows (change in a regular way, ebb meaning the tide moving away from the land or receding) of digital platforms, let's not forget the power of diversification.
• The company defaulted (fail to make payments on time, including interest payments) in 2021.
• The outcome could help further tamp down money flow into the markets when confidence in it is already shaken.
• Family is not always defined by blood
• I'd like thank the family for their unwavering support.
• The Lost boy by Thomas Wolfe.
• Extra whipping cream.
• So you snitched.
• 5 Benjamins (100 dollars)
• Suit yourself
• spread yourself a little thin?
• The memorable first homecoming
• Don't follow in his/her wake.
• flat rate: a charge that's the same in all cases, versus hourly
• Thanks for that!
  • Don't mention it.
• Be my guest (please do).
• a concern is that self-harm videos may cause disinhibition (remove the inhibition)
• It may reduce doubts of people who are ambivalent (uncertain) about suicide
• The alerts are purported (claimed, intended) to be given top priority.
• The site provides suicide outreach (help, reaching out) information.
• further examination of subgroups is also warranted (to attest the truth)
• restrictions on Internet content may present a slippery-slope (a course leading to destruction) problem
• jurisprudence - knowledge of or skills in law
• The platform was used to foment (stimulate) violence there
• The shooter live-streamed his rampage (a state of violent passion)
• it stymied (to impede) their efforts to stop the spread
• The structure is an unimpeachable (capable of being impeached, called in question) given (known fact or situation)
• The social web was indelibly (cannot be deleted) shaped by the company. Its efforts have made the access across vast swaths (a grass land) of the developing world.
• It makes an outright (to the full extent) ban more significant, for good and for ill (in good and bad ways)
• users tend to construe (interpret) it as a fixed affair
• The free flow of information has not been an unalloyed (not containing undesirable elements) good for it.
• It's easy to scorn (to despise) someone
• The local regulation becomes de facto (in fact) global policy
• Political quagmire (wet land)
• This pattern shrouds (hides) a question
• The network could be unattainable (cannot be reached)
• kryptonite (sth that can weaken somebody) in the classroom
• recoup (to regain) an extra week of school
• the use of cellphone adversely (harmfully) affects cognitive capacities
• chest - box
• render a man unconscious
• If it's a hoax, I'm lowkey pissed about that.
• Winter weather hobbles (have somebody walk awkwardly usually due to pain) Canada
  • The weather wreaked havoc (cause great damage) from the East to the West.
• increases revue and reduces administrative burdens.
• Talks on automotive trade also hit a snag (unexpected obstacle).
• she revels in (enjoys herself) and people love her.
• The judge nixed (nullified) his extravagant (lacking restraints) compensation package.
• The animal is promiscuous (polygamy, instead of monogamy).

Charm

character

• use rock sugar to cook beef tripe
• soul of serene
• quirky abstract person
• its majesty impressed me
• missing in action (MIA)
• cooked confession (push to)
• they were infirm (weak).
• under scrutiny (examination)
• you are inscrutable (difficult to guess and read minds)
• that's diabolic (cruel)
• in the grand scheme of things (not very important considering the bigger picture)
• need more hands on deck (help)
• a tiger doesn't change its stripes (character)
• be humble, resilient, compassionate
• scrumpdeliyumtious
• tell stories that uplift and resonate with people
• the pronunciation is spot on (accurate).
• not a pushover
• not go-it-alone type.
• absent without leave (awol).
• 75 large (75K)
• this is nothing short of slander (just).
• play pool.
• The city of Victoria in BC is regal.

Rule

Ritual Ration

• winning a lottery in Canada is considered a windfall, thus tax-exempt.
• sorry for being late
  • sorry about the flight delay
• the sheen on the fabric amazes.
• I know how to lathe.
• they are at odds (in conflicts)
• without upsetting the boat (causing troubles)
• there's a lot of water
• there are a lot of books
• 50 people.
• Pink shirt day is an annual event against bullying in Canada and New Zealand
• put the ducks in a now - meticulously
• humans have blood, like trees have sap.
• the car doesn't have gas.
• Tucson [tuson] city in Arizona
• he invites them to attend his inauguration.
• people should be paid to keep these ledgers.
• President Biden Pardons his son.
• A penny is 0.01 dollar.
• The old lady has presbyopia (farsightedness).
• The squirrels collect conifer cones.
• they relished the tranquility of their evening walk in the park.
• the brand took oof after winning acclaim (good review) at the fair.
• too much spinach, lettuce, broccoli, celery.
• A clove of garlic (split).
• the small daisy envied the tulips, roses and peonies in the front yard.
• In the middle of nowhere.
• Possibly to the wind.
• lose my touch (magics).
• you reek of sweat.
• the technicolor sunrise amazed me.
• there was a bit of hail (uncountable) just now.
• Your answers are wishy-washy (blurry).
• Use the coasters (the pad of the cups).
• stubborn pos or neu; he is too obstinate to let anyone help him.
• The tax collector has been charged with extorting money from several shopkeepers
• growl to utter low dull rumbling sound
• howl - neg; emit long loud cries emotionally
• make allowances for - allow
• It makes sense that ...
• recoup: Cost of Acquisition to reach break-even
• perpetuate the problem: make undesirable situation continue indefinitely
• go out the window: no longer exist, disappear
• fad: intense and short-lived enthusiasm for sth
• had a blast: had a great time
• all-important **very important
• new vocab vs new concept to learn
• there are vocabulary versus concept
• block based - note based (can search for all the notes of a topic)
• by default the linked references are expanded to the grandchildren level and collapsed
• linked references are not chronologically ordered
• ignorance (lack the knowledge) of academics
• ever-dwindling (shrinking) attention span
• despite apprehension (seizing sth)
• the student recounted (narrated) that Marlon leveled (put at the same level) some potshots (a random attack) at the students
• people would often lap up being apprised of the racism
• a cesspool (an excavation at the bottom of a drain to collect the sand) of bigotry (prejudice, bigot - someone unreasonably adheres to a religious belief)
• pastor - spiritually take care of Christians
• remind the parishioners (a large area incorporating a township) of the prevalence of the racist sin
• melodramatic (of exaggeration and an excess of emotion)
• the Wire (series - narcotics scene through eyes of law enforcers, drug dealers, and users)
• whence (from what source) the sense many have
• provide fodder (food) for personal atonement (reconciliation of friendly relations b/w God and sinners)
• decades of mission creep (slow and stealthy movement)
• moral reprobate (unruly person)
• idleness (worthlessness, state of being unoccupied)
• absolution (forgiveness of sins)sought by them
• leftist politics - supportive to reformist
• plantation (settling of people in a conquered country) slavery
• impulse has jelled (congeal) into a therapeutic one
• psychic reverberations (the action of forcing sth back)
• ostensibly (declared untruthfully)
• troubadour (who composes or sings verses)
• resolve to never do (to settle an argument, reconcile opposing elements); stick to my resolve (firmness of purposes, determination)
• he didn't emulate (to strive to equal) the life
• find some solace (comfort) in the memories
• compartmentalize (separate into compartments) it and relegate (consign - make over as a possession of a thing to some unimportant position) it
• sputter (throw up) to a halt
• it's another salvo (a sudden or aggressive act, simultaneous discharge of artillery or large-caliber guns in a battle) in the long-simmering feud between the two companies.

Space

• when in Rome, do as Romans do.
• in the rice paddy.
• locked out of (outta) heave
• go to church
  • go to bed
  • go to school
• go to the toilet
  • go to the hospital
  • go to the cinema
• Asian restaurants abound (fills the space).

Time

• all in good time (be patient).
• we have a time-out (a brief suspension of activities)
• water under the bridge - something that happened in the past and cannot now be changed
• January and May (relationship with age gap)