1.

Word of the day

Aftermath (uncountable)

Consequences or after-effects:

A huge number of fallen trees were left in the aftermath of the storm.

Phrasal verbs

Here are some interesting phrasal verbs, all using 'get'. See if you can use some of
them in conversation this week.

get ahead: make progress. I want to get ahead at work, especially now that I've
taken on a mortgage.

get along with: be friends with. I get along with everyone else at the tennis club,
apart from Gerome.

get away: go on holiday. I'm really stressed at the moment - I need to get away for a
while.

get back at: take revenge. I'm going to get back at Ria for landing me with all that
extra work.

get by: have just enough money to live on. Now that we have a baby, we only just
get by.

get down to: start working hard. We're really going to have to get down to it if we're
going to finish decorating before your parents arrive.

get over: recover from something. It can take a while to get over flu.

get around to: finally tackle a chore. It always takes me ages to get around to
doing the ironing.

get through to: make someone understand. I couldn't get through to him at all. It
was as if he didn't want to understand me.

get together: meet socially. We ought to get together with Ella and Tom - we
haven't seen them for ages.
2. Word of the day

layout ( noun) leitaut plano/ diseo en papel

The way in which a building or printed material is arranged:

I liked the layout of the office because everyone had plenty of space.

Expressions with animals

a monkey on one's back: (informal) a tiresome problem or a drug addiction

worm something out: get information out of someone by being persisent and crafty

to have ants in one's pants: to be restless, anxious or fidgety

to make a monkey out of someone: to make someone look foolish

like shooting fish in a barrel: extremely easy

drink like a fish: consume large quantities of alcohol

an elephant in the room: a big and obvious problem that almost everyone ignores

an 800 pound gorilla: someone or something very powerful and difficult to stop or
fight against
3. Word of the day

Ignominious (adjective) /gnmns/

Humiliating: vergonzoso

England suffered an ignominious loss against Andorra in the cricket match.

Phrasal verbs

bear with [sb] tener paciencia

own up sth admitir/confesar

4. Word of the day

take notice of

To pay attention or show signs of interest:

You should take more notice of things around you; you never know what you might
learn.

5. Word of the day

busybody (noun) /bzbd/

A meddlesome person, someone who interferes: entrometido

Jo is a real busybody, always telling people how they should be doing

things.
6. Word of the day

Fanciful (adjective) /fnsfl/

Existing only in the imagination: fantasioso o imagintiva

Fi's excuse for being late was a bit too fanciful. No-one really believed it.

Phrasal verbs can make your conversations more interesting and fluent,

back off
retreat: He was hassling me to go out, so I told him to back off.

call round
visit: I thought I'd call round and see Jenny because I heard she's not well.

fall off
decrease: Sales of plastic carrier bags have fallen off during the past few years.

fill out
complete a form: I filled out the registration form for the gym.

hand in
submit work: I handed in my essay right on the deadline.

live down
stop being embarrassed about something: I'll never live down turning up late when the
clocks changed.

mull over
think about something: I need to mull over the idea before I decide what to do.

plough on
carry on with a tedious task: I'm going to plough on with the ironing even though I hate
doing it.

put off
postpone: Harry put off his dentist's appointment till a later date because his tooth had
stopped hurting.

rule out
exclude a possibility: We ruled out going for a picnic because it started to rain.
7. Word of the day

dinky (adjective) /dk/ mono chulo

Neat and attractive, cute:

I think that the Smart car is really dinky.

Differentmodalverbswithsimilarmeanings

may,might,couldallexpresssimilarlikelihoodofanevent.Manypeopleusetheminterchangeably,althougha
fewusethemtoexpressdifferentlevelsofpossibility.

Imaybelate.Imightbelate.Icouldbelate.

Oftenthereisanotherphraseinthesentencewhichhelpstoclarify.

Imaybelate,ifIcan'tgetataxi.Imightbelate,butI'llprobablybeontime.Icouldbelate,ifthecarwon't
start.

must,havetobothexpressobligation.Manyspeakersdon'tdistinguishbetweenthem.

Youmustgetyourtaxreturninontime.Ihavetofinishthisreporttoday.

oughtto,should,hadbetterareallsimilarinmeaning.Theyexpressanadvisedcourseofactionasopposedto
anobligation.

Ireallyoughttogetmoreexercise.Youshouldleaveearlier.Wehadbettergoshopping.

8. Word of the day

overwrought (adjective) /vrt/

Overexcited, distraught: alterado/estresado

The closer it got to the deadline for her essay, the more overwrought Susan
became.

Deadpan /ddpn/ inexpresivo

ignominious /gnmns/ vergonzoso
kittiwake /ktwek/ gaviota

9. Word of the day

crackdown (noun) /krkdan/ medidas severas o ma no dura

Severe measures, especially against people breaking the law:

The police are having a crackdown on drink driving over the Christmas
period.

10. Word of the day

earth-shatering (adjective)

Having a traumatic or devastating effect: transcendental

Finding out that I was being made redundant was completely earth-
shatering.

11. Word of the day

windscreen

The screen of glass at the front of a car:

The car might fail its MOT if there is too big a chip in the windscreen.

Phrasal verbs

goabout:tacklesomething
Howdoyougoaboutregisteringforhealthcare?

goalongwith:acceptadecision
I'llgoalongwithwhateveryoualldecidetodothisweekend.

goback:havealonghistory
DaveandIgobackalongtime.

gobackon:
break(apromise)
Areyougoingbackonyourpromisetogiveupsmoking?

godown:decrease
Thefallingexchangeratemeantthatourmoneywasrapidlygoingdowninvalue.

godown:besenttoprison
Thejudgesaidthathewasgoingdownforalongtime.

godownwith:getill
Icouldfeelmyselfgoingdownwiththeflu.

gofor:beattractedto,select
Idon'ttendtogoforsportscars,butIlike4wheeldrives.

goinfor:like,haveaninterestin
Johndoesn'tgoinforteamsports,buthelikesgolf.
gointo:discussindetail
We'llgointoallthesmallprintbeforewefinalisethecontract.
12. Word of the day

flighty (adjective) /flat/

Frivolous, changeable (usually of a girl): caprichoso

I don't know if we can rely on Mandy - she's a bit flighty.

We use had been -ing when we are talking about a sequence of events. It is often (but
not necessarily) followed later in the sentence by a word such as when or before. Here
are some examples:

Larry had been running for half an hour when he got cramp.

Helen and Rick had been trying to buy a house for six months.

Helen and Rick had been trying to buy a house for six months before they found what
they were looking for.

So you can see that the first part of the sentence makes sense in its own right.

13. Word of the day

limelight /lamlat/

Focus of attention: Centro de atencin

Rob's not a good team player because he always likes to be in the limelight.

14. Word of the day

take s.o or sth for granted

Not appreciate someone or something that is familiar or self-evident: dar

por hecho

He never thanks his wife for the work she does. It's awful how he takes her
for granted.
15. Word of the day

nonchalantly (adverb) /nnlntl/

Calmly and casually: con aire despreocupado;

I was disgusted! She nonchalantly dropped her empty wrapper on the

ground, even though there was a litter bin nearby.

the sight of blood is shocking = la sangre es muy escandalosa

stationery /stenr/ papelera

stationary /stenr/ inmovil

16. Word of the day

forecourt /fkt/

An area in front of a building, particularly a filling station: patio delantero o entrada

We pulled into the forecourt at the very second we ran out of petrol.

Phrasal verbs
comeup:appear
Theargumentwehadyearsagoalwaysseemstocomeupinconversation.

divvyup:share
Let'sdivvyupthelotterywinnings.

driveup:makesomethingincrease
Discountsdriveupthesales.

eatup:consume
Themortgagepaymentsseemtoeatupallofmysalary.

firmup:clarify
Kenwantedtofirmupthedetailsinthecontract.

flagup:raiseanissue
Joshflaggedupacoupleofpotentialproblemswiththedeal.

freezeup:beparalyzedwithfear
EverytimeIgoonstageIthinkI'mgoingtofreezeup.

grassup:reportawrongdoing
IthoughtthatAlanwasgoingtograssmeupforarrivinglate.

hangup:endaphonecall
Ihatebeingthefirsttohangup!
headup:beincharge
I'vebeenaskedtoheadupthenewofficeinLeeds.

17. Word of the day

deadbeat (adjective) /ddbit/

An idle, worthless person: vago

Rick's a complete deadbeat. He never even tries to look for work.

Youusefeworafewwithcountablenouns.
few:notmany,afew:some

FewpeopleworklateonaFriday.

Afewpeopleofferedtohelp.

Youuselittleoralittlewithuncountablenouns.
little:notmuch,alittle:some

Thereislittlechanceofsunshinetomorrow.

Wehavealittlebitofmoneytospareeachmonth.

18. Word of the day

flagrant (adjective) /flernt/

Glaring, scandalous:

It was a flagrant abuse of expenses to try and include your hairdresser's bill.

flabbergast [sb] /fb (astound) dejar atnito a, dejar pasmado a

st/

dandruff n (condition: flaky scalp) caspa

/dndrf/

19. Word of the day

balustrade (noun) /blstred/

Banister: The balustrade leading to the first floor was ornately carved.
20. Word of the day

pig-headed (adjective)

Stubborn: Sid's so pig-headed! Once he's made up his mind, there's no

changing it.

21. Word of the day

axiomatic (adjective) /ksmtk/

Self evident: axiomatico

It is an axiomatic question, whether people will go hungry if food prices continue to

rise.

Phrasal verbs

answer back: reply rudely

When Shona answered back to her mother, she got grounded for a week.

belt up: be quiet

Harry was annoyed with his kids arguing and told them both to belt up.

chip in: contribute

Donna was collecting for Sam's birthday and asked everyone to chip in.

cut back: reduce

We'd been spending too much and decided we had to cut back.

do without: manage without something

If you can't afford to buy something outright, it is better to do without if you
can.

get together: meet socially

It's good to get together with friends at the weekend.

hand out: distribute

We handed out lots of flyers for the school fair.

hang on: wait

We decided to hang on for a few more minutes to see if Paul would arrive.
keep on: continue
I kept on trying her phone until she eventually answered.

miss out: not do something enjoyable

Jane changed her travel plans because she didn't want to miss out on
Sarah's party.

22. Word of the day

backhanded (adjective) /bkhndd/

Delivered with the back of the hand: del reves

The boxer gave him a backhanded strike to the bridge of his nose.

Ambiguous: ambiguo

Saying that I look good for my age is a bit of a backhanded compliment.

Refusals

One of the easiest ways to avoid saying a direct 'no' is to construct a

sentence using a modal verb. For example:

Can we drive to the coast this weekend?

I'd like to but I can't....

It's a nice idea, however I should....
I'm sorry but I have to.....
Thanks for asking, but I need to...

You can see that these refusals are made up of a polite response + a
negative conjunction + a modal verb.

There are many other structures for refusals, too, but this is a good way of
ensuring an inoffensive response. Other words to use in the response could
be rather' and 'prefer', to offer a different option.

As there isn't just one way of making a polite refusal, the main thing to
avoid is simply the word 'no' by itself. Save that for if the polite refusal isn't
accepted!

23. Word of the day

ladylike (adjective) /ledlak/

Modest, feminine, well-mannered:

Lucy was the most ladylike girlfriend that Gus had ever had, and he wasn't
quite sure how to react.

24. Word of the day

jackknife (noun, verb) /dknaf/

(noun) A kind of folding knife:

A jackknife is far safer to carry around than one that doesn't fold.

(noun) A dive where you touch your toes:

Sam did a perfect jackknife, then straightened out before he hit the water.

(verb) To fold like a jackknife - usually of an articulated lorry:

The lorry skidded on the wet surface, and jackknifed across all three lanes.

25. Word of the day

frogmarch (verb) /frmt/

Hustle someone out, pinning their arms behind:

Did you see Tom being frogmarched out of the building? I think he was caught
committing industrial espionage.

26. Word of the day

flaxen (adjective) /flksn/

Pale yellow (like flax), usually about hair: Her flaxen hair fell in waves
around her face.

the word make.

make do with: accept something that isn't quite perfect

I decided to make do with the TV I have, because a new one would be too expensive.

make for: head in a certain direction

Dennis decided to make for the coast, so he could do some fishing.

make into: change something into something else

We wanted to make the spare bedroom into an office.
make it: arrive or get a result
We've made it! It was quite a journey.

make it up to: compensate

You can make it up to me by taking me out to dinner.

make off with: steal

Someone's made off with our garden gnomes!

make out: fill in (a cheque)

We need to make out a cheque for the deposit on the car.

make over: to change appearance

I want to make over the kitchen and modernise it.

make up: invent a story

Fiona always makes up good excuses for being late.

make up to: round up a sum of money

With a tip, let's make the bill up to 40

27. Word of the day

back-seat driver (noun) /bksitdrav/

A person who is keen to advise without having responsibility:

Julie is such a back-seat driver! She isn't even any good at maths and she
tries to tell me how to do the accounts.

Thesewordscanbeusedasrelativepronouns:

thatwhichwhowhatwhomwhosewherewhenwhy

Aswithothertypesofpronoun,theycanbeusedinplaceofanoun,

Tochoosewhichtouse,wemustask:

doesitreferbacktoapersonorathing?
doesitrefertoapossessiverelationship?
doesitstandinforaplace,atimeorthereasonforsomething?

Someofthesewordscanbeusedinothercontextstoo,suchasforaskingquestions.

28. Word of the day

fluke (noun) /fluk/

An accidental stroke of luck:

The football bounced off the post and went into the goal. It was a complete
fluke!

Either of whale's tail fins:

A whale has two flukes.

29. Word of the day

spark plug (noun)

The device used in vechicles to ignite the fuel: buhia

My car won't start, I think it's the spark plugs.

30. Word of the day

poser (noun) /pz/

A show off, or attention seeker: pretenciosos

He's such a poser with his new car.

31. Word of the day

irreverent (adjective) /revrnt/

Lacking respect or reverence: He's always a little irreverent with me.

Satirical or critical of what is generally accepted: The book is an irreverent look at the
history of Europe.

Phrasal verbs

rub out: to use an eraser

Can you rub that out? It's incorrect.

rub down: to use a cloth or towel to dry or clean something

I need to quickly rub down the car.

rub into: to cause a solution to be absorbed

Make sure you rub the sunscreen into your skin properly.

rub it in: to emphasise a bad situation to make the affected feel worse
They lost the football and I rubbed it in by mentioning it all day at work.

rub off on: to influence

His enthusiasm rubs off on everyone around

32. Word of the day

shrewd (adjective) rud/

Characterised by intelligence and awareness: listo o inteligente

It was a shrewd purchase because within two months, it was worth double
the initial price.

Artful, cunning or tricky: She can be quite shrewd when it comes to

management decisions.

Past Perfect Continuous

I had been waiting there for two hours before she finally turned up.

The past perfect continuous is normally used to refer to a continuous action that was
already completed by the time another action took place.

We form the past perfect continuous in the following way:

had been + verb-ing

The negative and interrogative statements are constructed in the standard manner.

I had been waiting.

I hadn't been waiting.
Had I been waiting?

It's also possible to use question tags:

They had been waiting, hadn't they?

33. Word of the day

colander (noun) /klnd/

The metal or plastic kitchen utensil normally used to drain pasta: colador
Put the pasta in the colander and leave it to drain.

34. Word of the day

to tow (verb) /t/

pull behind: remolcar

His car broke down so we towed him to the garage.

35. Word of the day

slack (adjective) /slk/

The opposite of tight:

The waist is quite slack but that's the cut of the jeans.

Lazy or unmotivated:
He's quite slack with his job, and makes many mistakes.

36. Word of the day

babble (verb)

To speak in an incoherent manner:

The man was babbling like a maniac.

Nonsense, pretentious jargon:

I've had enough of Peter and his psychobabble!

Phrasal verbs

hand out: to distribute

The teacher handed out some textbooks.

hand back: to return

I gave her money but she just handed it back.

hand down: to give to the next generation

Older brothers and sisters hand down their clothes when they get too big
for them.

hand in: to submit

You must hand in the work before the deadline.

hand over: to give up, to relinquish control of

We're asking their government to hand over our soldiers.
37. Word of the day

hourglass (noun) /als/

An instrument which measures time by the length it takes sand to pass

from one glass bulb to another: reloj de arena

The sand in the hourglass is running out.

In case: as a precaution
I'll take my umbrella just in case it rains.

Although: in spite of
I will go, although I don't want to.

Whether: if or not
Do you know whether/if she's at home.
I don't know whether to go or not.

Unless: except if or if...not

You can't go unless you have an invite.
Unless they raise they money they'll have to sell.
I wouldn't have done it unless my girlfriend had insisted

38. Word of the day

jellyfish (noun) /dlf/

A free swimming marine animal which has tentacles and a jelly-like body:
Swimmers are sometimes stung by jellyfish

39. Word of the day

pier (noun) /p/

A long, thin structure which is built over water: muelle

Derek and his dad used to go fishing on the pier.

40. Word of the day

ringleader (adjective) /rlid/

The main person responsible for leading others, especially in anti-authoritarian

activities: cabecilla o jefe
Most of the gang has been arrested, but we're still unsure who the ringleader is.

41. Word of the day

derision (noun) /drn/

Insult and disrespect: burla

A plough /pla/ arado

is a farming instrument which is used to break the surface of the soil and
prepare the ground for planting crops.

Phrasal verbs

plough back: to reinvest

I want to plough back all the profits into the business.

plough into: to crash, or to collide at speed

The wagon ploughed into the car and sent it flying off the road.

plough on: to continue regardless

I was upset by what happened but I had no option but to plough on with my
work.

plough through: to force a way though

There wasn't much room but the wagon just ploughed through the gap
regardless.

plough up: to break the surface of the soil with a plough

The farmers ploughed up the fields.

42. Word of the day

allude (to) (verb) /lud/

To make an indirect reference: aludir a

When she mentioned punctuality, I think she was alluding to my late arrival
this morning.

Verbs with multiple prepositions

argue about, for, against, over (something)

argue with (somebody)

prepared for, to
I'm prepared for the challenge. (for + noun)
I'm prepared to do anything. (to + verb)

apply for, to
I applied for a loan. (for + noun)
I applied to the bank. (to + person or institution)

experiment on, with

They experimented on the participants. (on + participants)
They experimented with all kinds of ideas. (with + techniques, methods,
ideas, objects...)

participate in, with

I participated in the project. (in, a project, an experiment ,etc)
I participated with them. (with + people)

apologise for, to
I apologized for being late. (for + reason)
I apologized to them for being late. (to + somebody, an institution...)

shout at, to
I shouted at the dog (because I was angry).
I shouted to my friend (because I wanted to get her attention).

throw at, to
I threw the ball at her (because she said something unpleasant).
I threw the ball to her (so she could catch it).

43. Word of the day

pent-up (adjective) /pentp/

Repressed emotion: reprimido o contenido

She is stressed out and bad-tempered because she has a great deal of
pent-up frustration.

44. Word of the day

wanton (adjective) /wntn/

Deliberate and without motive or provocation: sin sentido

There's no excuse for such wanton waste of resources and destruction of property!

45. Word of the day

worship (verb) /wp/

To give praise, honour and reverence (esp. religiously): adorar

My son worships the football player Teddy Perkins.

46. Word of the day

incongruous (noun) /nkrs/

Unsuitable, inappropriate or unharmonious: inconcluente

Walking boots would look incongruous with that dress.

Phrasal verbs

pull apart: to disassemble

The children pulled the soft toy apart. There were feathers everywhere.

pull away: the action of a vehicle beginning to move away

The car pulled away quickly and we were left standing by the side of the road.

pull down: to demolish

Apparently they're going to pull down that building.

pull in: the action of a car coming to a stop

The car pulled in just in front of us and we were forced to brake hard.

pull through: to overcome a difficult period

She was in intensive care but she eventually pulled through.

pull together: to work together as a team

When they pulled together they were able to win the match.

47. Word of the day

swallow (verb) /swl/

To cause food or drink to pass from the mouth into the body: When I went
swimming I swallowed a few mouthfuls of seawater.

To not believe what you hear: You mean to tell me that you saw aliens? I'm sorry but I
am not swallowing that story.

Irregular verbs

sink, sank, sunk (to descend in water)

The ship has sunk to the bottom of the sea.

burst, burst, burst (to explode, to fly apart)

All of a sudden, the house burst into flames.

shrink, shrank, shrunk (to make or get smaller)

I'm sorry but I've shrunk your shirt in the wash.

sew, sewed, sewn (to attach cloth together)

I sewed the two pieces of cloth together.

slide, slid, slid (to move in contact with the floor)

The snake slid under the table.

spring, sprang, sprung (to jump)

We open the box and a puppet on the spring sprang out.

stick, stuck, stuck (to be unmovable)

I've got my hand stuck in the door.

stink, stank, stunk (to smell strongly)

The room stank of alcohol.

swear, swore, sworn (to say profanities, to promise, or to declare)

I swore an oath of allegiance to the queen.

48. Word of the day

coerce (adjective) /ks/

To cause someone to do something through persuasion or force: obligar o forzar

I coerced the dog out of the house.

49. Word of the day

flimsy (adjective) endeble o delgado

Lacking structural strength: It's a flimsy design and I don't think it will work.

50. Word of the day

run-up (noun) /rnp/

The approach run needed to gather speed to fly or jump: carrerilla

I can't jump over that without a run-up.

123,t,t, Sunday, avocado, Leo Tolstoy,4

51. Word of the day

latent (adjective)
Present but not visible or manifest:

A latent market is a group of people who have been identified as potential consumers
of a product that does not yet exist.

Phrasal verbs

come about: to happen

The meeting came about because of staff complaints.

come across: to be perceived, or to find by accident

I came across this memory stick in the street.
I think I came across as a little naive in the interview.

come apart: to break into pieces

My wallet is coming apart at the edges.

come off: to become separated from

The wheels have come off his toy car.

come down on: to criticize heavily

My boss really came down on me for missing the deadline.

come out: to be revealed, or to become clean after washing

I'm sure there's a lot of details which will never come out.
I've washed this shirt twice but this stain just won't come out.

come round: to regain consciousness, or to change opinion

I'm still coming round, and I feel a bit confused.
I don't think she'll ever come round to our way of thinking.

come up with: to have a solution, idea, excuse

I need to come up with an excuse for what happened.

52. Word of the day

epitome (verb)

A condensed representation: personificacin

She's the epitome of Englishness.

53. Word of the day

shiver (adjective) /v/

To physically shake or tremble: escalofrio

Let's go in. The cold is making me shiver.

54. Word of the day

lament (verb) /lmnt/
To express sorrow or regret, to mourn: lamentar
One villager lamented: I have lost everything in the flood.

56. Word of the day

enthral (verb)
To captivate: I was enthralled by her stories of travel and adventure.

wear away: to erode or gradually disintegrate

The sea is wearing away the land by about a metre every year.

wear down: to make something weaker

You're wearing down my patience.

wear out: to use something until it's no longer feasible, or to be very tired:
My shoes are nearly worn out.
I've worked all day and now I'm worn out.

wear in: to make something comfortable through repeated use

It will take a few weeks to wear in those shoes.

wear off: to stop having an effect

The paracetamol has worn off, and now I have a headache again.

58. Word of the day

makeshift (adjective) /mekft/

A temporary or expedient substitute: After the earthquake, many people

were living in makeshift shelters.

59. Word of the day

outburst(noun) /atbst/

A sudden or violent display of activity or emotion: estadillo

His outburst made everyone feel a little uncomfortable.

60. Word of the day

flinch (verb) /flnt/

A slight involuntary movement normally caused by an unpleasant stimulus:

(encogerse de dolor)

She seemed to flinch when I mentioned his name.