January

The jackpot was over $1 million. I dreamt that I won/hit the jackpot.

Hard to believe when you consider the salience of these issues today. But campaign reform turns out to have surprising political salience.

an extant stave church

my wife runs the dairy

She curtsied to the Queen. The children curtsied and ran out of the room.

the business went belly-up. bellied up to the bar. belly up to the buffet table and help yourselves

Absorbed in her work, she was totally oblivious of her surroundings. The mayor seems oblivious to the likely effects of the new legislation.

He lacked the requisite skills for the job. The requisite number of countries have now ratified the convention. A good book is a requisite for long journeys. Self-esteem, self-judgment and self-will are said to be the three requisites of independence.

The improvement in sales figures had a beneficial effect/influence on the company as a whole. A stay in the country will be beneficial to his health.

Their conversations were taken down in shorthand by a secretary. This can be seen as a form of shorthand for what has come before.

She readily agreed to help us. He'll readily tell you this story once again. This product is readily available in most supermarkets.

a steep/gentle gradient

When I heard Luciano singing for the first time, I knew he would go places. I could see why people spent so much time going places. He wanted to go places, to see and do things.

He keeps griping that he has no money. Her biggest gripe is that he is happy with someone new. Her main gripe is that she's not being trained properly.

Add the bicarbonate of soda and stir with a teaspoon.

The lorry was lodged in a very precarious way, with its front wheels hanging over the cliff. Many borrowers now find themselves caught in a precarious financial position. She was blissfully unaware of the precariousness of her situation.

They went to different universities and their relationship just fizzled out.

a blissful childhood/holiday We spent a blissful year together before things started to go wrong. untethered feeling of blissful latitude

intravenous feeding/fluids an intravenous drip/injection Intravenous drug users are at particular risk of contracting the disease.

The whole venture has been an unmitigated disaster. Her new business proved to be an unmitigated disaster

I name you my knight

brazen cheating He told me a brazen lie. What lies beyond the brazen gates of the palace? I hope that he will forgive me for being so brazen

My pencil was poised over the page, ready to take down her words. The company is poised to launch its new advertising campaign. The military forces are poised for attack.

Her letter contained several outrageous slurs against/on her former colleagues. His comments cast a slur on the integrity of his employees... Her speech was slurred but she still denied she was drunk.

That wasn't very gallant of you, Paul, pushing a young lady out of the way like that! Despite fierce competition, she made a gallant effort to win the first medal of the championships. He had gained a popular reputation for his gallantry towards women.

Both sides were drawn, willy-nilly, into the conflict. She threw her clothes willy-nilly into a drawer.

These include books up to 832 pages, complete and unabridged.

a sallow complexion/face. sallow-faced. Her complexion became sallow because she had been smoking for years.

We made an all-out effort to get the project finished on time.

He's a former heavyweight champion and is expected to win the bout easily. He suffered from periodic bouts of insanity. a drinking bout

This skirt has a definite flare. The flame above the oil well flared (up) into the dark sky

She was put out when she heard about the accident. He was put out because his mother was in a hospital.

Tenants who fall behind in their rent risk being evicted. He was evicted from the bar for drunken and disorderly behaviour. eviction

economic/military reprisals They promised that individuals could live freely without fear of reprisal from the military. The attack was in reprisal for the kidnapping of their leaders.

He made a half-hearted attempt to clear up the rubbish.

The report was overloaded by a mass of superfluous detail. I feel superfluous here.

She'll make money - she's got that entrepreneurial spirit. With more people self-employed, has our society become more entrepreneurial?

luscious ripe figs. This dish was so luscious that I had to ask for seconds. I wish I had a luscious body.

When the demand for electricity exceeds the available supply, planned supply interruptions may have to be carried out. This is called load shedding.

There are many types of dementia, which is an umbrella term. We use mime as an umbrella term for all the art forms.

You re such a wit, darling

Be sure of your readership and keep them in mind when writing. Its readership on the island is over one million people.

a schism within the church

He is poorly remunerated for all the work he does. Many advisors will be remunerated by commission, which means if you do not proceed with their recommendation no fee is paid.

my friend is such a shrinking violet among strangers but no sooner than we had gone to the party yesterday that she turned to a party animal. She loves appearing on television and is no shrinking violet when it comes to expressing her views.

It's still too soon to say they are out of the woods. We had some financial difficulties but we are finally out of the woods. Once you come up with the title for your thesis and an outlet, you will be out of the woods

Dancing is second nature to me. I love it.

a pale insipid wine He's an insipid old bore. Why anyone buys music with such insipid lyrics is a mystery. She delivers an admirable performance, despite the film's insipidness.

a bundle of clothes/newspapers/books a bundle of sticks. He bundled his clothes into the washing machine. She was bundled into the back of the car. We don't want anything to happen to our precious little bundle, do we?

It has no bearing on our current situation.

The magazine is famed for its merciless political lampoons.

Then, as an afterthought, he added "I'll go with you."

it was a flat-out lie. called flat out for revolution. the car does 180 m.p.h. flat out

Are you sure that I can follow this diet without detriment to my health? She was very involved with sports at college, to the detriment of (= harming) her studies.

The relationship between the narrative and the actual scientific work is like that between a tendentious documentary film and the actual historical event it depicts.

The audience was becoming restive as they waited for the performance to begin.

The British spy, Kim Philby, defected to the Soviet Union/defected from Britain in 1963.

Her exclusion from the invitation list was a mistake.

a prescient warning. the prescience of her remarks He can claim an uncanny prescience in his career moves.

The kitten gave a piteous cry.

A deep furrow has formed in the rock, where water has run over it for centuries. Years of anxiety have lined her brow with deep furrows.

Other children didn't like John, because he was a sneak.

An actor reads the poems in English translation, with brief musical interpolations. The play is based on factual accounts with creative interpolation. They were not amused by his comical interpolations.

I've had my bike nicked again. All right, who's nicked my ruler? They nicked him for driving at 70 in a 50 speed limit area. Paintwork on the corner of a stairway tends to get nicked and scratched.

The instructions were so complicated I felt like a complete simpleton (loggerhead)

You never know when you are going to accidentally slight her.

It's quite a curio now, but I'm sure you can find it online somewhere.

I have created a spreadsheet listing the call charges for various telephone companies. Would it be possible to get an updated spreadsheet with this extra info?