UNIT 9

9/1

Appearances can be deceptive.

Beauty is only skin deep.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
keep up appearances - to pretend to be happier, less poor, etc. than you really
are, because you do not want people to know how bad your situation is:
They were very unhappily married but kept up appearances for
the sake of their children.
airs and graces - false ways of behaving that are intended to make
other people feel that you are important and belong to a high social class: He was
always putting on airs and graces.
hoity-toity adj. informal disapproving - behaving as if you are better or more
important than other people
snotty adj (PERSON)
informal disapproving rude and behavingbadly, especially by treating other
people in a way that shows that you believe yourself to be better than them:
nadobudan
I hate having to deal with snotty customers. a snotty teenager She was so
snotty to me!
dolled up adjective [ after verb ] informal - (of a woman) wearing make-
up and special clothes in order to look attractive for a special occasion:
She spent two hours getting dolled up for the party.
spruce adj /spru:s/ approving - (of a person) tidy and clean in appearance:
He looked spruce and handsome in a clean white shirt.
spruce sb/sth up informal - to make someone or something cleaner and tidier or
to improve his, her, or its appearance generally:
I thought I'd have a shave and generally spruce myself up for the interview.
They've employed an advertising agency to spruce up the company image.
juvenile - silly and typical of a child: juvenile behaviour, juvenile sense of humour
juvenile delinquency noun [ U ]/duvnl dlkwnsi/ -
criminal activity by people under 18 years old
oddity noun [ C ]- someone or something that is strange and unusual: Even today
a man who stays at home to take care of the children is regarded as something of
an oddity.
oddball noun [ C ] informal - a person whose behaviour is unusual and strange
quirk noun [ C ] /kw:k/ an unusual habit or part of someone's personality, or
something that is strange and unexpected: You have to get used to other people's
quirks and foibles.
By some strange quirk/By an odd quirk of fate (=unexpectedly), we ended up
on the same train.
an odd/queer fish mainly uk - a strange person
flight of fancy - an idea that shows a lot of imagination but is not practical:
He was talking about cycling across the US or was that just another flight of fancy?
yen noun - [ C usually singular ] informal a strong feeling of wanting or wishing for
something: I have a yen for travelling.
bold - brave, courageous, fearless, intrepid, audacious, plucky
the rag trade noun [ S ] informal - the clothes-making industry
wayward adj. - doing only what you want and often changing your behaviour in a
way that is difficult to control ,
down-to-earth adj approving - practical, reasonable, and friendly:
She's a down-to-earth woman with no pretensions.
bedridden adj. - having to stay in bed because of illness or injury:
His aunt was 93 and bedridden.
UNIT 9
9/1

-bound - (causing people to be) unable to leave a place because of

an unwanted condition:
During his long illness he was completely housebound (= he could
not leave the house).
She has been wheelchair-bound for several years.
The airport was completely fogbound (= covered by fog).
trite djective disapproving expressed too often to be interesting or seem sincere:
His lyrics about love and peace are too trite for me to take them seriously.
I know it will sound trite, but I've loved being part of this club.
corny adjective informal (especially of jokes, films, stories, etc.)showing no
new ideas or too often repeated, and therefore not funny or interesting: corny jokes
I couldn't watch the whole movie - it was just too corny.
homespun adjective (of beliefs, theories, etc.) simple and ordinary:
homespun philosophy/wisdom
go downhill - to gradually become worse:
After his wife died, his health started to go downhill.
sit in - to go as a group into a public building and refuse to leave or
to allow normal activities to continue there until situation that you
are complaining about is changed
fortuitous adjective UK /f:tu:..ts/ formal (of something that is
to your advantage) not planned, happening by chance: The timing of
the meeting is certainly fortuitous.
The collapse of its rivals was a fortuitous opportunity for the company.
follow in sb's footsteps - to do the same thing as someone elsedid previously:
She followed in her mother's footsteps, startingher own business.
outmanoeuvre verb [ T ] to cleverly get an advantage over
someone, especially a competitor:
In the negotiations, he outmanoeuvred his rivals by offering a higher price.
under false pretences disapproving - If you do something under false pretences,
you lie about who you are, what you are doing, or what you intend to do, in order to
get something:
He was deported for entering the country under false pretences.
If you're not going to offer me a job, then you've brought me here under false
pretences (= you have deceived me in order to make me come here).
restraint noun [ U ] - calm and controlled behaviour:
He showed admirable restraint, and refused to be provoked.
The security forces used great restraint by not responding to hostile attacks and
threats.
- something that limits the freedom of someone or something, or that prevents
something from growing or increasing: government spending restraints
Lack of space is the main restraint on the firm'sexpansion plans.
keep/place sb under restraint - to keep a violent person in a way
that prevents them from moving freely: The two prisoners were kept under
restraint while they were transported between prisons.
implacable /mplakb()l/adj - unable to be appeased or placated.
nepomirljiv

verb noun adjective adverb

pretend pretence (un)pretentious pretentiously
measure measure (im)measurable (im)measurably
measurement
UNIT 9
9/1

tackiness tacky
oddity odd oddly
eccentricity eccentric eccentrically
rebel /rbel/ rebel /rebl/ rebellious
rebellion
restrain restraint
pursue pursuit pursuer
eternity eternal eternally
survive survival survivor
renew renewal renewable
anonymity anonymous anonymously
fortuitousness fortuitous fortuitously
durability durable