Vocabulary promoted She'll do anything to get promoted. It was certainly a pleasant surprise; I had no idea I would be promoted so soon! ill informed The reason I'm always ill informed is because you never tell me anything! misinformed I don't ask him anything, because it's just as likely for him to be misinformed as it is for him to know the truth. The misinformed troops arrived ahead of schedule and tipped the enemy off to their presence. hurtful It's almost as if he can't help saying hurtful things to everyone he meets. You may not have realized it, but what you said to her was very hurtful. careless vs. carefree You were so careless you even forgot to write your name on the exam! The man carelessly flicked the stub of his cigarette into the dry grasses. I'll bet you felt carefree after handing in your last homework assignment! Although they appear carefree on TV, actors have to work very hard behind the scenes. unfair It was really unfair of you to accuse me like that. The crowd booed as the video replay revealed the unfairness of the referee's decision. polite / impolite He politely offered tea to everyone before pouring for himself. I thought it was rather impolite for the waiter to take my food away without asking me whether I was done. She was shocked at the impolite remarks he made to his friendly new neighbors. rude How rude! The young man rudely pushed her aside as the subway doors opened and shuffled away without apologizing. The reality of having to lay off trusting employees came as a rude awakening to the new manager. stepping stone I see this job as a stepping stone to a managerial position. A berth in the local art expo was a stepping stone for him to gain even greater exposure. considerate / inconsiderate You need to find a considerate man who will put your needs above his own. Be more considerate next time! I thought that it was inconsiderate for them not to give their seats up to that old couple. Inconsiderate people could learn something from her warmth and concern. misunderstanding Even though I know what we fought over was just a misunderstanding, I still can't forget some of the things he said. To avoid any misunderstanding on either end, I want your wording in the contract to be exact as possible. diary = journal I always mean to write in my diary, but I never seem to have the time. He saw her journal lying on the desk, and couldn't resist picking it up to have a look. capital letters = uppercase letters / lowercase letters If you see something written in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, you should pay attention! Who taught you to start your sentences with lowercase letters?! pry She doesn't pry into his private affairs, and he doesn't pry into hers. I don't mean to pry, but who was that beautiful woman I saw you having dinner with last night? paranoid I may be suspicious of the government, but I'm not so paranoid as to avoid taking phone calls for fear that my phone is tapped! Don't be paranoid; who else would be taking a walk through a graveyard this late at night? evidence Do you have any evidence to support your claims? She always thinks I say things about her behind her back, but when I confront her about it, of course she has no evidence. doubt vs. suspect I doubt you have the resources to compete with Microsoft. He thought his teammates would be confident about the game, but when he got to the locker room he found them full of doubt. I suspect that one of my roommates took my computer, but I don't know which one. He looked nervous the next day, so she began to suspect that he had something to do with the murder. change the channel This program is so boring, can you change the channel? He always changes the channel just when I start getting interested. block the TV Don't block the TV! Seeing he would not be distracted from his video games any other way, she went up to block the TV, her hands on her hips. tie = draw We tied, 2-2. The US team scored in the final minutes to break the tie. In chess you have to understand that many games will end in a draw. trivial Don't waste my time on trivial matters; I've got more important business to attend to. To his math professor the proof was trivial, but to him it was impossible. monotonous Oh my god, class is so monotonous, and the teacher talks like a broken record! There was little to break the monotony of mile after mile of unbroken cornfields. lend vs. give/sell Could you lend me your scissors? Could you give me a tissue? Would you sell me one of your extra tickets? memorize = commit sth. to memory I've memorized every Jay Zhou song there is. You can't learn English by trying to memorize all of the grammatical rules, because there are simply too many exceptions. I've already committed all my classmates' phone numbers to memory. fake I don't want your fake money. His head still ached from the night before, but out of good humor he put on a fake smile and tried the best he could to look interested. They found out the antique vase was a fake only after they noticed the inferior quality of the interior. How many fake teeth do you have? magnifying glass He reads the newspaper with a magnifying glass. Only naughty little boys would enjoy pouring salt on slugs and setting ants on fire with magnifying glasses. focus I was so tired last night I couldn't focus on the lecture at all. This week I want to focus on the stability issues we've been having with our software. He didn't want the demonstration to lose focus, so he called a last minute meeting with the other organizers to discuss a new strategy. concentrate I can't concentrate on reading when there's music in the background. Concentrate on the position and speed of his racket when he is serving the ball. If I am to succeed in school, I must concentrate harder than I ever have before. punctual Please be punctual next time! Punctuality is one of the traits he values most; he'd rather get a speeding ticket than be late for a dinner appointment! mushy Is it possible to prepare eggplant without having it be mushy? The banana turned to mush as a result of their struggle over it. I don't know about you, but I like the feeling of stepping barefooted into a mushy mud pit. deserve I don't like him either, but I don't think he deserved to get beaten up. He deserves a medal for all of his courageous acts. I don't deserve to be treated like garbage! neglect After she found a boyfriend, all of her friends felt they were being neglected. The once-healthy plant withered and wilted from neglect, and had died by the time he remembered to water it. As someone who is responsible for the welfare of so many people, can you really afford to neglect your own health? catch vs. grab I caught a huge fish yesterday! The thief didn't think we could catch him, but we had our chance when he stumbled over a rock on the sidewalk and fell to the ground. I was in such a hurry I grabbed the wrong set of keys! She grabbed the steering wheel tightly and slowed down to a crawl in the sudden snowstorm. accidentally I accidentally used your toothbrush instead of my own. The man bumped into her accidentally, causing her to loose her balance and dump her groceries on another man's lap. disturb I'm sorry to disturb you, but we have an emergency. He definitely has a right to be angry; they disturbed him while he was sleeping three nights in a row! Phrases and Sentence Patterns That was uncalled for! You may have been angry, but you didn't have to throw the dishes on the floor! That was uncalled for! Making a big scene in front of my friends was really uncalled for! I've had a lot of things on my mind. I'm sorry I seemed a little distant today, I've had a lot of things on my mind. Surely she didn't mean to lash out at you; I bet she's had a lot of things on her mind since she lost her job. A above and beyond B The performance last night went above and beyond any other performance of "Hamlet" I've seen. The applications for personal computers go above and beyond entertainment, and extend to data management, communication, e-commerce, and creativity. to take ownership of sth. Those who are content to always remain anonymous are not courageous enough to take ownership of their ideas. Take ownership of your beliefs and stop believing whatever your friends tell you! to pick on sb. | to bully sb. Why don't you pick on somebody your own size? They pick on her because she isn't like them. Remember that kid who used to bully you in high school? I read recently that he went to jail for assault! to get/have a chance to do sth. Did you have a chance to look over the documents I faxed over last night? I've been very busy, and haven't had a chance to play football with my friends for a month. to set sth. on fire | to set fire to sth. Can you believe they set my clothes on fire, as a prank?! The last time I tried to cook something, I nearly set the kitchen on fire! In the book "Fahrenheit 451", the job of "firemen" in a society where every wall and window is a TV display is to set fire to all books. sth. makes sb.'s blood boil I know I should expose myself to a variety of political views, but listening to these ultra-conservative bigots spew hatred always makes my blood boil! You know what makes my blood boil? When he comes home late and doesn't say a word about where he's been! to yell at sb. Don't yell at me; I didn't do it! The teacher yelled at me today, but it was my own fault; I should have turned my cell phone off before going to class. When our boss gets frustrated he starts yelling at no one in particular. Compared with A, B is Compared with the Rocky Mountains, hiking these molehills is a piece of cake. Compared with going to the movies, staying out to watch the stars with my girlfriend is much more romantic. to take an interest in sth./sb. When did he start to take an interest in gardening? I'd really appreciate it if you took a greater interest in your studies. sb. didn't mean it that way. What he said shocked even me, but I'm sure he didn't mean it that way. I didn't mean it that way, I've just had a lot of things on my mind. Sorry. to take [ it | sb.'s anger | sb.'s frustration ] out on sb. The vacation didn't go well at all; he took all of his pent up work-related frustration out on me the entire time. I'm a very giving person, but that doesn't mean you can take your anger out on me! I didn't mean to take it out on you. to take [ it | sth. | sb. | what sb. said ] too seriously Don't take what he said too seriously; he's had a few too many beers tonight. So we lost the bid this time, big deal; we'll have plenty more chances. Don't take it too seriously. How could you do that to sb.? | How could you do sth.? How could you do that to me? How could you forget to pick me up at the train station? How could you treat her like that? to have no excuse not to do sth. You have no excuse not to turn in your homework today. Now that she's told you how she feels, there's no excuse for you not to do the same. let's see [ who's scared of who | who's got better skills | who's the idiot ] ! OK, you wanna fight, let's fight! Let's see who's scared of who! Let's see who's the idiot! to go one-on-one Alright tough guy, let's go one-on-one! something is fishy about [ sb. | sth. ] Something's fishy about him tonight; he wouldn't give me the time of day before, and now he wants to be my friend. I can't say what, but something is definitely fishy about this jeweler. to be only concerned about sth. You're only concerned about your own pleasure! What about mine? I'm really only concerned about your wellbeing, and have no intention of curtailing your freedom. You bitch! | You bastard! You bitch, you stole my man! He took my purse! You bastard, come back here! I have good news and I have bad news. What's the [ good | bad ] news? Give [ me | it | sb. | sth. ] your best shot! | Take your best shot! Give me your best shot! Take your best shot, I'm ready for you! you've got the wrong person | you've come to the wrong guy I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong person. If you're looking for the owner of this place, you've got the wrong person. You've come to the wrong guy; I sell guitars only, no violins. Try the guy next door. Are you [ crazy | nuts | out of your mind ] ?! Are you crazy?! Step away from the edge, now! Are you out of your mind?! You can't take a shower during this thunderstorm! to stand sb. up She was in tears when she told me that he had stood her up again, after she had waited for three hours. I cancelled two appointments for our date yesterday. You'd better have a really good reason for standing me up. to beat sb. up He tried to beat me up, but I ran away. You'd better listen to your wife; she's a strong woman, so don't think she can't beat you up! Wait a [ moment | second | minute ]. Wait a second, my shoelaces came undone. Could you wait a moment? I just need to finish taking this phone call, and then I'll be ready to go. to cheat sb. out of sth. Are you trying to cheat me out of my hard-earned money? If I find out you cheated her out of her fair share, you'll be sorry. I didn't mean any harm! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean any harm! After his mother spread the gossip about his fiancée, whom she disapproves of, she had the gall to say she didn't mean any harm! We can work this out. Don't be mad; we can work this out. I wouldn't worry about it too much; you love each other so much, I'm sure you'll find some way to work this out. I don't think so!! | Not so fast!! Trying to sneak out with your friends? I don't think so!! Not so fast!! Where do you think you're going? You're under arrest! You're under arrest! You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you tonight? You've been rude to everyone! What's wrong with her? I said hi, but she just ignore me! A is no match for B You're no match for me. I've been playing competitively for 8 years. I thought David would have been no match for Goliath, but he struck down the giant with a single stone. Your grade is not based on the numbers of mistakes you make, but on how much time and effort you spend. no room for discussion | end of discussion We can negotiate about the West Bank settlements, but there's absolutely no room for discussion on the issue of Jerusalem. I think if he says there's no room for discussion, you should ask his boss, because his boss is the one who has the final say. No spitting in class, end of discussion. You will not get a new cell phone, you will not get a later curfew, and you will not get a raise in your allowance, end of discussion! I don't want to hear it! You've had enough chances! I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear your lame excuses! sb. didn't show up Why didn't she show up to the birthday party? He said he'd be here and even bring a couple of friends, but he hasn't showed up yet.