1 - 6 & handouts
	to take pot luck	choose sth or go somewhere without knowing very much about it, but hope that it will be good, pleasant, etc.
	by rights	if justice were done
	slip one's mind	forget sth or forget to do sth
	to pick someone's brains	to ask sb a lot of questions about sth because they know more about the subject than you do
	within earshot	near enough to hear sb/sth or to be heard
	to bark up the wrong tree	to have the wrong idea about how to get or achieve sth
	to push one's luck	to take a risk because you have successfully avoided problems in the past
	left, right and centre	in all directions; everywhere
	sprawl	a part of a city that starts to spread into the countryside in a way tat is ugly and not carefully planned
	disparity	difference between two things
	merge	to combine or make two or more things combine to form a single thing
	urban dweller	a person living in the city
	farmland	land that is used for farming
	egalitarian	based on, or holding, the belief that everyone is equal and should have the same rights and opportunities
	tipping point	the critical point in an evolving situation that leads to a new and irreversible situation
	unprecedented	never having happened or existed before
	marginal	by only a very small amount
	cluster	to form a small, close group
	rebuke	to speak severely to sb because they have done sth wrong
	invariably	always
	torrent	a large amount of sth that comes suddenly and violently
	foul-mouthed	swearing too much
	damage	an amount of money that a court decides should be paid to sb by the person, company, etc. that has caused them harm or injury
	bobby on the bit	policeman on duty
	predicament	problem
	expatriate	sb who lives in other country
	salvation *final salvation*	the state of being saved from the power of evil
	cease	to stop happening or existing
	bank holiday	a public holiday, for example Christmas Day, New Year's Day
	law-abiding	obeying and respecting the law
	cut a dash	to look very impressive and attractive in particular clothes (old-fashioned)
	be / come to the fore	to be / become important and noticed by people, to play an important part
	mere	used to emphasize that sth is not large or important
	mitigation	a reduction in how unpleasant, serious etc. sth is (formal)
	prophecy, forecast	prediction
	plight	a difficult and sad situation
	relatively	fairly, quite
	vulnerable	weak and easily hurt physically or emotionally
	levy	an extra amount of money that has to be paid, especially as a tax to the government
	fraction	a small part or amount of sth
	scheme	an officially organized plan or system
	spur	to encourage an activity or development or make it happen faster
	poignant	having a strong effect on your feeling, especially in a way that makes you feel sad, moving
	aid	help
	relocation	moving from one place to another
	crouch	to squat, to bend
	chase	to run after, to pursuit
	trapped	to be cornered; to be caught
	land	to touch down, to disembark
	label	name, categorize
	fragile	delicate, frail, weak
	be on the breadline	be very poor
	live in the lap of luxury	live an extremely comfortable life
	well off / well to do / well heeled	having plenty of money
	spend money like water	spend too much, often without thinking about it
	tighten your belt	spend less than you did before, economize
	make a killing	earn a lot of money very easily
	be a money spinner	be a successful way of making money
	pay through the nose	pay a lot of money
	be a rip-off	sth that is not worth the money tat you paid for it
	(spend / cost) a small fortune	a lot of money (informal)
	pick up the tab / bill	pay for sth, often sth that is not your responsibility (informal)
	at a considerable price	by sacrificing a lot or by doing sth unpleasant in order to get it
	put paid to	stop someone from doing sth that they were planning to do
	pay the price for	experience the unpleasant consequences of
	spent money like there was no tomorrow	spend money like water
	move the goalposts	change the rules
	be in the saddle	be in charge
	blow hot and cold	someone who does it is enthusiastic at one time and not at another
	bloke	boyfriend (informal)
	spectacles / specs	glasses
	PTO	please turn over
	RSVP	reply please
	FYI	for your information
	AFK	away from keyboard
	EZ	easy
	pcm	per calendar month
	excl	excluding
	pw	per week
	f/f	fully furnished
	s/c	self-contained (has all it needs within itself)
	n/s	non-smoking
	prof	professional
	all mod cons	all modern conveniences
	ch	central heating
	d/g	double garage
	o.n.o	or nearest offer
	amber	yellowy-orange precious stone
	lexicon	vocabulary
	linguistic consequences	results affecting language
	roster	list of people's turns for jobs
	tabby	female or stripy cat
	gimmick	frivolous way of attracting attention
	tonic	medicine to make you feel more lively
	cot	child's bed with high vertical sides
	mumps	a childhood illness
	hara-kiri	type of ceremonial suicide
	palaver	unnecessary trouble
	intelligentsia	social class of intellectuals
	hammock	net hung and used as a bed
	turban	type of men's headwear
	end up	finish
	upend	move into a vertical position
	hold up	delay
	uphold	confirm, support
	do out	decorate
	outdo	do better than
	7 - At work: colleagues and routines
	be one's opposite number	have the same position; do the same job as one
	rapport	communication / relationship
	talk shop	talk about work (informal)
	hierarchical	gave a structure with powerful and less powerful people
	pecking-order	a system where some people have the right to get benefits / promotions before others
	do a job-share	have a 50% contract for the same job
	clock in / out	use an electronic card to record the time one arrives and leaves job each day
	nine-to-five job	work fixed hours
	be on / work flexi-time	not to have fixed working hours
	(work) freelance	work for different companies at different times
	meet a deadline	have sth finished by a fixed day / time
	heavy workload	amount of work one has to do
	mechanical (work)	don't have to think about what you are doing
	repetitive	the same thing every day
	knock off	finish work (e.g. at 3 pm)
	monotonous	boring because it never changes
	manual	hard and physically
	vocational (work)	which helps people
	glamorous	very exciting, which everyone admires
	irregular and antisocial	do not enable one to have a normal social life
	stuck behind a desk	sit in an office all day (informal)
	stuck in a rut	stuck in a job one can't escape from
	dead-end job	job without prospects of promotion
	8 - At work: career and promotion
	achiever	person determined to succeed and achieve great things
	basic	guaranteed minimum salary without overtime or bonuses
	drive	strong motivation
	rewarding	giving you a lot back
	close-knit	working in a close relationship
	fit description	have certain qualities
	to look to work in	to hope to work in
	maternity / paternity leave	time away from work to have a new baby
	perk (informal) / (extra) benefits (formal)	extra things apart from salary e.g. a car
	holiday entitlement	number of days you have the right to take as holiday
	reach / hit a glass ceiling	reach level where you cannot get further promotion
	overworked and underpaid	often said together as a humorously fixed expression
	9 - Business I
	tlesales / telemarketing	selling or marketing goods and services by phone
	cold-calling	phoning people who have not requested a call in order to try to sell them sth
	hard sell	attempt to sell sth by being very forceful
	inertia selling	when a company behaves as if you agreed to buy sth because you did not actually refuse it
	confusion marketing	selling products and services in a package, in a way that makes it very difficult to work out which company is cheapest
	loss leader	when some items are sold very cheaply just to attract a lot of people into the shop where they will also buy more profitable items
	niche market	market selling specialised items for customers with particular interests
	brand locality	confidence in that particular make and a tendency always to choose it
	shop around	try different companies or shops to see which offers best value
	buy sth on approval	have the right to return it if it is not satisfactory
	first refusal on sth	the right to decide whether to accept or refuse sth before it is offered to others
	come / go under the hammer	sale of goods at an auction
	red tape	bureaucracy (negative)
	merging	joining together to form one new company
	reach a compromise	come to an agreement in which both sides have to give in a little bit on what they would have otherwise liked
	hammer out a deal	talk seriously and in detail until a business agreement is made
	swallow up	take over by a larger company (slightly negative)
	entrepreneurship / ˌɒntr ə prə ˈnɜːʃɪp /	involvement in business and taking financial risks
	capital assets	buildings and machines owned by a company
	10 - Business II
	to put in / submit a tender	to supply a written offer to do a job for an agreed price
	to win a tender	to be given a job, after submitting a tender
	to meet / miss a deadline	to supply / fail to supply sth by the agreed time
	a penalty clause	part of a contract specifying what will happen if an agreement is broken
	an outstanding account	an account that has not yet been paid
	to default on a payment	to fail to pay sth that had been agreed
	to acknowledge receipt	to inform the sender when sth is received
	morale	amount of confidence felt by a person or group
	flaw	weakness
	11 - Cramming for success: study and academic work
	cram	study intensively for a short time
	rote-learning	learning purely by repetition
	mnemonics / nɪ ˈmɒn ɪks /	tricks that help you remember sth
	bury yourself in your books	spend the maximum time studying
	know the subject inside out	know the subject completely
	composition	50 up to 100 words, often used to refer to children's work
	essay	longer than a composition, more serious, hundreds or even thousands of words
	assignment	a long essay, often part of a course, usually thousands of words
	project	like an assignment, but emphasis on student's own material and topic
	portfolio	a collection of individual pieces of work, not necessarily written
	dissertation / ˌdɪs ə ˈteɪʃ ən /	a long, research-based work, 10 to 15.000 words, for a degree or diploma
	thesis	a very long, original, research-based work, perhaps 80 to 100.000 words, for a higher degree (e.g. PhD)
	mind-map	diagram that lays out ideas for the topic and how they are connected to one another
	plagiarism / ˈpleɪdʒ ə ˌrɪz əm /	using other people's work as if it was yours
	submit	hand in (formal)
	feedback	comments from the teacher / tutor
	carry out	do
	inter-library loan	system where libraries exchange books/journals with one another
	drop out	leave the course before the end because they cannot cope
	finals	the last exams before receiving a degree
	fall behind with	find yourself far behind other students
	breeze through the exams	do exams calmly and efficiently
	get the hang of sth	understand sth
	go blank	become empty
	12 - Education: debates and issues
	equality of opportunity	when everyone has the same chances
	selective (debate)	pupils take exams for debate entry
	comprehensive (debate)	everyone enters without exams
	schooling	education received at school
	elitism	when you favour a small, privileged group
	inherent in sth	existing as a basic part of sth
	league tables	lists of schools or colleges from the best down to the worst
	perpetuate	make sth continue forever
	two-tier system	a system whit two separate levels, one of which is better than the other
	better-off	richer
	well-endowed (schools)	receiving a lot of money in grants, gifts from rich people, etc.
	depressing	reducing
	syllabus	a list of the topics, books, etc. that students should study in a particular subject at school or college
	excel	achieve an excellent standard
	the three Rs	reading, writing and arithmetic, the traditional, basic skills
	literacy & numeracy	ability to read & count
	curriculum reform	changes to the educational programme, e.g. the national syllabus
	lifelong / continuing education	education for all ages
	mature student	adult student older than the average student
	special needs education	education for children who cannot learn in the normal way
	one-to-one	one teacher and one pupil
	provision	the act of supplying sb with sth that they need or want; sth that is supplied
	PTA	group consisting of teachers and parents who meet regularly
	school governors	group which oversees all the business of the school
	supply teacher	teacher who works in a school when needed e.g. if someone is sick
	peripatetic teacher / ˌper ɪ pə ˈtet ɪk /	teacher who works in different schools and travels between them
	13 - Talking about yourself
	opportunistic	using situations for own benefit
	methodical	systematic, careful
	chauvinistic	too patriotic
	to get carried away	become too excited and lose control
	obliging	ready to help
	gallant	(of man) polite to women
	superficial	not caring about things that upset offend people
	sagacious	wise
	intuitive	understanding instinctively
	procrastinate	delay doing sth
	placid	calm, does not easily become excited or angry
	plagued by worry / pleɪɡd /	troubled or distressed by
	magnetic personality	personality tht attracts people to you
	self-seeking	wanting to gain advantage for oneself
	shrewd / ʃruːd /	having good judgement
	flashy	expensive or impressive
	altruistic	thinking of others rather than oneself
	morose	gloomy
	sharp-tongued	inclined to speak in a severe and critical way
	a fault-finder	critical personality
	downfall	cause of destruction
	adj. affectionate /əˈfekʃənət/ n. affection	showing caring feelings and love for sb
	stingy /ˈstɪndʒi/	not given or giving willingly; not generous, especially with money
	unstinting	given or giving generously
	immoderate	extreme; not reasonable
	astute	very clever and quick at seeing what to do in a particular situation, especially how to get an advantage
	sly	(disapproving) acting or done in a secret or dishonest way, often intending to trick people
	resolute, dogged	having or showing great determination, not giving up easily
	mulish /ˈmjuːlɪʃ/	stubborn
	sober	serious
	sullen, morose	bad-tempered and not speaking, either on a particular occasion or because it is part of your character
	thrifty, frugal	careful about spending money and not wasting things
	parsimonious /ˌpɑːsɪˈməʊniəs/ (formal)	extremely unwilling to spend money
	pithy (approving) (of a comment, piece of writing, etc.)	short but expressed well and full of meaning
	terse /tɜːs/	using few words and often not seeming polite or friendly
	unprincipled, unscrupulous	without moral principles, dishonest
	thick-skinned	(of a person) not easily upset by criticism or unkind comments
	lowbrow	having no connection with or interest in serious artistic or cultural ideas
	14 - Relationships: positive aspects
	only have eyes for someone	be only attracted to someone
	platonic relationship	affectionate relationship between people of the opposite sex that is not sexual
	be infatuated with	be romantically obsessed with
	be besotted with	to be almost stupidly or blindly in love with
	hit it off	liked each other the moment we met
	lifelong companion	friend who is with one all one's life
	a man/woman after one's own heart	someone you admire because they do or think the same as you
	to get on like a house on fire	have a very good, enjoyable relationship
	bosom friends / buddies / pals	very close, good friends
	kindred spirits	people who are very similar to each other in the way they think
	a well-matched couple	couple that seems to be perfect
	family ties	family bonds
	adj. amiable /ˈeɪmiəbl/ n. amiability /ˌeɪmiəˈbɪləti/	pleasant; friendly and easy to like
	adj. considerate, n. consideration	always thinking of other people's wishes and feelings; careful not to hurt or upset others
	adj. fond, n. fondness	finding sth pleasant or enjoyable, especially sth you have liked or enjoyed for a long time
	15 - Relationships: problems
	ally /ˈælaɪ/	a person who helps and supports sb who is in a difficult situation, especially a politician
	casual acquaintance	person you know, but not very well
	supportive	always supports you
	supportive	critical
	allies	countries which fight on the same side
	bitter rivals	people in competition with each other in an aggressive and negative way
	staunch	strong and loyal in your opinions and attitude
	discord	disagreement and discontent
	not to see eye to eye	have different opinions
	turn sour	become bad
	to have one's ups and downs	have good and bad times
	bumpy relationship	up and down like a car on a road with bumps
	family feud /fjuːd/	quarrel in a family causing bad feeling for many years
	a broken home	family split up by divorce
	16 - Passions: reactions and emotions
	crave / have a craving for	to have a very strong desire for sth
	hanker after / have a hankering for	to have a strong desire for sth you usually cannot have
	thirst / have a thirst for / hunger for	a strong desire for sth
	yearn to do / yearn for / have a yearning for	desire for something that you don't have and, often, can never have
	to covet	to want to possess sth very much
	defuse	make a dangerous or tense situation calmer
	placate	stop someone feeling angry
	conciliate	end a disagreement between two people or groups by acting in a friendly way towards both sides
	appease	end a disagreement by giving the other side an advantage that they are demanding (used in disapproving way)
	implacable	used about someone's opinions and feelings and means that they cannot be changed
	to rejoice	be extremely happy
	exultant	feeling great pleasure and happiness, usually because of a success
	jubilant	expressing great happiness especially at a victory
	rapture, adj rapturous	extreme pleasure or happiness
	bliss, (adj blissful, adv blissfully happy / ignorant / unaware)	perfect happiness
	full of the joys of spring	extremely happy
	thrilled to bits	very happy
	feel on top of the world / be over the moon / to be on cloud nine	to feel extremely happy
	float / walk on air	to feel very happy
	tantrum	a sudden short period of angry, unreasonable behaviour, especially in a child
	17 - Feelings: antipathies and aversions
	antipathy	feeling of strong, often active, dislike or opposition towards something or someone
	hostile	very unfriendly or aggressive and ready to argue or fight
	unsympathetic	not easy to like, unpleasant, ~to / towards sth not in agreement with sth not supporting an idea
	(have / feel an) aversion (to)	feeling of intense dislike or an unwillingness to do sth
	pet aversion	the thing you dislike the most
	averse to	opposed to, usually used with not *I'm not averse to a good night out*
	n. loathing, adj. loathsome, v. loathe	intense hatred
	n. abhorrence, adj. abhorrent, v. abhor	intense disgust
	n. scorn, adj scornful, v. scorn	lack of respect for sth or someone felt to be worthless
	n. revolution, adj revolting, v. revolt	strong disgust
	n. repulsion, adj repulsive, v. repulse	a feeling of very strong dislike of sth that you find extremely unpleasant
	bland	lacking taste, character or interest (food, etc.)
	brash	too confident, too bright (clothes, etc.)
	dowdy	dull in appearance or lacking style (clothes, person, especially of woman)
	fickle	changing opinions suddenly without reason
	fuddy-duddy	old-fashioned
	grasping	always wanting more money
	nit-picking	meticulous, too concerned about unimportant details
	obnoxious	unpleasant and rude
	obsequious	too eager to praise or obey people
	off hand	showing rude lack of interest in others
	officious	too eager to tell others what to do
	ostentatious	displaying wealth or possessions in a vulgar way
	pompous	too formal and showing that you think that you are more important than other people
	pretentious	trying to appear more serious or important than you really are
	puerile	too silly and childish
	sloppy	not taking care in the way you work
	squalid	very dirty and unpleasant
	trite	lacking in originality, banal
	18 - Observing others: appearance and mannerisms
	pick one's nose	removing dirt from it with finger
	scrawny	unattractively thin and bony-looking
	lanky	very tall and thin, and usually moving awkwardly
	gangling / gangly	with long, thin arms and legs and rather awkward movements, often used of man and boys
	portly	with fat stomach and chest, often used humorously about older man
	stout	with a quite fat, solid body
	corpulent	fat
	unkempt	untidy, scruffy
	never a hair out of place	hair that is always neat and tidy
	swarthy	dark-colured, used about skin
	sallow	yellowish and unhealthy-looking
	haggard	showing tiredness and age, with the skin hanging in folds, about face
	pout	push out your lips, to show you are annoyed or to look sexually attractive
	grimace	make an expression of pain or strong dislike
	scowl	give a bad-tempered, angry look
	leer	to look or smile at sb in an unpleasant way that shows an evil or sexual interest in them
	fold one's arms	cross one arm over the other close to one's body
	19 - Observing others: character traits
	adj. impetuous, n. impetuousness/impetuosity	acts on a sudden idea without thinking first (negative)
	impulsive	acts on a sudden idea (positive)
	effusive	gives exaggerated expression of pleasure, praise or gratitude
	excitable	easily excited
	pushy	always selfishly promoting one's own position or interests (informal)
	adj. garrulous, n. garrulousness / garrulity	talks too much, especially about unimportant things
	taciturn	reserved or says very little (negative)
	introvert	inward-looking and quiet
	extrovert	outward-looking and sociable
	diffident	lacks confidence, has a low opinion of himself
	aloof	unfriendly and not sociable
	haughty	unfriendly and thinks oneself better than others
	adj. disdainful, n. disdain	does not believe others deserve respect
	(un-) approachable	(not) easy to be sociable with or start a conversation with
	conceited	thinks oneself wonderful
	self-important	has an exaggerated sense of oneself importance
	flirt	makes constant romantic approaches
	gullible	easily deceived
	conscientious	always taking oneself very seriously
	adj. pig-headed, n. pig-headedness	obstinate (more disapproving)
	unscrupulous	lacking in moral principles, prepared to do very bad things
	scrupulous	extremely hones and not wanting to do wrong
	20 - Birth and death: from cradle to grave
	make medical history	do sth medically very unusual
	deliver	help mother to give birth
	Caesarean section	operation in which mother's stomach and womb are cut to allow baby to be born
	foetus	a young human or animal before it is born
	fallopian tube	one of the two tubes in the body of a woman or female animal along which eggs pass from the ovaries to the utevrus
	bequest	money or property that you ask to be given to a particular person when you die
	placenta	tissue joining the foetus i.e. the developing baby, to the mother and giving it food
	uterus	womb (medical)
	ectopic pregnancy	when the egg develops outside the womb in the fallopian tubes, which link the ovaries to the womb
	ovary	either of the two organs in a woman's body that produce eggs
	conceive (a child)	become pregnant
	termination	intentional ending of a pregnancy, usually by a medical operation (aka abortion)
	miscarriage	the process of giving birth to a baby before it is fully developed and able to survive
	labour	the period of time or the process of giving birth to a baby
	fertilise	to join sperm with an egg so that a baby or young animal develops
	to live to a ripe old age	living well into old age
	late	now dead
	sheltered accommodation	special housing, usually for old people, where care staff also live
	to keep/have all one's wits about one	to be able to think and react quickly
	cremation	service where a dead body is burned
	to scatter ashes	throw the remains of body after cremation
	obituary	newspaper article giving details about the lives of people who have died
	to be close to death (informal)	to be at death's door, to be on one's last legs
	to die	to pass away, to pass on, to perish
	fatalities	dead people
	slaughter	kill violently
	the deceased	the dead person
	to bequeath	to leave sth
	to die intestate	to die without having made a will
	21 - Free time: relaxation and leisure
	rewarding	giving a lot of positive experiences
	fruitful	producing good results
	therapeutic	making one healthy in body and/or mind
	time-consuming	taking a lot of time
	culture vulture	big fan of anything cultural
	couch potato	physically very inactive person
	dabbler	person who never keeps doing one activity for long
	doer	person who believes in acting and doing things, not just thinking
	Shopa-, worka-, chocka- holic	person addicted to...
	split fifty / fifty	divided quality
	be into	take great interest in / be very involved in
	go off	stop linking / lost interest in
	lock oneself away	isolate oneself from the world
	be hooked on	be addicted to
	get up to *what do you get up to at weekends?*	do (informal)
	(have a) full diary	(to have) a lot of commitments / activities
	22 - All the rage: clothes and fashion
	scruff	dirty and untidy person
	pastel	in pale colours
	power outfits	formal clothes to make you seem powerful
	frumpy	old-fashioned and boring
	outfit	set of clothes for a particular occasion
	dress code	accepted way of dressing in a particular social group
	dress down *in offices many staff dress down on Friday*	wear less formal clothes
	smart-casual clothes	clothes that are informal but clean, tidy and stylish
	dressy	suitable for formal occasions
	skimpy	close-fitting, using little material
	baggy	loose, e.g. of sweater
	snazzy	modern, stylish
	designer / label clothes	clothes produced by popular brands
	(buy clothes) off the peg / rack clothes / on the high street	(buy clothes) made to a standard average size and not made especially to fit you
	be all the rage	be very fashionable
	the height of fashion	an extremely fashionable way
	up-to-the-minute	dealing with the most recent trends
	set a new trend for	start a new fashion
	ahead of ones time	have new ideas or opinions before the are fashionable
	catch on	become popular
	slave of / to fashion	someone who is strongly influenced by fashion
	(speak) off the cuff	(speak) without having prepared anything
	to be hand in glove with someone	to have a close working relationship with someone
	to have / take the shirt of someone's back	someone's last possession
	to do sth on a shoestring	spending as little as possible
	without frills	simple and plain
	to put someone in a straitjacket	restrict someone's freedom
	to wear the trousers	to be the dominant partner in a marriage
	dagger	a short pointed knife that is used as a weapon
	frill	a narrow strip of cloth with a lot of folds that is attached to the edge of a dress, curtain, etc. to decorate it
	cloak	a type of coat that has no sleeves, fastens at the neck and hangs loosely from the shoulders, worn especially in the past
	hem sb / sth in	to surround sb/sth so that they cannot move or grow easily
	be bursting / bulging at the seams (informal)	to be very full, especially of people
	cloak in sth	to cover or hide sth
	a feather (pióro) in ones cap	an action that you can be proud of
	23 - Homestyles, lifestyles
	a squat	an empty building where people start living without the owner's permission
	a hovel	a very poor, dirty house or flat in a bad condition
	a pied a terre	a small flat or house in a city owned or rented by people in addition to their main home and used when they are visiting the city
	a penthouse	a luxury flat at the top of a building
	council housing	flats provided by the state for people who cannot afford to buy their own homes
	high-rise flat	a flat in a tall, modern building with a lot of floors
	a granny flat	a set of rooms for an elderly person, connected to a relative's house
	minimalism	a style which involves using the smallest possible range of materials, colours etc.
	post-modernism	a style of architecture, the arts which includes features from several different periods
	New Age	a way of life and thinking includes a wide range of beliefs and activities e.g. alternative medicine, astrology
	subsistence farming	farming where people live by growing just enough foood for their own family
	a household word / name	sth everyone knows
	(a drink) on the house	a free (drink)
	home truths	information that is true but not pleasant or welcome
	nothing to write home about	nothing special
	hit home	become fully understood or fully felt
	That's the story of my life	that's what always happens to me (used humorously)
	have the time of your lie	have a wonderful time
	get a new lease of life	become more energetic and active than before
	a dog's life	a very unhappy and difficult life
	24 - Socialising and networking
	A housewarming (party)	a party to celebrate moving to a new house or flat
	a launch (party)	a party to celebrate the publication of a new book or product
	a stag party	a party before a wedding for the future husband and his male friends
	a girls' night out / a hen party	an evening just for female friends spent at a restaurant, theatre or club, a hen party is usually just before one of them gets married
	a reception	a formal party, e.g. after a wedding or to meet an important visitor
	a black / white tie event	a formal party at which men have to wear black / white bow ties
	socialising	meeting people purely for pleasure
	networking	making contacts that will be useful to one's business or career
	old school tie / old boy network	contacts made by the children of the traditional ruling class while at expensive private schools
	pro-active	taking action yourself rather than waiting for sth to happen
	put oneself about	make oneself visible in the hope of being noticed by someone important and, thus, help oneself to climb the career ladder
	to hobnob	to be friendly with someone who is important or famous (negative)
	to rub shoulders with	to mix socially with people who are famous (informal)
	hang out with / knock around with	spend social time with
	a bash / do / get-together / booze up	a party (last one connects with drinking a lot of alcohol)
	outstay one's welcome	stay too long
	party animal	someone who loves going to parties
	party pooper	someone who spoils parties by being disapproving or miserable
	go out on the town	enjoy the entertainments in a town e.g. pubs, bars, clubs
	chummy / pally	friendly
	a clique, v. be cliquey	a small group of people who spend time together and do not allow others to in them (disapproving)
	be an item	have a romantic relationship
	stay someone up *I'd drop him if he ever stood me up*	fail to turn up for a date
	go on a pub crawl	go clubbing
	25 - The performance arts: reviews & critiques
	hackneyed	done so often it is boring
	impenetrable	complex and impossible to understand
	disjointed	unconnected and not in a clear order
	far-fetched	impossible to believe
	risqué	slightly immoral and likely to shock some people
	harrowing	extremely upsetting
	memorable	you remember it long after
	understated	done or expressed in a simple but attractive way
	panned	very negatively criticised
	lauded	highly praised
	the play bombed	the play was a failure
	up-and-coming	likely to become very famous or successful
	be miscast	be the wrong person for the role
	typecast	always associated with that type of role
	rendition	performance on a specific occasion
	portrayal *The actor's portrayal of the mother*	the picture an actor created

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