generals and history

He was a good player, but he met his match in Peter. Scythians found their match in other wandering nomadic tribes, traversing the huge Eurasia continent.

Reputable charities spend the lion's share of donations on aid and a tiny fraction on administration.

It is now accepted that a member of the royal family can marry a commoner.

In 1939 Poland, sandwiched by two totalitarian hostile world superpowers, had little to choose from than to succumb to the predominating invaders.

a sedentary job/occupation My doctor says I should start playing sport because my lifestyle is too sedentary. This is quite a sedentary species and this is the longest journey for a female we know of.

He had been a known IRA sympathizer.

He has a flair for languages. He played with great imagination and flair. It's a competent enough piece of writing but it lacks flair.

The protesters refused to be cowed into submission by the army.

tiered hierarchical society. a two-tiered structure

Soldiers from many different countries have been subsumed into the United Nations peace-keeping force. All the statistics have been subsumed under the general heading "Facts and Figures".

Jamaica's sugar is stiff competition for Cuba, you see. I'm an only child and I'm curious about sibling rivalry.

Don't worry, I'm not going to make waves.

Darn it! There goes my bus! Darn traffic! Today she wore her oldest jeans, and a sagging sweater with darns in the elbows.

casual nexus. Times Square is the nexus of the New York subway.

The project has been delayed by innumerable problems.

The evidence is inconclusive. The medical tests were inconclusive, and will need to be repeated. Without strong archaeological support the present suggestions are quite inconclusive.

We need to keep up the momentum of the process. We need some momentum to move this car.

climactic moment. The film ends with a climactic battle scene.

He was, she concluded, a spineless individual.

The dolphin had become entangled in/with the fishing nets. It's so painful having hair like mine to detangle them after the shower. He went to the shop to buy bread, and got entangled in/with a carnival parade.

My friend oversees my every workout. He truly believe of himself as of a overseer.

itinerant nomadic tribes. itinerant music band. an itinerant journalist/labourer/preacher

He is trying hard to dispel his image as a left-wing firebrand.

In practice the access to water has been a casus belli for Israel.

Some workers were inhibited (from speaking) by the presence of their managers. Due to all this criticism, he felt inhibited.

They cling with admirable tenacity to their traditions. tenacious

The glass shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. His leg was shattered in the accident.

He drove in an erratic course down the road. She can be very erratic; one day she is friendly and the next she'll hardly speak to you.

The general made some bellicose statements about his country's military strength.

She made some paltry excuse and left. Student grants these days are paltry. The company offered Frazer a paltry sum, which he refused. a paltry treat for your guests.

Japan acknowledged Russian suzerainty over the island of Sakhalin. The Hapsburgs were suzerains of the country, but they treated the inhabitants as free men.

The only thing she had left out was the loss of the customs duties from the river trade.

infamous crime. The list included the infamous George Drake, a double murderer. He's infamous for his bigoted sense of humour.

As talks between the leaders broke down, several months of careful diplomacy were unravelled. You'd better mend that hole before the whole sweater starts to unravel. We have a long way to go before we unravel the secrets of genetics.

Her face emanated sadness. Angry voices emanated from the next room. Human language is an emanation of the human mind.

She works at the textile factory and raises our kids. Last year, textile imports from China went through the roof

The best thing about the location of the house is its proximity to the town centre.

doubt the veracity of the testimony. Doubts were cast on the veracity of her alibi. Families began to question the truthfulness of the information they had been given. I believe I have earned a reputation for truthfulness and fairness.

Information technology is an enabler, but not the whole solution.

majoritarian democracy

She seemed determined to goad him into a fight. He refused to be goaded by their insults. The runner was goaded on by his desire to keep up with the others. Dogs were made furious by being goaded with sticks.

Have you read McClelland's voluminous account of his life? Her voluminous silk dress billowed out behind her.

These salary increases will affect only the highest echelons of local government. the upper echelons of society. jobs in the upper echelons of the company pay quite well indeed

an entertaining film with little artistic merit Her ideas have merit. Brierley's book has the merit of being both informative and readable.

My son has no/little aptitude for sport. We will take your personal aptitudes and abilities into account.

The budget proposal was adopted at the mayor's behest. at the behest of swobody.

The death of the dwarf's king sent a shock wave through their detachments.

We were served barely a meagre meal before the full day of tedious toil. a meagre salary The prisoners existed on a meagre diet.

I think it unnerved me to be interviewed by so many people.

The recent publicity surrounding homelessness has given (a) fresh impetus to the cause. I hope that he will continue the work with the same impetus.

I'd like to ask you to write down the proceedings of the class. The proceedings of the anniversary will continue without disruptions

We should make judicious use of the resources available to us. We sat in a judicious silence.

Four years had elapsed since he left college and still he hadn't found a job. I think the best-before date has gone off, so don't eat it.

Police in riot gear were called in to quell the disturbances/unrest. This latest setback will have done nothing to quell the growing doubts about the future of the club. quell, clamp down excitement

The government has decided to decommission two battleships. It would cost $300 million to decommission the nuclear installation.

The diet of worms

Mycenaean. Military items have been found among the treasures of the Mycenaean age. He also carried out the first excavations at Mycenae in 1841.

enduring stability that underlies the longevity of the empire.

A palatial meal was being prepared in the next room. palatial guard.

Last year, we made incremental progress. Most research proceeds by small incremental advances. Changes at the newspaper are more incremental than radical.

Nascent empires of the South American colonies. a nascent political party a nascent problem

The roads were busy as we drove out of town, but after that it was plain sailing.

She wrote a seminal article on the subject while she was still a student. He played a seminal role in the formation of the association.

The play finishes with one last surprising illusion and one splendiferous profusion of music, and costuming by Dominique Fawn Hill.

a wily negotiator. SLY, CUNNING, CRAFTY, WILY, TRICKY, FOXY, ARTFUL, SLICK

a hairstyle, often worn in punk fashion, in which the hair is removed from the sides of the head and a central strip is made to stand up from the head

I went on a drinking/shopping/spending spree on Saturday. 20 people were shot dead in the city, making it the worst killing spree since the riots. After such a spree of wins, it seems unfair to talk too much about the team's weaknesses.

With a third country about to enter (= take part in) the fray, the fighting looks set to continue. A good holiday should leave you feeling refreshed and ready for the fray again.

He has also promised to lead the party from the center and to put a stop to its internecine battles.

Despite being heavily outgunned, the rebel forces seem to have held on to the south side of the city. The Democrat is doing well in the polls in most states, but he seems to be outgunned in Florida.

I'm usually accosted by beggars and drunks as I walk to the station.

Real kindness would try to make of him a healthy ruffian, with just enough conscience to keep him from crime.

The brand is targeted at the upscale clientele. Downscale dining, though harder to find, can be more interesting.

The back door of the Deanery lay open to the evening sun.

I'd better bestir myself - there's work to be done.

All fixtures and fittings are included in the house price. figurative They've been together so long he's become a permanent fixture in her life.