Lego

He put his back into his promotion. I put my back and heart into this novel.

He was always punctilious in his manners.

unstinting support/generosity She was quite unstinting in her praise

They didn't pay their rent, so the landlord called/sent in the bailiffs.

perennial plant. The film "White Christmas" is a perennial favourite. We face the perennial problem of not having enough money.

I feel like splurging (out) on a new dress. I can happily splurge 3,000 pounds in one day.

The factory churns out thousands of pairs of these shoes every week. She churns out a new best-selling novel every year.

He thought that all women liked children, but she soon disabused him of that (idea/notion).

Woodford is the linchpin of the British athletics team.

Yet in each of those insolvent years they had turned over a good half million.

It was agreed that the few students sedulous enough to read the book deserved top marks for diligence.

We'd worked together for years and developed a close/good rapport. She has an excellent rapport with her staff.

The group has excellent liquidity. This liquidity problem is very serious for small and medium-sized business. A firm may be unable to pay its suppliers unless it has spare liquidity

His essays are models of clarity and brevity. Brevity is, in almost everything, a virtue. brevity is the soul of wit

He got caught skimming off funds from the charity. They're worried the new school will skim off the brightest students, leaving the public school to teach the problem kids

imp, rascal

All swear words were censored with a blank.

a skilled worker who makes the wooden structures inside buildings, such as doors and window frames

The bodies of dolphins are more streamlined than those of porpoises. The cost-cutting measures include streamlining administrative procedures in the company. Leading organizations use software to streamline their workflow.

The children listened to the story spellbound. He held his audience spellbound.

So you just try to stay on an even keel. He tried to bring his mind back down on an even keel.

Candidates like to test the waters before running for office.

He uses a magnifying glass to read tiny print.

Norman agreed that the wording of the advertisement was unnecessarily offensive and it was changed. We don't yet know the exact/precise wording of the agreement. phrasing

But where is such multipronged drug resistance likely to have developed? I think it just points out that we need a multipronged approach to address costs

Our coach has worked hard to inculcate a team spirit in/into the players.

I got so bored listening to him gabbing on about nothing.

The carriage at the end of the train was left stranded when the coupling broke. This video presents how coupling in the animal world works.

boiler suit. Her eyes went to the man in a boiler suit.

In today's review section Anthony Edwards, playwright, poet, novelist and general wordsmith, talks about his glittering career.

I've had to shelve my plans to buy a new car, because I can't afford it at the moment.

You can only use a wooden paddle with this pan. Shall we go for a paddle?

a seasoned traveller a seasoned campaigner for human rights

This designer has recently branched out into children's wear. The company has recently branched out into selling kitchens.

They'll all give him the same answer, now that the cat is out of the bag.

The police staked out the hotel where the two terrorists were reported to... Two of the president's chief advisers have staked out opposite positions New software companies are going to find it hard staking out a position in an already crowded market.

an intelligent and highly articulate young woman She gave a witty, entertaining, and articulate speech.

After languishing in obscurity for many years, her early novels have recently been rediscovered. He has been languishing in jail for the past 20 years.

He sauntered by, looking very pleased with himself.

NATO is turning the screw on the president and piling on the pressure.

Officials were circumspect about saying what the talks had achieved. Because of the censors, audience dissatisfaction could be mentioned in only the most circumspect way.

a harbinger of doom

The year 1969 was a watershed in her life - she changed her career and remarried.

It's tempting to buy all of this stuff on tick. She'd bought everything on tick.

He had a big bash for his 18th birthday.

a passionate, symbiotic love affair. symbiosis

self-explanatory

"I can't bear to see good victuals wasted," said Martha. Thank you for these fine victuals, my good man. They sat outside in the sunshine and enjoyed their vittles.

He had lots of loony ideas about education.

a brand name for an electric vehicle with two wheels. The rider stands on a base between the wheels and holds onto a bar at waist height.

The office was rife with rumours. Dysentery and malaria are rife in the refugee camps.

There was another flare-up of rioting later that day.

Should I add an explanation, or would that be overkill?

the cutthroat world of journalism The advertising world can be a very cutthroat business.

The strategy was more like a scattershot approach to acquiring new customers. Some committees post opening remarks and transcripts, but the coverage is scattershot.

The higher salaries paid overseas have caused a haemorrhage of talent from this country.

Unlike many other politicians, he refuses to indulge in cheap jibes at other people's expense.

A number of companies remain upbeat about growth prospects in the coming months. Live music and a parade set an upbeat mood for the official opening. Given the criticism he has taken, he remains remarkably upbeat.

The dog did an about-turn and ran when it saw the bigger dog.

I wanted to sell my boss a brilliant idea of mine. Can you sell me on your idea?

The men were arrested and carted off to the police station. He is worried that his family might cart him off to a care home.

Health inspectors castigated the kitchen staff for poor standards of cleanliness.

The lack of electricity in rural communities creates a bevy of problems. We were greeted by a bevy of excitable journalists. The city boasts a bevy of museums and entertainment options. A whirring bevy of quail swept past her.

Their victory was largely a result of their brilliantly orchestrated election campaign.

If you want to headhunt, you need to be very persuasive

No one likes to think that they're expendable. He was considered expendable and dropped from the team.

Do you want to see me do a somersault? She was so happy she turned three somersaults on the lawn.

She'll be bowing out at the end of the month, after hosting the programme for eight years. He wanted to win the competition but then he decided to bow out.

The guest list reads like a Who's Who of top American businessmen.

the iniquities of the female part of society in the light of ever-growing liberalness have become the keynote in the party's agenda. This issue has become the keynote of the election campaign.

I was brought in guilty and sentenced to die; but that the judges, having been made sensible of the hardship of my circumstances, had obtained leave to remit the sentence upon my consenting to be transported.

Put in the contemporary context, this change also mirrored the overall rebellious zeitgeist of civil society, which was beginning to witness protests over many issues.

To combat crime effectively, the police need the full support of the Government and the public.

We use this decoration in every play. It's a mobile. I would like the theater to introduce mobiles.

He got flak from his family. The flak destroyed 2 airplanes. She has taken a good deal of flak for espousing that view.

The staging of the play was more difficult than expected

a stellar explosion. a stellar performance/player/team

Anger gave me preternatural strength, and I managed to force the door open.

He would have to find work to augment his income. He augmented his income by taking a second job.

Fondant is made of sugar and water boiled together, with a small quantity of cream of tartar to prevent the sugar from granulating. Tablets can be made by granulating the components then compressing them into a tablet form.