Topics : Suicide

Idioms :

a big mouth informal
someone cannot keep a secret:
• That girl has a big mouth.
• I'm sorry. I shouldn't have opened my big mouth.
• me and my big mouth (= said when you wish you had not told someone a secret)
• Who's the big mouth who told Carole about her surprise birthday party?
Helen's got such a big mouth - the news'll be all over the town by tonight.
I knew I shouldn't have mentioned the letter. Oh dear, me and my big mouth!
Dave's a real big-mouth, so don't tell him anything.
He is/has such a big mouth.
He went and opened his big mouth and told them the whole story.
drop sb a line INFORMAL
to write and send a short letter to someone:
• Drop us a line sometime.
Just drop me a line when you've decided on a date.
drop (sb) a hint INFORMAL
to tell someone something in an indirect way
• I've dropped a few hints about what I want for my birthday.
Margaret dropped a hint that she'd like to come to the party.
He dropped a few hints about some gifts he'd like to get.
name-dropping noun [U] DISAPPROVING
when someone talks about famous people that they have met, often pretending that they know them better than they really do, in order to appear more important and special
name drop verb [I] DISAPPROVING
name-dropper noun [C] DISAPPROVING

a drop in the ocean UK (US a drop in the bucket)
a very small amount compared to the amount needed
• Five thousand is a drop in the bucket compared to the $14 million we need.
My letter of protest was just a drop in the ocean.
We were paid about $50,000, but that was a drop in the bucket compared to what some other companies got.
drop the ball
to not do a job that you are expected to do, especially because you make mistakes:
• Investigators dropped the ball in the murder investigation

Words:

reveal verb [T]
1 to make known something that was previously secret or unknown:
He was jailed for revealing secrets to the Russians.
[+ that] Her biography revealed that she was not as rich as everyone thought.
[+ question word] He would not reveal where he had hidden her chocolate eggs.
• His letters reveal a different side of his personality. [reveal (that)]:
[+ that] It was revealed in this morning's papers that the couple intend to marry.
She revealed her sexual history to him because she thought it was important.
• Medical tests in late August revealed that a virus was slowly destroying his heart.
2 to show something that was previously hidden:
A gap in the clouds revealed the Atlantic far below.
X-rays revealed that my ribs had been cracked but not broken
• The wooden doll opened to reveal a smaller doll within.

revealing Show phonetics
adjective
1 describes clothes which show more of the body than is usual:
a revealing dress/shirt
• revealing swimsuits
a revealing blouse
His shirt came up at the back, revealing an expanse of white skin.

2 showing something that was not previously known or seen:
A joke can be very revealing about/of what someone's really thinking.
The book provides a revealing glimpse of how the organization works
• His second book on Mitterrand is filled with revealing anecdotes and interviews.
revealingly
adverb
disclose verb [I or T] FORMAL
1 - to make something known publicly, or to show something that was hidden: to make something known publicly, especially after it has been kept secret
Several companies have disclosed profits of over £200 million.
[+ that] The police have disclosed that two officers are under internal investigation.
• GM did not disclose details of the agreement. [disclose that]:
• Councilman Horton disclosed last night that he is gay.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
He refused to disclose details of the report.
2 - FORMAL to show something by removing the thing that covers it
disclosure noun [C or U] FORMAL
a secret that someone tells people, or the act of telling this secret:
• Following sensational disclosures concerning his personal life, he has offered to resign.
• the disclosure of classified information
Any public disclosure of this information would be very damaging to the company.
The newspaper made damaging disclosures of management incompetence.
Full financial disclosure is required.
The report contained disclosures of sexual harassment.

exposé noun [C]
a public report ;a television program, newspaper story, or movie that tells people the truth about an event or situation in which someone did something dishonest or illegal [+ of]:
• "Through the Wire" is an exposé of human rights abuses in the U.S. prison system.
Today's newspaper contains a searing exposé of police corruption.
expose verb [T]
1-[expose sth to sth]PUT IN DANGER :to put someone or something in a situation or position that could be harmful or dangerous, without any protection against what may happen:
• The test will tell you if you've been exposed to the virus:
• Horses' shoes break up the trails and leave them exposed to erosion.
About 800, 000 children are exposed to poisons each year.
It is feared that people living near the power station may have been exposed to radiation.
His behavior on the Senate floor exposed him to ridicule.
The article said that children exposed to smoke are more likely to be sick.
2- [expose sth to sth]:SHOW to uncover or show something that is usually covered or not able to be seen: to make (something covered or hidden) able to be seen : to remove what is covering something so that it can be seen: ) to remove what is covering something so that it can be seen (BAD THING) to make public something bad or something that is not honest
The review exposed widespread corruption in the police force
He removed the bandage to expose the wound.
Our bodies need to be exposed to sunlight in order to make
vitamin D.
• The boy lifted his T-shirt to expose a jagged scar across his belly
• Flowers will develop only if the plants are exposed to sunlight daily.
The plaster on the walls has been removed to expose the original bricks underneath.
He damaged his leg so badly in the accident that the bone was exposed.
The plaster was removed to expose the original brick wall.
3[expose sb to sth]: (GIVE OPPORTUNITY)LET SB EXPERIENCE STH :to create conditions that allow (someone) to have the opportunity to learn or experience new things :
It was the first time I'd been exposed to violence.
Kate was exposed to new ideas when she went to college.
• Children often aren't exposed to classical music.
4-[expose sb as sth] (SHOW THE TRUTH) TELL THE TRUTH to tell people the truth about an event or situation that is not acceptable, especially because it involves something dishonest or illegal:
He was exposed as a fraud and a liar
The newspaper story exposed him as (= showed that he was) a liar.
• Two reporters exposed corruption in Philadelphia's court system.:
• Guillaume was exposed as an East German spy.
5-expose yourself :If a man exposes himself, he shows his sexual organs in a public place to people he does not know because he is mentally ill.
6 (PHOTOGRAPHY) under-/over-exposed to allow light to reach a piece of camera film in order to produce a
photograph
This photograph was under-/over-exposed (= too little/too much light was allowed to reach the film).
7- SHOW FEELINGS to show other people feelings that you usually hide, especially when this is not planned:
• I'm afraid to expose my innermost thoughts and emotions to anyone. --see also EXPOSURE
exposed adjective
having no protection from bad weather: not covered or protected from harm or danger:
• Exposed areas, such as the nose, ears, and fingers, are more likely to get frostbite.
The house is in a very exposed position.
He left some exposed wires that should be covered up.
exposition noun
1 [C] a large public event at which you show or sell products, art etc.:
• the Southwestern Exposition and Rodeo
2 [C,U] the act of giving a clear and detailed explanation, or the explanation itself:
• a professor of Bible exposition

leak verb [I or T]
1 (of a liquid or gas) to allow liquid or gas to escape: [+ into/through/from etc.]:
• The roof always leaks when it rains.
• They found the pipe that was leaking chlorine.
• Water was leaking out of the radiator.
Water was leaking from the pipe.
Oil leaked out of the car.
The tin was leaking.
The car leaked oil all over the drive.
2 [leak sth to sb]:to allow secret information to become generally known:
• Details of the contract were leaked to the press.
He leaked the names to the press.
leak out phrasal verb [I]
if secret information leaks out, a lot of people find out about it:
• News of the deal leaked out three weeks ago.
News of the pay cuts had somehow leaked out.
leak like a sieve :to leak very badly

leak noun [C]
1 a small hole that lets liquid or gas flow into or out of something:
• A leak was discovered in the cooling system.
There's water on the floor - we must have a leak.
If you suspect a gas leak, phone the emergency number.
Water had leaked all over the floor.
The bottle must have leaked because the bag's all wet.
He heard the sound of dripping and saw water leaking from a pipe overhead.
The ship ran aground off the coast and began to leak oil.
To leak is also to give out information privately esp. when people in authority do not want it to be known: Someone had leaked the news of the ambassador's resignation to the press.
2 a situation in which secret information is deliberately given to a newspaper, television company etc.:
• White House officials are anxious to find the person responsible for the leak.
Details of the report had been leaked to the press.
There have been several security leaks recently.
They traced the leak to a secretary in the finance department.
Little jets of water shot out of the leaks in her garden hose.
The Justice Department was investigating security leaks.
spring a leak :if a boat or a container springs a leak, it begins to let liquid in or out through a crack or hole
leak like a sieve INFORMAL :to leak a lot
take a leak very informal!
I'll be back in a moment - I've gotta take a leak.
to pass liquid waste out of the body
I'll be back in a moment - I've gotta take a leak.
leakage noun [C or U]
1 the act of leaking or the leak itself:
The leakage was traced to an oil pipe in the cellar.
A lot of water is wasted through leakage.
I think we may have a leak in the roof.
a gas leak+
The cause of the leakage of the chemical is under investigation, he said.
2 making known secret information
leaky adjective
Something that is leaky has a hole in it and liquid or gas can get through:
• a leaky faucet
leaky pipes
a leaky valve
There's a leaky radiator in the bedroom.

blab verb [I or T] -bb- INFORMAL to talk too much or speak without thinking about something, often something that should be secret:
• Kerri told her agent, who then went and blabbed it to all the reporters. [+ about]:
• She's trying to lose weight, and she's always blabbing about her diet.
Someone blabbed to the press.
She just blabs to anyone who will listen.

let on phrasal verb INFORMAL
to tell someone something especially when it is a secret:
• I think he knows more about it than he's letting on. [let on (that)]:
• Don't let on that I told you.
I suspect he knows more this than he's letting on.
If he did know the truth, he didn't let on.

let slip sth
to say something that you did not intend to say because you wanted to keep it secret
• During a chat with reporters, Baker let slip that he would receive the Manager of the Year award.
Pam let slip an interesting bit of gossip yesterday.
Stupidly, I let it slip that they'd decided not to give him the job. [often + that]
He let it slip that he hadn't actually read the report.
tattle verb [I]
1 if a child tattles, they tell a parent or teacher that another child has done something bad [+ on]:
• Robert is always tattling on me for things I didn't do.
2 OLD-FASHIONED to talk about small unimportant things, or about other people's private affairs; GOSSIP
tattling noun [U]
tattler noun [C]

tittle-tattle noun [U] OLD-FASHIONED INFORMAL
talk about other people's lives that is usually unkind, disapproving or not true; gossip
They know that tittle-tattle about the royal family helps to sell newspapers.

Idioms 13:

Break down
Turn out
Once in a blue moon
Give up
Cross out
Take for granted
Take into account
Make clear
Clear out
Have on
Come to
Call for

The Most Dangerous Game - Part 6 :

by Richard Connell


General Zaroff did not appear until luncheon. He was dressed faultlessly in the tweeds of a country squire. He was solicitous about the state of Rainsford's health.

"As for me," sighed the general, "I do not feel so well. I am worried, Mr. Rainsford. Last night I detected traces of my old complaint."

To Rainsford's questioning glance the general said, "Ennui. Boredom."

Then, taking a second helping of crêpes Suzette, the general explained: "The hunting was not good last night. The fellow lost his head. He made a straight trail that offered no problems at all. That's the trouble with these sailors; they have dull brains to begin with, and they do not know how to get about in the woods. They do excessively stupid and obvious things. It's most annoying. Will you have another glass of Chablis, Mr. Rainsford?"

"General," said Rainsford firmly, "I wish to leave this island at once."

The general raised his thickets of eyebrows; he seemed hurt. "But, my dear fellow," the general protested, "you've only just come. You've had no hunting--"

"I wish to go today," said Rainsford. He saw the dead black eyes of the general on him, studying him. General Zaroff's face suddenly brightened.

He filled Rainsford's glass with venerable Chablis from a dusty bottle.

"Tonight," said the general, "we will hunt--you and I."

Rainsford shook his head. "No, general," he said. "I will not hunt."

The general shrugged his shoulders and delicately ate a hothouse grape. "As you wish, my friend," he said. "The choice rests entirely with you. But may I not venture to suggest that you will find my idea of sport more diverting than Ivan's?"

He nodded toward the corner to where the giant stood, scowling, his thick arms crossed on his hogshead of chest.

"You don't mean--" cried Rainsford.

"My dear fellow," said the general, "have I not told you I always mean what I say about hunting? This is really an inspiration. I drink to a foeman worthy of my steel--at last." The general raised his glass, but Rainsford sat staring at him.

"You'll find this game worth playing," the general said enthusiastically." Your brain against mine. Your woodcraft against mine. Your strength and stamina against mine. Outdoor chess! And the stake is not without value, eh?"

"And if I win--" began Rainsford huskily.

"I'll cheerfully acknowledge myself defeat if I do not find you by midnight of the third day," said General Zaroff. "My sloop will place you on the mainland near a town." The general read what Rainsford was thinking.

"Oh, you can trust me," said the Cossack. "I will give you my word as a gentleman and a sportsman. Of course you, in turn, must agree to say nothing of your visit here."

"I'll agree to nothing of the kind," said Rainsford.

"Oh," said the general, "in that case--But why discuss that now? Three days hence we can discuss it over a bottle of Veuve Cliquot, unless--"

The general sipped his wine.

Then a businesslike air animated him. "Ivan," he said to Rainsford, "will supply you with hunting clothes, food, a knife. I suggest you wear moccasins; they leave a poorer trail. I suggest, too, that you avoid the big swamp in the southeast corner of the island. We call it Death Swamp. There's quicksand there. One foolish fellow tried it. The deplorable part of it was that Lazarus followed him. You can imagine my feelings, Mr. Rainsford. I loved Lazarus; he was the finest hound in my pack. Well, I must beg you to excuse me now. I always' take a siesta after lunch. You'll hardly have time for a nap, I fear. You'll want to start, no doubt. I shall not follow till dusk. Hunting at night is so much more exciting than by day, don't you think? Au revoir, Mr. Rainsford, au revoir." General Zaroff, with a deep, courtly bow, strolled from the room.

From another door came Ivan. Under one arm he carried khaki hunting clothes, a haversack of food, a leather sheath containing a long-bladed hunting knife; his right hand rested on a cocked revolver thrust in the crimson sash about his waist.

Rainsford had fought his way through the bush for two hours. "I must keep my nerve. I must keep my nerve," he said through tight teeth.

He had not been entirely clearheaded when the chateau gates snapped shut behind him. His whole idea at first was to put distance between himself and General Zaroff; and, to this end, he had plunged along, spurred on by the sharp rowers of something very like panic. Now he had got a grip on himself, had stopped, and was taking stock of himself and the situation. He saw that straight flight was futile; inevitably it would bring him face to face with the sea. He was in a picture with a frame of water, and his operations, clearly, must take place within that frame.

"I'll give him a trail to follow," muttered Rainsford, and he struck off from the rude path he had been following into the trackless wilderness. He executed a series of intricate loops; he doubled on his trail again and again, recalling all the lore of the fox hunt, and all the dodges of the fox. Night found him leg-weary, with hands and face lashed by the branches, on a thickly wooded ridge. He knew it would be insane to blunder on through the dark, even if he had the strength. His need for rest was imperative and he thought, "I have played the fox, now I must play the cat of the fable." A big tree with a thick trunk and outspread branches was near by, and, taking care to leave not the slightest mark, he climbed up into the crotch, and, stretching out on one of the broad limbs, after a fashion, rested. Rest brought him new confidence and almost a feeling of security. Even so zealous a hunter as General Zaroff could not trace him there, he told himself; only the devil himself could follow that complicated trail through the jungle after dark. But perhaps the general was a devil--

An apprehensive night crawled slowly by like a wounded snake and sleep did not visit Rainsford, although the silence of a dead world was on the jungle. Toward morning when a dingy gray was varnishing the sky, the cry of some startled bird focused Rainsford's attention in that direction. Something was coming through the bush, coming slowly, carefully, coming by the same winding way Rainsford had come. He flattened himself down on the limb and, through a screen of leaves almost as thick as tapestry, he watched. . . . That which was approaching was a man.

It was General Zaroff. He made his way along with his eyes fixed in utmost concentration on the ground before him. He paused, almost beneath the tree, dropped to his knees and studied the ground. Rainsford's impulse was to hurl himself down like a panther, but he saw that the general's right hand held something metallic--a small automatic pistol.

The hunter shook his head several times, as if he were puzzled. Then he straightened up and took from his case one of his black cigarettes; its pungent incenselike smoke floated up to Rainsford's nostrils.

Rainsford held his breath. The general's eyes had left the ground and were traveling inch by inch up the tree. Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed for a spring. But the sharp eyes of the hunter stopped before they reached the limb where Rainsford lay; a smile spread over his brown face. Very deliberately he blew a smoke ring into the air; then he turned his back on the tree and walked carelessly away, back along the trail he had come. The swish of the underbrush against his hunting boots grew fainter and fainter.

The pent-up air burst hotly from Rainsford's lungs. His first thought made him feel sick and numb. The general could follow a trail through the woods at night; he could follow an extremely difficult trail; he must have uncanny powers; only by the merest chance had the Cossack failed to see his quarry.

Rainsford's second thought was even more terrible. It sent a shudder of cold horror through his whole being. Why had the general smiled? Why had he turned back?

Rainsford did not want to believe what his reason told him was true, but the truth was as evident as the sun that had by now pushed through the morning mists. The general was playing with him! The general was saving him for another day's sport! The Cossack was the cat; he was the mouse. Then it was that Rainsford knew the full meaning of terror.

"I will not lose my nerve. I will not."

He slid down from the tree, and struck off again into the woods. His face was set and he forced the machinery of his mind to function. Three hundred yards from his hiding place he stopped where a huge dead tree leaned precariously on a smaller, living one. Throwing off his sack of food, Rainsford took his knife from its sheath and began to work with all his energy.

The job was finished at last, and he threw himself down behind a fallen log a hundred feet away. He did not have to wait long. The cat was coming again to play with the mouse.

Following the trail with the sureness of a bloodhound came General Zaroff. Nothing escaped those searching black eyes, no crushed blade of grass, no bent twig, no mark, no matter how faint, in the moss. So intent was the Cossack on his stalking that he was upon the thing Rainsford had made before he saw it. His foot touched the protruding bough that was the trigger. Even as he touched it, the general sensed his danger and leaped back with the agility of an ape. But he was not quite quick enough; the dead tree, delicately adjusted to rest on the cut living one, crashed down and struck the general a glancing blow on the shoulder as it fell; but for his alertness, he must have been smashed beneath it. He staggered, but he did not fall; nor did he drop his revolver. He stood there, rubbing his injured shoulder, and Rainsford, with fear again gripping his heart, heard the general's mocking laugh ring through the jungle.

"Rainsford," called the general, "if you are within sound of my voice, as I suppose you are, let me congratulate you. Not many men know how to make a Malay mancatcher. Luckily for me I, too, have hunted in Malacca. You are proving interesting, Mr. Rainsford. I am going now to have my wound dressed; it's only a slight one. But I shall be back. I shall be back."

When the general, nursing his bruised shoulder, had gone, Rainsford took up his flight again. It was flight now, a desperate, hopeless flight, that carried him on for some hours. Dusk came, then darkness, and still he pressed on. The ground grew softer under his moccasins; the vegetation grew ranker, denser; insects bit him savagely.

Then, as he stepped forward, his foot sank into the ooze. He tried to wrench it back, but the muck sucked viciously at his foot as if it were a giant leech. With a violent effort, he tore his feet loose. He knew where he was now. Death Swamp and its quicksand.

His hands were tight closed as if his nerve were something tangible that someone in the darkness was trying to tear from his grip. The softness of the earth had given him an idea. He stepped back from the quicksand a dozen feet or so and, like some huge prehistoric beaver, he began to dig.

Rainsford had dug himself in in France when a second's delay meant death. That had been a placid pastime compared to his digging now. The pit grew deeper; when it was above his shoulders, he climbed out and from some hard saplings cut stakes and sharpened them to a fine point. These stakes he planted in the bottom of the pit with the points sticking up. With flying fingers he wove a rough carpet of weeds and branches and with it he covered the mouth of the pit. Then, wet with sweat and aching with tiredness, he crouched behind the stump of a lightning-charred tree.

He knew his pursuer was coming; he heard the padding sound of feet on the soft earth, and the night breeze brought him the perfume of the general's cigarette. It seemed to Rainsford that the general was coming with unusual swiftness; he was not feeling his way along, foot by foot. Rainsford, crouching there, could not see the general, nor could he see the pit. He lived a year in a minute. Then he felt an impulse to cry aloud with joy, for he heard the sharp crackle of the breaking branches as the cover of the pit gave way; he heard the sharp scream of pain as the pointed stakes found their mark. He leaped up from his place of concealment. Then he cowered back. Three feet from the pit a man was standing, with an electric torch in his hand.

"You've done well, Rainsford," the voice of the general called. "Your Burmese tiger pit has claimed one of my best dogs. Again you score. I think, Mr. Rainsford, Ill see what you can do against my whole pack. I'm going home for a rest now. Thank you for a most amusing evening."

way of walking

walk:

walk:move on one's feet.
We walked to town.


limp: walk unevenly because one leg is hurt.
That man is hurt, he's limping.

hobble: walk with difficulty.
The old man hobbled along the street with the aid of his stick.

stagger: walk unsteadily as if about to fall.
He was so drunk that he staggered all the way home.

lurch: stagger.
The drunken man was lurching along the street.

tiptoe: walk on the tips of one's toes.
She tiptoed to the bed so as not to wake the baby.

stroll: walk for pleasure.
They srolled around the park.

amble: walk at a slow, leisurely pace.
They ambled along for miles.

saunter: stroll.
They sauntered around the park.

wander: move without a fixed purpose or destination.
They enjoy wandering through the countryside.

roam: wander.
They roamed through the streets for hours.

ramble: walk for pleasure with no particular destination.
He likes rambling around in the country.

stride: walk with long steps.
She strode across the fields.

strut: walk in a proud way, with the chest out and trying to look important.
He struted past us, ignoring our greeting.

trudge: walk slowly and with effort because one is tired.
We were very tired after trudging through the deep snow for two hours.

stump: walk heavily and stiffly.
They stumped up the hill.

plod: walk with heavy steps or with difficulty.
Labourers plodded home through the muddy fields.

pace: walk with regular steps.
He paced up and down the platform, waiting for the train.

march: walk with regular steps of equal length.
Demonstrators marched through the streets of the city.

crawl: move slowly with the body close to the ground or on hands and knees.
A baby crawls before he can walk.

toddle: walk with short unsteady steps.
Her two-year-old son toddled into the room.

creep: move slowly and quietly with the body close to the ground.
The cat crept silently towards the bird.

slide: move smoothly over a surface.
I was sliding on the ice.

slip: slide accidentally.
She slipped on the ice and broke her leg.

dash: move quickly and suddenly, rush.
I must dash or I'll miss the train.

dart: move quickly and suddenly in the specified direction.
She darted away when I came in.

scamper: run quickly and playfully.
The children were scampering up the steps.

trip over: catch one's foot on something and stumble or fall.
He tripped over the step and fell.