lesson four

cliches
an idea or phrase that has been used so much that it is not effective or does not have any meaning anymore:
• The cliché that "truth is stranger than fiction" certainly applies here.
clichéd adjective
solve a crime/mystery/case

Rice's murder has never been solved.
Suspend FROM SCHOOL/JOB ETC.
to make someone leave school, a job, or an organization temporarily, especially because they have broken the rules [suspend sb (from sth)]:
• Knight was suspended from her job for not following safety guidelines.
ferocious
adjective
1 violent, dangerous, and frightening:
• Gang members have committed ferocious acts of violence.
• a ferocious hammerhead shark
2 very strong, severe, and bad:
• Ferocious competition has pushed computer prices down.
ferociously adverb
ferociousness noun [U]
wince
verb [I]
to react to something by looking upset or moving slightly, especially because you are in pain or embarrassed:
• When he laughed, he winced with pain. [+ at]:
• I still wince at the memory of dancing with Josh.
wince noun [singular]
wound
noun [C]
1 an injury, especially a cut or hole made in your skin by a weapon such as a knife or a bullet:
• gunshot wounds
• The security guard was lucky that it was only a flesh wound (= slight injury to the skin).
2 a feeling of emotional or mental pain that you get when someone says or does something that is not nice to you:
• The war left many veterans with deep emotional wounds. --see also lick your wounds (LICK1 (5)) open old wounds (OPEN2 (21)) rub salt into a wound (RUB1 (8))
wound
Verb [C]
1 to injure someone, especially by making a cut or hole in their skin using a knife, gun etc.:
• Police managed to wound one of the hijackers.
• be fatally/mortally wounded (= to be wounded so badly that you will die)
2 to make someone feel unhappy or upset:
• a wounding remark

light up
phrasal verb
1 [T light sth <-> up] to give light to a place or to shine light on something:
• Fireworks lit up the sky.
2
a) [I] if someone's face or eyes light up, they show pleasure, excitement etc.:
• Sue's face lit up when Sean walked in. [+ with]:
• The boy's face lit up with delight.
b) [T light sth <-> up] to make someone's face or eyes show pleasure or excitement:
• Suddenly a smile lit up her face.
3 [I] to become bright with light or color:
• All the buttons on his phone were lit up.
4 [I] INFORMAL to light a cigarette:
• Before you light up in the house, think about how it affects your family.

match1
noun
1 FIRE [C] a small wooden or paper stick with a special substance at the top, used to light a fire, cigarette etc.:
• a box of matches
• light/strike a match (= rub a match against a surface to make it burn)
2 GAME [C] an organized sports event between two teams or people:
• a tennis match
• Eric scored the only goal in the match against Albany.
3 APPROPRIATENESS [singular] something that is appropriate for something else, so that the two things work together successfully [+ for]:
• Sauvignon blanc makes a perfect match for oysters.:
• Doctors failed to find a match for the bone marrow transplant.
4 COLORS/PATTERNS [singular] something that is the same color or pattern as something else, or looks attractive with it:
• Stores will mix paints so you can get a good match for your curtains.
5 be no match for sb to be much less strong, skilled, intelligent etc. than an opponent:
• Washington was no match for the Spartans.
6 be more than a match for sb to be much stronger, smarter etc. than an opponent
7 a shouting match a loud angry argument in which two people insult each other
8 be a perfect match if two people who love each other are a perfect match, they are appropriate for each other
9 make a good match OLD-FASHIONED to marry someone who is appropriate for you --see also meet your match (MEET1) mix and match (MIX1)
Manslaughter
noun
LAW the crime of killing someone illegally but not deliberately --compare MURDER

Murder
noun
the crime of deliberately killing someone:
• Curtis's husband has been charged with her murder.
• a five-month murder trial
• 4600 murders were committed in the U.S. in 1975. --compare MANSLAUGHTER
criminal
adjective
1 relating to crime:
• Gleason denied any involvement in criminal activity and was released.
• Drinking and driving is a criminal offense (= a crime that can be punished by law).
• None of his neighbors knew he had a criminal background (= a history of doing illegal things).
• Ray got mixed up with the local criminal element (= people within a particular group or area who do illegal things).
2 [no comparative] relating to the part of the legal system that is concerned with crime:
• Lawyers are not allowed to comment on current criminal cases.
• the criminal justice system
• The Justice Department is pursuing criminal charges (= official statements saying that someone has done something illegal)against the company as a result of the deaths. --compare CIVIL
3 INFORMAL wrong, dishonest, and unacceptable, but not illegal:
• It's criminal to charge so much for popcorn at the movies!
criminally adverb
despite
preposition

1 without being prevented by something; even though something else exists or is true:
• Despite international pressure, progress has slowed in the peace talks.
• Lorin said he and his sister make a good team, despite the fact that they sometimes argue.
2 despite yourself if you do something despite yourself, you do it although you did not intend to:
• Jessie realized that, despite herself she cared about Edward.
be fitted (out) with sth
to have or include something as a permanent part:
• The law requires that all new buildings be fitted with water meters.
read-out
noun
a record of information that has been produced by a computer, shown on a SCREEN or in print:
• This program gives you a read-out of all the areas where sales have increased. --compare PRINTOUT
Go off
phrasal verb
1 [I] to explode:
• Fireworks went off all over the city last night.
2 [I] to make a loud noise:
• I overslept because my alarm clock didn't go off.
3 [I] if a machine goes off, it stops working:
• Suddenly, all the lights went off.
4 go off well/badly etc. to happen in a particular way:
• We hope the party goes off well.
Stick of
a stick of celery/gum/dynamite etc. also a carrot/bread/cinnamon etc. stick
a long thin piece of something
Lasting
adjective
strong enough, well enough planned etc. to continue for a very long time:
• The committee's decision could have a lasting effect on the community.
• a lasting peace settlement
• Our first meeting left a lasting impression on me.
sit/stand bolt upright
to sit or stand with your back very straight, often because something has frightened you:
• We found her sitting bolt upright in bed with all the lights on.

nightmare
noun [C]
1 a very frightening dream:
• During the trial, she had nightmares.
2 a person, thing, situation etc. that is very bad or very difficult to deal with:
• It was a nightmare driving home in the snow.
• Highway 17 is a commuter nightmare.
• The winds are a firefighter's worst nightmare.
3 something terrible that you are afraid may happen in the future [+ of]:
• the nightmare of cancer:
• The government fears a nightmare scenario (= the worst situation you can imagine) of nuclear or chemical warfare.
nightmarish adjective
Trap door
a small door that covers an opening in a roof or floor
burning

1 being damaged or destroyed by flames:
• The two boys were rescued from the burning apartment building.
2 feeling very hot:
• burning cheeks
3 a burning question/issue a very important question or problem:
• The burning issue of this election is the economy.
4 a burning desire/ambition/need etc. a very strong need etc.:
• a burning desire to succeed
pick a lock (with sth)
to use something that is not a key to unlock a door, drawer etc.:
• Thieves had picked the lock on the back door.
burst into flames
to suddenly start to burn:
• The pickup hit the wall and burst into flames.
creepy
adjective creepier, creepiest
making you feel nervous and a little frightened:
• There's something creepy about the building.


Graveyard
noun

1 an area of ground where people are buried, often near a church --compare CEMETERY, CHURCHYARD
2 a place where things that are no longer wanted or useful are left:
• a graveyard for old cars
investigate
verb
1 [I,T] to try to find out the truth about something such as a crime, accident, or scientific problem:
• The FBI has been called in to investigate the murder.
• I heard a noise and went downstairs to investigate.
2 [T] to try to find out more about someone's character, actions etc., because you think they may have been involved in a crime:
• Hunt was investigated for more than a year before he was arrested.

steering wheel
a wheel that you turn to control the direction of a car, boat etc.
Sing along
phrasal verb

to sing with someone else who is already singing [+ to]:
• Jackie was singing along to the radio and didn't hear the doorbell. [+ with]:
• Kern invited the audience to sing along with him on some of his greatest hits.
Solo
noun
1
a) a piece of music written for one performer --compare DUET
b) a part of a musical work in which one performer plays the most important part, with or without the other performers playing along:
• Krupa plays a drum solo on the band's nine-minute version of "Sing, Sing, Sing."
2 a job or performance that is done alone, especially an aircraft flight

Solo
adjective, adverb
1 done alone, without anyone else helping you:
• LeRoy took his first solo flight that weekend.
• Computer bridge programs will let you play solo.
2 related to or played as a musical solo:
• a solo passage for viola
• Winans released her solo album at age 31.
Solo
verb
1 to perform a solo in a piece of music
2 to fly an aircraft alone
Song
noun
1
a) [C] a short piece of music with words that you sing:
• The students played guitars and sang folk songs.
b) [U] songs or singing in general:
• The story of America's independence has been celebrated in song.
2 burst/break into song to suddenly start singing
3 [C,U] the musical sounds made by birds or some other animals, such as WHALEs:
• a recording of the swallow's song
4 for a song very cheaply:
• One woman bought a whole armful of clothes for a song.
5 a song and dance INFORMAL an explanation or excuse that is too long and complicated:
• Then he gave us some boring song and dance about being a citizen of the world.
6 sb's song a song that reminds two people in a romantic relationship of when they first met:
• Listen, they're playing our song.
Sing

1 [I,T] to produce musical sounds, songs etc. with your voice:
• Daryl sang in his high school choir. [+ to]:
• She sang softly to herself as she worked. [sing sb sth]:
• Sing me a little of it, and I'll see if I know it.:
• They drove along, singing old Beatles songs.
2 [I] if birds sing, they produce high musical sounds
3 sing sb to sleep to sing to a baby or child until they go to sleep
4 sing sb's praises to praise someone very much:
• Diane really admires you - she's always singing your praises.
5 [I always + adv./prep.] LITERARY to make a high, continuous, ringing sound:
• Beth ran toward the stream that sang on the other side of the woods.
6 [I] OLD-FASHIONED to tell someone or the police everything you know about a crime, especially a crime you were involved in yourself:
• Pretty soon, Vinnie was singing like a canary.
7 [I + of,T] LITERARY to praise someone in poetry
Disposable
adjective
1 intended to be used once or for a short time and then thrown away:
• disposable diapers
2 disposable income the amount of money you have left to spend after you have paid your taxes, bills etc.
3 disapproving not interesting, of poor quality, and not likely to be remembered for very long:
• disposable pop songs
Run out
1 [I] if something runs out, or you run out of something, you use all of it and do not have any left:
• My patience was running out. [+ of]:
• I hope we don't run out of paint.
• We're starting to run out of ideas.
• We've run out of milk. Could you stop at the store on your way home?
2 [I] if an agreement, contract, official document etc. runs out, it reaches the end of the period when it is officially allowed to continue; EXPIRE:
• The company's patent on Prozac runs out in 2002.
3 run out on sb to leave someone, especially your family, when you should not because you are responsible for them:
• My dad ran out on me and my mom when I was ten.
4 run out of steam/gas etc. INFORMAL to have no energy or eagerness left for something that you are trying to do:
• I'm running out of steam -- why don't we quit for the day?
5 run sb out of town OLD-FASHIONED to force someone to leave a place, because they have done something wrong
throw sth<-> away phrasal verb [T]
1 to get rid of something that you do not want or need:
• If it's broken, go ahead and throw it away.
2 to lose or waste something good that you have, for example a skill or an opportunity:
• Jones later realized he had thrown away his best chance at becoming a professional golfer.
Laying

Bump into
bump into sb phrasal verb [T]
to meet someone that you know when you were not expecting to:
• I bumped into Leo at the fair.
before long:
Soon
• The school year will be over before long.
chase

parade

lurk

frantically