Vocabulary

Obscure:

obscure (UNKNOWN) adjective
not known to many people; not well known at all, and usually not very important:
an obscure island in the Pacific
an obscure 12th-century mystic
• an obscure Flemish painter
• obscure regulations
an obscure 18th-century painter
obscure (UNCLEAR) adjective
unclear and difficult to understand or see:
Official policy has changed, for reasons that remain obscure.
His answers were obscure and confusing.
• The connection between the studies is somewhat obscure.
obscure verb [T]
1 to prevent something from being seen or heard:
Two new skyscrapers had sprung up, obscuring the view from her window.
The sun was obscured by clouds.
• Parts of the coast were obscured by fog.
Bad writing just obscures your point.
Two large trees obscured the view.
The moon was partially obscured by clouds.
2 to make something difficult to discover and understand:
Managers deliberately obscured the real situation from federal investigators.
• Recent successes obscure the fact that the company is still in trouble.
obscurity noun [U]
1 [U] the state of not being known or remembered:
• Arbuckle died in obscurity in 1933.
He was briefly famous in his twenties but then sank into obscurity.
He deliberately obscured details of his career in the army.
2[C,U] something that is difficult to understand, or the quality of being difficult to understand:
• obscurities in the text
He rose from relative obscurity to worldwide recognition
The story is convoluted and opaque, often to the point of total obscurity.
She worked in obscurity for years
Many movie reviewers confuse obscurity with quality
3[U] LITERARY darkness
obscurely adverb
The minister's statement was obscurely worded.

Cryptic
cryptic adjective
mysterious and difficult to understand:
I received a cryptic message through the post.
• Indovina's lyrics are mostly cryptic and obscure.
a cryptic message/remark
cryptically adverb

cryptic crossword noun [C]
a type of crossword (= word game) which has difficult clues that are not obvious in their meaning

Pick on
pick on phrasal verb [T]
to repeatedly treat unfairly, criticize, or punish (someone); to treat someone in a way that is not kind:
• Stop picking on me!
• Pick on someone your own size!
He gets picked on because he's small.
He gets picked on by the other boys because he's so small.
Why don't you pick on someone your own size?
He just started picking on me for no reason.

Gratify
gratify verb [T]
1to satisfy a desire, need etc.; to satisfy a wish or need
• Too many men believe that women exist mainly to gratify their needs.
We were gratified by the response to our appeal.
I was gratified by their decision.
a gratifying result
2[usually passive] to make someone feel pleased and satisfied [+ by]:
• She is gratified by all the public support. [be gratified (that)]:
• We are gratified that the court has agreed to hear our case. [be gratified to do sth]:
• I was gratified to hear that they like my work.
[+ to infinitive] He was gratified to see how well his students had done.
gratification noun [U]
sexual gratification
Some people expect instant gratification (= to get what they want immediately).
gratifying adjective
pleasing and satisfying
[+ to infinitive] It must be very gratifying to see all your children grown up and happy.
• It's gratifying to know that my work has helped so many people.
It was a big game for us, and a very gratifying win
gratifyingly adverb
The success rate in the exam was gratifyingly high.

Deft
deft adjective
skilful, clever or quick:
Her movements were deft and quick.
She answered the journalist's questions with a deft touch.
He's very deft at handling awkward situations.
• The songs demonstrate Costello's deft wordplay.
a deft movement/touch
He cut some logs up for firewood with a few deft strokes of his ax.
deftly adverb
He deftly (= skilfully) caught the ball.
She deftly answered the tough questions
deftness noun [U]

Crud
crud noun [U] INFORMAL
something dirty and unpleasant ;something that is very bad or disgusting to look at, taste, smell etc.:
• What's this crud on my seat?SLANG
any offensive substance
You couldn't see a thing with all the crud in the air.
cruddy adjective INFORMAL
bad, dirty, or of poor quality:
• Some of the workmanship is pretty cruddy.
SLANG
a cruddy book

Subtly
Subtle adjective
1 not loud, bright, noticeable or obvious in any way ;not easy to notice or understand unless you pay careful attention:
• Some of the more subtle forms of malnutrition are difficult to identify.
The room was painted a subtle shade of pink.
The play's message is perhaps too subtle to be understood by young children.
subtle flavors
a subtle shade of pink
The subtle nuances of English pronunciation are hard to master.
2 a subtle taste or smell is pleasant and delicate:
• a subtle hint of almond
3 small but important; SENSITIVE:
There is a subtle difference between these two plans.
There are subtle differences between the two.
4 achieved in a quiet way which does not attract attention to itself and which is therefore good or clever:
a subtle plan/suggestion
subtle questions
5 a subtle person, plan, method etc. skillfully hides what they really want or intend to do or does it in a very indirect way:
• She wasn't ever subtle in giving her opinion.
• Linda was able to influence her superiors in subtle ways.
6 very smart about noticing and understanding things
• a subtle mind

subtly adverb
He subtly affects the lives of everyone he encounters.
This discovery had subtly changed/altered the way I thought about myself.

subtlety noun [C/U]
1 [U] the quality of being subtle:
Listening to the interview, I was impressed by the subtlety of the questions.
• At press conferences, he is a master of tact and subtlety.
Her acting was full of subtlety.
He's baffled by the subtleties of modern life.
2 [C] a small but important detail:
All the subtleties of the music are conveyed in this new recording
• Some of the subtleties of the language are lost in translation
Get back to
get back to (START AGAIN)
[Show phonetics]
phrasal verb [T]
to continue doing (something) that you started earlier
I'd better get off the phone -- I have to get back to making supper.

get back to
get back to sth phrasal verb
to start doing or talking about something again; to start doing something again after not doing it for a while:
Anyway, I'd better get back to work
• Laura found it hard to get back to work after her maternity leave.
get back to sb phrasal verb
to communicate with (someone) at a later time ;to talk to someone again, usually on the telephone, in order to give them some information or because you were not able to speak to them before:
I'll get back to you later with those figures.
He can't find the phone number right now, but promised to get back to me with it
• I'll try to get back to you later today
Get back at
get back at phrasal verb [T]
to punish (someone) because they have done something wrong to you
I think he's trying to get back at her for what she said in the meeting.Get somebody or something off
1[I,T get off sth] to finish working at your work place:
• What time do you get off work?
• Shelly gets off at 5:30.
2[I,T get (sb) off] to get little or no punishment for a crime, or to help someone escape punishment:
• I can't believe his lawyers managed to get him off. [+ with]:
• He got off with just a small fine.
3where does sb get off (doing sth)? SPOKEN said when you think someone has done something to you that they do not have a right to do:
• Where does he get off telling me how to live my life?
4get off on the wrong foot to start a job, relationship etc. badly by doing something that annoys people:
• We just got off on the wrong foot the other day.
5get off it! SPOKEN used to tell someone to stop talking about a particular subject because it is annoying you
6[I] VULGAR to have an ORGASM

Set back
set sth/sb back (DELAY) phrasal verb [M]
to delay an event, process or person; to delay or stop the progress of (someone or something) ;to make something happen more slowly or later than it should
The heavy traffic set us back about half an hour.
The opening of the new swimming pool has been set back by a few weeks.
A war would inevitably set back the process of reform
Then I needed a second operation, which really set me back.
• It is too early to say how much the fire has set back construction of the house.
set sb back (sth) (COST) phrasal verb INFORMAL
to cost someone a large amount of money:
Buying that suit must have set you back.
That new car looks as if it set you back a bit, Geoff.
Our vacation set us back over $3000
A car like that will probably set you back about £12,000
• Most of these wines will set you back $15 - $20.
set sth back (REDUCE) phrasal verb [M]
to reduce something to a weaker or less advanced state:
This result has set back their chances of winning the competition.
setback noun [C]
something that delays or prevents progress, or makes things worse than they were:
• Judge Cook's ruling will be a major setback for civil rights activists
Democrats suffered a serious setback in yesterday's election, losing all three contested seats