JVR3 Glossary

a little bird told me

used to say that you have heard a piece of information about someone from somebody else

alert

able to think quickly; quick to notice things; pozoren, bister.

anthropomorphism

the representation of animals, gods, and objects as having human form or traits; antropomorfizem

aquatic

living or growing in, happening in, or connected with water; voden

arboreal

relating to, resembling, or living in trees; drevesni

boastful

talking about yourself in a very proud way; bahav, domišljav

captious

tending to find and call attention to faults; muhast

carnivorous

relating to a person, animal or thing that eats meat; mesojed

compassionate

feeling or showing sympathy for people or animals who are suffering; sočuten

considerate

kind and helpful; uvideven, obziren

gracious

courteous, kind, and pleasant; dostojanstven

hard-edged

having a tough, driven, or sharp quality; oster

to have ants in your pants

to not be able to keep still because you are very excited or worried about something; imeti sršene v riti

imaginative

good at thinking of new original and clever ideas; domiseln

indifferent

not thinking about or not interested in someone or something; ravnodušen

mad as a hornet

very angry; biti jezen kot gad

obstinate

unreasonably determined and stubborn especially to act in a particular way; trmoglav

omnivorous

feeding on both plants and animals; vsejed

opportunistic

using a situation to get power or an advantage; koristoljuben

perceptive

very good at noticing and understanding things that many people do not notice; pozoren

pig-headed

showing unreasonable support for an opinion or plan of action and refusing to change or listen to different opinions; trmast

quick-witted

able to think or respond quickly and effectively; bister

restless

unable to stay still or be happy where you are, because you are bored or need a change; nemiren

savvy

experience, knowledgable, and well-informed; brihten

sceptical

having doubts about something that other people think is true or right; skeptičen

self-indulgent

allowing yourself to have or do anything that you enjoy

semiotic

relating to semiotics (= the study of signs and symbols)

skittish

nervous or easily frightened; plašljiv, živčen

sophisticated

Having, revealing, or involving a great deal of worldly experience and knowledge of fashion and culture; prefinjen

take the bull by the horns

deal decisively with a difficult or dangerous situation; zgrabiti bika za roge

tight-lipped

Having the lips closed tight (as in determination); reluctant to speak; redkobeseden

till the cows come home

or a very long time, for ever; dolgo časa

tusk

either of the two long, pointed teeth of some animals such as elephants; okel

undetermined

unable to make a definite decision; neodločen

vain

having or showing undue or excessive pride in one's appearance or achievements; Samovšečen

vainglorious

showing too much pride in your own abilities or achievements; domišljac, nadut

versatile

able to change easily from one activity to another or able to be used for many different purposes; vsestranski

to waffle

to talk or write a lot without giving any useful information or any clear answers; nakladati

willpower

the ability to control your own thoughts and the way in which you behave; moč volje

witty

showing or characterized by quick and inventive verbal humour; duhovit

wouldn't hurt a fly

they are gentle and would not do anything to injure or offend anyone; še mravlje ne bi pohodil

let sleeping dogs lie

avoid interfering in a situation

to hardly get a word in the edgeways

you aren't able to say anything because somebody keeps talking/ talks so much

To have a frog in one's throat

hoarseness, when something is making you cough

pink elephants

any visual hallucination arising from heavy drinking

a white elephant

something that is expensive, or that costs a lot of money to keep in good condition, but that has no useful purpose and is no longer wanted

the elephant in the room

there is an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about.

(straight) from the horse's mouth

you have heard something from the person who has direct personal knowledge of it

hold your horses

used to tell someone to stop and consider carefully their decision or opinion about something

an eager beaver

a person who is willing to work very hard

let the cat out of the bag

to allow a secret to be known, usually without intending to

a cat nap

a power nap

a mob of...

kangaroos

a colony of...

bats

a flock of...

sheep

a pack of...

wolves

a gaggle of...

geese

a murder of...

crows

a pod of...

whales

a pride of...

lions

camels

the ships of the desert

camels in a line

camel caravan, camel train

watch somebody like a hawk

to watch someone all the time, usually to make sure they do not do something bad

cold turkey

the period of extreme suffering that comes immediately after a person has stopped taking a drug on which they depend

wild-goose chase

a search that is completely unsuccessful and a waste of time because the person or thing being searched for does not exist or is somewhere else

kill two birds with one stone

to succeed in achieving two things in a single action

weasel out (of something)

to avoid doing something that you have agreed to do, especially by being dishonest

doe-eyed (Bambi eyes)

someone who has an innocent, wide-eyed look

red herring

a fact, idea, or subject that takes people's attention away from the central point being considered

the rat race

a way of life in modern society, in which people compete with each other for power and money

smell a rat

to recognize that something is not as it appears to be or that something dishonest is happening

doomsday prepper

a person preparing for the end of the world; pripravljen/a na sodni dan

bumfluff

the soft and fluffy growth of hair on the chin of an adolescent; puhek

a shaul of...

fish

to jump the gun

to start too early

to leave one's stamp

to leave a distinctive impression

apt

suitable, appropriate; primeren

loom

to rise before the vision with an appearance of great or portentous size

opulence

wealth, abundance

crudity

the quality or state of being primitive, gross, or elemental or uncultivated

bemoan

to complain, lament, bewail

jab

to thrust, poke something (sharply)

supplicant

somebody who begs, prays, ask for something (humbly)

maiden

resembling a virgin, chaste women

lacerating

tearing roughly, mangling, hurting

gorged at

cut out, to scoop out

paraphernalia

equipment, apparatus, or furnishing used in or necessary for a particular activity; personal belongings

hog

pig

punctilious

precise, demanding, careful, conscientious

bundle

a package, a swag

prestige

an essential quality, or strength

ablution

a washing of the hands, body; cleansing ritual

overflowing

filled to the point of running over

maladies

potion

a drink especially one having or reputed to have medicinal, poisonous, or magical powers

rapport

relation, connection (usually sympathetic)