Ready for C2 Wordlist - Unit 11

affluent neighbourhood

an area in a city or town where people have a lot of money and there are very nice houses

affordable housing

homes for which people on low incomes can afford the rent or mortgage costs

antisocial behaviour

behaving in a way which shows a lack of care for other people or for society in general

commuter belt

an area surrounding a large city where many people who work in that city live

concrete jungle

an unpleasant part of a city where there are a lot of ugly buildings close together

congestion charging

a system of making payments each day for the right to drive into a city centre, introduced as a way of reducing traffic

derelict building

a building that is empty, not used and in bad condition

low-emissions zone

an area of a city that vehicles producing more than a low level of waste gases must pay to drive into

rustic charm

the quality of being pleasant, attractive and typical of the simple style of the countryside

tight-knit community

a group of people living in an area who know each other very well and support each other

tree-lined street

a street which has a row of trees on each side

welfare system

care provided by the state or another organization for people in need

be flooded with

(phrasal verb) to be sent something in large numbers

call for

(phrasal verb) to say publicly that something must happen

narrow down

(phrasal verb) to reduce the number of possibilities or choices

resign yourself to

to accept that something unpleasant must happen and that you cannot change it

resort to

to do something extreme or unpleasant in order to solve a problem

revert back to

(phrasal verb) to return to a previous state or way of behaving, often one that is not good

rule out

(phrasal verb) to stop considering something as a possibility

run up against

(phrasal verb) if you run up against problems, difficulties etc, you have to deal with them

saddle with

(phrasal verb) to give someone something that is difficult to deal with

stick up for

(phrasal verb) to speak in support of a person or an idea, belief, or plan, especially when no one else will

talk out of

(phrasal verb) to persuade someone not to do something

as far as anyone can tell

used for saying what you think is true when you think that there may be facts that you or others do not know

like talking to a brick wall

used for saying that someone does not listen or react to you when you talk to them

small talk

informal conversation about things that are not important

talk your ear off

to talk to someone for a long time, often in a loud or boring way

talk shop

to talk about your work, especially in a way that is boring for other people

talk the talk

to talk confidently about something in a way that makes people think you are good at it, know a lot about it, etc.

talk to the hand

used for saying in a slightly angry way that you do not want to listen to what someone is saying

tell someone a thing or two

to tell someone some useful or interesting information about someone or something

tell me something I don't know

used for saying in a slightly angry way that you already know about something that a person is talking to you about, often because it is obvious

tell someone where to get off

to tell someone very rudely that you are not interested in them or in what they are saying

tell it like it is

to give the real facts about something, even if they are unpleasant

tell me about it

used for saying that you already know about something unpleasant that someone has just described because you have experienced it yourself