leisure and lifestyle

16,18,20,21,22

rewarding

gives you a lot of positive experiences

fruitful

produces good results

lucrative

makes a lot of money

therapeutic

makes you healthy in body and/or mind

relaxing/calming

reduces stress, gives a peaceful feeling

time-consuming

takes a long time to do

culture vulture

big fan of anything cultural

couch potato

physically very inactive person

amateur

someone who does something as a hobby, not a job

dabbler

person who never keeps doing one activity for long

chores

boring tasks that have to be done

lawn

grass

shopaholic

person addicted to shopping

is into

is very involved in

went off

stoped liking, lost interest in

locks herself away

isolated herself from the world

hooked on

is addicted to

get up to

do

full diary

a lot of activities

keen participant

takes part enthusiastically

squat

empty building where people start living without the owners permission

hovel

very small dirty house or flat

penthouse

luxury flat at the top of a building

council, social housing

rented accommodation provided by the state for people who have low incomes

council estate

large group of such housing

high-rise flat, tower blocks

flats in a tall, modern building with a lot of floors

granny flat

set of rooms for an elderly person, connected to a relatives house

a household word/name

something/someone everyone knows

on the house

free of charge

home truths

information that is true but not pleasant or welcome

nothing to write home about

nothing special

hit home

become fully understood or fully felt

make yourself at home

make yourself feel comfortable in someone else’s home

life in the fast lane

have the time of your life

get a new lease of life

become more energetic and active than before

lead a sheltered life

have a life that is protected from unpleasantness

be a matter of life and death

be very serious

take you life in your hands

do something very dangerous

breathe new life into

bring new ideas and energy to something

overrated

not as good as people say

hackneyed

done so often it is boring

disjointed

unconnected and not in a clear order

risqué

against acceptd social standards and likely to shock some people

gripping

exciting and keeping your attention the whole time

harrowing

extremely upsetting

moving

making you feel pity or sadness

memorable/unforgettable

you remember it long after

understated

done or expressed in a simple but attractive style

tedious

boring

hilarious

extremely funny

glowing reviews

excellent reviews

encores

calls from the audience to perform some more

standing ovation

the audience stood up and applauded at the end of the performance

up-and-coming

likely to become very successful

typecast

always associated with that type of role

panned/slated

very negatively criticised

lauded

highly praised

bombed

was a failure

total flop

complete failure

was miscast

was the wrong person for the role

unconvincing

not seeming real or true

interpretation

way of understanding and performing it

version

one of several performances that exist

portrayal

the picture she created

daubers

someone who paints quickly and carelessly

deemed

considered, formal

subject matter

content

schools of art

art movement

visually literate

educated with regard to art

inured to

not affected by

original, opp.?

new in a special and interesting way, opp: predictable

highbrow, opp.?

intended for educated, intelligent people, pop: lowbrow

impenetrable, opp.?

extremely difficult to understand, opp.: transparent

sophisticated, opp.?

showing advanced skills and understanding, opp.: primitive

challenging, opp.?

demanding considerable effort to be understood, opp.: undemanding

dazzling, opp.?

inspiring great admiration because its brilliant in some way, opp.: pedestrian

evocative, opp.?

calling up images and memories, opp.: uninspiring

thought-provoking, opp.?

making people think, opp.: unstimulating

exquisite, opp.?

having rare beauty or delicacy, opp.: clumsy

intriguing, opp.?

interesting because it is strange or mysterious, opp.: dreary

peerless, opp.?

better than any other, opp.: run-of-the-mill

tongue-in-check, opp.?

not intended to be taken seriously, despite appearing serious, opp.: earnest

priceless, opp.?

extremely valuable, opp.: worthless

skilful, opp.?

clever, masterly, done well, opp.: poorly done

blurb

short text, usually printed on the back cover of a book, describing wha the book is about

poignant

moving and sad

chronicle

description of a sequence of events

acclaimed

praised by the public

compelling

very interesting and engaging

lugubrious

rather dark, mournful and gloomy

macabre

often cruel or disgusting, concerned with death

chilling

causing great fear

page-turner

powerful story that keeps you interested

insight

the ability to understand what something is really like

enigmatic

mysterious

breathtaking

amazing

wry

in the face of a bad situation

evocative

which arouse memories or images

eponymous

who has the same name as the title of the book

engaging

pleasant and interesting