Unit 2 Wanderlust Part 3

To take one’s toll on

to have a harmful physical or emotional effect on someone or something

A seasoned traveler

someone with a lot of travel experience

To take a turn for the worse

to become worse or deteriorate

A sharp decline in

a sudden and significant decrease in something

To be worth serious consideration

to deserve careful thought before making a decision

To see unprecedented growth

to experience growth greater than ever before

To circumvent the need

to avoid the need for something

To circumvent the tax laws

to avoid paying taxes by finding legal or illegal loopholes

Faraway places

distant locations or countries

To rave about/over

to praise something with great enthusiasm

To enthuse about/over

to talk about something with excitement and enthusiasm

A beachside villa

a luxury house located next to the beach

Swanky flats

very fashionable and expensive apartments

It invariably happens

it always happens in the same way

To have/get first pick of sth

to have the first opportunity to choose something

To compile a list

to collect and organize items into a list

Enticing

attractive or tempting

New listings

newly available properties

To handle worst-case scenarios

to deal effectively with the most difficult possible situations

To pin sb down

to force someone to give a definite answer or commitment

To set foot in

to enter or visit a place

To make no reference to

to not mention something

Due to unforeseen problems

because of unexpected difficulties

The flight was held up

the flight was delayed

To strongly object to doing sth

to express strong disagreement with doing something

To take exception to

to be offended by or strongly disagree with something

To scare the life out of sb

to frighten someone very much

In the low hundreds

slightly more than one hundred (e.g. 100–300)

Time will tell

the future will reveal the truth or outcome

Don’t get me wrong

don't misunderstand what I mean

A stroke of good luck

a sudden piece of unexpected good fortune

A wave of dizziness came over me

I suddenly felt very dizzy

For a split second

for a very brief moment

To put it mildly

to deliberately understate how serious or extreme something is

That’s strictly between you and me

this information must remain confidential

It was hands down the best thing

it was unquestionably the best thing

Win something/beat somebody hands down

to win very easily

There’s a lot to be said for it/for sth

there are many good reasons to support or appreciate it

To catch up on work

to do work that has been delayed or missed

A likely story

a phrase used to show disbelief about what someone has said

In a New York minute

extremely quickly

Don’t take this the wrong way

don't be offended by what I'm about to say

He got his lucky break

he received an unexpected opportunity that led to success

To play host to

to organize or provide a venue for an event or guests

To encompass

to include or cover a wide range of things

In the realm of fantasy

existing only in imagination

To turn up to a place

to arrive at a place

Like gold dust

extremely rare or difficult to find

To miss out on a unique experience

to fail to have a rare or valuable experience

Sth is worth one’s while

something is worth the time

To jump at the chance of sth

to eagerly accept an opportunity

Beyond your wildest imagination

much more amazing than you could ever imagine

Mouth agape

with one's mouth open in surprise or amazement

Agape at sth

staring at something with great surprise

The sheer weight/size/scale of sth

the impressive or overwhelming weight

To go straight out the window

to be completely forgotten or ignored

On offer

available for sale or at a special price

To cut into my time with my family

to reduce the amount of time I can spend with my family

Die-hard fans

extremely loyal and enthusiastic supporters

The takeaway is…

the main lesson or conclusion is…

To scratch the surface of…

to deal with only a small part of a much larger subject

A great deal of work to be done on sth

a lot of work remains to be done

To not go easy on sb

to treat someone strictly or without leniency

To hold down a job

to keep a job successfully for a long time

To not stand a chance of sth

to have no realistic possibility of success

To feel under the weather

to feel slightly ill or unwell

To bear little/no resemblance to sth

to look or be very different from something

To bear a close/striking/uncanny resemblance to

to look very similar to someone or something

It looked nothing like the pictures

it was completely different from how it appeared in the photos

To be on the verge of doing sth

to be very close to doing something or having something happen