Lesson 3 (✨English After Hours 10.0✨)

from Betty with love❤️

hold (your) fire

to delay action or refrain from reacting immediately, especially in a tense situation:

1) _____ until I give the signal.

2) The team decided to ____ and wait for more information.

3) During the debate, she chose to _____ and listen carefully.

hush smth up

to keep something secret or to prevent it from becoming known publicly:

1) They tried to _____ the scandal to protect the company's reputation.

2) The politician’s team worked to ____ the controversy.

3) Rumours about the incident were quickly _____ by the authorities.

do the dirty on someone

to betray or cheat someone, often in a sneaky or unfair way:

1) He ____ his friends by stealing their ideas.

2) I can’t believe she ____ me after all we’ve been through.

3) The company ____ its employees by cutting their benefits unexpectedly.

pick up the slack

to do someone’s work or cover their responsibilities when they are unable or unwilling to do so.:

1) When the team member was absent, I had to _____.

2) She always ____ when her coworkers slack off.

3) The manager asked me to ____ and finish the project.

hazard a guess

to make a guess or an estimate, often with some risk of being wrong:

1) I’ll ____ that he’s about 40 years old.

2) Without the full data, we can only ____ about the outcome.

3) Can I ____ that the meeting will be postponed?

muscle in on

to intrude into or take over a situation or activity, often without invitation:

1) Meghan tried to ____ their conversation.

2) The new company is ____ the market.

3) She didn’t want anyone to ____ her territory.

deride

to mock or ridicule someone or something:

1)The critics ____ the new movie as predictable.

2) He was ____ for his unconventional ideas.

3) The other students ____ him for his clothes.

off-the-cuff

spontaneous or unplanned, said or done without preparation:

1) Her speech was ____ but very impressive.

2) He made an ____ remark that caused a lot of laughter.

3) The comedian’s jokes are often ____.

blather

to talk foolishly or at length about trivial matters:

1) He was _____ on about his weekend plans.

2) I wish he’d stop _____ and get to the point.

3) She tends to _____ when she’s nervous