English Collocations in Use (Advanced) by Felicity O'Dell & Michael McCarthy | Quizlet

face (up to) the facts

accept reality

You're never going to run in the Olympics. It's time you ...

shoulder the blame

take responsibility for something bad

Although others were also responsible for the problem, Sue decided to ...

foot the bill

pay

Choose what you like from the menu - the company is ...

head a team

lead a project group

Jo ... working on crime prevention

keep sb on their toes

make sb stay active and concentrated

Having three sons under the age of five keeps Jana on her toes.

have an eye for

Gina has an eye for detail, so ask her to check the report

go hand in hand with

happen at the same time or as a result of

Unemployment goes hand in hand with social unrest.

heavy responsibility

a heavy/great burden

Caring for elderly relatives can be a heavy burden.

a heavy book

one that weighs a lot or one with difficult content

weighty tome

/toʊm/ usually humorous

a large, heavy book:

She's written several weighty tomes on the subject.

weighty matters

A weighty subject, book, or piece of work is important or serious:

weighty matters/issues

light reading

entertaining and easily understood, but not serious and not intended to make you think:

I want some light reading for the summer holidays - a romance or something.

A lively argument between the two main speakers provided some light relief (= something enjoyable or amusing) in an otherwise dull conference.

a light heart

literary someone who has a light heart feels happy and not worried

I set off for work with a light heart.

→ light-hearted

fat chance

informal

used to say that something is very unlikely to happen

fat chance of

'You can go to bed now and sleep easy.' 'Fat chance of that!'

a small/slight/slim chance

He only has a very small chance of being elected.

There's a slight chance of some sunshine in the west.

run into difficulties

James did a lot of partying in his final year and ...

hopping mad

informal

very angry SYN furious

His father was ... when he got charged with his wife's murder.

walk straight into a job

get a job very easily

When he left university he walked straight into a job in an excellent company.

jump to conclusions

to form an opinion about something before you have all the facts

There may be a simple explanation. Let's not jump to conclusions.

But they warned against jumping to conclusions until more is known.

hit the rocks

end (metaphor based on a boat being destroyed on rocks)

His mother worried that if their relationship hit the rocks, he would run into trouble at work too.

spotlessly clean

He really enjoys doing housework. You should see her flat - it's always spotlessly clean.

downright rude

used to emphasize that something is completely bad or untrue

Jed's downright lazy.

It's downright disgusting!

It was .. of Antonio to tell Paula that she looked older than her own mother.

thoroughly ashamed

completely

She sat feeling thoroughly miserable.

thoroughly cooked meat

blatantly obvious

something bad that is blatant is very clear and easy to see, but the person responsible for it does not seem embarrassed or ashamed

It's ... that Olga is only interested in Richard because he's stinking rich

be stinking rich

to be extremely rich

wildly exaggerated

I wonder what she'll do when she finds out he's .. how rich he really is.

dead easy

I don't know what I was worrying about! the exam turned out to be ...

wildly inaccurate

this celebrity website is good fun but most of the information is ...

slightly different

The spokesperson said the new insurance scheme was only ... from the old one.

mildly surprised

mildly amusing/ed

mildly irritating/ed

mildly offensive

The chief executive said he was .. by the public interest in the firm's plans.

loosely based on

loosely centered

loosely structured

loosely related

loosely connected

Alfredo Scaluzzi's new film is loosely base on a nineteenth century novel

faintly ridiculous

faintly amused

faintly surprised

faintly patronizing

faintly absurd

Ms Giroa said she regraded report that she was about to seek a divorce as faintly ridiculous.

highly unlikely

highly educated

highly recommended

Strongly influence

greatly appreciate

greatly influence

utterly absurd

utterly ridiculous

completely/totally/entirely different

completely/totally/entirely dependent

completely/totally/entirely separate

thoroughly enjoy

Absolutely only collocates with adjectives which have strong meanings, e.g. absolutely delighted but very happy.

make some suggestions

I would like to ..

make a contribution

I think that I could make a contribution to the project.

make an apology

I expect you to make a formal apology.

improvements to make

There is still some way to and lots of improvements to make.

make some arrangements

Thank you very much for making these arrangements.

have a party

We're going to have a party on Saturday.

do research

Lana did research into her family roots.

make a habit of

It is a good idea to make a habit of switching off the lights when you leave a room.

make an enemy

If you always say exactly what you think, you'll make a lot of enemies.

make an attempts

The team made several attempts to climb the mountain before they finally succeeded.

make a success of

I hope that they'll make a success of their new restaurant business.

make an escape

I have to go to a party for a colleague after work but I will try and make an early escape.

make a discovery

Our research team has made an important discovery about how whales communicate.

make calculations

When doing your accounts, try to ensure you make all the calculations correctly

make room for sth

If we move the sofa closer to the window, it'll make room for the piano.

make sb's acquaintance

[formal]

get to know sb

I first made his acquaintance when he moved in next door.

make an offer

The house we looked at is just what we want and we've decided to make an offer on it.

make a proposal

make a formal suggestion

As no one else has any ideas, I'd like to make a proposal

make a stand against

protest about

We must make a stand against the casino they propose to build here

create a good/bad impression

Wear your grey suit to the interview if you want to ...

crate a (+adj.) atmosphere

The lanterns in the garden create a romantic atmosphere.

stage a protest

make a formal protest

The students staged a protest against rising tuition fees.

lodge a complaint

make a formal complaint

Several people have lodged a complaint about the bank manager's rudeness.

rustle up a meal

[informal] make a meal very quickly

It took Sam ten minutes to rustle up a meal

run up curtains

make quickly using a sewing machine

This weekend I'm going to run up some curtains for my new room

turn in a profit

make a profit

This month our company should .. for the first time.

con a phrase

invent/ make up a new phrase

I wonder who coined the term 'blogging'.

I wouldn't say no (to something)

used to say that you would like something

I wouldn't say no to a coffee.

needles to say

used when you are telling someone something that they probably know or expect

Needless to say, any contributions of money will be gratefully received.

didn't say a word

Hana didn't say a word when I told her I was leaving.

strictly speaking

used to say that something is true if you are going to be very exact and correct about it

Strictly speaking, spiders are not insects.

Strictly speaking, a tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable because it contains seeds.

generally speaking

used to introduce a statement that is true in most cases but not always

Generally speaking, the more expensive the stereo, the better it is.

speak well/highly of somebody

(=say good things about them)

He always spoke very highly of Marge.

speak ill of somebody

(=say bad things about them)

She never speaks ill of him.

speak properly

generally used by parents or teachers to children, not between adults

charlie, stop mumbling and speak properly. I can't understand a word you're saying

talk business, politics, etc.

C1 to discuss a particular subject:

Whenever they're together, they talk politics.

talk nonsense

ALSO talk rubbish

to say things that are not reasonable or have no meaning:

Is it just me or was she talking nonsense in the meeting?

talk sense

to speak in a reasonable way:

It's good to hear someone finally talking sense on this issue.

Talk sense! There's no way we can afford a new car!

tell a secret

I'll tell you a secret but please don't tell anyone else.

tell sb's fortunes

predict sb's future life

The old woman looked at Glen's palm and began to tell his fortune.

give sb a reason

i asked why she didn't trust him but she wouldn't give me a reason.

state your aim

state your purpose /goal [formal]

The charity states its aim as being to help underprivileged children

state your business

[formal]

say what their intentions are

The staff on reception required each visitor to state their business before issuing them with an entry permit.

give an account of sth

used about both speech and writing

In her lecture Lucia gave an account of her trip to the Andes.

get a message

[informal]

convey an idea

The speech got the message about the policy changes across

declare the winner of

formal

statement made at the time of the win

I declare Hiroshi Yamamoto the winner of the gold medal.

pronounce dead

formal

used when making an official statement of death

He was pronounced dead at 1:10

impart sb's knowledge

/ɪmˈpɑːt $ -ɑːrt/

formal

transfer knowledge

The old man tried to impart his knowledge to his son

She had information that she couldn't wait to impart.

to impart the bad news

I was rather quiet as I didn't feel I had much wisdom to impart on the subject.

divulge sb's sources

/daɪˈvʌldʒ, də-/

formal

make sth secret known

to give someone information that should be secret SYN reveal

divulge information/secrets/details etc (to somebody)

It is not company policy to divulge personal details of employees.

divulge that

Clare divulged that she was recovering from a nervous breakdown.

divulge what/where etc

The Pentagon refused to divulge what type of plane it was.

disseminating information

/dɪˈseməneɪt/

formal

to spread information or ideas to as many people as possible

Her findings have been widely disseminated.

notify the police

to formally or officially tell someone about something SYN inform

notify somebody of something

You will be notified of any changes in the system.

notify somebody that

In August we were notified that our article had been rejected.

protest his innocence

formal

insist he was not guilty

Although found guilty, Robson continued to pretest his innocence.

profess ignorance

formal

claim perhaps insincerely that he did not know

He professed ignorance of the dent to the car but I think he was lying

break the news

to tell someone about something bad that has just happened and may have an effect on them:

I was devastated when the doctor broke the news to me.

I remember where I was when the news of Kennedy's assassination broke (= became known).

abide by something phrasal verb

to accept and obey a decision, rule, agreement etc, even though you may not agree with it

You have to abide by the referee's decision.

act on a tip-off

informal a secret warning or piece of information, especially one given to the police about illegal activities

The arrests came after a tip-off from a member of the public.

Acting on a tip-off, they searched the car and its occupants.

file for divorce

make an official request for a divorce

take something up

to start a new job or have a new responsibility

Peter will take up the management of the finance department.

take up a post/a position/duties etc

The headteacher takes up her duties in August.

come up with something phrasal verb

1 to think of an idea, answer etc

Is that the best excuse you can come up with?

We've been asked to come up with some new ideas.

The Education commission has been asked by the government to com e up with an alternative to the present schools examination system.

come down heavily on ab

punish sb very strongly

The police intend to ... anyone causing trouble at tomorrow's football final.

soak up the atmosphere

to enjoy a place by watching it or becoming involved in it

Go to a sidewalk café, order coffee, and soak up the atmosphere.

also free something ↔ up

MAKE AVAILABLE

to make something available so that it can be used

I need to free up some of the disk space on my computer.

This should free some money for investment.

keep up with my Spanish

to find time to practice French

I have taken on a lot of classes so I do not seem to to keep up with my Turkish lessons.