Unit 22

aggravate

to make a situation or condition worse; pogarszać

blemish

a mark that spoils the appearance of someone or something; skaza

cheapen

to make low in price

detrimental

causing harm or damage; szkodliwy

enhance

to improve something; poprawiać

evaluate

to consider or study something carefully and decide how good or bad it is; oceniać

exacerbate

to make something worse; zaostrzać, pogarszać

exquisite

very beautiful or perfect; przepiękny, wykwintny

first-rate

of the highest quality

flaw

a mistake or bad characteristic that stops someone or something from being perfect; błąd, skaza

redeeming feature

jedyna pozytywna cecha

reinforce

to make an existing opinion or idea stronger; wzmacniać

rusty

covered with rust; zardzewiały

shambles

a state of confusion, bad organization, or untidiness, or something that is in this state

shoddy

very bad quality; byle jaki

sound

good or safe and able to be trusted; solidny, rozsądny

stale

no longer new or fresh, usually as a result of being kept for too long; czerstwy

streamline

to shape something so that it can move as effectively and quickly as possible through a liquid or gas; linia opływowa, nadawać opływowy kształt

wreck

to destroy something completely; zniszczyć

collector's item

an object that is very valuable to a person who collects such objects as a hobby

curator

a person who is in charge of a museum; kurator

fine art

drawings, paintings, and sculptures that are admired for their beauty and have no practical use; sztuki piękne

installation

a form of modern sculpture where the artist uses sound, movement, or space as well as objects in order to make an often temporary work of art; ekspozycja, instalacja

lines

tekst, kwestia

paperback

a book that has a soft paper cover
książka w miękkiej oprawie

retrospective

If a law or decision is retrospective, it affects situations in the past as well as in the future; z mocą wsteczną , działający wstecz

brighten up

start to have more colour or light
give sth more colour or light
start looking or feeling happier
if the weather brighetns, it becomes sunnier

brush up on

practise and improve your skills or knowledge of something

check out

examine sb or sth in order to be certain that everything is correct, true or satisfactory
if information checks out, you feel that it is true after examining it

liven up

make sth more interesting or exciting, or become more interesting or exciting
give sth a more interesting appearance, taste or other quality

make over

change or improve the appearance of someone or something

mess up

make a mistake or do sth badly
make sth dirty or untidy
be the cause of sb's physical, emotional or mental problems

paper over

hide a problem or disagreement rather than finding a satisfactory solution to it

patch up

repair something, often quickly and not very well; become friends with someone again after a disagreement; give basic medical treatment to someone who is injured

pick up

to improve

run down

if an organisation or area is run down, its size, importance and activity is reduced

scrape through

to succeed in something but with a lot of difficulty

smarten up

improve the appearance of sth by cleaning or painting;
make yourself look tidy and clean

stand out

be much more impressive or important than others
be easy to see or notice because of being different

touch up

make a surface look better with small improvements

waste away

gradually become thinner and weaker over a period of time, usually because of an illness

write off

damage a vehicle so badly that it is not worth repairing
decide that sb or sth will not succeed and stop giving them your attention and energy

have/get sth down to a fine art

to be able to do something very well or quickly, often because you have done it so many times; doprowadzać coś do perfekcji, opanować coś do perfekcji

art deco

a style of decoration that was especially popular in the 1930s and uses simple shapes and lines and strong colours

art house

A theater, also known as an independent movie theater, that typically screens independent and foreign-language films.

go from bad to worse

If a situation goes from bad to worse, it was difficult and unpleasant, and is becoming even more so:

(in) bad faith

w złej wierze

bad apple

zakała, czarna owca

bad blood

feelings of hate between people because of arguments in the past; waśń, złe stosunki międzyludzkie, wrogość (w relacji)

the best of both worlds

a situation in which you can enjoy the advantages of two very different things at the same time

better luck next time

said to tell someone that you hope they will succeed when they try again

better off

to have more money than you had in the past or more money than most other people

better yet

jeszcze lepiej, nawet lepiej (przy porównywaniu do rzeczy, o której właśnie wspomnieliśmy)

come bottom

receive the lowest score in an exam, competition

the bottom drops/falls out of

used for saying that something stops being successful or stops making money, often because people stop buying a product

bottom line

the most important fact in a situation
sedno sprawy

give sth a good clean

an occasion when you clean something

make a clean break

a sudden complete end to something such as a relationship or a period of time spent in a place

make a clean breast of

to tell the truth about something

a clean bill of health

a decision by a doctor that someone is healthy

a clean slate/sheet

a state in which you are starting an activity or process again, not considering what has happened in the past at all; czyste konto

clean sweep

a situation in which one player, team, etc. wins everything that is available

(have) a clear conscience

be free of guilt; czyste sumienie

clear as a bell

very easy to hear; donośny jak dzwon

clear as mud

If something is as clear as mud, then it is very confusing and unclear; mętny, niejasny

do the dirty on

to behave unfairly towards someone, usually without their knowledge

do sb's dirty work

do sth difficult or unpleasant for sb who doesn't want to do it

give sb a dirty look

to look at someone in a disapproving way; patrzeć na kogoś z ukosa

cut it fine

to allow very little time for something

with a fine tooth comb

If you go through something with a fine-tooth comb, you examine it in great detail and with great care

fine print

text in a formal agreement that is printed smaller than the rest of the text, sometimes in the hope that it will not be noticed

whole new

zupełnie nowy

old hat

not modern or exciting; niemodny

quality of life

the level of satisfaction and comfort that a person or group enjoys; jakość życia

worse for wear

tired or in poor condition because of a lot of work or use

the worst of all/both worlds

used for saying that a person or situation has all the disadvantages that are possible

a sight for sore eyes

someone or something that you are very pleased to see

Achilles' heel

a weak feature of sb or sth that could cause failure or be attacked

add fuel to the fire

to make a bad situation worse

below/under par

Below the usual or expected standard

clean as a whistle

completely honest or legal; extremely clean

draw the line at

say that you will definitely not allow or accept something

last word in

the newest and best type of sth

out of this world

extremely good or impressive

over the top

more than what is considered normal or suitable

pride of place

in the place that is most central or important

steal the show

receive a lot of attention because you give the best performance in a show or other event

the edge over

an advantage that makes sb or sth more successful than other people or things

(in)adequacy

the fact of (not) being enough or satisfactory for a particular purpose; (nie)odpowiedniość,

artfulness

a clever and skilful way of doing something; pomysłowość

artiste

a skilled performer, especially a dancer, singer, or actor

artistry

great skill in creating or performing something, such as in writing, music, sport, etc; mistrzostwo, sztuka

artlessness

the quality of being simple and not intending to deceive; szczerość, prostoduszność

artifice

(the use of) a clever trick or something intended to deceive; przebiegłość

arty

someone who is arty knows a lot about art, film, theatre etc - often used to show disapproval; pozujący na artystę

artful

clever and skilful, especially in getting what you want; przebiegły, zręczny

artless

simple and not wanting to deceive

awestruck

oniemiały, pod wrażeniem

classlessness

nienależenie do żadnej klasy społecznej

classy

stylish or fashionable; z klasą, szykowny