Close-up p 164. Listening. Vocabulary

Vocabulary

 supersede: /ˌsuːpəˈsiːd/ to take the place of something/somebody that is considered to be old-fashioned or no longer the best available

• be superseded (by something) The theory has been superseded by more recent research.

Sp. reemplazar, substituir.

​thorny: [usually before noun] causing difficulty or disagreement. Synonym: knotty. Sp. controvertido

• There are still some thorny questions to be answered.
• They must tackle the thorny issue of refugees to negotiate a final settlement.
• It's an elegant solution to a thorny problem.

runner-up: a person or team that finishes second in a race or competition; a person or team that has not finished first but that wins a prize

• Winner: Kay Hall. Runner-up: Chris Platts.
• They finished runners-up behind Sweden.
• The runners-up will all receive a £50 prize.

Sp. segundo, finalista. 

drop something to stop doing or discussing something; to not continue with something

• I dropped German (= stopped studying it) when I was 14.
• Drop everything and come at once!
• Look, can we just drop it (= stop talking about it)?
• I think we'd better drop the subject.
• The police decided to drop the charges against her.
• Let's drop the formalities—please call me Mike.

 

kick off (with something)

1. ​(informal) to start
   • What time shall we kick off?
   • And then it all kicked off.
   • Tom will kick off with a few comments.

 

get your head round something

​(British English, informal) to be able to understand or accept something

• She's dead. I can't get my head round it yet

 

 

 

 

dumb down:

dumb down | dumb something down

1. ​(disapproving) to make something less accurate or educational, and of worse quality, by trying to make it easier for people to understand
   • The BBC denies that its broadcasting has been dumbed down.

Sp. bajar el nivel 

bent on (doing) something: 

1. ​determined to do something (usually something bad)
   • She seems bent on making life difficult for me.
   • to be bent on destruction/revenge
   • He's your typical supervillain, bent on world domination.

Sp. decidido, empeñado.

hell-bent on something/on doing something determined to do something even though the results may be bad

• He seems hell-bent on drinking himself to death.

outdo somebody/something: to do more or better than somebody else. Synonym beat

• Sometimes small firms can outdo big business when it comes to customer care.
• Not to be outdone (= not wanting to let somebody else do better), she tried again.
• The brothers tried to outdo each other in everything.

Sp. superar. 

the lowest common denominator: something that is simple enough to seem interesting to, or to be understood by, the highest number of people in a particular group; the sort of people who are least intelligent or accept something that is of low quality. 

The biggest possible number of people, including people who are very easily influenced or are willing to accept low standards  E.g. Television quiz shows often seem to target the lowest common denominator. 

Used to refer in a disapproving way to the sort of people in society who are least intelligent and who will accept low-quality products and entertainment: E.g. The problem with so much television is that it is aimed at the lowest common denominator

Sp. mínimo común denominador.

• The school syllabus seems aimed at the lowest common denominator.

misnomer: a name or a word that is not appropriate or accurate

• ‘Villa’ was something of a misnomer—the place was no more than an old farmhouse.

Sp. nombre equivocado 

compelling: that makes you pay attention to it because it is so interesting and exciting

• Her latest book makes compelling reading.
• His eyes were strangely compelling.

Sp. emocionante, absorbente, cautivador

shrewd:clever at understanding and making judgements about a situation. Sp. listo, astuto, inteligente.

warts and all
​(informal) including all the bad or unpleasant features of somebody/something. Sp. con todos sus defectos. E.g. The documentary shows the life of a fashion model, warts and all.
She still loves him, warts and all.

 

you name it (they’ve got it)!  used after a list of things to mean that there are many more you could mention. E.g. Clothes, books – you name it, they've got it! 

out of favour: Having lost approval.  E.g.    ‘proper dancing has gone out of favour’

wear off:
to gradually disappear or stop

• The effects of the drug will soon wear off.
• The novelty of married life was beginning to wear off

 

crave:  to have a very strong desire for something. Synonym: long for

• crave (for) something She has always craved excitement.
• to crave alcohol/drugs/sweet food/carbohydrates/cigarettes/coffee
• crave to do something They craved to return to their homeland.

 

pave the way (for somebody/something)

1. ​to create a situation in which somebody will be able to do something or something can happen
   • This decision paved the way for changes in employment rights for women.

 

 

stream something (computing) to play video or sound on a computer by receiving it as a continuous stream, from the internet for example, rather than needing to wait until the whole of the material has been downloaded.

• You can stream the song for a single listen.
• The programme was streamed on the Web 24 hours a day.

the ratings:

[plural] a set of figures that show how many people watch or listen to a particular television or radio programme, used to show how popular a programme is. Sp. índice de audiencia.

• The show has gone up in the ratings.
• The BBC is currently ahead in the ratings war.

franchise:

1. a right to sell a company's products in a particular area using the company's name: E.g. a fast-food franchise a franchise holder.

2. a series of films that have the same or similar titles and are about the same characters: The next instalment in the Star Wars franchise is out soon. the "Spiderman" movie franchise

 

 

pushy: trying hard to get what you want, especially in a way that seems rude

• a pushy salesman
• Her parents were never pushy although they encouraged her acting ambitions from an early age.

 

impression (of somebody) a clever or funny copy of the way a person acts or speaks. Impersonation. Sp. imitación. E.g.

• He did an impression of Tom Hanks.
• She did her Marilyn Monroe impression.

cringeworthy: /ˈkrɪndʒwəːði/ causing feelings of embarrassment or awkwardness. E.g. I'm afraid it sounds pretty cringeworthy to me.

 

hasten: Cause (something, especially something undesirable) to happen sooner than it otherwise would.

‘this tragedy probably hastened his own death from heart disease’

 

demise /dɪˈmaɪz/   the end of something that used to exist. E.g. the imminent demise (=happening soon) of the local newspaper.

on-demand: able to be watched at any time: Most people in this region do not even have television, let alone on-demand movies.  Sp. a la carta.

be on your/its last legs
​to be going to die or stop functioning very soon; to be very weak or in bad condition. E.g. The car’s on its last legs.