Vocabulary and grammar list

NO

LANGUAGE UNITS

NOTES

Charles, you have finally lost your senses.

your/her etc senses someone's ability to think clearly and behave sensibly - used in some expressions when you think that someone has lost this ability: One day he'll come to his senses and see what a fool he's been (=to start to think clearly and behave sensibly again). Are you completely out of your senses?

The venture is impossible.

a new business activity that involves taking risks

a joint venture

Imagine trading posts in Bangkok, Jakarta…

a general store established by a trader in an unsettled or thinly populated region

Do you think I’ve gone round the bend?

be/go round the bend British English spoken to be or become crazy: I sometimes feel I'm going round the bend looking after young children all day.

You’re mad, bonkers, off your head.

slightly crazy

What if it was agreed that “proper” was wearing a codfish on your head?

a large sea fish that lives in the North Atlantic

My condolences.

sympathy for someone who has had something bad happen to them, especially when someone has died:

a letter of condolence

He was truly a man of vision.

the knowledge and imagination that are needed in planning for the future with a clear purpose:

We need a leader with vision and strong principles.

I hope you don’t think I’ve taken advantage of your misfortunes.

to use a particular situation to do or get what you want:

I took advantage of the good weather to paint the shed.

You'll want to take full advantage of the beachfront clubs.

Meet me under the gazebo in precisely 10 minutes. [gq'zi:bq4]

a small building with open sides in a garden, where you can sit and look at the view

I could strangle them!

to kill someone by pressing their throat with your hands, a rope etc The victim had been strangled with a belt.

You don’t want to end up like Aunt Imogene, do you?

to be in a particular situation, state, or place after a series of events, especially when you did not plan it:

Most slimmers end up putting weight back on.

Anyone who swims in the river could end up with a nasty stomach upset.

He could end up as President.

I don't want to end up like my parents.

You know what I’ve always dreaded?

to feel anxious or worried about something that is going to happen or may happen:

I've got an interview tomorrow and I'm dreading it.

He dreaded the prospect of being all alone in that house.

You’re bound to produce little…

be bound to to be very likely to do or feel a particular thing: Don't lie to her. She's bound to find out. When you are dealing with so many patients, mistakes are bound to happen.

Imbeciles!

someone who is very stupid or behaves very stupidly [= idiot]:

He looked at me as if I was a total imbecile.

You should know that my son has extremely delicate digestion.

TO DIGEST to change food that you have just eaten into substances that your body can use:

Most babies can digest a wide range of food easily.

DIGESTION your ability to digest food easily:

Too much tea is bad for your digestion.

If you serve him wrong foods, he could get a blockage.

something that is stopping movement in a narrow place:

a blockage in the pipe

Alas, the prince cannot marry me unless he renounces his throne.

Guess!

I’m not the one who’s sneaking around behind her back.

to cheat in a romantic relationship, to have an affair: My friends saw you sneaking around with her behind my back, don’t lie to me.

How’s that for gratitude!

Guess!

I’ve been trailing one Alice after another…

to follow someone by looking for signs that they have gone in a particular direction:

Police trailed the gang for several days.

I had to avert my eyes!

avert your eyes/gaze etc to look away from something so that you do not see it: Henry averted his eyes as she undressed.

a dragonfly

Perhaps you know?

a horsefly

a large fly that bites horses and cattle

Are they always this way? – Family trait.

FML a distinguishing feature of your personal nature

The O΄raculum, being a calendrical compendium of Underland.

formal a book that contains a complete collection of facts, drawings etc on a particular subject:

a cricketing compendium

Slay a Jabberwocky. (slew; slain)

to kill someone - used especially in newspapers

Little imposter! You should be ashamed of yourself!

impostor also imposter American English

someone who pretends to be someone else in order to trick people:

The nurse was soon discovered to be an impostor.

Run, you great lug!

American English a rough, stupid, or awkward person:

You big lug!

Someone has stolen three of my tarts.

a pie without a top on it, containing something sweet

apple/treacle/jam etc tart

I was so hungry! I didn’t mean to steal them!

Remember?

I love tadpoles on toast almost as much as I love caviar.

a small creature that has a long tail, lives in water, and grows into a frog or toad

You knave, where have you been lurking?

KNAVE old-fashioned a dishonest boy or man

LURK to wait somewhere quietly and secretly, usually because you are going to do something wrong: She didn't see the figure lurking behind the bushes.

I’d know that tangled mess of hair anywhere.

twisted together in an untidy mass:

Your bedclothes are all tangled up.

He had hair like tangled string.

It looks like you ran afoul of something with wicked claws.

[q'fa4l]

run afoul of somebody/something formal to do something that is not allowed or legal, or that is against people's beliefs

It needs to be purified by someone with evaporating skills.

if a liquid evaporates, or if heat evaporates it, it changes into a gas:

Most of the water had evaporated.

The sun evaporates moisture on the leaves.

Or it will fester and putrefy.

FESTER if a wound festers, it becomes infected:

festering sores

PUTREFY formalHB if a dead animal or plant putrefies, it decays and smells very bad

Well, if it’s not my favourite trio of ΄lunatics!

1 someone who behaves in a crazy or very stupid way - often used humorously: This hotel is run by a lunatic!

2 old-fashioned a very offensive word for someone who is mentally ill: a dangerous lunatic

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

a large shiny black bird

Follow the bloodhound.

a large dog with a very good sense of smell, often used for hunting

Pass the scones, please.

a small round cake, sometimes containing dried fruit, which is usually eaten with butter:

tea and scones

We’re going to rescue him. – Yes, but this is not forecast.

to make a statement saying what is likely to happen in the future, based on the information that you have now [= predict]:

Rain was forecast for the weekend.

The Federal Reserve Bank forecasts that the economy will grow by 2% this year.

If you diverge from the path..,

if two lines or paths diverge, they separate and go in different directions

You’re not rescuing anyone being the size of a gerbil.

a small animal with fur, a tail, and long back legs, that is often kept as a pet

Upelkuchen

a cake that makes one grow

He did pinch me!

to press a part of someone's skin very tightly between your finger and thumb, especially so that it hurts:

We have to stop her pinching her baby brother.

He pinched her cheek.

Moron, mutiny, murder, malice.

MORON informal not polite a very offensive word for someone who you think is very stupid [= idiot]: Don't leave it there, you moron!

MUTINY when soldiers, sailors, etc refuse to obey the person who is in charge of them, and try to take control for themselves: He led a mutiny against the captain.

MALICE the desire to harm someone because you hate them: She did it out of sheer malice. James bore her no malice (=did not feel any malice towards her).

Her head is tiny, it’s a pimple of a head.

a small raised red spot on your skin, especially on your face:

a pimply eighteen-year-old

Unbind him. How can he work if his hands are bound?

TO BIND to tie someone so that they cannot move or escape: They bound my arms and legs with rope. bound and gagged (=tied up, and with cloth tied around your mouth so you cannot speak)

Shall it be a bonnet or a boater?

a hard straw hat with a flat top

I cannot fathom it.

to understand what something means after thinking about it carefully [= work out]:

I still can't fathom out what she meant.

Let her have the rabble. I don’t need them.

a noisy crowd of people: a rabble of angry youths

She drank the pishsalver to get through the door.

a potion that makes one shrink

I suppose this makes us even now.

be even informal to no longer owe someone something, especially money: If you give me $5, we'll be even.

It has been such a long time and you were such a little tyke then.

1 British English spoken a child who is behaving badly

2 American English informal a small child

Buttered fingers…

COMPARE: “Butterfinger”, a candy bar made by Nestlé. The bar consists of a flaky, orange-colored center—somewhat similar texture to crisp caramel, with a taste similar to peanut butter—that is coated in compound chocolate.

A spoon of wishful thinking…

when you believe that what you want to happen will happen, when in fact it is not possible:

I think she rather likes me. But maybe that's just wishful thinking.

And her head? – Bulbous.

fat, round, and unattractive:

a bulbous nose

Would you consider bequeathing the hat to me?

[bI'kwi:D]

to officially arrange for someone to have something that you own after your death [= leave]:

She bequeathed her collection of paintings to the National Gallery.

His father bequeathed him a fortune.

Madam, you are being heinously bamboozled by these lickspittle toadies you surround yourself with.

HEINOUS formal very shocking and immoral: a heinous crime

BAMBOOZLE informal to deceive, trick, or confuse someone

LICKSPITTLE a flattering or servile person

TOADY informal someone who pretends to like an important person and does things for them, so that that person will help them - used to show disapproval

A counterfeit nose. You should be ashamed!

made to look exactly like something else, in order to deceive people [= fake]:

counterfeit £10 notes

The abused and enslaved in the Red Queen’s court!

to make someone a slave

It is against my vows to harm any living creature.

a serious promise [↪ oath]:

Jim made a vow that he would find his wife's killer.

keep/break a vow (=to do or not do what you promised)

You are a figment of my imagination.

something that you imagine is real, but does not exist

Nothing was ever accomplished with tears.

to succeed in doing something, especially after trying very hard [= achieve]:

We have accomplished all we set out to do.

Mission accomplished (=we have done what we intended to do).

You were just as dim-witted the first time you were here.

dimwit spoken a stupid person

Fairfarren, Alice.

May you travel far under fair skies. (synonymous with English ‘farewell’, presumably)

Who is your champion?

champion of something/somebody someone who publicly fights for and defends an aim or principle, such as the rights of a group of people: a champion of women's rights

The queens shall send champions to do battle on their behalf.

instead of someone, or as their representative:

She asked the doctor to speak to her parents on her behalf.

On behalf of everyone here, may I wish you a very happy retirement.

One, there’s a potion that can make you shrink.

Remember?

My old foe, we meet on the battlefield once again.

literary an enemy:

Britain's friends and foes

Not you, insignificant bearer.

literary to carry someone or something, especially something important:

The wedding guests arrived, bearing gifts.

The US Constitution states that the people have a right to bear arms.

You are banished to the Outlands.

to send someone away permanently from their country or the area where they live, especially as an official punishment [= exile]:

Thousands were banished to Siberia.

I don’t owe you a kindness.

to feel that you should do something for someone or give someone something, because they have done something for you or given something to you: He asked for help from a colleague who owed him a favour. Thanks a lot for being so understanding about all this - I owe you one (=used to thank someone who has helped you, and to say that you are willing to help them in the future)!

We have a foothold in Hong Kong.

a position from which you can start to make progress and achieve your aims:

Extreme right-wing parties gained a foothold in the latest European elections.

Perhaps you’d consider becoming an apprentice with the company.

someone who works for an employer for a fixed period of time in order to learn a particular skill or job:

She works in the hairdresser's as an apprentice.