ferment
(CONFUSION)
/"f3:.ment/
US
/"f3`:-/
noun
LITERARY
a state
of confusion, change, and lack of order or fighting:
The resignation of the president has left the country in
ferment.
galvanize
, UK USUALLYgalvanise/"g{l.v@.naIz/verb
to cause someone to
suddenly take action, especially by shocking or exciting them in some
way:
Western charities were galvanized by TV
pictures of starving people.
The prospect of
his mother coming to stay galvanized him into action and he immediately
set about cleaning the house.
'skin %flick
noun
US SLANG
a
film that shows sexual acts in a way that is intended to cause sexual excitement
but that would be considered unpleasant and offensive by many people:
It's a cheap movie house that only shows skin
flicks.
atavistic
(of behaviour)
happening because of a very old natural and basic habit from the distant past,
not because of a conscious decision or present need or usefulness:
an atavistic fear of the dark
atavism
brinkmanship
/"brINk.m@n.SIp/
noun
the activity, especially in politics, of trying to get what
you want by saying that if you do not get it, you will do something
dangerous:
The talks have collapsed and both
sides have resorted to brinkmanship.
gambit
(CLEVER ACTION)
/"g{m.bIt/
noun
1
a clever action in a game or other
situation which is intended to achieve an advantage and usually involves taking
a risk:
Her clever opening gambit gave her
an early advantage.
Their promise to lower
taxes is clearly an election-year gambit.
2
SPECIALIZED
a way of beginning a
game of chess, in which you intentionally lose a pawn (= game
piece) in order to gain some other form of
advantage later
chafe
(BE
ANNOYED)
/tSeIf/
verb
to be or become annoyed or lose patience because of rules or
limits:
We have been chafing under petty
regulations for too long.
petulant
DISAPPROVING
easily annoyed
and complaining in a childish and rude way
"Well, he didn't invite
me to his party so I'm certainly not inviting him to mine!" she said
petulantly.
hit a snag
to experience a difficulty. Our plans for Patty's surprise party hit a snag when we discovered she would be away that weekend.