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Unit 10 The End of the Civil War
ailing
: (1) ill and not
likely to get better
?
Catherine
had
no
idea
why
her
father
should
be
crosser
and
less
patient
in
his
ailing condition than he was in his
prime.
(2) an ailing
company, organization, or economy is having a lot
of problems and is
not successful
?
the ailing car
industry
attire
: (formal) n. the
clothes that someone is wearing
?
formal/casual
attire
v. [often passive, old-
fashioned] dress (sb): attired in robes of silk
and fur
attired adj.
cake:
be caked with/in sth
to be covered with a layer of something
soft or wet that becomes thick and hard when
it dries
?
Our boots were caked with mud.
Phrases about cake:
?
I've heard some
pretty dumb ideas, but that takes the cake/
biscuit!
?
Getting rid of him will be a piece of
cake.
?
Books on
the Royal Family are selling like hot cakes.
?
What he wants is a switch to a market
economy in a way which does not reduce
people's standard of living. To many
this sounds like wanting to have his cake and
eat it.
confer
(1)
vi.. to discuss something with other
people in order to reach a decision:
?
He asked for
some time to confer with his lawyers.
(2)
vt. to
officially give someone a title etc, especially as
a reward for something they
have
achieved
confer a title/degree/honor
etc on/upon
?
An honorary degree was conferred on him
by the University.
confront
?
We try to help
people confront their problems.
?
The problems
confronting the new government were enormous.
?
She
was confronted with the biggest crisis of her
political life.
defy
(1)
to refuse to
obey or show respect for sb in authority, a law, a
rule, etc
?
The
commander defied a direct order to surrender.
(2)
~ belief,
explanation, description, etc.: to
be
impossible or almost
impossible to
believe, explain, describe, etc
?
The beauty of
the scene defies description.
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(3)
I
defy sb to do sth
(spoken)
used
when
you
ask
someone
to
do
something
that
you
think
is
impossible
?
I defy you to do that.
?
I defy you to
prove the contrary.
dishonor
v. to do something
that makes people lose respect for you or the
group that you belong
to
?
He dishonored
the uniform and did not deserve to be a marine.
n.
loss
of
respect
from
other
people,
because
you
have
behaved
in
a
morally
unacceptable way
bring dishonor on/upon
?
What she had
done had brought dishonor on the whole family.
engulf
?
Several workers
died in the landslide that engulfed the old
factory.
?
A wave of grief engulfed them.
exile
?
Several of the
leaders were arrested and exiled to France.
?
She
was
exiled
from
her
country
because
of
her
part
in
the
plot
against
the
government.
?
The country's
former leader has been living in exile for two
years.
?
After
a
decade
of
civil
war,
the
losers
are
being
forced
into
exile.
(force/drive/send)
forge
?
swords forged from steel
?
In 1776 the
United States forged an alliance with France.
?
Someone stole
my credit card and forged my signature.
?
A boat sailing
against the current must forge ahead or it will be
driven back.
hind
adj. relating to the
back part of an animal with four legs
?
hind
legs/feet/quarters/limbs
hindsight: the
ability to understand a situation only after it
has happened
?
We
failed, and with (the benefit of) hindsight I now
see where we went wrong.
?
It's easy to
criticize with the benefit of hindsight.
insubordinate
: adj. not
obeying or not showing respect to someone who has
authority
over you
insubordination n.
?
Howell was
fired for gross insubordination.
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