Collocations, 1

How good is your English? Collocations (1)

1. He spoke in riddles

What he said was not immediately clear He was a very clever wordsmith His vocabulary was impeccable

2. She cooked up a response

She replied with a positive explanation She invented a suitable reply She made her position very clear

3. She nosed into the lead

She got just ahead of the others The heavy lead created a problem She wisely kept her position

4. He grunted his approval

He accepted, although he was pre-occupied He accepted, but behaved very improperly He concurred, but sounded exactly like a pig

5. She was sailing close to the wind

Her motives weren't immediately clear She was edging into unknown territory She was bordering on dishonesty

6. She didn't turn a hair

She kept her cool She dodn't bother about her appearance She remained a tough cookie

7. He fluffed his lines

He bungled the speech He exaggerated whatever he said He made a point of selling expensive fashions

8. She rued the day

She greeted the pleasant morning She had sad memories of that period She seriously regretted that time in her life

9. She turned a cold shoulder

She was rather unresponsive She refused to get involved At first she was unresponsive, but changed her mind

10. He dropped a hint

He decided not to get involved in any way He offered the opportunity to do absolutely nothing He let his stance on the subject become known