Collocations Inglese 2 PDF

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COLLOCATIONS INGLESE 2 ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢ ➢

To cut costs: ridurre i costi To draw a crowd: attrarre una folla di gente Lack of interest: perdita di interesse The general public: il pubblico (generale) To be widely criticized: essere ampiamente criticato To hit a record level: raggiungere un livello record A key factor: fattore chiave To take care To work hard To keep up with: tenersi al passo con qualcosa To stub one’s toe: sbattere un dito To pull a muscle: stirarsi un muscolo To have strong pain: provare un forte dolore To bruise one’s knee: ammaccare, farsi venire un livido To break an arm A sore throat: mal di gola To be wide awake: essere super sveglio A big gulp: large swallow (un gran sorso) For external use: per uso esterno Flu symphtoms The latest in a long series: l’ultimo di una lunga serie Natural disasters To judge the full size of something: giudicare la piena grandezza Immediate response: risposta immediata Climate change To meet the targets: raggiungere un obiettivo Disastrous consequences: conseguenze disastrose To take action: intraprendere un’azione Natural resources: risorse naturali Hard evidence: prove concrete, schiaccianti To be taken for something else: essere confuso con qualcos’altro (anche i italiano: essere preso per) Reason of embarassment To do one’s homework To make one’s bed To bake a cake To take a break To set-lay the table To be fully awake To act in the best interests of others To burst into tears To make effort Excruciating pain Regular smoker Out of breath: senza fiato To be deeply grateful A square meal: pasto completo

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Reasonably priced A set menu: menu fisso Regional dishes Ready-made meals: pasti preconfezionati Food additives: additivi Unwanted problems: problemi indesiderati Fresh produce: prodotti freschi To enter a competition The stage of a competition: fase della competizione To break a record: infrangere un record Fierce competition: forte concorrenza To achieve a personal best On the music scene To make a big impact Background music: musica di sottofondo Debut album Live performance To waste-spend time Full-time job To take time (take your time) To organize one’s time To make changes Until the last minute Named brands: di marca Luxury brands: marche di lusso To spend a fortune Generic brand: marca generica To invest money To tell a lie To cause pain The truth always comes out in the end Demand tougher action Plan of action: piano d’azione To be held responsible: essere ritenuto responsabile To make an agreement: fare un accordo Written agreement To sign a contract To break an agreement To be in agreement To come to an agreement Leisure hobby To do a pose: fare una posa To do exercise To make a donation Organic food To grow vegetables To breed livestock: allevare farm animals To run out of To raise doubts: suscitare dubbi

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To give an answer To move forward: procedere, andare avanti Error message To get a message across: far arrivare un messaggio To have second thoughts: avere ripensamenti To make up one’s mind Tough decision: decisione dura To do the right thing A piece of advice To give a speech: tenere un discorso To tell a story- a joke To give someone one’s word To wish sb luck To train hard To save for the future

LIFE CHAPTER 1 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

First and foremost: the most important As and when: come e quando Bits and pieces: small parts at a time Odds and ends: small things By and large: in general Law and order: of the public order Peace and quiet: pace e tranquillità Not ifs and buts: senza se e senza ma In this day and age: nowadays Heart and soul: all one’s efforts Story of my life: sempre a me! Larger than life: big personality A fact of life: something we must accept All walks of life: every kind of social background Having the time of one’s life Life-saver: something essential

LIFE CHAPTER 2 • • • • • • • • • • • •

Second nature: acquired behaviour or trait that is so long practised as to seem innate To be on the safe side: to be cautious To be fraught with danger: full of danger Safety net: a system that helps you if you have problems To take precautions To be done by the book: to do something exactly as the rules tells you Cut corners: to do something in the easiest, cheapest way possible Get your foot in the door: get a first job Foot the bill: to pay Shoot oneself in the foot: damage one’s own interests Put your foot in it: to say the wrong thing Followed in someone’s footsteps: to do similar things

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Put the foot down: be firm, tell someone to do something in a strong way Blow someone’s mind: to amaze, astonish

LIFE CHAPTER 3 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Deadly serious Desperately unlucky Hopelessly wrong Mildly amused Painfully slow Patently obvious Perfectly reasonable Simply unacceptable Vaguely familiar Wildly optimistic To bang one’s head against a brick wall: to try to do something impossible Off the wall: crazy Drive me up to the wall: make me mad The hole in the wall: ATM or cash point To go to the wall: go bankrupt The writing is one the wall: there are clear signs that the end is near A fly on the wall: watching without anyone noticing Having hit a wall: essere ad un punto morto

LIFE CHAPTER 4 • • • • • • • • • • • •

Un goccio d’acqua: a drop of water Un colpo di fortuna: a stroke of luck Uno straccio di prova: a shred of evidence Un barlume di speranza: a glimmer of hope Un lampo di genio: a flash of inspiration Un pizzico di delusione: a hint of disappointment Give some thought: farci un pensiero To give one’s best To give the go ahead: to give the green light (dare il via libera) Give a break: to stop criticizing something To give time: essere pazienti To give a go: to try to do something

LIFE CHAPTER 5 • • • • • • • • •

Fair share: quota equa Fine line: linea sottile Ill will: cattiva volontà Nitty-gritty: the heart of the matter No-go: vietato Real deal: vero affare Tell-tale: che rivela qualcosa Wishy-washy: annacquato Snail mail: letter sent by post

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Cast one’s mind back: to think back Cast the net wide: to amplify, to consider a large number Cast your eye over: to have a look, examine Cast doubt on: gettare dubbio Cast your vote: vote Cast a shadow: gettare un’ombra Cast a spell: gettare un incantesimo

LIFE CHAPTER 6 • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

To be on the mend: to be getting better after an illness or injury To pass out: to black out (svenire) Under the weather: not healthy To be off-colour: not be feeling as well as usual To be run down: to be exhausted To be shaken up: scosso To be cut off: isolato To be in a bad way: to have troubles Lose face: perdere la faccia Put a brave face on somenthing: fare buon viso a cattivo gioco At face value (alla lettera, valore nominale)→ to take at face value (take something as it is) To keep a straight face: rimanere serio To face the music: to face troubles On the face of something: a prima vista

LIFE CHAPTER 7 • • • • • • • • • • •

To miss the boat: perdere il treno (an opportunity) To blow the chance: lose an opportunity To get a break: to receive a fortuitous opportunity Nothing goes my way: niente va nel verso giusto To hit the jackpot: win lots of money To bear in mind To bear fruit: essere produttivi To bear witness: testimoniare To bear a grudge: avercela con qualcuno Bear little resemblance To bear the brunt: subire le conseguenze

LIFE CHAPTER 8 • • • • • • • • •

At the end of the day = alla fin della fiera Ballpark figure = rough estimate Game plan = strategy In the loop = up to date with events It’s not rocket science = simple Be on the same page = understand each other, agree Reality check = to consider the facts Think outside the box = be imaginative Win-win situation = advantageous for both sides

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Break the news = tell someone something important Break the ice = help people relax when they meet for the first time Break the mould = do something differently form the way it was done beforre Break the bank = use up all one’s money Break the back of it = do most of the hard work Break even = make neither a profit or a loss Customer-focused: incentrato sul cliente To buy into: to completely believe in a set of ideas Best practice: commercial or professional procedures that are accepted or prescribed as being correct or most effective

LIFE CHAPTER 9 • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Change your tune = give a contrary opinion Struck a chord with = to cause people to approve of something or agree with it Play it by ear = take things as they come Know the score = know what’s going on Blow my own trumpet = shout about one’s achievements Face the music = accept responsibility for something you’ve done Make a song and dance about it = make a fuss Hit and miss: unreliable Take a hit: to suffer a financial loss A real hit: a big success Hit a nerve: to mention a sensitive point Hit the road: to leave Hit the right note: to be appropriate

LIFE CHAPTER 10 • • • • • • • • • • •

Beave away = work hard Swam around = move in a dramatic or affected manner Wolf down = devour, suck up Duck out of = avoid doing sth Hounded = chased → to hound: chase Parroting = imitate, repeat mechanically Feel free = you don’t need to ask for permission There’s no such a thing as free lunch = you can’t get anything for nothing in change A free-for-all = aperto a tutti Free rain = no constraints Get off scot-free = get away without punishment, farla franca

LIFE CHAPTER 11 • • • • • • •

A bit down = sad All over the place = confused, disorganized Done in = tired On edge = nervous Upbeat: optimistic Hot under the collar = angry Speechless = surprised

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Thrilled to bits = very happy Move to tears = far piangere Move up in the world = prosperare, fare i soldi Don’t move a muscle! = stai fermo! Move the goalposts = cambiare le carte in tavola Move up the gear = cambiare marcia, mettere il turbo

LIFE CHAPTER 12 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Brand new = just produced nuovo di zecca Fast asleep = completely asleep Freezing cold = extremely cold Lightning quick = very fast Pitch black = really dark Worried sick = very worried Scared stiff = rigid, scared Sopping wet = alcohol intoxicated Rock hard = very hard Stone cold: insensible Wide open Give some space = lasciare in pace Watch this space = wait and see how things develop Breathing space = lasciare tempo per fare qc Room for improvement = margine di miglioramento Crystal clear: absolutely clear Bone dry: completely dry...