NTC''''s Pocket Dictionary of Words and Phrases part 66 pptx

sweet tooth ["swit tuT] n. a liking
for candy, chocolate, or other
sweet foods. (Always singular.)
sweeten ["swit n] tv. to cause
something to become sweet; to
add sugar to something.
sweets n. candy; pieces of some-
thing made with sugar or honey.
(Treated as plural.)
swell ["swEl] 1. iv., irreg. to grow
larger; to grow fuller; to rise or
grow past the regular amount.
(Past tense: swelled; past partici-
ple: swelled or
swollen.) 2. iv.,
irreg. to increase in size, amount,
or intensity.
3. tv., irreg. to cause
someone or something to grow
larger or fuller; to increase some-
thing in size, amount, or intensity.
4. n. the rise and fall of waves.
swell up to enlarge; to inflate; to
bulge out.
swelter ["swEl t#] iv. to suffer in
very hot weather.
swept ["swEpt] past tense and past
participle of
sweep.
swift ["swIft] adj. rapid; quick;
moving or passing fast. (Adv:

swiftly. Comp: swifter; sup:
swiftest.)
swim ["swIm] 1. iv., irreg. [for
someone] to travel through water
by moving arms and legs; [for an
animal] to travel through water by
moving paws, legs, fins, tail, etc.
(Past tense:
swam; past participle:
swum.) 2. iv., irreg. [for some-
thing] to seem to spin or revolve,
owing to one’s illness or the loss of
one’s ability to properly perceive.
3. n. an instance of traveling
through the water by moving one’s
arms and legs.
→
be swimming in
something
→ make
someone’s
head swim
→ sink or swim
→ swimming pool
swim against the current Go to
swim against the tide.
swim against the tide and swim
against the current
to do the
opposite of everyone else; to go

against the trend.
swimming pool ["swIm IN "pUl] n.
a container or tank that holds
water for people to swim or play
in. (Can be shortened to
pool.)
swimsuit ["swIm sut] n. a piece of
clothing worn for sunning or
swimming; the clothing worn by
someone who swims.
swindle ["swIn d@l] 1. tv. to cheat
someone, especially to cheat
someone out of money.
2. n.
cheating; cheating people out of
their money.
swine ["swaIn] 1. n., irreg. a hog or
a pig. (Plural: swine.)
2. n., irreg.
someone who is disgusting,
unpleasant, or contemptible. (Fig-
urative on Q.)
→
cast (
one’s
) pearls before swine
swing ["swIN] 1. tv., irreg. to move
something in a sweeping or curved
pattern. (Past tense and past par-
ticiple:

swung.) 2. tv., irreg. to
move something in a sweeping or
circular movement.
3. iv., irreg. to
move in a sweeping or curved pat-
tern.
4. iv., irreg. to move while
hanging from a fixed point.
5. iv.,
irreg. to turn suddenly or quickly.
6. iv., irreg. to play on I; to move
one’s body through the air on a I.
sweet tooth
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7. n. a change; a variation. 8. n. a
seat that hangs on ropes or chains,
which moves people, usually chil-
dren, back and forth.
→
get into the swing of things
→ in full swing
swish
something
off ((of)
some-
one or something
) to brush some-
thing off someone or something.

switch ["swItS] 1. n. a lever that
turns electricity on and off.
2. n. a
change from one thing to another.
3. n. a thin, flexible stick that is
cut from a tree.
4. tv. to change
something; to swap or exchange
things.
→
asleep at the switch
switch back (to
something
) 1. to
return to using or doing some-
thing.
2. [for a road] to reverse
upon itself.
switch off 1. [for something] to
turn itself off.
2. [for someone] to
stop paying attention. (Figura-
tive.)
switch
someone or something
off
to cause someone or something to
be quiet or stop doing something.
switch
something

back (to
some-
thing
) to return something to the
way it was.
switch
something
on to cause
something electrical to start func-
tioning or operating by using a
switch.
switch
something
on and switch
something
off to close or open an
electric circuit; to turn something
on or off.
switchboard ["swItS bord] n. a
control panel that an operator uses
to connect telephone calls to the
proper person.
swollen ["swol @n] 1. Past partici-
ple of
swell. 2. adj. puffed up;
having gotten bigger; growing in
size. (Adv: swollenly.)
swoop ["swup] n. a dive through
the air.
→

at one fell swoop
→ in one fell swoop
swoop down (up)on
someone or
something
to dive or plunge down-
ward on someone or something.
(Both literal and figurative uses.)
sword ["sord] n. a heavy metal
weapon with a long, usually sharp
blade attached to a handle.
→
cross swords (with
someone
)
swore ["swor] past tense of swear.
sworn ["sworn] Past participle of
swear.
swum ["sw^m] past participle of
swim.
swung ["sw^N] past tense and past
participle of
swing.
syllable ["sIl @ b@l] n. an uninter-
rupted segment of speech consist-
ing of a vowel possibly with
consonants on one or both sides.
symbol ["sIm b@l] 1. n. something
that represents something else;
something that stands for some-

thing else.
2. n. a letter, number,
or shape that represents a quan-
tity, chemical element, mathemat-
ical operation, or other function.
symmetry ["sIm @ tri] n. the
arrangement of the opposite sides
of something so that they look
exactly alike. (No plural.)
symmetry
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sympathy ["sIm p@ Ti] n. kind feel-
ings for someone having problems
and sorrows.
→
one’s
deepest sympathy
symphony ["sIm f@ ni] n. a long
piece of music written for an
orchestra.
symptom ["sImp t@m] n. a sign,
feeling, or problem that is evi-
dence of the existence of some-
thing, especially of an illness.
synagogue and synagog ["sIn @
gag
] n. a building for worship in
the Jewish religion.

synonym ["sI n@ nIm] n. a word
that has the same or almost the
same meaning as another word.
syphon ["saI f@n] Go to siphon.
syringe [s@ "rIndZ] n. a device from
which liquids are pushed out or
into which liquids are pulled, usu-
ally through a long, thin needle.
syrup ["sIr @p] n. a thick, sweet liq-
uid eaten as food or used to deliver
medication. (Plural only for types
and instances.)
system ["sIs t@m] 1. n. a group of
things that work together to form
a network; a group of things
arranged in a particular way that
function as one thing.
2. n. a
method of arrangement; a plan.
systematic [sIs t@ "mAt Ik] adj.
organized and structured; based
on a system or plan. (Adv: system-
atically [
Ik li].)
sympathy
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tab ["tAb] 1. n. a small flap that
sticks out from the edge of a sheet

of paper, cardboard, or something
similar.
2. n. a bill that is pre-
sented to a customer for payment.
→
pick up the tab
table ["teb @l] 1. n. an item of fur-
niture whose top is a raised, flat
surface supported by legs.
2. n. a
chart of numbers, facts, or data
presented in columns or rows.
→
clear the table
→ lay
one’s
cards on the table
→ put
one’s
cards on the table
→ set the table
→ under the table
table a motion to postpone the
discussion of something during a
meeting.
table of contents ["teb @l @v "kan
tEnts
] n. a list at the beginning of
a book, showing what is in the
book and the page number of each

part.
tablecloth ["teb @l klOT] n. a piece
of fabric that covers the top of a
table and hangs over the sides, for
decoration or protection of the
table’s surface.
tablet ["tAb l@t] 1. n. a pad of
paper; blank sheets of paper that
are bound together along the top
or side.
2. n. a pill; a small, hard
piece of medicine, drugs, or vita-
mins that a person swallows.
tack ["tAk] 1. n. a small, thin nail
with a large head. (See also
thumb-
tack
.) 2. n. a course of action that
is different from an earlier one; an
attempt to do something after ear-
lier attempts have not worked.
3. n. the direction that a ship trav-
els as the result of the wind and
the way that its sails are arranged.
→
get down to brass tacks
tackle ["tAk @l] 1. tv. to run after,
dive onto, and throw a person to
the ground, especially in the game
of football.

2. tv. to undertake a
duty or a problem; to start work-
ing on something difficult. (Figu-
rative on Q.)
3. n. equipment
used for fishing. (No plural.)
tact ["tAkt] n. the ability to deal
with people without offending
them. (No plural.)
tactful ["tAkt fUl] adj. showing or
having tact. (Adv: tactfully.)
tactic ["tAk tIk] n. a skillful way of
doing something in order to reach
a goal. (Often plural.)
tag ["tAg] 1. n. a small label that
has information about the object
that it is attached to.
2. n. a game
in which a players run around try-
ing to touch someone else, who
then runs to touch another person.
(No plural.)
3. tv. to put Q on
something or some creature.
4. tv.
to touch someone, especially in
W.
tag along to go along with or fol-
low someone, often when unin-
vited or unwanted. (Informal.)

tail ["tel] 1. n. the part of an animal
that hangs off from its back, as an
extension of the spine.
2. n. the
rear part of something; the last
part of something. (Figurative on
Q.)
→
can’t make heads or tails (out)
of
someone or something
→ have
one’s
tail between
one’s
legs
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→ in two shakes of a lamb’s tail
→
one’s
tail is between
one’s
legs
the tail wagging the dog [a situa-

tion in which] a small part [is]
controlling the whole thing.
tailor ["te l#] 1. n. someone who
makes or repairs clothes.
2. tv. to
make or repair an item of clothing
so that it fits a certain person.
tailspin n. a sudden spinning or
period of confusion.
→
go into a tailspin
take ["tek] 1. tv., irreg. to get or
obtain something by one’s own
action. (Past tense:
took; past par-
ticiple:
taken.) 2. tv., irreg. to
accept something that is offered.
3. tv., irreg. to capture something;
to win something.
4. tv., irreg. to
eat or swallow something, such as
medicine.
5. tv., irreg. to use
something on a regular basis; to
require something as a habit.
6. tv., irreg. to transport someone
or something somewhere.
7. tv.,
irreg. to use a form of transporta-

tion, especially public transporta-
tion.
8. tv., irreg. to lead someone
or something; to guide someone or
something.
9. tv., irreg. to record
something; to make a picture with
a camera.
10. tv., irreg. to interpret
something in a certain way.
11. tv.,
irreg. to observe the measurement
of something.
12. tv., irreg. to suf-
fer something; to endure some-
thing; to accept something.
13. tv.,
irreg. to use up time; to consume
time; to require that an amount of
time be spent [doing something].
→
as a duck takes to water
→ more than
one
can take
→ sit up and take notice
→ That takes care of that.
take a backseat (to
someone
) to

give control to someone.
take a course (in
something
) to
enroll in a course and do the
required work.
take a leaf out of
someone’s
book to behave or to do some-
thing in the way that someone else
would. (A leaf is a page.)
take a load off
one’s
feet Go to
get a load off
one’s
feet.
take a look for
someone or some-
thing
and have a look for
some-
one or something
to make a visual
search for someone or something;
to look for someone or something.
take a nap to sleep for a period of
time during the day.
take a nosedive Go to go into a
nosedive.

take a peep Go to have a peep.
take a secret to
one’s
grave Go to
carry a secret to the grave.
take a shot at
something
Go to
give
something
a shot.
take a vacation to go somewhere
for a vacation; to stop work to
have a vacation.
take advantage of
someone
to use
someone unfairly for one’s own
benefit.
take advantage of
something
to
make good use of something; to
benefit from something; to benefit
from an opportunity.
take an oath to make an oath; to
promise something as with an
oath.
take attendance to make a record
of persons attending something.

tail wagging the dog
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take care of
someone or something
1. to deal with someone or some-
thing; to handle or manage some-
one or something.
2. to provide
care for someone or something.
take cold Go to catch cold.
take forty winks to take a nap; to
go to sleep.
take heed ["tek "hid] to be careful;
to take care and watch for danger.
take inventory to make an inven-
tory list.
take it or leave it to accept some-
thing the way it is or not have it at
all.
take off
1.
to take flight. 2. [for
someone] to leave. (Colloquial.)
3. to become active and exciting.
(Colloquial.)
take off from
something
to take

flight from something or some-
place.
take
one’s
cue from
someone
to
use someone else’s behavior or
reactions as a guide to one’s own.
take
one’s
death (of cold) Go to
catch
one’s
death (of cold).
take
one’s
medicine to accept the
punishment that one deserves.
(Also used literally.)
take out a loan to get a loan of
money, especially from a bank.
take out after
someone or some-
thing
to set out chasing or running
after someone or something.
take over (from
someone
) to

assume the role or job of someone
else.
take pride in
something
to do
something with pride; to have
pride for or about something.
take shape [for something, such as
plans, writing, ideas, arguments,
etc.] to become organized and
specific.
take
someone
by surprise to star-
tle someone; to surprise someone
with something unexpected.
take
someone
hostage to kidnap
or seize someone to be a hostage.
take
someone
in 1. to give some-
one shelter.
2. to deceive someone.
take
someone or something
at face
value to accept someone or some-
thing as actually being the way the

person or thing appears to be.
take
someone or something
away
to remove someone or something.
take
someone or something
by
storm to overwhelm someone or
something; to attract a great deal
of attention from someone or
something.
take
someone or something
for
granted to accept someone or
something—without gratitude.
take
someone or something
off
(
something
) to remove someone or
something from the surface of
something else.
take
someone or something
on to
agree to deal with someone or
something; to begin to handle

someone or something.
take
someone or something
out (of
something
) to carry, lead, or guide
someone or something out of
something or someplace.
take
someone
under
one’s
wing(s) to take over the responsi-
bility of caring for a person.
take someone under one’s wing(s)
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take
someone’s
breath away to
overwhelm someone with beauty
or grandeur.
take
someone’s
part to take some-
one’s side in an argument; to sup-
port someone in an argument.
take
someone’s

pulse to measure
the frequency of the beats of the
heart.
take
something
apart to break
something to pieces.
take
something
down (in
some-
thing
) to write something down in
something, such as a notebook.
take
something
in 1. to reduce the
size of a garment.
2. to bring
something or a creature into shel-
ter.
3. to view and study some-
thing; to attend something
involving viewing.
4. to receive
money as payment or proceeds.
5. to receive something into the
mind, usually visually.
take
something

in stride to accept
something as natural or expected.
take
something
lying down to
endure something unpleasant
without fighting back.
take
something
off to remove
something, such as an article of
clothing.
take
something
on faith to accept
or believe something on the basis
of little or no evidence.
take
something
on the chin to
experience and endure a direct
blow or assault.
take
something
over 1. to assume
responsibility for a task.
2. to
acquire all of an asset or a prob-
lem.
take

something
personally to
interpret a remark as if it were
mean or critical about oneself.
take
something
up 1. [for someone
or a group] to decide to discuss a
particular topic.
2. to raise some-
thing, such as the height of a hem.
3. to continue with something
after an interruption.
4. to begin
something; to start to acquire a
skill in something.
take
something
with a grain of
salt
Go to take
something
with a
pinch of salt.
take
something
with a pinch of
salt and take
something
with a

grain of salt to listen to a story
or an explanation with consider-
able doubt.
take the bitter with the sweet
to accept the bad things along with
the good things.
take the bull by the horns to
meet a challenge directly.
take the law into
one’s
own
hands to attempt to administer
the law oneself; to act as a judge
and jury for someone who has
done something wrong.
take (the) roll Go to call (the)
roll.
take the stand to go to and sit in
the witness chair on the witness
stand in a courtroom in prepara-
tion to testify.
take the words (right) out of
one’s
mouth [for someone else]
to say what one was about to say
oneself.
take to
one’s
heels to run away.
take someone’s breath away

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take too much on to accept too
many tasks; to accept a task that is
too big a burden for one.
take up
one’s
abode
somewhere
to settle down and live some-
where. (Literary.)
taken ["tek @n] past participle of
take.
takeoff ["tek Of] n. [an airplane’s]
leaving the ground and flying.
tale ["tel] 1. n. a story. 2. n. a lie.
→
tall tale
→ tell its own tale
→ tell tales out of school
talent ["tAl @nt] 1. n. a special skill;
a natural ability.
2. n. people who
have a special skill or a natural
ability, especially singers or actors;
people employed or seeking
employment in the entertainment
industry. (No plural. Treated as
singular.)

talk ["tOk] 1. iv. to communicate by
speaking; to speak; to say words.
2. iv. to speak with someone; to
have a conversation with someone.
3. n. the production of words;
speech. (No plural.)
4. n. a con-
versation; a chat with someone.
5. n. a speech; a lecture. 6. n. gos-
sip; rumors. (No plural.)
→
like to hear
oneself
talk
→ Money talks.
→ small talk
talk a blue streak to say a lot and
talk very rapidly.
talk around
something
to talk, but
avoid talking directly about the
subject.
talk back (to
someone
) to chal-
lenge verbally a parent, an older
person, or one’s superior.
talk in circles to talk in a confus-
ing or roundabout manner.

talk of the town the subject of
gossip; someone or something that
everyone is talking about.
talk
oneself
out to talk until one
can talk no more.
talk shop to talk about business
matters at a social event (where
business talk is not welcome).
talk show ["tOk "So] 1. n. a radio or
television program devoted to
conversation and opinion by dif-
ferent people.
2. the adj. use of Q.
(Hyphenated.)
talk
someone
into
something
to
convince someone to do some-
thing through discussion.
talk
something
out to settle some-
thing by discussion.
talk
something
up to promote or

advertise something by saying
good things about it to as many
people as possible.
talk through
one’s
hat to talk non-
sense; to brag and boast.
talk until
one
is blue in the face
to talk until one is exhausted.
talks n. conversations held for the
purpose of negotiating something.
tall ["tOl] 1. adj. great in height; of a
greater height than average; not
short. (E.g., the tree is tall; the tall
tree. Comp: taller; sup: tallest.)
2. adj. extending a certain distance
upward; reaching a certain dis-
tance above the ground. (E.g., the
tree is 30 feet tall. Comp: taller;
sup: tallest.)
tall
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tall story and tall tale a story that
is difficult or impossible to
believe; a lie.
tall tale Go to tall story.

tally ["tAl i] n. a score; a mark used
to keep track of the number of
something being counted; the
number of points or votes some-
one or something has received.
tally
something
(up) to count the
number of votes or points that
someone or something has
received.
tally (with
an amount
) [for an
amount] to match another
amount; [for two amounts] to be
equal.
tame ["tem] 1. adj. not in a natural,
wild state; living with people;
being gentle rather than fierce.
(Adv: tamely. Comp: tamer; sup:
tamest.)
2. adj. not shocking; not
wild; not exciting; dull. (Figurative
on Q. Adv: tamely. Comp: tamer;
sup: tamest.)
tan ["tAn] 1. iv. [especially of peo-
ple with fair skin] to permit one’s
skin to darken by being outdoors
in sunlight or by exposing oneself

to artificial sunlight.
2. tv. to
change the skin of an animal into
leather by soaking it in a special
chemical.
3. n. darkness of the
skin from exposure to sunlight as
in Q.
4. n. a light brown color.
5. adj. light brown in color.
(Comp: tanner; sup: tannest.)
tandem ["tAn d@m] adj. [of two or
more people or things] in
sequence, one behind another.
(Adv: tandemly.)
→
in tandem
tangent ["tAn dZ@nt] n. a line that
touches a circle at only one point.
→
go off on a tangent
tangerine [tAn dZ@ "rin] 1. n. a
small, orange citrus fruit; a kind of
orange whose peel is easy to
remove.
2. the adj. use of Q.
tangle ["tAN g@l] 1. n. a twisted
clump of hair, string, chain, rope,
limbs, etc.
2. n. an argument; a

disagreement.
3. iv. [for strands]
to become twisted together.
4. tv.
to twist strands together; to snarl
something.
tank ["tANk] 1. n. a container for
storing air or liquid. (See also
fish
tank
.) 2. n. a large vehicle, used by
the military, that moves on heavy
belts wrapped around a set of
wheels.
tantrum ["tAn tr@m] n. a bad dis-
play of temper and emotion.
(Short for
temper tantrum.)
→
temper tantrum
tap ["tAp] 1. n. a slight pressure or
a very light blow made by some-
thing.
2. n. a device that controls
the flow of a gas or a liquid from a
pipe or a barrel; a faucet.
3. tv. to
touch someone or something gen-
tly a number of times, especially
with the tip of one’s finger.

4. tv.
to cut something open so that liq-
uid will flow out; to pierce some-
thing, such as a barrel, so that
liquid will flow out.
tape ["tep] 1. n. a paper or plastic
strip with one side that is sticky,
used to stick something to some-
thing else. (Plural only for types
and instances.)
2. n. a magnetic
strip of plastic onto which sound
or images can be recorded. (No
tall story
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plural.) 3. n. a reel or cassette of
W; something recorded on a reel
or cassette of W.
4. tv. to stick
something to something else with
Q; to seal something with Q.
5. tv. to fix something that is torn
by placing Q over the tear.
6. tv.
to record sound or images onto W.
7. iv. to make a sound or video
recording; to record.
→

red tape
taper off to slacken off gradually;
to cease something gradually; to
reduce gradually.
tar ["tar] 1. n. a black substance
similar to very thick oil, used to
preserve or waterproof objects.
(No plural.)
2. tv. to cover some-
thing with Q; to preserve or
waterproof something with Q.
tardy ["tar di] adj. late; not prompt;
not on time. (Adv: tardily. Comp:
tardier; sup: tardiest.)
target ["tar g@t] 1. n. someone or
something that someone tries to
hit or shoot when using a weapon.
2. n. someone who is ridiculed,
blamed, or made fun of. (Figura-
tive on Q.)
3. n. a goal that one
would like to reach; an aim. (Figu-
rative on Q.)
4. tv. to establish
something as a goal.
5. tv. to focus
on someone, something, or some-
place; to give something, someone,
or someplace the greatest amount
of thought or effort.

→
on target
→ sitting target
tariff ["tEr If] 1. n. a tax that a gov-
ernment charges on products
entering or leaving a country.
2. n.
the cost of a service, such as the
service provided by a utility.
tarred with the same brush hav-
ing the same faults or bad points
as someone else.
task ["tAsk] n. a duty; an errand; a
responsibility; a chore; an item of
work that someone must do, espe-
cially a difficult one.
task force ["tAsk fors] n. a group
of people who are given a certain
task, such as a military group that
has a certain mission.
taste ["test] 1. n. the ability to
sense or experience sweetness,
saltiness, bitterness, or sourness
with one’s tongue. (No plural.)
2. n. a particular flavor as experi-
enced through Q.
3. n. a small
sample of food or drink.
4. n. the
quality of one’s choice or selection

in beauty, fashion, or art; the abil-
ity to judge what is suitable or fit-
ting. (Plural only for types and
instances.)
5. tv. to sense or expe-
rience flavor with one’s tongue.
6. tv. to put something in one’s
mouth or on one’s tongue so that
one can know its flavor; to eat a
very small amount of something
so one can know its flavor.
7. tv. to
experience something for a short
while.
8. iv. [for a food] to have a
particular flavor.
→
have a taste for
something
→ in bad taste
→ in poor taste
→ leave a bad taste in
someone’s
mouth
a taste of
something
1. a taste E
taken in order to sample some-
thing.
2. a limited experience of

something; a sample.
tasteless ["test l@s] 1. adj. having
no
taste W; having no flavor;
bland. (Adv: tastelessly.)
2. adj.
tasteless
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