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Vocabulary: eight verbs from today’s politics
Intermediate to Advanced (B2 – C2)
Here are some verbs used by politicians, journalists and commentators after another day trying to reach agreement on Brexit.
boast To talk about something (often oneself) with a great deal of or too much pride. Usually negative in meaning, especially when speaking about oneself.
E.g. ‘He’s always boasting about his children’s achievements.’
map out Mapping out something means showing how to move forward.
E.g. ‘We need to map out much more cleartly what might happen.’
flourish If a person, a business or a country flourishes, it means they are being successful and are going through a very good period.
E.g. ‘It is easier for businesses to flourish when there is stability.’
takes two to tango This means the success or progress of something requires both sides to work together.
E.g. ‘Don’t blame me. It takes two to tango.’
make a dog’s breakfast of something When a dog eats, it can be quite messy and if someone makes a dog’s breakfast of something it means it hasn’t been done well and certainly less well than intended or hope for.
E.g. ‘He made a right dog’s breakfast of that news conference.’
reach a stalemate If a stalemate is reached in negotiations, neither side can find a way to progress.
E.g. ‘After many hours of effort, both sides had to accept they had reached stalemate.’
spoil If something is spoiled/spoilt, it makes things much less good than they were before, usually so much so that the result is quite negative. You can spoil a surprise, your appetite, the countryside.
E.g. ‘He didn’t want to let the rain spoil his holiday.’
‘The new factory has spoiled the local countryside.’
ease You can ease pain, a situation, tensions etc. Easing makes things less difficult of problematic.
E.g. ‘An aspirin should ease the pain.’