Atomic Words Flashcards by Vitaliy Ivanov

When the vikings started their raids in the British Isles, they brought more than ______________

mayhem
Def: total chaos, destruction, madness
Also: The Muppet Show - look at a picture of the Electric Mayhem

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Easy concept: a tree has a trunk. There’s only one trunk, but there are many ____________

branches
Also: businesses can have branches
Ex: bank has the main office. And then in different towns, there are branches, a local branch.

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When was a time your plans ___ _ _______? (that was a problem)

hit a snag

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reality TV show: if BOSS didn’t like someone, he said, you’re _______ (if you do a bad job at work)

fired
Also: the British say? They don’t say fire, they say sacked. To sack someone

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Can you guess? What happens if you don’t have a job, and you’re on drugs, and no money? You probably are not paying the rent, right? And your landlord probably doesn’t want you there anymore. So he ________ you

evicts
Formal way to say kick out

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in Baltimore: The last time my friend had heard, he was living in a parking garage during the winter. Things were bad, then they got worse. He ___ ___ __________

hit rock bottom
Also: Prices are very, very low. Rock bottom

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Do you know when to use ________ and when to use __________? (the atomic bomb)

clever, smart

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If you’re a ____ of something, you really, really like it. You can be a ____ of a football team.

fan

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So, you’re watching a movie. The movie is two hours long. Inside the movie, there are lots of small __________.

scenes

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I say that the countryside is very ____________?

scenic
Dif: Switzerland. There’s the mountains, a river, there’s green, there’s white, there’s a little village. It’s nice to look at. It’s pretty. It’s picturesque. It’s scenic.

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There’s a new app where they _________ you with strangers in your city for dinner.

match
Also: So if you have a brown belt, you should have brown shoes because they match. They go together
Also: Use a match to start a fire; a tennis match

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So I was hungry. And the beer and the burger really ___ ___ ____. Exactly what I needed

hit the spot

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When I recovered from my shock, I had a _____ of beer and a bite of my burger

gulp
Dif: How much did I drink? A little or a lot. What does it sound like? Gulp. It’s a lot.

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The weather said it’s ________ to rain today. Better bring your umbrella.

likely
Also: If you’re likely to hear something, are there good chances or bad? Is it probable or improbable? Is it certain or uncertain? Uncertain. Yeah, it’s gonna happen. What’s the opposite of likely? Unlikely

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If you don’t remember, go back and have a look. So I quickly turned the laptop around and gave you a quick look. Just a ________

peek

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I’m going to hit the _______. Good night.

sack
Also: Sack a bag. Sack as a bag. And sack an employee. And sack Budapest

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So what does it mean if you _____ ___ someone?
A. To chat up.
B. To come on to.
C. To flirt with.

hit on

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Is it any mystery that the birth _______ is declining?

rate

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I was having a discussion with three friends last week about cooking. And one guy, my friend and me, we don’t have a lot of ____________. Every week, we eat the same things

variety

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So if your room is a ________, if your desk is a________, if your life is a ________, it’s like Einstein’s hair. It’s chaos. It’s disorder. It’s disheveled.

mess
Also: Don’t mess with me. I know karate

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Don’t say something’s dirty. Say it’s ________. It sounds great. It means really dirty

filthy
Also: Musk is filthy rich
Thinking about sex all the time. They have filthy minds

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So, _____ ___ _________. That’s good advice. It means you can’t and shouldn’t fight everyone, nor should you focus on or give energy to everyone and everything that asks for your attention. You’ve only got so much energy.

pick your battles

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You ask your husband, wife, what do you want to have for dinner? He, she, they say, it doesn’t _________.

matter

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A space we share in __________. My apartment, however, is private. There’s ___________ areas and private areas.

common
Also:
Bob is a common name in America
Bob, common, Jehoshaphat, uncommon, unusual.

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This is a battle I do not choose. Better to focus on what ’s _____ __ ___________

under my control Also: under new management, under so much pressure, under investigation

This is a sports metaphor. I said ________ business problems, tackle business issues.

tackle Def: So if you tackle a problem, you don't ignore it. You don't pretend it doesn't exist. And you don't necessarily solve it, but you begin. You dive in, you start work, you confront the issue, you face it, you don't run away.

The Quentin Tarantino film was From _____ to ______. I think it was about vampires, right?

dawn, dusk Def: What's the opposite in the morning? It's not night. It's not day. It is also starts with a D. Dawn.

Do you ever __________? What's a synonym? Think. Do you ever think? Do you ever consider __________?

wonder (means to be curious or amazed) Also: If something is amazing, great, fantastic, super, it's full of wonder, wonderful day in the 80s song was Vanilla Ice. And he had a one hit wonder, Ice, Ice, Baby. Tip: WAnder - WAlk

“Am I normal?” Does it usually take this long to learn a song? Do other students make faster progress? Is there ___________ ___ ______ ___ me?

something the matter with

When you look into a mirror, what are you seeing? You're seeing a ______________. If you look at a lake at night, on a clear night, you can see the stars ____________ ___ the surface

reflection, reflecting off Also: So when a person reflects, you think about the past

What's another word for a ___________? It starts with a D, a diary

journal Also: Did you know that this is also a verb now? If you write in a journal, it's called journaling

And walking in the park is more like ______________. There's no plan, no direction. We love to _________ through the forest for hours.

wandering / wander Also: wander means to walk around without a clear goal Ex: wander around the world, wander through life Tip: WAnder - WAlk

Last minute, you study, study, maybe study all night, you're _______________ your brain full of information. We say _____________. Not the best way to learn. Spaced learning is much better.

cramming Also: Around 1 a.m. there were 35 people crammed into my apartment

I ____________ 2025. I got a piece of paper, paper towel, put some water on it, wiped off the ink until the white board was white again.

erased

One afternoon, he was walking down the street when the cops stopped him. They didn’t believe he was from Italy. “You’re _______ from Mexico or El Salvador,” they told him. “I’m from ________ of those places,” he replied. They didn’t even believe his passport and visa were real

either, neither

I'm an __________. Someone who lives in another country. What's the difference between an _________ and an immigrant?

expat

To _________ someone. It's not my fault. It's the government's fault. I _________ the government.

blame Also: Blameless = Innocent.

You forget your wife's birthday again, and you come home and you say, "Happy ________ birthday, honey." and she will smile and say, oh, thanks, you forgot, but you used _________ correctly. Everything's okay now.

belated

In Prague, there are two types of roads. The modern paved roads, and the old cobblestone roads. Cobblestone roads are ___________, you might say.

rough

If you are _________ about nudity, do you like being naked in public? No, you're __________.

uptight

You don't worry about what other people think of you. Do I look good naked? Do I look bad naked? You don't care. You are ___________.

uninhibited

English teachers advertise, learn 20 phrasal verbs "without". Or learn 50 phrasal verbs with "take". Maybe they don't have bad __________. (want, plan)

intentions

So, if you say push and you want to say pull, you _______ them ___. You confuse them.

mix up

I don't know the exact temperature today. But I have a ________ idea. It's cold. (being close, but not exact)

rough My toilet exploded. I asked the plumber how much it would cost to repair. He didn't know exactly, but he said he could give me a rough estimate. Also: a rough draft, a rough outline

I don't like being scared, you know? Like the British couple. I would probably _________ _____.

chicken out a synonym: They are scared. They are a coward

I got an email yesterday from a Vig Village member. He started learning English in 1956. He's now 84 years old. _____ '_______ ______? Become a lifelong learner.

How 'bout that (Надо же! Вот это да! Представь себе!) How about that? → стандартная форма How ’bout that? → разговорное произношение

At the end of the day, most people like to _____ ______ before bed. They don't go from the office to the bed

wind down Also: our career will probably wind down

1. I need to ______ ______ that I get to work on time tomorrow. 2. _______ ______ you are fully prepared for the interview next week. 3. Managers should ______ _______ their staff feel happy in their work.

To “make sure”…- дословно сделаться уверенным. Используется часто в тех случаях, когда мы по-русски сказали - не забудьте, вы должны, возьмите с собой/сделайте. То есть это более вежливый способ сказать, что нужно от человека. Чаще используется в имейлах, на сайтах, в инструкциях.

1. The ______ _____ _______: the company loses a bit of money. 2. I had to give a talk in front of hundreds of people, but I had forgotten my notes. It was the ______ _____ _______! 3. ‘Hope for the best, plan for the worst.’ - That’s a motto every business should follow. Always prepare your business for the ______ _____ _______.

The worst case scenario… - дословно - сценарий худшего случая, аналог русской фразы “в худшем случае”

So, what can you _______? When you move into a new house and the walls are bare, you can _______ some wallpaper and then _______ some pictures.

hang Also: hang your head

I promised I would explain what my parents say, and my grandparents before they died. They didn't ______ ___. They said, come over and visit. Let's visit sometime

hang out Also: What do you like better, visit or hang out?

My sisters and I ask if we can throw out all her stuff to make more space. But my father doesn't want to. He wants to _______ __ __ everything.

hang on to - means hold What’s something you’re hanging on to? Also: You can hang on to the past. Hang on to memories. Hang on to old ideas. Hang on to hope

- Can I talk to your mom? - And you said, _____ __. I'll see if they're home

hang on - means wait

Usually, at the end of the phone conversation, you both say goodbye, and then ______ __. But sometimes when you get so mad, you lose your head, and your manners go out the window. That's what it means to _____ __ __ _______.

hang up hang up on someone

My first piano concert was a _____.

dud

My first piano concert was a dud. Now it was time to perform. The metaphorical __________ was on me. All 84 eyes were on me.

spotlight

My first piano concert was a dud. And then I began to play. Then one of the Vig Village members ____________ my concert. “Mr. Vig, we can’t hear you.”

interrupted

Well, when you're talking and somebody starts talking, they ____________. Nobody likes to be ______________.

interrupt, interrupted

If you go to a family reunion, who do you talk to? Your relatives, your cousins, aunts, uncles, they are _______ to you.

related Also: Do you know my piano story? Don't worry, this relates to your English, I promise. This is connected. Connected to your English.

_______ _______ _______, great expression when you don't want to give all the details. You just want to jump to the main point.

Long story short

But eventually, my practice slowed down, and progress _______ __ _ _____. I never made it past the scales.

crawled to a stop Def: And so this is, it shows that it stopped, but before it stopped, it was going very slowly. Crawled to a stop. Not a sudden stop. So progress was slow for some time before the end

When you're telling a story in a movie, you can have a flashback. Do you remember Titanic? The whole movie was a flashback... And you can do the same _________ _________.

flash forward Also: Flash forward one year, I practice every week. - camera flash, in a flash, flash flood

Every Friday afternoon, I walk down the street to visit my piano teacher from Slovakia. I know I will play for her. I know her _______ will be on me and my fingers, and that motivates me to practice every day.

eyeballs

We would like to inform you of the validity of the regulation concerning the use of fireworks in the center of Prague. Oh, what a ______________.

mouthful Dif: Okay, so any long, complicated sentence that's difficult to say. It's a mouthful.

You are making a decision. You have three choices. You point to the middle one. That ______ ___. It will be enough. It will be satisfactory.

will do And it kind of communicates that it's not the perfect option. It's not your first choice, but it's good enough. It will do.

And ___ ___ a word. Eliminate. Delete. Get rid of. And if it is possible to ____ ____ a word, always ___ _ ___. So, how would you say that long, complicated, unnatural sentence in a simpler way?

cut out, cut it out Also: Cut it out = Stop it.

I can ask you, what time are you going to ___ __ on your trip? And you can tell me, oh, we're _____ __ early.

set off setting off

You can have a ____ year between high school and university. You take a year or two off to travel or whatever.

gap Also: the metro, the tube, mind the gap. generation gap.

And __ ___ ____ is an expression to describe your group of friends when you were younger.

the old gang Tip: gangстеры...

And if you have, for an old friend, you have a lot of memories, you have a lot of shared experiences, you can say, we __ ___ ____. How did you two meet?

go way back We met a long time ago.

So your English grammar book, your textbook will teach you kind of two words and sort of two words. But native speakers don't talk like textbooks. I say _______, ______.

kinda, sorta (вроде бы, вроде как) That means like a little bit. Maybe.

But _____ _____, what kind of news is that? It's not financial news. It's not economic news. It's not sports news. It's gossip. You know, dirty, unfortunate details of other people's personal lives.

juicy news

I started going to the sauna. This is not typical American behavior. But I'm not in my natural ________.

habitat Also: Your habitat is where you live.

Today is January 13th. Imagine your birthday is on January 15th. You can say your birthday is ___________. It's almost your birthday. It's getting closer.

approaching Also: So she approached the door. Approach = Walk up to.

She looked at the sign that clearly ________, no swimsuits in the sauna. (here like verb, noun - a political state)

stated

If you're having a bad day, you're having bad luck, you can say things are ___ ___ __ ___. It's a very nice way to say it.

not going my way Also: Things don't go your way.

To make yourself feel better. To ___________ yourself. Something bad happens, you __________ yourself with, I don't know, some ice cream, or some nice words.

console Also: There's an expression, a consolation prize. (утешительный приз)

If you have a headache, and your headache is strong, you say, my head is _______ __. Not literally _________ __, but it felt like it.

killing me

I got a _________ in my foot. It's a little tiny piece of wood.

splinter

I'm swimming _____ in the heated pool. Swimming is one of my favorite ways to exercise.

laps

In fact, I used to be afraid of the water. I'll tell you how I ___________ my fear, and I'll tell you how that can help your English.

overcame So, if you overcome a fear, you work to eliminate, to cancel the fear.

When someone wants to start something, and they don't want to start at level one, they ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ (5).

jump into the deep end

They just want to know who Sidney Sweeney is dating. Don't ask me. I don't know. I'm not __________.

shallow (поверхностный человек) Someone who just doesn't think about the important things in life, deep issues, religion, politics, philosophy, life, the universe

It's in the suburbs. And there's some grass in the front of the house and some grass in the back of the house. That's the ______. There's the _______, the ________.

yard, frontyard, backyard Also: the metric system

Your ______ group. These are people you have... have... they are similar to you in age, in education, in... what else? Age, education, religion.

peer Also: peer pressure

I could have said I overcame my fear. I did. I could have also said I beat my fear. I eliminated my fear. But if you _________ something, it sounds good.

conquer

Why did I say the summer of 1970- __________? Well, if you don't know the exact number or date, you can just say ____________.

something How much does Bob weigh? Bob weighs 200-something pounds.

This is an expression from, I guess, clothing. There's some clothing where you look at the label and it doesn't say small, medium, or large. It says ___ ___ ___ ___.

one size fits all

_____ or swim? This is an irregular verb. _____ can also be a noun. Where is the sink in my kitchen?

sink sank sunk

So, I demonstrated it. This is _______ progress. It doesn't go like this, it's ________. Just 10%, 1% every day, _______. Gradual, consistent.

steady

They need a gradual, steady, logical __________ to take them from A to Z. Sink or swim sounds nice unless you're the unfortunate one who sank to the bottom.

progression

A ______ person is someone who feels fear, but still acts. You act despite being afraid.

brave

When you’re thrown into a new situation without preparation, some survive, a few ________, but most fail. This is why most people need a course, a program, a teacher… (процветание)

thrive

What habits do you _________ to improve your English?

recommend

Have you ever used a travel _______ to plan a trip? Why or why not? What are the advantages?

agency

What is something interesting you ________ recently? How do you _________ new music?

discovered, discover

Atomic Words Flashcards

(96 cards)