I hope you found this ________.
useful
_________________ is when you deliberately say less than you mean. Not to trick someone, but to create a certain effect.
Understatement
Ex: not bad, a little, not exactly, something of a/an, May be some time
Q: “How was the concert?”
A: “___ ___, actually.”
Not bad - Translation: it was excellent and I’m still thinking about it.
Alternatives you might hear: Not terrible, Not so bad (in the end), Could have been worse
“There was __ ____ turbulence on the flight.” (The overhead lockers flew open and an elderly lady’s false teeth were knocked out by a flying toy dinosaur.)
a little
“A little” here means “a lot”, or “very”.
Also: “a little complicated” or “a little concerning”, pay close attention.
- Slightly
- Somewhat
- “He’s __ ______ punctual”
- “It wasn’t _________ cheap”
not exactly
1. means he is always late, and often very late.
2. means it was very expensive.
It’s a polite way of saying something quite negative without saying it too directly.
“It was ___________ __ __ disaster.”
“He was ___________ __ __ outsider.”
something of a
“Something of a disaster” almost always means it was a disaster. The phrase just makes it sound a little less dramatic.
- Somewhat of a
- In some ways, a
- You might say it was a
So he stood up, turned to his companions, and said: “I am just going outside and ____ __ _____ ______.”
may be some time
That gap between the words and the reality is what makes the line so memorable.
The project was __________ a huge success (emphasising a point)
indeed
__ _____, she was the best candidate for the job (emphasising a point)
In fact
I love all kinds of music, __________ jazz (emphasising a point)
especially
________, there was a misunderstanding between us (emphasising a point)
Clearly
___________, this issue needs to be addressed immediately (emphasising a point)
Certainly
It takes just a few minutes, and I ________ you to answer honestly (emphasising a point)
encourage
Def: to motivate
Also: I would encourage you to spend some time thinking about what brought you here.
It’s a research-backed assessment that will give you clarity on two ___________ questions: Have you found meaning in your life? And are you actively searching for it?
essential
Def: necessary, very important
Many people— ________ young adults—neither know the meaning of their lives nor are even looking for it. How can we begin to solve this problem?
especially
IDIOM: If you want to say that something is incredible or hard to believe you can say, I can ______ image… living with Bob / not knowing any English / what it would be like to live there…
hardly
I had no idea it was yesterday, I _____ forgot.
totally
The company kept trying to sell a product nobody wanted — they were ___ __ ____ ____.
flogging a dead horse
Meaning: to waste time and effort on something that has no chance of success.
