用法学习: 1. morality tale 警世通言, 喻世明言 a story or narrative from which one can derive a moral about right and wrong. "his story can be seen as a modern morality tale". score 配乐 The score of a film, play, or similar production is the music which is written or used for it. The dance is accompanied by an original score by Henry Torgue. ...the composer of classic film scores such as West Side Story. Up until this movie I really did not know that he did movie scores as well, even though when I later checked I found out that I had unknowingly watched several movies he worked on. sweeten/sugar the pill/medicine 裹上糖衣 make an unpleasant or painful necessity more palatable. to make something unpleasant more agreeable by adding something pleasant the government stopped wage increases but sugared the pill by reducing taxes. outward I. An outward journey ( outward journey/voyage etc) is a journey that you make away from a place that you are intending to return to later. Tickets must be bought seven days in advance, with outward and return journey dates specified. II. The outward feelings, qualities, or problems, attitudes 外表的, 表明的, 外边看起来的 of someone or something are the ones they appear to have rather than the ones that they actually have. relating to how a person or situation seems to be, rather than how it really is. The economy and outward appearance of the area have changed considerably. His clenched fist was the only outward sign of his anger. In spite of my outward calm, I was very shaken. What the military rulers have done is to restore the outward appearance of order. III. The outward features of something are the ones that you can see from the outside. Mark was lying unconscious but with no outward sign of injury. III. directed towards the outside or away from a place. the outward flow of oil. outwards adv I. If something moves or faces outwards, it moves or faces away from the place you are in or the place you are talking about. The top door opened outwards. ...a dramatic house price boom spreading outwards from the South East. II. If you say that a person or a group of people, such as a government, looks outwards, you mean that they turn their attention to another group that they are interested in or would like greater involvement with. Other poor countries looked outward, strengthening their ties to the economic superpowers. His belief is that the future of the Community lies in looking outwards. 2. As well as slopping on sunscreen, it's recommended you slip on sun protective clothing, slap on a broadbrim hat 宽沿帽, 宽边帽, slide on some sunglasses, and seek shade. ride on something/someone When something important, such as your reputation or money, rides on a particular person or thing, it will be won or achieved if that person or thing is successful: The future of the company now rides on the new managing director. I have a lot of money riding on that horse (= I will win or lose a lot of money if that horse wins or loses the race). Nikki Haley had a lot riding on New Hampshire. Perhaps her whole campaign. drubbing [informal] If someone gets a drubbing, they are defeated easily. a beating or serious defeat, especially in a sports competition: Norwich got/received/took a severe drubbing at the hands of Manchester United. Come prepared for a drubbing. There was a tingle of apprehension but also excitement. They told me that people were responsive to Haley's message as they worked their way around the state. But they knew the polls suggested a drubbing by Donald Trump. 3. 美国Primary 2024: Trump events are as close as you get to rock concerts in the current American political environment. His supporters come decked out in MAGA merchandise. They're loud. They're excited. And there are strong tribal undertones. When we asked people why they were there, most answered with a simple iteration of "we love Trump". Those entering the Haley event were far more sedate [sɪˈdeɪt] (I. If you describe someone or something as sedate, you mean that they are quiet and rather dignified, though perhaps a bit dull. She took them to visit her sedate, elderly cousins. Her London life was sedate, almost mundane. I live in a sedate little village in the Midlands. ...sedately dressed in business suit with waistcoat. II. If you move along at a sedate pace, you move slowly, in a controlled way. We set off again at a more sedate pace. ...a heavy car with solid but sedate performance. He pulled sedately out of the short driveway. verb. If someone is sedated, they are given a drug to calm them or to make them sleep. The patient is sedated with intravenous use of sedative drugs. Doctors sedated me and I fell into a deep sleep. Grace was asleep, lightly sedated. ). There was little to no merchandise and no evidence of a cult of personality ( A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, is the result of an effort which is made to create an idealized and heroic image of a glorious leader, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. a situation in which a public figure (such as a political leader) is deliberately presented to the people of a country as a great person who should be admired and loved. The Kremlin is carrying out public events featuring the Russian leader that seem designed to build a cult of personality around him.). When we asked why people were attending, most said they wanted to hear what she had to say. The residents of New Hampshire must collectively feel like they've suffered from an extreme case of love-bombing. Particularly over the past week, they've received huge amounts of national and international attention. Candidates professed their undying love and affection for the "live free or die" state and now, in typically brutal political fashion, they're almost all rolling out of town. The next state to feel the collective glare and wooing on the Republican side is South Carolina (Nevada votes next, but a dispute over the system of voting means it's not an active contest for delegates). Until now she's been careful in her criticism for fear of ostracising Trump's supporters, and perhaps to avoid drawing the ire of the former president himself. There have been pointed comments ( Pointed comments or behaviour express criticism in a clear and direct way. I couldn't help but notice the pointed remarks slung in my direction. Her new book is a pointed look at life in a small community. They were pointedly absent from the news conference. 'This is my house,' Blair said rather pointedly. ) about his age and mental acuity ( acuity
[ækjuːɪti, əˈkjuːɪtɪ] hearing, or quickness of thought. We work on improving visual acuity. ), and attacks on his record on government debt accumulation. But it's all been relatively mild, and also couched in compliments about ( couch something in/as something to express something in a particular way. If a statement is couched in a particular style of language, it is expressed in that style of language. The new centre-right government's radical objectives are often couched in moderate terms. This time the proposal was couched as an ultimatum. I don't understand this form - it's all couched in legal terminology.) his previous leadership. There will be pressure on her to increase the temperature. To go after Trump more directly. But it's high risk. Trump has an extraordinary ability to rip apart his opponents. His emasculation of Ron DeSantis just one recent example. 4. sit idly by 坐视不管 To remain close or stand aside while refraining from acting or intervening. to fail to take action to stop something wrong from happening: The community will not sit by while others attack their freedom of expression. I can't just sit by and watch you waste all our money. On Wednesday, a senior Māori leader issued a warning: "If there is any measure of meddling with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Māori will not sit idly by." gird up one's loins prepare oneself for something difficult or challenging. to prepare oneself for something requiring readiness, strength, or endurance We girded our loins to face our competitors. "members of parliament are girding their loins for an election campaign". 5. A jump scare is a scaring technique used in media, particularly in films such as horror films and video games such as horror games, intended to scare the viewer by surprising them with an abrupt change in image or event, usually co-occurring with a loud, jarring sound. something, such as a scene in a film, that shocks and frightens you so that you suddenly move or jump: This film has so many jump scares, the audience are jumping out of their seats every fifteen seconds. He loves watching jumpscare videos on the internet. intone [ɪntoʊn] verb If you intone something, you say it in a slow and serious way, with most of the words at one pitch. to say something slowly and seriously in a voice that does not rise or fall much: "Let us pray," the priest intoned to his congregation. He quietly intoned several prayers. 'But Jesus is here!' the priest intoned. Barnaby made a shocking error of judgement in having an affair with a young woman working in his office," intones Turnbull. orator [ɒrətər] An orator is someone who is skilled at making formal speeches, especially ones which affect people's feelings and beliefs. someone who is good at public speaking: a skilled orator. Lenin was the great orator of the Russian Revolution. For his part, the former prime minister recounts being told to "f*** off" by his predecessor Tony Abbott. "Tony was a skilful orator when it came to the use of that particular word," deadpans Turnbull. megalomania [megələmeɪniə] 自大狂 Megalomania is the belief that you are more powerful and important than you really are. Megalomania is sometimes a mental illness. an unnaturally strong wish for power and control, or the belief that you are very much more important and powerful than you really are. One or two of these losses can be put down to simple megalomania. The last Coalition prime minister Scott Morrison is labelled "smug" and an "arrogant arsehole" during an interview with one of his former backbenchers. Another uses the word "megalomania" to characterise the way the Morrison government operated. invective [ɪnvektɪv] 粗话 Invective is rude and unpleasant things that people shout at people they hate or are angry with. criticism that is very forceful, unkind, and often rude: A stream of invective from some sectors of the press continues to assail the government. A woman had hurled racist invective at the family. Crowley maintained a stream of invective and abuse against Waite. But as well as the blue language and invective, there are also moments of remorse and regret. In one candid disclosure, Morrison laments the disintegration of his relationship with Turnbull. "He was a friend," says Morrison. "Maybe one day we will be again.". preordained [ˌpriːɔːˈdeɪnd] adj. (of an outcome or course of action) decided or determined beforehand; predestined. If you say that something is preordained, you mean you believe it to be happening in the way that has been decided by a power such as God or fate. ...the belief that our actions are the unfolding of a preordained destiny. "a divinely preordained plan of creation". "Malcolm Turnbull saw the prime ministership as fulfilling a preordained destiny that he had to fill some kind of gaping hole in his soul. And I suspect once he got there, he realised maybe that gaping hole wasn't filled by the prime ministership." sup with the devil(("Sup" means to eat or have supper.) ) To associate or deal with a particularly malicious, immoral, or unscrupulous person or people; to commit malicious, immoral, or unscrupulous acts. Once considered one of the most straight-laced politicians in England, it's come to light that the former Health Secretary has been supping with the devil for years, giving pharmaceutical companies special privileges in exchange for sizable kickbacks. She has been accused of supping with the devil after the activist was spotted having dinner with the CEO of one of the conglomerations her charity opposes. "I'm supping with the devil in ABC headquarters and talking about the Coalition years," he joked with his former colleague. slog verb. I. informal 辛苦工作. to work hard over a long period, especially doing work that is difficult or boring: I've been slogging away for days on this essay and I'm still not finished. If you slog through something, you work hard and steadily through it. They secure their degrees by slogging through an intensive 11-month course. She has slogged her way through ballet classes since the age of six. While slogging at work, have you neglected your marriage? Edward slogged away, always learning. II. 艰难行走, 困难的穿行 to travel or move with difficulty, for example through wet, sticky soil or snow, or when you are very tired: Despite the rain, they slogged on for another six miles. They slogged up the trail in the rain. The soldiers slogged through mud. If you slog somewhere, you make a long and tiring journey there. The men had to slog up a steep muddy incline. Why should Melissa have to slog around the supermarket on her own? III. to hit a ball hard and often in an uncontrolled way. noun. informal I. 不容易, 困难重重, 困难. 难事. a period of difficult or tiring effort: This semester was a long hard slog; I'm glad it's over. That last hill before the finishing line was a long slog! If you describe a task as a slog, you mean that it is tiring and requires a lot of effort. I eventually got financial backing, but it was a slog. There is little to show for the two years of hard slog 难啃的骨头, 艰巨任务. After almost 18 months of research, filming, scripting and editing, Nemesis is ready for public viewing. It's been a slog, and not just for us. During his marathon eight-hour interview, I asked Scott Morrison how he was finding it. "This is not how I have fun," he replied. II. A slog is a long tiring journey. ...a slog through heather and bracken to the top of a hill. slog it out = slug it out (US) 辛苦工作, 努力工作以成功或获得认可
If two or more people slog it out, they work very hard to try to be the
one who is successful or who has their ideas and wishes accepted. Four candidates are slugging it out in a dirty campaign. The leading contenders are still slogging it out. slug noun. 虫子 I. A slug is a small slow-moving creature with a long soft body and no legs, like a snail without a shell. II. [informal]
If you take a slug of an alcoholic drink, you take a large mouthful of
it. an amount of a strong alcoholic drink that you drink quickly. She took another slug of whiskey. Edgar took a slug of his drink. III. A slug is a bullet. IV. American informal
代币 a piece of metal shaped like a coin that is used to get something,
for example food or cigarettes, from a machine without paying. verb. If you slug someone, you hit them hard. She slugged her right in the face. He felt as if he had been slugged by a piece of lead pipe. 6. hmph 哼, 哧, 切 (onomatopoeia) A sound, usually made with a closed mouth, indicating annoyance, indignation, or sighing. "Don't blame me. It's your fault." "Hmph!" "That does it! I'm not gonna talk to you anymore! Hmph!" meanie = meany [ˈmiːnɪ] I. mainly British a miserly or stingy person. a mean or small-minded person. "dole-office meanies". II. mainly US a nasty ill-tempered person. someone who is unkind: Don't be such a meanie! dole office I. British informal an informal term for a job centre He made the sad journey to the dole office to sign on. II. A Social Security office where benefit claimants go to sign for benefit payments such as dole (or unemployment benefit) I'm off down to the dole office to pick up my cheque. shootout I. 对射. 对战, 枪战. a fight in which two people or two groups of people shoot at each other with guns. a decisive gun battle. "we had all got cap pistols for Christmas and gathered in Dr Hadley's backyard for a shoot-out". Texas shootout outside library between teens began when one used fake money to buy AR-15, courts docs say. Gunfire erupted near the Mountain Creek Branch Library, where 2 teens negotiated a weapon's purchase, prosecutors said. II. any confrontation to settle a conflict. III. 射门大战. a competition in making goals, used in some sports to decide who will win when a game ends with both teams having the same number of points. penalty shootout 点球大战: a way of deciding who will win a football game in which both teams finished with the same number of goals, by each team taking turns to have a set number of kicks at the goal. 7. torrid [ˈtɔrɪd] I. full of strong emotions, especially sexual emotions. a torrid relationship/affair. A torrid relationship or incident involves very strong emotions connected with love and sex. She began a torrid 激情四射的 love affair with a theatrical designer. ...torrid bedroom scenes. The Turnbull-Abbott tussle was very torrid, not just for the Liberal Party internally, but for the government more generally for years and years and years. II. mainly literary torrid weather 干热的 is very hot and dry. ...the torrid heat of a Spanish summer. have a torrid time to experience a very difficult period of time. If
someone or something has a torrid time, they experience a lot of
difficulties. Seles, the victim of a death threat earlier this week, has
had a torrid time during the Championships. The minister suffered yet
another torrid day of criticism. tussle I. If one person tussles with another, or if they tussle, they get hold of each other and struggle or fight. to fight with another person using your arms and body: The boys started to tussle in the playground. They ended up ripping down perimeter fencing and tussling with the security staff. He grabbed my microphone and we tussled over that. James and Elliott tussled. The referee booked him for a tussle with the goalie. to have difficult disagreements or strong arguments: During his twelve years in Congress he has tussled with the chemical, drug and power companies on behalf of the ordinary person. The residents are still tussling over the ever-scarcer street parking. a boardroom/bureaucratic/legal tussle. There followed a long tussle for custody of the children. II. If one person tussles with 争抢 another for something, or if they tussle for it, they try to beat each other in order to get it. The two athletes tussled with each other for fourth place. Officials tussled over who had responsibility for the newly fashionable unemployment agenda. ...a legal tussle over who gets custody of the children. III. If someone tussles with a difficult problem or issue, they try hard to solve it. tussle with something to try hard to understand or deal with a difficult idea or problem: It's an idea that I've been tussling with for quite a while. He is tussling with the problem of what to do about inflation. internecine [ˌɪntəˈniːsʌɪn] 内部的 adj. An internecine conflict, war, or quarrel is one which takes place between opposing groups within a country or organization. Internecine war or fighting happens between members of the same group, religion, or country: internecine war/warfare. The whole episode has drawn attention again to internecine strife in the ruling party. In interviews for the ABC political docuseries Nemesis, dozens of former Coalition ministers and MPs have spoken of the toxic rivalry between Liberal giants Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, and how their relentless internecine conflict crippled both men's governments and helped destroy each other's political careers. square off I. If you square something off, you alter it so that it has the shape of a square. Peel a thick-skinned orange and square off the ends with a sharp knife. ...white modern buildings that look like squared-off wedding cakes. II. If one group or person squares off against or with another, they prepare to fight them. In Florida, farmers are squaring off against cities for rights to groundwater. French soldiers squared off with a gunman at a road checkpoint. The two teams square off for the first game of the series. A few years after squaring off in the Republic debate, Abbott and Turnbull would find themselves on the same team as Liberal Party members of the federal parliament. But their rivalry would only intensify as ambition for the top job pitted them against each other once again. 8. masses [ˈmæs·ɪz] 普罗大众, 老百姓 the ordinary people who form the largest group in a society. all the ordinary people in society who do not have power or influence The trains provided cheap travel for the masses. The candidate won the support of the masses. TV sitcoms are designed to appeal to the masses. For the masses, it was paradise – seagulls drifting in the breeze, waves carrying sandcastles back to the sea and Sunday markets full of farmers. But it was a paradise Kezia was cut off from, brought up to fear the outside world. haul/drag someone over the coals 当中指责 to reprimand someone. to speak angrily to someone because they have done something you disapprove of: He was hauled over the coals for coming in late for work. Just over a decade ticked by and Kezia watched on as the Jehovah’s Witnesses were one of the religious organisations hauled over coals during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The faith's handling of abuse was scrutinised and blamed for contributing to the pain endured by survivors. hog 霸占, 霸屏, 占据: The handmade ornaments she crafted with her young son continue to sparkle long after the ham and prawn sales hog full page paper ads. foil If you refer to one thing or person as a foil for another, you approve of the fact that they contrast with each other and go well together, often in a way that makes the second thing or person seem better or less harmful. something or someone that makes another's good or bad qualities more noticeable. Anything that acts by contrast to emphasise the characteristics of something: foil for 鲜明对比, 衬托 The older, cynical character in the play is the perfect foil for the innocent William. He thought of her serenity as a foil for his intemperance. A cold beer is the perfect foil for a curry. intemperance [ɪnˈtɛmpərəns] [formal, disapproval] I. 没有底线. 没有把门的. 不节制 a lack of temperance or restraint; immoderation. the action or quality of showing anger or violence that is too extreme and not well controlled: I regret the intemperance of what I said. Lack of resources leads to additional stress and can lead to intemperance. II. excessive drinking of alcoholic liquor. intemperate 没有底线. 没有把门的. 不加以克制的, 不加限制的, 无节制的, 不节制 showing anger or violence that is too extreme and not well controlled. If you describe someone's words as intemperate, you are critical of them because they are too forceful and uncontrolled. Lacking moderation, temper or control. intemperate language. intemperate zeal. The tone of the article is intemperate. an intemperate outburst. intemperate language. The governor said he would not be provoked into intemperate action. Just the duck's nuts is a common slang term in Australia and New Zealand , meaning "the best". That hotel was just the ducks nuts, it had everything we needed within walking distance. In Australia there is also the child-friendly version "just the duck's GUTS". shift/move the dail = move the needle 效果不显著, 收效甚微, 没有什么变化, 没有什么改变 ( = change the landscape): To make a measurable difference. This is very similar to the more common idiom "moving the needle." When something moves the needle or the dial, it means that it causes a noticeable change. To make a significant change or impact in a particular situation or context. The influential speech by the politician aimed to shift the dial on public opinion regarding climate change. change the landscape 改变格局 The birth of a 5-million metre sq ft entertainment-andretail complex could change the landscape beyond recognition. The coalition government of 2010-15 will be remembered as a summer before storms that could change the landscape of our party politics. It has already started to change the landscape of medicine, to transform its capacity to contain - and even sometimes cure - this dreaded disease. rave verb. I. 滔滔不绝地. to speak in an uncontrolled way, usually because you are upset or angry, or because you are ill. to speak or shout in a way that is out of control, usually because of anger or mental illness, If someone raves, they talk in an excited and uncontrolled way.
She cried and raved for weeks, and people did not know what to do. 'What is wrong with you, acting like that,' she raved, pacing up and down frantically. She was wild and raving, tearing up her books. He's always raving (on) about the government. She was ranting and raving about some imagined insult. II. to praise something very much. If you rave about something, you speak or write about it with great enthusiasm. Rachel raved about the new foods she ate while she was there. 'Such lovely clothes. I'd no idea Milan was so wonderful,' she raved. She raved about/over 盛赞, 赞誉, 赞不绝口, 赞叹不已 the clothes she had seen at the Paris fashion shows. adj. 赞誉有加的. admiring and giving a lot of praise. The show has received rave 赞叹不已的 reviews/notices in all the papers. noun. I. an event where young people dance to modern electronic music and sometimes take illegal drugs. A rave is a big event at which young people dance to electronic music in a large building or in the open air. Raves are often associated with illegal drugs. ...an all-night rave at Castle Donington. Old faces and new talents are making it big on the rave scene. an all-night/open-air rave. rave music. II. A rave is the same as a rave review. The resulting show, 'Only the Truth is Funny', has drawn raves from the critics. raving adj. You use raving to describe someone who you think is completely mad. Malcolm looked at her as if she were a raving lunatic. adv. I'm afraid Jean-Paul has gone raving mad. to rant and rave 喋喋不休, 说得没完没了 [disapproval] If you say that someone rants and raves, you mean that they talk loudly and angrily in an uncontrolled way. I don't rant and rave or throw tea cups. full up I. Something that is full up has no space left for any more people or things. Unable to accommodate any more (inhabitants or contents); full. Unfortunately, we're full up here at the moment—no vacancy. The prisons are all full up. II. If you are full up 吃撑, 吃太饱 you have eaten or drunk so much that you do not want to eat or drink anything else. Don't worry, I made sure that the dog's water bowl was full up before we left. booked up 客满 = full up [mainly British] I. If a hotel, restaurant, theatre, or transport service is booked up, it has no rooms, tables, or tickets left for a time or date. (of an event, place, flight, etc.) having no tickets, seats, etc. available because they have all been sold. unable to offer any appointments or accept any reservations, etc; fully booked; full up The hotel is already booked up for March 9-16 of next year. The best restaurants get booked up quickly. The courses quickly get booked up. Some restaurants are so booked up 订空, 抢订 and so elitist that who you are and who you know really does matter if you want a table. II. If someone is booked up, they have made so many arrangements that they have no more time to do things. (of a person) having arranged to do something on a particular date or at a particular time so they are unable to do anything else: I'd like to go but I'm booked up 订满 until the weekend. It's hard to find a good plumber who isn't booked up months in advance. I’m all booked up this week – can we get together next Friday? Mr Wilson's diary is booked up for months ahead. I'm fully booked up 日程排满, I couldn't possibly do it now. book out I. (usually intr, adverb) to leave or cause to leave a hotel. II. to sign out, as at a job. III. Fool me once: Uh, have you seen this? A woman spotted it, and it looped back to Claire Walker's file. One of the bullets from her murder was booked out 借走 for a few hours a few months ago. Booked out by who? The, uh, detective on duty. Looks like he was following the official request from military police. Okay, that stinks. You need to talk to that duty detective. Find out who exactly made that request. Shane Tessier. It has to be. 9. riff-raff 不三不四的人 [disapproval] If you refer to a group of people as riff-raff, you disapprove of them because you think they are not respectable. people with a bad reputation or of a low social class: She says that charging high prices will keep the riff-raff out. The riff-raff are less of a problem than the price for keeping them out. A popular Mexican chain restaurant has backflipped on plans to operate a 24/7 restaurant in Mosman after sparking a furious uproar from local residents with fears it could attract "riff raff" to the north shore suburb. dampen 打击 I. To dampen something such as someone's enthusiasm or excitement means to make it less lively or intense. to make feelings, especially of excitement or enjoyment, less strong: Nothing you can say will dampen her enthusiasm. I didn't want to dampen his spirits. Nothing seems to dampen his perpetual enthusiasm. I hate to dampen your spirits but aren't you overlooking a couple of minor points. To dampen something down means the same as to dampen it. Although unemployment rose last month, this is unlikely to dampen down wage demands. The economy overheated and the government used interest rates to dampen it down. "Yes, I remain very open and still very passionate about what I do, and curious. And those elements haven't been dampened", She said. II. 弄湿If you dampen something, you make it slightly wet. Rain had dampened the tent so we left it to dry in the afternoon sun. She took the time to dampen a washcloth and do her face. Lather, rinse, repeat (sometimes wash, rinse, repeat) is an idiom roughly quoting the instructions found on many brands of shampoo. It is also used as a humorous way of pointing out that such instructions, if taken literally, would result in an endless loop of repeating the same steps, at least until one runs out of shampoo. It is also a sarcastic metaphor for following instructions or procedures slavishly without critical thought. Starting in early January, Australia Day has become a standard day in the calendar for these Trump-like tactics where this year we also saw violent attacks at various Woolworths stores as a direct outcome of Peter Dutton's (and other's) nationalistic calls. Such tactics by politicians can't work in isolation. They feed the agenda-led 24/7 mainstream news cycle of a highly disrupted mainstream media sector – whose revenue model now largely relies on how many listen to and watch shock jocks and click to read outrage headlines. This then flows to and amplifies across social media platforms which are mostly unregulated and unmoderated. It's these tactics, these 'ecosystems of outrage' which are deliberately put into play by politicians and media again and again over a range of issues. Rinse. Repeat. spew [spjuː] verb I. (also spew out/forth) to flow out of something quickly in large quantities, or to make something flow out in this way. When something spews out a substance or when a substance spews from something, the substance flows out quickly in large quantities. The volcano spewed out more scorching volcanic ashes, gases and rocks. Leaking oil spewed from the tanker. An oil tanker spewed its cargo into the sea. Factory chimneys spewed fumes out into the sky. spew from/into/over etc Brown water spewed from the tap. II. spew out/forth to say a lot of bad or negative things very quickly Groups like these use the Internet to spew racial hatred. III. (spew up) informal to vomit. 10. liquidate I. To liquidate a company is to close it down and sell all its assets, usually because it is in debt. to cause a business to close, so that its assets can be sold to pay its debts A unanimous vote was taken to liquidate the company. The company went into liquidation. The number of company liquidations rose 11 per cent. The company was forced into liquidation. Debt-laden Chinese property giant Evergrande has been ordered to liquidate by a court in Hong Kong. Judge Linda Chan said "enough is enough" after the troubled developer repeatedly failed to come up with a plan to restructure its debts. Liquidation is a process where a company's assets are seized and sold off. The proceeds can then be used to repay outstanding debts. II. If a company liquidates its assets, its property such as buildings or machinery is sold in order to get money. to sell your investments or property to make them available in the form of money: Investors have started to liquidate their mutual funds. The company closed down operations and began liquidating its assets in January. III. If someone in a position of power liquidates people who are causing problems, they get rid of them, usually by killing them. They have not hesitated in the past to liquidate their rivals.
