口语: 1. 价格贵: pricey. overpriced. rip-off. daylight robbery. costs an arm and a leg. dear (老人会用). 形容极端贵的: extortionate, exorbitant. outrageous. cut-price (cut-price = cut-rate (美国) 打折的, 折扣的, 非常便宜的: chiefly British I. selling goods or services at very low prices. Cut-price goods or services are cheaper than usual. selling goods and services at less than the usual price: a cut-price airline/operator/retailer. The City remains nervous about cut-price competition from supermarkets. ...the cut-price clothing chain. ...cut-price tickets. The flat was above a cut-price travel agent at the wrong end of Notting Hill … II. very low in price. costing less than the usual price: cut-price bids/deals/offers. cut-price cars/holidays/mortgages. a cut-price ticket. ). reasonable, competitive. bargain, steal ( If you describe something as a steal, you mean that it is very good value. At only £13.50, this champagne is a steal 太划算了.). 好吃: delicious 其实很少用, 显得非常正式. 不要用very delicious. 不要用于否定句说 not delicious. delish可以装酷用. tasty是蛮常用的. yummy显得可爱, 小孩子可以用. I could eat ... all day 拍马屁用. It tastes amazing, incredible, so good. This is the best ... I ever had.
用法学习: 1. largesse = largess in US [lɑːr'ʒes] 慷慨解囊, 馈赠, 大方 Largesse is a generous gift of money or a generous act of kindness. willingness to give money, or money given to poor people by rich people: The medical foundation will be the main beneficiary of the millionaire's largesse. ...grateful recipients of their largesse. ...his most recent act of largesse. We've accomplished a great deal through our growing largesse to meaningful non-profit organizations in communities where we do business. He also socialized in the Hillcrest and La Jolla neighborhoods of San Diego, as well as in Scottsdale, Arizona, "apparently living off the largesse of one wealthy patron or another." badge of honor/pride a mark or expression of pride. An outward sign that signifies some distinction. Defiantly reinterpret (something said) to be negative about oneself as positive. wear as a badge of honor 荣耀的勋章 He wore his ethnic heritage as a badge of honor/pride. injurious 有害的, 会造成伤害的 Something that is injurious to someone or to their health or reputation is harmful or damaging to them. ...substances that are injurious to health. Stress in itself is not necessarily injurious. injurious to Too much alcohol is injurious to your health. kindred similar or related. being related, esp. by having the same opinions, feelings, and interests: We recognized each other as kindred spirits as soon as we met. They sell dried fruit and nuts and other kindred 类似的 products. I recall many discussions with her on these and kindred topics. II. [dialect, or old-fashioned] Your kindred are your family, and all the people who are related to you. The offender made proper restitution to the victim's kindred. kindred spirit 趣味相投的人 a person who has the same opinions, feelings, and interests as you: We recognized each other as kindred spirits as soon as we met. bionic [baɪˈɒn.ɪk] I. using artificial materials and methods to produce activity or movement in a person or animal: a bionic arm/leg. II. humorous used to refer to a person who has greater powers of strength, speed, etc. than seem to be possible for a human: a bionic man/woman. 2. [in] the last chance saloon [səˈluːn] 最后的机会 INFORMAL BRITISH a difficult situation in which there is one final chance to put it right. a final opportunity to be successful or to be accepted after a number of failures: Everyone knew the company was in the last chance saloon. The minister warned the press that they were drinking in the last chance saloon. "he has put his job on the line and is drinking in the last chance saloon". The boss of Emirates airline has warned Boeing is in the "last chance saloon", saying he had seen a "progressive decline" in its performance. saloon = sedan in US a car with seats for four or five people, two or four doors, and a separate area at the back for bags, boxes, and suitcases: a family saloon. kismet [ˈkɪz.met] 宿命, 缘分 a force that some people think controls what happens in the future, and is outside human control: It must have been kismet. A few months after accepting the commission, she learned she would be having a baby. vocabulary: When you encounter something by chance that seems like it was meant to be, then it could be kismet, your destiny. The word kismet comes from the Arabic word ḳismat, meaning "division, portion, lot." You can think of kismet as your lot in life, or your fate. You'll often hear the word used in relation to something significant that came about entirely by chance. If you met the love of your life when you spilled coffee on one another as you fell on the icy sidewalk of a street you never walked down before, all you can do is smile and shrug and say, "Kismet." 3. John Tague from NME wrote, "'Fast Car' is a typically well expressed lament, not for those who have suffered extraordinary circumstances, but for those who escape one form of dead end existence only to fall into another, relative material success without the consolation of dreams for the future. It's a keenly felt depiction of the impossibility of escape, rendered tastefully and gracefully, charming in its simplicity." climb down 认错, 让步, 下台阶 British withdraw from a position taken up in argument or negotiation. If you climb down in an argument or dispute, you admit that you are wrong, or change your intentions or demands. The government has been forced to climb down over the issue of increased taxes. If Lafontaine is forced to climb down, he may wish to reconsider his position. He has climbed down on pledges to reduce capital gains tax. "he was forced to climb down over the central package in the bill". A climb-down in an argument or dispute is the act of admitting that you are wrong or of changing your intentions or demands. The government was forced into a humiliating climb-down. Saying she was wrong was a difficult climbdown for Sarah. Diplomatic efforts were "being made to try and find a climb down for the Houthis that would enable [the] situation to improve and to move away from the kinetic aspect" of the Red Sea crisis, US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said on Tuesday. 4. no way Jose (colloquial) No way; absolutely not. Usage notes: Used an intensified form of no in refusal or denial. A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming, or failing to become, legislation. Some of these readings may be formalities rather than actual debate. The procedure dates back to the centuries before literacy was widespread. Since many members of Parliament were illiterate, the Clerk of Parliament would read aloud a bill to inform members of its contents. By the end of the 16th century, it was practice to have the bill read on three occasions before it was passed. A first reading is when a bill is introduced to a legislature. Typically, in the United States, the title of the bill is read and the bill is immediately assigned to a committee. The bill is then considered by committee between the first and second readings. In the United States Senate and most British-influenced legislatures, the committee consideration occurs between second and third readings. Third Reading is the last stage that a bill goes through in the house of origin before it passes to the second house to go through the committee process all over again. On Third Reading, the author presents the bill for passage by the entire house. apoplectic [ˌapəˈplɛktɪk] 气愤异常的 extremely and obviously angry. If someone is apoplectic, they are extremely angry about something. It's enough to make them choke with apoplectic rage. My father was apoplectic when he discovered the truth. He was apoplectic with rage/fury. debilitating [dɪˈbɪlɪteɪtɪŋ] making someone or something physically weak: a debilitating condition/disease. Diabetes can be severely debilitating or even life-threatening if not treated regularly. verb. I. If you are debilitated by something such as an illness, it causes your body or mind to become gradually weaker. Stewart took over yesterday when Russell was debilitated by a stomach virus. ...a debilitating illness. Occasionally a patient is so debilitated that he must be fed intravenously. II. To debilitate an organization, society, or government means to gradually make it weaker. ...their efforts to debilitate the political will of the Western alliance. ...years of debilitating economic crisis. ...the debilitated ruling party. 5. the genie is out of the bottle/let the genie out of the bottle 事已至此, 木已成舟 If you say that the genie is out of the bottle or that someone has let the genie out of the bottle, you mean that something has happened which has made a great and permanent change in people's lives, especially a bad change. As for unconventional weapons, the genie is unfortunately already out of the bottle. break cover 跑出来, 仓皇出逃, 跑出藏身之地 suddenly leave a place of shelter, especially vegetation, when being hunted or pursued. If you break cover, you leave a place where you have been hiding or sheltering from attack, usually in order to run to another place. When an animal or person breaks cover, they run out of a hiding place. They began running again, broke cover and dashed towards the road. "it was more than likely that the tigress would break cover and try to rush me". you could have knocked me down/over with a feather = strike me down with a feather 呆若木鸡, 惊呆了, 呆住了 said when you are extremely surprised. used to say that one was extremely surprised or astonished when he or she found out about something When they told me I had won, you could have knocked me over with a feather. keep one's [own] counsel = hold one's peace = keep one's cards close to one's chest = keep one's mouth shut = keep one's own counsel = keep counsel 不发表议论, 保持沉默, 缄默, 少说为好, 沉默是金, 谨言慎行 To keep one's own business private; to be careful, circumspect, or discreet in what one says concerning one's own deeds, situation, or thoughts. to not say what your opinions are. If you keep your own counsel, you keep quiet about your opinions or intentions. Guscott rarely speaks out, preferring to keep his own counsel. I'd love to know what Anna thinks, but she always keeps her own counsel. do someone in to kill someone: They threatened to do me in if I didn't pay up by Friday. duplicitous [djʊˈplɪsɪtəs] 两面三刀, 说一套做一套 involving duplicity. Someone who is duplicitous is deceitful. He is a possessive, duplicitous and unreasonable man. a duplicitous traitor/spy/politician. vocabulary: That guy in the drama club who tells everyone he hates organized sports one day and then joins the football team the next? He's being duplicitous, or pretending to have feelings that his actions contradict. In duplicitous, you can see the word duplicity, which means "doubleness." Someone who is duplicitous is almost like two people, saying one thing but then doing something very different, even contradictory. Someone who is duplicitous can also be called "two-faced," a vivid way to remember that this person shouldn't be trusted or taken at face value. 6. disingenuous [ˌdɪs(ɪ)nˈdʒɛnjʊəs] 不诚恳的, 不实诚的 adj not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does. (of a person or their behaviour) slightly dishonest, or not speaking the complete truth. Someone who is disingenuous is slightly dishonest and insincere in what they say. It was disingenuous of her to claim she had no financial interest in the case. "he was being somewhat disingenuous as well as cynical". It would be disingenuous to claim that this is great art. He disingenuously remarked that he knew nothing about strategy. ingenious [ɪnˈdʒiːnɪəs] adj (of a person) very intelligent and skilful, or (of a thing) skilfully made or planned and involving new ideas and methods. Something that is ingenious is very clever and involves new ideas, methods, or equipment. ...a truly ingenious invention. Gautier's solution to the puzzle is ingenious. The roof has been ingeniously designed to provide solar heating. an ingenious idea/method/solution. Johnny is so ingenious - he can make the most remarkable sculptures from the most ordinary materials. machinations [mækɪneɪʃənz or ˌmaʃɪˈneɪʃn] [disapproval] You use machinations to describe secret and complicated plans, especially to gain power. complicated and secret plans to get power or control or to gain an advantage: Despite a commitment to a more open government, the public is still being kept in the dark about the inner machinations of the Cabinet. Much of next year will be taken up with political machinations about his successor. ...the political machinations that brought him to power. machinate [ˈmækɪˌneɪt] 阴谋策划, 密谋 to contrive, plan, or devise (schemes, plots, etc). plutocrat [ˈpluːtəkrat] 钱买来的权, 钱权阶层 often derogatory a person whose power derives from their wealth. If you describe someone as a plutocrat, you disapprove of them because you believe they are powerful only because they are rich. This feeling grips the worker no less than the plutocrats. "champagne-swilling plutocrats". 7. countenance [kaʊntɪnəns] 支持, 同意, 赞成 verb. If someone will not countenance something, they do not agree with it and will not allow it to happen. Jake would not countenance Janis's marrying while still a student. ...the military men who refused to countenance the overthrow of the president. to approve of or give support to something: The school will not countenance bad behaviour. Turnbull says Morrison began to "sniff out interest in removing Abbott" as early as 2014, only a year after the Coalition's election victory, when the majority of colleagues were not countenancing a change. noun. I. Someone's countenance is their face. the appearance or expression of someone's face: He was of noble countenance. He met each inquiry with an impassive countenance. II. approval: We will not give/lend countenance to any kind of terrorism. stalking horse 挡箭牌, 祭旗, 出头鸟 I.[disapproval] a person or thing that is used to conceal someone's real intentions. If you describe a person or thing as a stalking horse, you mean that it is being used to obtain a temporary advantage so that someone can get what they really want. I think the development is a stalking horse for exploitation of the surrounding countryside. "you have used me simply as a stalking horse for some of your more outrageous views". II. a candidate in an election for the leadership of a political party who stands only in order to provoke the election and thus allow a stronger candidate to come forward. in politics, someone who competes for a position that they have no chance of winning, in order to divide the opposition to a particular group or to take attention away from another person who that group really wants to win. "a stalking-horse challenge". The possibility of another stalking horse challenge this autumn cannot be ruled out. There was talk of moving Turnbull to Treasury to replace Joe Hockey after the disaster of the 2014 budget. "I was careful to play no part in this. Abbott would never move me to treasurer," Turnbull says. "And I felt I was being used as a stalking horse by others, especially Scott Morrison, to position themselves". III. a screen traditionally made in the shape of a horse behind which a hunter may stay concealed when stalking prey.
澳自由党权力斗争: 片段1: The Praetorian ( = pretorian [priːˈtɔːrɪən] Guard ( praetor = pretor [ˈpriːtə] noun (in ancient Rome) any of several senior magistrates ranking just below the consuls. ) (Latin: cohortēs praetōriae) was an elite unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guards were escorts for high-ranking political officials (senators and procurators) and were bodyguards for the senior officers of the Roman legions. In 27 BC, after Rome's transition from republic to empire, the first emperor of Rome, Augustus, designated the Praetorians as his personal security escort. For three centuries, the guards of the Roman emperor were also known for their palace intrigues, by whose influence upon imperial politics the Praetorians could overthrow an emperor and then proclaim his successor as the new caesar of Rome. In AD 312, Constantine the Great disbanded the cohortes praetoriae and destroyed their barracks at the Castra Praetoria. bonk ban in Australia: "At the start, Turnbull and I got along splendidly, says Mr Joyce. “I was a crucial part of Malcolm's Praetorian Guard … I protected him. I really did." But when he announced the extra-marital affair to the world at a press conference and confirmed he was introducing a "bonk ban" ( A prohibition against sexual or intimate relationships between parliamentarians and staffers. ) Mr Joyce saw red. On the day of his press conference Mr Joyce confronted Mr Turnbull in the Prime Minister's office. "I said, 'What on earth was that about?'" Mr Joyce remembers telling Mr Turnbull. "That is inept [ɪˈnɛpt] ( If you say that someone is inept, you are criticizing them because they do something with a complete lack of skill. not skilled or effective: inept comment/remark. inept at He was always rather inept at sport. inept handling He was criticized for his inept handling of the situation. socially inept Dick was socially inept and uncomfortable in the presence of women. He was inept and lacked the intelligence to govern. You are completely inept at writing. ...his inept handling of the army. ). Why are you involving yourself in my personal life?" "I strongly believe it was a plan by Morrison to get rid of me … to create chaos, to peel me off from 玻璃 Turnbull or to completely break down 破坏关系 the relationship. I think he was an instigator of the bonk ban. I think Turnbull's the narrator of it and Morrison was the architect of it." "I've been around Canberra a long time. I know it goes on and it destroys families. And this was a sensible, mature safeguard in an executive government.", Morrison said. 片段2: unadulterated [ˌʌnəˈdʌltəˌreɪtəd] I. 不掺假的. 没有杂质的. 完完全全的. 不掺一丝假的. complete: used for emphasizing how good or how bad a quality or feeling is. pure unadulterated pleasure. What a load of unadulterated nonsense. II. 掺杂. 掺假. 掺水. in a pure form with nothing added. Something that is unadulterated is completely pure and has had nothing added to it. Organic food is unadulterated food produced without artificial chemicals or pesticides. II. You can also use unadulterated to emphasize a particular quality, often a bad quality. Sheer unadulterated greed should never be part of any system. adulterate [əˈdʌltəˌreɪt] 掺水, 兑水, 掺假 verb. If something such as food or drink is adulterated, someone has made its quality worse by adding water or cheaper products to it. The food had been adulterated to increase its weight. There is a regulation against adulterated cosmetics. ...the adulteration of tobacco. There were complaints that the beer had been adulterated with water. Adulterated foods or drugs have been made weaker or worse in quality, especially by having something added to the them: There has been a government crackdown on adulterated animal feed. The company was accused of distributing adulterated food. arch-conservative [ɑːtʃ kənˈsəːvətɪv] 极度保守的 (ultra-conservative, far right) adj extremely averse to change and strongly adhering to traditional values. consistently holding extremely conservative views publisher of the city's archconservative newspaper. "his social philosophy is arch-conservative". noun. a person who is extremely averse to change and strongly adheres to traditional values. "her father was an arch-conservative". 片段3: They may have been great mates and Liberal comrades, but Craig Laundy and Luke Howarth were at each other's throats 激烈争论( If two people are at each other's throats, they are arguing angrily. if two people or groups are at each other's throats, they are continually arguing or fighting He and Stevens didn't get on; they'd been at each other's throats for years. Those two are always at each other's throats.) the moment they sat down for dinner. "As soon as I walked in that night, the first thing Craig said to me is, 'You're not part of this madness, are you?'" recalls Howarth. "And then we're on. It was on." 片段4: spring a/the trap I. 收网. cause a trap for catching animals to close suddenly. if an animal springs a trap, it is caught by the trap. To initiate, instigate, or execute a plan to secretly or deceptively take advantage of someone or something. The undercover agent waited until money had been exchanged before springing the trap. II. trick someone into doing something. to make someone say or do something by tricking them. "she decided to spring the trap after noticing that her husband was behaving erratically". enterprising [ˈɛntəprʌɪzɪŋ] adj I. having or showing initiative and resourcefulness. Very able and ingenious in business dealings or social advancement. "some enterprising teachers have started their own recycling programmes". II. 做事大胆的. An enterprising person is willing to try out new, unusual ways of doing or achieving something. Displaying bravery and daring in attempting some task. Some enterprising members found ways of reducing their expenses or raising their incomes. III. good at thinking of and doing new and difficult things, especially things that will make money: The business was started by a couple of enterprising young women. enterprising of That was very enterprising of you, Vijay! 新闻片段: Armed with Laundy's latest intelligence, Turnbull woke on Tuesday morning knowing he had to quash any coup before it could be launched. The prime minister, ever the enterprising strategist, decided to spring a trap on the plotters. "My calculation 算计 was that I was better to obviate [ˈɒbvɪeɪt] 除掉, 去除 ( To obviate something such as a problem or a need means to remove it or make it unnecessary. to remove a difficulty, especially so that action to deal with it becomes unnecessary: A peaceful solution would obviate the need to send a UN military force. Our old-fashioned push-mower, for instance, obviates the needs for extension leads. This deferral would obviate pressure on the rouble exchange rate. ) the need for a spill by simply saying, 'Right, this leadership thing has got to be brought to a head,'" recalls Turnbull, "'I'm declaring the leader's position vacant and I'm renominating. Does anyone want to challenge me?' And that, of course, was designed to flush Dutton out." Turnbull only confided in a couple of colleagues about his plan – his deputy Julie Bishop and Craig Laundy. "The level of indiscretion [ˌɪndɪˈskrɛʃn] ( If you talk about someone's indiscretion, you mean that they have done or said something that is risky, careless, or likely to upset people. Occasionally they paid for their indiscretion with their lives. ...punishing me for an indiscretion committed a decade ago. a. the quality of being indiscreet: Jones was censured for indiscretion in leaking a secret report to the press. b. something, especially a sexual relationship, that is considered embarrassing or morally wrong: youthful indiscretion 年少无知, 年少时的犯的错, 少不更事, 不知好歹, 放荡不羁 A minor mistake of a romantic or sexual nature, made by a young person. a minor mistake made by a young person. t was just a youthful indiscretion on her part, made before she became an MP. He had left that youthful indiscretion off his CV. With youth comes youthful indiscretion. He describes his drug use in college as just a youthful indiscretion. We should forgive him a few youthful indiscretions. ) was so great there that something like that, you really had to keep very, very close," he says. Turnbull's ambush worked. He defeated Dutton 48 votes to 35. To many filing out of the party room, however, it was not a decisive victory but merely a stay of execution ( stay of execution 暂缓执行 LAW an order by a court to temporarily stop an action or an earlier court decision being carried out. If you are given a stay of execution, you are legally allowed to delay obeying an order of a court of law. Rather than allow a bank to foreclose on a mortgage, a court will sometimes give you a stay of execution.). Dutton was beaten but emboldened 壮胆了. By Wednesday morning, Turnbull believed he had seen off his rival. "The steam was definitely coming out of Dutton's challenge," he says. But then, at 11:45am, Cormann arrived at the prime minister's office. As finance minister and the leader of the government in the Senate, Cormann was one of the most powerful people in Turnbull's inner circle. The prime minister trusted Cormann but some senior ministers had warned that his confidence in the conservative powerbroker was misplaced. "The idea that Mathias Cormann, this leading figure of the right wing of the party, would not support his best friend Peter Dutton was fanciful 白日做梦的," says former attorney-general George Brandis. "And for Malcolm to think that their personal relationship and mutual regard would stand in the way of that was delusional." Running out of options, the prime minister consulted his loyalists. "Malcolm said, 'What do we do in this situation? You're the oracle (oracle 指路明灯, 智慧长者 I. a person giving wise or authoritative decisions or opinions. someone who knows a lot about a subject and can give good advice: Professor Ross is regarded as the oracle on eating disorders. She became an oracle of pop culture. II. an authoritative or wise expression or answer. III. In ancient Greece, an oracle was a priest or priestess who made statements about future events or about the truth. ), you've been around longer than anybody else.' Which I had," Christopher Pyne says. "And I said, 'Well, I think they should be required to show that they've got a majority of people who want to have a party room. And if they can get a majority of people in the party room saying that they want another party meeting, well then we should have one.'" The rebels had to get the necessary signatures: 43 names. Dutton's number-crunchers set up a war room in an unremarkable meeting space inside Parliament House named after a tropical hardwood. "I believe it was called the Monkey Pod because the wooden table [in the room] was taken from a monkey pod tree," says Dutton supporter Andrew Hastie. "We decided to meet [there] … it was between Peter [Dutton's] room and Christopher Pyne's room." Pyne's staff soon discovered that Dutton's lieutenants were relying on some "old tech" to tally up the numbers for his leadership putsch ( putsch [pʊtʃ] 政变 A putsch is a sudden attempt to get rid of a government by force. an attempt to remove a government by force Spectacular changes have taken place at the top since the failed putsch. ). The partyroom meeting was on. Turnbull was almost certain to bow out. In the three-way contest for the leadership, Dutton had his nose in front ( nose ahead 稍稍抢到先机 to get into a position that is slightly in front of someone or something else: The company has nosed ahead of its closest rivals, claiming 33% market share. ). But Morrison was glued to the phone and didn't stop making calls until the moment he walked to the meeting. Like Turnbull, moderate faction leader Christopher Pyne was willing to do anything to stop a Dutton victory. Crunching the numbers, he knew the only way to stop the conservative champion was to cruel the chances of his faction's candidate – Julie Bishop. It didn't help matters that Bishop was also a friend. "[Dutton's camp] completely miscalculated in that they believed that the moderates would, to a man and woman, support Julie Bishop, and that Scott Morrison would never be a candidate, or he might get half a dozen votes," Pyne says. "It never occurred to them that the moderates would make a clear-eyed assessment of the fact that Julie – much as I support Julie and she's a particular friend – that Julie couldn't win, and that therefore there was no point in supporting her because Scott could win and, therefore, we would support Scott." "This had been a week of complete insanity," Turnbull says. "And I just looked around the room and thought, 'Well, this is the little group of people in a fit of collective madness … we've embarked on this wild week thinking it's all about themselves but, in fact, they're changing the government of Australia.' A ballot was then held for the leadership. Dutton garnered 38 votes, Morrison 36, and Julie Bishop just 11. Bishop was out of the running. "They smashed her. They didn't just break her, they smashed her," says veteran Liberal and Bishop backer Russell Broadbent. "And it was predatory in the way they did it." Coalition colleagues have told Nemesis they were shocked by how Julie Bishop's candidacy was scuttled ( scuttle I. When people or small animals scuttle somewhere 小步跑, 小步疾走, they run there with short quick steps. to move quickly, with small, short steps, especially in order to escape: A crab scuttled away under a rock as we passed. The children scuttled off as soon as the headteacher appeared. Two very small children scuttled away in front of them. Crabs scuttle along the muddy bank. II. to stop something happening, or to cause a plan to fail. To scuttle a plan or a proposal means to make it fail or cause it to stop. Such threats could scuttle the peace conference. III. 凿沉. To scuttle a ship means to sink it deliberately by making holes in the bottom. to intentionally sink a ship, especially your own, in order to prevent it from being taken by an enemy He personally had received orders from the commander to scuttle the ship. noun. A scuttle is the same as a coal scuttle. ) in the moderate faction's bid to defeat Peter Dutton. That left Dutton and Morrison in a run-off. When it came down to a choice between Peter and myself … I had been on the conservative side of most issues," Morrison says. "So I suppose I had the ability to reach out to quite a number of members from a conservative perspective, but at the same time not be seen as a great intolerant threat to the moderate side of the party." Morrison's confidence was not misplaced. He won the final ballot 45 votes to 40. Looking back more than five years later, Malcolm Turnbull believes he was played by Scott Morrison during "the week of madness". He claims Morrison wasn't the loyal lieutenant he painted himself to be. "It's clear to me that Morrison played a double game on the Tuesday, and that his people – six or seven we think – voted for Dutton in that [original] spill, and that made Dutton's numbers look better and increased the pressure on me," Turnbull says. "Now, did Scott vote for Dutton? I would doubt that but he might have. But it was his modus operandi, which we'd seen in 2015, to publicly go one way and get his henchmen to go the other. Could they have voted for Dutton without his knowledge? Absolutely not. I mean, as I think we all know now, having seen him as prime minister, he is the ultimate control freak." When it was clear he had no prospects of retaining the prime ministership, Turnbull actively encouraged Morrison's campaign. Turnbull says he lined up behind 站队 Morrison because he believed he was "a responsible, safe pair of hands. But Dutton, were he to become prime minister, would run off to the right with a divisive, dog-whistling, anti-immigration agenda, written and directed by Sky News and 2GB, designed to throw red meat ( I. meat from animals with four legs such as cows, pigs, and sheep. meat from mammals, especially beef and lamb: My doctor advised me that eating red meat increased the risk of cancer. However, indulging in red meat a few times a week does provide you with essential nutrients. II. especially in politics, a subject, comment, etc. that is used intentionally to excite or please a particular group of people: That was some red meat for the right wing. They should be bringing us together, but instead, they're race-baiting and throwing red meat to their constituents to score political points. ) to the base. With no constraints( I. A constraint is something that limits or controls what you can do. Their decision to abandon the trip was made because of financial constraints. Water shortages in the area will be the main constraint on development. something that controls what you do by keeping you within particular limits: constraint of 束缚, 拘束, 约束 The constraints of politeness wouldn't allow her to say what she really thought about his cooking. constraint on Financial constraints on the company are preventing them from employing new staff. financial constraint The idea has been dropped due to financial constraints. II. Constraint is control over the way you behave which prevents you from doing what you want to do. ), Dutton would do enormous damage to the social fabric of Australia. It's one thing having the tough cop handling border protection and counter-terrorism, but not at the head of our multicultural society" "During an interview with Leigh Sales on 7.30 on Tuesday 28 June, Scott refused to say how he'd vote if the plebiscite was carried and this immediately raised concerns about the government's sincerity. Scott had a very sincerely held and viscerally intense opposition to same-sex marriage and could have said he'd abstain, but I fear his troubled conscience was reserving the right to vote against it. Every other minister was then asked how they'd vote; most sensibly said they'd vote for legalisation if the plebiscite passed. A cautious answer from Julie Bishop was unreasonably portrayed as equivocal 模棱两可的, 不置可否的 ( I. If you are equivocal, you are deliberately vague in what you say, because you want to avoid speaking the truth or making a decision. Many were equivocal about the idea. His equivocal response has done nothing to dampen the speculation. II. If something is equivocal, it is difficult to understand, interpret, or explain, often because it has aspects that seem to contradict each other. Research in this area is somewhat equivocal. He was tortured by an awareness of the equivocal nature of his position.). She was a strong supporter of same-sex marriage despite a ferocious anti-same-sex-marriage element in her constituency, led by Margaret Court." Turnbull says Dutton was also hostile to Morrison. "Of course, if Mathias had a poor opinion of Scott, Dutton’s dislike of him was even stronger," he says. Turnbull suggests the feelings were more or less mutual. Morrison for his part "didn't entirely trust Mathias, not because he saw Mathias as a rival for the leadership one day, but because he knew Mathias was close to Peter Dutton. Scott didn't trust Dutton at all and regarded him as deficient in all respects – character, intellect and political nous." "Within that troika," Turnbull says, "it would be fair to say that each of them trusted me more than they trusted the other." Cormann's move against Turnbull clearly stung the most. Turnbull says he was "hurt" personally by the finance minister's decision to agitate ( agitation I. The act of agitating, or the state of being agitated; the state of being disrupted with violence, or with irregular action; commotion. If someone is in a state of agitation, they are very worried or upset, and show this in their behaviour, movements, or voice. Danny returned to Father's house in a state of intense agitation. She forced herself to breathe calmly and not show her agitation. During a storm the sea is in agitation. II. A disturbance of personal tranquillity; disturbance of someone's peace of mind. She causes great agitation within me. III. Excitement of public feeling by discussion, appeals, etc. the antislavery agitation. labor agitation. After this conflict pro-independence agitation temporarily died down. to argue forcefully, especially in public, in order to achieve a particular type of change: The unions continue to agitate for higher pay. As a young man, he had agitated against the Vietnam war. agitate verb I. (transitive) To disturb or excite; to perturb or stir up (a person). If something agitates you, it worries you and makes you unable to think clearly or calmly. The thought of them getting her possessions when she dies agitates her. He was greatly agitated by the news. II. (transitive) To cause to move with a violent, irregular action; to shake. to shake a liquid. If you agitate something, you shake it so that it moves about. All you need to do is gently agitate the water with a finger or paintbrush. Its molecules can be agitated by microwave energy. Temperature is a measure of the agitation of the molecules of matter. Pour the powder into the solution and agitate it until the powder has dissolved. the wind agitates the sea. III. to agitate water in a vessel. IV. To participate in political agitation. If people agitate for something, they protest or take part in political activity in order to get it. The women who worked in these mills had begun to agitate for better conditions. At least seventy students were injured in the continuing agitation against the decision. agitated worried or angry: She became very agitated when her son failed to return home. There was a long delay, and people became increasingly agitated as they waited for the train. ) on behalf of Dutton, because he thought there was a friendship that eclipsed the transactions of politics. Although he also quotes Cormann describing the move against him by Dutton as "madness, and it is terrorism – but you have to give in to it".
