Phrases & Expressions

Specialist language that is so difficult that ordinary people cannot understand it.

• Many legal documents are full of impenetrable jargon that most citizens cannot follow.
• The scientist explained her research clearly, avoiding the impenetrable jargon that often puts the public off.

To express sadness or disappointment that something is becoming weaker, smaller or less important.

• Many writers lament the decline of reading for pleasure among teenagers who prefer social media.
• Older residents lament the decline of the high street, where most of the small family shops have closed.

A goal that is good and worthwhile and therefore deserves praise.

• Reducing child poverty is a laudable aim, but the plan does not explain how it will be funded.
• Encouraging people to cycle to work is a laudable aim that requires safe cycle lanes to succeed.

To be extremely poor, without enough money for basic needs such as food and shelter.

• Many of Charles Dickens's novels describe children who live in abject poverty on the streets of London.
• The documentary follows families who live in abject poverty on the edges of a rapidly growing city.

To keep moving suddenly and without control from one serious problem to the next.

• My first term at university felt like I was lurching from one crisis to another: lost keys, missed deadlines and a broken laptop.
• It is exhausting to work for a start-up that lurches from one crisis to another without ever making a long-term plan.

An obvious attempt to show off how rich you are, which others may find vulgar.

• Some celebrities have been criticised for their ostentatious displays of wealth on social media while many of their fans struggle to pay their bills.
• Many young couples now regard expensive weddings as an unnecessary and ostentatious display of wealth.

To deliberately obstruct a police or court case, for example by lying or destroying evidence.

• The driver was jailed for perverting the course of justice after persuading a friend to take the blame.
• Deleting the emails after the investigation began could be seen as an attempt to pervert the course of justice.

To suggest that two things are connected, as a starting point for discussion or research.

• The author posits a link between childhood poverty and poor health in later life, but offers little evidence.
• The report posits a link between low wages and high staff turnover in the care sector.

To make a serious situation happen suddenly or sooner than expected.

• The sudden collapse of several banks precipitated a crisis that spread rapidly across the global economy.
• Analysts fear that a sharp rise in food prices could precipitate a crisis in some of the region's poorest countries.

To begin a speech or piece of writing with a particular remark, question or story.

• The speaker prefaced her talk with a short video about plastic waste in the ocean.
• Before announcing the job cuts, the director prefaced the news with a warm thank-you to all staff.