Phrases & Expressions

To avoid a difficult or embarrassing topic instead of discussing it openly.

• In the meeting, the manager skated around the issue of job cuts, which only made staff more anxious.
• Doctors should not skate around bad news, because patients deserve clear and honest information.

To say rude, unkind things about someone, often when they are not there.

• It's unprofessional to slag off your previous employer during a job interview.
• He's always slagging his flatmates off on social media, which I find really childish.

To appear or be built suddenly in large numbers.

• Electric scooter rental schemes have sprouted up in cities around the world over the past few years.
• Since the new university opened, cheap student flats have been sprouting up around the campus.

To be too nice to someone in authority, praising them falsely to gain an advantage.

• Everyone knows he only offers to make the boss coffee because he wants to suck up to her.
• Students who suck up to their teachers are not always popular with their classmates.

To become fewer in number or less crowded.

• The crowds usually thin out after the summer, so autumn is a great time to visit.
• The population thins out quickly as you travel north, and some villages have only a handful of residents.

To enjoy and do well in a situation that other people might find difficult or stressful.

• Some students thrive on the pressure of exams, while others find it almost impossible to sleep.
• Unlike his brother, who thrives on noise and crowds, Daniel prefers quiet evenings at home.

To add numbers or amounts together to find the total.

• Let me tot up what we owe before the waiter comes back with the bill.
• At the end of the quiz, the teacher totted the scores up and announced the winning team.

To calculate the total amount of a series of numbers or costs.

• She spent the evening trying to tot up her monthly expenses.
• Let us tot up the scores before announcing the winner.

To be much taller than the people or things nearby.

• At sixteen, he already towers above his parents.
• The new hotel towers above the old houses along the beach.

To sell something and buy a cheaper or smaller one instead.

• After their children left home, the couple traded down to a small flat and saved the difference.
• During the recession, many shoppers traded down from famous brands to supermarket own-label products.