Phrases & Expressions

To feel slightly unwell or not quite your normal self.

• Lack of sleep can leave students feeling out of sorts and unable to concentrate in morning lectures.
• She felt out of sorts all weekend, but by Monday morning she was back to normal.

To feel suddenly faint or as if you might collapse, usually because of a shock.

• When the doctor explained the test results, she felt the floor give way beneath her.
• As I stood up to give my speech, I suddenly felt the floor give way and had to grab the table.

To appoint someone to a job that is currently vacant.

• The school has struggled to fill the post of maths teacher since last September.
• It took the charity six months to fill the post after the director resigned.

To keep criticising something, often by pointing out small and unimportant mistakes.

• Some managers find fault with everything their staff do, which quickly destroys motivation in the team.
• My grandmother always finds fault with my cooking, but she still comes back for a second helping.

Supplies of natural materials, such as oil or metals, that exist only in limited quantities.

• Some environmentalists argue that endless economic growth is impossible on a planet with finite resources.
• Recycling metals and plastics helps to reduce the demand placed on the earth's finite resources.

To try to make people say nice things about you, often by pretending to be modest.

• When she said her presentation was terrible, I think she was just fishing for compliments.
• Posting selfies with captions like 'I look awful today' is often a way of fishing for compliments online.

(of clothes or colours) to make your body shape look as attractive as possible.

• Personal shoppers help customers find clothes that flatter their figure and suit their lifestyle.
• That dark blue dress really flatters your figure, so you should definitely wear it to the wedding.

Information that contains mistakes and therefore cannot be trusted.

• The study's conclusions were rejected because they were based on flawed data from a small, unrepresentative sample.
• Policies built on flawed data can waste millions of pounds of public money.

To keep rising and falling suddenly and by large amounts.

• The graph shows that the price of coffee fluctuated wildly between 2000 and 2010.
• Temperatures in the desert fluctuate wildly, from extreme heat during the day to freezing cold at night.

(British, informal) for a very long time.

• I've known Sam for donkey's years — we were at primary school together.
• That little shop has been selling the same old-fashioned sweets for donkey's years.