| Lesson 10 "Mall Malaise" |
| Expressions | Paraphrasing or Synonym |
| malaise | general feeling of discomfort, illness or unease |
| tempting | enticing, appealing |
| to my dismay | to my disappointment |
| imminent | about to happen, impending |
| plague | epidemic illness |
| *pinch pennies | being careful about spending, being frugal, thrifty, miser, Scrooge(from the name of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserly curmudgeon in A Christmas Carol) |
| Minneapolis and St.Paul Boston Detroit Chicago Denver Hollywood Los Angeles Washington D.C. |
Twin Cities Beantown ( Boston baked beans→a kind of candy) Motown (Motor City) the Windy City the Mile-High City Tinseltown (tinsel=superficial attractiveness or glamour, spangle) the City of Angels the Emerald City |
| plummet | to drop straight down at high speed, decrease rapidly in value or amount |
| *shopaholic | someone who is addicted to shopping |
| *tighten one's purse strings | to be pinchpenny, be frugal, tighten one's belt |
| haggle | to bargain persistently for a lower price |
| *What is the bottom line? | What is the main point? |
| set foot outside | to go out |
| *markdown | reduction in price |
| resort to | to adopt a strategy so as to resolve a difficult situation |
| bottom line | final result of something, final profit after all the expenses |
| frenzy | a state or period of uncontrolled excitement |
| *make out like a bandit | make more money than one should have |
| *bandit | a thief, a robber |
| skinny | unattractively thin |
| mom-and-pop store | a small shop run by married couple or family members, dime store |
| *one-armed bandit | slot machine |
| *It was a steal. | getting a big discount / saving a lot of money |
| *high-end | upscale, the latest technology |
| *whopping | extremely large |
| dire | extremely serious or urgent, dismal, appalling, atrocious, grim |
| *straits | a situation characterized by a specific degree of trouble or difficulty |
| *fork out | to pay money for something especially reluctantly |
| *bargain | a thing bought for a lower price than normal |
| *tighten | to make stricter ←→loosen, ease |
| forestall | prevent or obstruct (something anticipated) by taking advance action e.g. You could use this special cream if you want to forestall the aging process. |
| mayhem | violent disorder, chaos, random violence, pandemonium |
| *concealed | hidden |
| sentry | a soldier stationed to keep guard |
| quasi- | seemingly, half e.g. quasi-cholera |
| compound | to make something worse, make up |
| spree | orgy, splurge e.g. a buying spree, go on a spree |
| potential | latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future usefulness |
| alert | quick to notice and respond to potential danger or problems |