Vocabulary for TOEFL iBT

76 VOCABULARY FOR TOEFL iBT

• Colloquialisms are expressions that may be appropriate in informal
  speech but are incorrect in formal writing. The use of “should of” for
  “should have” and “plan on going” instead of “planning to go” are
  examples of colloquialisms.


• Slang is informal language that is often peculiar to a particular age or
  occupational group. Examples of slang are “tellin’ it like it is” or
  “What’s up?”
  ➥ Idiomatic phrases in English include hundreds of verbs paired with
  smaller words (prepositions) that change the meaning of the verb. Watch-
  ing out for (being alert to) something is different than watching over
  (attending to) something. You might get up early one morning so you can
  get away on a vacation to France, where you hope to get by with your high
  school French so you can get along with the locals.
  ➥ All languages have their own idioms, which can make translation from one
  language to another a bit difficult. Even different cultures that speak the
  same language can have trouble understanding each other’s idioms. For
  instance, people in the United Kingdom use idioms that are different from
  those used in the United States. What people in the United States call an
  “apartment building,” the British call a “block of flats.”

DEFINITION

cliché: an overused word or phrase that has lost its impact in the language; it is a

French word used in English

Some idioms are derived from images rooted in experience; it makes sense that

cool heels would refer to excessive waiting because, presumably, hot heels result from

running hard. You could see that laughing off something would have to do with not

taking it very seriously.

Then there are idioms that have evolved over a long period of time and have no

particular logic or origin: for example, up to the job. Somewhere in between are

idioms whose meanings made sense once upon a time but are now lost. Spitting

image has nothing to do with saliva. It’s a corruption of “spit and image,” and spit

simply meant “exact likeness.”

Here are some idioms with their definitions.

give it a shot: try for the first time

watch out: be careful

take a stab at: attempt

laugh off: ignore with good humor

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