Part I | Part II

1 SPEAKING GENERALLY

as a rule - usually (but not always)
as usual – as always; in the normal or accustomed way; following a normal pattern
the exception proves the rule (an exception to the rule) – someone or smth which differs from the usual, the normal, or some principle, rule or theory
for the most part – mainly; generally; largely; in the majority of cases or instances; on the whole
to hold good (to hold true) – to continue to be consistently or constantly correct, true, valid or applicable
in general/in particular – speaking generally
in principle – as a general idea or principle, but without considering details or practical possibilities
in theory/in Practice – what should be correct, according to some rule or principle, in contrast with the actual situation
nine times out of ten – almost always
no exception or (not) any exception – thing or person following or forming part of some expected or normal type, pattern or rule
on paper – in theory; if judged from the written evidence
on the whole – generally speaking; considering the most important or the majority of factors [same as for the most part]

2 The Nature Of Things

as such – in or by its nature; considered alone; (in) itself [also means in that capacity or function]
to consist of – to be made (up) of; to be composed of; to comprise
in itself – standing or taken alone or separately; viewed or considered by itself as a thing isolated or apart from other things
in the nature of – being similar in type or character to; rather like
in (its) own right – because of what it is as such or in itself and independent of any other relationship
in the shape of – specifically; in the form of; in particular; namely (followed by details of something general)
of (its) own accord – spontaneously; as a result of ones’s own action, will or decision and not because of some outside influence or action

3 Connection

according to – following; corresponding to; in relation to; as said by; depending on
in accordance with – following the terms or requirements of; (acting) in conformity with; as stated by; in line with
as to – about; regarding
(got) to do with – connected with; related to
hand in hand – working together or as a team; in conjunction with; as a complement to
in conjunction (with) – operation, functioning, working, acting or planning together; in collaboration
in connection (with) – about, concerning, relation or relevant to
to refer to – to have connection with; to direct attention to [also means to formally transfer from one authority to another]
in terms of – by taking as an example of; concerning; with regard to
on behalf of – as representative or spokesman for
(in) touch with – in contact by the spoken or written word
to be in touch – to be in contact
to get in touch – to make contact
to keep or stay in touch – to continue contact
to lose touch – to lose contact
out of touch – not in contact
with regard to – concerning; regarding; in connection with; in terms of; referring to

4 Cause And Effect

to arise from – to originate from; to be due to; to be caused by
to bring about – to cause; to make (something) happen; to give rise to
to give rise to – to cause; to bring about
to have an effect or impact on – to affect; to influence
to result in – to be (or have as) the result [Note: to result from means to be (or have as) the cause]
to stem from – to originate from; to be caused by
to trigger off – to cause or bring about (an important or serious effect, often negative, sudden or violent) [also to spark off; to touch off]

5 Priorities

above all (else) – most importantly (of all)
all important – most important; urgent or necessary
first and foremost – firstly and most important
(the) first step – the first stage, or part, of some process or series of actions
last but not least – introducing the next item on the list, which, although the last, is not less important than the others
to take (first) place – to be (the most) important; to have (top) priority

6 Purpose And Objective

to aim at – to plan to, or to try to, reach or hit an objective, goal or target
the aim of the exercise – the purpose or objective of this activity, which may not immediately be clear or apparent [also the point or object of the exercise]
to arrange (for) – to fix or make practical plans for something to happen or to be done
game plan – carefully thought out general strategy for achieving a target and the tactics and methods to be used
to go ahead – to make progress; to move forward; to start or continue from a static or waiting position
to go for (it) – to be very enthusiastic and positive in feeling and action, usually about some specific thing or goal [informal]
in order to – with the purpose or aim of doing or causing smth; so as to
to make up one’s mind – to decide
a means to an end – way or method of getting to an objective
on purpose – not by accident or chance, but by or with some intention; deliberately
to put together – to assemble or fit together pieces or parts to make a whole
to set up – to establish; to found; to organize; to put in a position or condition to operate; to begin doing or making; to arrange
to tackle – to take firm direct and positive action in dealing with a threat or obstacle
to take action (on) – to act, either in response to or as a result of circumstances, or some decision; to deal with
to take steps – to take a series of actions towards a specific objective
to take the initiative – to be the first to make a move, forcing others to react accordingly
with a view to – with the aim, purpose or object of (doing) smth [also with an eye to]

7 Focusing

to come to the point – to arrive directly at the focus, or most important part, of a speaking or writing activity
the fact of the matter is (that) (emphatic) the truth is; the most important thing is
to focus on – to concentrate on; to direct one hundred per cent attention to
to get down to business – to begin to talk seriously; to tackle the real or important matter(s)
to get to the bottom of – to find the cause of, or the answer to, a problem or question
hard facts – definite or specific facts which can be proved, checked or examined (in contrast to mere rumour, opinions, general statements or hopes)
in contrast to (or with) - different from; distinct from; opposite to
in fact – the truth, or reality, is that; really; truly
in reality – to be absolutely correct; really; actually
in (this) respect – focusing on only (one of) a number of factors; considering this factor in isolation
a matter of – a factor likely to be influential; a situation, matter, issue, thing, question, problem or topic which is most important or on which smth depends [also a question of]
to spotlight – to put special focus or attention on (a person or thing)
to zero in on – to identify and concentrate on some target

8 Time

ahead of time (or schedule) – earlier than arranged, expected or planned [Note: opposite in meaning to behind time (or schedule)]
at first – originally; in the first instance; at/in the beginning; to start with; at the time of starting
at once – immediately; very soon; right away
as yet – up to now; up to the time of speaking; so far
at (or from) the outset – at, from or shortly after some starting point; or from the first or early stages
for the time being – temporarily; for the moment
in the course of – during; while; while being done
in future – starting from this (or that) time; from now (or then) on
in the future – at or during some future time
in the long run – eventually; over or after a long time
in the long (short or medium) term – thinking, looking or planning from now into the future
in the meantime – meanwhile, for the time being
in a moment – shortly; very soon; almost immediately
in time – soon or early enough; not too late; at or before the right time
to look forward to – to think about some future time or event with positive, good feelings
moment of truth – the final and unavoidable point of crisis, change, confrontation or decision
on time – exactly at the right time, not late
right (or straight) away – now; immediately; at once
so far – up to now; as yet
time out – a pause or interval during some activity

9 Quantities

to amount to – to total; to mean; to result in
and so on – and other similar details; et cetera
as a whole – taken or considered all together; in aggregate
at all – to any, or to some, extent or degree; in any way
at least – to this minimum extent or amount or degree (and perhaps more)
at (the) most – up to (but certainly not more than) a given maximum
at the outside – as the highest estimate [also means at the most]
to average out at – to calculate or be calculated as an average
to be exact – to be more precise; to define exactly or accurately
give or take – more or less (by an approximate amount) than a certain amount
a good (or great) deal of – much; a lot of (+ uncountable noun)
in (the) aggregate – when totalled; considered together (not individually); taken as a whole
in all – in total; altogether; all told
in (or of) all shapes and sized – (being) of many or various different kinds, types, forms, measurements or descriptions
in excess of – more than
in full – completely; fully; totally; with nothing left out
more or less – approximately; virtually; to a slightly bigger or smaller extent, amount or degree (than)
on average – taking an amount or figure which represents the combined total of a given number of units (x) divided by the total number of units (y)
on a (large) scale – in (large) numbers; at a (high) level; to a(n) (great) extent
or so – approximately; about; roughly; more or less; give or take

10 Position And Movement

back and forth – movement from one position to another, before returning to the first position again, usually again and again regularly [also backwards and forwards and to and fro]
every other (or every second) – in a sequence, with the focus on the second, fourth, sixth and so on
in lieu (of) – instead (of)
in place of – instead of; as a replacement
in turn – in sequence; one after another; according to some pattern of events [also means reciprocally]
to vary from … to (or between) – to fluctuate between certain given limits [also to range from … to]

11 Degrees Of Difficulty And Probability

at will – as or when one pleases; without restriction or limit
for sure – this is certain; there is no doubt
in all probability – most probably; more certain than not; in all likelihood
in any case – in any event; whatever happens; anyway
it’s as simple as that – the fact is so clear that no further reason or explanation is required
no problem – this is simple; without difficulty or inconvenience [informal]
of course – this is natural or to be expected
to rule out – to forbid or prohibit the possibility; to consider as impossible
a safe bet – almost one hundred percent certain [informal]
to stand to – to be in a position where, if and when an event takes place, some advantage or disadvantage is likely to occur [also to stand a chance]
to take place – to happen; to occur

12 Effective Methods

to allow for – to take into consideration or account
better safe than sorry – it is better to be too careful than to take risks
bit by bit – in small pieces or stages; gradually
to carry out – to fulfill; to perfom; to complete or finish successfully
to check over – to look at carefully and efficiently in order to find out if there are any problems or mistakes
a dry (or dummy) run – an experiment or trial of a machine or project under realistic (but not real) conditions
in depth – completely and in detail; not superficially
in detail – with every part, detail or item mentioned or included
the ins and outs (of) – all the details
to keep an eye on – to watch carefully; to guard, in case of some (stated or unstated) risk or possibility
to look into – to investigate; to examine carefully; to inquire
to make sure (or certain) – to ensure; to check or verify [also means to cause or make smth inevitable]
to plan (or think) ahead – to prepare for the future; to make calculated future arrangements
to take care (not) (to) – to make sure/certain of (not) doing smth
to think out – to plan or consider carefully, in depth, in every aspect, especially smth to be decided now which may be of future importance; to try out – to test or use (smth or smo) for a trial period

13 Ineffective Methods

(at) random - without specific aim; unsystematic
(by) trial and error – finding the right method or solution by the primitive process of making changes in measurements or calculations until finally there are no errors
to cut corners – to follow a quick but risky route to an objective, especially by not performing all the usual stages of some process
hit and miss – unsystematic; random; relying on chance; not property thought out or carried out
the line (or path) of least resistance – the easiest (though probably not the best) way or course of action [same as to take the easy way out]
(a) short cut – a quicker way or method than usual of reaching an objective, by not following the usual way, pattern or procedure
(a) soft option – an easier, less inconvenient (and generally less effective) method or course of action than others available or possible
to take (a) chance(s) (on) – to try to do, or to take action on smth, knowing that there is a possibility of negative results; to run (a) rik(s)
to take the easy way out (of) – to avoid dealing directly with a problem, difficulty or situation by taking some other action [same as to take the line of least resistance]
to take risks or to run the risk of – to follow a course of action, knowing that it may lead to negative results; to take (a) chance(s)

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