A dancers lot

Slung over their shoulders (bag, jacket)

Hustle themselves to the heights of
To be hustled (away, into sth) (pushed)
Tatty room
Reptilian grade of resilience
Prerequisite for
Financial constraints
Its getting to the point where
To get a reputation
It is hard on the soul
Its catch-22
Scrounge for trained people
Scrounge a free meal
Youngsters despairing of their blank cv
Leap at the chance
Jump for joy
Knows no bounds
Leap in the dark
Jump down my throat (yell at me)
Improved by leaps and bounds
Out of bounds (off limits)
Jump o conclusion
Crude brutality
Displaying a veneer of refined elegance
Tangled psychological workings of the criminal mind
Being in the limelight can put a strain on relationships
Stage fright
Enter the stage on cue
Riveting performance (engrossing, compelling)
Curtain call/final bow
Understudy
It is a gross exaggeration to suggest
Took to it like a duck to water
The pounds fell off
Counteract her sedentary existence
Tag along (follow uninvited)
Id go along with that!
Ive been on the odd occasion
I cant dance to save my life
Take it in turns
The assessment of the economic prospects is downbeat
To be upbeat about the future
This is bound to set us back
Savage competition
Step into the spotlight
12-year stint in TV sitcoms (fixed/allotted period of work)
To be laid up in hospital (bedridden)
It seems fitting to
Make a comeback
Weve come a long way since then

There is some truth in this view but..

Inject new life into the declining theatre
Sense of anguish
Rising from their seats to applaud
To relish being in the public eye/limelight
Overall standard of tutorship
Prestigious (with high status)
The last stand of the Amazon
Crazed clamour of the night
Lawsuit currently being brought to court
Have next to no idea
And so grimly on
Amounts to as much the same as being a hypocrite
Her reaction amounted to nothing less than disbelief
Has increased fivefold
The low sun shoots streaks of amber and gold before the dusk rises up
Over-consumption will have to be curtailed
Can you stop squeaking in my hears?
To chirp happily
Car roaring down the road
So cold that his teeth were chattering
Coffee shop buzzing with activity
Keep out of this, he growled (low harsh threatening voice)
Governments trying to crack down on companies
Hand out serious punishments
Use up water supply
Wipe out endangered species
Come up against impossible odds when
Step back from the immediate problem and consider the situation long-term
Look at the bigger picture
Hub of the city with throbbing pulsation (war drums throbbed)
Business took a downturn
Male chauvinism was rife in medicine
Build up evidence
It must be finished by Monday without fail
Encroachment on our individual liberties
Habitat encroachment
Hippos wallowing in the mud
Wallowing in the luxury of a hotel/in self-pity/in disappointment
Twitch nervously (give convulsive movement)
Lions prowling in the bush (move about stealthily in search of prey)
Skulking about the corridors (move stealthily/furtively)
Lavishly laden with snow
Dainty china cup (delicate/pretty)
Gaze wistfully at (longingly)
Grumpy (bad-tempered/sulky)
Blow ones own trumpet
Trumpeting toddler
His absence began to fret her
To fret over sth

To scramble over the boulders (make ones way quickly up a steep gradient)
Curb pesticide use during daylight hours
Strikes a chord with me
Statement of doom and gloom
Free-range vs. battery/caged hens
Factory vs. organic farming
Bring sb up-to-date with the latest developments
Buy sth on a whim
Capture sbs attention
Show signs of
Buy in bulk from a local supplier
Put plans into action
Have strong views on oil spill from the tanker had a major impact on
Have no inclination to walk at night-time
In sbs/sths wake (following..)
Rash decision (impetuous)
She darted across the street/into the doorway
He limped heavily as he moved
He tramped about the room/all over the city (heavily, noisily, wearily, reluctantly)
He has doggedly pursued his own path (with tenacity)
Painstaking attention to detail
Look of haughty disdain/haughty aristocrat
Scorching July sun
Grass sparking with morning dew
People rushing to work
My friends hooted with laughter/hoots of derision
The sound died away/faded away
Back-to-nature lifestyle
Surviving and thriving
He was easy prey
Scowl at sb defiantly (showing bold disobedience)
He stamped into the room with a scowl on his face
A frown of disapproval
Promiscuity was frowned upon
Take a laid-back attitude
Stick to your guns (refuse to compromise or change)
Turn a blind eye
Niggling difficulties/aches and pains (slight but persistent annoyance)
People niggling me for doing too much work
Surmountable difficulties
Hackneyed fallacy based on unsound arguments
Expose silly fabrications to the light of scientific scrutiny
Within your reach
To be caught up in misconception
Questionable remedies which have gained the status of unassailable truth
Refreshingly down-to-earth style
Avoids the jargon which some practitioners are prone to
Lovely turn of phrase, neither too dry nor too flashy (ostentatious)
Disproportionately aggravating difficulties
Youll find solace and good counsel

Countries crippled by their debts

Crippling effect of fear
It was like trying to flog a dead horse
Its like water off a ducks back
Thats certainly going to put the cat among the pigeons
Hes certainly got a bee in his bonnet about that
To be a wolf in sheeps clothing
If the problem isnt serious we should let sleeping dogs lie
He decided to take the bull by the horns
I hate to buy into stereotypes (accept the truth of)
Knock-on effect (secondary/indirect)
It did me the world of good
It can do more harm than good
For the privileged few
Takes your mind off things
Emotionally uplifting tune
Helps you unwind
Relieves tension
Feeling of drowsiness
Green tea is conducive to relaxation
Right type of yoga to suit your needs
Woe betide you if youre late to classes
Other peoples thoughtfulness can be heartwarming
A heart-rending story (causing sadness/distress)
Too much of a good thing
Off hand, I cant remember
It blew up out of proportion
It took the world by storm
Keep up with the Joneses
It goes against the gain to tell outright lies
I should stake money on it
To say sth tongue in cheek
Midlife crisis
Go back to your roots
It was a real eye-opener
Sharing such moments has become second nature
The meaningful and the mundane have thus merged into one
Enjoyment split between the technological impulse and the delicate human need to be in the
moment
Blessed with two days of good weather
Seemingly irresistible vibrating, ringing nagging phone
Magnetically drawn to any screen that can feed my addiction
He wasnt alone in such lapses (temporary fail of concentration)
Commit to my own fallible memory
I came to appreciate just how much it had permeated my way of being
Uncontrollable impulse to check their account
Hustle developed as they struggle to keep up with the pace of all the incoming information
Restless anxious way of engaging with the world
This seeps into peoples physical lives
It has been sth of a wake-up-call

The onus is on you to apologise for..

Its your duty/obligation to..
The validity of a lot of information on the web is open to question
The comment provoked a heated online response
Should the internet be subject to censorship?
Exposure of the companys wrongdoing
Ill try and pop in tomorrow on my way to class
He refused to back down and continued arguing
The image on the screen keeps breaking up
Set up Skype on a computer
You should catch up on the latest news
She makes up new computer games
A tower of strength
Literature is increasingly going digital
Purchases placed on proud display
Nosing around someones bookshelves is interesting
When it comes to the crunch (crucial point)
The quantities of titles speaks volumes
There ensued much speculation as to how
She was looking for kudos rather than profit (praise)
The kudos of great work is still there
Take a load off your mind
Im at my wits end (at a loss as to what to do, overwhelmed with problems)
He was the brain behind the scheme
Come face to face with
It didnt cross my mind that
Give sb a piece of your mind
Success went to his head
Ive a good mind to write to the manager to complain
Hes got a mind of his own and doesnt accept cant
It was difficult for her to keep a straight face
Keep your wits about you and dont panick
He banged his head against a brick wal
He lost/saved face
She put/gave/set her mind to become a dancer
If you put your mind to sth youll find that obstacles tend to melt away
Rack you brain and find a solution
He couldnt see in front of his nose
Piercing scream cut through the wind and darkness like a knife
Its Greek to me
My lost property has vanished into thin air
I asked her to think again but she wont budge an inch
To be tongue-tied
I didnt sleep one wink
The more fool you
It is a foregone conclusion
The long and the short of it, I must do something
To suspect foul play
If you bid me good riddance
Send me packing

I am a laughing stock
Bid sb farewell
The knack of saying what you mean succinctly
If you want to make your target sit up and think
She refrained from making a comment
Differentiate between a and b
With all due respect
Foul weather
To take over/hand over the reins
He wasnt fazed by the news
The book keeps you on tenterhooks
Surreptitiously listen to other peoples converstations
See if you can get the hang of what theyre talking about
The sad conclusion is usually in the negative
Youll soon find things settle down
Writing the dissertation will entail a lot of hard work