1. Obsessives, n.

A generic name for those obsessed by something,

generally, not directly connected to their lifestyle, but a celebrity, sports
team, machinery such as classic cars, etc. Одержимий нав'язливою ідеєю,
бажанням. English uses this word as a noun as well as an adjective whereas. American
prefers to restrict its use to that of an adjective. English uses this
as a strong form for fan or supporter — поціновувач — while American
intensifies the meaning to mentally maladjusted, deviant, psychoneurotic
or hysterical — психоневротичний. Remember when reading the text that
Nick Hornby is English and writes in English, e.g. He was obsessive about
having orange marmalade on his toast for breakfast each morning.

2. Filth, n. Here used as a euphemistic term or ‘bodily excretions’ to

resonate stylistically with the American use of 'obsessive'. Тут: бруд, екскременти.

3. Chunk, n. A piece, an amount. Шматок, кусок.

4. Moron, n. An idiot halfwit, lamebrain. Used here in a very deliberate

self-deprecating manner. Ідіот, виродок, недоумкуватий, e.g. "Oh, stop
being such a moron and watch something other than football on the sports
channels".

5. Contemplation, n. Deep reflective thought, carrying with it wisdom and

a learned approach. Міркування, роздуми, споглядання e.g. When life got
on top of her, she would retire to her room for meditation and contemplation.

6. Ground, n.
1) the earth, land — земля, поверхня землі, ґрунт, e.g. She could see
from a distance that the ground was rich, alluvial soil;
2) plural The territory of a major building, that covers the whole es-
tate — ділянка землі, територія маєтку, сад, парк, майданчик,, e.g. They
searched the grounds all night searching for the missing child;
3) a facility for playing a sport including the pitchi seating and buildings.
Americans prefer either the term 'park' or 'fields'
— територія і споруди стадіону, футбольне поле, спортивний майданчик, e.g.There
was little
covered seating at the football ground, so the incessant rain often led to
complaints;
4) the basis of an opinion, argument, the reason or motive for an action —
підстава, причина, мотив,, e.g. The family disapproved of the engagement,
partly on social grounds;
5) plural a residual sediment — осад , гуща. Aa, e.g. There were coffee grounds
in the bottom of the cup;
6) a first coat of a paint serving as a base or as background for a design —
фон, ґрунт, ґрунтовка, e.g. Dyers first prepare the white ground and then
lay on the dye of purple;
7) subject matter, object of study or discourse— e - предмет, тема (розмови,
дослідження), e.g. The grounds for the indictment were unclear.
Ground, adj. This can be a confusing word since Americans have ad-
opted it to mean minced as in minced meat (фарш) and a meat minc-
er (м 'ясорубка) is even called a nmeat grinder" in America. In English 'to
grind' means to reduce to a fine powder or small particles. Перекручений,
перемолотий,, e.g. The chef from Arkansas added some ground cinnamon
to the ground beef before it was cooked.
Phrases: above ground —живий, below ground — похований, cover much
ground —доладно щось дослідити, cut the ground from under a persons feet—
підрізати під корінь, down to the ground — повністю, forbidden ground
заборонена тема, get off the ground - успіш но розпочатися, злетіти, give
ground - поступитися, відступити, go to ground - сховатися (в нору), зник
нути з поля зору, hold one's ground - стояти на своєму, into the ground - до
повного виснаження, до повної зупинки, lose ground - втратити опору,
занепасти, відстати, on solid/firm ground - мати вагомі причини, on on ess
own ground - на своїй території, on the ground - на місці.

7. Rigour, n.
1) literally harsh and demanding conditions - суворість клімату, перен.
негоди, нещастя, e.g. The rigours of a harsh, long winter were unbearable
for some;
2) severity or strictness - строгість, безжальність, суворість, невб ла
ганність, e.g. His h oolig an ism at the foo tb all match was met with the full
rigour of the law
3) the quality of being extrem ely thorough and careful - точність,
старанність, ретельність, e.g. Her doctoral thesis was rejected by her academic
supervisor w h o felt that her analysis is lacking in rigour.

8. Reserves, n pl. The second-choice members of a squad from which a

team is made up — другий або запасний склад, e.g. Failing to make the
first team, he was relieved to be on the bench as one of the reserves.

9. Crush, n.
1) an infatuation; blind love of someone or something, often temporary - сильне
захоплення, предм ет обож нення, e.g. Whenhe was fifteen
he developed a crush on his maths teacher;
2) a large disorderly crowd - тиснява, штовханина, e.g. There was a
huge crush at the department store on the first day of the January sales.
3) freshly-squeezed fruit juice — щойно вичавлений фруктовий сік,
e.g. She always greatly enjoyed a glass of orange crush. In America, a fruit
smoothie (UK and USA) can be called a fruit crush. Смузі.

10. Foist, v.
1) to force something onto someone, usually against their wishes or sometimes
fraudulently - усучити, нав'язати, e.g. She had a course in English translation foisted
upon her in her second year of study;
2) to bring, put, or introduce surreptitiously or fraudulently - нав'язати, протягти,
втиснути, e.g Putin's style is to foist his political views as spin into every news story.

11. Affinity, n.
1) a natural liking for or attraction to a person, thing, idea, etc. - близькість, духовне
споріднення, прихильність, симпатія, рідна душа, e.g. Her affinity for wildlife
protection was very strong;
2) relationship by marriage or by ties other than those of blood - свояцтво,
спорідненість по чоловіку або дружині, e.g. His affinity to his m other-in-law was
extremely strained.

12. Pretentious, adj.

1) full of pretence or pretension; having no factual basis, false претензійний, показний,
e.g. His pretentious manner irritated his colleagues who knew who he really was;
2) characterized by assumption of dignity or importance, especially when exaggerated or
undeserved - зарозумілий, пихатий, гоноровитий, e.g. The restaurant was dominated
by a pretentious, self-important Head Waiter;
3) making an exaggerated outward show; ostentatious - показнии, хвалькуватий, e.g.
His pretentious behaviour com pletely failed to impress the young student.

13. Fret, v.
1) literally to cause corrosion; gnaw into something - роз їдати, підточувати,
розмивати, e.g. Strong acids can fret away at the strongest metals,
2) to feel or express worry, annoyance, discontent, or the like – дратуватися,
тривожити(ся), хвилювати(ся), e.g. Fretting about the lost ring isn't going to help.

14. Spot, v.
A highly polysemantic word, in this context used to mean to detect or recognize; locate
or identify by seeing - помітити, побачити, упізнати, виявити, засікти, e.g.
Trainspotting is a hobby where enthusiasts try to see as many different trains as possible
and list their names or numbers.

15. Fidgety, adj.

Impatiently unable to sit still - невгамовний, неспокіинии, непосидючий,
метушливий, e.g. As the time for his dentist's appointm ent drew nearer, he became
very fidgety.

16. Contort, v.
Twist into an unnatural or unpleasant expression or pose викривляти, деформувати,
спотворювати, e.g. Her face was contorted with pain.

17. Interior life.

An uncommon term for 'thought which seeks God in everything. Used here as an
extended metaphor for football as a reliqion внутрішнє життя, футбол як релігія.

18. Laddish, adj.

The English equivalent of macho, the Spanish term adopted into American, to mean
exaggeratedly masculine and displayjng behaviours highly characteristic of an
aggressive male. While a formal dictionary translation is "мужній, властивий
справжньому чоловікові; мііцний; енергійний", the transliteration "мачо" is used
colloquially in Ukraine. В дусі "мачо", агресивна чоловіча (поведінка). The word is а
derivative of lad - "хлопець", "пацан" and contemporary English has a derivative using
the French diminutive suffix - ladette - for females acting an aggressive male manner
(getting drunk, swearing, fighting, etc.) - пацанка e.g. Their laddish behaviour caused
the group of ladettes to be thrown off the bus.

19. Wackiness, n.
A pure synonym of eccentricity used in the subsequent sentence. Crazy, odd, irrational,
probably derived from being whacked on the head too many times. Eccentric is
somewhat more formal, also meaning deviating from a recognized or customary
character, practice, etc.; irregular; erratic; peculiar - дивацький, ексцентричний, e.g.
His wackiness and eccentric behaviour often made people stop in the street and stare.

20. One-upmanship, n.
A highly competitive desire; the technique or practice of gaining an advantage or feeling
of superiority over another person to do better or achieve more than another, generally
as a psychological advantage. Уміння домогтися переваги, поставити суперника в
невигідне положення, e.g. The one-upmanship between siblings as to who gets the best
presents at Christmas can be horrendous.