81 Verb Combinations III .

to bend the rules: to change the
rules slightly on one particular
occasion
The man behind the counter told us
that, although it was past midnight,
he would bend the rules and give
us something to eat.
to bow to ab' demands: (for a
government/company) to finally
and reluctantly agree to do sth
After months of strikes and failed
negotiations, the management
finally bowed to the union's
demands.
to cost a bomb: to be very expensive
You can't afford a car like that. They
costa bomb.
to hall a taxi/cab: to signal to a taxi
(so that it stops and picks you up)
while you are standing in the street
He stood in the street, trying to hail
a taxi.
to Issue (sb WIth) a ticket or
permlt/llce ce: to give sb a ticket
or permit/licence that they have
paid for
They told me that they would issue
me with a new parking permit.
to Jog sb's memory: to help sb
remember sth
Perhaps this letter will jog your
memory.
to I v I an accu a crttIcI
to accuse/criticise
Accusations of mismanagement
were levelled against the board.
to owe b an apology: to feel that
you need to apologise to sb
"l owe you an apology, " she said.
to pin the blame on sb: to say that
an innocent person is to blame
for sth bad that has happened
They pinned the blame for the
crash on him.
to rack one's brain : to try very hard
to think of sth or remember sth
He racked his brains, trying to
remember the caller's name.
to run rings round sb: to be much
better than sb and beat them very
easily (generally used for sport)
You think City will beat United?
Are you mad? United will run rings
round City.
to seek advice: to ask (and probably
pay) sb (a doctor, a lawyer) for
professional advice
If the symptoms persist, you should
seek medical advice.
to settle a bill : to pay a bill
He called the waiter over and
settled the bill.
to swallo your prlde: to decide to
do sth even though you think it will
cause you to lose some respect
He would have to swallow his pride
and admit his mistake.
to tackle a problem: to deal with and
try to solve a problem
The government has introduced
these measures to tackle the
growing problem of unemployment.
to try sb's patience: to make sb feel
impatient/annoyed
He had been waiting to be served
for over twenty minutes and it was
beginning to try his patience.
to undermine sb's confidence: to
make sb feel less confident
It is his first ever performance. Don't
be too critical; it will undermine his
confidence.
to wear thin: (i) an excuse or
explanation that is beginning to
wear thin has been used so often
that you are beginning not to
believe it (ii) if sb's patience is
wearing thin, they are beginning
to feel impatient/annoyed
He was late again; it was the same
old excuse and it was wearing thin.
He'd been waiting for hours and
his patience was wearing thin.

C Practice
1. ~ You willhear five people talking about some rather unpleasant experiences. Listen to the recording anddecide which
of the speakers (1-5) is talking about ...

A somebody who tried his/her patience? Speaker 1 D

B settling a bill?
C somebody who undermined his/her self-confidence? Speaker 2 D
D having to bow to some people 's demands?
Speaker 3 D
E racking his/her brains trying to remember something
F ordering something that cost a bomb? Speaker 4 D
G somebody who bent the rules?
H jogging somebody's memory? Speaker 5 D
 · . 81
J Fill ill theuord puzzle bycompleting thegapped 11 I rang the airline to see if they would change my
uences below. booking and issue me with a for the next day.
12 This latest scandal is bound to further undermine the
o A 0 V I C E public's in the government.
Ip I E 13 lowe you an I thought you had misled me.
I was wrong. I'm sorry.
2 R G
14 The workers threatened
3 B 0 to go on strike if they
4 didn't get a pay rise. So,
C
the management had
5 0 B no alternative but to
6 M Y bow to their .
15 It's a great outfit, but
7 B
how are you going to
8 R I afford it? It ..
a bomb!
9 H N

10 A
11 T

12 I
3. Circle the correct item.
1 The children are being so noisy that they are really
13 0
trying my demand / patience today.
14 0 N 2 You had better swallow your pride / advice and
15 apologise, seeing that you were in the wrong .
C S
3 I racked my memory / brains in search of an answer,
o If the symptoms do not go away within 3 days. you but was unable to find one.
should seek medical ...f:}QYi~ ~ ..... 4 I suggest you seek legal rules / advice .
1 The deafening noise from next door was enough to try 5 He levelled bitter criticism / blame against our
the of a saint. company's environmental policies.
2 She's a much better player than he is. Of course she'll 6 The doorman will tackle / hail a taxi for you .
win . She'll run round him. 7 If you shout at him all the time, you'll only undermine
3 I know children are not allowed , but my son is / swallow his confidence.
desperate to see the final and you are the only cafe in 8 Our supplier's excuses for not delivering goods on
the area that has satellite TV. Surely you can time are beginning to bow / wear thin.
.................. the rules just this once? 9 Where was this ticket owed / issued?
4 She stood outside her hotel in the pouring rain, trying 10 A house in the suburbs would cost a bomb / wear
to hail a They were all full. thin .
5 The government has introduced new legislation which 11 The suspect tried to pin the blame / accusation on his
it hopes will tackle the of spiralling accomplice saying it was all her idea.
unemployment.
6 She says she doesn 't have any recollection of the
meeting. If we show her the photo, perhaps it will jog
her .
7 No matter how hard I racked my , I just
couldn 't come up with the answer.
8 You are going to have to swallow your and
admit that you were wrong .
9 He was late again, for the fourth time. He couldn 't use
the old excuse again - it was wearing a bit .
10 They needed a scapegoat and he was insignificant
enough to be the right candidate. So they pinned the
.................. on him.