Proverbs - U & V

Union is strength

☆ Meaning:
A group has more force than an individual.



Unwillingness easily finds an excuse.

☆ Meaning:
A person who doesn't want to do something always finds a reason to avoid it.



Variety is the spice of life.

☆ Meaning:
Doing a lot of different things makes life more interesting.



Virtue is its own reward.

☆ Meaning:
You should not expect praise for acting in a correct or moral way.

Proverbs - W

Walls have ears.

☆ Meaning:
Be careful. People could be listening.



Waste not, want not.

☆ Meaning:
If you never waste anything, you will have is when you need it.



What a man says drunk, he thinks sober.

☆ Meaning:
People speak more freely under the influence of alcohol.



What soberness conceals, drunkenness reveals.

☆ Meaning:
People are less discreet under the influence of alcohol.



What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over.

☆ Meaning:
If a person doesn't know about something, it cannot hurt them.



When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

☆ Meaning:
You should adopt the customs of the people or country you are visiting and behave in the same way.



When poverty comes in the door, love goes out the window.

☆ Meaning:
When a couple loses everything, their relationship becomes difficult.




When the cat's away, the mice play.

☆ Meaning:
People sometimes misbehave when the person in authority, is absent.



Where there's a will there's a way.

☆ Meaning:
If you are determined to do something, you will find a way to do it.



Where there's life there's hope.

☆ Meaning:
As long as a person is breathing, there is hope for recovery.



Who makes himself a sheep will be eaten by the wolves.

☆ Meaning:
Possible interpretation: an easily influenced person can be mislead.



Wisdom is better than strength.

☆ Meaning:
It is preferable to use one's intelligence than one's physical strength.



Wonders will never cease!

☆ Meaning:
Expresses surprise at an unexpected pleasure or event.



Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.

☆ Meaning:
Worrying over small details can make them seem worse.

Collocation: yoga

yoga (n)

uk: /ˈjəʊ.ɡə/ us: /ˈjoʊ-/

ADJ. 

gentle | meditative

""

VERB + YOGA 

do, practise

"She does yoga for an hour a day. "

| take up | go to

"I go to yoga on Thursdays. "

YOGA + NOUN 

exercises, movements, positions, technique | class, session 

"He attends regular yoga classes. "

| teacher | practice | centre

""

Collocation: yoghurt

yoghurt (n)

uk: // us: //

ADJ. 

natural, plain | apricot, strawberry, etc. | fat-free, low-fat | live | set, thick 

""

QUANT. 

carton, pot 

""

YOGHURT + NOUN 

carton, pot 

"> Special page at FOOD"

Collocation: yogurt

yogurt (n)

uk: /ˈjɒɡ.ət/ us: /ˈjoʊ.ɡɚt/

ADJ. 

natural, plain | apricot, strawberry, etc. | fat-free, low-fat | live | set, thick 

""

QUANT. 

carton, pot

""

YOGURT + NOUN 

carton, pot

""

Collocation: young

young (adj)

uk: /jʌŋ/ us: /jʌŋ/

VERBS 

be, feel, look, seem

"I felt young again. "

ADV. 

extremely, very

"She still looks very young. "

| comparatively, fairly, quite, relatively

"He seemed quite young to have so much responsibility. "

| enough

"She looked young enough to be his daughter. "

Collocation: youth

youth (n)

uk: /juːθ/ us: /juːθ/

1

period of your life when you are young 

ADJ. 

early | unhappy | lost

"nostalgia for her lost youth "

| misspent

"His lack of qualifications was taken as a sign of a misspent youth. "

VERB + YOUTH 

spend

"She spent much of her youth in Hong Kong. "

| idle away, waste

"He wasted his youth in front of a computer screen. "

PREP. 

during your ~

"She contracted the disease during her youth. "

| from ~

"from youth to maturity "

| in your ~

"He started going to discos in his early youth. "

| since your ~

"I haven't danced since my youth! "

| throughout your ~

"He played football throughout his youth. "

PHRASES 

not in the first flush of youth

"Though no longer in the first flush of youth she's still remarkably energetic. "

| scenes from/of sb's youth

""

2

being young 

ADJ. 

extreme

"Her extreme youth was against her. "

| comparative | eternal

"in search of eternal youth "

VERB + YOUTH 

have

"You still have your youth?that's the main thing. "

3

young person 

ADJ. 

male | black, white | callow

"He was a callow youth when he joined the newspaper. "

| pimply, spotty

"She's going out with some spotty youth. "

| fresh-faced | gangling

""

QUANT. 

gang, group

""

4

young people 

ADJ. 

modern

"the aspirations of modern youth "

| local | urban | working-class | delinquent, disaffected | unemployed | educated | gilded

"(figurative) a club for the gilded youth (= rich and spoilt young people)of London "

YOUTH + NOUN 

culture | club, group, movement, organization, subculture, work | leader, worker | employment, unemployment, training | court, crime, custody

"a crackdown on youth crime "

PHRASES 

the youth of today

""

Proverbs - Y

You are never too old to learn.

☆ Meaning:
You can always learn something new, no matter how old you are.



You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

☆ Meaning:
You can offer somebody an opportunity to do something but you can't force them to do it.



You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

☆ Meaning:
A person who is used to doing things a certain way cannot change.



You never know what you can do until you try.

☆ Meaning:
Try first before deciding not to do something.



You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

☆ Meaning:
You help me and I'll help you.

Collocation: zeal

zeal (n)

uk: /ziːl/ us: /ziːl/

ADJ. 

great, true | excessive, fanatical | crusading, missionary, radical, reforming, religious, revolutionary

"a crusading zeal to eradicate drug abuse "

VERB + ZEAL 

burn with, have

"He burned with a reforming zeal. "

| demonstrate, show

""

PREP. 

with ~

"She went about the task with the zeal of an enthusiast. "

| ~ for

"She had a true zeal for journalism. "

| ~ in

"their zeal in the promotion of education "

PHRASES 

a lack of zeal

""

Collocation: zest

zest (n)

uk: /zest/ us: /zest/

ADJ. 

great | added, renewed, youthful

"Last month's victory has given him a renewed zest for the game. "

VERB + ZEST 

be full of, have

"He is 74 years old but still full of zest. "

| add, give sb/sth

"The love affair added a little zest to her life. "

| lose

""

PREP. 

with ~

"He campaigned with zest. "

| ~ for

"a zest for battle "

PHRASES 

a zest for life

""

Collocation: zip

zip (n)

uk: /zɪp/ us: /zɪp/

VERB + ZIP 

close, do up, fasten, pull (up), slide (up) | open, pull (down), slide (down), undo | get caught in 

"The fabric got caught in the zip and tore. "

ZIP + VERB 

be/get stuck, stick

"The zip on my bag has stuck. "

| break | be open, be undone

""

ZIP + NOUN 

fastener

""

PREP. 

by a ~

"The jacket was fastened by a zip at the front. "

| with a ~

"a bag with a zip "

| ~ on 

"> Special page at CLOTHES"

Collocation: zone

zone (n)

uk: /zəʊn/ us: /zoʊn/

ADJ. 

broad, narrow | marginal, peripheral, transition/transitional, twilight

"a transition zone between tropical and arid vegetations the twilight zone between living and merely existing "

| border, frontier | neutral | battle, combat, military, war | buffer, demilitarized, exclusion, no-fly, no-go

"This area behind the station is a no-go zone for tourists. "

| occupation, occupied, security | autonomous | danger | emergency | disaster

"The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone. "

| safe | safety

"She stood some distance away from him to maintain a safety zone. "

| nuclear-free, smoke-free, traffic-free, weapons-free 

"Most of the town centre is a traffic-free zone. "

| earthquake, fault, seismic | climatic, geographical | alpine, arid, coastal, temperate

"the alpine and arid zones of Australia "

| economic, enterprise, fishing, free-trade, industrial

"an industrial zone of factories, warehouses and shipyards "

| euro-

"(also"

eurozone

")"

| northern, southern, etc. | pedestrian | time | erogenous | relegation

"The team finds itself in the relegation zone after a run of poor results. "

VERB + ZONE 

control

"The rebels control the southern border zone. "

| create, declare sth, establish, impose, set up

"The area has been declared a closed military zone. "

| enforce

"Fighter planes are being sent to enforce the UN no-fly zone. "

| violate

"An enemy plane was shot down after it violated the exclusion zone. "

| cross into, enter

"We were crossing into a new time zone. "

| leave

"Aid workers were advised to leave the danger zone. "

| divide sth into

"Europe is divided into economic zones. "

ZONE + NOUN 

boundary

""

PREP. 

in a/the ~

"The plant grows only in the temperate zone. "

| into a/the

"We had accidentally strayed into the war zone. "

| out of a/the ~, within a/the ~

"Companies within enterprise zones are given special help. "

| ~ between

"the neutral zone between the two countries "

Collocation: zoo

zoo (n)

uk: /zuː/ us: /zuː/

VERB + ZOO 

go to, visit | escape from | run

"a badly-run zoo "

ZOO + NOUN 

animals | keeper

"(also"

zookeeper)

""

PREP. 

at a/the ~

"We saw a baby polar bear at the zoo. "

| in a/the ~

"These lions were born in the zoo. "