I. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a pool/circle of light (= an area of light )
▪
They stood in the pool of light cast by the streetlamp.
Antarctic Circle
charmed circle
▪
politicians outside the charmed circle
closed circle
▪
The police have a closed circle of suspects.
crop circle
dress circle
family circle
round in circles
▪
a shoal of tiny fish swimming round in circles
sb’s circle of friends (= all the friends sb has )
▪
Her small circle of friends used to play cards together.
stone circle
traffic circle
turning circle
vicious circle
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
academic
▪
He also expressed his disappointment at the lack of support from his colleagues in academic circles .
▪
War and the military had become unpopular in academic and intellectual circles .
▪
We have described two uses of the survey method which originated outside academic circles .
▪
The burden of the essay will be merely to indicate how voluntarism can succeed in academic circles .
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There is much of it already in academic circles and also in business centers.
▪
Criticism and debate are to be welcomed, however, and should not be confined to academic circles .
close
▪
Anybody outside his close immediate circle was intrigued by the Guinness enigma.
▪
And most of them begin at home, with ourselves and our closest circle of friends.
concentric
▪
The landowners lived centrally, and around them, in concentric circles as it were, lived the working people.
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Instead, there was a series of concentric circles , surrounding a small black disk.
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This is on concentric , double circle plan, with central dome and sloping outer roofs.
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The targets are black men with superimposed concentric circles declining to a solid, black bullseye.
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The words run along each concentric circle and not across circles.
▪
Julian's Bower, at Alkborough, Lincolnshire, is altogether more elaborate, having twelve concentric circles .
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The strata are now much folded and appear on the surface as a series of concentric circles .
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The model constructed by Nairn resembles a series of concentric circles .
dark
▪
After moisturising, disguise thread veins, blemishes and dark circles under the eyes with a good concealer.
▪
These in turn merge gradually into dark circles and bright outer rings with no evidence of impact cratering.
▪
A lookout watched for the tell-tale dark circle of a shoal of sardines.
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And two little beady eyes with dark blue circles under them whether I sleep enough or not.
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His teeth were gritted together and he had dark circles under his eyes.
▪
Haven't you seen the dark circles under her eyes?
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There at a table was a clearly dejected, drooping Auguste, with large dark circles under his eyes.
full
▪
Cross the Bahnhof bridge, and you will have come full circle back to the starting point.
▪
Today, society has evolved and the wheel has come full circle .
▪
We had come back like the full circle of our route, intact.
▪
Then the car swung all the way back, full circle , the lanes of the freeway streaking under me.
▪
The neo-colonial wheel has almost come full circle .
▪
A manufacturer of sun care products has just issued a report showing that the view on tanning has come full circle .
▪
Thus the wheel had turned full circle .
inner
▪
The intrigue, if one existed, was worthy of the inner circle of the Imperial court on far distant Knossos.
▪
Edna McGurk came from an insular inner circle of elite Philadelphia society.
▪
He is not one of the inner circle , and does not know where his orders came from.
▪
But the vortex fills as he nears its inner circle .
▪
The inner circle represents activities that are accepted as sport in all countries and fulfil all of Rodgers' criteria.
▪
Hubbell, part of the Clintons' inner circle , is intimately familiar with their financial affairs.
▪
But in Johnson's inner circle of advisers, there were fewer defections.
▪
Why would a member of his inner circle record such an event?
large
▪
There are no ground rules for knowing how to handle these semi-permanent relationships in the context of the larger family circle .
▪
But even if we do accept the larger stone circles as computers, this does not really explain why people made them.
▪
As you bend and straighten your legs, make a large circle with your arms.
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They flew side by side, making large , irregular circles .
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Successively larger circles indicate amplitudes of 30°, 40° and 50°.
▪
A scholar or a particular work by a scholar may locate him / her in larger circles of shared collective life.
▪
Brush the whole cake with apricot glaze, then roll out the remaining marzipan to a large circle to cover.
▪
Curd took the group, seated in a large circle , through the various steps of coping with grief.
literary
▪
Eleanor's husband had secured his first lectureship, and her first novel had been acclaimed in literary circles .
▪
By 1920 she had proved herself by earning a living in a difficult world, and by winning recognition in literary circles .
▪
There are several appreciative remarks about him by members of the literary and artistic circle .
▪
Bill Raeper was well known in literary circles in Oxford.
little
▪
He could see Chris in the little circle surrounding Finnegan's ball.
▪
Harder, harder, the fingers moved slowly around toward her windpipe, making little circles on the way.
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Bobbie occupied with Marie's little circle would have less time and energy for stalking David Chester with the Fieldfare family pistol.
▪
Weld helped her find little circles of women on whom to practice public speaking; before long, men started attending.
▪
So it was transparent, with these little black circles in it that seemed to jump backwards and forwards at you.
▪
In 1939 they were still politically unknown outside their own little circle .
magic
▪
Perhaps deities were transported in ships to describe a magic circle of divine protection round the whole island.
▪
Occultists also claim to cast out demons affecting or possessing one of their number, and even friends outside their magic circles .
political
▪
There are various species of Sizewell men - no, in modern political circles , Sizewell people.
▪
The hot topic in political circles here is who might become Sen.
▪
Yet he had somehow established a reputation in political circles as something out of the ordinary.
▪
For the most part these newspapers were owned by persons high in political circles or were subsidized by special interest groups.
▪
After the Gulf War he was promoted rapidly and began to mix more in political circles .
▪
But hardly anyone in political circles , including Republican loyalist redoubts on Capitol Hill, believes that right now.
▪
For now, such notions of bigness play well in political circles but thankfully not in all banking ones.
▪
On the basis of available facts, the Mandelas' cult following in international political circles seems inexplicable.
small
▪
The office of prime minister is a lonely and uniquely stressful one, and most develop their own small circle of confidants.
▪
For much of its short history, the computer world was inhabited by a small circle of researchers, students and hobbyists.
▪
A bonfire blazed inside a small circle of stones.
▪
Next, a smaller circle , the epicycle, was drawn with its center on the circumference on the deferent.
▪
The drawbacks of this relationship are its stolid dullness and its tendency to focus power in a small circle of people.
▪
It was a small closed circle that I think will open even wider now.
▪
He was instantly recognizable in the small but influential circle he kept.
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Its industries' products remained luxuries, reserved for a small circle of town-dwellers, or for export.
social
▪
Depending upon the social circles in which the young adult moves there will be more or less pressure towards getting married.
▪
After this she removed herself from her social circle , and avoided the company of any but a very few friends.
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She's quite a popular figure in social circles .
▪
Alfred wanted Amy to marry some one in their own social circle , as their eldest, William, had done.
▪
It did not imply membership of a social circle but an attitude of mind.
▪
The civilities of politeness and social etiquette may ensure that the locals' resentment is voiced only in their own social circle .
▪
Similarly, the unemployed found the focus of their social circle also becoming centred on heroin.
▪
They may have lost touch with their friends and have to start again to build up a new social circle .
turning
▪
He took Susan Hart's directions and found the no-through road and the turning circle and the track.
▪
The turning circles remain unchanged, but the steering wheel only requires 3.4 turns from lock-to-lock.
▪
His car was in the turning circle .
vicious
▪
This has produced a nastily vicious circle .
▪
I had to destroy, once and for all, the vicious circle of poverty and economic stagnation.
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The result, in short, was a vicious circle .
▪
And if the auction houses aren't doing well ... it's a vicious circle .
▪
Marital dissatisfaction can lead to adultery which, in turn, exacerbates dissatisfaction in a vicious circle .
▪
Think of the vicious circle of hyperventilation.
▪
How can this vicious circle be broken?
▪
We would get back into a vicious circle .
wide
▪
Fox was a nice man, much liked among a wide circle of his fellow-clergy.
▪
They flew in wide , eccentric circles and I realized that the birds were drunk.
▪
His passing leaves a sore gap in his family circle and in his wider circle of friends and acquaintances.
▪
A dozen boats idled in a wide circle around the flames.
▪
He has heard, perhaps from the Ambassador, that I have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances over there.
▪
The assumptions underlying the deconstructionist view of reality linger on in surprisingly wide circles of influence in the 1990s.
▪
Through contracts and franchises handed out to associates, a wider circle of loyalists has made a fortune.
▪
Charles Olson relied on his wide circle of literary friends when he recruited for Black Mountain.
■ NOUN
court
▪
Today Oxfordshire's Tim Henman justified the tributes being paid to him in court circles !
▪
By 1633 he was already moving in court circles .
stone
▪
I imagined solemn covens chanting, straggling torchlight processions winding up to mountain tops, stone circles , sacred trees and springs.
▪
It is true we no longer live in the cultures that produced the great temples or stone circles or earthworks.
▪
But even if we do accept the larger stone circles as computers, this does not really explain why people made them.
▪
Under sheltering trees stand three cairns and stone circles , worn yet awesomely dignified after more than 5,000 years.
▪
In the Neolithic, or New Stone Age, we find the beginning of temples, stone circles , and monumental earthworks.
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This Land of Our Fathers comes complete with Celtic stone circle , ancient swamps and iron-age huts.
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In the west of Ireland a small roadside shrine to the Virgin Mary stands almost alongside an equally modest stone circle .
■ VERB
draw
▪
With points 0, 2, 4 etc, as centres draw quadrants of circles with radius 9.
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I drew a circle with my finger on the concrete rim of the fountain.
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They have drawn out the magical circle simply to trap the adventurers, when they saw them approaching the area.
▪
He put the page on the desk and drew a circle on it.
▪
Picabia was drawn into the circle , probably by Apollinaire with whom he had recently become friendly.
▪
Peter drew a circle on the notepad with his pen then divided the circle into eight sections.
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The toe of his right sandal slowly drew a circle .
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Neurologists like to draw a circle and ask the patient to fill in a clock face.
form
▪
The herd solves this problem by forming a defensive circle when marauding wolves attack.
▪
They form a circle and keep tossing, industriously, carefully.
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Those within the existing Community who hesitate over future commitments would form the next circle .
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Hilda returned to her seat next to Omite, while the other women seemed to form a circle that excluded her.
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They all formed a loose circle around the stretcher.
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One starts playing a harmonica, the others form a circle .
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It contains five plain gold rings, interlinked to form a circle .
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Still others formed circles of worshippers in their communities to celebrate the seasons and the special moments of their lives.
move
▪
He moved in exalted circles - and was ambitious for greater things.
▪
But even for those who move freely in this circle of literary classics, Characters still has some problems.
▪
Then he slowly began moving in a circle until he was directly behind his father.
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Tanya insists on moving in many circles and, above all, on thinking for herself.
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It was a pleasing thought, that I might soon be moving in more exalted circles .
▪
Use the spatula to move half the circles to a cookie sheet.
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As if they would move in the same circles .
▪
Once the first bid has been made, the game moves clockwise in the circle .
run
▪
Down on the beach Tonton now ran in a crazy circle , his tail tucked between his legs.
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Mobutu would run circles around us.
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First, I needed to know whether the axis running through the circle centres continued to the church at Bishops Cannings.
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They were running in a circle , essentially, going nowhere.
▪
They had run circles round me.
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I had a tendency to run around in circles getting more and more worked up.
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The words run along each concentric circle and not across circles.
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He ran great loopy circles , barking with delight, while Master dodged and dived, trying to catch him.
sit
▪
Blind Man's Buff Everyone sits in a circle with one person sitting blindfolded in the middle.
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I sat in a circle of fire for one whole night as my body became scorched with blisters.
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In a dusty room in the Pearce Institute the children sat round in a circle .
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They sit in a circle surrounded by family and friends.
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They then sit in a circle and hold their bags unopened.
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As they do every morning, the girls sit in a circle in the middle of the floor, stretching and talking.
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Description of the game Children all sit in a circle .
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We sit in a circle in anxious anticipation.
square
▪
The attraction of the concept was that it allowed him to square a number of circles at once.
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This squaring of the circle is the hardest of their tasks.
▪
There is no sureness of touch, no deft ability to square circles as and when required.
▪
This is as difficult as trying to square a circle .
▪
Where are the leaders who can square this vicious circle ?
▪
The only way of squaring the circle to Moscow's satisfaction would be to send in troops.
▪
On his last point, Labour has manifestly failed to square the circle .
▪
Britain, ever the Atlanticist, tried to square the circle , and usually failed.
stand
▪
They were both good dancers and gradually the other couples drifted off the floor and stood in a circle watching them.
▪
Each fills her bucket and comes to stand in a circle around me.
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Next, long white streamers tied into an intricate pattern in the centre were handed to various women standing in the circle .
▪
Jody stands outside the circle , watching and listening.
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BThe children begin by standing in a circle , holding hands.
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The mourners stood in a circle on the sand, three hundred yards down from the parking lot.
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The embarrassed nomes stood around in a circle .
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Brownies stand in a circle facing inwards with their legs apart.
turn
▪
Now his fortunes are poised to turn full circle again.
▪
Now the pattern has turned full circle .
▪
She turned in a complete circle .
▪
The wheel has turned full circle in the past 25 years.
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Sadly events have turned full circle and those who defended the university then must do so again.
▪
Thus the wheel had turned full circle .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
come/go/turn full circle
▪
A manufacturer of sun care products has just issued a report showing that the view on tanning has come full circle.
▪
Now his fortunes are poised to turn full circle again.
▪
Now the pattern has turned full circle.
▪
Only a classic endures, and sooner or later the fashion comes full circle.
▪
The neo-colonial wheel has almost come full circle.
▪
The wheel has turned full circle in the past 25 years.
▪
Thus the research has come full circle.
▪
Today, society has evolved and the wheel has come full circle.
describe a circle/an arc etc
▪
Chen saw the knife describe an arc through the air and felt himself flinch.
in polite society/circles/company
▪
You can't use words like that in polite company.
▪
Her passion for natural history became increasingly fashionable in polite society during the 17605.
▪
In the good old days of rampant dualism, the mind was rarely mentioned in polite society.
▪
It was not the sort of thing you did in polite company.
▪
It was obvious from the scenes that such behavior did not belong in polite society.
▪
Trevor Proby is another, of course, but his notables should not be discussed in polite company.
▪
With sad paradox, Mr Punch himself became the man in the Bateman cartoon, unwelcome in polite company.
inner circle
▪
But the vortex fills as he nears its inner circle.
▪
He is not one of the inner circle, and does not know where his orders came from.
▪
His decision was upheld by nearly every senior official in his inner circle.
▪
Hubbell, part of the Clintons' inner circle, is intimately familiar with their financial affairs.
▪
In fact, several guidebooks were conspiracies to conceal this information, and repel invaders from outside the initiated inner circle.
▪
Morris's ideas still provoke tension in the Clinton White House, even if Morris is absent from the inner circle.
▪
The inner circle represents activities that are accepted as sport in all countries and fulfil all of Rodgers' criteria.
▪
The intrigue, if one existed, was worthy of the inner circle of the Imperial court on far distant Knossos.
magic circle
▪
Occultists also claim to cast out demons affecting or possessing one of their number, and even friends outside their magic circles.
▪
Perhaps deities were transported in ships to describe a magic circle of divine protection round the whole island.
move in ... circles/society/world
▪
ACCORDING to acquaintances who move in the twilight world of Private Eye, the satirical magazine is hoping for a Conservative victory.
▪
As if they would move in the same circles.
▪
He moved in exalted circles - and was ambitious for greater things.
▪
I thought I could move in the world of all possible lights, and breathe, breathe, breathe.
▪
In the 1980s there has been a general move in museum education circles towards active learning experiences on site.
▪
It was a pleasing thought, that I might soon be moving in more exalted circles.
▪
Tanya insists on moving in many circles and, above all, on thinking for herself.
▪
We move in the same circles.
square the circle
▪
Britain, ever the Atlanticist, tried to square the circle, and usually failed.
▪
On his last point, Labour has manifestly failed to square the circle.
▪
The only way of squaring the circle to Moscow's satisfaction would be to send in troops.
the Antarctic Circle
the Arctic Circle
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
a circle of chairs
▪
By 1920 she had written two novels, and had succeeded in winning recognition in literary circles.
▪
Cut the dough into several small circles.
▪
Draw a circle around the right answer.
▪
I want you to form two circles, one inside the other. Boys on the outside, girls on the inside.
▪
It was the 1960s, and the military had become unpopular among academic and intellectual circles.
▪
The circle of stones at Stonehenge is thought to have originally been a temple.
▪
The flashlight threw a dim circle of light onto the wall.
▪
The teacher drew a circle on the blackboard.
▪
This circle is 4 inches in diameter.
▪
We all stood in a circle and tossed the ball to each other.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Calling circles give discounts when you call other customers of the same long-distance carrier you have.
▪
Hippie dips, or hot pots, are circles of rocks built around natural hot springs.
▪
Over to your right in the distance, half-hidden by a fold of land, is a broken circle of stone monoliths.
▪
The circles were there, perfectly.
▪
The drawbacks of this relationship are its stolid dullness and its tendency to focus power in a small circle of people.
▪
They had big half circles of pure white skin below.
▪
We hold on to one another, an unsteady circle , and leave the room together.
▪
Without a plan you will end up going in circles and wasting your life away.
II. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
round
▪
We had our little mock boxing-matches, in my study, circling round the table as if it were a ring.
▪
He swept down the gorge, circled round , and made a second pass at the Falls to lose altitude.
▪
The aeroplane - quite a small one - was circling round far overhead.
▪
Its engine is missing badly and it's circling round as if looking for a landing-place.
▪
Those that are wounded and stunned will be consumed by the swordfish at leisure, circling round any that start to sink.
▪
Thenceforth, it seems that everything is in ecstatic motion, and the church itself is circling round .
▪
However, we sat round waiting patiently, and then a nasty-looking plane circled round.
▪
We stood back in the shadows hypnotized by the flames and a family group circled round them.
slowly
▪
The males responded by puffing up their chests and circling slowly towards each other.
▪
He circled slowly and methodically up, holding his wings in a stiff, lacquered bow, never flapping, always soaring.
▪
Keep your foot flexed and start slowly circling your right leg, at the same time bringing it up in the air.
▪
Feet astride, knees flexed, bodies perfectly balanced, the two began circling slowly , eyes locked, watchful.
▪
Slowly circle your right arm I forward, then up and behind.
▪
Again they circled slowly , eyes locked, alert.
■ NOUN
bird
▪
A pair of night birds circled above, the flapping of their wings and their eerie screeches penetrating the thickening mist.
▪
And as I think this, I watch the birds circling in the sky.
earth
▪
For most of the mission the orbiter will circle the Earth with the payload bay open and facing down towards the ground.
▪
Placed at that single distance, moving at that speed, the object will continue to circle the Earth indefinitely.
globe
▪
And he plans to keep running until he has circled the globe .
▪
To make his vision a reality, Malamud has circled the globe , soliciting support from engineers, businessmen and officials.
helicopter
▪
Now shipwreck looters brave a police helicopter circling overhead as they carry their spoils away by bicycle.
▪
When critical habitat is designated, it does not mean federal agents in unmarked helicopters start circling private property.
▪
Overhead the helicopter circled once more, making a black locust-shaped shadow on the sunlit turf of the plain.
plane
▪
Together they sat and watched the plane circle .
▪
As the plane circled in search of Dee Zed, the jump team was placed in position.
▪
Then, as the plane began to circle above Moon Beach, her head drooped and tears fell into her lap.
▪
However, we sat round waiting patiently, and then a nasty-looking plane circled round.
▪
As they did so, the plane circled lower.
▪
We catch sight of a small plane circling the mountain.
wagon
▪
Instead, leaders increasingly see it as their job to circle the wagons .
▪
There is the natural tendency, too, for players to circle the wagons in the locker room.
▪
Everybody circled up like wagon trains around the bleach vats and wood room and even the goddamn lunch table.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
come/go/turn full circle
▪
A manufacturer of sun care products has just issued a report showing that the view on tanning has come full circle.
▪
Now his fortunes are poised to turn full circle again.
▪
Now the pattern has turned full circle.
▪
Only a classic endures, and sooner or later the fashion comes full circle.
▪
The neo-colonial wheel has almost come full circle.
▪
The wheel has turned full circle in the past 25 years.
▪
Thus the research has come full circle.
▪
Today, society has evolved and the wheel has come full circle.
in polite society/circles/company
▪
You can't use words like that in polite company.
▪
Her passion for natural history became increasingly fashionable in polite society during the 17605.
▪
In the good old days of rampant dualism, the mind was rarely mentioned in polite society.
▪
It was not the sort of thing you did in polite company.
▪
It was obvious from the scenes that such behavior did not belong in polite society.
▪
Trevor Proby is another, of course, but his notables should not be discussed in polite company.
▪
With sad paradox, Mr Punch himself became the man in the Bateman cartoon, unwelcome in polite company.
inner circle
▪
But the vortex fills as he nears its inner circle.
▪
He is not one of the inner circle, and does not know where his orders came from.
▪
His decision was upheld by nearly every senior official in his inner circle.
▪
Hubbell, part of the Clintons' inner circle, is intimately familiar with their financial affairs.
▪
In fact, several guidebooks were conspiracies to conceal this information, and repel invaders from outside the initiated inner circle.
▪
Morris's ideas still provoke tension in the Clinton White House, even if Morris is absent from the inner circle.
▪
The inner circle represents activities that are accepted as sport in all countries and fulfil all of Rodgers' criteria.
▪
The intrigue, if one existed, was worthy of the inner circle of the Imperial court on far distant Knossos.
magic circle
▪
Occultists also claim to cast out demons affecting or possessing one of their number, and even friends outside their magic circles.
▪
Perhaps deities were transported in ships to describe a magic circle of divine protection round the whole island.
the Antarctic Circle
the Arctic Circle
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
As we walked along the beach, I could see seagulls circling above the cliffs.
▪
Glenn circled the date on his calendar.
▪
Helicopters circled overhead, trying to get pictures of the crime scene.
▪
Helicopters circled overhead.
▪
Kelly hit the ball over the fence and circled the bases.
▪
We all looked towards the sky where the vultures were circling.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
And then I saw a bee circling my head and I could not move.
▪
Before leaving, we lowered one of our motorboats to circle the area.
▪
He circled slowly and methodically up, holding his wings in a stiff, lacquered bow, never flapping, always soaring.
▪
Her arms circled his neck, as the words roared unstoppably inside her head.
▪
Instead, leaders increasingly see it as their job to circle the wagons.
▪
The birds flew up noisily, circled, and then they came down and settled in another tree not far away.
▪
You were both circling like gladiators.