I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
hear/try a case (= listen to the evidence before making a judgment )
▪
The case will be heard by a federal judge.
tried desperately
▪
The doctors tried desperately to save her life.
tried her hardest
▪
She tried her hardest to ignore what he’d said.
try an approach
▪
Some scientists have been trying an alternative approach.
try not to laugh (= to not laugh, even though something is funny, because it would not be polite )
▪
‘Are you all right?’ Amy said, trying not to laugh.
try/attempt to escape
▪
Some prisoners tried to escape, but most were recaptured or shot.
try/manage/fail to persuade sb
▪
I’m trying to persuade your dad to buy some shares.
try/test/tax sb's patience (= make it difficult for someone to continue to be patient )
▪
The guy at the desk was beginning to try my patience.
who were...trying to kid
▪
We thought we could change the world. Just who were we trying to kid ?
won’t be for want of trying
▪
Well, if he doesn’t get the job it won’t be for want of trying !
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
again
▪
Some of those who fail may enrol in a cram school for a year and try again .
▪
There was no answer to his knock, so he tried again .
▪
Please try again with a valid value.
▪
Wilson will try again this legislative session, Spidell said.
▪
Being somewhat surprised by this, I tried again , using the 550C Windows driver, but with the DeskJet Portable connected.
▪
We waited in terrible patience, and he tried again .
▪
Something of the sort is being tried again at Waco.
▪
Then Thornton went back home to Arkansas, but eventually came back to try again .
desperately
▪
She was trying desperately to regain her composure.
▪
Some plantation families tried desperately to maintain their traditional lifestyle by pretending they still had slaves.
▪
He was trying desperately to keep memories at bay.
▪
Some expend tremendous energy desperately trying to stop the clock.
▪
The Lieutenant was desperately trying to stay in his saddle.
▪
About eight months later she desperately tried to get him back in.
▪
He is unfailingly polite and tries desperately to understand other people's views.
hard
▪
Naseby tried hard to read over his shoulder.
▪
Robert and Barbara Walter are trying hard not to be overcome by Derby fever.
▪
The Bishop tried hard to express his grateful thanks.
▪
At halftime, Oregon is up by twelve points, and Jody is trying hard not to let her emotions show.
▪
She felt bubbly with fun, and had to try hard not to let it show too much.
▪
But now I was trying hard , and I could see how limited I was.
▪
Stuart tried hard to reach but the shelf was just too high.
▪
He begins to fantasize that if he tried hard he could shrink to a tiny size and crawl inside the set.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(do/try) the ... thing
▪
Rick's doing the starving artist thing right now.
do/try your damnedest
▪
We both tried our damnedest but it didn't work.
▪
All right, tell the girls, do your damnedest .
▪
But both the Trust and those of us lucky enough to live there will do our damnedest to prevent it.
▪
He had tried to make it work, tried his damnedest , but she had absolutely no sense of taste or refinement.
▪
If I do as you suggest and tell Billy about us, he will do his damnedest to destroy me in revenge.
full/top marks for effort/trying/persistence etc
▪
You had to give Anthony top marks for persistence, she thought to herself.
▪
You had to give the woman full marks for persistence.
nice try
▪
It was a nice try, a necessary try, but one that ultimately failed.
▪
You miscalculated, but it was a nice try.
tried and tested/trusted/true
▪
After all, these methods are tried and tested.
▪
Alternatively you could pick up a pinstripe suit from tried and trusted Marks & Spencer.
▪
Disposable workers Modern methods of super-exploitation, tried and tested in the Third World, are coming home to industrialized countries.
▪
Look for the more creative solution - the tried and true don't always bring the best results.
▪
Others stick to the tried and tested method with a sponge.
▪
Some parts of the blueprint will have been tried and tested, and found to be reliable.
▪
The genre is tried and true, of course, from Animal House to Reality Bites.
▪
These have the advantage of being tried and tested and involve lower cost.
try your hand at (doing) sth
▪
A visit to West Dorset also offers a perfect opportunity to try your hand at windsurfing.
▪
If you have the urge to try your hand at a grant, do so!
▪
Isaac Mizrahi tried his hand at the corset, and in the process turned out some fabulous evening dresses.
▪
It's time to try my hand at the settled life.
▪
Just like Walsh, too, Robinson first tried his hand at broadcasting.
▪
Many who are in the process of acquiring these technical skills may wish to try their hand at grantsmanship.
▪
More than once, more than a dozen times I have been tempted to try my hand at another profession.
▪
Plenty of Christians have tried their hand at putting their beliefs into prose or poetry, usually with calamitous aesthetic results.
try/chance your luck
▪
Akinbiyi was next up to try his luck after 25 minutes, following a great break from the left touchline.
▪
And if Mr. Birt does find himself out of a job, he could always try his luck as a timeshare salesman.
▪
But the next time Berger tried his luck , it produced a spectacular dividend.
▪
He squatted down with a stick to try his luck .
▪
Moments later Pauleta tried his luck with a fizzing 30-yarder, but Shay Given got a hand to it.
▪
Well, I strongly recommend that you try your luck on any wide verges close to towns.
▪
Why not try your luck and help others at the same time?
▪
Without a pub to be seen for miles we decided to try our luck in the bar of the hilton.
use/try every trick in the book
▪
I tried every trick in the book to reform him.
▪
Victoria used every trick in the book to undermine Patsy in order to get the new job colleagues knew Patsy had earned.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
"Do you like goat's milk?" "I don't know, I've never tried it."
▪
Harriet picked up the ball and tried a shot at the basket.
▪
Have you tried Alison's carrot cake?
▪
Have you tried those new barbecue-flavoured crisps?
▪
He tried to walk past me down the stairs, but I stopped him.
▪
His mother tried threats, bribery -- everything, but Danny still refused to go to school.
▪
I'll go try the phone upstairs.
▪
I'll tell some jokes to try and cheer him up.
▪
I'm sorry, but Ms. Bouvier is out of the office. Could you try again later.
▪
I tried aerobics once, but I didn't really enjoy it.
▪
I tried all the keys, but none of them would open the door.
▪
I tried to get another job but I had no luck.
▪
I knocked, then tried the door. It was open, but the room was empty.
▪
I think you should try planning your essays in rough before you start writing.
▪
I was trying hard to concentrate, but my mind kept wandering.
▪
I went around the back to try the windows, but they were all locked.
▪
Nadine tried six stores before she found the book Sam wanted.
▪
Running is really good exercise - you should try it.
▪
Sorry I didn't phone you. I did try , but your line was busy.
▪
There was no answer at his workplace, so Mandy tried his home number.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
A gang of youths threw stones and missiles at officers who were trying to break up the display.
▪
Another over-eager cat has discovered one of the basic truths of garden life: never try to kill a toad.
▪
Baseball, though, is a bad place to try to find stability.
▪
He tried to phone for help.
▪
He tried to read some deeper personal message into it.
▪
I think we stayed for about a week just trying to get more and more of a body count.
▪
If his Mummy tried to come, she was sent away.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
good
▪
Well, that's a better try , Ferg.
▪
He gave it a good try .
▪
But it's a good try .
▪
It is a good try , but it will not wash.
▪
The hon. Gentleman is having a good try .
▪
So the answer is no. 2 Good try - but you got it the wrong way round!
late
▪
The South-West's late try came when Clough was sent a hospital pass and Fallon booted the loose ball over the line.
▪
Botha converted, and not even Tony Underwood's marvellous late try could rescue a game which left everyone breathless.
▪
Ally Donaldson kicked two penalty goals for Currie and converted a late try by Dean Mack.
▪
Cardiff attacked gamely in the final quarter and scored a late try through Jeffreys.
▪
Further mistakes by the Lions permitted the hyped-up home team to level at 12-12 and score a late , irrelevant try .
nice
▪
Sorry, Arnie. Nice try , but we like the pic our snapper took of you much better.
▪
All news to you, huh, Bernie? Nice try .
▪
It was a nice try , a necessary try, but one that ultimately failed.
▪
You miscalculated, but it was a nice try .
only
▪
The only try came from Sudbury scrum-half Steve Glen.
▪
But the Soviet Union managed to fashion the only try of the game at Hellfire Corner.
▪
New Zealand held the lead for long periods and their frequent advantages depended on the only try of the match.
▪
Ben Crawley got the only try as Saracens beat relegation favourites Rugby 14-6.
▪
But Saracens hit back with 2 penalties and the only try of the game, an up and under.
■ NOUN
penalty
▪
There was also a penalty try .
▪
If we take the Campese knock-on in the World Cup final, I personally would awarded a penalty try .
▪
Under the new law I would still be able to award a penalty try .
▪
When it is a two-on-one situation near the line, then the penalty try will result.
▪
All four of Neath's tries were close-to-the-line affairs, including a penalty try award.
▪
Morrison awarded them a contentious penalty try after Leicester's pack brought down Bath's drive from a lineout.
▪
West led 12-0 at half-time through a penalty try converted by John Stabler, who also kicked two penalties.
■ VERB
award
▪
Under the new law I would still be able to award a penalty try .
▪
New Zealand took only four minutes before making their first strike with flanker Josh Kronfeld being awarded a try .
convert
▪
He also converted Ian Jones's try off the touchline.
▪
Laing converted this try , and two penalty tries awarded as the Instonians scrum got on top.
▪
Earlier, Craggs had kicked a penalty and then hit the post when attempting to convert Steve Towns' try .
▪
With White converting all the tries , Alton ran out comfortable winners after a terrible start.
▪
Didier Camberabero kicked a penalty and converted a characteristic try by Serge Blanco.
▪
Ally Donaldson kicked two penalty goals for Currie and converted a late try by Dean Mack.
▪
Gregory converted the try and as he had also kicked a penalty goal early in the match Nottingham were on their way.
give
▪
We decided the deception was the worst part of it and agreed to give honesty a try .
▪
He gave it a good try .
▪
I reckon if I had had a flat and everything I could have given it a try .
▪
If you decide to give massage a try , be careful: Massage can be either sedating or stimulating to the body.
▪
If you live north of Watford, give it a try .
▪
Oh, Scoonie gave other sports a try .
▪
Well yes, I suppose I could give it a try but I don't want to promise anything.
▪
Our family gave it a try on a recent weekend.
grab
▪
Just before the final whistle, former Leeds player Gary Divorty grabbed a consolation try , converted by stand-off Bishop.
▪
He added two more penalties before Darryl Pitt and Shane Buckley grabbed a try apiece.
score
▪
As some one once said: he's the sort of player you cheer when he scores a try against your side.
▪
Bath had used a variation of this move to score their first try .
▪
Ballantyne scored a try which cancelled out a strike by Mike Debusk then sent in Keith Johnston for a second.
▪
He scored two tries and converted one of them.
▪
Then the 19-year-old athlete scored a try as Wigan beat a Great Britain select side 37-36.
▪
Then the hungry Ben Cohen popped up on the right to score his seventh try in only nine Tests.
▪
The home side ended the game in style with Martin Morris scoring the final try in injury time.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(do/try) the ... thing
▪
Rick's doing the starving artist thing right now.
do/try your damnedest
▪
We both tried our damnedest but it didn't work.
▪
All right, tell the girls, do your damnedest .
▪
But both the Trust and those of us lucky enough to live there will do our damnedest to prevent it.
▪
He had tried to make it work, tried his damnedest , but she had absolutely no sense of taste or refinement.
▪
If I do as you suggest and tell Billy about us, he will do his damnedest to destroy me in revenge.
give sth a try/shot/whirl
▪
Are you having trouble fixing the printer? Let me give it a shot.
▪
But on this case, I can not give it a try - that is the point.
▪
He says he thought he'd give it a try, but he got stuck.
▪
Joe gives her the shot twice a week.
▪
Magnus grew fat on brown wholemeal scraps and Gina gave up trying to keep him away.
▪
She had given up trying to read to him, play with him, teach him anything: he could not learn.
▪
Vladimir finally gave up trying to teach me and returned to his sketching.
▪
We wanted into the book badly, and gave it a shot one afternoon.
nice try
▪
It was a nice try, a necessary try, but one that ultimately failed.
▪
You miscalculated, but it was a nice try.
tried and tested/trusted/true
▪
After all, these methods are tried and tested.
▪
Alternatively you could pick up a pinstripe suit from tried and trusted Marks & Spencer.
▪
Disposable workers Modern methods of super-exploitation, tried and tested in the Third World, are coming home to industrialized countries.
▪
Look for the more creative solution - the tried and true don't always bring the best results.
▪
Others stick to the tried and tested method with a sponge.
▪
Some parts of the blueprint will have been tried and tested, and found to be reliable.
▪
The genre is tried and true, of course, from Animal House to Reality Bites.
▪
These have the advantage of being tried and tested and involve lower cost.
try your hand at (doing) sth
▪
A visit to West Dorset also offers a perfect opportunity to try your hand at windsurfing.
▪
If you have the urge to try your hand at a grant, do so!
▪
Isaac Mizrahi tried his hand at the corset, and in the process turned out some fabulous evening dresses.
▪
It's time to try my hand at the settled life.
▪
Just like Walsh, too, Robinson first tried his hand at broadcasting.
▪
Many who are in the process of acquiring these technical skills may wish to try their hand at grantsmanship.
▪
More than once, more than a dozen times I have been tempted to try my hand at another profession.
▪
Plenty of Christians have tried their hand at putting their beliefs into prose or poetry, usually with calamitous aesthetic results.
try/chance your luck
▪
Akinbiyi was next up to try his luck after 25 minutes, following a great break from the left touchline.
▪
And if Mr. Birt does find himself out of a job, he could always try his luck as a timeshare salesman.
▪
But the next time Berger tried his luck , it produced a spectacular dividend.
▪
He squatted down with a stick to try his luck .
▪
Moments later Pauleta tried his luck with a fizzing 30-yarder, but Shay Given got a hand to it.
▪
Well, I strongly recommend that you try your luck on any wide verges close to towns.
▪
Why not try your luck and help others at the same time?
▪
Without a pub to be seen for miles we decided to try our luck in the bar of the hilton.
use/try every trick in the book
▪
I tried every trick in the book to reform him.
▪
Victoria used every trick in the book to undermine Patsy in order to get the new job colleagues knew Patsy had earned.
what is sb trying to prove?
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
After several tries, Lou finally reached Sylvia at her office phone number.
▪
Don't give up yet - have another try .
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Beattie put them ahead after two minutes with an opportunist try but Dungait replied for Morpeth.
▪
But it is worth a try .
▪
Centre John Devereux converted, with giant prop Mark Jones then brushing aside two tackles to crash over for the second try .
▪
Certainly it was worth a try .
▪
Full-back Liley strode into the left-hand corner for a splendid try and there was still a man to spare.
▪
If your insomnia is similar to the following examples, you might want to give bright-light therapy a try .
▪
With White converting all the tries, Alton ran out comfortable winners after a terrible start.