WORK


Meaning of WORK in English

I. verb

COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES

a business/working lunch (= a lunch during which you also do business )

She was having a business lunch with a customer.

a good deal of trouble/time/work etc

I went to a good deal of trouble to get this ticket.

a hard day’s work/walking/skiing etc

There’s a sauna where you can relax after a hard day’s skiing.

a machine operates/works

The machine works using solar power.

a strategy works

The Government’s economic strategy was not working.

a system operates/works (= exists and is used )

He tried to explain how the planning system operates.

a system works

The air-conditioning system isn’t working.

a system works (= is successful )

The public needs to see that the complaints system works.

a tactic works (= is successful )

Those tactics won’t work with me any more – I know you too well.

a work permit

She had problems getting a work permit for the States.

a work situation (= a situation at work )

These problems often arise in work situations.

a working breakfast (= at which you talk about business )

She suggested we meet at 8.30 for a working breakfast.

a working partnership

Theirs is one of the most fruitful working partnerships in modern science.

a working relationship (= a relationship appropriate for people who work together )

She’s a fine actress and we developed a great working relationship.

a working/learning environment

Most people prefer a quiet working environment.

a work/student visa

They'd sent their daughter abroad on a student visa.

an hour’s/six hours' etc work (= work that it took you an hour/six hours etc to do )

I did two hours’ work before breakfast.

arduous task/work

the arduous task of loading all the boxes into the van

be worth the time/effort/work

It was a great evening, and definitely worth all the hard work.

be/move/work in sync

The two mechanisms have to work in sync.

be/work to the disadvantage of sb (= make someone unlikely to be successful )

This system works to the disadvantage of women.

carry out work

You’ll have to get a builder to carry out the work.

carry out work

You’ll have to get a builder to carry out the work.

carrying out essential maintenance work

Engineers are carrying out essential maintenance work on the main line to Cambridge.

case work

casual work

Chris has occasional casual work but mostly he is unemployed.

changing patterns of work/behaviour etc

Changing patterns of work mean that more people are able to work from home.

class/team/work etc mate

Dad’s office mates are throwing a party for him.

clerk of works

conservation work

The group spent four months carrying out conservation work in the rainforest.

construction work

Construction work on the new road is expected to take two years.

craft work (= things made by craftsmen or women )

Craft work, such as hand-knitted items or decorated cakes, often sells well.

creative work

Diaghilev did his great creative work in France.

definitive study/work/guide etc

the definitive study of Victorian railway stations

development work (= the work of helping development in poor areas )

Further funds are required to allow the development work to continue.

devise/work out a strategy ( also formulate a strategy formal )

We had to devise strategies for saving money.

do some/any/ no etc work

She was feeling too tired to do any work.

do work experience

Why do I have to do work experience ?

done an honest day’s work

I bet he’s never done an honest day’s work in his life!

experimental work/studies

experimental studies on birds and animals

find/work out a compromise

A temporary compromise was found.

get off work

What time do you get off work ?

get...worked up

You shouldn’t get so worked up about it.

give sb work/homework etc

How much homework are you given in a week?

He’s always giving us chores to do around the house.

grunt work

These guys do the grunt work in preparing tax returns.

happy in your work/job etc

hard work

To be successful in sport requires hard work and a great deal of determination.

heavy...work

My son does most of the heavy outdoor work .

keep up the good work! (= continue to work hard and well )

knock off work

We usually knock off work at about twelve on Saturday.

line of work/business

What line of business is he in?

meaningful work

They want a chance to do meaningful work .

of working age

55 percent of the people are of working age.

operate/work a machine

Have you been taught to operate the machine properly?

out of work

out-of-work actors

perform work

Over 6,000 people in our community of 100,000 perform volunteer work.

perform/work a miracle (= achieve something very good which no one thought was possible )

The new coach has worked miracles, and the team have won their last four games.

pioneering work/research/efforts etc

the pioneering work of NASA scientists

plan/work sth out in detail

I haven't worked our trip out in detail yet.

practical work

Archaeology students are required to do a certain amount of practical work.

public works

the public works department

relief work

The charity raised over five million pounds for relief work.

remote working

repair work

The council has been responsible for appointing contractors to carry out this repair work.

repetitive work/tasks/jobs

repetitive tasks like washing and ironing

research work

Doctor Fox received world-wide acclaim for her research work on breast cancer.

restoration work

Major restoration work will begin in May.

return to work

Jean is well enough now to consider her return to work .

routine work

We need more junior staff to help out with the routine work.

sb's absence from work/school

You will be entitled to sick pay in respect of any absence from work through sickness.

sb’s place of work/employment formal

Please give the address of your place of work.

sb’s work/business/school address

I sent the letter to her work address.

My business address is on my card.

school/work clothes

Work clothes tend to be black, blue, or grey.

set up/establish a working group (to do sth)

The commission has set up a special working group to look at the problem.

sewage works

shift work/working (= working shifts )

Does the job involve shift work?

shift work/working (= working shifts )

Does the job involve shift work?

social work

start school/college/work

I started college last week.

take time off (work/school)

I rang my boss and arranged to take some time off.

temporary work

You might want to consider temporary work until you decide what you want to do.

the complete works of (= a book, CD etc containing everything Shakespeare wrote )

the complete works of Shakespeare

the working poor (= poor people who have jobs, rather than unemployed people )

These tax-cut proposals are targeted at the working poor.

the working/lower class

At this time most of the working class was very poor.

thirsty work (= work that makes you want a drink )

All this digging is thirsty work .

too much like hard work (= it would involve too much work )

Becoming a doctor never interested him. It was too much like hard work .

undertake work

The work is being undertaken by team of experts.

voluntary work/service

He does voluntary work with young offenders.

work a shift

They work quite long shifts.

work as a consultant

We have 170 staff working as computer consultants to clients.

work as a spy

He died while working as a government spy.

work as a team

You have to learn to work as a team.

work ethic

They instilled the work ethic into their children.

work experience placement/programme/scheme etc

work experience

She’s well qualified but has no relevant work experience.

work for a company

How long have you been working for your present company?

work for a firm

Chris has been working for this firm for nearly 20 years.

work from/at home (= do your work at home instead of at an office )

I work at home three days a week.

work in a factory

Donna works in a shoe factory.

work in harmony

He urged all Americans to work in harmony to solve the nation’s problems.

work in shifts

We had to work in shifts – four hours on and four off.

work in the fields (= do farm work )

Most villagers work in the fields during the day.

work late

Ellen has to work late tonight.

work load

My work load has doubled since Henry left.

work long hours (= work for more time than is usual )

Doctors often work long hours .

work magic (= do magic )

What do you expect me to do? I can’t work magic!

work of art

That cake’s a real work of art!

work on a farm

I used to work on a farm when I was younger.

work on a project

A team has been working on the project for three years.

work on an assumption (= act according to something that may not be true )

The police seemed to be working on the assumption that he was guilty.

work on your fitness (= try to improve your fitness )

He's working on his fitness in preparation for the New York marathon.

work out an equation

I spent over an hour trying to work out the equation.

work overtime

He's been working a lot of overtime.

work part-time

She wants to work part-time after she’s had the baby.

work permit

work release

work sth out on a calculator

Work it out on a calculator if you can't do it in your head.

work stoppage

a work stoppage by government employees

work the soil (= prepare the soil to grow plants )

They worked the soil with hoes and forks.

work to a deadline (= have to finish something by a deadline )

We're all under pressure and working to deadlines.

work to your advantage (= make you have an advantage – often used when this is unexpected )

Sometimes a lack of experience can work to your advantage.

work towards a goal

We are all working towards similar goals.

work/be sold for a pittance

The crop was sold for a pittance.

worked hard

She has worked hard all her life.

worked in pairs

We worked in pairs for the role-play exercise.

worked undercover

He worked undercover in Germany and Northern Ireland.

worked up a thirst (= done something that made us thirsty )

We had worked up a thirst , and so we decided to stop for a beer.

worked up

You shouldn’t get so worked up about it.

worked...into a frenzy

Doreen had worked herself into a frenzy.

working capital

working class

Marx wrote about the political struggles of the working class.

working closely

The successful applicant will be working closely with our international staff.

working conditions

An office must be able to provide safe working conditions.

working feverishly

Congress is working feverishly to pass the bill.

working for peanuts

I’m tired of working for peanuts .

working girl

working group

The commission has set up a special working group to look at the problem.

working model (= one with parts which move )

a working model of a steam engine

working nine to five

She didn’t like working nine to five .

working papers

working party

working prototype

a working prototype of the new car

Working Tax Credit

working together

We’ve very much enjoyed working together .

work/labour/toil in obscurity (= work without being well-known )

After years of working in obscurity, his paintings are now hanging in museums.

works of art

The exhibition features works of art by Picasso and Matisse.

works of literature

He has read many of the major works of literature .

work/study etc full-time

She works full-time and has two kids.

The success of the series enabled her to concentrate full-time on writing.

work/writer/man etc of genius

Wynford was an architect of genius.

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADVERB

closely

James worked closely with his bishops, and in particular with George Abbot, whom he appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1611.

Both had been determined to overcome authoritarian rule from Addis Ababa and had worked closely together to achieve this end.

Walsh returns as an administrative assistant to Seifert and will work closely with second-year offensive coordinator Marc Trestman.

The primary aim of the central bank is to work closely with the government and so to operate in the public interest.

We will work closely with our partners in foreign policy and in the war on international crime.

Under this system, junior and senior nurses work closely together in the care of a group of patients.

We had worked closely together during those rushed summer months.

hard

He remains convinced that it is imperative to work hard on his swing.

He was not himself a classic workaholic; if he worked hard , it was not demonically so.

It's a blow to University students who've had to cancel performances they've worked hard to produce.

We both worked hard in our different ways.

We all worked hard at the lesson, no time wasted.

I had worked hard every summer since I was eleven, and there was an entrepreneurial streak in me.

The resident proprietor has worked hard at maintaining an excellent reputation for service and comfort.

Most of the time he kept to Inmself, stayed in his hotel room, and worked hard .

together

But we must discuss areas where we can cooperate and work together .

As any teacher can tell you, this is made much easier when the entire school works together to build this ethos.

The two have worked together to produce a booming Sunbelt and a brisk new stirring of the ethnic melting pot.

How can we work together to find these ways of being, relating, and creating?

She urged women to re-examine their roles in society and to work together to become decision-makers.

Parents of such a child need to work together as a team.

I am therefore writing to ask if you would be interested in our working together to produce AppleMac versions of the programs.

Our working together has been fine.

well

The arrangements are working well and I have every confidence that the job will be completed satisfactorily on time.

Their ability to map a statistical distribution, however, works well only with large networks.

The abbreviated lower horn works well with the tight curve of the waist, and aids comfort when sitting to play.

The four-star officer believed his renewed efforts on character development were working well , according to Navy sources.

On reading through these pages you will be convinced that this is exactly the way in which the things could work well .

The first time he tried it on me, the system did not work well .

Nor does it work well outside cities; its short range demands a dense network of base stations.

He worked well with the tutors and finished most of his courses.

■ NOUN

home

He works in an office, I work at home .

MacArthur says that the husband alone should work outside the home .

The very idea of working from home should have been anathema to me.

Sometimes she made six dollars a day, working in two private homes .

Students on the part-time course will work from home , visiting Middlesbrough only for the final examination.

Nearly a third of respondents also said they increased their productivity by working at home .

Spending also varies according to whether married women work outside the home .

As might be expected, phone companies are major advocates and practitioners of working from home or other remote locations.

system

This unsophisticated system will probably work very well if there are not too many large mailings over the year.

The other systems do not work .

The system works without any conscious overseeing or organizing.

If student reports are anything to go on, the system does appear to work at Thayer.

This system makes children work whether they find the work interesting or not.

The system could work properly only if the values of the two currencies did not drift too far apart from each other.

For the system to work properly, several practical and technical obstacles will need to be overcome over the next 12 months.

As the churning mass swelled within him his resilient Goblin digestive system got to work on the over-abundance of raw material.

way

It only works the other way round.

We work in whatever ways we can toward the end of capitalist patriarchy.

That institutions work in this way , contributing to the general statusquo, becomes taken for granted by Radcliffe-Brown.

Gains in nonagricultural employment and total hours worked led the way .

I work in a controlled way , so mentally it's exhausting.

Chiming, echoed tones, like timbres that start as tastes in the mouth then work their way somehow into the ear.

I might have guessed you'd something worked out in the way of revenge, but your timing's gone a bit wrong.

Tom, like most of the others, will need lots of reinforcement as he works his way through the change.

■ VERB

begin

Ghatak was a committed Marxist, who began his career working in a political theatre company.

Horowitz began working at the company when he was in high school.

Harry remembered the crystal chandeliers and as the warmth began to work through him he dozed.

Now, to cover all eventualities, I at once began to work on both lungs.

At other times a helpful listener can help the woman clarify her concerns and begin to work on resolving them.

I began to work in steel mills when I was seventeen to support my education.

And he began to work hard at them.

continue

Most of all, they have to continue working and playing hard.

It's a familiar routine, as Bush continues to work the centre ground in his presidential contest with Al Gore.

The photographer Burkett has also shown at Etherton before, and like Marcus-Orlen he continues to work in clearly staked-out territory.

He continues to work , although he is weaker than he was.

He will continue to work as a financial planner for Denver stock broker Dain Bosworth while he tries to make the team.

After completing his articles Knowles continued working in his father's architectural office.

He also will intensify the fight against crime and continue to work for welfare reform.

return

It was agreed that he might return to work from the hospital when he felt better able to cope.

It consistently disadvantages older workers, young people, and women returning to work .

In later episodes of thirtysomething, Hope returned to work .

The co-workers returned to work the next day.

However, next morning the actors return to work and the organizational drama continues.

spend

We had spent nine months working on the first one!

Lee has spent 23 years working as a public-interest lawyer.

We launched Divine with half a million pounds, 60 per cent of which was spent on working with the producers.

I have now spent four years working in government to implement this conviction, which members of both parties share.

We spend 6 weeks working with local churches doing outreach, and then have one final week of school.

Research shows that people consistently overestimate the time they spend working and underestimate their leisure time.

Mr Tomlinson says he spent two months solidly working from 5.30am in the morning until 10.30 in the evening, including weekends.

In 1967, he began spending the off season working as an assistant to one of California Gov.

start

He starts to draw, working his way over the sheets with a brush and ink.

Nevertheless, after she started working as a nurse, she began studying in her off hours with a voice teacher.

I therefore started working for the first time in my life.

It must have been the first time he had managed that since he started working for Pierce &038; Pierce.

But your first paragraph is also your opportunity to start actively working on those questions.

I was doing everything just like we discussed, and it was starting to work .

One had to start somewhere and work quickly to meet the growing social need.

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

(come/work etc) under the umbrella of sth

A whole range of behaviour is subsumed under the umbrella of bureaucratic self-interest.

Finally, war served to bring all members of a society, soldier and civilian, under the umbrella of national consciousness.

Governments also use the more industrially orientated labs under the umbrella of the Fraunhofer society.

(in) working order

Controllers regained contact with the satellite after three anxious hours, and discovered that it appeared to be in full working order.

Every lock in the house is in perfect working order.

Hall of Power - a range of engines and heavy machinery, most of which are in working order and operated daily.

Oxygen, suction and emergency equipment must be at hand and in working order. 2.

The tenant need not pay rent until the business premises are put back in working order again.

There had been some hints in the latter part of the nineteenth century that the machine was not in perfect working order.

These older tankers require continuous maintenance to keep them in good, safe working order at sea.

You did have to keep it clean and in good working order.

a nasty piece of work

Cyril and Wyatt had gone around together with that other boy, that Donald, who was a nasty piece of work.

You'd best steer clear of him, Manderley, he's a nasty piece of work.

a working knowledge of sth

Andy has a good working knowledge of accounting practices.

Ideally, you will have a degree in engineering or science with a working knowledge of heat transfer mechanisms.

In this case, having a working knowledge of the types of microcomputer available will be important.

Lambert was himself a skilled administrator, with a working knowledge of sanitary reform.

Those who supervise clerical supervisors must have a working knowledge of word processing, communications, data processing, and recordkeeping.

be a (real) piece of work

be all in a day's work

be hard at it/work

Ahead of her, Bite the Bullet's jockey was hard at work while the horse on his outside was clearly beaten.

Cook was making fresh cornbread rolls for breakfast and lesser mortals were hard at it with brooms and mops.

He was hard at work on the translation of a play which had to be ready two days later.

Not much is said, as each young person, and Bill, is hard at work at the task at hand.

Over the road, Sylvia Brackley and daughter, Karen are hard at work on this year's crop.

Thacker had set him a spot of overtime and he was hard at it in the mill.

Today, all eight of the Van Andel and DeVos offspring are hard at work making this company better.

When she was hard at work and on top of things her productivity was exceptional.

be in (good) working/running order

Hall of Power - a range of engines and heavy machinery, most of which are in working order and operated daily.

The locomotive was in working order at the time and negotiations proceeded which resulted in transportation to Swanage as described above.

To this day the milling machinery is in working order .

Two isn't multiplicity and Castelfonte never was in running order , and now they were living in hotels.

be in work mode/holiday mode etc

be up to your ears in work/debt/problems etc

be working overtime

Price's wit and sarcasm are working overtime in this production.

He said engineers are working overtime to fix the problems.

His brain was working overtime and he just stood there goggling.

His brain was working overtime now.

It looked as if his karma was working overtime .

Meanwhile, aluminum manufacturers were working overtime to supply the armament industry.

Soon after I left them, they were working overtime to fulfil a big order, when there was a breakdown.

Their local maternity unit was working overtime .

Then he announced gleefully that light bulb orders had jumped, suggesting that factories were working overtime .

close work

Embroidery is very close work.

A final recommendation of the consultants was a radical attempt to forge a closer working relationship between the board and staff members.

Before I had been there a month my eyes began to suffer and I had to start wearing glasses for close work.

He and Clinton have formed such a close working partnership that Kemp, as vice president, would like to emulate Gore.

Microscopes can only be used for close work, telescopes for viewing objects from arm's length distance to infinity.

One benefit, he said, is the closer working relationship between defense contractors and the Navy.

Task lighting usually entails higher levels of illumination needed for reading and other close work.

collaborative effort/work/project etc

But from the start, feature animation was a collaborative effort.

Combined with virtual reality capabilities, the team can design its own ideal collaborative work space without the constraints of physical reality.

One of the most powerful forms of learning to which I was exposed on my course was active collaborative work.

Since their Nobel lectures describe one collaborative effort, I suggest that we listen to them without interruption.

The activities would demand collaborative work, role allocation and sharing.

The early deadline gave little time for meetings and collaborative effort, or a very considered response to the new timetabling arrangements.

The project being proposed by the Commission would put up £450 million for collaborative work in computers and automation.

When it came time for his second album, he decided to make it a collaborative effort.

collected works/poems/essays/edition

Box sets collect music into greatest hits, anthologies, chronologies, complete collected works, best-of and worst-of packages.

He took down a copy of Wordsworth's collected poems.

His collected works, he said, probably fill four foot ten of shelf space.

Its author Tom Holt began, if I remember right, by publishing his collected poems at the age of 12.

Mr Zhivkov's 44-volume collected works has disappeared from Sofia's bookshops since he was removed.

My collected works rendered the Horsehead Nebula, goofy space cruisers, robots, and Saturn.

They were first printed by William Caxton in 1475; the collected works were first illustrated by William Thynne in 1532.

day-to-day work/business/life etc

Also the day-to-day work of schools and the task of assessing pupils assumed a higher importance than the development of new curriculum.

But since the arrival of Robins, he has taken a backseat role with day-to-day business being handled by the new chairman.

Directors were given the exclusive right to manage the day-to-day business of the company.

In our day-to-day lives, including day-to-day scientific lives, we have little need of such confirmed hypotheses.

It also recognises that day-to-day business and executive authority is vested in line management.

Justices, of course, are accustomed, as part of their day-to-day work, to assessing costs of comparatively small amounts.

The problem arises because there is nothing in our day-to-day life to provide us with sufficient exercise.

While with the Chargers for the past two years, McNeely oversaw the day-to-day business operations.

detective work

It takes some detective work to trace the symptom back to its cause.

Brilliant detective work with a little luck tossed in to catch the savvy killer.

Drawn to the subject via a footnote, McKillop did some literary detective work to uncover Deeks's story.

Finding the missing parts has been a lucky blending of good fortune and good detective work.

In fact tying a pollution to its source can be a tricky piece of detective work.

It takes a bit of detective work to trace the symptom back to the cause.

Late one night, they ran into Ken Creese, one of two detectives working the case.

Much slow and painstaking geological detective work is needed to make correlations such as these, but the results can be very valuable.

So it would take more years of dogged detective work by a handful of investigators to connect the dots.

do sb's dirty work

Tell Fran I'm not going to do her dirty work for her.

Her unnecessary decision to do the dirtiest work in the place struck them as alarming.

do/work wonders

A long weekend away from work will do wonders for your peace of mind.

A very little bit of sugar works wonders for dishes that are based on sour tastes.

And the visit of a white lady from afar will do wonders for his reputation!

Failing that, lectures don't seem to work but subtle, unspoken signs can work wonders .

It does wonders for the individual, and it brings families together.

Special teaching and therapy, plenty of encouragement and stimulation can work wonders .

This will work wonders in terms of future sales.

Time also has worked wonders , pruning many of the bad investigative reporters and retaining many of the good ones.

flexible/short-time etc working

An outside problem can sometimes be helped by, say, more flexible working hours and so be resolved at management level.

Earnings might vary because of piece-work, overtime or short-time working .

Flexible Hours Question: Has consideration been given to the introduction of flexible working hours?

Meanwhile, solicitors were last week urged to consider flexible working for staff in line with the government's family friendly policies.

Recruitment procedures focus on individual skills and potential for flexible working .

Through grants to local authorities, we are financing schemes to introduce more flexible working practices - such as job sharing.

Vauxhall bosses admit that the threat of short-time working at Ellesmere Port still remains a possibility.

Wage freezes have been brought in across most of the company and some short-time working introduced.

gainful employment/work/activity

Both surveys showed that for many people poverty was a way of life even when they were in gainful employment.

How does he survive without gainful employment?

In each decade of the twentieth century, fewer men over 65 have been entered in the censuses as in gainful employment.

Indeed, it has even become fashionable for women to choose dependency by repudiating ambition and gainful employment once they have children.

It occurred to him that it might be easier to find gainful employment in Cornwall.

Some of us actually have gainful employment.

The potential for a recession across most regions of the world will have ramifications for the prospects of expatriates in gainful employment.

When in low spirits, seek gainful employment.

good works

investigative journalism/report/work

Among them are hundreds of university journalism professors who routinely offer courses in investigative reporting at their schools.

Categories are feature writing, investigative reporting, community service, commentary, photography, international reporting and pioneer.

However, 11 different modes of assessment were noted, including mental, practical, calculator, project and investigative work.

It's very easy to organise some investigative work by children on school meals provision.

Perhaps I should take up this investigative journalism.

Some 600 Boston University journalism students had braved a rainy Friday night in 1976 to hear a panel discussion on investigative reporting.

The team felt it important to extend the evaluation to all investigative work.

With ratings down, however, the show last fall refocused on investigative reporting and celebrity interviews and stopped paying for stories.

job of work

From then on it was just a job of work to be done.

He had an enjoyable job of work waiting for him, and asked for no more than that.

In that sense, it is like any other job of work, or like being any parent.

Then he would put his quill pens aside and consider an honest job of work.

This is a two-man job of work since you need one to hold the ferret securely while the other ties the knots.

You should treat it as a straight forward job of work and get on with it.

learned books/works etc

look/work a treat

As usual, she looked a treat .

Don't he look a treat !

I bet it works a treat .

I must say, Gwen, your garden looks a treat .

I repeated a few times, and it worked a treat - on a window as well.

It's another first-rate conversion that works a treat on the Game Gear.

Much funnier than Tarzan or Hercules, this works a treat because the hero, Emperor Kuzco, is an anti-hero.

make hard work of sth

She was making hard work of plucking the goose.

You can make hard work of an easy job if you don't know the right way to go.

make light work of sth

But she made light work of polishing off the shopping at a supermarket near her West London home.

It makes light work of a complex process thanks to a series of easy-to-use wizards.

Or making light work of the Mall in London.

Willie Thorne made light work of the promising Nottinghamshire youngster, Anthony Hamilton, as he eased into the last 16.

make short work of (doing) sth

Carmen would have made short work of Michael too.

Fourth placed Guisborough made short work of the opposition at Saltburn.

Guernsey made short work of the opposition when they won the event on home soil in 1990.

He made short work of the remainder of his lunch, pushed his chair from the table, and stood up.

It is fair to warn anglers that thousands of crabs soon make short work of rag and lugworm.

It made short work of our Windows performance tests, WinTach, clocking up an impressive index of over 9.3.

The second game we pull away early and make short work of it.

These cannibalistic tadpoles make short work of one of their siblings.

nice work if you can get it

not do a stroke (of work)

put/throw a spanner in the works

race/work/battle against time

But his parents are faced with a desperate race against time to raise the money necessary for his treatment.

For the cartoonists, it's a daily battle against time , to create work that captures the imagination.

However, with the contract negotiations starting, Lipton and others know that they are fighting a battle against time .

It is a race against time .

It looks as if my whole life is a race against time .

Now it is a race against time to rebuild it before high spring ties later this month.

The picture which became the cover shot, of the Rollright Stones, was a particular race against time .

They face a race against time as fears grow over the health of the whales and the possibility of their becoming beached.

steady job/work/income

A steady income stream is required to meet the costs of the syndicated lending department.

And we receive a steady income from interest on Third World debts.

He appears to have given up steady work.

I wish he had taken up some steady work.

Maybe you are heading toward retirement and therefore need investments that can provide you with a steady income.

Sethe was laughing; he had a promise of steady work, 124 was cleared up from spirits.

She chooses whatever is available, probably a slightly older man with no more money but a steady job.

The only ones with a steady income were teachers, storekeepers and local officials.

take pride in your work/appearance etc

And taking Pride in their work ... behind the scenes of a top drama.

He takes pride in his appearance, setting a high standard to exemplify his healthy leadership style.

I take pride in my work-particularly my work as a health educator.

In fact, a set of beautifully manicured nails is a sign of a woman who takes pride in her appearance.

Muriel took pride in their appearance and tried to forget Stephen's late night and Lily's missing days.

The croft cottage was small, only two rooms, but she took pride in her work.

You have to take pride in your work.

the devil makes/finds work for idle hands

voluntary work/service etc

A larger number still provide a wide range of formal and informal voluntary services.

A recent Gallup poll found that 98m adults are involved in voluntary service, a 23% increase in two years.

An alternative to clubs and classes is voluntary work.

But people without a job who have found fulfilling voluntary work or an absorbing hobby also score highly.

Morley took up her evenings but daytime was given to voluntary work.

Several had written books and articles and others were involved in voluntary work.

Use the expertise and facilities of your local authorities and voluntary services for practical help, advice and social activities.

We have a great tradition of voluntary services and charitable giving.

work experience

Applicability Intensive school-to-work experiences , such as apprenticeships, are not for every student.

At Level One the student will contribute to the planning and arrangement of work experience .

Her work experience has been various, including that of Director of an environmental research institute.

In 1984 the Institute published its first work experience guidelines for the training of students.

It would emphasize learning in the context of work-not just work experience .

Knowledge of management principles and practices, gained through work experience and formal education, is important.

She also spent time shadowing health-care professionals and getting hands-on work experience .

The view that they lack work experience is contradicted by a substantial body of evidence.

work like a Trojan

work like a charm

Our new accounting system works like a charm .

A slap on the hand or the behind works like a charm for one parent-child combination.

But let me first applaud the coupling: it works like a charm .

However, the schmaltzy parts, near the end, work like a charm .

This time, the setup worked like a charm .

work like magic

I first borrowed a bottle from work and it works like magic .

The new layout and office furniture worked like magic .

work unsocial hours

work/drive/run yourself into the ground

But don't drive yourself into the ground .

I've already explained to you how I've worked myself into the ground setting up the interview.

I tried working myself into the ground , but I could be totally exhausted and still remember.

Mitchell and White ran themselves into the ground and Nicky Summerbee tried everything he could to get a goal.

They ran themselves into the ground , ran Chesterfield off the pitch, but they couldn't get another goal.

work/effort etc involved in doing sth

A further disadvantage is the work involved in returning the manure to the field.

It is also often used to pay for the preliminary work involved in making applications for civil and criminal legal aid.

She would like to know their reaction to the work involved in taking the course. 14.

The chief drawback to small-scale silage-making is the extra physical work involved in handling the green crop with its high water content.

The effort involved in constructing such circles was enormous.

The work involved in writing this summation must have been back-breaking, and certainly took years of research.

We have to do the more general piece of work involved in clearing one more bias from our morality.

work/munch/smoke etc your way through sth

Environmentalists have warned that dioxins accumulate in fat and milk and will work their way through the food chain.

He's probably smoking his way through your deposit.

He had even tried starting at page 1 and working his way through to the end.

He worked his way through a bag of sandwiches and four cans of Pepsi.

He worked his way through college, performing menial tasks in exchange for reduced tuition.

Tom, like most of the others, will need lots of reinforcement as he works his way through the change.

We are attempting to work our way through all these questions.

You could sense the passage of time working its way through the foundation.

work/perform miracles

We're relying on Foster performing miracles out on the football field today.

A hired hand who worked miracles and shared what little he had with those few who were less fortunate.

And she has already been known, you tell me, to work miracles .

Cloughie has performed miracles with limited resources at his disposal.

Even if animosity worked miracles in bringing about good grades, would it be worth it?

If he can work miracles in me, you have no problem.

People actually believe he performs miracles .

Whereas for me she works miracles .

Why should anyone mind a person working miracles ?

work/play etc your butt off

He took a beating today but he played his butt off.

I had to give the ball up, and then I had work my butt off to get it back.

I work my butt off for you, while that restaurant is doing worse and worse.

I worked my butt off in basketball and stayed on the varsity-in fact, did well.

In short, I worked my butt off.

Meanwhile, Inspiral Carpets went in at grass roots level and worked their butts off in the clubs.

You could have worked your butt off helping a rep and you finally got the rep doing everything right.

work/run/go like stink

work/sweat your guts out

work/weave your magic

Across the country, says Fitness magazine, enterprising and agile therapists are working their magic on patients while running alongside them.

Biemiller referred the congressman to this doctor, who again worked his magic .

But now the two men have changed places, and the boat has worked its magic .

Charles was one such, and he invited her to Highgrove to work her magic .

He said his name was Christmas and he had worked his magic act in theatres and royal palaces all over the world.

Morley weaves its magic only by using a hedge fund to protect the assets of shareholders.

Paris works its magic on me.

Two others have medical problems that have to be corrected before he can work his magic .

working breakfast/lunch/dinner

Gannon explained recently during a working lunch downtown.

He has working lunches with his team to discuss and develop their approach to managing people for profit.

The afternoon rehearsal started late because Meredith was at a working lunch in Rose's office.

The real business gets done at working lunches and small dinner parties.

You might then have a working dinner with a business speaker.

working clothes

As he approached them, Mungo could see that they wore blue uniform trousers under their working clothes.

But she had to turn up at Maggie's school in her working clothes.

In fact I felt rather a lout in my working clothes among the elegant gathering.

Jonadab was not to be hurried and methodically finished changing into his working clothes before putting in an appearance.

Still clad in her tattered working clothes, her wellingtons pumped away assiduously to give the instrument the breath it required.

They went from the workplace into the canteen, they sat and opened their lunchboxes in their working clothes.

They woke on Sunday morning and people wre going to church ... they daren't be seen in their working clothes.

working conditions/environment etc

Complete the following exercise on working conditions.

For many people real wages fell and working conditions worsened.

Her interest in socialism or Bryant & May working conditions was perfunctory.

Protected by their enormous allowances and comfortable working conditions, they feel free to carry on behaving how they wish.

The working environment is conducive to the achievement of excellence and the work is intellectually challenging.

This made working conditions most unpleasant, the nets becoming wet and heavy to handle.

Unhappy with the working environment, she decided to quit the job to pursue her interest in alternative therapy.

working day

A massive 3,324, working days were lost because of depressive illnesses between and in Northern Ireland alone.

Additional reports e.g. showing approved entries and responsible lexicographer, will be produced within one working day when required.

As if to signal that the working day was about to begin, the telephone rang.

In many areas the Hearing is held on the first working day after the removal of the child.

Since the scheme was introduced, only motorists with special passes are allowed to use Ipswich Street during the working day.

They proceed not to turn up on Monday, the next working day.

This downward trend was so significant during this period that the average working day fell by around 1 hour.

working definition/theory/title

A pragmatist judge will find room in his working theory of as if legal rights for some doctrine of precedent.

A useful working definition has been provided by the Department of Trade and Industry in Britain.

As a working theory this is impregnable, whether considered sceptically or superstitiously.

Despite the difficulties, the teacher needs a rough working definition.

Is that a reasonable working definition of Paradise?

Like I say, it's just a working title.

The Household of Faith was Brideshead's working title.

We can, however, offer a very general working definition, which seems to feature in most discussions.

working hours/day/week

Apparently, too, Rosie enjoyed herself after working hours.

At the end of the working day most of us retreat to families and/or partners and play other parts.

Items must be posted at post office counters in advance of latest recommended posting times for next working day delivery.

Remember, your spouse may not be used to having you home during working hours.

The whole operation was based on 50 journeys or rounds, one for each vehicle on every working day of the week.

These, as we now know, involve everything from environmental considerations to limits on the working hours of employees.

They had only three working days in which to prepare the defence against the new charge.

They took long lunches and went to barbershops, beauty parlors, bathhouses, and tearooms during working hours.

working life

Both procedures reflect current government policy concerns with increasing vocationalism and preparation for working life at the pre-16 stage.

But all teachers are concerned about their own level of stress, and how to lead a satisfying working life.

Deborah Manley trained as a social worker but has spent most of her working life in publishing.

Objectives for Care outlines practical applications for nurses to use in their everyday working lives.

The noise, the abuse, the grimness are everyday parts of their working life.

They could anticipate earning a decent, middle-class wage there for most of their working lives.

What do I want out of my working life?

Your working life can go back as far as April 1936, but not further.

working majority

However, a second election took place in September of that year, which gave him a pathetic working majority of four.

None gave the Tories a hope of being elected with a working majority.

Since then, Labour has never won a secure working majority at any election.

The working majority achieved by the Conservatives removed that worry.

The debate was acrimonious, with opposition parties denouncing Shamir's deals with defectors from other parties to win his working majority.

Together the four parties had 191 seats, a working majority of 11.

With the support of various independents, they gave the General a solid working majority.

Without its support the coalition will not have a working majority in parliament.

working memory

From that, you might be able to reconstitute the activity present during working memory.

If this were the case there would be no need for a working memory.

It is not clear whether this articulation makes use of the working memory system or is independent.

Studies of working memory in animals may seem to be rather remote from the standard, acquired distinctiveness procedure.

The speech left provides for an internal speech code which passes through a working memory system where it can be examined.

The system is then being driven by working memory.

Unless we attend to the words which have been placed into working memory, they will not be retained.

working model

Behind him on a finely carved desk was a gleaming working model of the St Petersburg-Cannes Express constructed in pearls and amethysts.

For 300 years or more our science has omitted any human attributes that may impinge upon or impede its mechanistic working model.

My aim was always to build working models that I could control.

Simulation techniques have been developed to allow scientists and planners to build working models of the systems which they are studying.

The Base was a closed system, like a tiny working model of Earth itself, recycling all the chemicals of life.

When I was about four years of age, he made a working model roundabout with galloping horses.

working parts

He had, Edouard saw, a technical mind, and loved to see how working parts fitted together.

It still retains all its working parts and would require only minimum repairs to put it into full working order.

The working parts of a digital watch.

The neo-biological approach is to assemble software from working parts, while continuously testing and correcting the software as it grows.

They do not, at least by biological standards, have intricate working parts.

working practices/methods

But it will coincide with political pressure for doctors to accept fundamental changes in their working practices.

However, only 44% had changed their working practices.

New working practices would be introduced once passenger services were privatised which would be more flexible.

The accident happened because of a culture in which working practices were not checked, Whitehaven magistrates heard.

The courses, examinations and working practices have been based on their perceptions.

Their work allowed them to identify working methods and the characteristics of particular ateliers.

Those familiar with the work and working methods of Frank Auerbach may find all this oddly familiar.

working relationship

And yet the effective auditor needs to understand management and to have a close working relationship with the managers.

Are working relationships defined and public?

It is these processes which provide the principles for staff management and enhance the quality of working relationships within the organisation.

Many observers expect Hutchison to endorse Dole because of her working relationship with the Senate majority leader.

Relationship building with fellow-workers Your most important working relationship is with your immediate superior.

The assessment panels have contributed to a better working relationship between guidance staff and other members of staff.

This strategic transition required many people throughout the company to change specific skills, behaviors, and working relationships.

working stiff

He was rising in the world, a celebrated hijacker, and Charlie was a working stiff with money problems.

Instead of working stiffs , we get craftsmen.

My dad was a poor working stiff .

They're ordinary working stiffs , doing their job.

This was my first residence as a working stiff .

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

"I can't open the jar." "Try putting it in hot water. That sometimes works."

an organization that is working to preserve California's redwood trees

Are you prepared to work longer hours occasionally, to get the work done?

Does anyone here know how to work this microwave?

Does the old tape recorder still work ?

Does the TV work ?

Five mornings a week, she worked on campus.

For nineteen years, my father worked for the General Electric Corporation.

Four teachers agreed to work without pay until things were settled.

Frank's been working here for 32 years.

He's changed his job and is now working as a consultant for a German firm.

He only works three days a week now.

Her father was an artist who sometimes worked as a salesman and labourer.

His illness eventually prevented him from working.

I'd never worked in a lab before I came here.

I've been working all day in the garden.

I've tried several different diets, but none of them seem to work .

I bought a bottle of stain remover, and it worked like magic.

I have no idea how to work these new phones.

I have to work on Saturday too.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

Even where reform has been radical, it has not always worked.

It is the people who work in the institutions who are most exposed to our dislike.

MacArthur says that the husband alone should work outside the home.

Not all cancer patients prefer to continue working while undergoing treatment.

The research represents the second stage of cross-national collaborative studies undertaken by colleagues working in education in a number of countries.

Voice over 16 officers are still working on the case full time.

II. noun

COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS

■ ADJECTIVE

early

Pitts discusses the early work , giving it much wider play than it receives in any of the previous books.

While nowhere near as impressive or effective as their earlier work , this is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

Studies of early school-to-work initiatives found that absent changes in schools, students' grades and attendance did not improve.

It was, however, the dominant theory driving some of the earlier experimental work on arousal and memory.

Piaget s system for conceptualizing intellectual development was greatly influenced by his early training and work as a biologist.

To criticise earlier work . 7.

Various investigators, also referred to in our earlier work , have put such a myth to rest.

hard

He especially thanked for years of hard work , and this was received with strong acclamation.

At the University of Houston, they remember her capacity for hard work and her flaming red hair.

It is quite clear that the hard work put into it by coach Gerry Murphy is beginning to pay off.

Obviously, hard work is needed-any new business will require more work rather than less.

The account produced after the events obscured the hard work , stress and frustration that made them happen.

Since success is dependent upon hard work , the amount of effort given needs to be evaluated.

I found it very hard work .

The Olympian still projects an ideal of hard work , physical stamina, mental fortitude, competition for the sake of competition.

paid

Here was work , paid work, weeks of it, and Ted was delighted to do it.

Both men and women must also look for paid work and many have been forced to migrate into the cities.

Having hit a bad patch, financially, I decided I must try for some paid work with my knitting machine.

Is she to give up being a housewife, put the children in a day-care centre and take paid work ?

What we do not yet know is how women's changing opportunities for paid work have affected their relative risk of poverty.

The addition of paid work to the housewife's activities does not mean she is no longer a housewife.

This means that in aggregate man-hours of paid work still outnumbered woman-hours by about two to one.

As a by-product, with the experience gained they are now in a strong position to enter paid advice work .

social

But where could social workers obtain skills which would qualify them to teach social work ?

The best and the brightest women of the time were going into social work .

This says much about the worthwhile underlying values of social work and provides grounds for hope.

Many support activities utilized traditional social work skills and were indistinguishable from much social work practice.

Through the incorporation of these two strands of thinking Lewis believes social group work can be re-nourished.

But Hearn also has extensive social work experience, especially in the area of child care.

Within social work the quest continued for the best way to organize a service that could be responsive to community need.

Short-term social work methods: crisis intervention, task-centred and contractual approaches. 4.

■ NOUN

experience

They are designed to give those not wishing to continue full-time education the chance to gain work experience , training and education.

These go beyond his two decades of work experience .

Her work experience has been various, including that of Director of an environmental research institute.

She also spent time shadowing health-care professionals and getting hands-on work experience .

Many TECs explain graphically that they have inadequate money and that employers are offering too few work experience places because of the recession.

In general, work experience historically has been the least well developed component of career academies.

Indeed, very few employers are willing to provide work experience instead of full employment.

Applicability Intensive school-to-work experiences , such as apprenticeships, are not for every student.

force

Up to this point the only political significance of racism had been that it provided a divided work force for employers.

In the 19905, I believe that about half of the work force will use computer terminals each day.

Even now, sugar employs one-seventh of the work force , putting tourism in the shade.

Ideas are everything in a fragmented global marketplace, and great ideas demand a diverse work force .

Foreign manufacturers have preferred to invest in states where the work force is more skilled and the infrastructure is better.

The direct labor work force is up by 60 percent over 1985 levels.

One of the most productive, competitively priced work forces in the nation.

That manifested itself in a lack of motivation and commitment in the work force .

group

But the conventional longwall work organisation fails to build these tacit skills into the work groups .

He was ordered to keep increasingly detailed records about how much each living unit and each work group produced.

In formal work groups , the structuring process is affected by the hierarchy of authority and the managerial behaviour of the boss.

The work group can influence the decision made concerning work activities and their purposes.

By this means, the work group was given autonomy, self-regulation, multi-skilled roles and a complete task to perform.

These employees are paid based upon what they produce either individually or as members of small work groups .

Extra pairs of hands for supervision of small work group ?

And most ominously, it often has the effect of crippling the performance of formerly productive work groups .

■ VERB

begin

The main figure in the story is Konrad Lorenz, who began his work on animal behaviour in about 1930.

Many others who have begun volunteer work for the first time say something similar.

It is not surprising that a high proportion of patients burst into tears as soon as the physiotherapist begins work .

They began their work against the Celtics at 7: 30.

I began work on the big glass on 27 July 1967, wrote Harsnet.

There was even a little time for Alvin to begin work on Ariadne for the Harkness, to be performed in Paris.

The Office for Standards in Education will begin work early in the new year for next summer's exams.

When I began work , I simply added psychotherapy to the medical treatment.

carry

Consideration should be given to the background of prospective clients and their motives for requiring us to carry out the work .

Since his death, his wife and children have carried on the work .

Project staff will help you to apply for the available grants and carry out practical work .

He carried out some work in the labyrinths beneath central Moscow and partly beneath the Kremlin.

They prove how fast selection can carry out its baleful work as soon as it gets the chance.

Mr Kennedy said there was no legal requirement on the council to carry out sound-proofing work or provide grants.

Since his tragic death my daughter has carried on his good work .

The Society are now seeking a skilled modeller to carry out this work and have undertaken to bear the costs involved.

complete

The union chiefs were urging workers at the Tyne yard to fight to complete work on three frigates being built there.

Later this year, she will complete work on her next album, to be released in March 1997.

That completes the work for this month.

In many cases, the artist wants the viewer to complete the work .

The Trust aims to complete work on all 125 miles of designated paths over the next four years.

There by himself in this ideal setting, he sat-not making a sound and never completing his work .

I had to be carted off to hospital, so I didn't manage to complete the work until the new year.

do

It is characteristic of Sinclair to attempt to do the critic's work for him.

We thank you for the peace of this village and for your grace to do the work that lies ahead.

By rights, it should be called Erica, after Eric the Red, who did the work five hundred years earlier.

No enduring stars did their best work under any of his logos.

Came here to do some freelance work .

But it looks like he did his best work the day he fired for qualification.

Now his teacher needed to use this relationship to help Dan do his work .

Teams, not hierarchies, do the real work .

involve

But there was no suggestion that Gray had been involved in anything improper and Jefferson continued to be involved in youth work .

Here, some became involved in simple agricultural work .

Boraston was so much involved in war work that his assistant.

Even worse, only one in four wants to get more involved in pro bono work .

The sappers who had been involved in the preparation work could then go forward to see the devastation caused by the explosives.

Companies involved in public works naturally are sitting up and taking notice of Caltrans' announcement last week.

Several had written books and articles and others were involved in voluntary work .

All of this involves a lot of work , and not just for the children!

publish

In 1877 he published his best-known work , How to Draw a Straight Line.

The published works give one a chance to assess the audiences with whom the author attempts to share information.

At this moment, groups of people are getting together to publish their own work .

Although she has written two novels, the autobiography is her first published work .

Alternative and supplementary schedules were published for conservation work and for community architecture services.

More than half the employees of the publishing company do volunteer work through its Community Connection Program.

Basic Books published serious works on politics, public policy and philosophy.

start

If you start with the harder work , those rabbits that are not killed will move into the smaller systems.

I started work at WaldChem, I took everything I could get.

The delay in starting rescue work has had one welcome effect.

Beginning public accountants usually start by assisting with work for several clients.

Just like the other doctors, it has scrubbed up and donned a protective gown before starting work in Sacramento, California.

Trial by fire Pam Drayson started her work as director of the library only three days ago.

He was too depressed to start work on the grave again.

He decided to try to see Chris while he was still free during the day before starting work .

PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

(come/work etc) under the umbrella of sth

A whole range of behaviour is subsumed under the umbrella of bureaucratic self-interest.

Finally, war served to bring all members of a society, soldier and civilian, under the umbrella of national consciousness.

Governments also use the more industrially orientated labs under the umbrella of the Fraunhofer society.

(in) working order

Controllers regained contact with the satellite after three anxious hours, and discovered that it appeared to be in full working order.

Every lock in the house is in perfect working order.

Hall of Power - a range of engines and heavy machinery, most of which are in working order and operated daily.

Oxygen, suction and emergency equipment must be at hand and in working order. 2.

The tenant need not pay rent until the business premises are put back in working order again.

There had been some hints in the latter part of the nineteenth century that the machine was not in perfect working order.

These older tankers require continuous maintenance to keep them in good, safe working order at sea.

You did have to keep it clean and in good working order.

a nasty piece of work

Cyril and Wyatt had gone around together with that other boy, that Donald, who was a nasty piece of work.

You'd best steer clear of him, Manderley, he's a nasty piece of work.

a working knowledge of sth

Andy has a good working knowledge of accounting practices.

Ideally, you will have a degree in engineering or science with a working knowledge of heat transfer mechanisms.

In this case, having a working knowledge of the types of microcomputer available will be important.

Lambert was himself a skilled administrator, with a working knowledge of sanitary reform.

Those who supervise clerical supervisors must have a working knowledge of word processing, communications, data processing, and recordkeeping.

be a (real) piece of work

be all in a day's work

be hard at it/work

Ahead of her, Bite the Bullet's jockey was hard at work while the horse on his outside was clearly beaten.

Cook was making fresh cornbread rolls for breakfast and lesser mortals were hard at it with brooms and mops.

He was hard at work on the translation of a play which had to be ready two days later.

Not much is said, as each young person, and Bill, is hard at work at the task at hand.

Over the road, Sylvia Brackley and daughter, Karen are hard at work on this year's crop.

Thacker had set him a spot of overtime and he was hard at it in the mill.

Today, all eight of the Van Andel and DeVos offspring are hard at work making this company better.

When she was hard at work and on top of things her productivity was exceptional.

be in work mode/holiday mode etc

be up to your ears in work/debt/problems etc

bury yourself in your work/studies etc

close work

Embroidery is very close work.

A final recommendation of the consultants was a radical attempt to forge a closer working relationship between the board and staff members.

Before I had been there a month my eyes began to suffer and I had to start wearing glasses for close work.

He and Clinton have formed such a close working partnership that Kemp, as vice president, would like to emulate Gore.

Microscopes can only be used for close work, telescopes for viewing objects from arm's length distance to infinity.

One benefit, he said, is the closer working relationship between defense contractors and the Navy.

Task lighting usually entails higher levels of illumination needed for reading and other close work.

collaborative effort/work/project etc

But from the start, feature animation was a collaborative effort.

Combined with virtual reality capabilities, the team can design its own ideal collaborative work space without the constraints of physical reality.

One of the most powerful forms of learning to which I was exposed on my course was active collaborative work.

Since their Nobel lectures describe one collaborative effort, I suggest that we listen to them without interruption.

The activities would demand collaborative work, role allocation and sharing.

The early deadline gave little time for meetings and collaborative effort, or a very considered response to the new timetabling arrangements.

The project being proposed by the Commission would put up £450 million for collaborative work in computers and automation.

When it came time for his second album, he decided to make it a collaborative effort.

collected works/poems/essays/edition

Box sets collect music into greatest hits, anthologies, chronologies, complete collected works, best-of and worst-of packages.

He took down a copy of Wordsworth's collected poems.

His collected works, he said, probably fill four foot ten of shelf space.

Its author Tom Holt began, if I remember right, by publishing his collected poems at the age of 12.

Mr Zhivkov's 44-volume collected works has disappeared from Sofia's bookshops since he was removed.

My collected works rendered the Horsehead Nebula, goofy space cruisers, robots, and Saturn.

They were first printed by William Caxton in 1475; the collected works were first illustrated by William Thynne in 1532.

day-to-day work/business/life etc

Also the day-to-day work of schools and the task of assessing pupils assumed a higher importance than the development of new curriculum.

But since the arrival of Robins, he has taken a backseat role with day-to-day business being handled by the new chairman.

Directors were given the exclusive right to manage the day-to-day business of the company.

In our day-to-day lives, including day-to-day scientific lives, we have little need of such confirmed hypotheses.

It also recognises that day-to-day business and executive authority is vested in line management.

Justices, of course, are accustomed, as part of their day-to-day work, to assessing costs of comparatively small amounts.

The problem arises because there is nothing in our day-to-day life to provide us with sufficient exercise.

While with the Chargers for the past two years, McNeely oversaw the day-to-day business operations.

detective work

It takes some detective work to trace the symptom back to its cause.

Brilliant detective work with a little luck tossed in to catch the savvy killer.

Drawn to the subject via a footnote, McKillop did some literary detective work to uncover Deeks's story.

Finding the missing parts has been a lucky blending of good fortune and good detective work.

In fact tying a pollution to its source can be a tricky piece of detective work.

It takes a bit of detective work to trace the symptom back to the cause.

Late one night, they ran into Ken Creese, one of two detectives working the case.

Much slow and painstaking geological detective work is needed to make correlations such as these, but the results can be very valuable.

So it would take more years of dogged detective work by a handful of investigators to connect the dots.

do sb's dirty work

Tell Fran I'm not going to do her dirty work for her.

Her unnecessary decision to do the dirtiest work in the place struck them as alarming.

do/work wonders

A long weekend away from work will do wonders for your peace of mind.

A very little bit of sugar works wonders for dishes that are based on sour tastes.

And the visit of a white lady from afar will do wonders for his reputation!

Failing that, lectures don't seem to work but subtle, unspoken signs can work wonders .

It does wonders for the individual, and it brings families together.

Special teaching and therapy, plenty of encouragement and stimulation can work wonders .

This will work wonders in terms of future sales.

Time also has worked wonders , pruning many of the bad investigative reporters and retaining many of the good ones.

gainful employment/work/activity

Both surveys showed that for many people poverty was a way of life even when they were in gainful employment.

How does he survive without gainful employment?

In each decade of the twentieth century, fewer men over 65 have been entered in the censuses as in gainful employment.

Indeed, it has even become fashionable for women to choose dependency by repudiating ambition and gainful employment once they have children.

It occurred to him that it might be easier to find gainful employment in Cornwall.

Some of us actually have gainful employment.

The potential for a recession across most regions of the world will have ramifications for the prospects of expatriates in gainful employment.

When in low spirits, seek gainful employment.

go to school/church/work etc

And I was going to school.

Dad, I want to go to school.

Everyone says the space program is great, he goes to work on the space program.

His Mum went to work this afternoon.

I was too upset to go to school.

Keith makes himself go to work.

Phillips should have lost his eligibility for the year while continuing to just go to school.

When he was told he must go to school, he said he would not.

good works

investigative journalism/report/work

Among them are hundreds of university journalism professors who routinely offer courses in investigative reporting at their schools.

Categories are feature writing, investigative reporting, community service, commentary, photography, international reporting and pioneer.

However, 11 different modes of assessment were noted, including mental, practical, calculator, project and investigative work.

It's very easy to organise some investigative work by children on school meals provision.

Perhaps I should take up this investigative journalism.

Some 600 Boston University journalism students had braved a rainy Friday night in 1976 to hear a panel discussion on investigative reporting.

The team felt it important to extend the evaluation to all investigative work.

With ratings down, however, the show last fall refocused on investigative reporting and celebrity interviews and stopped paying for stories.

job of work

From then on it was just a job of work to be done.

He had an enjoyable job of work waiting for him, and asked for no more than that.

In that sense, it is like any other job of work, or like being any parent.

Then he would put his quill pens aside and consider an honest job of work.

This is a two-man job of work since you need one to hold the ferret securely while the other ties the knots.

You should treat it as a straight forward job of work and get on with it.

learned books/works etc

make hard work of sth

She was making hard work of plucking the goose.

You can make hard work of an easy job if you don't know the right way to go.

make light work of sth

But she made light work of polishing off the shopping at a supermarket near her West London home.

It makes light work of a complex process thanks to a series of easy-to-use wizards.

Or making light work of the Mall in London.

Willie Thorne made light work of the promising Nottinghamshire youngster, Anthony Hamilton, as he eased into the last 16.

make short work of (doing) sth

Carmen would have made short work of Michael too.

Fourth placed Guisborough made short work of the opposition at Saltburn.

Guernsey made short work of the opposition when they won the event on home soil in 1990.

He made short work of the remainder of his lunch, pushed his chair from the table, and stood up.

It is fair to warn anglers that thousands of crabs soon make short work of rag and lugworm.

It made short work of our Windows performance tests, WinTach, clocking up an impressive index of over 9.3.

The second game we pull away early and make short work of it.

These cannibalistic tadpoles make short work of one of their siblings.

nice work if you can get it

not do a stroke (of work)

put/throw a spanner in the works

race/work/battle against time

But his parents are faced with a desperate race against time to raise the money necessary for his treatment.

For the cartoonists, it's a daily battle against time , to create work that captures the imagination.

However, with the contract negotiations starting, Lipton and others know that they are fighting a battle against time .

It is a race against time .

It looks as if my whole life is a race against time .

Now it is a race against time to rebuild it before high spring ties later this month.

The picture which became the cover shot, of the Rollright Stones, was a particular race against time .

They face a race against time as fears grow over the health of the whales and the possibility of their becoming beached.

steady job/work/income

A steady income stream is required to meet the costs of the syndicated lending department.

And we receive a steady income from interest on Third World debts.

He appears to have given up steady work.

I wish he had taken up some steady work.

Maybe you are heading toward retirement and therefore need investments that can provide you with a steady income.

Sethe was laughing; he had a promise of steady work, 124 was cleared up from spirits.

She chooses whatever is available, probably a slightly older man with no more money but a steady job.

The only ones with a steady income were teachers, storekeepers and local officials.

take pride in your work/appearance etc

And taking Pride in their work ... behind the scenes of a top drama.

He takes pride in his appearance, setting a high standard to exemplify his healthy leadership style.

I take pride in my work-particularly my work as a health educator.

In fact, a set of beautifully manicured nails is a sign of a woman who takes pride in her appearance.

Muriel took pride in their appearance and tried to forget Stephen's late night and Lily's missing days.

The croft cottage was small, only two rooms, but she took pride in her work.

You have to take pride in your work.

the devil makes/finds work for idle hands

throw sb out of work/office etc

Elections are invaluable, however, for providing the people with a peaceful way of throwing politicians out of office.

Naturally, stock market crashes and recessions end up tossing businesses into bankruptcy court and throwing people out of work.

Well, O. K. But throw him out of office in a rank-and-file election?

voluntary work/service etc

A larger number still provide a wide range of formal and informal voluntary services.

A recent Gallup poll found that 98m adults are involved in voluntary service, a 23% increase in two years.

An alternative to clubs and classes is voluntary work.

But people without a job who have found fulfilling voluntary work or an absorbing hobby also score highly.

Morley took up her evenings but daytime was given to voluntary work.

Several had written books and articles and others were involved in voluntary work.

Use the expertise and facilities of your local authorities and voluntary services for practical help, advice and social activities.

We have a great tradition of voluntary services and charitable giving.

work experience

Applicability Intensive school-to-work experiences , such as apprenticeships, are not for every student.

At Level One the student will contribute to the planning and arrangement of work experience .

Her work experience has been various, including that of Director of an environmental research institute.

In 1984 the Institute published its first work experience guidelines for the training of students.

It would emphasize learning in the context of work-not just work experience .

Knowledge of management principles and practices, gained through work experience and formal education, is important.

She also spent time shadowing health-care professionals and getting hands-on work experience .

The view that they lack work experience is contradicted by a substantial body of evidence.

work like a Trojan

work like a charm

Our new accounting system works like a charm .

A slap on the hand or the behind works like a charm for one parent-child combination.

But let me first applaud the coupling: it works like a charm .

However, the schmaltzy parts, near the end, work like a charm .

This time, the setup worked like a charm .

work like magic

I first borrowed a bottle from work and it works like magic .

The new layout and office furniture worked like magic .

work unsocial hours

work/drive/run yourself into the ground

But don't drive yourself into the ground .

I've already explained to you how I've worked myself into the ground setting up the interview.

I tried working myself into the ground , but I could be totally exhausted and still remember.

Mitchell and White ran themselves into the ground and Nicky Summerbee tried everything he could to get a goal.

They ran themselves into the ground , ran Chesterfield off the pitch, but they couldn't get another goal.

work/effort etc involved in doing sth

A further disadvantage is the work involved in returning the manure to the field.

It is also often used to pay for the preliminary work involved in making applications for civil and criminal legal aid.

She would like to know their reaction to the work involved in taking the course. 14.

The chief drawback to small-scale silage-making is the extra physical work involved in handling the green crop with its high water content.

The effort involved in constructing such circles was enormous.

The work involved in writing this summation must have been back-breaking, and certainly took years of research.

We have to do the more general piece of work involved in clearing one more bias from our morality.

work/munch/smoke etc your way through sth

Environmentalists have warned that dioxins accumulate in fat and milk and will work their way through the food chain.

He's probably smoking his way through your deposit.

He had even tried starting at page 1 and working his way through to the end.

He worked his way through a bag of sandwiches and four cans of Pepsi.

He worked his way through college, performing menial tasks in exchange for reduced tuition.

Tom, like most of the others, will need lots of reinforcement as he works his way through the change.

We are attempting to work our way through all these questions.

You could sense the passage of time working its way through the foundation.

work/perform miracles

We're relying on Foster performing miracles out on the football field today.

A hired hand who worked miracles and shared what little he had with those few who were less fortunate.

And she has already been known, you tell me, to work miracles .

Cloughie has performed miracles with limited resources at his disposal.

Even if animosity worked miracles in bringing about good grades, would it be worth it?

If he can work miracles in me, you have no problem.

People actually believe he performs miracles .

Whereas for me she works miracles .

Why should anyone mind a person working miracles ?

work/play etc your butt off

He took a beating today but he played his butt off.

I had to give the ball up, and then I had work my butt off to get it back.

I work my butt off for you, while that restaurant is doing worse and worse.

I worked my butt off in basketball and stayed on the varsity-in fact, did well.

In short, I worked my butt off.

Meanwhile, Inspiral Carpets went in at grass roots level and worked their butts off in the clubs.

You could have worked your butt off helping a rep and you finally got the rep doing everything right.

work/run/go like stink

work/sweat your guts out

work/weave your magic

Across the country, says Fitness magazine, enterprising and agile therapists are working their magic on patients while running alongside them.

Biemiller referred the congressman to this doctor, who again worked his magic .

But now the two men have changed places, and the boat has worked its magic .

Charles was one such, and he invited her to Highgrove to work her magic .

He said his name was Christmas and he had worked his magic act in theatres and royal palaces all over the world.

Morley weaves its magic only by using a hedge fund to protect the assets of shareholders.

Paris works its magic on me.

Two others have medical problems that have to be corrected before he can work his magic .

working breakfast/lunch/dinner

Gannon explained recently during a working lunch downtown.

He has working lunches with his team to discuss and develop their approach to managing people for profit.

The afternoon rehearsal started late because Meredith was at a working lunch in Rose's office.

The real business gets done at working lunches and small dinner parties.

You might then have a working dinner with a business speaker.

working clothes

As he approached them, Mungo could see that they wore blue uniform trousers under their working clothes.

But she had to turn up at Maggie's school in her working clothes.

In fact I felt rather a lout in my working clothes among the elegant gathering.

Jonadab was not to be hurried and methodically finished changing into his working clothes before putting in an appearance.

Still clad in her tattered working clothes, her wellingtons pumped away assiduously to give the instrument the breath it required.

They went from the workplace into the canteen, they sat and opened their lunchboxes in their working clothes.

They woke on Sunday morning and people wre going to church ... they daren't be seen in their working clothes.

working conditions/environment etc

Complete the following exercise on working conditions.

For many people real wages fell and working conditions worsened.

Her interest in socialism or Bryant & May working conditions was perfunctory.

Protected by their enormous allowances and comfortable working conditions, they feel free to carry on behaving how they wish.

The working environment is conducive to the achievement of excellence and the work is intellectually challenging.

This made working conditions most unpleasant, the nets becoming wet and heavy to handle.

Unhappy with the working environment, she decided to quit the job to pursue her interest in alternative therapy.

working day

A massive 3,324, working days were lost because of depressive illnesses between and in Northern Ireland alone.

Additional reports e.g. showing approved entries and responsible lexicographer, will be produced within one working day when required.

As if to signal that the working day was about to begin, the telephone rang.

In many areas the Hearing is held on the first working day after the removal of the child.

Since the scheme was introduced, only motorists with special passes are allowed to use Ipswich Street during the working day.

They proceed not to turn up on Monday, the next working day.

This downward trend was so significant during this period that the average working day fell by around 1 hour.

working definition/theory/title

A pragmatist judge will find room in his working theory of as if legal rights for some doctrine of precedent.

A useful working definition has been provided by the Department of Trade and Industry in Britain.

As a working theory this is impregnable, whether considered sceptically or superstitiously.

Despite the difficulties, the teacher needs a rough working definition.

Is that a reasonable working definition of Paradise?

Like I say, it's just a working title.

The Household of Faith was Brideshead's working title.

We can, however, offer a very general working definition, which seems to feature in most discussions.

working hours/day/week

Apparently, too, Rosie enjoyed herself after working hours.

At the end of the working day most of us retreat to families and/or partners and play other parts.

Items must be posted at post office counters in advance of latest recommended posting times for next working day delivery.

Remember, your spouse may not be used to having you home during working hours.

The whole operation was based on 50 journeys or rounds, one for each vehicle on every working day of the week.

These, as we now know, involve everything from environmental considerations to limits on the working hours of employees.

They had only three working days in which to prepare the defence against the new charge.

They took long lunches and went to barbershops, beauty parlors, bathhouses, and tearooms during working hours.

working life

Both procedures reflect current government policy concerns with increasing vocationalism and preparation for working life at the pre-16 stage.

But all teachers are concerned about their own level of stress, and how to lead a satisfying working life.

Deborah Manley trained as a social worker but has spent most of her working life in publishing.

Objectives for Care outlines practical applications for nurses to use in their everyday working lives.

The noise, the abuse, the grimness are everyday parts of their working life.

They could anticipate earning a decent, middle-class wage there for most of their working lives.

What do I want out of my working life?

Your working life can go back as far as April 1936, but not further.

working majority

However, a second election took place in September of that year, which gave him a pathetic working majority of four.

None gave the Tories a hope of being elected with a working majority.

Since then, Labour has never won a secure working majority at any election.

The working majority achieved by the Conservatives removed that worry.

The debate was acrimonious, with opposition parties denouncing Shamir's deals with defectors from other parties to win his working majority.

Together the four parties had 191 seats, a working majority of 11.

With the support of various independents, they gave the General a solid working majority.

Without its support the coalition will not have a working majority in parliament.

working memory

From that, you might be able to reconstitute the activity present during working memory.

If this were the case there would be no need for a working memory.

It is not clear whether this articulation makes use of the working memory system or is independent.

Studies of working memory in animals may seem to be rather remote from the standard, acquired distinctiveness procedure.

The speech left provides for an internal speech code which passes through a working memory system where it can be examined.

The system is then being driven by working memory.

Unless we attend to the words which have been placed into working memory, they will not be retained.

working model

Behind him on a finely carved desk was a gleaming working model of the St Petersburg-Cannes Express constructed in pearls and amethysts.

For 300 years or more our science has omitted any human attributes that may impinge upon or impede its mechanistic working model.

My aim was always to build working models that I could control.

Simulation techniques have been developed to allow scientists and planners to build working models of the systems which they are studying.

The Base was a closed system, like a tiny working model of Earth itself, recycling all the chemicals of life.

When I was about four years of age, he made a working model roundabout with galloping horses.

working parts

He had, Edouard saw, a technical mind, and loved to see how working parts fitted together.

It still retains all its working parts and would require only minimum repairs to put it into full working order.

The working parts of a digital watch.

The neo-biological approach is to assemble software from working parts, while continuously testing and correcting the software as it grows.

They do not, at least by biological standards, have intricate working parts.

working practices/methods

But it will coincide with political pressure for doctors to accept fundamental changes in their working practices.

However, only 44% had changed their working practices.

New working practices would be introduced once passenger services were privatised which would be more flexible.

The accident happened because of a culture in which working practices were not checked, Whitehaven magistrates heard.

The courses, examinations and working practices have been based on their perceptions.

Their work allowed them to identify working methods and the characteristics of particular ateliers.

Those familiar with the work and working methods of Frank Auerbach may find all this oddly familiar.

working relationship

And yet the effective auditor needs to understand management and to have a close working relationship with the managers.

Are working relationships defined and public?

It is these processes which provide the principles for staff management and enhance the quality of working relationships within the organisation.

Many observers expect Hutchison to endorse Dole because of her working relationship with the Senate majority leader.

Relationship building with fellow-workers Your most important working relationship is with your immediate superior.

The assessment panels have contributed to a better working relationship between guidance staff and other members of staff.

This strategic transition required many people throughout the company to change specific skills, behaviors, and working relationships.

EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES

'Where's Dave?' 'He's outside, doing some work on the car, I think.'

A considerable amount of work was necessary to establish even this basic framework.

A major new work by one of Poland's leading film directors will be shown next Saturday.

Alexander commutes 30 miles to work each day.

Are you still involved in charity work ?

Being in the police isn't all action. Administration is a large part of the work we do.

Could I ride with you to work tomorrow?

David tries to avoid work at all times.

Finally, I would like to thank all the staff for their hard work this year.

Handel's "Messiah" is one of the most majestic musical works ever written.

Have you ever done bar work before?

He's doing construction work these days.

He eventually found work as a labourer on a construction site.

He liked the work , and he was good at it too.

Her later works reflected her growing depression.

Her mother tried to call her at home and then at work .

His injuries have made it impossible for him to go back to work .

His last few speeches had been awful, and he knew he had to put more work into them.

How do you like your work ?

I'm not doing any more work on the house this year, I can't be bothered.

EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS

A quick change can be effected by using this additional experience to point to another type of work .

An opportunity was afforded when the council supported El Universal in its uncomplimentary evaluation of the work of the early independence leaders.

For this reason, parents are always welcome to see their children at work in our school.

Rawls's work reaches somewhat different conclusions concerning justice and equality to that of Hayek.

She is surrounded by books and papers; her desk piled high with correspondence relating to her work .

Who says museum work doesn't pay?

Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary.      Дополнительный английский словарь Longman DOCE5.