I. adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
assume the worst (= think that the worst possible thing had happened )
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When it got to midnight and Paul was still not back, I began to assume the worst .
least worst
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Often it’s a question of choosing the least worst option.
make sth the best/worst/most expensive etc
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Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area.
of the worst/best etc kind
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This is hypocrisy of the worst kind.
prepared for the worst (= expected something very bad )
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There was no news and we were prepared for the worst .
sb's worst nightmare (= the worst possible situation )
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The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease was farming's worst nightmare.
sb’s worst/greatest fear
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Her worst fear was never seeing her children again.
the best/worst kind
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Not knowing what had happened to her was the worst kind of torture.
the best/worst part
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The worst part was having to work even when it was raining.
the very best/latest/worst etc
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We only use the very best ingredients.
the worst hit
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The south of the country is the worst hit by the recession.
the worst moment
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Standing on the edge waiting to do your bungee jump is the worst moment.
the worst offender
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Among causes of air pollution, car exhaust fumes may be the worst offender .
the worst recession
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Colombia is going through its worst recession in decades.
the worst scandal (= the biggest or most shocking )
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Total losses resulting from India's worst financial scandal amounted to Rs31,000 million.
the worst-case/worst scenario (= the worst thing that might happen )
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The worst-case scenario is that it is already too late to do anything about global warming.
worst excesses
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He lived through some of the worst excesses of apartheid in South Africa.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
aspect
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I think many of the worst aspects of rock have now resurfaced in rave: the macho, aggressive energy.
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The worst aspect of Hinduism is undoubtedly the caste system, which kept the population cooped up in so many separate compartments.
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The worst aspects of co-ordination, however, were central-local relations within the Soviet hierarchy.
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The best and the worst aspects of having friends edit your work are the same: they like you.
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That was the absolutely worst aspect of the Bug's crash-landing into her life.
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The continued existence of the private sector has allowed those with sufficient resources to avoid the worst aspects of the state system.
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Male speaker the worst aspect of Leatherslade farm was that so many took their gloves off.
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One of the worst aspects of delay in litigation is waiting for a trial date.
case
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Although she definitely did suffer from claustrophobia, Sylvia was by no means the worst case I have seen.
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Even in the worst case , there will still be four blank spaces between columns.
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He says it's one of the worst cases he's seen.
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It was several times worse than the worst case the computer models had predicted.
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Its bite produces a worm which swells up the blood vessels, causing ulcers and, in the worst cases , blindness.
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In the worst case , such violence could take the form of interstate strife.
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Experts have described it as the worst case to date of pesticide contamination in Britain.
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The worst case scenario is a sausage biscuit with egg, hash browns and orange juice combination.
day
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Perhaps the worst day of all Sunday.
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But the worst day of all was the day that Bill took the stand himself.
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Mr Howard painted a picture of industrial unrest under Labour rivalling the worst days of the 1970s.
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This is the worst day of my life.
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The worst day was when we were in Manchester, going to the eye doctor.
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Probably the worst day of that year, though a typical one, was a particularly hot day in August.
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The best and worst day of Jenny's life arrived two months later.
enemy
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Like all good conspiracy theories, the polio vaccine theory's originators are its worst enemies .
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The worst enemy here is hunger.
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In other words, we are our own worst enemy .
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People are their own worst enemies .
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I hope you can enjoy it, but if not, give it to your worst enemy .
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To what extent would she say she was her own worst enemy ?
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Remember grit and dirt are a carpet's worst enemies .
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I say, Hey, Legs, you and Schultz, you supposed to be the worst enemies .
excesses
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It wallows in the worst excesses of sentimentality and adopts a moral tone that condemns and condones misbehaviour in the same breath.
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The organization becomes a drag-net for the worst excesses of commercial endeavour.
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Females will have felt an urge to tackle their partner's worst excesses .
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It had proved a good move as the sector had avoided the worst excesses of the building slump.
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At worst , they are a facade hiding the worst excesses of management.
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As a result, the worst excesses of feudal exploitation carried on unchecked.
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Such colleagues tend to be great achievers, but you have to restrain their worst excesses .
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This uneasy half way house is fair game for the worst excesses of journalism.
fear
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A week later my worst fears were confirmed.
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Sure enough, to confirm our worst fears , the wind grew stronger in the evening.
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Alcuin's worst fears were not fulfilled until 806.
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The audit demonstrated that many of their worst fears were true.
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One of her worst fears is that folk will shun her because of what's happened.
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Or would it confirm their worst fears ?
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A Guardian student survey published this week confirms the university law schools' worst fears .
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But now, my worst fears have been borne out.
kind
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Every one of them sounded as though it had been written by the worst kind of shit.
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But this looks like racial bias, it smells like racial bias, it is racial bias of the worst kind .
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A handful of poxy tents sold greasy lentil pilaf to the worst kind of industry lackey.
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Was I not going forth as the worst kind of pretender?
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The worst kind of burn gives painful blisters and general skin damage within about an hour after exposure.
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Would that not be fiscal philandering of the worst kind ?
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Here it was the worst kind of exploitation.
nightmare
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This is a macabre impersonation of a white racist's worst nightmare or crowd-baiting at its most mindless.
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We thought maybe our worst nightmare came true.
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Few suffer the agony of Johanna Young's parents and find that their worst nightmare has become a reality.
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They eventually suffered from an embarrassment of riches: they laughingly killed all their enemies and created their worst nightmare .
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It was an engineer's worst nightmare .
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The Halloween night fight at London's Earls Court was hyped as the worst nightmare for one of the boxers.
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The scene he saw there confirmed his worst nightmares .
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It couldn't, it shouldn't be happening, but it was ... Her worst nightmare had come true.
offender
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And patients are the worst offenders .
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Uneaten food and other dead organic materials left in the tank are the worst offenders in pollution of the water.
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In my experience, those long conditioned by Centralism are the worst offenders .
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One of the worst offenders , the Polam lighting factory at Rzeszow, has already been shut down.
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In this connection some scientists are by far the worst offenders .
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The worst offenders are the disinfectants and pesticides.
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The crack cocaine epidemic has passed, and some of the worst offenders are imprisoned, mellowed or dead.
part
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And the worst part was, everyone else seemed to understand it and strode out to the quay full of knowledgeable confidence.
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The worst part was the sound.
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We decided the deception was the worst part of it and agreed to give honesty a try.
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The screams were the worst part .
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It simply is the worst part of their life.
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The path here can be very wet, but planks have been laid down over the worst parts .
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She lived most of her life in the worst parts of Washington.
recession
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Britain in the early 1990s appears to be on the precipice of the worst recession since the 1930s.
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The worst recession since the l930s was followed by a boom.
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Above all, both countries are facing their worst recessions for many years.
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Although interest rates and inflation were both falling, Britain had to struggle through one of the worst recessions since the war.
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The increase comes during one of the worst recessions to hit the motor industry since the war.
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The report painted a generally optimistic picture of Britain continuing to recover from the worst recession since 1945.
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Male speaker Recessions come and go, but this is the worst recession I've seen.
record
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The worst record for absence while on leave of any of the three battalions, the Brigadier had grumbled.
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At 16-41, the Warriors have the worst record in the Western Conference.
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In water quality and air quality, Texas has the worst record of any big state.
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The 1977-78 Washington Bullets won the title with a regular-season mark of 44-38, the worst record of all championship teams.
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But they've lost eight home matches this season, one of the worst records in the division.
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With Sosa, the Cubs are 100-169 since June 9, 1999, the worst record in the majors.
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Read in studio Gloucester Prison has the worst record in the country for overcrowding, according to a new league table.
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North Yorkshire has one of the worst records for the illegal poisoning and shooting of wild creatures.
thing
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The worst thing about it was that green catsuit.
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For these people, that inflation was the worst thing in the world.
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But the worst thing they did to him was to brand him a traitor.
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It would be the worst thing to happen to me if I had to leave this place.
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Perhaps that was the worst thing that could happen to a human being.
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It turned out to be the next worst thing .
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Being the last to know isn't actually the worst thing a betrayed wide can experience.
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And the worst thing was that I really had little choice but to bow to their wishes.
time
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Him, with him: the worst man in the worst place at the worst time .
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Shaving before you get breakfast is the worst time .
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He threw one the very worst time , up on top of the wall, and the other kids all shunned away.
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But even in the worst times there will be leadership.
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It's probably the worst time in the world to tell you, but there you are.
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We went over a typical week in her life, hour by hour, looking for the best and the worst times .
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The worst times I've ever endured were with a tax-dodger in Castletown.
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Glenn Jeffers was a helicopter crewman throughout 1968, one of the worst times to serve with a combat division.
year
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It was the worst years he had with his wife.
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In the worst year , 1961, more than half a million dolphins were killed.
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For retailers it was the worst year on record and consumer spending is at its lowest since World War Two.
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It's the worst year because it has been difficult to persuade distinguished film-makers to attend with their latest work.
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It was the worst year of Harriet's life, and she was not able to care that people avoided them.
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Her self-proclaimed worst year has seen two separations and one divorce among her four children.
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In one of the worst years on record many nests have been robbed or destroyed and adult birds shot or poisoned.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
at your best/worst/most effective etc
be your own worst enemy
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Many drivers are their own worst enemy -- driving too close, driving too fast, all the usual faults.
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My mother was her own worst enemy . She knew she was ill but she did nothing to help herself.
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In other words, we are our own worst enemy .
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My father was his own worst enemy .
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People are their own worst enemies .
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Players can be real snobs about names, too, so they are their own worst enemies .
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To what extent would she say she was her own worst enemy ?
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You could say that Gilly is her own worst enemy .
bring out the best/worst in sb
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Ingram always seems to bring out the best in his players.
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And Vince was obviously a great coach; he brought out the best in his team and whoever played him.
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But the Washington Wizards have a way of bringing out the best in their opponents.
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But, says Markert, there is something about one-way communication that can also bring out the worst in people.
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Campaigns seem to bring out the worst in Bob Dole.
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It brings out the best in us.
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Maybe something like they tend to bring out the best in us.
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So, to bring out the best in your cooking make sure you use the purest soy sauce, Kikkoman Soy Sauce.
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Yet it was not an unsuccessful attempt to bring out the best in his audience.
come off best/better/worst etc
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Alec Davidson, for example, was one of those who came off worst.
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Bullock comes off best because her complaining seems so valid.
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His foster-child comes off best, but in addition each of two nurses receives a tenth of his estate.
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It may seem, so far, that in terms of clearly defined benefits, the client comes off best out of the deal.
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Prior to that Meath had come off best when they accounted for Down in the 1990 league decider.
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The lightning, it seemed to Lydia, had undoubtedly come off best in that encounter.
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The problem is that history sometimes comes off better.
fear the worst
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Fearing the worst, police have called in reinforcements to help control the crowds.
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After I hadn't heard from him for several hours, I began to fear the worst.
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Rescuers feared the worst for the men trapped in the mine.
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I knew I was being irrational but I began to fear the worst.
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Mind you, I feared the worst for this year's crop of pantomimes.
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Only then did we begin to fear the worst.
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Rumours about impending changes will occur anyway, and staff not fully informed are likely to fear the worst.
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Then they called police and stayed up all night -- fearing the worst.
sb's worst fears were realized
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My worst fears were realized when I saw the test questions.
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His worst fears were realized and he was arrested.
the biggest/worst etc (sth) yet
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And the worst was yet to come.
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Her third night here and it had been the worst one yet .
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No, the worst ... Yet is she listening now?
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That was the worst task yet , as Psyche saw when she approached the waterfall.
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The decision opens the biggest policy rift yet between Holyrood and Westminster.
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The two have returned from a disastrous holiday in Greecebut the worst is yet to come.
think the best/worst of sb
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Ellie's the type of person that always thinks the best of people.
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He thought the worst of Mitch and clearly thought that left to herself she would ring London at once.
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I was so ready to think the worst of him, she wailed inwardly.
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My immediate reaction, whether it be a man or a woman, is to think the worst of them.
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The prospect of Guy leaving, thinking the worst of her, was unbearable.
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Why should you think the worst of me?
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You always think the worst of me.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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First thing in the morning is by far the worst time to ask Dad a favour.
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I was always the worst student in the class.
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In my opinion, that's the worst movie of all time.
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It's by far the worst neighborhood in the whole city.
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The doctor said it was one of the worst cases of food poisoning he'd ever seen.
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This is the worst musical I've ever been to.
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UN workers were withdrawn from the western areas, where the worst bloodshed has occurred.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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But only one record of last year's storms - the worst for years - is in the public domain.
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On the eve of the council the worst of horrors was revealed.
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The year following the elimination of the distribution centers was, by employee consensus, the worst the company had ever endured.
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Then you would know when you saw the chap in the 1984 Cortina he was the company's worst driver.
II. adverb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
affect
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They target remote farms in the south-west with Dumfriesshire and the Stewartry worst affected .
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Hackney and Tower Hamlets are among the boroughs worst affected by shortages.
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After Frankfurt, the cities worst affected by mob violence are Hamburg, Berlin and Munich.
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More than half of those worst affected had aggressive and anti-social tendencies.
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The heartlands of political opposition to the government, where there is no precedent of famine, have been worst affected .
hit
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For example, in Ovamboland, the northern region, worst hit by the war, drop-out rates at primary school are highest.
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The P-40 was probably the fighter worst hit .
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That would mean taking readings in homes and in streets in parts of the city worst hit by the car.
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Darlington borough council, Wear Valley and Sedgefield district councils said they were worst hit by the spending limits.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Chris is the worst -dressed man in the office.
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It was the worst written book I've ever read.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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After Frankfurt, the cities worst affected by mob violence are Hamburg, Berlin and Munich.
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Our staff who were older felt it worst .
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The tobacconist shops fared worst , hit by the fall in shopper-numbers on high streets.