Interesting vocabulary that came up during the chatting meal

1. CHATTING MEAL VOCABULARY - FEBRUARY
rubbish /'rʌbɪʃ/ noun [uncountable] (especially British English)
 food, paper etc. that is no longer needed and has been thrown away = garbage,
trash (American English):
 a rubbish bin
 household rubbish
rubbish tip/dump (= a place to take rubbish)
Some other meanings:
 informal an idea, statement, etc that is rubbish is silly or wrong and does not deserve
serious attention = nonsense, garbage (American English):
 You do talk rubbish sometimes.
 That’s a load of rubbish.
 The suggestion is absolute rubbish.
rubbish! spoken (= used to tell someone that what they have just said is completely
wrong )
 informal a film, book etc that is rubbish is very bad:
 the usual Hollywood rubbish
THESAURUS
rubbish (especially British English) things that people throw away, such as old food,
dirty paper etc:
 People are being encouraged to recycle their household rubbish.
 the rubbish bin.
garbage/trash (American English) rubbish:
 The garbage is collected every Tuesday.
 There were piles of trash in the backyard.
 a black plastic garbage bag.
refuse formal rubbish:
 The strike has disrupted refuse collection.
 It’s a site which is used for domestic refuse.
litter empty bottles, pieces of paper etc that people have dropped on the ground:
 Parents should teach children not to drop litter.
 There was a lot of litter on the beach.
waste rubbish, or materials that need to be dealt with after they have been used in
industrial processes:
 nuclear/toxic waste
 household waste
 The company was fined for dumping toxic waste in the sea.
spitting ˈ image noun
be the spitting image of somebody to look exactly like someone else.
brief /'bri:f/ noun [countable]
 a short report about something
Some other meanings:

2.  in brief
a) in as few words as possible:
 We should, in brief, invest heavily in digital systems.
b) without any details :
 Here again are today’s headlines in brief.
 (British English informal) the lawyer who represents someone in a court case:
 His brief asked for a fine rather than a prison sentence.
summary /'sʌməri/noun ( plural summaries ) [countable]
 a short statement that gives the main information about something, without giving
all the details:
 A brief summary is given on a separate sheet.
summary of
 The group produces a monthly summary of their research.
in summary
 In summary, do not sell your shares.
starch /'stɑ:tʃ /noun
 [uncountable] a substance that is mixed with water and is used to make cloth stiff.
Some other meanings:
 [uncountable and countable] a substance which provides your body with energy
and is found in foods such as grain, rice, and potatoes, or a food that contains this
substance = carbohydrate:
 He eats a lot of starch.
 Avoid fatty foods and starches.
date /'deɪt/ verb
 RELATIONSHIP [intransitive and transitive] (American English) to have a romantic
relationship with someone = go out with:
 Is he still dating Sarah?
 Are Chris and Liz dating?
Some other meanings:
 SHOW SB’S AGE [transitive] if something that you say, do, or wear dates you, it shows
that you are fairly old:
 Yes, I remember the moon landings – that dates me, doesn’t it?
 WRITE DATE [transitive] to write or print the date on something:
 a newspaper dated November 23, 1963
 Make sure you sign and date it at the bottom.
 FIND AGE [transitive] to find out when something old was made or formed:
 The rocks are dated by examining the fossils found in the same layer.
 radiocarbon dating
charming /'tʃɑ:mɪŋ/ adjective
 very pleasing or attractive:
 a charming little Italian restaurant
 Harry can be very charming.

3. curse /kɜ:s/ verb
 [intransitive] to swear :
 Gilbert was cursing under his breath.
 [transitive] to say or think bad things about someone or something because they
have made you angry :
 He cursed his bad luck in arriving just after she’d left.
curse somebody/something for (doing) something
 Elsa cursed herself for believing his lies.
 curse somebody ↔ out phrasal verb (American English) informal to swear at
someone who has made you angry.
Some other meanings:
 [transitive] to ask God or a magical power to harm someone
ˈ soap ˌ opera noun [countable]
 a television or radio story about the daily lives and relationships of the same group
of people, which is broadcast regularly.
! but novel is a long written story in which the characters and events are usually
imaginary → fiction :
 a novel by Jane Austen
fatty /'fæti/ noun (plural fatties) [countable] informal
 an insulting word for someone who is fat
shenanigans /ʃə'nænɪgənz/ noun [plural] informal
 bad behaviour that is not very serious, or slightly dishonest activities:
 She wouldn’t put up with his shenanigans.
 financial shenanigans