Vocabulary: week 16

Words and phrases from week 16’s podcast.

to blast a€“ to verbally attack, to shoot strongly
E.g. Terry Venables blasts international friendlies as a waste of time

to assault a€“ to attack, to hit
E.g. The ball boy assaulted the goalkeeper with an iron bar

a shambles a€“ a mess, complete disorder
E.g. Italy are a complete shambles off the pitch: crowd trouble, stadiums closed and last yeara€™s scandal as well

win (number) games in a row a€“ win games one after the other, no losses
E.g. They have won 15 games in a row.

a brawl a€“ a fight usually involving more than two people
E.g. QPR were involved in a mass brawl with the Chinese team

vital a€“ extremely important
E.g. Come off the bench and score a vital goal

have a soft spot for something a€“ to like something, have a sentimental feeling
E.g. Damian has got a soft spot for London clubs

to be on the slide a€“ having bad results, going down, deteriorating
E.g. Bremen are on the slide

to pull one out of the hat / bag a€“ get a surprise result, to surprise people (like a magician)
E.g. I think Madrid will pull one out of the hat