(1) a nest of thieves
(2) to leave the nest (= leave your parents' home)
(3) a nest of tables

(1) I'll pay for the tickets.
(2) Are you paying in cash or by credit card ?
(3) Her parents paid for her to go to Canada.

(1) Sometimes I pay, sometimes he pays─it seems to average out (= result in us paying the same amount) .
(2) The cost should average out at about £6 per person.
(3) Earnings are averaged over the whole period.

(1) Sue shares a house with three other students.
(2) There isn't an empty table. Would you mind sharing?
(3) We shared the pizza between the four of us.

(1) countries seeking entry into the European Union
(2) the entry of women into the workforce
(3) There have been some impressive entries in the wildlife photography section (= impressive photographs) .

(1) a microscope slide
(2) The bacteria were then examined under a/the microscope .
(3) (figurative)In the play, love and marriage are put under the microscope .

(1) Come here, you cheeky little monkey!
(2) She's such a little monkey.
(3) Since vaccinia may cure smallpox, then monkey?

(1) a wooden box
(2) The actor playing the father was too wooden.
(3) She speaks her lines very woodenly.

(1) a facial expression
(2) facial hair
(3) facially the two men were very different.

(1) The judges awarded both finalists equal points.
(2) The judges awarded equal points to both finalists.
(3) He was awarded damages of £50 000.

(1) An active volcano may erupt at any time.
(2) a dormant volcano (= one that is not active at present)
(3) an extinct volcano (= one that is no longer active)

(1) theories of child language acquisition
(2) His latest acquisition is a racehorse.
(3) They have made acquisitions in several EU countries.

(1) ...people carrying bundles of dried sticks to sell for firewood.
(2) He looks old and walks with a stick...
(3) Crowds armed with sticks and stones took to the streets.

(1) The cat was washing itself.
(2) Does the VCR turn itself off?
(3) The company has got itself into difficulties.

(1) He knocked three times and waited.
(2) Somebody was knocking on the window.
(3) Be careful you don't knock your head on this low beam.

(1) abnormal levels of sugar in the blood
(2) They thought his behaviour was abnormal.
(3) abnormally high blood pressure

(1) She was too drunk to remember anything about the party.
(2) His only way of dealing with his problems was to go out and get drunk .
(3) They got drunk on vodka.

(1) a slice of apple pie
(2) Help yourself to some more pie.
(3) a pie dish

(1) the central area of the brain
(2) The flat is very central─just five minutes from Princes Street.
(3) a central location

(1) They were granted refugee status.
(2) The party was denied legal status.
(3) low status jobs

(1) I went to work as a painter in my hometown, Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania.
(2) Donna won fame and fortune, notwithstanding, she never forgot her hometown.
(3) Do you grow wheat in your hometown?

(1) graduation day
(2) My whole family came to my graduation.
(3) The graduations are marked on the side of the flask.

(1) His albums are available on tape and CD.
(2) a blank tape (= a tape that has nothing recorded on it)
(3) I lent her my Bob Marley tapes.

(1) The sight of her son graduating filled her with pride.
(2) I take (a) pride in my work .
(3) We take great pride in offering the best service in town.

(1) an appointment at the dentist's
(2) Visit your dentist twice a year for a check-up.
(3) But young Putin is also an ordinary boy, frightened by a looming visit to the dentist.

(1) You should avoid mentioning his divorce.
(2) I had to swerve to avoid a cat.
(3) I've been avoiding getting down to work all day.

(1) Her children can be a real handful.
(2) Only a handful of people came.
(3) a handful of rice

(1) The baby had been abandoned by its mother.
(2) The study showed a deep fear among the elderly of being abandoned to the care of strangers.
(3) Snow forced many drivers to abandon their vehicles.

(1) He didn't shout, he just glared at me silently.
(2) (figurative)The divorce was conducted in the full glare of publicity (= with continuous attention from newspapers and television) .
(3) the glare of the sun

(1) builders' merchants (= who sell supplies to the building trade)
(2) a coal/wine merchant
(3) Venice was once a city of rich merchants.

(1) The sun shone brightly in a cloudless sky.
(2) The dark polished wood shone like glass.
(3) (figurative)Her eyes were shining with excitement.

(1) When exactly did the incident occur?
(2) Something unexpected occurred.
(3) Sugar occurs naturally in fruit.

(1) fluency in French is required for this job.
(2) The team lacked fluency during the first half.
(3) She studied eight foreign languages but is fluent in only six of them...

(1) The economy remains extremely fragile.
(2) fragile beauty
(3) The woman's fragile face broke into a smile.

(1) the appearance of claims about the minister's private life in the press
(2) the early appearance of daffodils in spring
(3) the appearance of organic vegetables in the supermarkets

(1) The assistant pursed her lips.
(2) your upper/lower/top/bottom lip
(3) She kissed him on the lips .

(1) He surrounds himself with attractive, intelligent, or well-known people...
(2) He is well-known to the local police...
(3) It may be a well-known fact, but I didn't know it...

(1) a hotel room with bath and shower
(2) He's in the shower .
(3) a shower cubicle

(1) Innovation is another key part of the canada - China partnership.
(2) On estime que quelque 130 000 personnes d'origine ha ? tienne vivent au canada.
(3) Imprisoned lake, under canada rainstorm, mountain massif landslide mud - rock flow.