(1) ‘Couldn't you have just said no? ’ ‘Well, hardly, (= of course not) she's my wife's sister. ’
(2) You can hardly expect her to do it for free.
(3) It's hardly the time to discuss it now.

(1) Southeast conference football champions
(2) The hotel is used for exhibitions, conferences and social events.
(3) a conference room/centre/hall

(1) professor (Ann) Williams
(2) a chemistry professor
(3) to be appointed professor of French at Cambridge

(1) a concert pianist
(2) a jazz pianist
(3) ...the brilliant Romanian pianist Radu Lupu.

(1) a French grammar
(2) bad grammar
(3) English grammar

(1) memories tinged with sadness
(2) I felt a deep sadness.
(3) our joys and sadnesses

(1) the bus queue
(2) I had to join a queue for the toilets.
(3) How long were you in the queue ?

(1) mexican cookery is economical, she says. Nothing goes to waste.
(2) She took me to a mexican restaurant.
(3) It was dubbed into Spanish for mexican audiences.

(1) a child of the 90s
(2) They can't have children .
(3) a support group for adult children of alcoholics

(1) The area is heavily dependent on tourism.
(2) the tourism industry
(3) tourism is vital for the Spanish economy.

(1) a long/short/straight/pleated, etc. skirt
(2) the rubber skirt around the bottom of a hovercraft
(3) They followed the road that skirted the lake.

(1) His answer to the journalist is a shrewd one.
(2) He is not so much a journalist as a writer.
(3) The editor at once sent the journalist a telegram instructing him to find out the exact number of steps and the height of the wall.

(1) Anne had two men trying to win her affections.
(2) I have a great affection for New York.
(3) Children need lots of love and affection.

(1) to fly at the speed of sound
(2) A stork flew slowly past.
(3) A wasp had flown in through the window.

(1) She's not very optimistic about the outcome of the talks.
(2) They are cautiously optimistic that the reforms will take place.
(3) We are now taking a more optimistic view.

(1) These items are not covered by your medical insurance...
(2) Make sure that the firm's insurance cover is adequate.
(3) The law covers four categories of experiments...

(1) a piece of metal
(2) a metal pipe/bar/box
(3) The frame is made of metal.

(1) the internal organs
(2) the sense organs (= the eyes, ears, nose, etc.)
(3) the sexual/reproductive organs

(1) All donations will be gratefully received.
(2) He nodded gratefully.
(3) I would be grateful if you could send the completed form back as soon as possible.

(1) butterflies and moths
(2) She's like a butterfly. She flits in and out of people's lives.
(3) She was third in the 200m butterfly (= a swimming race) .

(1) The best students were creamed off by the grammar schools.
(2) We got creamed in the first round.
(3) cream the butter and sugar together.

(1) The number of new students decreased from 210 to 160 this year.
(2) The price of wheat has decreased by 15%.
(3) This species of bird is decreasing in numbers every year.

(1) a weather chart
(2) a sales chart (= showing the level of a company's sales)
(3) a naval chart

(1) administration costs are passed on to the customer.
(2) the day-to-day administration of a company
(3) I work in the Sales administration department.

(1) his history tutor
(2) He was my personal tutor at university.
(3) She's in my tutor group at school.

(1) I'll ask the waitress for the bill.
(2) waiter, could you bring me some water?
(3) As we were circling the field preparatory to landing, the engine cut out.

(1) My brother and I went to the same school.
(2) (formal)Which school do they attend?
(3) I'm going to the school today to talk to Kim's teacher.

(1) They were asked to behave with the gravity that was appropriate in a court of law.
(2) Punishment varies according to the gravity of the offence.
(3) I don't think you realise the gravity of the situation.

(1) They cost nine pounds new, three pounds secondhand.
(2) Others donated secondhand clothes.
(3) I bought a secondhand chair which is as good as new.

(1) the Japanese language
(2) It takes a long time to learn to speak a language well.
(3) Italian is my first language .

(1) an 8-hour workday
(2) workday traffic
(3) His workday starts at 3.30 a.m. and lasts 12 hours.

(1) Remember to wear your helmet.
(2) Jewel : I saw a guy with a swastika on his scooter helmet the other day.
(3) His helmet protected his head during the crash.

(1) a romantic/historical novelist
(2) ...a romantic novelist.
(3) John Fowles is a British novelist who enjoys a popular fame in the contemporary literary arena.

(1) Her skirt ballooned out in the wind.
(2) to blow up/burst/pop a balloon
(3) The budget deficit has ballooned to $25 billion...

(1) a ten-pound note
(2) a pound coin
(3) I've spent £25 on food today.

(1) the doctor's wife
(2) She's his second wife.
(3) an increase in the number of working wives

(1) They said you particularly wanted to talk to me. Why was that?...
(2) 'Hey, is there anything the matter with my sisters?' — 'Is that why you're phoning?'...
(3) The Commissioners get between £50,000 and 60,000 a year in various allowances. But that amount can soar to 90,000 a year...

(1) The winners of the competition will be announced next month.
(2) There are no winners in a divorce (= everyone suffers) .
(3) I think your idea is a winner.

(1) nuclear missiles
(2) a missile base/site
(3) The authorities offered to stop firing missiles if the rebels agreed to stop attacking civilian targets.

(1) He looked straight ahead and overtook a lumbering lorry.
(2) They used a lorry to ram the main gate.
(3) The lorry driver escaped unhurt, but a pedestrian was injured.