(1) He made it plain that we should leave.
(2) She made her annoyance plain.
(3) The facts were plain to see .

(1) He felt that his muse had deserted him (= that he could no longer write, paint, etc.) .
(2) I sat quietly, musing on the events of the day.
(3) ‘I wonder why? ’ she mused.

(1) willow twigs are pliable.
(2) willow catkins are fluttering in the air.
(3) A pair of orioles alighted on the frisking branch of a weeping willow.

(1) The ill-advised conceit of the guardian angel dooms the film from the start.
(2) The idea of the wind singing is a romantic conceit.
(3) He knew, without conceit, he was considered a genius...

(1) The sergeant stood to attention and saluted.
(2) to salute the flag/an officer
(3) The players saluted the fans before leaving the field.

(1) She put a consoling arm around his shoulders.
(2) console yourself with the thought that you did your best.
(3) I didn't like lying but I consoled myself that it was for a good cause.

(1) There is one particular patient I'd like you to see.
(2) Is there a particular type of book he enjoys?
(3) We must pay particular attention to this point.

(1) The program can show us word frequency (= how often words occur in a language) .
(2) the alarming frequency of computer errors
(3) Objects like this turn up at sales with surprising frequency.

(1) I'm sure he only said it out of spite .
(2) In spite of his age, he still leads an active life.
(3) They went swimming in spite of all the danger signs.

(1) to gamble at cards
(2) to gamble on the horses
(3) I gambled all my winnings on the last race.

(1) Troops were called in to subdue the rebels.
(2) Julia had to subdue an urge to stroke his hair.
(3) Senior government officials admit they have not been able to subdue the rebels.

(1) As the world becomes more complex, some things do, of course, standardize and globalize.
(2) We will extend and standardize legal services and provide effective legal aid.
(3) Efforts to standardize English spellings have not been completely successful.

(1) A proton is an elementary particle of matter.
(2) An electron has a negative charge, a proton has a positive charge.
(3) The hydrated proton has been included in the calculations as one ion.

(1) jobs in aerospace and defence
(2) the aerospace industry
(3) ...the US aerospace industry.

(1) There are bound to be changes when the new system is introduced.
(2) It's bound to be sunny again tomorrow.
(3) You've done so much work─you're bound to pass the exam.

(1) a stout pair of shoes
(2) He put up a stout defence in court.
(3) He was tall and stoutly built.

(1) to set off at a steady/gentle/leisurely pace
(2) Congestion frequently reduces traffic to walking pace .
(3) The ball gathered pace as it rolled down the hill.

(1) Troops patrolled the border day and night.
(2) Guards can be seen patrolling everywhere.
(3) Gangs of youths patrol the streets at night.

(1) a bullfighter's cape
(2) cape Horn
(3) In 1978, Naomi James became the first woman to sail solo around the world via cape Horn.

(1) wire mesh over the door of the cage
(2) This evidence meshes with earlier reports of an organized riot.
(3) His theories mesh together various political and religious beliefs.

(1) A bone in my spine was out of alignment .
(2) Japan's alignment with the West
(3) ...the alignment of mirrors in the telescope.

(1) A powerful snow storm is moving eastward...
(2) They were pressing on eastwards towards the city's small airfield.
(3) In recent years , the river course has become increasingly narrower and remained shifting eastward.

(1) fowl such as turkeys and ducks
(2) Carve the fowl into 8 pieces.
(3) ...ducks and many other animals and fowl.

(1) alleged irregularities in the election campaign
(2) suspicion of financial irregularity
(3) a slight irregularity in his heartbeat

(1) roast chestnuts
(2) ...a woman with chestnut hair.
(3) ...a chestnut mare.

(1) a fiercely ambitious young manager
(2) They were very ambitious for their children (= they wanted them to be successful) .
(3) the government's ambitious plans for social reform

(1) to take out a lease on a house
(2) The lease expires/runs out next year.
(3) Under the terms of the lease , you have to pay maintenance charges.

(1) the spread of nationalist sentiments
(2) This is a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with.
(3) Public sentiment is against any change to the law.

(1) The monarch was ousted by a military coup.
(2) The King is a mighty monarch but full of pride, harsh and cruel.
(3) The species responsible for this image a local monarch of the saguaro [ pictured ] of southern Arizona.

(1) The crisis had a negative effect on trade.
(2) The whole experience was definitely more positive than negative.
(3) Scientists have a fairly negative attitude to the theory.

(1) She was expelled from school at 15.
(2) Olympic athletes expelled for drug-taking
(3) Foreign journalists are being expelled.

(1) a departure from the norm
(2) Older parents seem to be the norm rather than the exception nowadays.
(3) social/cultural norms

(1) She hiked up her skirt and waded into the river.
(2) The government hiked up the price of milk by over 40%.
(3) If the weather's fine, we'll go hiking this weekend.

(1) (humorous)He used some pretty choice (= rude or offensive) language.
(2) If I had the choice, I would stop working tomorrow.
(3) He had no choice but to leave (= this was the only thing he could do) .

(1) to be absent from work
(2) Love was totally absent from his childhood.
(3) an absent expression

(1) too many rules and regulations
(2) fire/safety/building, etc. regulations
(3) to comply with the regulations

(1) faultless English
(2) ...Mary Thomson's faultless and impressive performance on the show...
(3) Hans's English was faultless.

(1) a strange shapeless garment that had once been a jacket
(2) woollen/winter/outer garments
(3) Many of the garments have the customers' name tags sewn into the linings.

(1) The speaker had obviously struck a chord with his audience.
(2) ...the opening chords of 'Stairway to Heaven'.
(3) Mr Jenkins' arguments for stability struck a chord with Europe's two most powerful politicians...

(1) A free trade agreement would be advantageous to both countries.
(2) ...an opportunity to purchase a set of tools at very advantageous prices.
(3) Free exchange of goods was advantageous to all.