(1) a time of scarcity
(2) a scarcity of resources
(3) ...an ever increasing scarcity of water.

(1) a highly significant discovery
(2) The results of the experiment are not statistically significant .
(3) There are no significant differences between the two groups of students.

(1) a new initiative aimed at beating the menace of illegal drugs
(2) a sense/an air/a hint of menace in his voice
(3) to demand money with menaces

(1) You'll have to go to the police station to reclaim your wallet.
(2) The team reclaimed the title from their rivals.
(3) The site for the airport will be reclaimed from the swamp.

(1) Plates overflowed with party food.
(2) The bath is overflowing.
(3) (figurative)Her heart overflowed with love.

(1) a letter of resignation
(2) There were calls for her resignation from the board of directors.
(3) Further resignations are expected.

(1) To the untrained eye, the children were behaving ordinarily.
(2) ordinarily, she wouldn't have bothered arguing with him.
(3) We do not ordinarily carry out this type of work.

(1) His big fat belly overhung his belt.
(2) The path was cool and dark with overhanging trees.
(3) The roof has an overhang to protect the walls from the rain.

(1) the angle of incidence
(2) an area with a high incidence of crime
(3) The incidence of breast cancer increases with age.

(1) the increasing complexity of modern telecommunication systems
(2) I was astonished by the size and complexity of the problem.
(3) the complexities of the system

(1) Oh well, no news is good news, to coin a phrase.
(2) a euro coin
(3) notes and coin

(1) There is considerable pressure on teenagers to conform.
(2) He refused to conform to the local customs.
(3) The building does not conform with safety regulations.

(1) the coefficient of friction
(2) ...production coefficients...
(3) A coefficient of one means the markets move perfectly in step.

(1) The new president reversed many of the policies of his predecessor.
(2) He maintained that he learned everything he knew from his predecessor Kenneth Sisam.
(3) The car is some 40mm shorter than its predecessor.

(1) ...a quartz crystal.
(2) The prospectors have discovered such minerals as calcite, quartz and asbestos here.
(3) quartz overcoating protects the optics from the environment and allows cleaning without damage to their surface.

(1) And this the voa special English health report, written by Kitty weaver.
(2) Mr. and Mrs. weaver are shown to their usual pew by an usher.
(3) Mr. weaver, here is that memorandum you dictated to me last night.

(1) changing patterns of behaviour
(2) an irregular sleeping pattern
(3) The murders all seem to follow a (similar) pattern (= happen in the same way) .

(1) to offer interest-free credit (= allow sb to pay later, without any extra charge)
(2) We bought the dishwasher on credit .
(3) to get/refuse credit

(1) My wife is pregnant.
(2) I was pregnant with our third child at the time.
(3) a heavily pregnant woman (= one whose baby is nearly ready to be born)

(1) She's such a snob!
(2) an intellectual snob
(3) a food/wine, etc. snob

(1) Cows were grazing on the marshes.
(2) marshy ground/land
(3) The red deer was fed out on the marsh.

(1) iron oxide
(2) an oxide of tin
(3) Atoms of iron in the nail combine with atoms of oxygen from the air to form molecules of iron oxide, or rust.

(1) She's an eternal optimist (= she always expects that the best will happen) .
(2) eternal truths (= ideas that are always true and never change)
(3) I'm tired of your eternal arguments.

(1) a job interview
(2) to be called for (an) interview
(3) He has an interview next week for the manager's job.

(1) pumpkin pie is a traditional American dish served on Thanksgiving.
(2) Quarter the pumpkin and remove the seeds.
(3) ...pumpkin pie.

(1) a glass partition
(2) partition walls
(3) the partition of Germany after the war

(1) He scanned the horizon for any sign of land.
(2) She scanned his face anxiously.
(3) I scanned the list quickly for my name.

(1) Cars have become an indispensable part of our lives.
(2) She made herself indispensable to the department.
(3) A good dictionary is indispensable for learning a foreign language.

(1) exotic birds with feathers of gorgeous colours
(2) It was absolutely gorgeous .
(3) gorgeous weather (= warm and with a lot of sun)

(1) current English usage
(2) It's not a word in common usage .
(3) land usage

(1) The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified.
(2) People with invalid papers are deported to another country.
(3) an invalid argument

(1) She groped through the darkness towards the doors.
(2) He groped his way up the staircase in the dark.
(3) (figurative)‘It's so…, so… ’ I was groping for the right word to describe it.

(1) battery eggs
(2) a battery hen
(3) a battery of reporters

(1) The children were dressed identically.
(2) This is the identical room we stayed in last year.
(3) The two pictures are similar, although not identical.

(1) She felt fenced in by domestic routine.
(2) His property is fenced with barbed wire.
(3) He put his hand on the post behind her so that he had her fenced in and could look down on her.

(1) a baggage allowance of 20 kilos
(2) personal tax allowances
(3) The budget made allowance for inflation.

(1) We found out he'd been stealing from us for years.
(2) My wallet was stolen.
(3) I had my wallet stolen .

(1) She's always dieting but she never seems to lose any weight.
(2) dietary fibre
(3) to have a healthy, balanced diet

(1) to watch/gaze in admiration
(2) I have great admiration for her as a writer.
(3) I have always had the greatest admiration for him...

(1) ‘Thank you, ’ they said in chorus.
(2) ‘Hello, Paul, ’ they chorused.
(3) the Hallelujah chorus