* spellbind: to hold one’s complete
attention, as if by magic
ex>
My little sister was spellbound by the ballet, and she danced around the
house for weeks.
Note>
You might guess that the verb spellbind came before the adjective spellbound,
but it was the other way around. This process, called “back-formation,” is the
origin of many English words.
* refer to as something: to call by a
name or description
ex>
Paris is referred to as “the city of light” because it was one of the
first cities to adopt an extensive street lighting system.
ex>
Kevin’s ex mother-in-law was Dutch, so he used to refer to her as “The Hag.”
* real-world: existing in reality;
practical; typical
ex>
Now that the lab trials are over, we can test this can opener under real-world
conditions.
* scare one out of one’s skin: to make
someone feel extremely frightened
ex>
This haunted house ride seems silly now, but it used to scare me out of my
skin.
* burst one’s bubble: to show someone
that their idea is false, impossible, or fanciful
ex>
Our little niece is so fascinated with unicorns that no one wants to burst
her bubble.
ex>
I’m sorry that the data from the survey has burst your bubble.
Note>
Children have been blowing bubbles for fun since at least the 17th century,
when the practice appears in several Dutch paintings. To burst someone’s bubble
is to quickly and suddenly spoil their fun.
* make-believe: imaginary
ex>
My brother and I built a make-believe submarine out of cardboard boxes
and duct tape.
ex>
People with Asperger’s syndrome are often uncomfortable with make-believe
characters and situations.
* fictional:
허구의
Fictional is often
confused with the word fictitious,
which has a similar meaning. Something that is fictional was created for a story or some other work of art. If
something is fictitious, it was
created to deceive someone, or it is something the believer doesn’t realize isn’t
true. Ebenezer Scrooge is fictional,
but a forged legal document is fictitious.
ex>
Whether they’re real or fictional, we can probably learn a lot from
them.
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