* make
of something: to have an opinion or perception of something
ex> Sally just told me what happened
at church, and I didn’t know what to make of it.
* break
(something) down: to reduce into smaller or simpler parts
ex> If this poem seems complicated
when you first read it, I suggest you break it down line by line.
* surreptitious:
secret; unauthorized
ex> The man was arrested for taking surreptitious
photos of women on the subway.
Note> While surreptitious means
secret, it has the added sense of “sneaky” or “hidden.” You’ll see
surreptitious applied mostly to actions, rather than to things or ideas such as
“We do things surreptitiously.”
* after
the fact: after something has already happened, especially a crime
ex> He found out years after the
fact that his sister had been adopted.
ex> It was only after the fact
that we realized what all those extra crews were for.
* agonize:
to suffer, usually due to worry or a difficult decision
ex> My parents agonized over
whether they should send my sister and me to private schools.
* make
a mountain out of a molehill: to describe or react to a problem as if it is
worse than it is
ex> Our late departure puts us a
little behind schedule, but there’s no need to make a mountain out of a
molehill.
Note> This idea for this phrase is
this: You are taking something small, such as a molehill, and you’re making it
out to be bigger than it true is. Often times, people will argue or cause
trouble over the most insignificant things. Hence, someone who escalates a
small problem into a larger one is said to be overreacting, or as the phrase
puts it, they are making a mountain out
of a molehill.
* venture a guess: (별 정보 없이) 짐작하다, 추측하다
As in today's’ dialogue, this expression
is sometimes used humorously or sarcastically to imply that the reason for something
is obvious.
ex> It’s impossible to know for sure,
but I’d venture a guess that a drought destroyed their food and water
supply.
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