Phrasal Verbs Practice – 81

size somebody/something up
to look at or consider a person or situation and make a judgment about Syn: assess
.It only took a few seconds for her to size up the situation

Skirt around/round
:to go around the outside edge of a place or area
.The old footpath skirts around the village
to avoid talking about an important subject, especially because it is difficult or embarrassing – used to show disapproval
.a disappointing speech that skirted around all the main issues

single somebody/something out
choose one person or thing from among a group because they are better,worse, more important etc than the others
single somebody/something out for
.I don’t see why he should be singled out for special treatment
single somebody/something {——} out as
.One program was singled out as being particularly good

set off
: to start to go somewhere
.I’ll set off early to avoid the traffic
set off for
.Jerry and I set off on foot for the beach
set something off to make something start happening, especially when you do not intend to do so
.News that the claims might be true set off widespread panic
.Hong Kong’s stock market fell, setting off a global financial crisis
:set something off to make an alarm start ringing
.Smoke from a cigarette will not normally set off a smoke alarm
: set something off to make a bomb explode, or cause an explosion
.Any movement could have set off the bomb
set something off if a piece of clothing, color, decoration etc sets something off, it makes it look attractive
.The blue sundress set off her long blonde hair
: set somebody off to make someone start laughing, crying, or talking about something
.Don’t mention what happened – you’ll only set her off again
set something off against tax
to officially record the money you have spent on something connected with your job, in order to reduce the amount of tax you have to pay
.Some expenses can be set off against tax

.Fill in the blanks with the appropriate phrasal verbs

size somebody / something up – Skirt around / round – single somebody / something out – set off

.N1. I don’t see why he should be …………… out for special treatment
.N2. It only took a few seconds for her to …………… the situation
.N3. I’ll ……….. early to avoid the traffic
.N4. a disappointing speech that ………… around all the main issues

:Answers

Singled / size up / set off / skirted