WAYS OF TOUCHING - VOCABULARY

LEVEL: Advanced.

TOUCH
1. Even the slightest touch will break a soap bubble.
2. It's soft / rough / cold to the touch.
3. Stroke (pen, paint). Add a few finishing touches to the drawing.
4. A touch of = a bit of. There was a touch of bitterness / irony in his remarks.
5. To touch-type (without looking at keyboard).
6. In / Out of touch. Lose touch with.
7. "Touch wood".
8. No one can touch him as a piano player.
9. (neg) eat / drink. He hasn't touched food for 2 days.
10. Wound. You've touched his self-esteem.
11. Touch sth off = cause to start. Their arrest touched off a riot.
12. Touch sth up = give the finishing touches. Touch the essay up and hand it in.
13. Touchy = easily offended.
Touchiness / Touchily.

CARESS
Give a loving / affectionate touch or light stroke.

STROKE
1. Deal a blow.
2. Swimming: breast-stroke / back-stroke.
Rowing / golf
3. Pen / brush
4. Pass hand on surface, usually again and again. Stroke one's cat / beard.

EMBRACE
To hug
1. To embrace: They embraced.
2. Accept. They embraced the offer / opportunity.

TICKLE
1. Tickle sb in the ribs.
This rough blanket tickles (me).
2. Please. I was tickled to death by the news.
They tickled his vanity by praisinf his work.
3. A ticklish person / question / situation (needing care).

TAP
Quick, light blow.
A tap at the door / on the window.
Tap sb on the shoulder.
Tap your foot on the floor impatiently.

SHOVE
Push, usually heavily.
Shove a boat into water
Stop shoving!
Give ir a shove (vigorous push).

PUSH
1. Opp. to pull.
2. Make other recognize. You should push your products if you want to sell.
3. Deal drugs, etc. A drug pusher.
4. Push sb for sth = press hard. We?re pushing them for payment / an answer to our request.
5. Tony had to push himself to go on with that job.
6. She'll push him to suicide.
7. I won't be pushed around by you or anyone! (bullied)
8. Push on / forward (to a place). We must push on to X before it's dark.
Let's push on with our work.
9. Tom was pushed through the exam by his teacher (helped thru a hard situation).

MASSAGE
To apply massage to sb's back.
Masseuse / masseur
Physiotherapist.

PINCH
1. She pinched the boy's cheek
I pinched my finger in the doorway.
2. (colloq) steal. Who pinched my dictionary?
3. A pinch of salt.

SLAP
1. She slapped his face / him on the face.
I don't like being slapped on the back as a greeting.
2. (fig) "I gave him a slap in the face" = I gave him a rebuff (contemptuous refusal / indifference).

SMACK
(sound) open hand / kiss
Slap. Smack a naughty child.
Smack your lips to show pleasure.

SPANK
Give a child a spanking.
Paddle = light, easy strokes.

PUNCH
Punch a man on the chin.
He has a face I'd like to punch.
A punch-up = the quarrel ended in a punch-up.

SLUG
Slog/ged (Am) + at = 1. hit hard and wildly (esp. box / cricket)
Slog at the ball
2. Walk / work har and steadly.
He slogged away at his work / along the road.

HIT
Hit him on the head / Be hit by a stone.
Hit the target
He hit his head against the kerb when he fall
"Hit a man when he's down" = "hit sb below the belt".
"Hit it" = guess right.
A "hit-and-run" accident.
Hit sb hard = cause him to suffer. He has hard hit by financial losses.
Hit the headlines / the road.
Hit on / upon an idea / the right answer / a good plan.

YANK
Give a sudden / shap pull to
Yank out a tooth.
Tom yanked the bed-clothes off his young brother and told him to get up.
SHAKE
Make sth or sb move up or down.

GROPE
Grope for / after / about = feel / search as if dark
He groped for the door handle / light switch / an answer (fig)
We gropped our way along the dark corridor.

PAT
A dog / a ball = so it bounces up and down.
Sb / oneself on the back = approval / congratulate

PET
fondle / kiss and caress
Silly women pet their poodles

NECK
(sl) Make out
Kiss, caress and hug (couples)