Vocabulary Bank

'rare' — usually of good things or quiet moments

informal way to admit a plan-heavy, action-light week

days / minutes / questions / friends (specifically 2–3)

effort / trouble / attention / debate (formal, uncountable)

a specific shelf for food that needs to be used soon

reduce it to less than 50% of the original amount

rare — 'quiet Sundays are few and far between'

become bad, unsafe or unpleasant to eat

sleep / money / space / evidence (negative feel)

almost none — negative in feel, positive in form

informal — I have plenty to do already

an idea sounds good vs. what actually happens

a very small amount compared to what's needed

more (usually of a problem) than I expected

old salad that's no longer identifiable as salad

very informal — 'loads of homework', 'tons of emails'

more than enough — 'plenty of time', 'plenty of milk' (positive)

reasons / occasions / attempts (more than two, less than many)

'several' = a few (3–5); 'a couple of' = specifically 2–3

friendly way to say 'not much'

informal — buried in too much of something (work, emails)

stuck so tightly that they won't open — metaphor