Example sentences of "an [noun] [verb] off " in BNC.
Next page| No | Sentence |
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| 1 | When one reads a Paracelsian recipe for an amulet to ward off the plague , when one learns that the prime ingredient is a paste requiring eighteen dried toads , one could be forgiven for rejecting continuity between magic and science . |
| 2 | She was inexperienced in the protocol of industrial action , but only too pleased to have an excuse to put off her visit to Pringle 's for a week . |
| 3 | And he was glad to have an excuse to put off telling her the news that he 'd been keeping to himself . |
| 4 | Sometimes its funny , sometimes its poignant , sometimes it 's just an excuse to show off a fine singing voice . |
| 5 | All the day before , she had waited for half an hour to go off walking by herself and it had never come . |
| 6 | Erm how often do you play , oh once a week or a couple of times a week , what sort of standard is it and what it 's doing is you 've got an opportunity to sound off about yourself and that 's who we are talking about is n't it ? |
| 7 | You should also arrange to take your own photographs of this type of event , for they give you an opportunity to show off the newsworthy aspects of your organisation . |
| 8 | When an advert pays off … |
| 9 | Typically , it consists in an attempt to ward off criticism or some other kind of attack on the part of an authority figure by means of exchanging subject for object and thus putting the recipient of the attack in the place of the attacker . |
| 10 | Tyroglyphus , harmless to the vine but a deadly enemy of Phylloxera vastatrix , was imported in 1873 in an attempt to kill off the pest ; unfortunately , however , unlike phylloxera , Tyroglyphus did not care for the European climate and failed to settle . |
| 11 | PRESIDENT Yeltsin deepened his Cabinet reshuffle yesterday , removing Mr Gennady Burbulis as First Deputy Prime Minister in an attempt to stave off an attempt by hardliners to sabotage his government next week . |
| 12 | STUDENT leaders have started an unprecedented shake-up of their associations in an attempt to stave off imminent legislation to end compulsory membership . |
| 13 | STUDENT leaders have started an unprecedented shake-up of university and college student associations in an attempt to stave off imminent legislation to end compulsory membership . |
| 14 | In fact Jenny was really very fond of beer , but she recognized that while an attempt to show off could be tolerated , careless expertise would only antagonize further . |
| 15 | A similar issue arose in the present case D had undoubtedly used considerable violence against the victim , his girlfriend , but was it ( as she said ) an unprovoked and drunken attack with a stick or ( as he contended ) an attempt to fend off an attack by the woman who was armed with a carving knife ? |
| 16 | When I quoted the study back at him , he resorted to some rather irrelevant quotation about the youth training scheme , in an attempt to fend off my criticisms . |
| 17 | On May 17 the Estonian Supreme Soviet banned political strikes in an attempt to head off stoppages threatened by the United Council of Work Collectives to start on May 21 . |
| 18 | In an attempt to head off possible dissension , the NPKC introduced sweeping tax cuts on Feb. 28 . |
| 19 | By ‘ unbundling ’ itself in an attempt to fight off Sir James , B.A.T seems to be agreeing . |
| 20 | Georgi Khizha was one of three industrialists brought into government in May 1992 as part of an attempt to buy off conservative opposition to the reformist government of Yegor Gaidar . |
| 21 | He made a motion with his clipboard like an aircraft taking off . |
| 22 | Returning to their home patch after an eight-year lay off , feted as long-lost pillars of pop 's dishevelled community , Madness seem more bemused than triumphant . |
| 23 | The distinction , termed ‘ polarisation ’ was deemed necessary to make more transparent to customers the possible ties of their advisers , and to eliminate the ability of an intermediary to pass off as an independent adviser yet suggest the policies of the advisers ' own company ( or those which provide the highest commission ) . |
| 24 | An aria sparked off the Belgian revolution , and the Monnaie , where it all began , is now home to an excellent opera company . |
| 25 | An author sitting off to our right , a man in black tie , grey suit and polished black shoes , stalked up to the microphone and said , ‘ John Holcraft , Guildford . |
| 26 | They both started when an explosion went off . |
| 27 | The most moving moment came during a trip to Universal Studios when an orang-utan leapt off a stage to hug him . |
| 28 | It preys on children in particular , one gruesome tale relating that an Each-Uisge made off with seven children , the only remains being their discarded livers when they washed ashore . |
| 29 | Almost immediately , she had written ta her father 's supplier in London and made an offer to pay off some of the debt he owed . |
| 30 | I always wore clogs , and if an iron came off while I was cycling to town I could take it to him , go off somewhere like the pictures , and it would be ready and waiting for me straight afterwards . |