Vocabulary

1. couch potato (idiom):  Someone who often engages in sedentary activities, usually understood as frequently watching television. Lisa wants to date a man who loves to travel and explore, not a couch potato who watches television all the time.

2. miss out (idiom + phrasal verb): To lose the chance or opportunity to do or experience something. Because I was so sick last week, I missed out on the chance to see my sister while she was in town. If you don't call the recruiter back right away, you're going to miss out.

3. fear of crime (phrase): Refers to the fear of being a victim of crime as opposed to the actual probability

of being a victim of crime.

4. state of affairs (idiom): A current situation or set of conditions. It's been a sad state of affairs around here since our grandma got sick. I'd like to start this meeting by going over the company's financial state of affairs.

5. long hours (idiom): A period of time doing something, especially work, that is longer than is usual or customary. I'll be working long hours in the restaurant the lead up to Christmas, but the tips and pay checks will be worth it.

6. the flip side (of something) (idiom): The opposite aspect, possibility, or result associated with something. Of course, the flip side of integrating technology into so many aspects of our lives is that we run the risk of exposing our private information to cyber criminals. I'll have to work really long hours and be away from my family for long stretches of time, but, on the flip side, I'll get the opportunity to travel around the world.

7. backlash (noun): An antagonistic reaction to a trend, development, or event: As the backlash against divorce progressed, state legislatures ... called for a rollback of no-fault divorce laws and even for premarital waiting periods.

8. take the rough with the smooth (idiom): To accept both the negative and positive aspects of something. The phrase is typically used in an acknowledgement that nothing is perfect. When it comes to this job, you have to take the rough with the smooth. It's hard, but it's worth it. Marriage can be a wonderfully fulfilling part of life, but it certainly presents its own challenges—you just have to take the rough with the smooth.

9. for hours on end (idiom): For many hours. We sat and waited in the emergency room for hours on end. The children were happy to play video games for hours on end.

10. cognitive (adjective): Of or pertaining to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning, as contrasted with emotional and volitional processes.