to live in the country jift £ T 0 We spent a pleasant day in the country.

Av 0 a country lane £.|a]/J\j& 5 [U] = country and western : pop, folk and country , K|h] fP £ tt# fTiTfil across 'country directly across fields, etc.; not by a main road ( fig )        7 ^ A : riding

across country    — see also cross-country

go to the 'country {BrE) (of a government fljfcjft) to hold an election to choose a new parliament ATrAiS; ( VJ.tR A $r (ft 71A ) — more at free adj.

WHICH WORD?

country * state

                  Country is the most usual, neutral word for a

geographical area that has or used to have its own government. * country      Attish

                  State emphasizes the political organization of an area under an independent government. Especially in BrE, it can also mean the government. * state #J

A, X&MfoRf ^jtfftjft: the member states of the EU gfcUjA MB o The state provides free education, jgfejff o In NAmE the state usually refers to one of the SO states of the US, not to the government of the country as a whole.        , the state if

tmm 50

mmmto

.country and western (abbr. C & W) (also country music, country, hill-billy) noun [U] a type of music in the style of the traditional music of the southern and western US ( A® (ft )          pPW#;: a country and

western singer

.country bumpkin (also bump-kin) noun {disap­proving) a person from the countryside who seems stupid ^ Eft; ±&7

'country club noun a club in the country, or on the edge of a town, where people can play sports and go to social events ( l£Wii^J#lX±£(ft )

.country ‘cousin noun a person from the country who does not know much about life in the city, and who dresses or behaves in a way that shows this ^TA .country 'dance noun {BrE) a type of traditional dance, especially one in which couples dance in long lines or circles   )

► .country 'dancing noun [U]

.country 'house noun {BrE) a large house in the country, especially one that belongs or used to belong to a rich important family (         A^EW ) £

3'Jii

coun try-made /'kAntrimeid/ adj. (IndE) not made by a professional person # A ik $!]#($; ± (ft : a countrymade pistol irfrJT#

country man /'kAntriman/ noun {pi. -men /-man/)

1             a person born in or living in the same country as sb else.Is]®A; |W]j}&; [W]^ H2Hcompatriot: Sampras looks set to play his fellow countryman Agassi in the final.

2             a man living or born in the country, not in the town

£~FA; #HA

'country music noun [u] = country and western .country 'seat noun (BrE) = seat(7) coun try-side /'kAntrisaid/ noun [U] land outside towns and cities, with fields, woods, etc.

$+7 The surrounding countryside is windswept and rocky.        ° .0 magnificent

views over open countryside ff ^ (ft >f£ fil M & 0 Everyone should enjoy the right of access to the country­side.     o note at country

coun-try-wide /.kAntri'waid/ adj. over the whole of a country         H771 nationwide a

countrywide mail-order service     ►coun­

try-wide adv.: The film will be released in London in

March and countrywide in May.   fE

coun try-woman /'kAntriwuman/ noun {pi. -women /-wimin/) 1 a woman living or born in the country, not the town ^M^cA; £TicA 2 a woman born or living in the same country as sb else

COUnty frw /‘kaunti/ noun, adj.

a noun {pi. -ies) {abbr. Co.) an area of Britain, Ireland or the US that has its own government ( A g ,

W ) IP; ( HSW ) Jr: the southern counties ^3fP#f!P o county boundaries          0 Orange County $| 7?n J-

— see also Home Counties

adj. {BrE, usually disapproving) typical of English upper- class people

.county 'clerk noun (in the US) an elected county official who is responsible for elections and who keeps records of who owns buildings in the county, etc. ( A

) itts

.county 'council noun [C+sing./pl. v.] (in Britain) a group of people elected to the local government of a county IP iflt & : a member of Lancashire County Council  .county

councillor noun

.county 'court noun a local court. In Britain county courts only deal with private disagreements but in the US they also deal with criminal cases.          ( &A®

%mLAim); Jr&i£ (

# ) — compare Crown Court

.county 'town {BrE) {NAmE .county seat) noun the main town of a county, where its government is ( nJc

Jr) Mb IM ■#&).#

coun ty-wide /.kaunti'waid/ adj. over the whole of a county ( s£J- ) (ft; .£IP ( JiJcJr ) ift ►coun-ty-

wide adv.

coup /ku:/ noun {pi. coups /ku:z/) 1 (also coup d’etat) a sudden, illegal and often violent, change of govern­ment jI&3E: He seized power in a military coup in 1997. M&.1997     o to stage/

mount a coup          0 an attempted coup    0

afailed/an abortive coup Al&(ft / ^A(ftj&3£ <> She lost her position in a boardroom coup (= a sudden change of power among senior managers in a company). 38: ^£(ftA^:A3£4,AA7?Rf:£o 2 the fact of achieving sth that was difficult to do U fj A M M A (ft ♦: Getting this contract has been quite a coup for us.        pjIrI#-

m^ibmmruAAHo

coup de grace /.ku: da ‘gra:s/ noun [sing.] (from French, format) 1 an action or event that finally ends sth that has been getting weaker or worse H fa (ft — : My

disastrous exam results dealt the coup de grace to my university career.          f£fS8&, &E®ri£7Hc#J

7^41= 2 a hit or shot that finally kills a person or an animal, especially to put an end to their suffering (    ft BOZI DEATH BLOW

coup d’etat /,ku: dei'ta:/ noun {pi. coups d’etat /,ku: dei'ta:/) = coup(1)

coup de theatre /.ku: da tei'aitra/ noun {pi. coups de theatre /,ku: da tei'aitra/) (from French) 1 something very dramatic and surprising that happens, especially in a play ( AXb MJ 7 )       2 a play, show, etc.

which is very successful        >

coupe /'kuipei;NAmE kui'pei/ {NAmE also coupe /ku:p/) noun a car with two doors and usually a sloping back

(asmim) mi'bn*

COUple Our /'kApl/ noun, verb

mnoun 1 [sing.+sing./pl. v.] ~ (of sth) two people or things M A; M if =£ ^: I saw a couple of men get out. & # itl;ftM'7^Ai±lA7o isiaiJ In BrE a plural verb is usually used in all 3 senses.

WCtflMo 2 [sing.+sing./pl. v.] ~ (of sth) a small number of people or things JL A A; XL # ^ ^ HT1 a few : a couple of minutes fljfty o We went there a couple of years ago. I^CI     0 I’ve seen her a couple

of times before.   o I’ll be with you in

a minute. There are a couple of things I have to do first.

There are a couple more files to read first.

o We can do it in the next couple of weeks