He scraped his boots clean before coming in the house. 3) to rub roughly (esp. on, against): a chair scraping on the floor, e. g. He

scraped his chair against the wall.

4) to hurt or damage in this way, e. g. He scraped his knee when he fell.

5) to succeed in a class by doing work of the lowest acceptable quality, e. g. She just scraped through the examination, to scrape a

living to get just enough food or money to stay alive; to scrape up also to scrape together to gather (a total, esp. of money) with difficulty by putting small amounts together.

5. steady adj 1) firmly fixed, not likely to fall, as a steady foundation, to make a chair or table steady, with a steady hand, e. g.

The chair is steady enough, syn. firm, as firm ground, foundation, steps, muscles; 2) regular in life, work, etc.; industrious, as a steady person; 3) constant, as a steady wind (rain, growth, increase), steady progress.

steadily adv in a steady manner, e. g. It has been raining steadily since the morning.

steady vt/i to make or become steady, e. g. With an effort he steadied the boat. The boat soon steadied again.

6. mess n (rarely pi.) a state of confusion, dirt or disorder; to be in a mess, e. g. The room was in a mess, to make a mess of smth. to do it badly, e. g. You've made a mess of the job. to get into a mess to get into trouble or into a dirty state, e. g. You'll get into a mess if

you are not more careful.

7. crack vt/i 1) to break or cause to break, in such a way, however, that the pieces remain together, e. g. A vase may crack if

washed in boiling water. You've cracked the window. 2) to make or cause a thing to make a loud noise, as to crack a whip, e. g. His

rifle cracked and the deer fell dead, to crack a joke (si.) to make a somewhat rough joke, e. g. There is no one like him to crack jokes.

crack n an incomplete break; a sharp noise, as a wide (small, loud, sudden) crack, e. g. The walls are covered with cracks. I heard

a crack as if of a branch.

8. contribute vt/i 1) to give money, supply help, etc. to a common cause, e. g. The development of friendly ties with other

countries contributes to mutual understanding of their peoples. Good health contributes to a person's success in work. 2) to write

articles or other material for newspapers, magazines, etc., as to contribute articles to a wall-newspaper, to contribute a poem to a

magazine.

contribution n the act of contributing; that which is contributed, e. g. Montmorency brought a dead water-rat as his contribution to

the dinner.

9. spirit n 1) moral condition, tendency, as the spirit of the army, the spirit of the times (age), the spirit of the law, to take smth. in

the right (wrong) spirit, to show a proper spirit, e. g. That's the right spirit! He found himself in conflict with the spirit of the time. 2)

energy, courage, liveliness, e. g. Put a little more spirit into your work. He spoke with spirit. 3)