S2. Sharp / Sharpen / Slowly but surely / Self-explanatory

1. sharp

: happening suddenly, quickly, and strongly

ex) There was a sharp increase in exports.

ex) a sharp drop in prices

ex) a sharp rise in crime

ex) a sharp increase in unemployment

 

2. sharpen

: to improve sth 

: "sharpen" implies improving, refining, or making something more effective.

 

ex) Our team needs to sharpen our marketing strategies to increase our brand visibility.
ex) We've been working to sharpen our customer service skills to ensure a positive experience for all clients.
ex) In the rapidly evolving tech industry, it's crucial to continuously sharpen our skills and stay ahead of the competition.
ex) Let's sharpen our business plan to make our objectives clearer and strategies more efficient.
ex) I hope this course will help me sharpen my computer skills.

ex) Computer technology has sharpened our ability to treat cancer.

ex) He needs to sharpen up before the Olympic trials.

 

 

3. slowly but surely / slowly but steadily
: making slow but definite progress

ex) We are getting the work done, slowly but surely.
ex) Another good example is this YouTube channel. I'm a little over 11,000 subscribers now. It is growing slowly but surely and I'm pretty happy about that. 
ex) We are slowly but surely gaining the support of the public.
ex) Under his guidance, the company has grown slowly but steadily.
ex) Women's participation in the country's political life was slowly but steadily increasing. 

 

 

4. self-explanatory
: easy to understand without explanation
: Something that is self-explanatory is clear and easy to understand without needing any extra information or explanation.
: The term "self-explanatory" is an adjective that describes something that is easily understood or comprehended without needing further explanation or clarification. It refers to anything that can be understood based on its own information without needing additional context. (Chat GPT)

ex) "The instructions on the box were self-explanatory" means that the instructions provided were so clear that they did not require any additional explanation.

ex) When you open the application, the user interface is self-explanatory; you can easily figure out how to navigate through the features.
ex) I've attached a diagram to my report; it's fairly self-explanatory, but let me know if you have any questions.
ex) The professor provided us with self-explanatory study materials, making it easy to review for the exam.

ex) Weather symbols on a forecast are also typically self-explanatory. A picture of a cloud with rain underneath it, for example, clearly indicates that rain is expected.