shaky	not firm or safe; not certain
equate	to think that something is the same as something else or is as important
recoil	to react to an idea or a situation with strong dislike or fear
deviate	to be different from something
advocate	to support something publicly
confined to	to keep somebody/something inside the limits of a particular activity, subject, area
grotesque	strange in a way that is frightening or amusing
consensus	an opinion that all members of a group agree with
refrain from	to stop yourself from doing something
merit-based pay system	constructed on a way that praises people who are good and diserve it
tremendous	enormous
minority	a small group of people within a society that is different
command(of english)	mastery, domination
br laid off	be made redundant
uproar	a lot of public criticism and angry argument
braces	a metal device that helps your teeth grow straight
to stab in	to strike, jab usually with a knife
to flinch	to shudder at some uncomfortable situation or thought
unassailable	uncontrovertible, cannot be altered
hard-wired	serviced with appropriate hardware, equipment
to dissect	to study something closely and/or discuss it in great detail
limb	an arm or leg of a person or animal
spiking fear	a sudden feeling of anxiety
tactile deception	a false feeling about sth connected with the sense of touch
stok in an interest	make sth more interesting
ventral premotor cortex	a part of a brain responsible for movements
oil rings	a large structure for getting oil from under the ground or water
goggles	a pair of glasses that fit closely to the face to protect the eyes from wind, dust, water, etc
vivid	producing very clear pictures in your mind
to prod	to push somebody/something with your finger or with a pointed object
trunk	torso
a bout of laughter	a sudden outburst of laugh
to lose its oommph	be without energy/enthusiasm
to store negative emotions	to bottle up ypur feelings
a bigotry	the attitudes, behaviour of a bigot: prejudice, intolerance
a joke-teller	a person who makes people laugh by telling jokes
a tear duct	a short tube through which tears drain into the nose
an incongruity	instability, inconsistency
a boisterous guffaw	loud laugh
a sedate giggles	quiet laugh
a contagious laughter	laugh that spreads from one person to another
a pent up emotion	fellings that you cannot express
a conciliatory gesture	actions or words for making sb feel calm
involuntary	done without thinking, intention or control
variation	a thing that is different from other things in the same general group
(leave sb in) predicament	inconvinient situation
larynx	the area at the top of the throat that contains the vocal cords
lessen	shorten
gasp	to take a quick deep breath, especially because you are surprised or in pain
gelotology	a study of laughter and its effects on the body, from a psychological and physiological perspective
mind-numbing (medication)	that makes you feel extremely boring
made-to scale	precisely
to pass the buck	put the blame to sb else
a full head of steam	have energy to quickly make progress
to boom out	make a deep hollow sosund
to fidget around	to wiggle and twitch nervously
to bid one's time	to wait patiently
to let sth slip	to reveal secret carelessly or by accident
limber sb or sth up	make sb or sth more flexible or loose
to lure out	help sb to escape