Adding Complexity

to give someone an opportunity to act freely with the intention of hurting them

True, there wasn't always an enormous difference between letting the interviewees speak for themselves and giving them enough rope.

to act as though one is not interested in another person's romantic or sexual advances in order to increase their interest or desire

Alice enjoyed the attention she received from Michael, so she decided to play hard to get to keep him interested and maintain a sense of mystery.

to slow down a plan or activity or prevent it from going on

I hate it when someone throws a monkey wrench in the works.

to do something that makes oneself overly worried or confused

I was tying myself in knots trying to explain what happened without getting him into trouble.

to cause problems, often by ruining or interrupting something that was planned

An industry-backed initiative petition with a large marketing budget overturned the apple cart.

to complicate a simple situation

The conflicting testimonies from the witnesses muddied the waters of the court case, making it hard for the jury to determine the truth.

to make an attempt to prevent something from continuing or happening

Teachers and parents are constantly putting the kibosh on their fun.

to do something, particularly something others do not expect, in order to make them feel less confident or important

Sorry, I didn't mean to knock the wind out of your sails or anything.I just don't want you getting your hopes up about this.

to create a sense of negativity and hopelessness regarding a particular thing or situation

My brother's heartbreak is casting a cloud over my wedding.

a person or thing that ruins an otherwise positive or enjoyable situation

I'm looking forward to Sunday, the only fly in the ointment being the fact that I'll have to sit next to my mother-in-law.

to lessen or decrease the enjoyment, strength, or activity of something

With the pandemic putting a damper on public transit, the automotive industry continued to fare well while other verticals may have seen larger sales dips.

to cause something to be less enjoyable as it could be

We had a great trip, but our flight home was badly delayed, which took the gilt off the gingerbread.