shape up, immolation

Hillary Clinton's public bet that Ohio and Texas will be the firewall that salvages her presidential hopes from immolation is shaping up to be the biggest gamble of her campaign -- and perhaps the decisive one.



shape up phrasal verb [usually continuous] INFORMAL
1 to develop:
How are your plans shaping up?
Things seem to be shaping up nicely.
Colin is shaping up quite well in his new job.

2 to improve your behaviour or performance:
I've been told that if I don't shape up, I'll lose my job.

(from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)


immolate Hide phonetics
verb [T] FORMAL
to kill yourself or someone else, or to destroy something, usually by burning, in a ceremonial way

immolation Hide phonetics
noun [U] FORMAL