1. In view of the way things have improved I now feel confident enough to have another bite at the ________ .

2. They were so angry with me they practically bit my ________ off.

3. All you can say is that the high price is somewhat ________ by being able to get to a large city quickly.

4. As far as I'm concerned his explanation was useless as it merely ________ the issue.

5. There was a new spirit in the company and for the first time in ages staff at last felt they were being ________ .

6. At the first series of interviews the question was whether to appoint a newcomer or ________ a current employee.

7. Mind you the cost of travel is very high and ________ went up again last month.

8. I agree in general with what you have said but I'm not happy about one point and I must ________ issue with you over that.

9. I wish we could stick to the subject and just consider the topic ________ issue.

10. It soon became apparent that under the new management people were also starting to ________ some of their free time to the company.