assault (on / upon / against sb / sth)
抨擊
The paper's assault on the president was totally unjustified.
這份報紙對總統的攻擊純屬無稽之談。

capitalize on / upon sth
充分利用；從…中獲得更多的好處
Morgan capitalizes on a downturn in the economy....launching a smear campaign designed to trigger a sell-off of Westinghouse stock.
摩根利用經濟低迷的機會 發起了一波抹黑攻勢 試圖引發威斯汀豪斯股票的拋售

smear sb/sth
誹謗；詆譭
The story was an attempt to smear the party leader.
這篇報道是企圖玷污該黨領袖的聲譽。

trigger sth (off)
發動；引起；觸發
Nuts can trigger off a violent allergic reaction.
堅果可以引起嚴重的過敏反應。

go bust
破產
We lost our money when the travel company went bust.
旅行社破產,我們的錢都賠了進去。

margin for
余地；備用的時間(或空間、金錢等):
The narrow gateway left me little margin for error as I reversed the car.
門口狹窄,弄得我倒車時幾乎不能出任何差錯。