assault (on / upon / against sb / sth)
抨击
The paper's assault on the president was totally unjustified.
这份报纸对总统的攻击纯属无稽之谈。

capitalize on / upon sth
充分利用；从…中获得更多的好处
Morgan capitalizes on a downturn in the economy....launching a smear campaign designed to trigger a sell-off of Westinghouse stock.
摩根利用经济低迷的机会 发起了一波抹黑攻势 试图引发威斯汀豪斯股票的抛售

smear sb/sth
诽谤；诋譭
The story was an attempt to smear the party leader.
这篇报道是企图玷污该党领袖的声誉。

trigger sth (off)
发动；引起；触发
Nuts can trigger off a violent allergic reaction.
坚果可以引起严重的过敏反应。

go bust
破产
We lost our money when the travel company went bust.
旅行社破产,我们的钱都赔了进去。

margin for
余地；备用的时间(或空间、金钱等):
The narrow gateway left me little margin for error as I reversed the car.
门口狭窄,弄得我倒车时几乎不能出任何差错。