Take the

Vocabulary Cartoon

CHALLENGE!
The following ten samples were taken from:

Vocabulary Cartoons, SAT WORD Power

7th - 1 Grade 2th Level

Unlock the power of mnemonics cartoons in your classroom! Use the enclosed samples with your students by making copies for each student or overheads. Review a word a day with your class or use one of the teaching strategies on page 4, then test them with the review on page 17. Im sure you will be please with the results.

LAMENT
(luh MINT) v. to express sorrow or regret; to mourn

Link: CEMENT

We LAMENT that Joe got buried in CEMENT.

q The song, Cowboys LAMENT, is a ballad about

the lonely life of those who drive cattle for a living.

q The nation LAMENTS the passing of the

President while at the same time celebrating his achieve-ments while in office.
q It is LAMENTABLE that Roscoe quit college in

his sophomore year; his professors considered him the brightest engineering student in his class.

17

CACOPHONY
(kuh KAH fuh nee) n. harsh sounds

Link: COUGH

A CACOPHONY of COUGHING
q A CACOPHONY isnt just noise, it is disturbing

noise such as when people shout all at once.

q Gene thinks all rock music is a CACOPHONY to

be avoided whenever possible.

q An unpleasant CACOPHONY of sound was

produced as the orchestra tuned their instruments. But once they began to play together the sounds became euphonious.

23

EGALITARIAN
(ih gal uh TEAR ee un) adj. advocating the doctrine of equal rights for all citizens

Link: THE GAL IM MARRYIN

THE GAL IM MARRYIN is an EGALITARIAN.

q The Communists preached an EGALITARIAN

philosophy, but in the end they were the same old fascists the world has known through the ages.
q Martin Luther King was a true EGALITARIAN, he

preached for equal rights for all citizens.

324

CHATTEL
(CHAT ul) an item of personal, movable property; slave

Link: CATTLE

Texs CATTLE were his CHATTEL.

q The bank held a CHATTEL mortgage on all our

office equipment, chairs, computers and even our electric clock.

q Please do not order me around, Lady Boswell, I

am neither your servant nor your CHATTEL.

q The CHATTEL belonging to Herodotos of Athens

at his death were sixteen slaves, seven horses, six hunting dogs and three dwarf gladiators.

15

POTENTATE
(POE tun tate) n. a powerful ruler; an important person

Link: IMPORTANT TATER

A POTENTATE in Tater Kingdom is an IMPORTANT TATER.

q POTENTATES are usually not elected officials,

but the descendants of a line of rajahs, sheiks, or kings.

q The shah of Iran was an Iranian POTENTATE

who lived in the twentieth century.

q Ever since Sarah was elected president of the

junior class, she walks around with her nose in the air, as if she thinks she is a POTENTATE.

328

SURFEIT
(SUR fit) adj. an overabundant amount, especially overindulgence in eating and drinking

Link: SURFERS

A SURFEIT of SURFERS is a sure path to disastrous surfboard accidents.

q Thanksgiving is a time when most families have

large meals that are a SURFEIT for everyone at the table.

q The beach store had a SURFEIT of bathing suits

and last Saturday put on a bathing suit sale.

q A SURFEIT of recruits showed up to try out for

the team, and Coach Rex had to turn the freshmen away.

247

TRUCULENT
(TRU kyoo lunt) adj. inclined toward conflict; eager to fight

Link: TRUCK YOU LENT

The TRUCK YOU LENT Uncle Frank made him TRUCULENT.

q Looking back on it, we never understood what

made Randolph TRUCULENT all through school; he always had a chip on his shoulder.
q A TRUCULENT attitude seldom wins friends or

influences people in a positive way.

q Just because your birthday cake was full of

bugs, you dont have to be so TRUCULENT about it. 316

CAPACIOUS
(kuh PAY shush) adj. roomy, able to hold much

Link: CAP SPACIOUS

A SPACIOUS CAP is CAPACIOUS.

q The old castle has a CAPACIOUS dining room

large enough to seat a small army.

q Davids memory for jokes is CAPACIOUS; he

remembers them all.

q Our bed at the hotel was really CAPACIOUS; all

three sisters slept there.

287

ARDUOUS
(AHR joo us) adj. hard, difficult, tiresome

Link: HARD ON US

The ARDUOUS snow-covered trail is HARD ON US.

q The assignment given the recruits was ARDUOUS:

twenty miles with full packs in the hot sun.

q Swimming three miles was the most ARDUOUS

exercise Jeannie ever had, particularly since she swam all the way on her back.
q The long, ARDUOUS boat trip was made even

worse by stormy seas and much seasickness.

42

FATHOM
(fa THUM) v. to understand fully; to penetrate the meaning of

Link: FAT THUMB

Doctors could never FATHOM the reason for Larrys FAT THUMB.
q Her friends thought they had FATHOMED the

reason Estelle applied for entrance in an allboys college: She never had any dates.
q The jury found it hard to FATHOM how the

defendant could commit such a terrible crime.

q (In nautical terms, FATHOM is six feet of water

depth.) We dropped anchor in four FATHOMS of water and made plans to stay for the night.

127

Match the word with its definition. __1. lament __2. cacophony __3. egalitarian __4. chattel __5. potentate __6. surfeit __7. truculent __8. capacious __9. arduous __10. fathom a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. an item of personal, movable property; slave an overabundant amount roomy, able to hold much harsh sounds to understand fully hard, difficult, tiresome the doctrine of equal rights for all citizens inclined toward conflict; eager to fight to express sorrow or regret; to mourn a powerful ruler; an important person

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word. The word form may need changing. 1. Martin Luther King was a true _____________, he preached for equal rights for all citizens. 2. The beach store had a _______ of bathing suits for sale.

SAT Word Power Review

3. Please do not order me around Lady Boswell, I am not your _______. 4. Gene thinks all rock music is a _________ to be avoided whenever possible. 5. Mikes _______ journey of sailing around the world took him over six months. 6. The nation ________ the passing of the President while at the same time celebrating his achieve-ments while in office. 7. The jury found it hard to _______ how the defendant could commit such a terrible crime. 8. The Shah of Iran was an Iranian _________ who lived in the twentieth century. 9. Our bed at the hotel was really _________; all three sisters slept there. 10. A _________ attitude seldom wins friends or Influences people in a positive way.