Unit 1

Lesson 1
Words from Proper Names
1. Jingoist: One who boasts about his patriotism and favors a warlike foreign policy.
In 18! "ritish #rime $inister %israeli sent the fleet to &allipoli to slow up the
'ussians. ( singer wrote a ditty called )"y *ingo+ in honor of that action.
,. Lothario: rake- seducer- lover. Lothario was an amorous character in an
eighteenth.century play. The Fair Penitent.
/. Maverick: one who acts independently. 0amuel $averick was a 1e2as rancher
who refused to brand his cattle as others were doing.
3. Nemesis: (gent of retribution- 4ust punishment. In &reek mythology! the goddess
5emesis punished pretentiousness with her swords and avenging wings.
6. Philanderer: one who makes love insincerely- one who engages in passing love
affairs. 1he word comes from the &reek philandros 7)man loving+8 but gained its
current usage because many 9nglish playwrights gave the name to their romantic
leads.
:. Philippic: "itter verbal attack. #hilip II of $acedon wanted to make &reece into
a monarchy. ;e was opposed by the great orator! %emosthenes! who denounced
#hilip in devastating speeches that came to be known as philippics.
. Procrustean: designed to secure conformity- drastic. (n ancient &reek robber
named #rocrustes tied his victims to a bed and then! to make them fit the bed!
stretched the short ones and hacked off the limbs of the taller ones.
8. Protean: changeable- taking on different forms. In &reek mythology! #roteus was
a sea god who could change his appearance at will.
<. Pyrrhic victory: a victory that is e2ceptionally costly. #yrrhus defeated the
'omans in ,< ".=. but his losses were terribly heavy.
1>. Quixotic: romantically idealistic- impractical. 1he 0panish novelist! =ervantes!
brought this word into our language when he wrote Don Quixote. ;is hero went
forth foolishly to tilt against windmills and help the downtrodden.
11. Saturnine: sluggish- gloomy- grave. 1he planet 0aturn is so far form the sun that
it was thought to be cold and dismal.
1,. Solecism: substandard use of words- violation of good manners. 1his word
derives form the &reek inhabitants of the colony of 0oloi who used a slangy
dialect.
1/. Spoonerism: an unintentional e2change of sounds. 'everend 0pooner of 5ew
=ollege! O2ford occasionally twisted his words around when he got e2cited so
that )con?uering kings: came out as )kinkering congs+
13. Sybarite: one who is fond of lu2ury and soft living. 0ybaris was a fabulously
wealthy Italian city! symbolic of the good life.
16. a!dry: cheap- gaudy- showy. 1his word can be terraced to 0t. (udrey. 0carves
called )0t. (udrey@s laces+ were sold in 9ngland where the local people changed
the pronunciation to tawdry. 1he ?uality of the scarves! which at first was good!
deteriorated! when they were mass produced for the peasant trade.
"xercises#
$% Which Word &omes to Mind'
In each of the following! read the statement! then circle the word that comes to mind.
1. Aou want to rip into your neighbor for his bigoted remarks.
7philanderer! philippic! protean8
,. ( newspaper editorial calls for us to send the fleet to intimidate a =aribbean country.
74ingoism! spoonerism! solecism8
/. (ll the girls wear pantsuits e2cept "etsy who prefers dresses
7maverick! saturnine! nemesis8
3. I heard of a scheme that would provide B1>!>>> for each (merican family.
7lothario! #yrrhic victory! ?ui2otic8
6. 9veryone at the meeting was forced to change his or her mind in order to afree with the
chairman@s philosophy.
7tawdry! sybarite! procrustean8
:. It@s unusual for a fashion editor to have such a gawdy taste in 4ewelry.
7tawdry! saturnine! protean8
. $ark boasted of having been engaged seven times.
7philippic! lothario! 4ingoist8
8. 1he singer was fond of saying he always did it his way.
7maverick! solecism! spoonerism8
<. 'udy likes caviar and imported champagne.
7sybarite! nemesis! philanderer8
1>. 1he senator blasted his opponent in a fiery speech.
7?ui2otic! procrustean! philippic8
$$% rue or (alse'
In the space provided! indicate whether each statement is true or false.
CCCC 1. 5o one welcomes a #yrrhic victory.
CCCC ,. ( 4ingoist is a hawk rather than a dove.
CCCC /. )I don@t know nothing+ is a spoonerism.
CCCC 3. ( nemesis is something like a 4in2.
CCCC 6. &oing along with the ma4ority is a maverick@s way.
CCCC :. ( tawdry garment is tasteful.
CCCC . "y 9d@s saturnine e2pression! we knew that the news was bad.
CCCC 8. 1he prison diet of bread and water was in keeping with the sybarite@s lifestyle.
CCCC <. 1he class was shocked at the professor@s use of a solecism.
CCCC 1>. #lacing a man on the moon was once considered a ?ui2otic idea.
$$$% (ill in )lank%
Insert one of the new words in the proper space in each sentence below.
1. $y cousin tried to diet! but desserts proved to be his CCCCCCCCCCCCC.
,. =harley! a born CCCCCCCCCCCCCC! always votes against the ma4ority.
/. 1he usually level.headed Dyra came up with a CCCCCCCCCCC suggestion that was
totally out of character.
3. (ndrea thought she looked elegant! but we found her appearance to be
CCCCCCCCCCCCC.
6. (t the end of a one.hour CCCCCCCCCCCCCCC against ta2es! the candidate received
thunderous applause.
:. 1he CCCCCCCCCCCCCC had contempt for anyone he thought lacked patriotic spirit.
. (fter my tongue.tied CCCCCCCCCCCCCC! I apologiEed to our hostess and left.
8. Fith fifty servants to wait on him! the 'oman emperor was a true CCCCCCCCCCCC.
<. =onsidering himself a CCCCCCCCCCCC! Uncle %on proposed to every widow in
town.
1>. $yrtle@s CCCCCCCCCCCCC e2pression was the result of a chronic stomach
condition.
$*% What+s the ,ntonym'
Fhich of the new words is most nearly opposite in meaning to the one providedG
1. =onformist CCCCCCCCCCCCC
,. 9ulogy CCCCCCCCCCCCC
/. 1asteful CCCCCCCCCCCCC
3. Lively CCCCCCCCCCCCC
6. #ractical CCCCCCCCCCCCC
:. =onstant CCCCCCCCCCCCC
. Haithful husband CCCCCCCCCCCCC
8. =onservative CCCCCCCCCCCCC
<. #olitical %ove CCCCCCCCCCCCC
1>. %emocratic CCCCCCCCCCCCC