Drench = 1 Wet thoroughly; soak.

‘I fell in the stream and was drenched’

1.1 Cover (something) liberally or thoroughly. ‘cool patios drenched in flowers’

Slumgullion = meat stew. Cheap or insubstantial stew.

Unfettered = unrestrained. Not confined or restricted.
‘his imagination is unfettered by the laws of logic’

Otiose = useless. "Ever since I was seven years old, I have been collecting books and
articles on the Great Flood, hoping to write the full account myself. David McCullough's The
Johnstown Flood (1968) was so brilliant that it rendered my own ambition otiose."

— Michael Novak, National Review, 4 June 2014

"He did not have the patience for otiose people like Gibson, whom he put in the same
category as those rude reporters who continued to pester him daily with inane queries and
ridiculous suggestions."

— Godfrey Wray, Beyond Revenge, 2008

Garrulous = Loquacious
Winsome = lighthearted
Nascent = budding. (especially of a process or organization) just coming into existence and beginning
to display signs of future potential.

‘the nascent space industry’

Raillery = jesting. Good-humoured teasing. ‘she was greeted with raillery from her fellow workers’

Transpire. 1: to take place: go on, occur

2 a: to become known or apparent: develop

b: to be revealed : come to light

Plants transpire more profusely under dry, hot weather conditions.

"The single best way to improve the vibe of a room is with candles. And for that
you're going to want a good-looking set of candlesticks. They are … the easy
upgrade, the little hint that something really fun is about to transpire."

— Bon Appétit, December 2017

Layman. 1: a person who is not a member of the clergy

2: a person who does not belong to a particular profession or who is not expert in some field.

The Nobel laureate's book is an introduction to astrophysics that, despite its depth and detail, remains accessible to the layman.

"One of my favorite genres of Catholic literature is the book-length interview: the Pope or some other high-ranking churchman
sits down with a reporter or other layman, both operating on the assumption that conversation tends toward truth."

— Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 16 Apr. 2018

Muliebrity = femininity

Besot = infatuate. Be inspired with an intense but short-lived passion or admiration for. ‘she is
infatuated with a handsome police chief’

Racecar is a palindrome as it can be read the same backwards and forwards.

Cajole = 1 a: to persuade with flattery or gentle urging especially in the face of
reluctance: coax

b: to obtain from someone by gentle persuasion

2: to deceive with soothing words or false promises

"Wertheim and the 60 Minutes crew were only permitted into the building's circular library,
despite an attempt to cajole former Lampoon president Alice Ju to grant them further
access."

— Brit McCandless Farmer, CBSNews.com, 8 Apr. 2018

"Designers call the ways marketers and developers cajole and mislead us into giving up our
data 'dark patterns,' tactics that exploit flaws and limits in our cognition."

— Christopher Mims, The Wall Street Journal, 22 Apr. 2018

Sloth = mass noun Reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness. ‘he should overcome
his natural sloth and complacency’
My own gawping response = mi propia respuesta boquiabierta.
Gawp = stare openly in a stupid or rude manner.

what are you gawping at ?

She was whopping gleefully.

Very large = ‘a whopping £74 million loss’, as submodifier ‘a whopping great lie’.

aloft = up in or into the air; overhead, eg: the congregation sways, hands aloft
Strapping young men, intent upon ticking off
another item.
Strapping = (especially of a young person) big and strong, eg: ‘they had three strapping sons’.

(intent on/upon) Determined to do (something), eg: ‘the government was intent on achieving greater efficiency’.

tick something off = Mark an item in a list with a tick to show that it has been dealt with.

‘I ticked several items off my ‘to do’ list’

Unyielding = (of a mass or structure) not giving way to pressure; hard or solid. Eg: ‘the Atlantic
hurled its waves at the unyielding rocks’

Agonistic
1: of or relating to the athletic contests of ancient Greece

2: argumentative

3: striving for effect: strained

4: of, relating to, or being aggressive or defensive social interaction (such as fighting,
fleeing, or submitting) between individuals usually of the same species.

Artie Kopelman … has also noticed non-hunting uses of bubbles in his humpback-whale
encounters. In one instance last summer, he and a small group were drifting in a boat when
suddenly a ring of bubbles surrounded them. 'This might have been an agonistic display, or
an attempt to build a wall around us,' says Kopelman…."

— Erica Cirino, The Atlantic, 28 June 2017

Menagerie = 1a: a place where animals are kept and trained especially for exhibition
b: a collection of wild or foreign animals kept especially for exhibition

2: a varied mixture

eg: "Joe proved a quick country convert, taking ownership of the grounds and the growing
menagerie, which now includes eight Icelandic sheep, eight Bantam chickens, and two
collies."

— Caroline Collins McKenzie, Country Living, December 2017

"I can never find my keys in the four pockets in my pants. So the typical golf bag, with its
menagerie of zippers and storage, presents a particular nightmare of lost essentials."

— Tom Chiarella, Popular Mechanics, June 2017

BACK UP = reforzar

BUY UP = acaparar

DRAW BACK = Retroceder

Bereaved = afligido

Don’t put me off, I’m trying to concentrate.

They pulled down the house
Retaliation = The action of returning a military attack; counter-attack, eg: ‘the bombings are believed
to be in retaliation for the trial of 15 suspects’

Deploy = Move (troops or equipment) into position for military action, eg: ‘forces were deployed at
strategic locations’

Hoard = A stock or store of money or valued objects, typically one that is secret or carefully guarded. ‘he came back to rescue his
little hoard of gold’

Hearty = Loudly vigorous and cheerful. ‘a hearty and boisterous character’, ‘he sang in a hearty baritone’

Flounder = Struggle or stagger clumsily in mud or water, example, ‘he was floundering about in the shallow offshore waters’.

Struggle mentally; show or feel great confusion. ‘she floundered, not knowing quite what to say’
Be in serious difficulty, ‘many firms are floundering’

Anathema = 1 a: one that is cursed by ecclesiastical authority

b: someone or something intensely disliked or loathed — usually used as a predicate nominative

2 a: a ban or curse solemnly pronounced by ecclesiastical authority and accompanied by excommunication
b: the denunciation of something as accursed
c: a vigorous denunciation : curse
"Preordaining a peaceful future, especially an apparently zombie-free one, should be anathema to a show that clings to week-by-week
anticipation." — Charles Bramesco, The New York Times, 5 Mar. 2018

Redolent = 1: exuding fragrance: aromatic 2 a: full of a specified fragrance: scented

b: evocative, suggestive. Eg: "Art Deco objects from furniture to cocktail shakers, redolent of speed and mechanical efficiency, celebrate the
modern with an optimism that seems divorced entirely from the economic realities of the 1930s, when they were all the rage." — Charles
Desmarais, The San Francisco Chronicle, 24 Mar. 2018

Chivalry = 1: mounted men-at-arms 2: gallant or distinguished gentlemen 3: the system, spirit, or customs of medieval knighthood

4: the qualities of the ideal knight : chivalrous conduct. eg: "Coutts was founded in 1692. Queen Anne, who reigned from 1702 to 1714, commissioned it to make
ornate ceremonial chains and badges for the knights of the Thistle, an order of chivalry." — Simon Clark and Phillipa Leighton-Jones, The Wall Street
Journal, 15 Mar. 2018

"At the centre of the opera is Quixote's quest to retrieve the beautiful Dulcinea's stolen necklace from a gang of thieves. Quixote believes that if he can complete
this act of chivalry, he will win her heart and hand in marriage." — Ben Neutze, Time Out Sydney (Australia), 21 Mar. 2018

Eventuate = to come out finally: result, come about.

Eg: The accident eventuated from a cascade of mistakes that could easily have been prevented with better operator training.
"Charles Dickens is at his best when he compares events in London and Paris during a period of revolution. While the historian may help us to
understand the social context that eventuates in a revolution, it is a novel that shows the personal tragedies that come from the breakdown of
social order." — Allan Powell, The Herald-Mail (Hagerstown, Maryland), 7 Apr. 2016

Palindrome = a word, verse, or sentence (such as "Able was I ere I saw Elba") or a number (such as 1881) that reads the
same backward or forward.
Eg: The teacher asked the class if anyone could think of a single word palindrome with 7 letters. After a couple minutes, Mia raised her hand
and said "repaper."
"He went on to create Noxon Tools, named for a small Montana town.… Noxon is a palindrome—spelled the same way forward or
backward."— Cindy Hval, The Spokesman Review (Spokane, Washington), 13 Mar. 2018

Beaucoup = slang: great in quantity or amount: many, much. Eg: "Atlanta has beaucoup amenities for visitors, from one of
the world's largest aquariums, to headier destinations such as the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library." — Michael Kahn, Curbed Atlanta, 12 July
2017
"Two estranged sisters with beaucoup unresolved issues meet for a European holiday in Swedish writer-director Lisa Langseth's inauspicious
English-language feature 'Euphoria.'" — Alissa Simon, Variety, 8 Sept. 2017

Slapdash = done or made without careful planning : haphazard, slipshod. Eg: "Sunflower Cottage just above the weir had been taken by two female animals….

More, it was being done properly, the River Bank's housewives agreed. There was none of this casual, slapdash housekeeping that bachelor gentlemen were so apt to consider
sufficient." — Kij Johnson, The River Bank: A Sequel to Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, 2017
"Much to my surprise, Gus didn't take me to task regarding my chronic gerund abuse or my slapdash approach to punctuation."
— Jerry Nelson, The Farm Forum (Aberdeen, South Dakota), 11 Sept. 2017

Traduce = 1: to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood and misrepresentation 2: violate, betray. Eg:

"Some players' records reflect abilities enhanced by acts of bad character—surreptitious resorts to disreputable chemistry that traduces
sportsmanship. But as younger writers who did not cover baseball during the PED era become Hall of Fame voters, the electorate is becoming
less interested in disqualifying PED users." — George Will, The Washington Post, 22 Jan. 2017

Succinct = adj. marked by compact precise expression without wasted words.

Urbane = notably polite or polished in manner. Eg: Deirdre was an urbane and sociable party guest who could seamlessly
transition from one conversation to the next.
Palooka = 1: an inexperienced or incompetent boxer 2: oaf, lout.

Eg: "In the second debate, he expected to face a bunch of exhausted patsies and dazed palookas, but instead faced able, bright
and thoughtful candidates…." — The Washington Times, 18 Sept. 2015

Milquetoast = a timid, meek, or unassertive person. Eg: Brian was such a milquetoast that he agreed to work extra
hours on Sunday even though he had already told his boss that he needed that day off.

Foozle: to manage or play awkwardly: bungle. Eg: After the receiver foozled the catch, the kicking team recovered the ball at the opponent's 10-
yard line.

Quaff = to drink deeply. Eg: The kids thoroughly enjoyed running a lemonade stand for the day, and weren't bothered
in the least by the paltry profits that always result when the proprietors quaff most of the product.

"Contrary to the time-honored campaign tradition of stopping at a local pub to quaff Budweiser with the after-work crowd, this
cycle's candidates have gravitated toward local beer makers." — Matthew Osgood, The Atlantic, 8 May 2016

MacGuffin = an object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion
despite usually lacking intrinsic importance. Eg: The missing document is the MacGuffin that brings the two main characters
together, but the real story centers on their tumultuous relationship.

"The story opens … at the funeral of elderly Oleander Gardener…. The childless Oleander has several nieces and nephews….
Questions of inheritance and a mysterious seed pod that each of her heirs receives constitute the framework of a tenuous plot,
but these are primarily MacGuffins." — The Publisher's Weekly Review, 14 Mar. 2016

Kvell = to be extraordinarily proud: rejoice. Eg: Critics kvelled over the violinist's triumphant return to the stage where she had
made her debut many years ago.

Heliolatry = sun worship. Eg: Archeologists believe that the members of the ancient civilization practiced heliolatry because
each temple faced east, toward the rising sun.

Inchoate = being only partly in existence or operation: incipient; especially: imperfectly formed or formulated:
formless, incoherent. Eg: Five years ago, the restaurant was merely an inchoate notion in Nathan's head; today it is one of the
most popular eateries in the city.

"The nexus point in any populist upwelling is whether or not it evolves from an inchoate outrage into a legitimate movement."
The Mountain Democrat (Placerville , California), 2 Mar. 2016
— Gene Altshule r,

Feign = 1: to give a false appearance of: to induce as a false impression 2: to assert as if true: pretend

"If a predator approaches the nest, the parent feigns a broken wing, often leading the predator far from the nest before bursting
into flight, the injured wing suddenly fully functional." — Jan Bergstrom , The St. Cloud (Minnesota) Times, 7 May 2016

"The local high school … wasn't of particularly high quality, and I was not intellectually stimulated or motivated there. In fact, I
became disinterested, started skipping class and feigning illness to avoid going to school." — Brian Calle, The Orange County (California) Register, 8 May 2016
Crackerjack = of striking ability or excellence.
Eg: She is a crackerjack athlete who excels in soccer and softball.
"Like a well-made suspense film, Mr. Scovel's jokes have twists you don't see coming and the thrilling tension of a crackerjack
plot where you have no idea what will happen next." — Jason Zinoman, The New York Times, 12 May 2016

Natant = swimming or floating in water. Eg: The pond was quiet, though occasionally a fish would rise to make a
little splash among the natant lily pads.

Éclat = 1: ostentatious display: publicity

2: dazzling effect: brilliance
3 a: brilliant or conspicuous success
b: praise, applause
"The … protagonist is a familiar archetype, that washed-up star who can't quite reclaim the éclat of decades past." — Kevin
Zawacki, Paste, 25 Aug. 2014
"A woman, a hostess, could play an important subterfuge.… She could serve dinner with éclat, put people at ease, and spice the
conversation with the wit that obscured the politics in political discussions."
— Louisa Thomas, New York Magazine, 14 Apr. 2016

Ostracize = 1: to exile by ostracism

2: to exclude from a group by common consent
Eg: Athletes who cheat risk being ostracized by their peers and colleagues—in addition to suffering professional ruin.
"Hateful speech is employed to offend, marginalize and ostracize. It's replaced reasonable persuasion by those too lazy or
ignorant to be thoughtful."
— Tom Fulks, The San Luis Obispo (California) Tribune, 26 Dec. 2015

Caesura = 1: a break in the flow of sound usually in the middle of a line of verse
2: break, interruption
3: a pause marking a rhythmic point of division in a melody.
Eg: "The Anglo-Saxon idiom of Beowulf sounds particularly alien to modern ears: four stresses per line, separated in the middle
by a strong pause, or caesura, with the third stress in each line alliterating with one or both of the first two." — Paul Gray, Time, 20 Mar. 2000

"Whenever anyone asks what I studied in school, the caesura of a deep breath inserts itself before the next line—the time it
takes to summon the strength it takes to summon the word: 'poetry.'" — Michael Andor Brodeur, The Boston Globe, 14 June 2016

Parlay = 1: to bet in a parlay 2 a: to exploit successfullyb : to increase or otherwise transform into something of
much greater value.

Eg: "Leong said she parlayed a measly $5 winning ticket into her big bonanza. First she exchanged the $5 winning ticket for
another that won $10, and with that she bought a $10 ticket that won $100. She decided to try her luck two more times and
used the winnings to buy two $20 tickets, one of which hit the mother lode." — Megan Cerullo & Nancy Dillon, The New York Daily News, 8 June 2016

mother lode = A rich source of something. ‘your portfolio holds a mother lode of opportunities’

"Johnson parlayed the experience she gained while writing her own fashion and lifestyle blog into her first job at
New York social media marketing agency Attention." — Samantha Masunaga, The Waterbury (Connecticut) Republican- American, 13 June 2016
Raconteur = a person who excels in telling anecdotes. Eg: A bona fide raconteur, Taylor can turn even
mundane experiences into hilariously entertaining stories.

Bona fide = Genuine; real. Eg: ‘she was a bona fide expert’

"Her fans, any of whom would welcome the chance to share … a bowl of pimento cheese with her, know [Julia] Reed as a
tremendous wit, a sharp observer of the complexities of Southern culture, a great storyteller and fabulous raconteur." — Greg Morago, The Houston Chronicle, 1 June 2016

Winkle = 1: (chiefly British) to displace, remove, or evict from a position 2: (chiefly British) to obtain or draw out
by effort Eg: "The reclusive actress, 48, had been winkled out of her New Mexico ranch and flown halfway around the
world only to stand there and be ignored as Amal battled with her chiffon frills and the cameras rattled like gunfire." — Jan Moir, The
Daily Mail (UK), 20 May 2016

Usufruct = 1: the legal right of using and enjoying the fruits or profits of something belonging to another

2: the right to use or enjoy something.

Eg: He has willed all of his property to the conservation society, though his children will retain the house as a 50-year usufruct.

Vatic = prophetic, oracular

Misanthrope = a person who hates or distrusts humankind. Eg: "The conventional image of Groucho [Marx] was that
he was on the side of the little guy, and he spoke defiantly and insolently to powerful people and wealthy people. But my feeling is that
Groucho was out to deflate everybody—that he was a thoroughgoing misanthrope." — Lee Siegel, speaking on NPR, 23 Jan. 2016

"Many feared that we would become asocial creatures, misanthropes who would rather hide behind the safety of a screen than face the
intimacy of a spoken conversation." — Jenna Wortham, The New York Times, 22 May 2016

Resilience = 1: the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused
especially by compressive stress
2: an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.
Eg: Terry and Rayanne were proud of their daughter's resilience during her search for a summer job—after being passed over for
one positon, she immediately applied to five more.

Zest = 1: a piece of the peel of a citrus fruit (such as an orange or lemon) used as flavoring

2: an enjoyably exciting quality: piquancy

3: keen enjoyment: relish, gusto
Eg: Healthy and active as a senior citizen, Richard had a zest for life, a desire to travel and see the world, and a perpetual interest in trying new
things.
"Basically, chocolate powder gets sprinkled on top of your cappuccino. It may not seem like much, but the sugary bitterness from the
chocolate adds zest to the beverage." — Jean Trinh, The Los Angeles Magazine, 24 June 2016

Bogus = not genuine: counterfeit, sham. Eg: "Any time you are provided with anything that is supposedly
'free' or 'complimentary,' including a security monitoring service for a year, when you do not actually know if your
personal data has been compromised, it's likely a bogus scheme to steal your identity." — Martha R. Tromberg, The (Jackson) Florida Times-
Union, 5 July 2016

"Stars on the downward trajectory of their careers often try to sign with teams that have a chance to win, especially
if those stars haven't won a ring. People know it's bogus but smile and share in the warmth of unfinished business
getting finished." — Rick Morrissey, The Chicago Sun-Times, 6 July 2016
Grudging = 1: unwilling, reluctant 2: done, given, or allowed unwillingly, reluctantly, or sparingly

Eg: "The class differences between teacher and students are so pronounced that they threaten to plunge the film into a
schoolhouse drama—that well-worn genre in which a charismatic authority figure, inevitably likable yet inevitably tough, gains
her students' grudging respect and eventual trust." — Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times, 22 Mar. 2018

"There is no grudging marriage of art and politics in her work; as John Berger, one of her longtime interlocutors and a formative
influence, wrote, 'Far from my dragging politics into art, art has dragged me into politics.' [Arundhati] Roy's work conveys a
similar spirit." — Parul Sehgal, The Atlantic, 17 June 2017

Tog = to dress especially in fine clothing — usually used with up or out. Eg: Christine smiled as she took pictures
of her teenage son, who was togged out in a tuxedo and standing next to his prom date.

Panoptic = being or presenting a comprehensive or panoramic view. Eg: The new security cameras installed in the
jewelry store capture panoptic views of the entrance and display cases.

Fret = 1 a: to eat or gnaw into: wear, corrode; also: fray b: rub, chafe c: to make by wearing away

2: to become vexed or worried

3: agitate, ripple
Eg: "You shouldn't fret so much over your wardrobe," Liza said. "You look great no matter what you wear."
"Not so long ago independent booksellers fretted about the Nooks and the Kindles and the iPad—digital reading devices. And if
that didn't scare them, the trend of reading everything on a phone was worrisome." — Darrell Ehrlick, The Billings (Montana) Gazette, 22 July 2016

namby-pamby = 1: lacking in character or substance : insipid 2: weak, indecisive

Eg: John complained that the movie was a namby-pamby romance with too much dialogue and not enough action.

Lenient = 1: exerting a soothing or easing influence: relieving pain or stress

2: of mild and tolerant disposition; especially: indulgent. Eg: Because Kevin didn't have any past violations on his driving record,
the officer decided to be lenient and let him off with a written warning.
"In February, he pleaded guilty to a bribery count and a tax count. His attorney … has said federal prosecutors have
recommended a lenient sentence in exchange for his cooperation."
— Jimmie E. Gates, The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi), 18 July 2016

Journeyman = 1: a worker who has learned a trade and works for another person usually by the day
2: an experienced reliable worker, athlete, or performer especially as distinguished from one who is brilliant or colorful. Eg: "I
started working exclusively as an actor when I was 25 years old…. I was a journeyman actor, working here and there. And I loved
it." — Bryan Cranston, quoted in The Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2016

"Rich Hill is 36 and likely to be the most sought-after pitcher on the trade market, but he claims he doesn't see it that way. The
transformation from journeyman to a pitcher with electric stuff has been stunning at his age." — Nick Cafardo, The Boston Globe, 10
July 2016

Notch = 1 a: a V-shaped indentation

b: a slit made to serve as a record

c: a rounded indentation cut into the pages of a book on the edge opposite the spine
2: a deep close pass: gap
3: degree, step
Eg: The angle of the futon can be adjusted by inserting the pin into one of three notches.
"You're about to start a race or step onstage, and you want to knock it out of the park. … Revving up … is pretty easy: Do a few
jumping jacks, or whatever gets your blood pumping. Need to take things down a notch (or 20)? Inhale deeply. Research shows
that it can significantly calm you down." — Jeanine Detz, Self, July/August 2016

Plinth = 1: the lowest part of the base of an architectural column

2: a usually square block serving as a base; broadly: any of various bases or lower parts
3: a course of stones forming a continuous foundation or base course
An empty plinth remains where the statue of the toppled dictator once commanded.
"Fabio Mauri (1926-2009) grew up in Mussolini-era Italy and his art consistently examines the ways in which the traumas of war
and fascism are assimilated by history. For the most part it's the simpler works that resonate—such as a lone artillery shell on a
plinth." — Time Out, 26 Jan. 2016

Rarefied = 1: being less dense

2: of, relating to, or interesting to a select group: esoteric

3: very high
Cartography is one of those rarefied fields at which only a select few can actually earn a living.
"He was known for photographing the most rarefied parties and galas but never partaking of even an hors d'oeuvre or sip of champagne."
June 2016
— Robin Givhan, The Washington Post, 27

Oenophile = a lover or connoisseur of wine.

Eg: Serious oenophiles will not be impressed with this particular wine, but it should be up to the standards of less-discriminating
consumers.

Quodlibet = 1: a philosophical or theological point proposed for disputation; also: a disputation on such a point
2: a whimsical combination of familiar melodies or texts
Eg: "In Part II the orchestral interlude is Happy Voices, which Del Tredici took in punning fashion and created a raucous fugue followed by a
'quodlibet' of all the tunes from the piece." — Vance R. Koven, The Boston Musical Intelligence r, 27 Mar. 2016

will-o'-the-wisp = 1: a light that appears at night over marshy ground 2: a misleading or elusive goal or
hope. Eg: "While a company's purpose generally doesn't change, strategies and organizational structures do, which can make chasing
'alignment' between strategy and the organization feel like chasing an elusive will-o'-the-wisp."
— Jonathan Trevor and Barry Varcoe, Harvard Business Review (hbr.org), 16 May 2016

Bloviate = to speak or write verbosely and windily.

Eg: "It's a slow night. Just a couple of other regulars and our usual bartender, a bright, young fellow who seems to enjoy his
customers' company, despite our tendency to bloviate." — Bruce VanWyngarden, The Memphis Flyer, 15 Feb. 2018

"Wall Street analysts and the media covering them have often bloviated about the lamentable end of retail, the death of
department stores, the changing fickle habits of Millennials, the power of online retail, and the tragedy of an America left
behind." — Monica Showalter, The American Thinker, 6 July 2017

Untoward = 1: difficult to guide, manage, or work with: unruly, intractable

2 a: marked by trouble or unhappiness: unlucky

b: not favorable or propitious : adverse
3: improper, indecorous
Eg: I eyed the stranger suspiciously, but I had to admit that there was nothing untoward about his appearance.
"The circulation staff will no longer be able to process credit card payments at the front desk…. There are too many possible legal and financial
fraud issues for the library if something untoward were to occur." — The Milford (Massachusetts) Daily News, 5 July 2016

Bevy = 1: a large group or collection 2: a group of animals and especially quail

Eg: "… Prince William admits his son George is 'far too spoiled' after getting a bevy of gifts for his 3rd birthday." — The Daily News
(New York), 25 July 2016
"Many cereals contain whole grains and a bevy of nutritious ingredients, but many are also high in sugar and other refined grains
that aren’t nutritionally sound." — The Laramie (Wyoming) Boomerang, 21 July 2016
Sylvan = 1 a: living or located in the woods or forest

b: of, relating to, or characteristic of the woods or forest

2 a: made from wood: wooden
b: abounding in woods, groves, or trees: wooded eg: "With Serenbe’s strong focus on sustainability and organic farming, Claudia and
Rod Hoxsey wanted their new cottage there to be a modern version of a classic farmhouse. … The open floor plan embraces its sylvan setting,
seen through 16-foot-tall metal windows." — Lisa Mowry, The Atlanta Magazine, August 2016

Subpoena = a writ commanding a person designated in it to appear in court under a penalty for failure.
Writ = A form of written command in the name of a court or other legal authority to act, or abstain from
acting, in a particular way. ‘the two reinstated officers issued a writ for libel against the applicants’
‘an action begun by writ or summons’ Eg: Subpoenas have been issued to several of the defendant's family
members ordering that they testify at trial.
"'If we have to compel them to come in, then that's what we're going to do,' he said, referring to possible
subpoenas." — Sandra Tan, The Buffalo News, 8 Apr. 2016

Hector = 1: to play the bully: swagger

2: to intimidate or harass by bluster or personal pressure
Eg: The judge sternly ordered the attorney to stop hectoring the witness.
"For several years now he has been making life easier for every journalist who follows the Affordable Care Act by
heroically compiling health insurance enrollments under the law, explaining developments, debunking myths, and
hectoring the nearly infinite sources of mis- and disinformation … into getting things right." — Michael Hiltzik, The
Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2016

Ramshackle = 1: appearing ready to collapse: rickety 2: carelessly or loosely constructed

Eg: The yard was sectioned off by a ramshackle wooden fence that was just barely held together with chicken wire.
"He's also made the bold move of purchasing the ramshackle building behind his market, envisioning an Internet cafe." — Sarah Netter, The Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2016

Dally = 1 a: to act playfully; especially: to play amorously b: to deal lightly: toy

2 a: to waste time b: linger, dawdle

Eg: He dithered and dallied, avoiding his work for as long as possible.
"Voters don't elect leaders to dally, stall, drag their feet and excel at the art of delay." —The Daily Chronicle (DeKalb, Illinois), 31 Dec. 2015

Quincunx = an arrangement of five things in a square or rectangle with one at each corner and one in the middle. Eg: The
sculptures in the square were arranged in a quincunx with the outer ones marking the perimeter and the middle one serving as the
centerpiece.

"The towers of Angkor Wat—shaped in a quincunx, five points in a cross—were named after Mount Meru, the home of the gods believed in
Indian myth to lie at the center of the world." — William Dalrymple, The New York Review of Books, 21 May 2015

Hubris = exaggerated pride or self-confidence.

Eg: The company's failure was ultimately brought on by the hubris of its founder.
"I think confidence is one of the most important qualities that you need in a leader—self-assurance. But at times confidence can shade over
into arrogance and even hubris." — Doris Kearns Goodwin, speaking on The Charlie Rose Show, 12 Jan. 2016

Ideate = 1: to form an idea or conception of (something) 2: to form an idea.

Eg: Jocelyn used the lunch hour at the education seminar to talk with other teachers and ideate new activities to use in the classroom.
"Most of us don't dedicate any time to thinking and ideating. To think well, you need to be willing to fail well." — Andy Lark, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2016
Stolid = having or expressing little or no sensibility: unemotional. Eg: The stolid detective spoke to the witness in a precise, unequivocal manner.

"A modest woman of great heart and spirit, Deirdre, perhaps more than any other member of the family, has weathered the storms she and her husband have
endured with a stolid equanimity…." — Charles Isherwood, The New York Times, 19 Feb. 2016

Wisenheimer = smart aleck. Eg: Leslie delivered a flawless presentation even in spite of interruptions from the
wisenheimers in the back of the classroom.
"… we both come from incredibly saucy families who love to sling it every which way, so it just seemed natural for us to cross our fingers that
any children we had would be little wisenheimers." — Lisa Sugarman, The Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, Oklahoma), 20 Dec. 2015

smart alec = A person who is irritating because they behave as if they know everything.

‘the kid in the front row is a smart alec, always being funny’
as modifier ‘a smart alec answer’

Myrmidon = a loyal follower; especially: a subordinate who executes orders unquestioningly or unscrupulously. Eg:
"Britain's National Health Service is a socialized system, and Marsh chafes at new rigid rules imposed by its administrators. He … is shadowed
on ward rounds by a bureaucrat who takes notes on his dress and behavior. The reign of the emperor is ending, but Marsh refuses to comply
and serve as a myrmidon." — Jerome Groopman, The New York Times, 24 May 2015

Flippant = lacking proper respect or seriousness.

Eg: The singer's fans were not amused by his flippant remark in response to the tragedy.
"Earlier this year, [Hope] Solo said she might not take part in the Olympics because of the [Zika] virus. She ultimately decided that she would, but more recently she put up a couple of
Twitter posts that seemed to take a flippant attitude toward the problem. One post showed a picture of Solo in what looked like a beekeeper’s mask. Another showed an assortment of
repellents spread out on a bed." — Jay Schreiber, The New York Times, 3 Aug. 2016

Kibosh = something that serves as a check or stop. Eg: Heavy rains put the kibosh on many of the activities scheduled for the day.

"Yet every time a new idea takes root, old-guard companies that feel threatened, and politicians and regulators who like to control things, put the kibosh on the upstarts. They don't
always succeed." — Steven Greenhut, The Orange County Register (California), 3 July 2016

Hare = to go swiftly: tear. Eg: "Pilgrims to the holy site now have to pay for the privilege of leaving their cars at the
bottom, taking off their shoes and socks and haring up the mountain." — Nuala McCann, The Irish News, 22 May 2010

Juggernaut = 1: (chiefly British) a large heavy truck

2: a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path.
Eg: Led by their talented shooting guard, the high school's basketball team was a juggernaut, winning the state championship
three years in a row.

Gadarene = headlong, precipitate. Eg: "Virginia's innate conservatism has spared it from foolishly joining many
a Gadarene rush. But its glacial embrace of change has also kept it from adopting necessary and beneficial reforms, such as
charter schools and new revenue for transportation." — The Richmond (Virginia) Times Dispatch, 3 Feb. 2013

Loll = 1: to hang or let hang loosely: droop

2: to recline, lean, or move in a lax, lazy, or indolent manner: lounge. Eg: "We took the subway to the vast English Garden, where
we cooled our feet in a stream and lolled around on wide couches at the Seehaus Beer Garden, quaffing from massive steins of
German beer while chatting it up with new friends." Jeanne Potter, The San Luis Obispo (California) Tribune, 12 Oct. 2015 —

Nefarious = flagrantly wicked or impious : evil.

Eg: "The company will not call you to ask for your Social Security or account number, but nefarious scammers might." — Ellen Marks, The
Albuquerque Journal, 31 July 2016

"Mention the word 'drugs,' and most people think of nefarious, evil substances bought in the dead of night from shadowy
figures who carry guns and feed off of the weaknesses of addicts who seek out their poison with shaking, trembling hands." —
Steve Wildsmith, The Daily Times (Maryville, Tennessee), 25 July 2016
Consigliere = counselor, adviser. Eg: "Luisi’s goal was to create his own family in Boston, with Guarente as his
underboss and Gentile as his consigliere."
— Stephen Kurkjian and Shelley Murphy, The Boston Globe, 26 July 2016
"In any event, it appears that Shari has turned her attention to removing the other impediments to absolute control. She booted
Dauman from the Viacom board but kept his consigliere Tom Dooley, Viacom’s chief operating officer, in place."
— William D. Cohan, Vanity Fair, 20 June 2016

Mettle = 1 a: vigor and strength of spirit or temperament b: staying quality: stamina

2: quality of temperament or disposition

Eg: "People aren't trying to hide their prosthetics like they once did. There is a sense of community, being proud of who you are and showing off your mettle."
— Rebekah Spielman, quoted in The San Diego Union Tribune, 21 Aug. 2016
"In the dozen years since Fantasia Barrino claimed victory on 'American Idol,' the singer has more than proved her mettle. She has sold millions of records,
released a New York Times best-selling memoir, won a Grammy, anchored a hit reality series and become a Broadway star." — Gerrick D. Kennedy, The Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2016

Vamoose = to depart quickly. Eg: With the sheriff and his posse hot on their tails, the bank robbers knew they had better
vamoose.
"Five minutes later the police arrived, and of course there was no sign of illegal activity. The crooks monitored the police radio and knew when
to vamoose." — The Rockford (Illinois) Register Star, 14 July 2016

Woebegone = 1: strongly afflicted with woe: woeful

2 a: exhibiting great woe, sorrow, or misery

b: being in a sorry state. Eg: "I simply wanted to be left alone to cry. I wanted the opposite of conversation, because for this brief, woebegone
interlude, what was there to say?" — Wesley Morris, The New York Times, 2 Aug. 2016

"On a 68-degree afternoon, the Giants (71-59) took out their frustrations on the Braves' woebegone pitching staff in record-setting fashion.
Denard Span added a solo homer and Eduardo Núñez also went deep, giving the Giants their first four-homer game at AT&T Park in six years." —

Andrew Baggarly, The Mercury News (San Jose, California), 28 Aug. 2016

Guerdon = reward, recompense. Eg: "The guerdon in attending a repertory company's concert is being able to
savor the variety of work on display." — Juan Michael Porter II, Broadway World, 7 June 2016

Invective = 1: an abusive expression or speech 2: insulting or abusive language: vituperation.

Eg: "The ongoing collapse of responsible broadcast and cable journalism and the explosive role that social media has assumed in
this campaign have made for a nasty brew of invective, slurs and accusations…." — Susan J. Douglas, In These Times, July 2016
"At a moment when American political discourse has descended to almost unimaginable levels of … invective, we need our
teachers to model a better way to discuss our differences." — Jonathan Zimmerman, The Philadelphia Inquire r, 14 Aug. 2016

Macadam = a roadway or pavement of small closely packed broken stone. Eg: The sloping, curved
street saw light traffic and had a smooth macadam surface that made it popular with skateboarders.
"Littered on the beach are nearly a dozen big slabs of macadam and even larger chunks of concrete that have slid
down the cliff." — Chris Burrell, The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Massachusetts), 20 Aug. 2016

Scion = 1: a detached living portion of a plant (as a bud or shoot) joined to a stock in grafting and usually supplying solely aerial
parts to a graft
2: descendant, child; especially: a descendant of a wealthy, aristocratic, or influential family
3: heir. Ej: "The duke was the billionaire owner of swaths of central London, a friend of Britain's royal family and the scion of an aristocratic
family stretching back to the Norman Conquest." — The Boston Herald, 14 Aug. 2016
"The vibe of the place is a mixture of old-school cool and Brit eccentric. There are poems etched onto the wall by the artist Hugo Guinness, … a
scion of the famous Anglo-Irish brewing family." — Christa D'Souza, W, September 2016

Nemesis = 1 a: one that inflicts retribution or vengeance . A formidable and usually victorious rival or opponent
2 a: an act or effect of retribution b: a source of harm or ruin: curse. Eg: "The leaves were pale … and, upon closer inspection,
the stems had small nibble marks on them. I immediately suspected slugs since they've been my nemesis in the past so I sprang
into action." — Susan Mulvihill, The Spokesman Review (Spokane, Washington), 21 Aug. 2016
Waggish = 1: resembling or characteristic of a wag: displaying good-humored mischief

2: done or made for sport: humorous. Eg: "A warm person who enjoys banter with often-waggish reporters, [Elizabeth] Brenner joked that her
next move would be to take a newspaper-carrier route in Pewaukee. 'No, that's not what I'm going to do,' she quickly added. 'Can't get up that
early.'" — Rick Romell, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 17 May 2016
"The waggish reaction to Guaranteed Rate's name and arrow logo is like the feedback Energy Solutions received when its name replaced that
of Delta Air Lines on the Utah Jazz's arena a decade ago. Energy Solutions' business—disposing of low-level nuclear waste in the Utah desert—
led to people calling the arena the Dump, the Isotope and Radium Stadium."
— Richard Sandomir, The New York Times, 25 Aug. 2016

ab initio = from the beginning. Eg: "Two months ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Federal
Court judges are not eligible to represent Quebec on its bench. Justice Nadon's nomination was therefore
void ab initio." — André Pratte, The Globe and Mail (Canada), 29 May 2014

Colubrine = 1: of, relating to, or resembling a snake

2: of or relating to a large cosmopolitan family (Colubridae) of chiefly nonvenomous snakes
Eg: The trellis's latticework was covered with colubrine ivy.

Hoick = to move or pull abruptly: yank. Eg: "Occasionally he hoicks up the waistband of his trousers when
he thinks no one is looking." — Elizabeth Day, The Observer, 24 Feb. 2015

"The flutist … looks forward, unfolding a retinue of futuristic techniques—sounds that purr like a cat, pop like a cork
or hoick like a spitball—on the way to a final improvisation…." — David Allen, The New York Times, 29 Mar. 2016

Evanescent = tending to vanish like vapor. Eg: "As stunning as his dishes could be, in the end, the maestro
understood its evanescent nature. Furstenberg remembers Richard telling him, 'It's supposed to be food.'" — Tom Sietsema, The Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2016

"I think because we are young, issues we encounter with mental health are often excused as evanescent, and therefore not
something to be taken seriously." — Morgan Hughes, The Marquette Tribune (Marquette University), 6 Sept. 2016

Frieze = 1: the part of an entablature between the architrave and the cornice
2: a sculptured or richly ornamented band (as on a building or piece of furniture)
3: a band, line, or series suggesting a frieze. Eg: "But many of the iconic features of the old ballpark, such as the curved frieze
atop the three-tiered randstand, have been preserved." — Kevin Baxter, The Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2016

Glaucous = 1 a: of a pale yellow-green color

b: of a light bluish-gray or bluish-white color

2: having a powdery or waxy coating that gives a frosted appearance and tends to rub off. Eg: "Her eyes, a clear, glaucous gray, express
unambiguous yearning." — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 26 May 2016
"Waxy, hard, hairy and glaucous leaves help prevent water loss." — Patrice Hanlon, The Mercury News (California), 10 Aug. 2016

Variegated = 1: having discrete markings of different colors 2: various, diverse, varied. Eg: The flower has bright variegated
petals. "Everyone of significance in the region has multiple agendas and variegated geopolitical interests." — Robert Robb, The
Arizona Republic, 21 Aug. 2016

Headlong = 1: with the head foremost 2: without deliberation: recklessly 3: without pause or delay.

Eg: He's impulsive when it comes to romance and often rushes headlong into relationships, with little thought given to their long-term viability.
"What was once optimistically pitched as a complete 800-mile program that could be built for about $35 billion and conceivably up and running by as early as
2020 has run headlong into an unrelenting wall of obstacles, including engineering, litigation and politics." — Tim Sheehan, The Fresno (California) Bee, 15 Mar.
2018

Ken = 1 a: the range of vision b: sight, view

2: the range of perception, understanding, or knowledge eg: The author advised the aspiring writers in the crowd to develop an authoritative voice by sticking to subjects within their ken.
"The council appeared to be moving toward putting more money into the concession area so that it could be used to serve more than hot dogs and nachos…. But suddenly, that fell apart for reasons beyond the
public's ken." — Perry White, Watertown (New York) Daily Times, 25 Mar. 2016.

Slew = a large number. Eg: Daniel regularly receives a slew of clothing catalogs as part of his junk mail.

"We had two weeks off and wanted to take a fun mother-daughter trip to Europe but didn't want to grapple with the slew of flights we'd have
to take to visit multiple cities or the constant unpacking and packing involved on such a trip."
— Shivani Vora, The New York Times, 11 Mar. 2018

Cavalier = 1: debonair 2: marked by or given to offhand and often disdainful dismissal of important matters.

Eg: Miranda has a cavalier attitude when it comes to spending money.

"At a certain point, however, he opened up,… though under the condition that there be no recorders or notepads. For a guy who was so
careful and deliberate and micro-managed everything about his career, he became surprisingly cavalier about being quoted directly—or
accurately." — Gary Graff, Billboard.com, 21 Apr. 2016

Jubilate = to rejoice
Ablution = 1: the washing of one's body or part of it (as in a religious rite)

2: the act or action of bathing — used in the plural form. Eg: Francis awakened at dawn and performed his ablutions.
"While it's true that many folks enjoy the ease of hopping into a shower stall for their morning ablutions, you are still likely to find at least one
tub in just about every American home." — Laura First, The Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, Oklahoma), 27 Sept. 2015

Passel = a large number or amount. Eg: When problems at the printing plant caused a delay in delivery of the
newspaper, Rebecca was tasked with handling the passel of complaints from angry subscribers.

Semelparous = adj. reproducing or breeding only once in a lifetime. The article's author is a scientist who
spent years studying semelparous butterflies.

Loath = unwilling to do something contrary to one's ways of thinking: reluctant. Eg: My grandfather was
naturally very proud of the company he had built, so he was loath to admit that it was time to think about selling it
and retiring.
"It seems like a lot of film directors are loath to embrace VR for the same reason that Roger Ebert famously
dismissed video games as a form of art: They think it's a gimmick that punishes artistry in the name of the medium's
requirements." — Alex McLevy, The A.V. Club, 15 Mar. 2018

Tocsin = noun. 1: an alarm bell or the ringing of it 2: a warning signal.

Eg: "That may sound alarmist, but the tocsin is being rung by some pretty sober people." — Doyle McManus, Advance-News (Ogdensburg,
New York), 16 Feb. 2016

Titivate = to make or become smart or spruce. Eg: "I came here as a student …, but I spent more time in Cannon Hill
Park two miles from the city centre. I clearly remember watching the gardeners titivate the flower beds and strolling past the
lake through the many choice trees." — Val Bourne, The Daily Telegraph (London), 21 May 2016

Gravid = 1: pregnant 2: distended with or full of eggs

Echelon = 1: a steplike arrangement (as of troops or airplanes) 2 a: one of a series of levels or grades in an
organization or field of activity
b: a group of individuals at a particular level or grade in an organization
eg: "And I think that … there are more conservatives in Hollywood than one would think in all echelons, even among the actors."
— Jon Voight, speaking on the Fox News Network, 9 Sept. 2016
Dicker = to bargain. Eg: "Long before Walt Disney thought to sell toys based on his cartoon characters, [Edgar Rice] Burroughs was
dickering with toy manufacturers for Tarzan tie-ins." — Tim Martin, The Telegraph (United Kingdom), 7 July 2016

Cavalcade = 1 a: a procession of riders or carriages

b: a procession of vehicles or ships

2: a dramatic sequence or procession: series.
Eg: "Giant helium balloons, beautifully decorated, horse-drawn carriages and antique cars, along with uniformed cavalcades performing their
routines, will thrill parade goers." — San Antonio Magazine, 22 Apr. 2016
"In the first video released by the PAC, a cavalcade of Hollywood's finest appear to underline the importance of voting in November's election.
From 'Avengers' alumni Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson … to Julianne Moore, Keegan-Michael Key, … and many more …" — Libby Hill, The Los
Angeles Times, 21 Sept. 2016

Mollify = 1: to soothe in temper or disposition: appease 2: to reduce the rigidity of: soften 3: to reduce in intensity: assuage,
temper. Eg: "To some extent, the delay also was intended to mollify the concerns of county leaders that police and fire service responsibilities were being
shoved at them on an abrupt timetable, potentially to the detriment of affected residents." — Lawrence Specker, AL.com, 30 Aug. 2016
"If there were any doubt that Roark, with his 15 wins and top-five ERA, could be a reliable No. 2 starter if Stephen Strasburg cannot pitch in October, he has
done all he could to mollify it. He has now thrown 200 innings for the first time. He still leads the league with nine starts of seven or more scoreless innings."
— Chelsea Janes, The Washington Post, 21 Sept. 2016

bully pulpit = a prominent public position (as a political office) that provides an opportunity for expounding
one's views; also : such an opportunity

Auriferous = containing gold. Eg: The mining company has discovered many auriferous deposits throughout the region.

"Development … on the east flank of the Huachuca Mountains occurred after the 1911 discovery of a gold nugget weighing 22 ounces,
probably originating from auriferous quartz veins found in the granite beds upstream." — William Ascarza, The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ),
26 Sept. 2016

Aureate = 1: of a golden color or brilliance 2: marked by grandiloquent and rhetorical style

Triptych = 1: an ancient Roman writing tablet with three waxed leaves hinged together
2 a: a picture (such as an altarpiece) or carving in three panels side by side
b: something composed or presented in three parts or sections; especially : trilogy

Facetious = adj. 1: joking or jesting often inappropriately: waggish. Eg: "My proposal to tax estates heavily is
neither entirely serious nor wholly facetious." — Martha Viehmann, The Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, 17 Aug. 2016
"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a garbage man. I'm not being facetious or silly…. As a four-year-old, my room window faced
the street, and I remember being mesmerized by these wild guys waking me up twice a week. They were raucous and loud, they
yelled and threw things around with reckless abandon, they dangerously climbed on and hung off a large moving vehicle…."
— Andy Nulman, quoted in The Globe and Mail, 11 Sept. 2016
2: meant to be humorous or funny: not serious

Cathexis = investment of mental or emotional energy in a person, object, or idea eg: "… young lovers who marry during the
giddy rush of cathexis, when the hormonal highs of romantic love prompt them to be in love with being in love, often find there's no cement to
tightly bind their relationship." — Mike Masterson, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 25 Dec. 2016

Hoke = verb. to give a contrived, falsely impressive, or hokey quality to — usually used with up. Eg: "'Concussion' has the
sober, patient earnestness of a lawyer preparing a major case—it's a dramatization of true events and occasionally hoked up in
the finest Hollywood tradition, but it wants to stir you into being convinced instead of the other way around."
— Ty Burr, The Boston Globe, 25 Dec. 2015

Jejune = 1: lacking nutritive value 2: devoid of significance or interest: dull 3: juvenile, puerile
Eg: "I have not, however, been a fan of the Broadway singer … in the past, and her jejune performances here—complete with some tap
dancing that belied the lyrics of 'I Got Rhythm'—did not convert me." — Anne Midgette, The Washington Post, 22 Sept. 2015

"He complains about wasting his talent 'writing songs for frogs' (he is a composer of jejune melodies for a children's television show called Mr.
Bungee's Lily Pad)." — Nancy Chen, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 21 Oct. 2016

Obfuscate = verb 1 a: darken b: to make obscure

2: confuse 3: to be evasive, unclear, or confusing

Founder = 1: to make or become disabled or lame 2: to give way: collapse 3: to become submerged: sink 4: to come to grief : fail

Eg: As the vessel began to founder, the captain ordered everyone on board to prepare to abandon ship.
"If you adore New York City, you can't stand Los Angeles—and vice-versa, or so the myth goes. But the Jennifer Aniston-Justin Theroux marriage, according to
People, may have foundered on just that urban divide." — Michael H. Hodges, The Detroit News, 17 Feb. 2018

Tousle = to make untidy: dishevel, rumple. Eg: The cats got into a loud scuffle, tousling the clean sheets that Hugh had
just put on the bed.
"In person, removed from the dank interiors he typically haunts on 'Game of Thrones,' Mr. Rheon's face is more cherubic than
demonic, with a rakish scruff and artfully tousled hair that gets more so as he runs his hands through it in conversation."
— Jeremy Egner, The New York Times, 20 Apr. 2016

Nescience = lack of knowledge or awareness: ignorance. Eg: "Unnecessary obstacles to information—and the
possibility of greater restrictions against getting it—promote nescience."
— Jackie Torok, The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, North Carolina), 22 Dec. 2015

Ululate = howl, wail

Nonplus = to cause to be at a loss as to what to say, think, or do: perplex. Eg: The student's unexpected about-face during the class discussion
nonplussed the teacher.
"Finding out that the new site for your business is home as well to stray cats and assorted wildlife might have nonplussed some people, but Gary Meyer just saw
an opportunity to help animals while enjoying their presence." — Joseph P. Smith, The Daily Journal (Vineland, New Jersey), 4 Mar. 2016

Tranche = noun. a division or portion of a pool or whole

Callow = adj. lacking adult sophistication : immature

Gormandize = verb. to eat greedily, gluttonously, or ravenously

Mulct = verb 1: to punish by a fine

2 a: to defraud especially of money: swindle

b: to obtain by fraud, duress, or theft

Osculate = kiss
Sabot = 1 a: a wooden shoe worn in various European countries. b: a strap across the instep in a shoe especially of the sandal type; also : a shoe
having a sabot strap. 2: a thrust-transmitting carrier that positions a missile in a gun barrel or launching tube and that prevents the escape of gas ahead of the
missile 3: a dealing box designed to hold several decks of playing cards
Deliquesce = 1: to dissolve or melt away 2: to become soft or liquid with age or maturity—used of some fungal
structures (as the gills of a mushroom).

Eg: "But wait. If you have the brisket, will there be room for the beef rib? There'd better be, because it is a triumph. The salt-and-pepper-
coated smoked meat and fat deliquesce into a sort of beef confit." — Mark Vamos, The Dallas Morning News, 25 Dec. 2015

iota 1: the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet 2: an infinitesimal amount: jot.

Eg: "The 'my way or the highway' representatives couldn't care one iota about those who do not share their specific values and goals." — Diane W. Mufson, The Herald-Dispatch
(Huntington, West Virginia), 21 July 2016

Vulnerary = used for or useful in healing wounds. Eg: "St. John’s wort can also help those with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) due to
lower sunlight exposure in the winter months. Its anti-inflammatory, vulnerary, astringent, and antimicrobial actions make it a powerful healer for wounds,
bruises, burns, sprains, and muscle pain." — Jane Metzger, Mother Earth News, 13 July 2015

Traduce = 1: to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood and misrepresentation

2: violate, betray. Eg: "Some players' records reflect abilities enhanced by acts of bad character—surreptitious resorts to disreputable
chemistry that traduces sportsmanship. But as younger writers who did not cover baseball during the PED era become Hall of Fame voters, the
electorate is becoming less interested in disqualifying PED users."
— George Will, The Washington Post, 22 Jan. 2017

Cabal = noun. 1: the artifices and intrigues of a group of persons secretly united in a plot (as to overturn a government); also: a group engaged in
such artifices and intrigues. 2: club, group. Eg: "A 'cabal' of wealthy conservatives has begun using New York State's campaign finance laws to sway local
elections…." — Michael Gormley, Newsday (New York), 24 Aug. 2016
"Looking back, it didn't take a vast conspiracy to replace truth with lies: only a greedy, shameless ghostwriter; another lazy biographer; and a couple of
filmmakers who embraced shoddy reporting for its sensationalizing value. That small, self-serving cabal managed to misinform generations of Americans with
malicious myths that misshaped history." — Dana D. Kelley, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 19 Aug. 2016

Mollycoddle = to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence or attention. Eg: The newborn cub at the
wildlife park is enjoying being mollycoddled by its mother.

"You work longer hours than most of your friends, you never know where your next paycheck is coming from and there's no HR team to
mollycoddle you when times get tough… it's safe to say that the life of a self-employed worker is one plagued by instabilities." — Olivia Petter, The
Independent (London), 16 Mar. 2018

Querulous = 1: habitually complaining 2: fretful, whining.

Eg: "… the punch of her performance lies in its sheer nerve; even though her character has our sympathy from the start, she keeps asking for more, tugging at us like a querulous child
until our patience cracks." — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 24 July 2017

Lambent = 1: playing lightly on or over a surface: flickering 2: softly bright or radiant

3: marked by lightness or brilliance especially of expression. Eg: "There's nothing like the swell of a powerful pipe organ in the
right room. You can feel the lowest pedal notes in your stomach, or the lambent whisper of the tiniest pipes, with their delicate,
shimmering sound." — T. R. Goldman, The Washington Post, 31 July 2016

Meshuggener = a foolish or crazy person

Riddle = 1: a mystifying, misleading, or puzzling question posed as a problem to be solved or guessed: conundrum, enigma 2:
something or someone difficult to understand. Eg: Despite Nick's outgoing nature, he doesn't share many details about his background and
personal life, so he remains something of a riddle.
"Stewart's books are for children who like mysteries and riddles, and there are many scenes where readers hold their breath in suspense."
— Clara Martin, The Clarion-Ledger, 16 Oct. 2016
Wistful = 1: full of yearning or desire tinged with melancholy; also: inspiring such yearning
2: musingly sad: pensive. Eg: As the car pulled away, Lea cast one last wistful glance at the house where she'd spent so many
happy years.

Wane = 1: to decrease in size, extent, or degree 2: to fall gradually from power, prosperity, or influence

Thaumaturgy = noun. the performance of miracles; specifically : magic

Vulpine = 1: of, relating to, or resembling a fox 2: foxy, crafty. Eg: "Flashing a vulpine grin, he's not a typical hunk—but like
Casanova, a maestro of stylish manners and clever entrapment, an incorrigible cad proud of his powers of improvisational manipulation." —
Misha Berson, The Seattle Times, 30 Oct. 2016

Muckrake = to search out and publicly expose real or apparent misconduct of a prominent individual or business. Eg: Arn is
an aggressive reporter, never afraid to ask difficult questions, hound evasive sources, or muckrake when things appear suspect.
"From his groundbreaking days of editing the iconic liberal magazines Ramparts and Scanlan's Monthly in the 1960s and '70s to his reliably
irreverent columns for newspapers …, Mr. [Warren] Hinckle delighted in tweaking anyone in charge of anything and muckraking for what he
fiercely saw as the common good." — Kevin Fagan, The San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Aug. 2016

Bamboozle = 1: to deceive by underhanded methods: dupe, hoodwink

2: to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely. Eg: "We agree with those who filed the suits challenging the wording of the
ballot question. We believe it is deceitful—and deliberately so, designed to bamboozle voters into thinking they are voting on a minor issue
that simply codifies existing law instead of adding five years to a judge's term." — The Philadelphia Daily News, 10 Oct. 2016

Daedal = 1 a: skillful, artistic b: intricate

2: adorned with many things. Eg: The filmmaker makes daedal use of lighting effects and camera angles to create a noirish atmosphere.

Objurgation = noun a harsh rebuke

Fillip = 1 a: to strike by holding the nail of a finger against the ball of the thumb and then suddenly releasing it from that position

b: to make a filliping motion with

2: to project quickly by or as if by a filliping motion: snap
3: to urge on: stimulate. Eg: As their parents finished up dinner, the two boys entertained themselves at the table by filliping crumbs into an
overturned cup.

Methuselah = an ancestor of Noah held to have lived 969 years

Lave = 1 a: wash, bathe b: to flow along or against2: pour

Kapellmeister = (often capitalized Kapellmeister) the director of a choir or orchestra.

Gallimaufry = a heterogeneous mixture: jumble. the collection is a gallimaufry of poems, essays, and short stories that
have no apparent unifying theme

Purlieu = 1 a: an outlying or adjacent district

b: (plural) environs, neighborhood
2 a: a frequently visited place : haunt
b: (plural) confines, bounds
Dreidel = noun. 1: a 4-sided toy marked with Hebrew letters and spun like a top in a game of chance

2: a children's game of chance played especially at Hanukkah with a dreidel

Wassail = 1: to indulge in riotous drinking: carouse

2: (dialectal, England) to sing carols from house to house at Christmas

3: to drink to the health or thriving of. EG: Every year at Christmastime the magazine publishes a recipe for a traditional drink that can be used to wassail one's friends, neighbors, and family members.
"In the middle of January we come into the orchards to wassail these trees, singing their praises, and driving evil spirits from their branches with screaming and gunshots."
— Pete Brown, The Apple Orchard, 2016

Raiment = clothing, garments. Eg: the prince exchanged his silken raiment for the pauper's humble homespun.
Cantankerous = difficult or irritating to deal with. Eg: "Far from being cantankerous, she says [Roald] Dahl was
endlessly ingenious in his desire to amuse, even when mortally ill, and only grumpy when finishing a book." — Elizabeth Gricehow, The Daily
Telegraph (London), 12 Nov. 2016

Effrontery = noun. Shameless boldness : insolence

Haberdasher = 1: (British) a dealer in notions (such as needles, thread, buttons, etc.) 2: a dealer in men's clothing and accessories

Beguile = 1: to lead by deception 2: to deceive by cunning means. Eg: The carnival barker beguiled Ricky into buying a chance at
the target-shooting game, even though it was all but impossible to win.

Deem = verb. 1: to come to think or judge: consider

2: to have an opinion: believe. Eg: The covered bridge was closed to automobile traffic for the winter because town officials deemed it a
hazard to motorists.

Zeitgeist = noun. (often capitalized Zeitgeist) the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era

Beleaguer = 1: to cause distress to: besiege 2: trouble, harass. EG: Despite being beleaguered by
injuries, the scrappy football team fought hard and managed to make the playoffs.

Kwanzaa = an African-American cultural festival held from December 26 to January 1

Baleful = 1: deadly or pernicious in influence 2: foreboding or threatening evil. Eg: "Out of nowhere, a huge fad sweeps
the country. It dominates social media and leads to a blizzard of think pieces, which are followed almost immediately by a backlash, as critics
warn of the fad’s baleful consequences." — James Surowiecki, The New Yorker, July 25, 2016

Oligopsony = a market situation in which each of a few buyers exerts a disproportionate influence on the market

Maelstrom = 1: a powerful often violent whirlpool sucking in objects within a given radius. Eg: tried to shoot the canoe across a stretch of
treacherous maelstrom —Harper's 2: something resembling a maelstrom in turbulence Eg: a maelstrom of emotions

Jitney = 1: a small bus that carries passengers over a regular route on a flexible schedule 2: an unlicensed taxicab

Chalk and cheese

He was dire
Newfangled = adj attracted to novelty

Aegis = 1: a shield or breastplate emblematic of majesty that was associated with Zeus and Athena

2 a: protection b: controlling or conditioning influence

3 a: auspices, sponsorship b: control or guidance especially by an individual, group, or system. Eg: The matter will be dealt with under the
aegis of the ethics committee.
"The security office is not part of the main White House staff operation. Located outside the West Wing, it has an independent director who is
not a political appointee. Its work, however, falls under the broader aegis of the White House chief of staff's office." — Anne Gearan, The
Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2018

Watershed. 1 a: a dividing ridge between drainage areas

b: a region or area bounded peripherally by a divide and draining ultimately to a particular watercourse or body of water
2: a crucial dividing point, line, or factor : turning point.
Eg: "This year marked a watershed for contemporary classical music in the city. No greater proof was the Ear Taxi Festival, a Chicago-centric marathon of new
music performance that, for six heady days in October, brought together some 500 local musicians to present roughly 100 recent classical works...."
— John von Rhein, The Chicago Tribune, 22 Dec. 2016
"The Cienega Creek watershed contains some of the highest-quality riparian woodland, riverine and cienega wetland habitats in Arizona." — Jennifer McIntosh,
The Arizona Daily Star, 29 Jan. 2017

Peradventure = 1: doubt 2: the possibility of a particular outcome in an uncertain situation:

chance. Eg: "For parties in terminal decline to consign themselves to howling at the moon for five years will guarantee beyond
peradventure that when the next election comes round people will be truly fed up listening to the noise." — Brian Feeney, The
Irish News, 11 May 2016

Carceral = of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison. Eg: "We are in the midst of a debate around criminal justice right now….
In the midst of such debates it is customary for pundits, politicians, and writers like me to sally forth with numbers to demonstrate the breadth
and width of the great American carceral state." — Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic, 8 June 2015.

Extremophile = an organism that lives under extreme environmental conditions (as in a hot spring or ice cap)
Grandee = a man of elevated rank or station; especially: a Spanish or Portuguese nobleman of the first rank

Abyssal = 1: of or relating to the bottom waters of the ocean depths 2: impossible to comprehend: unfathomable,
eg: "Since the accident, researchers from the Guangzhou Institute of Oceanology have mapped several deep eddies in the Xisha Trough, an
area of abyssal ocean off Hainan." — David Hambling, The Guardian (UK), 29 Dec. 2016

Imprecate = to invoke evil on: curse

hard-boiled = 1 a: devoid of sentimentality : tough

b: of, relating to, or being a detective story featuring a tough unsentimental protagonist and a matter-of-fact attitude towards violence
2: hardheaded, practical, eg: The young tycoon proved that to be successful in the cutthroat world of business you need to occasionally put aside hard-boiled
business practices and go with your gut instincts.
"The real attraction, as with previous books in the series, is [Tana] French's complex, deeply flawed detectives and her hard-boiled yet poetic way with words."
— David Martindale, The Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram, 28 Sep. 2016

Kibitzer = one who looks on and often offers unwanted advice or comment; broadly: one who offers opinions, eg: It wasn't long after they
bought their house that Dana and Regan heard from kibitzers in the neighborhood offering tips on design and remodeling.
"'Bill [Clinton] can't help himself from giving advice. He loves the game. He's the great kibitzer." — Roger Stone, quoted in The New York Times, 6 Nov. 2016

Macerate = 1: to cause to waste away by or as if by excessive fasting 2: to soften by steeping or soaking so as to separate the
parts, eg: "Choose whatever berries you'd like for a topping, and let them macerate in the sugar until they yield a little syrup."
— Dorie Greenspan, The Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2016

dander = 1: dandruff; specifically : minute scales from hair, feathers, or skin that may be allergenic

2: anger, temper, eg: Farrah liked dogs, but she couldn't own one because she was allergic to pet dander.
"If you had to start a new Western state from scratch and you got to choose a natural landmark that would become its symbol—
something that could drive tourism and that you might name the capital city after—would you choose the Great Salt Lake?
People get their dander up when I ask things like that." — Jay Evensen, The New York Times, 10 Dec. 2016

Omnibus = 1: of, relating to, or providing for many things at once 2: containing or including many items. Eg: "For the last several
years, Congress has been prone to passing … omnibus spending bills that pack many smaller, regular appropriations bills into one, instead of new, individual bills
each fiscal year." — Ariella Phillips, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 21 Dec. 2016

Uncouth = 1: strange or clumsy in shape or appearance: outlandish 2: lacking in polish and grace: rugged 3: awkward and
uncultivated in appearance, manner, or behavior: rude.
Eg: "Increasingly, consumers are turning to mints and breath-freshening strips that don't come with gum's social baggage—namely, how to dispose of it when
the flavor's gone as well as the uncouth sight of one's jaws constantly working." — Robert Klara, Adweek.com, 3 Oct. 2016
"No, I'm not some sort of barbarian who would open a bottle of wine to enjoy some before offering it as a gift. That would be uncouth."
— Irv Erdos, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Dec. 2016

Xylography = the art of making engravings on wood especially for printing

Tenet = a principle, belief, or doctrine generally held to be true; especially: one held in common by members of an organization,
movement, or profession. Eg: According to many, the first tenet of real estate is that location is fundamental to determining the value of a
property.

"A basic tenet of [Frank Lloyd] Wright's designs was that structures should grow out of the features that are already on the land, that land and
buildings should seem an integrated whole." — Linda Charlton, The Daily Commercial (Leesburg, Florida), 20 Dec. 2016
Whimsical = 1: full of, actuated by, or exhibiting capricious or eccentric and often sudden ideas or turns of the mind: relating to whims

2 a: resulting from or characterized by whim or caprice; especially: lightly fanciful

b: subject to erratic behavior or unpredictable change.
Eg: "In 2008, she decided to pursue a Master's in Library Science. The whimsical decision to work part-time at the library had created a love for helping people."
— Matthew Crane, Dubois County (Indiana) Free Press, 5 Dec. 2016
"There is an ice bar offering cocktails and champagne, whimsical ice sculptures, and designs from artists in nine countries." — Talia Avakian, Travel +
Leisure, 7 Dec. 2016

Gambol = to skip about in play: frisk, frolic. Eg: From her cabana, Candace watched her three children
gambol in the ocean waves.

Factitious = 1: produced by humans rather than by natural forces

2 a: formed by or adapted to an artificial or conventional standard b: produced by special effort: sham. Eg: "For all the
factitious factoids about state education spending, the reality from the federal government and even the nation's largest
teachers union is that Pennsylvania far outspends most states—and by a comfortable margin." — The Pittsburgh Tribune-
Review, 24 June 2016

Hors de combat = out of combat : disabled

nosocomial = acquired or occurring in a hospital. Eg: A minor nosocomial outbreak of the disease occurred when doctors failed to
diagnose the infected patient's illness in time.

"… there are things we handle a lot and never really clean. One study, for instance, found that about 95 percent of mobile phones carried by health care
workers were contaminated with nosocomial bacteria." — Aaron E. Carroll, The New York Times, 18 Oct. 2016

Ruminate = 1: to engage in contemplation: meditate

2: to chew again what has been chewed slightly and swallowed: chew the cud. Eg: For her final column of the year, Francine ruminated on the
subject of new beginnings.
"The presence of large forage particles or undigested grains may indicate that cows are not ruminating properly or that rumen passage rate is
accelerated." — Paul Kononoff, Dairy Herd Management, 6 Apr. 2016

Cabbage = steal, filch. Eg: "More and more people are trying to get their 'news' free from online sources, unreliable
as some of these fly-by-night wanna-bes are. In truth, the information is usually cabbaged from the website (or the print edition)
of the local paper."— Kim Poindexter, The Tahlequah (Oklahoma) Daily Press, 24 Aug. 2015

Effulgence = noun. Radiant splendor, brilliance

Decry = to depreciate (as a coin) officially or publicly

Gadzookery = (British) the use of archaisms (as in a historical novel)

Besmirch = to cause harm or damage to, sully, soil. sully, soil besmirching her reputation

High ideals were besmirched by cruelty and greed

Irenic = verb. Favoring, conducive to, or operating toward peace, moderation, or conciliation,

eg: The former senator's irenic nature made her an ideal candidate to be a foreign ambassador.

Hackle = 1 a: one of the long narrow feathers on the neck or back of a bird b: the neck plumage of the domestic fowl

Perpend = verb. 1: to reflect on carefully: ponder 2: to be attentive: reflect. Eg: spent the long weekend perpending what he wanted to do with his life

Unreconstructed = adj. not reconciled to political, economic, or social change; also: holding stubbornly to a particular belief,
view, place, or style. Eg: Proud to be an unreconstructed Reaganite, Abrams further awards himself the title of neo-con.
—
David Pryce-Jones, National Review, "Is Arab Democracy Possible?," 16 Jan. 2018
This little project is the brainstorm of local Klan leader and unreconstructed racist Tom Griffin (Tom Wilkinson), who presides over frequent gatherings of young
acolytes whose violent and derelict behavior Griffin actively encourages.
—
Todd Mccarthy, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Burden': Film Review | Sundance 2018," 22 Jan. 2018
The bill passed the House because the Freedom Caucus, that claque of unreconstructed extremists who hold the balance of power there, gave in a little.
—
Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, "Nobody Knows How to Play This Game Anymore," 19 Jan. 2018

Lief = adverb. soon, gladly

Ameliorate = 1: to make better or more tolerable 2: to grow better: improve

Tattoo = 1: a rapid rhythmic rapping 2 a: a call sounded shortly before taps as notice to go to quarters

b: outdoor military exercise given by troops as evening entertainment. Eg. The impatient man began beating a tattoo with his fingers on the countertop.

Syncretism = 1: the combination of different forms of belief or practice 2: the fusion of two or more originally different inflectional
forms. Eg: "The Yoruba religion was brought to Cuba by Africans from the Yoruba region…. Over time, the religion merged with Catholicism, resulting in a
religious syncretism that unites the Yoruba deities (orishas) with Catholic saints." — Abel Fernandez, The Miami Herald, 4 Jan. 2017

Nugatory = 1: of little or no consequence: trifling, inconsequential 2: having no force: inoperative. Eg: "… Christine McVie
… was working on 'Keep Me There,' a throwback melodically to her solo album of a few years previously. The opening may have been
nugatory, but the chord progression up into the chorus had a driving tension." — David Honigmann, The Financial Times, 9 Jan. 2017

Cabotage = 1: trade or transport in coastal waters or airspace or between two points within a country

2: the right to engage in coastal trade or transport. Eg: "The decision to allow cabotage could see a foreign carrier … fly domestic passengers
between the Queensland resort and another destination north of the tropic." — Steve Creedy, The Australian, 29 May 2015

Laconic = adj. using or involving the use of a minimum of words: concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious
Genuflect = 1 a: to bend the knee b: to touch the knee to the floor or ground especially in worship

2: to be humbly obedient or respectful. Eg: "By abdicating [their] responsibility to provide a counterweight to the executive branch, legislative
leaders are genuflecting at the feet of the governor." — Kevin Franck, The Boston Herald, 6 Oct. 2016

Shunpike = a side road used to avoid the toll on or the speed and traffic of a superhighway
Hoary = 1: gray or white with or as if with age 2: extremely old: ancient. Eg: "Take encouragement from this hoary truth: No matter
how bad things get, you can always make them worse." — Paul McHugh, The Sacramento (California) Bee, 19 Dec. 2016

Kudos = 1: fame and renown resulting from an act or achievement: prestige2: praise given for achievement. Eg: "But Kraft deserves
kudos for the way he has allowed Belichick to do his job. A man that is obsessed with public relations, he has gotten out of the way when it
comes to running the football operations." — Bill Burt, The Eagle-Tribune (Massachusetts), 23 Jan. 2017

Finesse = 1: to make a finesse in playing cards: to play (a card) in a finesse

2 a: to bring about, direct, or manage by adroit maneuvering b: evade, skirt.

While fast breaks become more common late in 360Heat's first game against the Shepard Smash, the finesse and strategy is evident from the
start.
Katherine Fitzgerald, azcentral, "Wheelchair Rugby National Championship returns to Phoenix; local team defends title," 20 Apr. 2018
Spotted bass are spawning in the coves on stumps and gravel--shaky heads and finesse worms are the best bet, as usual.
Frank Sargeant, AL.com, "Friday Fishing Report," 12 Apr. 2018
Breathtaking in both the literal and figurative sense, these works require the lung capacity of an Olympian marathoner with the elocutionary
finesse of Shaw's Professor Henry Higgins.
Charles Mcnulty, latimes.com, "Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' and Shaw's 'Saint Joan': A marathon for four actors, and the audience," 9 Apr. 2018

Mayhap = adverb. possibly but not certainly: perhaps

Distaff = 1 a: related through a mother b: inherited or derived from the female parent

2: female. Eg: "One hint that the article was aimed more at the distaff side was in the second of 15 trends it listed, namely: 'Meet Workleisure: Athleisure is
taking on the workplace.' The illustrations were of women, the brands mentioned were feminine lines and, well, that whole concept is just too burdensome to
plan and too pricey for my closet." — Mike Tighe, The La Crosse (Wisconsin) Tribune, 29 Dec. 2016

Onus = 1: burden 2: a disagreeable necessity: obligation 3: blame 4: stigma

Management has made it clear that the onus is on employees to ask for further training if they don't understand the new procedures.

Bemuse = 1: to make confused: puzzle, bewilder 2: to occupy the attention of: distract, absorb

3: to cause to have feelings of wry or tolerant amusement. Eg: She had neither asked for nor expected her newfound celebrity, and was bemused by all the attention she was receiving.
"I have no interest in bemusing an audience or puzzling an audience. I don't think my plays are difficult. When they're spoken of in those terms, I'm always surprised." — Tom Stoppard,
quoted in The San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Oct. 2016

Protean = 1: of or resembling Proteus in having a varied nature or ability to assume different forms
2: displaying great diversity or variety: versatile

Cachet = 1: a seal used especially as a mark of official approval

2: a characteristic feature or quality conferring prestige; also: standing or estimation in the eyes of people: prestige
3: a design, inscription, or advertisement printed or stamped on mail.
Also, administrators know Illinois produces a steady stream of highly qualified young students who can boost their university’s academic
cachet.
Dawn Rhodes, chicagotribune.com, "Growing brain drain: University of Alabama's gain in drawing Illinois students is a loss for Illinois schools,"
6 Apr. 2018
The president and counselors who oversee the Relief Society, which runs activities for women, are considered the most important female
leaders based on the organization's historical cachet.
CBS News, "Mormons make history, tap Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares for top leadership," 31 Mar. 2018
This alchemy of color chips into cultural cachet is largely the work of Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, a small in-
house consultancy, founded in 1986.
Bruce Falconer, New York Times, "What Is the Perfect Color Worth?," 28 Feb. 2018

Sward = 1: a portion of ground covered with grass 2: the grassy surface of land
billet-doux = a love letter

transpontine = 1: situated on the farther side of a bridge 2: (British) situated on the south side of the Thames

weltanschauung = (often capitalized Weltanschauung) a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world especially from a specific standpoint

ragtag = 1: ragged, unkempt 2: composed of diverse often incongruous elements : motley. Eg: "Cyndi Lauper was one of
the biggest stars of the '80's MTV era…. Her girlish voice and gleefully ragtag appearance became one of the most distinctive images of the
time, which helped catapult her to stardom." — The Arizona Republic, 28 Sept. 2016

"[Howard] Shore was a core member of the show's small, ragtag team and not only composed the free-form jazz pieces that opened and
closed the show … but also wrote songs and dramatic underscores, appeared in sketches and was in charge of booking musical guests." — Tim
Greiving, The Washington Post, 1 Jan. 2017

Adjure = 1: to command solemnly under or as if under oath or penalty of a curse

2: to urge or advise earnestly. Eg: The church has strong ties to the community and has long adjured its congregants to devote
time to the aid of those less fortunate than themselves

SPITEFUL = malicious

GRIMALKIN = a domestic cat; especially : an old female cat

EIGHTY-SIX = slang) to refuse to serve (a customer); also : to get rid of : throw out. EG: The bar's policy is that
bartenders have both the authority and responsibility to eighty-six customers who disrupt other patrons.

BUCOLIC = 1: of or relating to shepherds or herdsmen: pastoral 2 a: relating to or typical of rural life

b: pleasing or picturesque in natural simplicity : idyllic

"My husband, Toby, and I … live on a remote sheep farm in the Cotswold Hills.… Our house perches on the edge of a bucolic valley, its pastures
divided by ancient dry-stone walls and hawthorn hedges." — Plum Sykes, Vogue, November 2016

FACTOID = 1: an invented fact believed to be true because of its appearance in print 2: a briefly stated and usually
trivial fact. EG: Printed on the back of each baseball card is a chart showing the player's statistics along with one or two
interesting factoids about his career. "Diana, the manager, took us through the intricacies of coffee roasting, providing us
with interesting factoids such as that lava from the volcanoes results in excellent soil for coffee growing, and the darker the
coffee bean, the less caffeine it has." — Patti Nickell, The Lexington (Kentucky) Herald Leader, 17 Feb. 2017

HUMMOCK = 1: a rounded knoll or hillock 2: a ridge of ice

3: a fertile area in the southern United States and especially Florida that is usually higher than its surroundings and that is characterized by hardwood vegetation
and deep humus-rich soil. EG: "Relying on a surveying device … Reeder set about measuring minute elevation changes across the land, searching for subtle
gradations and anomalies. He zeroed in on a hummock that looked like the earthen side of a bunker, long since overgrown with moss and foliage, and roughly
100 feet away, a telltale dip in the earth." — Matthew Shaer, Smithsonian Magazine, March 2017

UPBRAID = 1: to criticize severely: find fault with

2: to reproach severely: scold vehemently. EG: "A helpful neighbor was able to contact the owner in Dorset and upbraided her
for having her house stand empty while a young couple could find no place to live." — Kitty Ferguson, Stephen Hawking: An
Unfettered Mind, 2012
"There was a steady stream of customers, mostly for takeout, and the experience was marred only by a guy we took to be the
proprietor upbraiding one of his employees in front of the customers. Bad form, sir." — Heidi Knapp Rinella, The Las Vegas
Review-Journal, 1 Apr. 2016

JUNKET = 1: a dessert of sweetened flavored milk set with rennet 2 a: a festive social affair b: trip, journey: such as (1): a
trip made by an official at public expense (2): a promotional trip made at another's expense. EG: The senator is under fire for going on a
weeklong lavish junket.
"When I was young … our family often made junkets after church on Sunday, to Cook's, a massive arrangement of barns and sheds near New
London. Purveyors of everything from household items to car parts, it … had such buyer appeal that it seemed to be swarming with shoppers
every time we stopped in." — The Litchfield (Minnesota) Independent Review, 9 Feb. 2017

SLOUGH = 1: to cast off or become cast off 2: to crumble slowly and fall away 3: to get rid of or
discard as irksome, objectionable, or disadvantageous. EG: "The glue [that affixes the tiling to the hull] is exposed to a wide
variety of environmental conditions, including big temperature swings as well as the pressures of operating at 1,000 feet
beneath the surface. The friction of moving underwater tugs at the coating, and running into objects contributes to it gradually
sloughing off." — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 7 Mar. 2017

"After Monday’s [landslide], the Department of Public Works cut down two trees on the hillside, removed a loose mass of dirt
that was unstable and reopened the road. But a significant chunk of the hillside sloughed off in the wee hours of Wednesday
morning, with a valley resident alerting people that it had closed as early as 12:30 a.m." — Samantha Kimmey, Point Reyes Light
(Marin County, California), 9 Mar. 2017

FEY = 1: marked by a foreboding of death or calamity 2 a: marked by an otherworldly air or attitude b:

crazy, touched 3 a: excessively refined: precious b: quaintly unconventional : campy. EG: "Often I slipped into one of
a few personas I had invented to make myself feel more authentically magical. Sometimes I was Cassandra, a husky-
voiced Southern belle who called everyone 'honey child.' Other times I became Gabriel, a fey mystic with an accent
that I imagined to be French-ish." — Bennett Madison, The New York Times, 5 Sept. 2016

"What children get is something even better. They get a Batman who isn't invulnerable and who needs his friends.
They get a fey, effeminate hero who is every bit as brave and talented as his mentor…." — Louis McEvoy,
Cherwell (Oxford University), 25 Feb. 2017

REFURBISH = to brighten or freshen up: renovate. Eg: "The company doesn't make jet engines, but it does build
and refurbish critical components that protect them and enable them to power aircraft through the skies."
— Lawrence Specker, The Mobile (Alabama) Register, 19 Mar. 2017

TETCHY = irritably or peevishly sensitive : touchy. EG: "A million years ago, when written communication between
people was limited to emails, I had a policy of always engaging. It took effort to compose an email, and I found even the tetchy
ones gratifying. As long as the sender wasn't too obviously insane, I would reply…." — Emma Brockes, The Guardian, 5 Apr. 2017

GROK = to understand profoundly and intuitively. EG: "Understanding your character is as important as the lines. If you don't believe
you are someone different, how will anyone else believe you? You must grok the role—or at least try." — Joseph Garcia, quoted in The Orange
County (California) Register, 1 June 2014

INDURATE = physically or morally hardened. EG: "Anne-James Chaton, his indurate mien impassive and
poker-faced, stands as still and stiff as a motorway signpost…." — Robert Barry, The Quietus, 24 July 2013
HOODLUM = 1: thug; especially: a violent criminal 2: a young ruffian. The shaken couple tried to give the
police an accurate physical description of the hoodlums who assailed them in the parking lot. EG: "The iconic opening shot of
director Danny Boyle's 1996 'Trainspotting' was of junkie hoodlum Mark Renton's feet pounding the pavement while he and his
mates bolted down an Edinburgh street pursued by police." — Sean Burns, WBUR.org, 23 Mar. 2017

LUSCIOUS = 1: having a delicious sweet taste or smell 2: sexually attractive

3 a: richly luxurious or appealing to the senses b: excessively ornate

"Stockman's abstract paintings … are simple yet luscious, with thick, sensuous, curved shapes in intense, vibrating hues."
— Steffie Nelson, W, February 2017
"His exhortations of umami—that luscious, satisfying flavor, not exactly savory or sweet or sour or bitter, that the Japanese were the first to
identify—whetted my curiosity. One night at dinner, a chef prepared a special batch of dashi—the umami-drenched base stock of Japanese
soups—before my eyes, so I could observe and taste its alchemy as it brewed."
— Liesl Schillinger, Vogue, March 2017

REBUS = a representation of syllables or words by means of pictures or symbols; also: a riddle made up of such pictures or
symbols. EG: The answer to yesterday's rebus, which showed a man on an ark, a spider web, and a spoon stirring coffee, was "Noah Webster."
"The books are rebuses: They combine normally written words with emojis that substitute for words or parts of words."
— Jessica Roy, The Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 201

ACERBIC = acid in temper, mood, or tone. EG: "It was [Dave Chappelle's] first comedy special in 17 years, and even though the
specials were filmed in 2015 and 2016, they confirmed that Dave still had his … acerbic wit and impeccable comedic timing…." — Michael
Harriot, The Root, 29 Mar. 2017

KITSCH = 1: something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality
2: a tacky or lowbrow quality or condition. EG: Geraldine was amused by the kitsch sold in the roadside souvenir shop, but she wasn't tempted
to buy anything.
"During my wait, I took in my surroundings, which reflect a thematic blend of 1950s-style diner and rural-American kitsch. The TV behind the
barstool counter cranked out a steady diet of 'The Andy Griffith Show' reruns via Netflix." — The Grub Scout, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, 16
Feb. 2018

NUDNIK = a person who is a bore or nuisance. EG: James worried that he would never finish his work if the office
nudnik didn't quit hanging around his cubicle.
"Others may enjoy its gentle comedy, its plentiful caricatures and easy jokes, its lightweight tone. However, I found most of its
characters to be obnoxious, insufferable nudniks who never shut up or mind their own business or resemble real human beings."

UNABASHED = not embarrassed or ashamed by something that has happened or been done or said: undisguised,
unapologetic. EG: Franklin is an unabashed defender of cyclists' rights, and he isn't afraid to confront drivers in traffic who don't
adhere to the rules of the road.
"But, there is one San Antonian who is unabashed about his preference for In-N-Out over Whataburger, and some people have
labeled him a 'traitor' because of it." — Madalyn Mendoza, The San Antonio News-Express, 16 Apr. 2017

SKOSH = a small amount : bit, smidgen. EG: The barista sprinkled a skosh of fresh ginger onto the milky surface of the
latte. EG: "… I learned that the Turbo S is livable as an everyday car, with a ride quality a skosh firmer than a standard 911."
— Tom Voelk, The New York Times, 16 Sept. 2016

WHIRLIGIG = 1: a child's toy having a whirling motion 2 a: one that continuously whirls or changes b: a whirling
or circling course (as of events). EG: "As 2016 draws mercifully to a close, just what, exactly, are we to make of this bewildering
whirligig of a year?" — Brian Chasnoff, The San Antonio News-Express, 30 Dec. 2016

"The whirligig, an object that spins or whirls, may have started as a farmer's weathervane, but it evolved into a recognized piece
of American folk art." — Michelle Galler, RappNews.com (Rappahannock County, VA), 8 Dec. 2016
VALEDICTORY = of or relating to an act of bidding farewell: expressing or containing a farewell. EG: "During one of
two valedictory addresses, Fredrick challenged her classmates to make a difference after graduation and took the time to thank
all teachers." — Nathan Thompson, The Bartlesville (Oklahoma) Examiner-Enterprise, 14 May 2017

"When Julian Wachner arrived in Washington to head the Washington Chorus, he was seething with unfocused energy: a man
with a lot to prove. On Sunday, nearly 10 years later, he led his valedictory performance as the chorus's music director."

— Anne Midgette, The Washington Post, 16 May 2017

REDOUBT = 1 a: a small usually temporary enclosed defensive work b: a defended position: protective barrier 2: a
secure retreat: stronghold. EG: From his redoubt on the ninth floor, the fugitive could see the line of police cars that had
surrounded the building.

"Near Moore's home were the remains of the old earth walls of Fort Marcy built by Zachary Taylor's soldiers in 1845. These
were dirt embankments, or redoubts, but there really was no 'fort' except on paper." — Murphy Givens, The Corpus Christi
Caller-Times, 15 Mar. 2017

ADUMBRATE = 1: to foreshadow vaguely: intimate 2: to suggest, disclose, or outline partially 3: overshadow, obscure.
EG: "The opening scenes not only set forth the locale, the leading characters, and the first stage of the plot, but also adumbrate everything to
come." — Richard Alleva, The Commonweal, 11 Sept. 2015
"His temper and tendency to violence, adumbrated in the first part of the book, lead not only to his decline as a journalist but also his inability
to maintain relationships with the various women he encounters." — Gerald Early, The Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2015

CATERCORNER = in a diagonal or oblique position : kitty-corner. EG: The elaborate water fountain is catercorner to the
building's entrance, so it's the first thing you see when you enter the foyer.

"A few doors down (near the sushi place in the same strip mall, catercorner from the spiral-cut ham shop) we stopped briefly at Euro Market."
— Bruce Dorries, The News Leader (Staunton, VA), 4 Feb. 2017

PENCHANT = a strong and continued inclination; broadly : liking. EG: "The irony is that acting young kept me out of trouble,
giving me a sense of focus and purpose. I had a penchant for adventure." — Juliette Lewis, quoted in The Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2015

SQUINNY = to look or peer with eyes partly closed : squint. EG: "EV Crowe's new play, The Sewing Group, is a sly thing. It begins in
Shaker-like simplicity. Three women in long black dresses stitch in a plain wooden room. Two of them squinny with suspicion at the third." —
Susannah Clapp, The Guardian (UK), 20 Nov. 2016

ASCETIC = 1: practicing strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline 2: austere in appearance,
manner, or attitude. EG: The monks have taken a vow of poverty and maintain an ascetic lifestyle within the walls of the monastery.
"His house has no modern conveniences, and the clinic he soon goes to, staffed by slim women with light-colored eyebrows, is similarly
ascetic." — Glenn Kenny, The Kansas City Star, 8 Dec. 2016

MOUE = a little grimace: pout. EG: "I like … the way her eyes twinkle with mischief even as her mouth is set in a sulky fashionista
moue." EG: — Judith Woods, The Daily Telegraph (London), 16 Sept. 2016

HAYWIRE = 1: being out of order or having gone wrong 2: emotionally or mentally upset or out of control : crazy

EG: The company's e-mailing system went haywire and sent out multiple copies of the advertisement to its subscribers.
EG: "While our immune system generally keeps us safe and wards off illness, sometimes it can go a little haywire. Pollen and other usually harmless particles can
cause your immune system to overreact…." Andrei Javier, The Tennessean, 9 Apr. 2017

GARNER = 1 a: to gather into storage b: to deposit as if in a granary 2 a: to acquire by effort: earn b:

accumulate, collect EG: The first responders garnered praise from the mayor and the community for their swift response to the flash flood.
VOLPLANE = to glide in or as if in an airplane. EG: "[Roadrunners] can run at sustained speeds of up to 19 mph for considerable
distances, and usually only make short flights in order to escape danger or flush prey. Very rarely one might be seen volplaning, or gliding
downward with wings extended, from a ridgetop or other high perch."

ARGY-BARGY = a lively discussion : argument, dispute. EG: The tenants got into a bit of an argy-bargy over their shared porch.
PERSPICUOUS = plain to the understanding especially because of clarity and precision of presentation. EG:
The author's perspicuous prose helps even the simple layman to follow his explanations of this complicated topic.

SCAPEGRACE = an incorrigible rascal. EG: "He embarks on an arduous ocean voyage to America, where he faces swindlers and
scapegraces, and nearly dies of malaria—and maintains his sunny demeanor throughout." — Scot Lehigh, The Boston Globe, 1 Jan. 2016

SERICEOUS = covered with fine silky hair. EG: The plant was small and delicate, with narrow sericeous leaves.
DITHYRAMB = 1: a usually short poem in an inspired wild irregular strain 2: a statement or writing in an exalted or
enthusiastic vein. EG: She is working on a scholarly analysis of early Greek dithyrambs.

CONSTRUE = 1: to analyze the arrangement and connection of words in (a sentence or sentence part). 2: to
understand or explain the sense or intention of usually in a particular way or with respect to a given set of circumstances EG:
"He liked barge-size American automobiles, and regularly wore a Stetson. Such habits were not to be construed as affectation.
Melville was immune to the idle whim." Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 1 May 2017

POLTROON = a spiritless coward: craven. EG: "There's a theory that even though voters insist they hate the negative commercials
portraying a candidate's opponent as a sleazy, bribe-taking, bootlicking poltroon, the ads persist because they work." — Daniel Ruth, The Tampa Bay Times, 31
Aug. 2014

FLAT-HAT = to fly low in an airplane in a reckless manner: hedgehop. EG: Unable to resist the temptation to
show off, the young pilot decreased altitude and flat-hatted over the county fairground.

TURPITUDE = inherent baseness : depravity; also : a base act

EG: Many consumers have raised objections to the company's latest ad campaign, in which various forms of moral turpitude are depicted as
fashion statements.
"As a lawyer, a conviction for this type of conduct is likely to be considered a crime of 'moral turpitude' because it involves a significant breach
of the duty of a lawyer to maintain the confidentiality of a client's information." — Peter J. Henning, The New York Times, 14 Feb. 2017

ASSAY = 1 a: to analyze (something, such as an ore) for one or more specific components b: to judge the worth of : estimate
2: try, attempt 3: to prove to be of a particular nature by means of analysis. EG: "Each burger will be assayed by visitors and a panel of judges,
including local chefs Jen Knox, Gina Sansonia, Judith Able, Bret Hauser, Camilo Cuartas and Peter Farrand."
— Phillip Valys, SouthFlorida.com, 19 May 2017
"He bounced from job to job, working on a shrimp boat and later for Pan American Laboratories assaying chemicals coming in from Mexico."
— Steve Clark, The Brownsville (Texas) Herald, 21 Apr. 2017

SAVANT = 1: a person of learning; especially : one with detailed knowledge in some specialized field (as of science or literature)
2: a person affected with a mental disability (such as autism) who exhibits exceptional skill or brilliance in some limited field (such as
mathematics or music); especially : autistic savant

"It's romantic to imagine that every artist is a brilliant lone wolf savant who sends his pages by carrier pigeon to an awestruck editor who sends
them out into the world as is, but that's really not how it works…." — Dana Schwartz, The New York Observer, 1 May 2017

COPACETIC = very satisfactory. EG: "In terms of living standards we're now back to where we started which while
not making us entirely copacetic is at least better than not having recovered as yet." — Tim Worstall, Forbes, 8 Aug. 2016
YAWP = 1: to make a raucous noise : squawk 2: clamor, complain "It's a place where teenagers yawp and chuckle over
mounds of fried rice in styrofoam containers; where a couple on a budget shares sips from a fountain soda and a foot-long sub."
— Calum Marsh, The National Post (Ontario, Canada), 9 May 2017

TARE = 1: a deduction from the gross weight of a substance and its container made in allowance for the weight of the container;
also : the weight of the container 2: counterweight
EG: Factoring in a tare of 10,000 pounds for the trailer, the transportation officer determined that the truck's cargo load still exceeded the legal
limit.

CRUCIBLE = 1: a vessel in which metals or other substances are heated to a very high temperature or melted 2: a severe test

3: a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change or development
Living in the crucible that was Paris in the spring of 1968, Remi got to witness firsthand the angry confrontations between workers, students, and government.
"They each also possess, in their own way, a startling self-awareness and self-possession forged by the crucibles they and their families endured."
— John Nagy, The Pilot (Southern Pines, North Carolina), 6 May 2017

EDACIOUS 1: having a huge appetite : ravenous

2: excessively eager : insatiable. Living with three edacious teenagers, Marilyn and Roger were dismayed by how much they had
to spend on groceries week after week.

STEADFAST = 1 a: firmly fixed in place: immovable b: not subject to change 2: firm in belief, determination, or
adherence: loyal EG: Maureen knew she could count on the steadfast support of her best friend even in the hardest of times.

GAUCHE = 1: lacking social experience or grace; also : not tactful : crude 2: crudely made or done

"The second thing I did was request soy sauce, which wasn't on the table. The waiter managed to remain calm and respectful while dryly informing me that all
necessary condiments are already infused into the dishes in the appropriate combinations. My request had apparently been quite gauche…."
— Gene Weingarten, The Key West (Florida) Citizen, 21 May 2017

FESTER = To generate pus

DISPORT = 1: divert, amuse 2: display 3: to amuse oneself in light or lively fashion : frolic

EG: "More stunts follow in Act II: Les Incredibles, an enormous Russian man who flings his tiny Canadian wife through the air; a
stunning aerialist known as Lucky Moon; a family of three, Los Lopez, disporting themselves on the high-wire." — Margaret
Gray, The Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2017

CONVERSANT = having knowledge or experience. EG: The ideal candidate for the sommelier position will have
expert knowledge of the various wine varieties served in the restaurant and be conversant in the rich vocabulary of viniculture.

BIBELOT = a small household ornament or decorative object : trinket

SCOUR = 1: to move about quickly especially in search 2: to go through or range over in or as if in a search

The dog scoured the terrain in search of the tennis ball I had thrown.
"The rescue team scoured the ground and a New Hampshire National Guard Black Hawk helicopter also searched the area." — Emily Sweeney, The Boston Globe, 18 July 2017

SHOFAR = the horn of an animal (usually a ram) blown as a trumpet by the ancient Hebrews in battle and during religious observances and used
in modern Judaism especially during Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur.
EG: "A collection of local artists will be selling their artwork, crafts, jewelry and Judaica, and gift booths will offer T-shirts, books and traditional Jewish and Israeli
items, from mezuzahs to shofars." — Jennifer Nixon, the Arkansas (Little Rock) Democrat-Gazette, 27 Apr. 2017

TOOTHSOME = 1: agreeable, attractive 2: of palatable flavor and pleasing texture : delicious

"Next came toothsome slices of bread with three spreads: an herbaceous carrot top pesto, creamy local butter and Cheeky Monkey, a garlicky
tomato oil made in Syracuse." — Tracy Schuhmacher, The Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York), 16 Aug. 2017

PACE = contrary to the opinion of — usually used as an expression of deference to someone's contrary opinion.

EG: Pace the editorialist, there are in fact multiple solutions to these kinds of problems.

LEGERITY = alert facile quickness of mind or body. EG: The novel's less than compelling plot is counterbalanced by
the narrator's wit and legerity.

DISPARATE = 1: containing or made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous elements

2: markedly distinct in quality or character. EG: The proposed law has the support of a disparate collection of interest groups

BROADSIDE = 1 a: a sizable sheet of paper printed on one side; also : a sheet of paper printed on one or both
sides and folded (such as for mailing)
b: something (such as a ballad) printed on a broadside
2: all the guns on one side of a ship; also : their simultaneous discharge
3: a volley of abuse or denunciation : a strongly worded attack
4: a broad or unbroken surface
EG: "In response, Kobach said Hensley's broadside was larded with misrepresentations certain to be distasteful to Kansans
hungry for decency in politics."
— Tim Carpenter, The Topeka (Kansas) Capital-Journal, 16 Aug. 2017

ANATHEMATIZE = curse, denounce. EG: "Its reception of [George] Orwell serves as a fascinating case study of
Commonweal's history and editorial culture. The magazine's editors and contributors neither anathematized Orwell nor sprinkled him with
holy water. Instead they simply gave him the respect they thought he deserved…." John Rodden and John Rossi, Commonweal, 23 Sept. 2016

APODICTIC = expressing or of the nature of necessary truth or absolute certainty EG: "Her writing, collected in a volume
titled Sweet Nothings (a title intended, one suspects, to ward off serious criticism), has an apodictic, take-it-or-leave-it quality: 'Art is a low-risk,
high-reward crime.'" — Theodore Dalrymple, City Journal, Winter 2016

PARABLE = example; specifically: a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious
principle. EG: The priest opened his homily by relating the parable of the Good Samaritan, from the Gospel of Luke.

COTTON = 1: to take a liking — used with to 2: to come to understand — used with to or on to

EG: "This exhibition—like many of [Jim] Henson's shows—is mainly for adults, concerned with the craft of puppetry and the expansion of
broadcast media…. Henson, born in Greenville, Miss., in 1936, had an early gift for landscape drawing, but he cottoned on quickly to the
potentials of a new medium—and to the branding opportunities that the medium would allow." Jason Farago, The New York Times, 21 July
2017

KNEE-JERK = readily predictable : automatic; also : reacting in a readily predictable way. EG: The letter to the editor asserted that
the proposed institution of a curfew was a knee-jerk reaction to the problem of an uptick of nighttime crime in the city.

HEW = 1: to cut or fell with blows (as of an ax) 2: to give form or shape to with or as if with an ax 3: conform, adhere.

EG: "He is best known stateside for the … productions of 'Twelfth Night' and 'Richard III' that he brought to Broadway in 2013, which hewed as closely as possible
to the staging choices made at the turn of the 17th century." — Eric Grode, The New York Times, 5 Sept. 2017

CHARY = 1: hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks 2: slow to grant, accept, or expend.
EG: "Alexander Graham Bell didn't expect his telephone to be widely used for prank calls. And Steve Jobs was chary of children using his iThings."
— Hayley Krischer, The New York Times, 7 Sept. 2017

EUPHONY = 1: pleasing or sweet sound; especially : the acoustic effect produced by words so formed or combined as to
please the ear 2: a harmonious succession of words having a pleasing sound.
EG: He awakened on a warm morning to the euphony of birdsong outside his window.

RAZZMATAZZ = 1: a confusing or colorful often gaudy action or display : razzle-dazzle

2: inflated, involved, and often deliberately ambiguous language : double-talk 3: vim, zing
We were disappointed by the candidate's speech, which offered plenty of razzmatazz but little substance.

PALLIATE = to reduce the violence of (a disease); also : to ease (symptoms) without curing the underlying disease
LAGNIAPPE = a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase; broadly : something given or
obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure. Eg: Our meal began with a lagniappe of pickled vegetables.

SLAKE = 1: satisfy, quench 2: to cause (a substance, such as lime) to heat and crumble by treatment with water :
hydrate. EG: "Food trucks offering tacos, barbecue and wood-fired pizza will be available to slake any ale-induced cravings, and
live bluegrass music from Turnip Truck and Red Barn Hayloft will serenade the event."
— EmmaJean Holly, Valley News (West Lebanon, New Hampshire), 16 Aug. 2017

VITUPERATE = 1: to criticize or censure severely or abusively 2: to use harsh condemnatory language

"Hang on, let me tell you a story: Years ago, I had a co-worker who knew I enjoyed golf and who decided that he would
vituperate golf. 'It's so boring, it's such a waste of time. Who in his right mind would want to play golf?'"
— Jay Nordlinger, The National Review, 17 Apr. 2017

MALADROIT = lacking skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations: inept. Eg: Any project, however
carefully planned, is doomed to fail under maladroit management.

AGITA = a feeling of agitation or anxiety. "Home-sharing through websites has meant more lodging choices for visitors to
Massachusetts. But it's also become a source of considerable agita on Beacon Hill: How to tax and regulate this sudden behemoth?" — The
Boston Globe, 18 June 2017

SALUBRIOUS = favorable to or promoting health or well-being. EG: The hot springs are popular both for relaxation and for
their reported salubrious effect.

FARCEUR = 1: joker, wag2: a writer or actor of farce or satire. Grace's class presentation went very well, but she
could have done without the snide remarks from the farceurs at the back of the room.

APROPOS = with regard to (something): concerning. Sean interrupted our conversation about politics
and, apropos of nothing, asked who we thought would win the basketball game.

ENSCONCE = 1: to place or hide securely: conceal

2: to establish or settle firmly, comfortably, or snugly

"Using their strong back legs, female loggerheads dig until a pit is created that is deep enough to safely
ensconce their eggs."

— The Press and Standard (Walterboro, South Carolina), 20 July 2016

BRAVADO = 1 a: blustering swaggering conduct. b: a pretense of bravery. The quiet, reserved actor is primarily known for playing characters who radiate bravado and swagger.

THIMBLERIG 1: to cheat by trickery 2: to swindle by a trick in which a small ball or pea is quickly shifted from under one to
another of three small cups to fool the spectator guessing its location.

"Thimblerigging the market was such an accepted practice some traders were even taunted for not stealing enough ."

Definiciones de taunt. verbo

provoke or challenge (someone) with insulting remarks.

students began taunting her about her weight

sinónimos: jeer at, sneer at, scoff at, poke fun at, make fun of, get a

YEGG = one that breaks open safes to steal : safecracker; also : robber
STRIDULATE = to make a shrill creaking noise by rubbing together special bodily structures — used especially of male insects
(such as crickets or grasshoppers)
"Every day throughout the year begins and ends with … insects rattling and stridulating, and birds singing their hearts out."
— Alex Shoumatoff, Yale Environment 360, 18 May 2017

TIN-POT = cheap or trivial of its kind : petty, small-time, two-bit eg: "Every fascist, authoritarian and tin-pot
dictator in history has tried to shut down dissent." — Michael Goodwin, The New York Post, 15 June 2017

CLEW = 1: a ball of thread, yarn, or cord 2: something that guides through an intricate procedure or maze of difficulties : clue. Eg: "High
overhead, topmen scrambled to furl and unfurl sails and tend to yards and booms and spars and various clews."

— Corey Kilgannon, The New York Times, 30 Aug. 2009

WEREWOLF = a person transformed into a wolf or capable of assuming a wolf's form

CAUSERIE = 1: an informal conversation : chat 2: a short informal essay. Eg: The professor invited the award-winning playwright to
her class to have a causerie with her literature students.

INELUCTABLE = not to be avoided, changed, or resisted : inevitable

BELAUD = to praise usually to excess

JALOUSIE = 1: a blind with adjustable horizontal slats for admitting light and air while excluding direct sun and rain
2: a window made of adjustable glass louvers that control ventilation

The rooms of the little bungalow were protected from the brutal tropical heat by wooden jalousies.

"All the old jalousies have been replaced with new windows framed in mahogany, but many interior doors and much of the original hardware have been
retained."

— Christine Davis, The Palm Beach Daily News, 14 July 2011

ROUÉ = a man devoted to a life of sensual pleasure : rake

Eg: "Hugh Grant, as a roué who seems to realize that his charm is a regrettably cheap commodity, enjoyed something of a comeback in
Florence Foster Jenkins." — Tom Gliatto, People, 17 Jan. 2017

DOUGHTY = marked by fearless resolution: valiant eg: Noticing that the cashier shorted him a nickel, the doughty child marched up to
the counter and demanded it from her.

PATHOS 1: an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion

2: an emotion of sympathetic pity

"The best survival movies are often harrowing; packed with loss and pathos while testing the limits of human endurance."

— Mathew DeKinder, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5 Oct. 2017

SHILLY-SHALLY = 1: to show hesitation or lack of decisiveness or resolution 2: dawdle

"He chaired a meeting this month that called on reluctant officials not to shilly-shally with economic and social reforms…."
— The Economist, 18 Feb. 2017

LOLLYGAG = to spend time idly, aimlessly, or foolishly: dawdle

Owen had a habit of lollygagging in the morning when he was supposed to be getting ready for school, and that meant that he
was sometimes late.

FERVID = 1: very hot: burning

2: marked by often extreme intensity of feeling

Eg: "Here at the Toronto International Film Festival, there are posters for an upcoming Guillermo del Toro-curated exhibit called 'Influences'
that will let you sample the movies and books and music that fed the director's fervid imagination."

— David Edelstein, Vulture, 14 Sept. 2017

VELD = A grassland especially of southern Africa usually with scattered shrubs or trees

Mann's photographs were beautiful, although never cloying, and impossible to reduce to clean readings. But one of the deeper things they
captured was the ineluctable pain—even in idyllic circumstances—of growing up."

— Sebastian Smee, The Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2018

REIFY = to consider or represent (something abstract) as a material or concrete thing : to give definite content and form to (a
concept or idea). EG: "Increased awareness of automated surveillance, in other words, is most effective at demystifying the systems doing the
watching, not reifying their wisdom and authority."

— John Herrman, The New York Times, 14 Jan. 2018

HACHURE = to denote surfaces in relief  (as on a map) by shading with short lines drawn in the direction of slope

FARCE = 1: a savory stuffing : forcemeat. 2 a light dramatic composition marked by broadly satirical comedy and improbable plot

UNCANNY = 1: seeming to have a supernatural character or origin: eerie, mysterious 2: being beyond what is normal
or expected : suggesting superhuman or supernatural powers.

SYNONYM FOR "COVETOUS".

Both, JEALOUS may be used to mean both “covetous” and “suspicious of rivalry or
unfaithfulness”, envious is only comfortable in the first of those two senses.

YOUR BOSS ASKS YOU TO SCHEDULE A BIWEEKLY MEETING. WHAT

DO YOU DO? There is no way to know what to do without more information
I BROUGHT VERY LITTLE ______ ON MY RECENT TRIP.
Luggage and baggage are both acceptable

ANENT = about, concerning. Eg: "The Act had been a sensible idea. Its absence would be noted. Not least
among minority communities who welcomed the protection available from Section Six of the Act anent Online
communications."

— Brian Taylor, BBC.com, 25 Jan. 2018

CAREER = to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner. The nervous passengers gripped their seats
and exchanged anxious looks as the bus careered down the icy road.

INTERSPERSE = 1 to place something at intervals in or among 2 to place something at intervals in or among. The
author has interspersed the guidebook with illustrations of the different birds we might encounter on the safari tour.

ANACHRONISM = an error in chronology; especially : a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each
other. There are the truly strange anachronisms throughout. Félicie traipses around in denim shorts, and the characters … make 'Hammer Time' jokes. And yet
we know it's supposed to be the 19th century because of the proliferation of top hats and horse-drawn carriages, and because both the Eiffel Tower and Statue
of Liberty are under construction."

— Katie Walsh, The Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2017

SCURRILOUS = 1 a: using or given to coarse language b: vulgar and evil 2: containing obscenities, abuse, or slander

The actor publically apologized to his young fans for his scurrilous tweets.
BLUDGE 1: (chiefly Australia & New Zealand) to avoid work or responsibility. "I'll catch the ferry or bludge a ride on the new boat of
one of my commodity-boomed nouveau riche friends." — Phil Haberland, The Guardian Express (Australia), 6 Mar. 2007

HARBINGER 1: one that initiates a major change: a person or thing that originates or helps open up a new activity,
method, or technology : pioneer
2: something that foreshadows a future event : something that gives an anticipatory sign of what is to come
When the star running back went down with an injury in the team's first game, it turned out to be the harbinger of a
disappointing season.

ANNEAL = 1 a: to heat and then cool (a material, such as steel or glass) usually for softening and making less brittle; also : to cool
slowly usually in a furnace

b: to heat and then cool (double-stranded nucleic acid) in order to separate strands and induce combination at lower temperature with
complementary strands

2: strengthen, toughen

3: to be capable of combining with complementary nucleic acid by a process of heating and cooling
"Before and after the Eagles organized team activities last spring, Nelson Agholor retreated to his hometown for a series of training sessions
with an old friend and mentor that would anneal his mind as much as his body."
— Mike Sielski, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 9 Oct. 2017

NON SEQUITUR = 1: an inference that does not follow from the premises 2: a statement (such as a response) that does not
follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said
Unprepared for the question, the speaker gave a response that was a jumble of non sequiturs and irrelevant observations.

MUCILAGINOUS = 1: sticky, viscid 2: of, relating to, full of, or secreting mucilage
"It started quietly last summer, when social media watchers began buzzing about it. Tweens had struck on a recipe for a mucilaginous,
stomach-turning substance and were posting videos of themselves playing with it. The slime trend had hit."
— Robert Klara, Adweek, 8 May 2017

"… okra is best picked right off the vine, before it gets too big. For this recipe, a simple bath in milk, a romp in a bowl of flour and cornmeal,
and a dip in hot oil are all that's needed to render the mucilaginous veggie into the ambrosial stuff of cafeteria dreams."
— Courtney Bond, Texas Monthly, July 2016

OBLITERATE = 1 a: to remove from recognition or memory b: to remove from existence

2: to make undecipherable by wiping out or covering over
The children's chalk drawings remained on the sidewalk until a rainstorm came along and obliterated them.

WIFTY = eccentrically silly, giddy, or inane : ditzy "… he paints a tender and sensitive portrait of a modern-day Don
Quixote trapped in his own grand, wifty delusions."

VIAND = 1: an item of food; especially: a choice or tasty dish 2: (plural) provisions, food.
"The family sat down to table, and a frugal meal of cold viands was deposited before them."

BOMBINATE = to make a sustained deep murmuring, humming, or buzzing sound : buzz, drone
The only sounds Jared could hear in the office that night were those of his own typing and the air conditioner bombinating.

GULLIBLE = easily duped or cheeted

PILLORY = 1: a wooden frame for public punishment having holes in which the head and hands can be lockedWhen I was in college in the
1980s, the general store down the road shamed deadbeats by posting their bounced checks next to the cash register. It was a pillory of sorts, a wall of shame."

— Dwight Garner, Esquire, September 201

MAIEUTIC = relating to or resembling the Socratic method of eliciting new ideas from another.
"Montaigne wrote as a kind of maieutic exercise, a way of drawing his thoughts into the light of day, of discovering what he
wanted to say as he said it."

CACHINNATE = to laugh loudly or immoderately. As the author read from her newest book, we tried to tune
out the spectator cachinnating at the back of the auditorium.

ZOOMORPHIC = 1: having the form of an animal

ORPHIC 1: (capitalized) of or relating to Orpheus or the rites or doctrines ascribed to him 2: mystic, oracular
3: fascinating, entrancing

WEND to direct one's course: travel, proceed. The hikers wended their way along the forest trail toward the
evening's campsite.

DIAPHANOUS = 1: characterized by such fineness of texture as to permit seeing through

2: characterized by extreme delicacy of form : ethereal
3: insubstantial, vague
"For an hour and 45 minutes, Jackson wound through the various chapters of her career, directing her diaphanous voice to
nearly three dozen songs…. " — Brian McCollum, The Detroit Free Press, 30 Oct. 2017

STULTIFY = 1: to cause to appear or be stupid, foolish, or absurdly illogical

2 a: to impair, invalidate, or make ineffective : negate b: to have a dulling or inhibiting effect on
What started out as a promising plan to redesign the town square ended up being stultified by bureaucracy and too
many conflicting special interests.

LOTHARIO = a man whose chief interest is seducing women

BONIFACE = the proprietor  of a hotel, nightclub, or restaurant
GRAVAMEN = the material or significant part of a grievance or complaint. The gravamen of Walter's

letter to the editor was that the newspaper frequently reported on the school system's failures but rarely covered its
successes and improvements

TERPSICHOREAN = of or relating to dancing. "Cronkhite's exuberant dances look great but let the

kids act like kids, and don't demand terpsichorean polish beyond the cast's abilities."
— Marty Clear, The Bradenton Herald, 13 Jan. 2017
RECUMBENT = 1 a: suggestive of repose: leaning, resting b: lying down 2: representing a person lying

down 3: (of a bicycle) having the seat positioned so that the rider's legs are extended horizontally forward to the
pedals and the body is reclined
When Bert glanced at his father's recumbent form in the armchair, he immediately realized that he could use a good
nap himself.

SPAVINED = 1: affected with swelling 2: old and decrepit : over-the-hill The team is sadly spavined, and the
new coaching staff will have to look to rebuild over the next couple of seasons.

"I blenched when my son first introduced me to the initials IRL

LOGOMACHY 1: a dispute over or about words. "Not that anyone could accuse this city of lacking logophiles—that's 'lovers
of words,' if you have to ask. But where could word warriors go to engage in spirited logomachy?"

CARP = to find fault or complain querulously. The play begins in 1619, three years after his death, when a few of his former
colleagues are carping about the pirated versions of his plays now cluttering London stages and bookstalls." — Alexis Soloski,
The New York Times, 25 July 2017

RECUSE = to disqualify (oneself) as judge in a particular case; broadly : to remove (oneself) from participation to avoid a conflict of
interest. "If HB 1225 becomes law in its current form, any county official who has an agreement with a wind developer must recuse
himself or herself from any matter that involves the ownership, operation, construction or location of a wind power device in the county."

ADUST = scorched, burned. The adust landscape of volcanic rock and sand can be particularly beautiful at sunset.

NEBBISH = a timid, meek, or ineffectual person. Lyle may have come across as a nebbish, but he stood up to the bully who
gave him a hard time—and the students in the cafeteria who witnessed the confrontation showed their support.

FROLIC = 1: to amuse oneself: make merry 2: to play and run about happily: romp

"When we ask our viewers to send us photos of the snow, we always get the usual—kids, dogs, porches—
but this year, one viewer stepped it up a notch. Oak Island resident Wendy Brumagin was able to capture a
beautiful, and what some might consider rare, image of a coyote frolicking in the snow." — ABC11.com
(Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina), 8 Jan. 2018

BIDDABLE = 1: easily led, taught, or controlled : docile 2: capable of being bid

"Unfailingly sweet and biddable (he never put his teeth on another creature—not even when he was bitten on the
snout by a friend's ten-week-old puppy), we almost doubted his full canine credentials. No pack instincts? No
resource guarding? No." — Mona Charen, The National Review, 23 Nov. 2016
PANEGYRIC = a eulogistic oration or writing; also: formal or elaborate praise. The club's president opened
the awards ceremony with a touching panegyric for several prominent members who had passed away during the
last year.

UNCANNY = 1: seeming to have a supernatural character or origin : eerie, mysterious

2: being beyond what is normal or expected : suggesting superhuman or supernatural powers

Our waiter had an uncanny resemblance to the creepy villain in the film we had just seen.

"One of the premier shape-shifters of his generation of actors, able to convincingly play an uncanny variety of characters, Paul Dano would
seem to have slipped easily into yet another role: that of accomplished director."

— Kenneth Turan, The Portland Press Herald, 28 Jan. 2018

ABIDE = 1 a: to bear patiently: tolerate b: to endure without yielding : withstand

2: to wait for: await

3: to accept without objection
4: to remain stable or fixed in a state
5: to continue in a place: sojourn
Susan has been a vegetarian for years and can no longer abide even the smell of cooked meat.
"They plainly abided a situation that was intolerable, and they shouldn't have done it."
— Robert F. Bauer, The New York Times, 20 Feb. 2018

CUCKOO = 1: of, relating to, or resembling the cuckoo 2: deficient in sense or intelligence : silly

One of the kids had some cuckoo theory about the house being demolished because of evidence of a UFO landing visible in the tiles of its roof.

CURSORY = rapidly and often superficially performed or produced: hasty.

James gave the instructions only a cursory look before he began to assemble the shelves and didn't realize until he was partway through that he would need a
power drill.

NONDESCRIPT
1: belonging or appearing to belong to no particular class or kind : not easily described
2: lacking distinctive or interesting qualities : dull, drab
The famous spy was a quiet, nondescript man that people had a difficult time describing even a few minutes after meeting him, which was clearly an advantage
in his profession.

AGON = conflict; especially: the dramatic conflict between the chief characters in a literary work
"There is always a fierce struggle—an agon—in the soul of the poet between her own poetic universe and that which precedes
her, and against which she is to make her voice heard."

EXEGESIS = exposition, explanation; especially: an explanation or critical interpretation of a text.

"He has … a real gift for exegesis, unpacking poems in language that is nearly as eloquent as the poet's, and as clear as faithfulness allows."

— Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 2 May 2016

AD HOC 1 a: concerned with a particular end or purpose b: formed or used for specific or immediate
problems or needs

2: fashioned from whatever is immediately available : improvised.

"Possible art projects … include a new mural, a music festival or concert series and a sculpture made from a dead tree in
Montezuma Park. For each of these projects, the committee members agreed to form a temporary ad hoc committee made up
of interested citizens with the expertise to plan them."

— Stephanie Alderton, The Journal (Cortez, Colorado), 24 Jan. 2018

PARLOUS = FULL OF DANGER OR RISK. "Back in Venice, he was restoring an apartment of his own …, a stately edifice constructed … in the mid-
1600s that had fallen into a parlous condition."

Synonym of PARLOUS = venturesome

1 : inclined to court or incur risk or danger : daring a venturesome investor

2 : involving risk : hazardous a venturesome journey

— venturesomely adverb

— venturesomeness noun

CARAVANSARY 1: an inn surrounding a court in eastern countries where caravans rest at night
2: hotel, inn

Most of the area's hotels are on the pricey end of the scale, but there are a few caravansaries for budget travelers.

MELD: to blend or mix together : merge

"Right away you perceive a chorus of instruments—trumpet, piano, saxophone and vibes—that have acquired the ability to meld their individual voices into a
complementary, unified sound that delights the ears." — Ralph A. Miriello, The Huffington Post, 1 Jan. 2018

PLANGENT 1: having a loud reverberating sound 2: having an expressive and especially plaintive quality

The campers were awoken by the plangent howl of a coyote off in the distance

REFECTION 1: refreshment of mind, spirit, or body; especially: nourishment 2 a: the taking of refreshment

b: food and drink together: repast eg: "… I should prefer that even in the 'Children's Houses' which are situated in
tenements and from which little ones, being at home, can go up to eat with the family, school refection should be instituted." —
Maria Montessori, the Montessori Method, 1912

TELEGENIC = well-suited to the medium of television; especially: having an appearance and manner that are markedly
attractive to television viewers. Eg: The future looks promising for this charismatic and telegenic young politician.

MANTICORE= a legendary animal with the head of a man, the body of a lion, and the
tail of a dragon or scorpion

INVIGILATE 1: to keep watch; especially : to supervise students at an examination.

2 supervise, monitor

LAUDABLE = worthy of praise : commendable

BIRD-DOG = TO WATCH CLOSELY. With millions of city dollars invested, citizens are bird-dogging the riverfront development

project to its completion.

WOOLGATHERING = indulgence in idle daydreaming. My woolgathering in the backseat was abruptly interrupted by a

question from the taxi driver.

SCARIFY = 1. to make scratches or small cuts in (something, such as the skin)

RABBLE = 1: a disorganized or confused collection of things. The university chancellor required extra

security to help get him through the rabble of protestors.

MEANDER = 1. to follow a winding or intricate course 2: to wander aimlessly or casually without urgent destination : ramble

SCILICET = that is to say : to wit , namely . Example: The organization's charter clearly states that "any changes to the structure of

the organization's meetings must be unanimously approved by the executive board, scilicet, the chair and the board's six other members."

CROESUS = a very rich man

STUNNED / GOBSMACKED = aturdido

CHURLISH = poco afable, nasty

NEVER – NEVER LAND = an ideal or imaginary place

LUGUBRIOUS = mournful; especially: exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful.

Example: The dinner`s dim lighting makes eating there a particular lugubrious
place

MOURNFUL = sorrowful
CADRE = a nucleus or core group especially of trained personnel
able to assume control and to train others; broadly: a group of people
having some unifying relationship

1.I went to the ______ store to buy a birthday

card.
Stationary or stationery
2. I invented a brand new toaster robot
and ______ it "Sir Toasts-a-Lot."
Coined or dubbed
BEATIFIC
1: of, possessing, or imparting a state of utmost bliss

2: having a blissful appearance

Examples of BEATIFIC
"She was Italian, funny, a beatific tomboy, with just the hint of a lazy eye, and wore a pair of glasses that made me
think of the wonders of the library."

— Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run, 2016

"Maybe it was the unexpected warmth of the gesture…. Maybe it was his response, the beatific expression on his
face, eyes almost closed, head tilted toward her shoulder.… But when Michelle Obama hugged former President
George W. Bush … at a ceremony to open the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the image
quickly took flight online."

— Mark Landler, The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2016

IMBUE
1 : to permeate or influence as if by dyeing
2 : to tinge or dye deeply
3 : to provide with something freely or naturally : endow
Examples
The children were imbued with a passion for nature by their parents, both
biologists.
"For a 23-year-old newly imbued with national fame, Jacoby Brissett is a
man of few vices. One of them is chocolate chip cookies, which in college
he baked for his offensive linemen." — Adam Kilgore, The Washington
Post, 22 Sept. 2016

GLAUCOUS
1 a: of a pale yellow-green color

b: of a light bluish-gray or bluish-white color

2: having a powdery or waxy coating that gives a frosted appearance and tends to rub off

Examples of GLAUCOUS

"Her eyes, a clear, glaucous gray, express unambiguous yearning."

— Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 26 May 2016

"Waxy, hard, hairy and glaucous leaves help prevent water loss."

— Patrice Hanlon, The Mercury News (California), 10 Aug. 2016

EXTEMPORANEOUS
Definition

1 : composed, performed, or uttered on the spur of the moment : impromptu

2 : provided, made, or put to use as an expedient : makeshift

Everyone was surprised to hear my normally taciturn brother give a heartfelt, extemporaneous
speech at our parents' 50th anniversary party.

"At the last Japanese performance—in Fukui, some 200 miles to

t h e w e s t o f T o k y o — a u d i e n c e s w e r e so e xu b e r an t t h at S l a t k i n
a n d s o l o p i a n i s t M a k o t o O z o n e i n d u l g ed i n an ex t e m p o r a n e o u s
duet."

FRUITION
1: pleasurable use or possession: enjoyment

2 a: the state of bearing fruit

 b: realization

"… wife and husband had nothing to do but to link each other's arms together, and wander gently downwards towards old age in happy and
perfect fruition."
— William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, 1848
 
"Many brands depend on crowdfunding to bring a concept to  fruition."
— Curtis Sparrer, Adweek.com, 7 Apr. 2017

ENTHRALL = to hold spellbound mantener echizado: charm

"But [Luke] Bryan didn't need much trickery to enthrall the crowd, ready to party to 'Rain is a Good
Thing,' 'Crash My Party' and 'Do I' among his string of hits." — Amanda St. Amand, The St. Louis
Post-Dispatch, 15 June 2013

"In this picture she gazes up, her thoughts far from the page, seemingly too enthralled by her
photographer to concentrate on her task." — Megan Marshall, Elizabeth Bishop: A Miracle for Breakfast,
2017

CONFRERE = colleague, comrade. Eg: "Antonio Sánchez is a drummer of sharp and sweeping talent, best known to some
observers as the percussive engine behind the movie 'Birdman' and to others as a close confrere of the guitarist Pat
Metheny." — The New York Times, 2 Sept. 2016

"A practiced collaborator …, [Andy] Warhol made other creatives his confreres early on too.… Working with interior
designer Suzie Frankfurt, the pair's 'Wild Raspberries' was a silly, mock cookbook accompanied by delightfully oddball
illustrations." — Felicia Feaster, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9 June 2017

WREAK
1: to cause the infliction of (vengeance or punishment)
2: to give free play or course to (malevolent feeling)
3 : bring about, cause

Examples of WREAK
"A cheeky peacock has wreaked havoc inside a California liquor store, smashing over $500 worth of
expensive wine and champagne."— Heat Street, 7 June 2017
informal (of something pleasurable) consumed or done in an unplanned, rather self-indulgent way.
‘a cheeky pint’
‘venturing south for a cheeky weekend away’
An ostentatious or vain person.
‘these young men have always considered themselves the peacocks of Europe’
Great confusion or disorder.
‘if they weren't at school they'd be wreaking havoc in the streets’
"Don't be fooled by Mike Brown's big smile and happy-go-lucky demeanor. The Golden State Warriors'
acting head coach is probably salivating over his chance to wreak brutal vengeance against the
Cleveland Cavaliers—the team that fired him twice."
— Chuck Barney, The Mercury News (San Jose, California), 7 June 2017

HAPHAZARD
: marked by lack of plan, order, or direction

Examples of HAPHAZARD

"… his intense work ethic has made such a feat of releasing back-to-back projects appear effortless,
conscious and polished, as opposed to what could have been … a haphazard effort scrapping together
34 assorted tracks from his never-ending archive."

— Billboard.com, 24 Feb. 2017

"Once the taxidermy is set up and artists escorted out, the doors to the exhibit hall are closed.… The
hall is large and chilly, the scene is otherworldly, a haphazard zoo suspended in time, bald eagles
perched beside African lions reclining beside wild turkeys standing beside trunkfish swimming alongside
cape buffalo and snow leopards." — Christopher Borrelli, The Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2017

UKASE
1: a proclamation by a Russian emperor or government having the force of law

2 a: a proclamation having the force of law

b: order, command

"On December 31, 1810, the Emperor issued a ukase lifting all restrictions on exports from Russia and on imports coming by sea, while at the same time imposing a heavy tariff on
goods arriving overland, most of which came from France."

— James Traub, John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit, 2016

TUCKET : A fanfare on a trumpet.

POOH-BAH = 1: a person holding many public or private offices 2: a person in high position or of great influence

HORTATIVE = giving exhortation: serving to advise or warn.

"None can understand or interpret Michelangelo unless we recognise the extent to which the mysticism of Catholic faith coloured his beliefs
and work…. [If] we look back to the Pietà in St Peter's, finished when he was only 24, we find an image of such profound piety and sympathy
that crowds fall silent in its presence without any hortative 'Silenzio!'"

ABEYANCE
1: a state of temporary activity: suspension — used chiefly in the phrase in abeyance
2: a lapse in succession during which there is no person in whom a title is vested
"The 1950–53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, so hostilities have merely been in abeyance."

FLAMBOYANT: marked by or given to strikingly elaborate or colorful display or behavior.

The circus performers were easily identifiable by their  flamboyant costumes and stage makeup.

DIVEST:
1 a: to deprive or dispossess especially of property, authority, or title
b: to undress or strip especially of clothing, ornament, or equipment.
c: rid, free
2: to take away from a person
"A news release went out from Governor Andrew Cuomo's office, saying that New
York was going to divest its vast pension-fund investments in fossil fuels."

BESPOKE
1: custom-made
2: dealing in or producing custom-made articles
"Matt, a lifelong collector of vintage and bespoke men's suiting, takes dressing for an occasion
very seriously: black tie the first evening; blue jackets the second."

"Customers stepped up for body scans inside the showroom and then worked with an employee to
design their own bespoke pullovers."

GUST
1 obsolete
a: the sensation of taste
b: INCLINATION, LIKING
2: keen delight
Ráfaga burst, blast, gust flurry, squall, waft
Soplo breath, blow, puff, blowing, blast, gust
Arrebato rapture, fury, gust
Tomo volume tome

A sudden strong rush of wind.

Example sentences
Synonyms
1.1 A sudden burst of something such as rain, sound, or emotion.
‘gusts of rain and snow flurried through the open door’

LIMINAL
1: of or relating to a sensory threshold
2: barely perceptible
3: of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : in-between, transitional
Examples of LIMINAL
"Kipling is drawn to images of his characters sitting in perilous places, because he aims to communicate
a liminal anxiety about identity and imperial history."

"Solnit suggests that separating the feeling of becoming lost from a feeling of fear leads to a certain
kind of spiritual growth. In that liminal space, between what we know and what we can't imagine, we are
remade."

ICONOCLAST
1 : a person who destroys religious images or opposes their veneration

2 : a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions

LOUT
: an awkward brutish person. Eg: To get away from the obnoxious  louts making noise in the
restaurant, Jared and Fiona asked the waiter if they could be moved to another table.

HOITY-TOITY
1 : thoughtlessly silly or frivolous : flighty

2 : marked by an air of assumed importance : highfalutin

"… she was by no means hoity-toity, but a thinking, reasoning being of the
profoundest intellectual, or, rather, the highest artistic tendencies."

"Usually Tanglewood's summer lineup is too hoity-toity for the great

unwashed to care, but Beach Boys' legend and cofounder Brian Wilson
performing the entire album 'Pet Sounds' is enough to give any summer
concertgoer a good vibration."
— Craig S. Semon, The Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts),
3 June 2016

FELICITOUS
1: very well suited or expressed : apt
2: pleasant, delightful

The warm air and clear, dark skies made for felicitous conditions for the fireworks show.

"Experience has been instructive to Moulder, who has learned that churches have been particularly felicitous
spaces. Granted, the general public may associate the music with nightclubs and sensuality, but jazz has deep roots
in the church that flowered in the form of works such as John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme'…."

"Early in my career, I uncovered a DEFALCATION that resulted from one individual having too

QUA
Definition: in the capacity or character of: as
"Coben's novels have made him rich, but that's not what's important to him. It's sales qua sales—his statistical
record—that motivates Coben, rather than the money his sales bring in."

"Sure, there have been other big pop music phenomena over the years … but the Beatles qua phenomenon was due
to a confluence of forces that defined a historical moment."

INVETERATE

1 : firmly established by long persistence

 
2 : confirmed in a habit : habitual

It's a common phrase that makes no sense: why do we quit "cold turkey"?

Examples
 
Since Ernie is an inveterate liar, we naturally didn't believe him when he told us he'd met the movie star.
 
"As an inveterate letter writer, I started sending email as soon as I could sign on with dial-up, and became impatient to
connect via DSL." — Deborah Lee Luskin, The Rutland (Vermont) Herald, 25 Feb. 2016

JUXTAPOSE
 
verb
 
: to place side by side (as to compare or contrast)
Examples
 
Darlene has a keen eye for fashion, and she likes to juxtapose vintage pieces with contemporary styles to create new
looks.
(vintage pieces = piezas de época)
 
"ESPN posted an image of poverty outside Havana's sports stadium last week, to juxtapose the well-kept stadium with
the shabby neighborhood around it." — Carolina Miranda, The Los Angeles Times  (latimes.com), 28 Mar. 2016

Shabby = en mal estado

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OMNISCIENT
adjective
 
1 : having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight
 
2 : possessed of universal or complete knowledge

insight = vision
 

Yes, "irregardless" is a word. No, that doesn't mean you should

use it.

Examples
 
The novel opens with an omniscient narrator recalling memories of her twelfth birthday.
 
"Digital advertisers … are increasingly omniscient: no longer do advertisers know just general things about you—a
worldly professional, say, with superb taste in journalism—but they target you, specifically." — The Economist, 26
Mar. 2016

EXODUS
noun
 
1 : (capitalized) the mainly narrative second book of canonical
Jewish and Christian Scripture
 
2 : a mass departure : emigration
Examples
 
When the concert ended, the exodus of attendees clogged up traffic for miles.
 
"The path of corporate exodus from New York City to New Jersey is well-worn, but real estate brokers and others say
that the pace has quickened recently." — Kathleen Lynn, The Record  (Bergen County, New Jersey), 28 Feb. 2016
Well-worn = trillado, usado
The pace has quickened recently = el ritmo se ha acelerado recientemente

 
NOETIC      
  
adjective
 
: of, relating to, or based on the intellect
 
How 'thru' turned into 'through' (and turned back into 'thru'
again).
 
Examples
 
In addition to her chemistry courses, Elena took electives in philosophy and the classics to satisfy her thirst
for noetic stimulation.
Electives = optativas
 
"But the new emphasis on curiosity as a noetic virtue adds a note of transcendence to the portrait of the ideal thinker."
— John J. Conley,America: The National Catholic Review, 1 Feb. 2016

LITANY
 
1 : a prayer consisting of a series
of invocations and supplicationsby the leader with alternate
responses by the congregation
 
2 a : a resonant or repetitive chant
 
  b : a usually lengthy recitation or enumeration
 
  c : a sizable series or set
 

Should you be insulted or complimented? Test your skills with

our quiz: What did you just call me?!

 
Examples
 
 "In a silent inner litany, I say 'thank you' for the magnificent gifts of a healthy body: lungs that breathe the cool,
foggy air; a nose that smells eucalyptus leaves and banana muffins; eyes that see hummingbirds swooping
outside my window; a tongue that has just savored a golden, juicy peach." — Anne Cushman, The Yoga
Journal, January/February 2004
 
"A litany of NFL stars have retired early in recent years, with most of them citing the dangers of football as the
primary reason they decided to hang it up." — Alex Reimer, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2016
long-houl = largo plazo

TEARJERKER
a sentimental story, movie, or song, calculated to evoke sadness or sympathy.

his grim expression; grim = severo

RETAIL THERAPY
sustantivo
shopping in order to make oneself feel happier.
Today James Carleton guides us through that most untested of psychological self-help techniques - retail therapy .

HAGGLE = regatear

the two sides are haggling over television rights

HOUSEWARNING PARTY = fiesta de inauguración

HEA PARTY = fiesta del te

STAG PARTY
a celebration held for a man shortly before his wedding, attended by his male friends only

Raise and Rise

The verb to raise means to lift or elevate. To rise means to ascend from a lower position to a higher
position. The past tense of rise is rose. (There is no such word as rised.)

He is raising the red ball.

With "raise", there is usually something lifting something else.

The blue ball is rising.

With "rise", the object ascends itself.

Remember, raise is not always about lifting — you can raise a question and raise children.

Examples:
 The stagehands need to raise the platform so it is high enough for the whole audience to see
the bands. 
 Wearing a sheer skirt will rise a few eyebrows. 
(should be raise)
 The sheer skirt made his eyebrows rise. 
 Running the marathon will help to raise funds. 
 It would be too expensive to rise the remnants of the Titanic. 
(should be to raise the remnants of Titanic)

RAZE
Raze is a less common word. It means to demolish completely or to delete. (It can also be
written rase. This is not a UK convention. It is simply an alternative spelling.)
 The arsonist razed the forest to the ground. 
 The plough will raze the ice from the road surface. 
 Councils forced to raze homes. 
(i.e., destroy them)

• LIE & LAY

(c) King Features Syndicate

Question: Is “lay” used correctly in this cartoon? Answer
below.

You'll lay an egg if you don't lie down

I
      n general, irregular verbs are troublesome to learn. Regular verbs create their past and past participle
forms by adding “d” or “ed” to the stem of their infinitives (love, loved, loved), but irregular verbs create
past and past participle forms by altering their stems in unpredictable ways.

      A number of common irregular verbs give people trouble, particularly:

dive, drown, fly, hang, lead, prove, sit, set and shrink.

     But lie and lay seem to give people more difficulty than do all the other irregular verbs combined. Here's
why: The past tense form of lie is lay, so it's indistinguishable from lay in the present tense except in usage.
(Sit and set, probably the irregular verbs that give people the most trouble next to lie and lay, for example,
have no parts in common. It's sit, sat and sat but set, set, set.)

     The principal parts (most-common verb forms) of lie are:

lie (present,) lay (past) and lain (past participle).

     The principal parts of lay are:

lay (present), laid (past) and laid (past participle).

     As an aid in choosing the correct verb forms, remember that lie means to recline, whereas lay means to
place something, to put something on something.

     • Lie means that the actor (subject) is doing something to himself or herself. It's what grammarians call a
complete verb. When accompanied by subjects, complete verbs tell the whole story. 
     • Lay, on the other hand, means that the subject is acting on something or someone else; therefore, it
requires a complement to make sense. Thus lay always takes a direct object. Lie never does. 

     More on “lie”: In its simplest (command) form, when the you is implied, lie is a sentence all by itself. If
you tell your dog, “Lie,” as in “(You) lie (down),” that's a complete sentence. (The same is true, by the way,
of sit.) In written material, we generally use down with lie when we mean to recline not because down is
needed grammatically but because we wish to distinguish from the regular verb lie, meaning to tell an
untruth (as in lie, lied, lied). 

     Tip: Always remember that lay is a transitive verb and requires a direct object. (A transitive verb
acts as a conveyor belt, transmitting action or influence from the subject to the object.) The common saying,
“Let's lay out in the sun,” is not only incorrect grammatically, it suggests a public promiscuity that's
frowned on even in this age of sexual permissiveness because you're implying the existence of a direct
object of lay: “Let's lay (her/him?) out in the sun.” Not that there's anything wrong with THAT! It's just
ungrammatical unless you're talking about sex. 

Correct Usage:
Lie
Present tense: I lie down on my bed to rest my weary bones. 
Past tense: Yesterday, I lay there thinking about what I had to do during the day. 
Past participle: But I remembered that I had lain there all morning one day last week.
Lay
Present tense: As I walk past, I lay the tools on the workbench. 
Past tense: As I walked past, I laid the tools on the workbench. And: I laid an egg in class when I tried to
tell that joke. 
Past participle: . . . I had laid the tools on the workbench.

    AN IMPORTANT TIP:

     Here's an easy way to get it right — every time — without remembering all that gobbleygook above. 
     When you bump into a lie-lay conundrum — when you aren't absolutely, 110 percent sure — do this
quick little exercise.* 
     Write these six words — “lie, lay, lain” (to recline); then beside or below them — “lay, laid, laid” (to
place or put down). 
     When students do that (I see it on the sides of their quizzes), they never — underline “never”— get it
wrong.
      Simple, but it works. I call it the Michiko Sato rule.

The Michiko Sato Rule

     I call this “The Michiko Sato Rule” because she invented that quick little way to make sure she always
got it right in quizzes and exercises (and life). 
    When Michiko, who is now married and a mother living in Tokyo, was a student here, she would always
write six words — three atop the other three — on her quizzes and exercises (we did 'em on paper then).
 Lie Lay Lain
Lay Laid Laid
     And she never got 'em wrong. Never! 
     I, therefore, being the smart guy that I am, developed the theory that if it worked for a student whose first
language was Japanese, it would work for everyone. Give it a try.

     Answer to “Zits” question: Oh, it should be “lie” as in “recline”; otherwise, he'd be

putting “low” somewhere or %@#&-ing it.

*the brew foamed and seethed = hervir, ponerse furioso

*drum your fingers = tamborilear

*a pack of lies = una sarta de mentiras

* a tall story = una historia de altura

* true to your Word = fiel a su palabra

* in a quandary = en un dilema

¿?? be at your wit´s end

* teething troubles = problemas iniciales ---- the inevitable teething troubles of a new system

*grapple = luchar, agarrar

* a new comer = un recién llegado

* newfangled = novedoso

* be on your last legs = estar en sus últimos coletazos

* an out-and-out failure/success = una falla fuera de entrada y salida / éxito

* pull something off = sacar algo fuera

* attain something = lograr algo

* back-fire = petardeo, contrafuego

* pinnacle = pinaculo, cumber

* third time lucky = tercera va la vencida

* be (living) on borrowed time

nine times out of ten

* off color = fuera de color

* to nip out /round= para cortar a cabo/ronda

* bust = busto, quiebra

* clear off = limpiar, largarse, liquidar

* a doddle/cinch = un juego de niños

* a tip-off = un chivatazo

tip somebody off = estafar a alguien

* not far off = no muy lejos

* pay lip service to something = de boquilla a algo

* pull the wool over someone´s eyes = engañar a los ojos de alguien

get the wrong end of the stick

* turn a blind eye to something = cerrar los ojos a algo

* a new lease of life = una nueva oportunidad de vida

can´t make head nor tail of something

* prim and proper = formal y apropiado

* scrimp and sabe = escatimar y ahorrar

odds and ends = retazos, chucherías, baratijas

dead as a doornail/dodo = muerta y bien muerta/vejestorio

* easy as pie = muy fácil

* ill-conceived = mal concebido

* demobilize = inmovilizar

* oversubscribed = un exceso de solicitudes

* reinstate = reintegrar

* liquidize = liquidar

* alegiance to somebody = Lealtad a alguien

* craving for something = antojo de algo

* settle for something= conformarse con algo

* out of bounds = fuera de los límites

* under duress = bajo coacción

* off the subject = fuera del tema

Inveterate

Definition adjective:
 
1 : firmly established by long persistence
 
2 : confirmed in a habit : habitual
Examples
 
Since Ernie is an inveterate liar, we naturally didn't believe him when he told us he'd met the movie star.
 
"As an inveterate letter writer, I started sending email as soon as I could sign on with dial-up, and became impatient to
connect via DSL." — Deborah Lee Luskin, The Rutland (Vermont) Herald, 25 Feb. 2016
It's a common phrase that makes no sense: why do we quit "cold turkey"?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

juxtapose
Definition: verb
: to place side by side (as to compare or contrast)
Examples 
Darlene has a keen eye for fashion, and she likes to juxtapose vintage pieces with contemporary styles to create new
looks.
(vintage pieces = piezas de época)
 
"ESPN posted an image of poverty outside Havana's sports stadium last week, to juxtapose the well-kept stadium with
the shabby neighborhood around it." — Carolina Miranda, The Los Angeles Times  (latimes.com), 28 Mar. 2016

Shabby = en mal estado

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Omniscient
Definition: adjective
 
1 : having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight
 
2 : possessed of universal or complete knowledge

insight = vision
 

Examples
 
The novel opens with an omniscient narrator recalling memories of her twelfth birthday.
 
"Digital advertisers … are increasingly omniscient: no longer do advertisers know just general things about you—a
worldly professional, say, with superb taste in journalism—but they target you, specifically." — The Economist, 26
Mar. 2016

Yes, "irregardless" is a word. No, that doesn't mean you should use it.

Exodus
Definition: noun
 
1 : (capitalized) the mainly narrative second book of canonical
Jewish and Christian Scripture
 
2 : a mass departure : emigration
Examples
 
When the concert ended, the exodus of attendees clogged up traffic for miles.
 
"The path of corporate exodus from New York City to New Jersey is well-worn, but real estate brokers and others say
that the pace has quickened recently." — Kathleen Lynn, The Record  (Bergen County, New Jersey), 28 Feb. 2016
Well-worn = trillado, usado
The pace has quickened recently = el ritmo se ha acelerado recientemente

 
noetic    \noh-ET-ik\ 
 
 Definition: adjective
 
: of, relating to, or based on the intellect
 

 
Examples
 
In addition to her chemistry courses, Elena took electives in philosophy and the classics to satisfy her thirst
for noetic stimulation.
Electives = optativas
 
"But the new emphasis on curiosity as a noetic virtue adds a note of transcendence to the portrait of the ideal thinker."
— John J. Conley,America: The National Catholic Review, 1 Feb. 2016

How 'thru' turned into 'through' (and turned back into 'thru' again).

Litany
Definition: noun
 
1 : a prayer consisting of a series
of invocations and supplicationsby the leader with alternate
responses by the congregation
 
2 a : a resonant or repetitive chant
 
  b : a usually lengthy recitation or enumeration
 
  c : a sizable series or set
 
Examples
 
"In a silent inner litany, I say 'thank you' for the magnificent gifts of a healthy body: lungs that breathe the cool,
foggy air; a nose that smells eucalyptus leaves and banana muffins; eyes that see hummingbirds swooping
outside my window; a tongue that has just savored a golden, juicy peach." — Anne Cushman, The Yoga
Journal, January/February 2004
 
"A litany of NFL stars have retired early in recent years, with most of them citing the dangers of football as the
primary reason they decided to hang it up." — Alex Reimer, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2016
----------------------------------------------------------
Should you be insulted or complimented? Test your skills with our quiz: What did you just call
me?!

long-houl = largo plazo

-----------------------------------------------

Definiciones de tearjerker: sustantivo

a sentimental story, movie, or song, calculated to evoke sadness or sympathy.

His grim expression; grim = severo

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Definiciones de retail therapy

sustantivo
 shopping in order to make oneself feel happier.
Today James Carleton guides us through that most untested of psychological self-help techniques - retail therapy .

Haggle = regatear

the two sides are haggling over television rights

housewarning party = fiesta de inauguraciòn

hea party = fiesta del te

Definiciones de stag party

sustantivo
a celebration held for a man shortly before his wedding, attended by his male friends only

Raise, Rise, and Raze

The words raise, rise, and raze sound similar, and they are often confused —
particularly raise and rise as their meanings are similar.

Raise and Rise

The verb to raise means to lift or elevate. To rise means to ascend from a lower position to a higher
position. The past tense of rise is rose. (There is no such word as rised.)

He is raising the red ball.

With "raise", there is usually something lifting something else.

The blue ball is rising.

With "rise", the object ascends itself.

Remember, raise is not always about lifting — you can raise a question and raise children.

Examples:
 The stagehands need to raise the platform so it is high enough for the whole audience to see
the bands. 
 Wearing a sheer skirt will rise a few eyebrows. 
(should be raise)
 The sheer skirt made his eyebrows rise. 
 Running the marathon will help to raise funds. 
 correctly named book

 It would be too expensive to rise the remnants of the Titanic. 

(should be to raise the remnants of Titanic)

Raze
Raze is a less common word. It means to demolish completely or to delete. (It can also be
written rase. This is not a UK convention. It is simply an alternative spelling.)
 The arsonist razed the forest to the ground. 
 The plough will raze the ice from the road surface. 
 Councils forced to raze homes. 
(i.e., destroy them)

• LIE & LAY

(c) King Features Syndicate

Question: Is “lay” used correctly in this cartoon? Answer
below.

You'll lay an egg if you don't lie down

I
      n general, irregular verbs are troublesome to learn. Regular verbs create their past and past participle
forms by adding “d” or “ed” to the stem of their infinitives (love, loved, loved), but irregular verbs create
past and past participle forms by altering their stems in unpredictable ways.

      A number of common irregular verbs give people trouble, particularly:

dive, drown, fly, hang, lead, prove, sit, set and shrink.

     But lie and lay seem to give people more difficulty than do all the other irregular verbs combined. Here's
why: The past tense form of lie is lay, so it's indistinguishable from lay in the present tense except in usage.
(Sit and set, probably the irregular verbs that give people the most trouble next to lie and lay, for example,
have no parts in common. It's sit, sat and sat but set, set, set.)

     The principal parts (most-common verb forms) of lie are:

 lie (present,) lay (past) and lain (past participle).

     The principal parts of lay are:

lay (present), laid (past) and laid (past participle).

     As an aid in choosing the correct verb forms, remember that lie means to recline, whereas lay means to
place something, to put something on something.

     • Lie means that the actor (subject) is doing something to himself or herself. It's what grammarians call a
complete verb. When accompanied by subjects, complete verbs tell the whole story. 
     • Lay, on the other hand, means that the subject is acting on something or someone else; therefore, it
requires a complement to make sense. Thus lay always takes a direct object. Lie never does. 

     More on “lie”: In its simplest (command) form, when the you is implied, lie is a sentence all by itself. If
you tell your dog, “Lie,” as in “(You) lie (down),” that's a complete sentence. (The same is true, by the way,
of sit.) In written material, we generally use down with lie when we mean to recline not because down is
needed grammatically but because we wish to distinguish from the regular verb lie, meaning to tell an
untruth (as in lie, lied, lied). 

     Tip: Always remember that lay is a transitive verb and requires a direct object. (A transitive verb
acts as a conveyor belt, transmitting action or influence from the subject to the object.) The common saying,
“Let's lay out in the sun,” is not only incorrect grammatically, it suggests a public promiscuity that's
frowned on even in this age of sexual permissiveness because you're implying the existence of a direct
object of lay: “Let's lay (her/him?) out in the sun.” Not that there's anything wrong with THAT! It's just
ungrammatical unless you're talking about sex. 

Correct Usage:
Lie
Present tense: I lie down on my bed to rest my weary bones. 
Past tense: Yesterday, I lay there thinking about what I had to do during the day. 
Past participle: But I remembered that I had lain there all morning one day last week.
Lay
Present tense: As I walk past, I lay the tools on the workbench. 
Past tense: As I walked past, I laid the tools on the workbench. And: I laid an egg in class when I tried to
tell that joke. 
Past participle: . . . I had laid the tools on the workbench.

    AN IMPORTANT TIP:

     Here's an easy way to get it right — every time — without remembering all that gobbleygook above. 
     When you bump into a lie-lay conundrum — when you aren't absolutely, 110 percent sure — do this
quick little exercise.* 
     Write these six words — “lie, lay, lain” (to recline); then beside or below them — “lay, laid, laid” (to
place or put down). 
     When students do that (I see it on the sides of their quizzes), they never — underline “never”— get it
wrong.
      Simple, but it works. I call it the Michiko Sato rule.
 The Michiko Sato Rule
     I call this “The Michiko Sato Rule” because she invented that quick little way to make sure she always
got it right in quizzes and exercises (and life). 
    When Michiko, who is now married and a mother living in Tokyo, was a student here, she would always
write six words — three atop the other three — on her quizzes and exercises (we did 'em on paper then).

Lie Lay Lain

Lay Laid Laid
     And she never got 'em wrong. Never! 
     I, therefore, being the smart guy that I am, developed the theory that if it worked for a student whose first
language was Japanese, it would work for everyone. Give it a try.

     Answer to “Zits” question: Oh, it should be “lie” as in “recline”; otherwise, he'd be

putting “low” somewhere or %@#&-ing it.

watershed
 
 

noun  | WAW-ter-shed   
 

Definition
 

1 a : a dividing ridge between drainage areas

 
b : a region or area bounded peripherally by a divide and draining ultimately to a
particular watercourse or body of water
 
2 : a crucial dividing point, line, or factor : turning point
 

Examples of WATERSHED
 

"This year marked a watershed for contemporary classical music in the city. No greater
proof was the Ear Taxi Festival, a Chicago-centric marathon of new music performance
that, for six heady days in October, brought together some 500 local musicians to present
roughly 100 recent classical works...."
— John von Rhein, The Chicago Tribune, 22 Dec. 2016
 
"The Cienega Creek watershed contains some of the highest-
quality riparian  woodland, riverine  and cienega  wetland habitats in Arizona."
— Jennifer McIntosh, The Arizona Daily Star, 29 Jan. 2017
 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

vaticination
 
 

noun  | vuh-tiss-uh-NAY-shun   
 

Definition
 

1 : something foretold  : prediction

 

2 : the act of prophesying

munificent
 
 

adjective  | myoo-NIF-uh-sunt   
 

Definition
 

1 : very liberal in giving or bestowing : lavish

 

2 : characterized by great liberality  or generosity

Examples of MUNIFICENT
 

"On the hill, where kites used to be flown, stood the fine college which Mr.
Laurence's munificent legacy had built."
— Louisa May Alcott, Jo's Boys, 1886
 
"Each taco is $3, and each is munificent. You might not manage more than two."
— Ligaya Mishan, The New York Times, 9 Dec. 2016

ukase
 
 

noun  | yoo-KAYSS  
 

Definition
 

1 : a proclamation by a Russian emperor or government having the force of law

 
2 a : a proclamation having the force of law
 
b : order, command

Examples of UKASE
 

"On December 31, 1810, the Emperor issued a ukase lifting all restrictions on exports from
Russia and on imports coming by sea, while at the same time imposing a heavy tariff on
goods arriving overland, most of which came from France."
— James Traub, John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit, 2016

reciprocate
 
 

verb | rih-SIP-ruh-kayt   
 

Definition
 

1 : to give and take mutually

 
2 : to return in kind or degree
 
3 : to make a return for something done or given
 
4 : to move backward and forward alternately
 

interminable
 
 

adjective  | in-TER-muh-nuh-bul   
 

Definition

: having or seeming to have no end; especially : wearisomely protracted

pittance
 
 

noun  | PIT-unss  
 

Definition
 

: a small portion, amount, or allowance; also : a meager wage or remuneration

Examples of PITTANCE
 

"… chances are good that any snow that might fall in coming days could be like
the pittance of flakes that fell Thursday—and then almost immediately melted."
— Neil Johnson, The Janesville (Wisconsin) Gazette, 11 Mar. 2017
 
"It's a setup worthy of Sherlock Holmes: a museum acquires a work of art for a pittance, not
quite realizing what it has on its hands, only to discover, quite casually, that the piece in
question is a long-lost work by a canonical artist."

magnanimous 
a dj ec t i ve   |   m a g- N AN - u h- m u s    

Definition

 
 1 : showing or suggesting a lofty  and courageous spirit
 

2 : showing or suggesting nobility  of feeling and generosity of mind

lofty
play

adjective  \ˈlȯ f-tē\

Popularity: Top 1% of lookups

Examples: LOFTY in a sentence

Tip: Synonym guide 

Definition of  LOFTY

loftier; 
loftiest
1. 1a :  elevated in character and spirit :   NOBLE  lofty idealsb :  elevated in
status :   SUPERIOR  the less lofty customers of the bar

napery 
 
noun | NAY-puh-ree  

 
Definition
 

: household linen ; especially : table linen

2

linen
noun   lin·en
 Definition of  LINEN
1. 1a :  cloth made of flax and noted for its strength, coolness, and
lusterb :  thread or yarn spun from flax
2. 2:  clothing or household articles made of linen cloth or similar fabric
3. 3:  paper made from linen fibers or with a linen finish

snaffle
 
 

verb  | SNAFF-ul   
 

Definition
 

: to obtain especially by devious or irregular means

Examples of SNAFFLE
 

A malicious code discovered in the computer system was designed to snaffleuser names and
passwords.

"A quick-thinking and quick-catching baseball player has avoided a potential disaster in the dugout
for his team, as he snaffled a bat careering towards his team."

— Wide World of Sports (www.wwos.nine.com.au ), 3 Mar. 2017

livelong
 
 

adjective  | LIV-lawng   
 

Definition
 

: whole , entire
Examples of LIVELONG
 

The farmhands worked hard all the livelong day and finally fell into their beds, exhausted,
well past sundown.
 
"They were part of a research study that showed how standing in the classroom (and not
sitting all the livelong day) can help reduce body mass index…."
— Leslie Barker, The Dallas Morning News, 30 Aug. 2016
 

widdershins
 
 

adverb  | WID-er-shinz   

: in a left-handed, wrong, or contrary direction : counterclockwise

 

Examples of WIDDERSHINS
 

"Who could fail to be charmed by Korda's account of how he met his wife, Margaret, in
Central Park, where they both rode their horses early in the morning, one going clockwise,
the other widdershins, until the fateful day when they found themselves going in the same
direction …?"
— Maxine Kumin, The New York Times Book Review, 22 Apr. 2001
 
"… I know, however, that you are lying, and nothing can turn me widdershins against the
power of my own will."
— Elinor Wylie, Mortal Image, 1927
 

hyperbole
 
 

noun  | hye-PER-buh-lee   
 

Definition
 

: extravagant exaggeration

Examples of HYPERBOLE
 

"There are those in the organization who believe Bryant might not only be the best receiver
on the team, he could be the best in the league. Whether it's true or mere  hyperbole is not
the point. What it indicates is the immense ability Bryant possesses."
— Gerry Dulac, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 19 Feb. 2017
 
"It's not hyperbole to speculate that there is no director who has had a greater influence on
the shape of cinema than Japanese filmmaker [Akira] Kurosawa. He directed 30 films, most
of them good to great. 'Seven Samurai,' 'Yojimbo' and 'Rashomon' have been remade and
borrowed from more times than can be counted…."
— Barbara VanDenburgh, The Arizona Republic, 24 Feb. 2017
 

alow
 
 

adverb  | uh-LOH  

Definition
 

: below

Examples of ALOW
 

"She had studding-sails  out alow and aloft, with a light but steady breeze, and her captain said he
could not get more than four knots out of her and thought he should have a long passage."

— Richard Henry Dana, Two Years Before the Mast, 1840

"Mr. Blunt remained seated, assessed them alow and aloft and came to settle upon James, looking
him right in the eye."

— James Spurr, One Sloop and Slow Match, 2008

studding sail
play

noun   stud·ding sail \ˈstə-diŋ-ˌsāl, ˈstən(t)-səl\

Popularity: Bottom 40% of words

Definition of  STUDDING SAIL

1. :  a light sail set at the side of a principal square sail of a ship in free winds

flack
 
 

verb | FLACK  
 

Definition
 

: to provide publicity : engage in press-agentry

Examples of FLACK
 

The singer spent two weeks on the talk-show circuit, flacking for her new memoir.
 
"Celebrity endorsements for soda have been around for years.… More recently, Taylor
Swift (Diet Coke), Beyonce (Pepsi) and Steve Harvey (Coke again) have  flacked for soda."
— Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, The Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, IA), 18 Sept. 2015

cloying
 
 

adjective  | KLOY-ing   
 

Definition
 

: disgusting or distasteful by reason of excess; also : excessively sweet or sentimental

Examples of CLOYING
 

"In Raymond Chandler's first novel The Big Sleep (1939), Philip Marlowe visits a client in
his orchid house, where the air was thick, wet, steamy and larded with the  cloying smell of
tropical orchids in bloom."
— Amy Henderson, The Weekly Standard, 20 Feb. 2017
 
"A snap of the Eiffel Tower using only the #ParisLove hashtag requires no elaboration—
been there, done that—while a photo of the Taj Mahal, simply tagged #EternalLove, can
feel more cloying than compelling."
— Adam Bisby, The Globe and Mail (Canada), 25 Feb. 2017
 

defile
 
 

verb | dih-FYLE   
 

Definition
 

: to march off in a line

brachiate
 
 

verb | BRAY-kee-ayt   
 

Definition
 

: to progress by swinging from hold to hold by the arms

 

xamples of BRACHIATE
 

Sarah sat on the park bench and watched as her five-year-old son
confidentlybrachiated along the monkey bars.
 
"Designed to replicate the natural forest environment, Gibbon  Forest encourages its
animals to display their natural behaviours, which include loud calling, rarely descending to
the ground and brachiating…."
— Nick Reid, The Tamworth (UK) Herald Series, 16 Feb. 2017
 

gimcrack
 
 

noun  | JIM-krak  
 
Definition
 

: a showy object of little use or value : gewgaw

 

Examples of GIMCRACK
 

The harmonica that Carrie kept in her desk drawer was a gimcrack that she had won as a
carnival prize many years ago.
 
"He painted his office a deep crimson …, and then added period sconces, arrangements of
pheasant feathers and various other gimcracks all meant to resemble, get this, the Red
Room of the PBS show 'Downton Abbey.'"
— Margaret Carlson, The Morning Call, 19 Mar. 2015

Occam's razor
 
 

noun  | AH-kumz-RAY-zer   
 

Definition
 

: a scientific and philosophic rule that entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily
which is interpreted as requiring that the simplest of competing theories be preferred to
the more complex or that explanations of unknown phenomena be sought first in terms
of known quantities
 

Examples of OCCAM'S RAZOR

 

Invoking Occam's razor, Randall concluded that the sill was wet most likely because
someone left the window open during the storm.
 
"To even describe the plot is to make clear how phantasmagorical the whole idea
is. Occam's razor applies here. Or, as medical students are taught, when you hear
hoofbeats, think horses not zebras." 
— Paul Cassell, The Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2017
 
 retrospective
 
 

adjective  | reh-truh-SPEK-tiv   
 

Definition
 

1 a : contemplative of or relative to past events : characterized by, given to, or indulging
in retrospection
 

b : being a generally comprehensive exhibition, compilation, or performance of the work of

an artist over a span of years
 

2 : affecting things past : retroactive

Examples of RETROSPECTIVE
 

The audit revealed that the organization owed retrospective taxes.

 
"The 1998 retrospective Ladies and Gentlemen—The Best of George Michael (Epic/Sony)
is the album to receive the most attention in the late singer-songwriter's catalogue…."
— Paul Sexton, Billboard.com, 30 Dec. 2016
 

ignoble
 
 

adjective  | ig-NOH-bul   
 

Definition
 

1 : of low birth or common origin : plebeian

 

2 : characterized by baseness, lowness, or meanness

Culminate
1 : (of a celestial body) to reach its highest altitude; also : to be directly overhead
 

2 : to rise to or form a summit

 

3 : to reach the highest or a climactic or decisive point

Tristful= Sad or melancholy

DO VS MAKE

DO | MAKE

When 'do' or 'make' are used as main verbs it can be confusing to ESL learners. The verb 'make' goes with
some words and the verb'do' with other words.

Do

We use the verb 'do' when someone performs an action, activity or task.

do a crossword 
do the ironing 
do the laundry
do the washing
do the washing up
'Do' is often used when referring to work of any kind.

do your work 
do homework 
do housework
do your job
!Note - these activities do not usually produce a physical object.

'Do' for General Ideas

Use the verb 'do' when speaking about things in general. In other words, to describe an action without saying
exactly what the action is. This form is often used with the words 'something, nothing, anything, everything, etc.'

I'm not doing anything today. 

He does everything for his mother. 
She's doing nothing.

Important Expressions with 'Do'

There are a number of standard expressions that take the verb 'do'. The best solution is to try to learn them.

do badly 
do business 
do the dishes 
do a favour 
do good 
do harm 
do time - (to go to prison)
do well
do your best
do your hair 
do your nails
do your worst 

Make

We use the verb 'make' for constructing, building or creating

make a dress 
make food 
make a cup of tea / coffee
'Make' is often used when referring to preparing food of any kind.

make a meal - breakfast / lunch / dinner

!Note - these activities usually create something that you can touch.

Important Expressions with 'Make'

There are a number of standard expressions that take the verb 'make'. The best solution is to try to learn them.

make amends 
make arrangements 
make believe - (to pretend)
make a choice
make a comment
make a decision
make a difference 
make an effort
make an enquiry 
make an excuse 
make a fool of yourself 
make a fortune
make friends 
make a fuss 
make a journey 
make love 
make a mess 
make a mistake 
make money 
make a move 
make a noise 
make a payment 
make a phone call
make a plan
make a point 
make a profit 
make a promise 
make a remark
make a sound
make a speech
make a suggestion
make time 
make a visit
make your bed - (to prepare the bed for sleeping in)

NOW TEST IT - DO OR MAKE

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Verbs Followed by Gerunds

9 = verb followed by a gerund OR a noun + an infinitive
13 = verb followed by a gerund OR an infinitive with a difference in meaning
14 = verb followed by a gerund OR an infinitive with little difference in meaning

admit He admitted cheating on the test.

advise [9] The doctor generally advised drinking low-fat milk.

allow [9] Ireland doesn't allow smoking in bars.

anticipate I anticipated arriving late.

appreciate I appreciated her helping me.

avoid He avoided talking to her.

begin [14] I began learning Chinese.

can't bear [14] He can't bear having so much responsibility.

can't help He can't help talking so loudly.

can't see I can't see paying so much money for a car.

can't stand [14] He can't stand her smoking in the office.

cease [14] The government ceased providing free healthcare.

complete He completed renovating the house.

consider She considered moving to New York.

continue [14] He continued talking.

defend The lawyer defended her making such statements.

delay He delayed doing his taxes.

deny He denied committing the crime.

despise She despises waking up early.

discuss We discussed working at the company.

dislike She dislikes working after 5 PM.

don't mind I don't mind helping you.

dread [13] She dreads getting up at 5 AM.

encourage [9] He encourages eating healthy foods.

enjoy We enjoy hiking.

finish [13] He finished doing his homework.

forget [13] I forgot giving you my book.

hate [14] I hate cleaning the bathroom.

imagine He imagines working there one day.

involve The job involves traveling to Japan once a month.

keep She kept interrupting me.

like [14] She likes listening to music.

love [14] I love swimming.

mention He mentioned going to that college.

mind Do you mind waiting here for a few minutes.

miss She misses living near the beach.

need [13] The aquarium needs cleaning.

neglect [14] Sometimes she neglects doing her homework.

permit [9] California does not permit smoking in restaurants.

postpone He postponed returning to Paris.

practice She practiced singing the song.

prefer [14] He prefers sitting at the back of the movie theater.

propose [14] I proposed having lunch at the beach.

quit [13] She quit worrying about the problem.

recall Tom recalled using his credit card at the store.

recollect She recollected living in Kenya.

recommend Tony recommended taking the train.

regret [13] She regretted saying that.

remember [13] I remember telling her the address yesterday.

report He reported her stealing the money.

require [9] The certificate requires completing two courses.

resent Nick resented Debbie's being there.

resist He resisted asking for help.

risk He risked being caught.

start [14] He started studying harder.

stop [13] She stopped working at 5 o'clock.

suggest They suggested staying at the hotel.

tolerate I tolerated her talking.

try [13] Sam tried opening the lock with a paperclip.

understand I understand his quitting.

urge [9] They urge recycling bottles and paper.

NOES NECESARIA

Verbs Followed by Either Gerunds OR Nouns

+ Infinitives
advise I advised seeing a doctor. I advised them to see a doctor.

allow Ireland doesn't allow smoking in bars. Ireland doesn't allow people to smoke

encourage He encourages eating healthy foods. He encourages his patients to eat heal

permit California doesn't permit fishing without a fishing license. California doesn't permit people to fis

require The certificate requires completing two courses. The certificate requires students to co

urge They urge recycling bottles and paper. They urge citizens to recycle bottles a
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