superword power

8/11/2019 Superword Power

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The first half

1.Hanukkah : The festival of lights. Lasting for eight

days, the Jewish festival begins on the 25th

day of the month of Kislev and

commemorates the victory of the Maccabeesover the Syrian in 165 BC and the

rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem.

2.aerospace : The earths atmosphere and the space

beyond.

3.anemometer : Instrument for measuring windspeed.

4.antipasto : Assortment of appetizers, especially

vegetables and meats. Its easy to get full

on the antipastoalone.

5.appeasement : Yielding to often unreasonable demands;

pacification. Allowing a dictator

free rein is an appeasement of the worst sort.

6.appropriate : To take for oneself, usually

without permission or improperly. To

appropriate the publics money.

7.armoire : Large cabinet for storing clothes.

8.ashen : Pale grayish in color; pallid. Her face

turned ashen when she heard the bad

news.

9.bandy : Exchange remarks sometimes frivolously,

sometimes angriliy; circulate stories

indiscriminately. The contestantsbandiedinsults.

10. behoove : To benefit. It behooves managers

to get a dialogue going.

11. bench warrant : Order issued by a court or a judge

for an arrest. Worried that the

suspect might flee, the DA requested a

bench warrant.

12. blatant : Unpleasantly noisy; loud and vulgar.

A blatant crowd of spectators.

13. bog : Small marsh; wet, spongy ground.

14. bovine : Like a cow or an ox. Also: dull;

slow. A bovine personality.

15. broadside : Strong criticism; verbal attack.

Originally, the simultaneous firing of

all guns from one side of a warship


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16. buffalo : To bewilder or confuse. The long-

winded explanation buffaloed her.

17. canter : Easy gallop. The jockey

slowed his horse to a canter.A

shortened form of Canterbury, in

reference to the pace at which pilgrims rode tothis cathedral city in England.

18. caparison : To adorn or dress in an ornate or

rich way. The splendidly caparisoned

officer.

19.

carom : i) To strike and rebound. The ball

caromedoff the catchers mitt.

ii) To shoot in billiards such that thecure ball successively strike two other

balls.

20. cashier : To dismiss from a position of

authority or trust, especially in disgrace.

21. casus belli : An event that triggers or

justifies the declaration of war.

Pearl Harbour was a casus belli.

22. catty : Spiteful, mean or malicious;

catlike. Her companion made catty

remarks about her hair and clothes.

23.

chalice : Cup. Not the cup of despair, but

the chalice of opportunity.

24. churn : To stir or agitate violently. The

raging storm churnedthe sea.

25. conflate : To merge; combine various versions

of text into one entity. The scenes

may have been conflated, altered or

concocted.

26. contrarian : An investment style that bucks

market trends and popular opinion. David

Denbys new book, American Sucker, is

a tale of contrarian investing.

27. corporeal : Tangible; bodily; of a material

nature. Belonging to the corporeal

inhabitants of a place.


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28.

crotchet : Peculiar whim; eccentricity. What

new crotchet possessed his excitable

brain?

29. curator : Administrator of a museum or

similar institution.

30.

curio : Object of art; rare, sentimentalpiece; a curiosity. Shoppers sometimes find

curios at flea markets. Short for curiosity.

31.

dais : Raised platform for speakers or

guests of honor.

32. derelict : Deserted; abandoned. Derelict cars

lined both sides of the highway.

33. detract : To diminish; take away from; divert.

The peeling walls detract from the beauty

of the building.

34. diffidence : Lack of confidence; modesty. To

speak with diffidence.

35. discotheque : Nightclub for dancing to

recorded music.

36. dither : Flustered excitement; confused

indecision.

37. dogleg : To proceed at a sharp angle or on a

zigzag course. My father drove cautiously as

the road doglegged into the

mountains.

38. duchy : Related to territory of a duke or

duchess; area controlled by one person.

The large company consisted of a cluster

of large duchies.

39. dynasty : Hereditary line of rulers; series

of family members noted for wealth or

success. The Rockefeller dynasty.

40. elements : Severe weather circumstances. The

sailors faced the elements. Ancientsbelieved fire, earth, air, and water

constituted the elements of the earth.

41. enfranchise : To grant or admit to

citizenship; to set free. Liberation

movement seek to enfranchise the

citizenry.

42. eviscerate : To take away a vital or essential

part of; disembowel.

43. evocation : Imaginative recreation; act of

summoning up. Nostalgic evocation of

boyhood.


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44. ex officio : By virtue of office or because of

ones position. Having expertise in finance,

she served ex officio in the panel.

45. expiate : To repent; make amends for. The

petty thief expiated his crime

through community service.46. extant : Still existing. The story is

extant.

47.

exultation : The triumphant joy of success;

jubilation. The exultation of

winning the Stanley Cup in hockey.

48. faux : Artificial; fake. Some people wear

faux fur for ideological reasons.But a

faux pas is a socially embarrassing

mistake mistake.

49.

feckless : Aimless; irresponsible. Zoomingaround like a feckless youth.

50. fester : To embitter; cause continuing

annoyance. The feeling of defeat can fester

until it ruins self- confidence.

51. fiat : Arbitrary decree; authoritative

order. The tyrants fiatsent troops into a

neighbouring country.

52. flippant : Disrespectful; showing an

inappropriate humorous attitude;

impertinent.

53.

folklore : Traditional beliefs and customs

preserved by a community. Folk plus lore

(learning).

54. font : i) Productive source. Our guide

was a fontof information about Romes

history.

ii) A church baptismal basin

55. forestall : i) To prevent or guard against by

counteraction.

ii) to act in anticipation. To forestalla murder plot.

56. fossilized : Petrified; hardened, especially in

reference to the remains of a living

thing from a previous geologic period.

Examining fossilized pollens for evidence of

past climate.

57. gangly : Awkward; loose-jointed.

Catherine was gangly and thin.

58. gig : A short-term job, especially for a

jazz musician. He played a gig last night at

a hotel.


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59. glade : Clearing; open space in a forest.

60.

go by the board : To neglect or forget; be passed by.

Nautically, a board is a side of a ship. If

a persons possible action in a

situation go by the board, figuratively, it

falls overboard and is lost.61. goad : To incite or spur; prod; prick with

a sharp stick. Goad taxpayers into

revolt.

62. gung-ho : Extremely enthusiastic; eager. A

Marine Corps slogan in World War II. She

was gung-ho to climb Mount McKinley.

63. hackles : Temper. These questions raise the

hackles of defense attorneys. From

the hairs at the back of a dogs neck that

rise when the animal is ready to fight.

64. hare : Rabbit-like mammal with longer ears

and legs.

65. harum-scarum : Acting in a reckless or rash way;

irresponsible. An open-faced, freckled,

haram-scarum tomboy. Possibly from hare

and scare em.

66. heighten : Intensify; increase. Musical

scores helped heighten suspense in

Hitchcock films.

67. hue : Shade or tint of color. Twilights

shifting hues.

68. idealize : To exalt; regard as perfect.

Children often idealize sports stars.

69. immure : To wall in; shut up; imprison. To

immure the troublemakers in

solitary confinement.

70. inoculate : To introduce a vaccine or other

agent into a body to create or hike

immunity to a disease. The soldierswere inoculated against typhoid.

71. insouciant : Carefree; nonchalant; unconcerned.

A young insouciant actor.

72. isthmus : Narrow strip of land with water on

both sides, connecting two large

bodies of land.

73. ivory tower : Place, condition or attitude

of seclusion, involving a preoccupation

with intellectual things rather than

mundane life. College can be an ivory

tower.


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74. jocular : Joking; full of fun and good humor.

The jocular uncle kept his niece laughing.

75. joie de vivre : Joy of living; ebullience.

The maestros contagious joie de

vivre.

76.

lien : Legal claim to take, hold or sellproperty of a person who owes money.

A lienon a builders assets.

77.

literal : Word for word. Literal

translation of a foreign book.

78. lodestone : Something with a magnetic

attraction; magnetic iron ore. Touched by

the lodestone of thy love.

79.

lothario : Seducer or rake; deceiver. Dont

lose your heart to that lothario. From

a character in a 1703 play, The FairPenitent.

80. lupine : Savage; vicious; wolf-like. A

lupine struggle to succeed the CEO ensued.

81. macram : The art of knotting cord or yarn by

hand into lace-like designs for wall

hangings, adorning pillows etc.

82. mandala : Symbolic design in Hinduism and

Buddhism that represents the universe or

wholeness. Often used in meditation.

83. martial : Characteristic of war or military

life. Martial music or city under

martial law.

84. Mature : Payable or due. Note, loan or bond

that becomes mature.

85. maw : Throat, gullet or jaws, stomach.

Figuratively; a greedy appetite. An

insatiable maw.

86. memorabilia : Things worth remembering, as a

collection of objects, anecdotes.

Museum memorabilia of pioneer days.

87. mesquite : Woods of spiny trees or shrubs

native to the southwestern United

States that is often used for grilling food.

To my mind, the best barbecued ribs

have that authentic mesquite aroma.

88. minion : Contemptuous term for a fawning

follower or attendant. The rock

star arrived with his minions.

89. modish : Fashionable; stylish; contemporary.

Serviceable but modish clothes.


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90. mogul : Bump of packed now on a ski slope

where skiers turn.

91. mote : Speck or particle. And why

beholdest thou the mote that is in thy

brothers eye, but considerest not the beam

that is in thine own eye.92. muckrake : To expose political or business

misconduct. From the man with the muck

(manure) rake in Bunyans 1678

allegory, Pilgrims Progress.

93. muffle : To wrap up for warmth; conceal;

keep secret. The opposition muffled

critical evidence.

94. non sequitur : a statement (as a response)

that does not follow logically from oris not clearly related to anything

previously said. Literally, It does not follow,

therefore, an irrelevant remark, or a

conclusion that does not follow from the

evidence. It is a non sequiturto

relate the number of cats and dogs to the

rainfall.

95.

nonpareil : Unequal; unsurpassed. Nonpareil

rice pudding.

96. nubile : Marriageable; physically

matured. Nubile young women surrounded

the pro athlete.

97. numinous : Supernatural; sacred; spiritual;

mysterious.

98. obsequiously : Like a servant; obediently. The

staff was obsequiously attendant to

their bosss needs.

99. omnipotent : All powerful; having virtually

unlimited or universal power.100. origami : Traditional Japanese art of folding

paper to fashion flowers, people,

animals and other forms.

101. otiose : Useless; serving no real

purpose and, therefore,

ineffective. Otiose bureaucratic

regulations.

102. palmy : Flourishing; prosperous; luxurious. From

palm trees.

103. pantheon : Lofty place. Maria Callas and Joan

Sutherland are in the pantheon of


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opera singers. Pantheon, temple of

gods. A group of illustrious or notable

persons or things.

104. par value : Face amount of a security at the time of

issue. The banks holdings were

under par value.105. parcel : A piece of land. Neighbours wanted

to keep the parcel undeveloped.

106. pathography : i) Biography focussing on the

negative elements of a subject,

popularized by U.S. writer Joyce Carol

Oates

ii) A study of the effects of illness on

a persons life.

107. patrician : Aristocratic; of high or noble birth.

Patrician attitudes have never had

a place in American society.

108. peripheral: Computer equipment, such as printer, disk

drive or modem. An extension of the

adjectives meaning of

marginal, on the periphery.

109. perpetrator : A person who commits a crime.

A SWAT team searched the abandoned

building for the perpetrator.(Incop talk, shortened to perp.)

110. piedmont : An area at the base of mountains.

111. plangent : Beating with a loud, deep,

reverberating sound that rises and

falls like breaking waves.

Plangent music for soap operas.

112. pod : Detachable compartment on a space

vehicle. Infatable pods will

be attached to the spacecraft.

113. portmanteau : Large suitcase, especially one

that opens in two halves.

114. pordshed : Fragment or piece of broken pottery.

115. pre-empt : To claim; forestall by acting first.

From pre- emption.

116. proficiency : Quality or state of being

advanced; highly skilled. You show

real proficiency in the art of making

the perfect pizza.

117. prologue : An introduction to a poem, book,

play, etc; preliminary event. The

conference of American and


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Russian negotiators was a prologue to a

summit meeting.

118. provender : Animal fodder, livestock feed.

Truly a pack ofprovender: I

could munch your good dry

oats119. providential : Lucky, opportune, miraculous,

suggesting divine intervention. A

providential rescue.

120. purchase : Firm grip or hold. Purchase on a

cliffs edge.

121. pyre : Pile of wood, especially one used

in a funeral rite for burning a

corpse.

122. quiddity : Essence; that which makes a thing

what it is. Compassionate skilldefined the doctors quiddity.

123. reactionary : Extremely conservative;

advocating a return to an older,

more rigid governmental

order.

124. real-time : Said of computer calculations:

capable of being performed as

rapidly as the process or event they

describe.

125.

refute : To refute a theory is to prove

it wrong conclusively.

126. regimen : Systematic approach to health, by

diet, exercise, routine. The

regimen of a professional

athlete.

127. ribaldry : Coarseness of language or humor.

Some ribaldry surfaces in

Chaucers Cantebury tales.

128. rubicund : Reddish; ruddy. The cheerful

rubicund face of the farmer.

129. sangfroid : Composure; calmness or presence of

mind in danger or difficulty. The

doctors sangfroid and skill saved the

patient.

130. scarf : Notched joint between two pieces of

wood that overlap each other and form a

continuous length.

131. schlock : Shoddy; cheap; inferior. Schlock

furniture.


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132. scow : A large, flat-bottomed boat with

square ends, usually towed, and

used for carrying sand, coal, refuse;

a barge.

133.

screed : Tiresomely long speech orpiece of writing; harangue. His

opening remarks turned into a

screed.Originally, a long list on a

torn off strip of paper.

134. secondhand smoke: Primary tobacco smoke exhaled by

smokers and inhaled by nearby

persons. Medical research that

demonstrates the risks of

secondhand smoke.

135.

sedulously : Carefully; painstakingly. Dr.Jonas Salk sedulously pursued

a vaccine for polio.

136. slalom : Downhill ski race between posts

with flags.

137.

sortie : Quick attack against an enemy;

attack by a single aircraft; an

excursion. The well- planned

sortie demoralized the opposing army.

138. spelunking : The hobby or practice of exploring

caves. Want to go spelunking

with me? Spelunking? There

arent any caves around here.

139. staples : Raw materials; chief products in

constant demand.

140. stile : Steps used with a fence or wall to

allow people, but not farm

animals to pass over.

141.

stodgy : Dull, boring; stuffy. Thenewspaper had a reputation of being

trustworthy but stodgy.

142. storm surge : Sudden and often dangerous

high tide (ten to 20 feet) caused by

storm winds that drive the water toward

the land.

143. stud : Upright support in a building wall

to which a panel or wallboard is


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attached. To locate a stud by tapping

on the wall.

144. substantive : Essential; actual; real.

145.

subsume : To include or classify an idea orthe like within a larger category.

Opossums and kangaroos are

subsumedunder the order

marsupialia.

146. sultry : Very hot; fiery. The sultry

climate of many equatorial areas.

147. sybaritic : Given to luxurious; pleasurable or

voluptuous living.

148. syncopation : Shifting beat or accent in

music. The syncopation of NewOrleans jazz.

149. syndicate : Consortium of bankers, insurers and

others who temporarily work

together on, say an underwriting to

spread the risk.

150. teenie : A measure of value (in the

stock market) representing 1/16

(0.0625) of a point. The

difference between the opening and

closing value of a stock is often a teenie.

151.

testimonial : Statement of recommendation or

appreciation. The

testimonials she received.

152. towhead : Person with very light-colored hair.

153. trice : Single pull; hence, in a trice (a

very short time).

154. tundra : Rolling, treeless plain of the

arctic regions.

155. ultraviolet : Having short wavelengths

beyond the visible spectrum.

Sunlights ultraviolet raysincrease the risk of skin cancer.

156. vanity : Self-love; too much pride in

oneself. Deanna dressed without

an excess of vanity.

157. verve : Great vitality; lively imagination;

mental or artistic dash. To play the

piano with verve.

158. wisp : Something slight or delicate, such

as a streak of smoke or lock of

hair. A wispof a girl


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159. wrought : Created or shaped. An infants

delicately wrought features.Also,

fashioned or formed. An

imaginatively wrought design.

The second half

1.Aloha : Hawaiian word used especially

as a warm welcome or farewell.

2.Arcadian : Idyllically pastoral, innocent

or simple. Taking in the

Arcadian view from the farmhouse

porch, I decided I needed

more time off before

returning to the city.

3.Baedeker : A travellers guidebookAfter

K. Baedeker (1801 1859),German publisher.

4.Gesundheit : Your health!; used as an

expression of good wishes to

someone who has just sneezed.

5.Rosh Hodesh : The sixth night ok

Hanukkah and the new moon. Marks

the end of the month on the Hebrew

calendar and the beginning of

the next one.

6.

Stockholm syndrome : Phenomenon by which hostagesbecome sympathetic to their

captors.as occurred in

a 1973 bank robbery in

Stockhom, Sweden>

7.UV index : Indicator of radiation or

exposure to ultraviolet rays.

It is measured at noon,

ranked from 0 to 15, and is

highest on a clear summer day.

Without sunscreen, you will burn.

8.

accretion : Increase or accumulation; growth.

The accretion of barnacles on a ships

hull.

9.ad nauseum : To a sickening or disgusting

degree. They complained about

anything and everything ad

nauseum.

10. affinity : Close relationship; natural

attraction. A pigs affinity for mud.

11. angler : Someone who fishes.


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12. antics : Pranks or amusing acts;

odd behaviour. Our cats lively

antics.

13. appellant : A person who makes a plea for

judgement from a higher authority. The

appellant hoped a technicalitywould void his verdict.

14. apperceptive : Intelligently discerning;

fitting a new idea into ones past

experience and knowledge. An

apperceptive use of a new fact to

answer an old question.

15. appraise : To evaluate; estimate; judge

the quality of. To appraise a diamond.

16. appropriate : To take for oneself,

usually without permission orimproperly. To appropriate

the publics money.

17. asseverate : To state emphatically; affirm

solemnly; make an earnest and

positive declaration.

18. assume : To take for granted. Many

historians assume the final

flight of Amelia Earhart ended in a

crash in the Pacific Ocean.

19. aureole : Halo; radiance around a person

or object. Also, the actual halo of

light seen in eclipses.

20. ballistic missile : Missile powered only to

the highest point of its ascent, and

in free-fall thereafter.

21. blandish : To coax or influence with

flattery. No matter how much you

blandish me, I will not go to the party

with you.

22. bleary : Blurred or dimmed as if

by tears or tiredness. A daybleary with fog.

23. blow off : To ignore or refuse to

acknowledge. The actress blew

off his agent and publicist at

the movie premiere. Also, to fail

to attend.

24. bobble : To blunder; treat awkwardly;

fumble. The third baseman bobbled at

a hard-hit grounder.

25. bracing : Invigorating; enlivening;

refreshing.


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26. brazenly : Disrespectfully; defiantly.

She brazenly ignored the police

officers warning.

27. buffalo : To bewilder or confuse. The

long-winded explanation buffaloed

her.28. cannibalize : i) To remove parts from

a machine or vehicle to make a similar

unit

ii) To cause to become diminished.

The new Home Depot cannibalized

sales from the original store, just

two miles away.

29. canny : Careful. Also, shrewd or

skilled. She was a canny shopper,

always finding bargains and sales.30. cant : To tilt or pitch to one side.

The ship canted over.

31. cavort : To prance or caper about;

leap lightly. Colts cavort in

the pasture.

32. clique : Small, exclusive group

that suggests snobbery.

33. coddle : To pamper or treat tenderly.

Perhaps from caudle, a mixture of

warm gruel and wine, an old-fashioned

remedy.

34. codger : Eccentric older man. A

lovable codger.A midly disparaging

term.

35. codify : To systematize laws,

rules or regulations into a collection

or code. To codify a towns

building regulations.

36. cognizant : Aware or conscious of. A

Frenchmancognizant of

the murder.37. compassion : Sympathy; pity. A person

with compassion shares the

suffering of someone in distress.

38. complaisant : When a person is

complaisant, he wants to be

obliging, to please, or to go along.

39. cookie : Data about you,

kept in a file in your computer,

and generated by a website

you have visited. It speeds

future access to that site.


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40. couch : To put into words;

express. She couched her

request in an amusing way.

41. course : To flow; surge; move

swiftly.

42.

crick : Muscle cramp orstiffness. Getting a crick

from bowling.

43.

cumbersome : Unwieldy. Her

cumbersome shoulder bag

flapping against her ribs.

44. dandy : A man who is excessively

concerned with

elegance in his clothes and

manners.

45.

defoliant : Substance sprayed onplants to strip growing plants of

their leaves.

46. deracinate : To uproot; eradicate; remove

from a natural environment.

Describe the pain of being

deracinated from ones native land.

47. derelict : Deserted; abandoned. Derelict

cars lined both sides of the

highway.

48. dtente : Easing of tensions

between nations. A precarious

dtente between the United States

and Soviet Russia.

49. dissembling : Pretending; giving a

false appearance.

50. dissent : To disagree; express a

different belief. To dissent from

the majority opinion.

51. donnybrook : Brawl; scene of uproar and

disorder.

52.

dowdy : Unfashionable; dull; old-fashioned,especially referring to a

womans appearance.

53. eleemosynary : Charitable; philanthropic.

Eleemosynary activities.

Eleemosynary institutions.

54. emendation : Correction or improvement in a

text or the like. Computer software

producers update manuals with needed

emendations.

55. en passant : Chess move used in the capture

of a pawn, when one passes another.


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56. enmesh : To entangle or ensnare as in a

net. Enmeshed in tax difficulties.

57. entre : Access; the right to

enter and make use of. His past

experience gave him entre to the

Apollo program.58. entre nous : Confidentially; between

ourselves. Entre nous, I think Bill

and Alison will elope.

59. estivate : To pass or spend the summer in

a certain activity, especially (like so

mammals) in a dormant state.

Snails estivate, but children

shouldnt.

60. eupeptic : Happy and healthy. The

eupeptic hero. Also, having a gooddigestion.

61. exorcise : To swear evil spirits out of a

person.

62. expiate : To repent; make amends for.

The petty thief expiated his

crime through community

service.

63. exultation : The triumphant joy of success;

jubilation. The exultation of

winning the Stanley Cup in hockey.

64.

febrile : Feverish; relating to

fever. A febrile search for gold.

65. floe : Floating ice formed in a large

sheet on the surface of a body of

water. During harsh winters, the ice

floes drifting south on the Hudson

River can be immense.

66. folklore : Traditional beliefs and

customs preserved by a community.

Folk plus lore (learning).

67.

forbearance : Patience; self-control; restraint. To view

minor offences with

forbearance.

68. franchise : Right given to a person

or group to market products or

services in a specific

territory. Cities compete for

pro football franchises.

69. frazzle : To fray; tatter.

Also, to put into a state of


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fatigue. to frazzle ones

nerves.

70. fresco : Painting with

watercolors on a damp,

plastered surface. Leonardo da

Vincis fresco: The Last Supper.71. frieze : Decoration forming

a horizontal bands on a

wall near the ceiling.

72. fulsome : Offensively overdone or

insincere. The older sense of

the word, abundant, is

generally considered incorrect.

73. fusillade : Volley of shots by

firearms, or something

resembling this. Afusillade of questions.

74. gable : Triangular section at

the end of a building

under a ridged roof. Gable

vents allow hot air to escape.

75. gantry : High movable

structure with platforms

used to service aircraft.

76. gloat : To exult; exhibit

evil pleasure, triumph or

satisfaction. To gloat

over victory.

77. gnomic : Wise and pithy. The

preacher was famous for his

gnomic statements.

78. greenhorn : Someone who is

inexperienced; a nave person.

79. gritty : Plucky; resolute.

Gritty

determination.

80.

gustatory : Pertaining to taste.The lasagne proved a

gustatory delight.

81. haimish : Homey; unpretentious.

Though you couldnt say that

they are struggling financially,

their house has a nice haimish

quality with it.

82. hale : Healthy; robust and

vigorous. After the operation

he was remarkably hale and

hearty.


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83. hammer and tongs : Vigorously; with great

energy and determination. He

went at the project

hammer and tongs.

Reflecting the use of blacksmiths

main tool.84. honorarium : Payment given for

services when law, custom or

circumstances sets no definite

fee.

85. humility : Showing modesty in

attitude and behaviour. St.

Francis of Assisi

exemplified humility, for he was free

of self-importance.

86.

iatrogenic : Relating to doctorinduced illness. He

complained of iatrogenic

symptoms.

87. ichthyologist : Authority on the

physical structure, history, and

life cycles of fish

88. impedimenta : Baggage; traveling

equipment, especially as

related to the army. Things that

impede or obstruct.

89.

incidentals : Minor expenses or

items. Make sure you have

cash for incidentals.

90. internecine : Mutually

destructive. An

internecine struggle to control a

family business.

91. inveterate : Habitual; deep-rooted;

firmly established by long

experience. Inveterate

tea drinker.92. jack : Socket, especially one

that accepts and electrical plug

to connect an instrument with a

current. A telephone

jack.

93. jasmine : Light yellow. From the

name of the olive family shrub

with fragrant flowers used

for perfumes and tea.

94. joust : Personal combat,

originally with knights on


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horseback. Now, any one-to-

one combat.

95. kelp : Large brown seaweed

found in cold waters. Im used

to having kelp tangled

around my legs when Im swimming,not having served to me as

salad.

96.

kibosh : i) something that serves

as a check or stop. Put the

kibosh on that.

ii) Nonsense.

97. labyrinth : Bewildering maze;

confusing network of passages.

Also complicated,

perplexingarrangement.

98. lagniappe : Small gift especially to

a customer. We picked up a

word worth traveling to

New Orleans to get; a nice,

limber, expressive, handy word

lagniappe.

99. lapidary : noun: Gemstone expert;

the art of cutting and

polishing gemstones.

Adj.: elegant and precise like

a polished gem.

100. latkes : Pancakes. Latkes,

particularly those made with

grated potatoes and onions,

have long been a Hanukkah

favourite.

101. lope : Long, easy stride. The lope

of a long-distance runner.

102. lothario : Seducer or rake; deceiver.

Dont lose your heart tothat lothario. From a

character in a 1703 play, The

Fair Penitent.

103. luminary : Celebrity; distinguished

person, a leading

light. Meeting the

luminaries of show

business.

160. macram : The art of knotting cord or

yarn by hand into lace-like


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designs for wall hangings,

adorning pillows etc.

104.

105. magnanimity : Nobility of spirit;

generosity in overlooking

insults or injuries.106. malaise : Vague feeling of uneasiness or

sickness. A malaise

settled over the populace

before the war.

107. maquiladora: : Foreign-owned factory in

Mexico where imported parts are

assembled into

products for export.

108. mar : Damage or injure; hurt

the appearance of.109. margin : Use of borrowed money to

purchase securities. In a margin

account, the stocks you own are

collateral for the loan. You

could be forced to sell

them if the market fell and you got a

margin call.

110. miasmic : Noxious; foul; relating to a

heavy vaporous contamination

of the air. A miasmic blanket

of smoke.

111. misanthropic : Distrustful of everyone;

cynical. The directors

misanthropic edge becomes

tiresome.

112. morass : Bog; swamp; quagmire. Also,

any confusing or disstressing

difficulty hard to get out of.

An economic morass.

113. motley : Mixed; varied; many-colored.

I am ambitious for a motleycoat.

114. mountebank : Quack; pretender. A

mountebank, a thread-bare juggler,

and a fortune teller.

115. nerd : Dull, bookish, socially inept

person. Many of the students at

the High School thought the

computer club was for nerds.

116. nib : The sharpened point of

anything. The nib of a pen.


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The diamond nib of a

record player.

117. nibble : To snack; peck. Rabbits

nibbled the cabbage in her

garden.118. obloquy : Verbal abuse; violent,

insulting speech of

denunciation. The student

was suspended for his

obloquy against the professor.

119. ocelot : A Leopard-like cat of

the southern United States

and South America with a

yellow or gray coat marked

with black spots.120. ornithology : The scientific study of

birds as a branch of

zoology. I told him that I

was fully aware that he was

interested in ornithology and in fact

was an inveterate bird-watcher, or

as the purists had it, birder.

121. orthodontist : Dentist concerned with

the straightening of

irregular teeth.

122.

ottoman : Low cushioned seat without

arms or back.

123. overarching : All encompassing; having

a broad scope; dominating. A

Justice who looks to resolve

each case with no overarching

philosophy.

124. overture : Proposal; first movement

towards an agreement. A peace

overture.

125.

paillette : A decorative spangle, like alarge, round sequin.

126. palmy : Flourishing; prosperous;

luxurious. From palm trees.

127. parlous : Dangerous; risky; perilous.

The ravaged nation is in

parlous condition.

128. periphrastic : Roundabout in expressing

something; wordy.

A periphrastic explanation.

129. philology : Study of literary texts and

written records to determine


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their authenticity and

meaning.

130. play cat-and-mouse : To torment or play with before

attacking.

131. polyglot : One who speaks many languages.

The guide, a polyglot, madeour European trip more

enjoyable.

132.

porte-cochere : Large, roof-like structure

covering and entrance to protect

visitors getting into or

leaving vehicles.

133. pre-empt : To claim; forestall by acting

first. From pre-emption

134. props : Proper respect; honor. Usually

used with give.135. proviso : Requirement; stipulation in a

contract. To add a

proviso that the author must

get ten percent of net profits.

136.

quay : Wharf, usually of concrete or

stone, built next to the

shoreline where ships can load and

unload.

137. ramekin : Small, single portion dish

used for baking and serving. Also,

the cheese-and-puff-pastry

preparation cooked in such

dishes.

138. rank : Complete or utter. Rank

dishonesty. Also, foul smelling.

139. ratchet : To move up or down as if by a

ratchet, a notched wheel

revolving in only one direction.

Inflationary pressures ratcheted

up interest rates.

140.

recoup : To recover or make up a loss.To recoup ones money, health or

loss.

141. red-eye : Overnight flight. I took the

red-eye to be at work on Monday

morning.

142. refectory table : Long, narrow table used in

refectory (dining hall in

religious houses and colleges).

143. repartee : A quick, witty reply, or a

series of such rejoinders. A

comedians repartee.


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144. rhetoric : Artificial and pompous

eloquence; showy and

exaggerated language.

Political rhetoric.

145. riant : Laughing, smiling, or cheerful.

The riant face of the kindlyfarmer.

146. riff : Repeated melodic phrase

147.

roil : To make muddy; or to unsettle

by stirring up sediment. Also, to

agitate or anger.

148. salutary : Beneficial; wholesome;

healthful.

149. sampan : A small boat used along rivers

and coasts of China and Japan.

150.

sanctum : Place that is especiallyprivate and reserved; sacred

place. She is the first woman

to crack the innermost sanctum

of male power.

151.

scree : Mass of rocks on a steep slope.

152. scrub : To cancel or postpone; call

off. To scrub a rocket launch.

153. scuttle : To abandon; withdraw

from an undertaking. To

scuttle hopes for a multi-

national pact.

154. sedition : Insurrection, especially words

or actions that incite

rebellion. He was fearful of

being accused of sedition.

155. seine : A fishing net with float along

the top edge and weights along

the bottom. The fishermans

art of casting a seine.

156. serpentine : Winding or curving like a

snake. A serpentine mountaintrail.Also, tricky;

subtle.

157. shalom : Peace; a traditional Hebrew

word used as a greeting or

farewell.

158. simian : Resembling or characteristic

of apes or monkeys. I dont

know how the boss tolerates all

of his scratching and other

simian antics.


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159. simpatico : Congenial; pleasing. A

simpatico attitude.

160. skell : Vagrant; police term for

someone who looks like a drug

user or seems down-and-out.

Shortened form of skeleton.161. skewer : To pierce; stab. He skewered

vegetables and beef to

make shish kebab.

162. slue : To twist; swing about; veer;

skid of a course or direction.

The racing car slued to the right.

163. spar : To practice boxing with light

blows; figuratively, to match

wits with words in a dispute.

Opposing lawyers sparringover advantage.

164. squall : Brief, sudden, and

violent windstorm.

165. stay : Delay; postponement. Stay of

prosecution.

166. stollen : A sweet yeast bread of German

origin containing fruit

and nuts. That loaf of my

mothers stollen I brought to

work yesterday? I left it by the

office coffee maker and it was

gone in five minutes.

167. stultify : To make ineffective; impair;

reduce to futility. Over-

reliance on rote drill can

stultify a students ability to

learn.

168. succinct : Terse; concise. So, he

decreed in words succinct,

that all who flirted, leered,

or winked should bebeheaded.

169. syllogism : i) Reasoning method involving

two statements from which a

conclusion is reached. Every

virtue is laudable, kindness is

virtue, therefore kindness is

laudable.

ii) a subtle, specious, or

crafty argument.

iii) deductive reasoning


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170. synthesizer : Electronic device that

creates sounds

171. tart : Sour; an often agreeable

sharpness in taste. Also, sharp-

tongued. A tart remark.

172.

tauten : To tighten or pull closetogether.

173. telethon : Lengthy TV fund-raising drive

for charitable causes.

174. tilt at windmills : To fight imaginary

enemies or injustices.

From Don Quixote,

fictional Spanish hero.

175. timorous : Fearful; having a tendency to

worry. The timorous child hid

behind his mother.176. trash talk : Insulting language intended to

intimidate or upset a

rival, particularly

in sports. Ball players

and rappers are masters of trash

talk. Also seen as talkin trash.

177. troll : In folklore, a mischievous

giant or dwarf who lived in caves

or hills, or under bridges.

178. uncanny : Inexplicable; beyond the

normal or expected. An uncanny

skill for building suspense.

179. unilateral : One-sided; done by only one or

a few people, groups, or nations.

Unilateral action may

be positive or harmful depending

on circumstances.

180. utopian : Impossibly ideal. Utopian

dreams fuel an optimists fire.

181. vendor : Seller. One of the many

vondors at the flea market.182. ventriloquism : Throwing ones voice

183. vicariously : By substitute; through

the experience of

another. Vicariously

thrilling.

184. vox populi : popular sentiment

185. vox et praeterea nihil : voice and nothing more

186. waif : Abandoned or neglected child;

a stray animal or person.

187. whet : To stimulate; make keen or

eager. To stimulate ones


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appetite.Also, originally:

to sharpen.

188. wok : Large, bowl-shaped cooking pan

used for frying, braising or

steaming. Cantonese.

189.

zither : Stringed instrument. Heis pretty good guitar player, but

Im not sure hes ever tried

his hand at the zither.

superword power

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