A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

Question 1

vaudeville, n.

Answer 1

a type of entertainment popular chiefly in the US in the early 20th century, featuring a mixture of specialty acts such as burlesque comedy and song and dance.
“his comedic roots are in vaudeville” (a) a stage play on a trivial theme with interspersed songs. plural noun: vaudevilles. (b) Archaic. a satirical or topical song with a refrain.

Question 2

gully, v.t.

Answer 2

(of water) make gullies or deep channels in (land).

“the track was gulleyed by rain.” (as adj., gullied) he began to pick his way over the gullied landscape.

Question 3

homely, adj.

Answer 3

1. British. (of a place or surroundings) simple but cozy and comfortable, as in one’s own home: a modern hotel with a homely atmosphere. (a) simple and unpretentious: homely pleasures. 2. North American. (of a person) unattractive in appearance.

Question 4

angular, adj.

Answer 4

1. having angles or sharp corners: angular chairs; Adam’s angular black handwriting. (a) (or a person or part of their body) lean and having prominent bone structure: her angular face.

Question 5

obsequious, adj.

Answer 5

obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree: they were served by obsequious waiters.

Question 6

vestigial, adj.

Answer 6

1. forming a very small remnant of something that was once greater or more noticeable: he felt a vestigial flicker of anger from last night. 2. Biology. (of an organ or part of the body) degenerate, rudimentary, or atrophied, having become functionless in the course of evolution: the vestigial wings of Kiwis are entirely hidden.

Question 7

Impecunious, adj.

Answer 7

having little or no money: a titled but impecunious family.

Question 8

Stolid, adj.

Answer 8

calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation

Question 9

Exigency, n.

Answer 9

an urgent need or demand: women worked long hours when the exigencies of the family economy demanded it. [mass noun] he put financial exigency before personal sentiment.

Question 10

doff, v.t.

Answer 10

remove (an item of clothing). (a) to take off or raise (one’s hat) as a greeting or token of respect: the manager doffed his hat to her.

Question 11

flagstone, n.

Answer 11

a flat stone slab, typically rectangular or square, used for paving: there was a carpet on the flagstones of the hall. [as modifier] a flagstone terrace.

Question 12

thatched, adj.

Answer 12

(of a roof on a building) covered with straw or a similar material: thatched cottages

Question 13

publican, n.

Answer 13

1. British. a person who owns or manages a pub. (a) Australian. a person who owns or manages a hotel. 2. (in ancient Rome and biblical times) a collector or farmer of taxes: publicans and sinners.

Question 14

genial, adj.

Answer 14

1 Of or pertaining to marriage, nuptial; of or pertaining to reproduction or procreation. Now rare. m16.
Spenser The bridal bowre and geniall bed.
2† Festive. e17–m18.
Dryden In Winter shall the Genial Feast be made Before the Fire.
3 Conducive to growth. Now chiefly of air, climate, sunshine, etc.: pleasantly warm, mild. m17.
Coleridge Applause scarcely less genial to a poet, than the vernal warmth to the feathered songsters during their nest-building.
4† Of or pertaining to natural disposition; natural. m17–m19.
Milton So much I feel my genial spirits droop.
5 Jovial, kindly, sociable; sympathetically cheerful. m18.
V. S. Pritchett To find oneself among affectionate, genial and cultivated families…must be heaven. O. Sacks He was a genial soul, very ready to talk and to answer any questions.
6 [Infl. by German genial, -isch.] Of, pertaining to, or characterized by genius ( genius 6). Now rare or obsolete. e19.
geniˈality noun e17.
genialize verb trans. (rare) make genial or agreeable m19.
genially adverb m17.
genialness noun (rare) geniality e18.
ORIGIN: Latin genialis nuptial, productive, joyous, from genius: see -al1.
genial dʒɪˈni:əl ♫ adjective2. m19.
Anatomy. Of, pertaining to, or situated on the chin.

Question 15

phlegmatic, adj. & n.

Answer 15

A adjective.
1a Of the nature of phlegm; (of a disease etc.) characterized or caused by excess of phlegm. Formerly also (of the human body), having a predominance of phlegm in the constitution. Now rare or obsolete. ME.
b† Of the nature of water, as a principle of matter; rich in this and hence producing sputum when taken as food etc.; watery and insipid. e16–m18.
2 Having or showing the temperament formerly attributed to phlegm as a predominant bodily humour; not easily excited to feeling or action; dull, sluggish, apathetic; stolidly calm, self-possessed. l16.
B† noun. A phlegmatic person. rare. ME–e17.

Question 16

affable, adj.

Answer 16

Easy to approach and converse with; courteous, esp. with inferiors; kindly and polite.

Question 17

mum, adj., n., interjection

Answer 17

A noun.
1 An inarticulate sound made with closed lips, esp. as an indication of inability or unwillingness to speak; a word. Now usu. in neg. contexts. Long obsolete exc. Scot. lME.
2 Refusal to speak, silence. Now chiefly in mum’s the word, enjoining silence or secrecy. colloq. m16.
3† A silent person. m17–e19.
B interjection. Hush! Silence! Not a word! l15.
C adjective & adverb. Strictly silent(ly) or secret(ly), not saying a word. colloq. m16.
R. Bridges Don’t stand there mum. P. Gregory Keep mum and it’ll blow over and we can have our tea in a bit of peace.

Question 18

steppe., n.

Answer 18

Any of the vast level grassy usu. treeless plains of SE Europe and Siberia. Also, any similar plain elsewhere.

Question 19

impudent, adj. & n.

Answer 19

A adjective.
1† Lacking in shame or modesty; indelicate. lME–m18.
2 Presumptuous, shamelessly forward; insolently disrespectful. m16.
N. Monsarrat The remark had been injudicious and…undeniably impudent.
B noun. An impudent person. Now rare or obsolete. l16.
impudently adverb m16.
impudentness noun (rare) l16.
ORIGIN: Latin impudent-, -ens, formed as im-2 + pudent-, -ens ashamed, modest, orig. pres. pple of pudere feel ashamed: see -ent.

Question 20

frieze, n. 1

Answer 20

1 A kind of coarse woollen cloth with a nap, usually on one side only, orig. of Welsh, now esp. of Irish manufacture. lME.
J. Dyer Frize of Cambria. F. O’Brien Your heavy great-coat of Galway frieze.
2 Bruising or abrasion of the grain in leather. Orig. in †frieze-leather, frizzed leather. l16.
3† Down on a plant; a tuft of this. m–l17.
friezy adjective
a dressed in frieze;
b resembling frieze:
m19.
ORIGIN: French frise, from medieval Latin = Frisian (wool). Cf. frieze verb1.

Question 21

frieze, n. 2

Answer 21

1 Architecture. In the entablature of an order, the member between the architrave and the cornice; a band of sculpture filling this. m16.
b = hypotrachelium. l16.
2 Any broad horizontal band of sculptured, painted, or other decoration, esp. on a wall near the ceiling; a horizontal paper strip bearing pictures or decoration, for mounting on a wall. m17.
R. Macaulay A long frieze running right across under the windows, with carved flowers and trees. fig.: R. Cobb The ever-rising frieze of evergreens composed of holly, yew and cypress.
friezeless adjective m19.
ORIGIN: French frise from medieval Latin frisium, var. of frigium, for Latin Phrygium (sc. opus) Phrygian work.
frieze fri:z ♫ verb1 trans. obsolete exc. hist. lME.
Cover with a nap. Freq. as friezed ppl adjective.
friezer noun a person who friezes cloth lME.
ORIGIN: French friser or Spanish frisar: see frizz verb1. Cf. frieze noun1.
frieze fri:z ♫ verb2 trans. m16.
Chiefly as friezed ppl adjective.
1 Embroider with gold; work (gold) into decorative patterns. Now rare. m16.
2 Cover (silver) with chased patterns. l17.
3 Nautical. Decorate by painting (the bows, stern, and quarters of sailing ships). m18.
ORIGIN: French friser rel. to frise frieze noun2.

Question 22

sardonic, adj.

Answer 22

(Of laughter, a smile, etc.) bitter, scornful, mocking; characterized by or exhibiting bitterness, scorn, or mockery. Cf. also risus sardonicus.
Isaac Taylor The sardonic historian, whose rule it is to exhibit human nature always as an object of mockery. J. Steinbeck The corners of his mouth were turned slightly up in a sardonic smile.
sardonically adverb m19.
sardonicism -sɪz(ə)m noun the quality or condition of being sardonic; an instance of this, a sardonic remark: e20.
ˈsardony noun [after irony] the quality or condition of being sardonic m20.
ORIGIN: French sardonique alt. of †sardonien: see sardonian, -ic.

Question 23

quaver, v.

Answer 23

1 verb intrans.
a Vibrate, tremble, quiver; proceed with a quivering or tremulous movement. lME.
b Of the voice: shake, tremble. m18.
b P. D. James Her voice…quavered like the voice of an old, impotent woman.
2
a verb intrans. & trans. Sing (a note, song, etc.) with trills or quavers. m16.
b verb trans. Utter in a quavering tone. l19.
b C. S. Forester ‘My name is Hornblower,’ he quavered at length.
quaverer noun (rare) e17.
quaveringly adverb in a quavering manner l16.
quaverous adjective (rare) tremulous, quavering e20.
quavery adjective apt to quaver; quavering: e16.
ORIGIN: Frequentative of quave: see -er5.

Question 24

oblong, adj., n.

Answer 24

A adjective. Elongated in one direction; esp. rectangular with adjacent sides unequal; (of a sheet of paper, a picture, etc.) rectangular with the breadth greater than the height. lME.
oblong woodsia
B noun. An oblong figure or object; esp. an oblong rectangle. l16.
oblongish adjective (rare) somewhat oblong m17.
oblongly adverb (rare) m17.
oblongness noun (rare) e18.
ORIGIN: Latin oblongus somewhat long, oblong, elliptical, from ob- ob- + longus long.