Barbarians

Question 1

carpetbagger

Answer 1

a carpetbagger was a Northerner who moved to the South after the American Civil War, especially during the Reconstruction era (1865–1877), in order to profit from the instability and power vacuum that existed at this time.

Question 2

dutch uncle

Answer 2

A Dutch uncle is an informal term for a person who issues frank, harsh, or severe comments and criticism to educate, encourage, or admonish someone. Thus, a “Dutch uncle” is the reverse of what is normally thought of as avuncular or uncle-like (indulgent and permissive).

Question 3

hobnob

Answer 3

to mingle, usually with the upper class of society. The verb hobnob originally meant “to drink together” and occurred as a varying phrase, hob or nob, hob-a-nob, or hob and nob, the first of which is recorded in 1763.

“After the opera, we hobnobbed with the foreign heads-of-state.”

Question 4

trappings

Answer 4

the outward signs, features, or objects associated with a particular situation, role, or thing.

“I had the trappings of success”

Question 5

chum

Answer 5

a good friend, pal, or buddy..chummy.adj. to be friendly.

“They are old chums”

Question 6

rail

Answer 6

complain or protest strongly and persistently about.

“he railed at human fickleness”

Question 7

rent asunder

Answer 7

torn apart to pieces

e.g. the board was rent asunder after Johnson’s return.

Question 8

rue

Answer 8

bitterly regret (something one has done or allowed to happen).

“Ferguson will rue the day he turned down that offer”

Question 9

incense

Answer 9

make (someone) very angry.

“she was incensed by the accusations”

Question 10

patina

Answer 10

any fine layer on a surface.

e.g. a patina of frost

Question 11

peevish

Answer 11

easily irritated, especially by unimportant things.

“all this makes Steve fretful and peevish”

Question 12

commiserate

Answer 12

feel, show, or express pity for (someone).

“she did not exult in her rival’s fall, but, on the contrary, commiserated her”

Question 13

plodding

Answer 13

slow-moving and unexciting.

“a plodding comedy drama”

Question 14

fray

Answer 14

a situation of intense activity, typically one incorporating an element of aggression or competition.

“nineteen companies intend to bid for the contract, with three more expected to enter the fray”

Question 15

balk at

Answer 15

hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking.

“any gardener will at first balk at enclosing the garden”

Question 16

prerogative

Answer 16

a right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class.

“owning an automobile was still the prerogative of the rich”

Question 17

pariah

Answer 17

an outcast.

“they were treated as social pariahs”

Question 18

coffer

Answer 18

orig: strongbox/chestbox. the funds or financial reserves of a group or institution.

“the federal government’s empty coffers”

Question 19

credence

Answer 19

belief in or acceptance of something as true.

“the government placed little credence in the scheme”

Question 20

fixture

Answer 20

a person or thing that is established in a particular place or situation.

“palm readers were a fixture in most ’40s nightclubs”

Question 21

rift

Answer 21

a serious break in friendly relations.

“their demise caused a rift between the city’s town and gown”

Question 22

idyllic

Answer 22

(especially of a time or place) like an idyll; extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque.

“an attractive hotel in an idyllic setting”

Question 23

scrape by

Answer 23

to manage just to get by with something.

We can’t scrape by with only that amount of money.

Question 24

charade

Answer 24

an absurd pretense intended to create a pleasant or respectable appearance.

“talk of unity was nothing more than a charade”

Question 25

decry

Answer 25

publicly denounce.

“they decried human rights abuses”

Question 26

fluke

Answer 26

Occurence based solely on luck or chance.

That game was a total fluke. Nine times out of ten we would have beaten that team.

Question 27

plugging along

Answer 27

Inf. I am doing satisfactorily.; I am just managing to function.

Bill: How are things going? Bob: I’m just plugging along.

Question 28

in the teeth of

Answer 28

Straight into, confronting.

The ship was headed in the teeth of the gale

Question 29

on a tear

Answer 29

On a streak or series, usually a winning streak.

He won four bike races in a row–he’s on a tear!

Question 30

sow wild oats

Answer 30

to do wild and foolish things in one’s youth. (often assumed to have some sort of sexual meaning.)

Jack was out sowing his wild oats last night, and he’s in jail this morning.