Economist Tier 1

Question 1

Aberration

Answer 1

: noun, a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected

“The Fed will probably need convincing that the latest labour-market report was an aberration before tightening policy.”

Question 2

Agog

Answer 2

: adjective, Very eager or curious to hear or see something
Synonyms: excited, impatient, in suspense
“We are now agog to know when, on the basis of its forecasts, the Bank will push up interest rates…”

Question 3

Artless

Answer 3

adjective, without guile or deception
Synonyms: candid, direct, forthright
“He is loveably artless and embarrassingly awkward in his unstoppably cheerful attempts to win over the frosty members of the band…”

Question 4

Blithe:

Answer 4

: adjective, showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper
Synonyms: indifferent, unconcerned, blasé
“Mr. Cameron’s government was too posh, too cocky, too blithe about globalization’s merits, too metropolitan. Too Notting Hill. “

Question 5

Burlesque:

Answer 5

noun, a variety show
Synonyms: skit, farce, striptease
“Madame JoJo’s, a burlesque bar in London’s Soho, had its license revoked in 2014 after two bouncers brandished a baseball bat at a rowdy crowd.”

Question 6

Coda:

Answer 6

noun, a concluding event, remark or section
Synonyms: ending, finale
“With distinct ballad, opera and hard rock sections—and a pensive intro and coda, for good measure—the song was not for listeners in a hurry.”

Question 7

Deign:

Answer 7

verb, Do something that one considers to be beneath one’s dignity
Synonyms: come down from one’s high horse
“If the Senate deigns to consider and confirm a nominee, do not expect changes overnight.”

Question 8

Doff:

Answer 8

verb, Remove (an item of clothing)
Synonyms: lay hold of, take hold of
“To don shoes, to doff them, or even to throw them at somebody?”

Question 9

Fallow:

Answer 9

adjective, Inactive
Synonyms: dormant, quiet, slack
“Their fickle attention might waver for a few fallow years of rebuilding, but Angel Stadium will still be standing…”

Question 10

Gossamer:

Answer 10

adjective, Used to refer to something very light, thin, and insubstantial or delicate
Synonyms: gauzy, gossamery, fine
“Like a saintly relic, the gossamer threads that tie the two halves offer the promise of miraculous healing by evoking the vulnerability of the suffering body.”

Question 11

Harangue:

Answer 11

noun, a lengthy and aggressive speech
Synonyms: tirade, diatribe, rant
“State-run China Central Television (CCTV) has broadcast harsh criticisms of some multinationals, including an absurd harangue over Starbucks’ prices…”

Question 12

Lurid

Answer 12

adjective, Presented in vividly shocking or sensational terms
Synonyms: melodramatic, exaggerated, overdramatized
“Their absence from the public eye, especially in a Western country with an abundant supply of good hospitals, tends to spark lurid rumours of illness and even death.”

Question 13

Mirth

Answer 13

noun, Amusement, especially as expressed in laughter
Synonyms: merriment, high spirits
“A further proposal, to cut the salaries of senior public managers by 25%, has caused both anger and mirth.”

Question 14

Morose:

Answer 14

adjective, Sullen and ill-tempered
Synonyms: sullen, sulky, gloomy
“Mr. Macron’s can-do political energy stands out in morose France, home to 10% unemployment and growth last year of just 1.1%.”

Question 15

Oblique:

Answer 15

adjective, Not explicit or direct in addressing a point
Synonyms: indirect, inexplicit, roundabout
“’Fire at Sea’ has been praised for offering an oblique, poetic alternative to a more conventional campaigning documentary…”

Question 16

Pine:

Answer 16

verb, Miss and long for the return of

“Few DJs pine for the days of ones-and-twos; the possibilities of modern technology are too alluring.”

Question 17

Platitude

Answer 17

noun, A remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful
Synonyms: cliché, truism, commonplace
“For most of her end-of-term grilling by the liaison committee… she wore an aquiline scowl, quibbling with the questions and, when pushed, cleaving to evasive platitudes…”

Question 18

Reticence

Answer 18

: noun, the quality of not revealing one’s thoughts or feelings readily
Synonyms: reserve, introversion, restraint
“Mr. Harding is more comfortable with facts; with classic English reticence, he buries his family’s responses in footnotes and summaries.”

Question 19

Ruminate:

Answer 19

verb, Think deeply about something
Synonyms: contemplate, consider, mull over
“Alfred Sauvy, the French thinker… was prone to worry that the first world would become ‘a society of old people, living in old houses, ruminating about old ideas.’”

Question 20

Surly

Answer 20

adjective, Bad-tempered and unfriendly
Synonyms: ill-natured, grumpy, glum
“Here, poverty and economic decline has led to the surly separation of a left-behind, resentful white working class and a Muslim minority.”

Question 21

Tawdry:

Answer 21

adjective, Showy but cheap and of poor quality
Synonyms: gaudy, flashy, garish
“A team of 21 organisers resigned from the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (NPBCU), throwing the festival of tawdry pop into doubt.”

Question 22

Tome:

Answer 22

noun, a book, especially a large, heavy, scholarly one
Synonyms: volume, work, opus
“It is a tome to which most recent arguments about regulation and economic reform are merely annotations.”

Question 23

Torrid:

Answer 23

adjective, Full of difficulty or tribulation

“The pound, after a few torrid days of trading immediately after the vote, has stabilized.”

Question 24

Wanton:

Answer 24

adjective, (of a cruel or violent action) deliberate and unprovoked
Synonyms: malicious, malevolent, spiteful
“Over the decades these Muslim non-people, without legal or any other sort of protection, have been the victims of wanton discrimination and violence…

Question 25

Winsome:

Answer 25

adjective, Attractive or appealing in appearance or character
Synonyms: engaging, charming, winning
“By the time Mr. Pattinson came along as the winsome vampire in “Twilight”, the teenage rebels were starting the movie already dead.”

Question 26

Wizened:

Answer 26

adjective, Shriveled or wrinkled with age
Synonyms: lined, creased, withered
“His son, himself a wizened old man, is nonplussed by the news; he looks like an eccentric, or maybe the village drunk…”