Every SAT Word Has A History

Question 1

Draconian

Answer 1

(adj.) characterized by very strict laws, rules, and punishments

– dragons?

Question 2

Laconic

Answer 2

(adj.) very brief; concise; succinct; terse

– Latvia talks very briefly

Question 3

Spartan

Answer 3

(adj.) plain; simple; austere (plain life without luxuries)

Question 4

Arduous

Answer 4

(adj.) demanding

Question 5

Halycon

Answer 5

(adj.) idyllically (extremely happy) calm and peaceful; an untroubled golden time of happiness and tranquility

– holy

Question 6

Sophistry

Answer 6

(n.) a plausible but deliberately misleading or fallacious argument designed to deceive someone

Question 7

Chimerical

Answer 7

(adj.) given to fantastic schemes; existing only as a product of an unchecked imagination

Question 8

Ostracize

Answer 8

(v.) to deliberately exclude from a group

– that one ostrich in the group…

Question 9

Impecunious

Answer 9

(adj.) poor; penniless; not affluent

Question 10

Nefarious

Answer 10

(adj.) extremely wicked; villainous; vile

– Jefar from Alladdin is pretty evil

Question 11

Pantheon

Answer 11

(n.) a group of noted individuals

– the Pantheon in Rome

Question 12

Jovial

Answer 12

(adj.) good-humored; cheerful; jocular

Question 13

Dirge

Answer 13

(n.) a funeral hymn; a slow mournful musical composition

Question 14

Maudlin

Answer 14

(adj.) tearful; excessively sentimental

Question 15

Quixotic

Answer 15

(adj.) foolishly impractical in the pursuit of ideals; impractical idealism

– opposite of pragmatic

Question 16

Pandemonium

Answer 16

(n.) a wild uproar; tumult

– ‘pan’ across, moneo to warn

Question 17

Martinet

Answer 17

(n.) a strict disciplinarian; a person who demands absolute adherence to forms and rules

– Marlin from Nemo?

Question 18

Fiasco

Answer 18

(n.) a complete failure; a debacle

Question 19

Bowdlerize

Answer 19

(v.) to remove or delete parts of a book, song, or other work that are considered offensive

Question 20

Galvanize

Answer 20

(v.) to electrify; to stir into action as if with an electric shock

Question 21

Picayune

Answer 21

(n.) something of small value or importance; petty; trifling

Question 22

Gerrymander

Answer 22

(v.) to divide a geographic area into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections

– Gary who demands votes by giving away land

Question 23

Maverick

Answer 23

(n.) an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party; a nonconformist

– Mave-Rick doesn’t follow the 4 million other Ricks grouped together

Question 24

Juggernaut

Answer 24

(n.) a irresistible force that crushes everything in its path

– a astronaut is a space person, pretend ‘naut’ is person
juggernaut, a person made of heavy jugs

this person would obviously crush anyone under him

Question 25

Serendipity

Answer 25

(n.) an accidental but fortunate discovery

Question 26

Zenith

Answer 26

(n.) the highest point; the peak; apex

– Zen

Question 27

Nadir

Answer 27

(n.) the lowest point; the bottom

– nadar, to swim, lets swim to the bottom!