June

Question 1

dignitary

Answer 1

a person considered to be important because of high rank or office.

Question 2

rapt

Answer 2

completely fascinated by what one is seeing or hearing.

e.g. “Andrew looked at her, rapt”

Question 3

clinch

Answer 3

confirm or settle (a contract or bargain).

e.g. “to clinch a business deal”

Question 4

tempestuous

Answer 4

characterized by strong and turbulent or conflicting emotion.

e.g. “he had a reckless and tempestuous streak”

Question 5

travesty

Answer 5

a false, absurd, or distorted representation of something.

“the absurdly lenient sentence is a travesty of justice”

Question 6

bereaved

Answer 6

Suffering the loss of a loved one

e.g. the bereaved family.

Question 7

mantle

Answer 7

an important role or responsibility that passes from one person to another.

e.g. “the second son has now assumed his father’s mantle”

Question 8

upstage

Answer 8

divert attention from (someone) toward oneself; outshine.

e.g. “they were totally upstaged by their costar in the film”

Question 9

precocious

Answer 9

(of behavior or ability) indicative of early development.

“a precocious talent for computing”

Question 10

mill

Answer 10

(of people or animals) move around in a confused mass.

“people milled about the room, shaking hands”

Question 11

spirited

Answer 11

to carry off mysteriously or secretly (often followed by away or off):

His captors spirited him away.

Question 12

glaze over

Answer 12

[for one’s eyes] to assume a dull, bored appearance, signifying an inability to concentrate or a lack of sleep.

My eyes glaze over when I hear all those statistics.

Question 13

shroud

Answer 13

cover or envelop so as to conceal from view.

“mountains shrouded by cloud”

Question 14

pied piper

Answer 14

1. One, such as a leader, who makes irresponsible promises.
2. : a charismatic person who attracts followers

e.g. Ross Johnson is a veritable pied piper

Question 15

veritable

Answer 15

used as an intensifier, often to qualify a metaphor; real, bona fide, authentic

“a veritable price explosion”

Question 16

skinflint

Answer 16

An unreasonably thrifty person.

My uncle George will never help anyone out. He’s too much of a skin

Question 17

goon

Answer 17

Someone hired to rough someone up, usually someone big and dumb who commits acts of violence for money.

I’ll show those fools, i’ll hire a couple of goons to give those butt-pummeling ass clowns a fresh one accross the face. FIST!

Question 18

prance

Answer 18

(of a horse) move with high springy steps.

“the pony was prancing around the paddock”

Question 19

sic

Answer 19

set someone to pursue, keep watch on, or accompany (another).

e.g. Weigl sicced a team of auditors on Johnson’s expense accounts.

Question 20

renegade

Answer 20

a person who deserts and betrays an organization, country, or set of principles.

“he was denounced as a renegade”

Question 21

wring

Answer 21

squeeze and twist (something) to force liquid from it.

“she wrung the cloth out in the sink”

Question 22

knack

Answer 22

an acquired or natural skill at performing a task. Or a tendency to do something.

“she got the knack of it in the end”

Question 23

enscounce

Answer 23

establish or settle (someone) in a comfortable, safe, or secret place.

“Agnes ensconced herself in their bedroom”

Question 24

stardust

Answer 24

(especially in the context of success in the world of entertainment or sports) a magical or charismatic quality or feeling.

“a gang of Hollywood stars anointing us with sparkling stardust”

Question 25

recoil

Answer 25

suddenly spring or flinch back in fear, horror, or disgust.

“he recoiled in horror”

Question 26

aboveboard

Answer 26

legitimate, honest, and open.

“certain transactions were not totally aboveboard”

Question 27

overboard

Answer 27

from a ship into the water.

“the severe storm washed a man overboard”

Question 28

grouchy

Answer 28

irritable and bad-tempered; grumpy; complaining.

“the old man grew sulky and grouchy”

Question 29

rescind

Answer 29

revoke, cancel, or repeal (a law, order, or agreement).

“the government eventually rescinded the directive”

Question 30

admonition

Answer 30

警告；劝告

The typist received an admonition from the supervisor for being careless

Question 31

parochialism

Answer 31

the quality or state of being parochial; especially : selfish pettiness or narrowness (as of interests, opinions, or views)

Attributing the last four years to either Republicans or Democrats is myopic American parochialism.

Question 32

scruffy

Answer 32

shabby and untidy or dirty.

“dressed in scruffy jeans and a baggy T-shirt”

Question 33

stolid

Answer 33

not easily stirred or moved mentally; unemotional; impassive.

Taylor was perfectly formed for the intuitive, opportunistic life of a rebel, but not for the stolid bureaucracy of government.

Question 34

mire

Answer 34

a situation or state of difficulty, distress, or embarrassment from which it is hard to extricate oneself.

“he has been left to squirm in a mire of new allegations”

Question 35

dragnet

Answer 35

n. a systematic search for someone or something, especially criminals or criminal activity.
e. g. Nine suspects were caught in the police dragnet.