Lesson 6

Question 1

Sally (n.) (vt.)

Answer 1

Syn: suddenly rush forth; attack

• Some prisoners planned a disturbance, while others would sally toward the gates.

Question 2

Affluent (adj.)

Answer 2

Syn: rich; wealthy

• Under duress from the tax officer, the beggar admitted that he was truly affluent.

Question 3

Consternation (n.)

Answer 3

Syn: dismay; fear

• To the consternation of the sergeant, there was a paucity of volunteers for the dangerous mission.

Question 4

Feasible (adj.)

Answer 4

Syn: possible; achievable

• It’s feasible to build an electric auto, but wouldn’t you need a terribly long extension cord.

Question 5

Discern (vt.)

Answer 5

Syn: perceive; discover; recognize

• When we could discern city lights, we knew we were safe at last.

Question 6

I’m from Missouri (idiom)

Answer 6

Syn: a skeptic, one who is not easily convinced

• You might swallow his promises, but I’m from Missouri.

Question 7

Precocious (adj.)

Answer 7

Syn: developed; ahead; reaching maturity early

• The children in Shakespeare’s plays are so precocious that they all sound like grandparents.

Question 8

Perfunctory (adj.)

Answer 8

Syn: hasty; hurried; done without care

• Edith gave only perfunctory attention to the new millennium, skipping our New Year’s Eve party.

Question 9

Deride (vt.)

Answer 9

Syn: to ridicule; scoff at

• The Wright brothers didn’t become distraught, when a skeptic would deride their work.

Question 10

Perverse (adj.)

Answer 10

Syn: contrary; persisting in error; stubborn

• When I correct my kid brother’s math errors, he is perverse enough to insist that he is right.

Question 11

Chagrin (n.)

Answer 11

Syn: feeling of disappointment; humiliation

• To the chagrin of taxpayers, some citizens seem to cheat the government with impunity.

Question 12

Red-letter day (idiom)

Answer 12

Syn: day of happiness; time for rejoicing

• My red-letter day came when I was chosen as senior class president.

Question 13

Laudable (adj.)

Answer 13

Syn: praiseworthy

• The paradox is that Javert’s inexorable pursuit of Jean Valjean was both loudable and despicable.

Question 14

Disparage (vt.)

Answer 14

Syn: to discredit; belittle

• The affluent store owner disparaged the efforts of his small competitors, saying that he could always tolerate that kind of rivalry.

Question 15

Masticate (vt.)

Answer 15

Syn: to chew up

• To aid in digestion, you must masticate each piece of meat one dozen times.

Question 16

Fiasco (n.)

Answer 16

Syn: complete failure

• In an acrimonious letter, her father described the project as a complete fiasco.

Question 17

Eschew (vt.)

Answer 17

Syn: avoid; refrain from

• Once he sought the limelight, but now he eschews all interviews.

Question 18

To let sleeping dogs lie (idiom)

Answer 18

To let well enough alone; To avoid stirring up old hostilities

• The lawyer wanted to open up the old case, but his partner advised him to let sleeping dog lie.

Question 19

Dubious (adj.)

Answer 19

Syn: doubtful; hesitant; uncertain

• When the duplicity was revealed, the jury became dubious about Ed’s innocent.

Question 20

Quell (vt.)

Answer 20

Syn: put an end to; finish; extinguish

• In order to quell the riot, the police sallied forth with tear gas.

Question 21

Confidant (n.)

Answer 21

Syn: One to whom you confide your secrets

• A teenage boy’s father should be his true confidant.

Question 22

Obsolescence (n.)

Answer 22

Syn: process of wearing out; put an end to; dying out

• The obsolescence built into many products could be regarded as a flagrant insult toward the duped consumer.

Question 23

Voluble (adj.)

Answer 23

syn: talkative; chatty

• I could not doze in the chair because of the voluble barber.

Question 24

Thumb’s down (idiom)

Answer 24

Signal of rejection

• My father turned thumb’s down on our plan to hitchhike to Florida during Easter.