Lesson 9

Question 1

Extortion (n.)

Answer 1

Syn: giving money by threats

• When the Business manager was accused of extortion, his colleagues sought to oust him from the office.

Question 2

Impresario (n.)

Answer 2

Syn: organizer

• The eminent impresario brought many cultural spectacles to our shores.

Question 3

Bigot (n.)

Answer 3

Syn: dogmatist; a narrow-minded person; prejudiced person

• Attacked by the irate crowd, the bigot asked the police for sanctuary.

Question 4

Asset (n.)

Answer 4

Syn: a valuable thing to have; property

• President Obama found that texting was an asset to his communication skills.

Question 5

Adverse (adj.)

Answer 5

Syn: unfavorable; harmful

• It was excruciatingly painful for the actors to read the adverse reviews that their performance had received.

Question 6

To spill the beans (idiom)

Answer 6

To give away a secret

• When the felon was intimidated by the members of the rival gang, he spilled the beans.

Question 7

Entourage (n.)

Answer 7

Syn: Group of attendants

• The visiting dictator’s ubiquitous entourage of bodyguards distributed our tranquil city.

Question 8

Virulent (adj.)

Answer 8

Syn: full of hate; harmful

• Europe’s population was afflicted by a virulent plague known as the Black Death.

Question 9

Spew (v.)

Answer 9

Syn: throw up; vomit; eject

• From each candidate’s headquarters acrimonious charges would spew forth daily.

Question 10

Venom (n.)

Answer 10

Syn: poison; spite; malice

• Clym succumbed to the venom of a snake bite

Question 11

Blatant (adj.)

Answer 11

Syn: disagreeably loud; very showy

• With blatant discourtesy the reporters continued to harass the bereaved family.

Question 12

To keep a stiff upper lip (idiom)

Answer 12

To be courageous in the face of trouble

• It was admirable to see how the British managed to keep a stiff upper lip in spite of the German bombing.

Question 13

Loath (adj.)

Answer 13

Syn: unwilling; reluctant

• Since we felt that the ruling was arbitrary, we were loath to obey it.

Question 14

Solicit (vt.)

Answer 14

Syn: beg; ask; seek earnestly

• Daily the volunteers went out to solicit funds for indigent families

Question 15

Astute (adj.)

Answer 15

Syn: keen; shrewd; wise; clever

• My neighbor was astute enough to discern the adverse features of the mortgage.

Question 16

Advocate (n.) (vt.)

Answer 16

Syn: to be in favor of; to support

• The general was sure to advocate that we give the enemy no respite from the bombings.

Question 17

Ineffectual (adj.)

Answer 17

Syn: not effective; inefficient

• The play was so blatantly bad that the impresario fired its ineffectual director.

Question 18

To have cold feet (idiom)

Answer 18

To hesitate because of fear or uncertainty

• at the last moment he got cold feet.

Question 19

Vexatious (adj.)

Answer 19

Syn: annoying; offensive

• The vexatious buzzing of the mosquitoes as they surged about our heads nearly drove us insane.

Question 20

Amicable (adj.)

Answer 20

Syn: friendly; peaceful

• Our amicable relations with Latin America are an asset to hemispheric trade.

Question 21

Malady (n.)

Answer 21

Syn: disease

• Once the virulent malady had run its course, my temperature dropped.

Question 22

Nefarious (adj.)

Answer 22

Syn: villainous; vicious; wicked

• We were distraught upon hearing the venom spewed forth by the nefarious bigot.

Question 23

Scrutinize (vt.)

Answer 23

Syn: examin closely

• No sooner did the lawyer scrutinize the extortion note than she called the police.

Question 24

To look a gift horse in the mouth (idiom)

Answer 24

To be critical of a present

• I took the gift with a big smile since I have been taught never to look a gift horse in the mouth.