Misc. 4

Question 1

xeriscaping

Answer 1

environmental design of residential and park land using various methods for minimizing the need for water use.

Question 2

absquatulate

Answer 2

Slang. to flee; abscond: The old prospector absquatulated with our picks and shovel.

Question 3

protean

Answer 3

1. readily assuming different forms or characters; extremely variable.
2. changeable in shape or form, as an amoeba.
   “A genius for the ages, a man who played wonderful yet sometimes outrageous changes with art, Pablo Picasso remains without doubt, the most original, the most protean and the most forceful personality in the visual arts….”
   – Alden Whitman, “Picasso: Protean and Prodigious, the Greatest Single Force in 70 Years of Art,” New York Times, April 9, 1973
   Protean comes from Proteus, the sea god noted for his ability to assume different forms.

Question 4

opprobrious

Answer 4

1. outrageously disgraceful or shameful: opprobrious conduct.
2. conveying or expressing opprobrium, as language or a speaker: opprobrious invectives.

Question 5

argy-bargy

Answer 5

Chiefly British. a vigorous discussion or dispute.
Quote:
The current argy-bargy over herring fishing seems to bring the whole issue of conservation, national fishing limits, and policing of the seas into perspective.
– Brian Gardner, “Don’t send a gunboat,” New Scientist, July 21, 1977

Question 6

shibboleth

Answer 6

1. a peculiarity of pronunciation, behavior, mode of dress, etc., that distinguishes a particular class or set of persons.
2. a slogan; catchword.

Question 7

donnybrook

Answer 7

(often initial capital letter) an inordinately wild fight or contentious dispute; brawl; free-for-all
Quotes
The crime reporter told the story in a high-pitched nasal voice that was nearly as grating as the sound of the donnybrook the Dunphys’ were having downstairs.
– Scott Phillips, The Adjustment, 2011

Question 8

galumph

Answer 8

to move along heavily and clumsily.

Question 9

minimax

Answer 9

a strategy of game theory employed to minimize a player’s maximum possible loss.
Quote:
This is the principle of minimax: assume that the worst may happen and act accordingly; remember that lightning always strikes twice in the same place. This is a basic law known to all successful gamblers.
– William S. Burroughs, The Adding Machine: Selected Essays, 1993

Question 10

wayworn

Answer 10

worn or wearied by travel:

Question 11

anomia

Answer 11

Medicine/Medical. the inability to name objects or to recognize the written or spoken names of objects.

Question 12

espial

Answer 12

1. the act of spying.

2. the act of keeping watch; observation.

Question 13

amphigory

Answer 13

a meaningless or nonsensical piece of writing, especially one intended as a parody.

Question 14

flummox

Answer 14

Informal. to bewilder; confound; confuse.

Question 15

alexithemia

Answer 15

Psychiatry. difficulty in experiencing, expressing, and describing emotional responses.

Question 16

jejune

Answer 16

1. without interest or significance; dull; insipid: a jejune novel.
2. juvenile; immature; childish: jejune behavior.

Question 17

slugabed

Answer 17

a lazy person who stays in bed long after the usual time for arising.

Question 18

penetralia

Answer 18

1. the most private or secret things.
2. the innermost parts or recesses of a place or thing.
   Quote:
   “But there are promptings of wisdom from the penetralia of human nature, which a people can hear though, the wisest of their practical Statesmen be deaf towards them.”
   – William Wordsworth, “Concerning the Relations of Great Britain, Spain and Portugal…as Affected by the Convention of Cintra,” 1809

Question 19

uxorious

Answer 19

doting upon, foolishly fond of, or affectionately submissive toward one’s wife.

Question 20

gormandize

Answer 20

to eat greedily or ravenously

Question 21

oniomania

Answer 21

an uncontrollable desire to buy things

Question 22

propinquity

Answer 22

1. Nearness in place; proximity.

2. affinity of nature; similarity.

Question 23

spoonerism

Answer 23

1. The transposition of usually initial sounds in a pair of words.
2. the transposition of initial or other sounds of words, usually by accident, as in a blushing crow for a crushing blow.

Question 24

antipodes

Answer 24

\an-TIP-uh-deez\
noun
1. places diametrically opposite each other on the globe.
2. those who dwell there.

Question 25

fugacious

Answer 25

1. Lasting but a short time; fleeting.

2. fleeting; transitory: a sensational story with but a fugacious claim on the public’s attention.

Question 26

matutinal

Answer 26

1. Relating to or occurring in the morning; early.

2. pertaining to or occurring in the morning; early in the day.

Question 27

telluric

Answer 27

1. of or proceeding from the earth or soil.

2. of or relating to the earth; terrestrial.

Question 28

milquetoast

Answer 28

(sometimes initial capital letter) a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, especially one who is easily dominated or intimidated: a milquetoast who’s afraid to ask for a raise.

Question 29

eudemonic

Answer 29

1. pertaining or conducive to happiness.
2. pertaining to eudemonics or eudemonism.
   Quote:
   Philosophers have long held that we can distinguish between eudemonic experience, or a striving towards meaning and purpose that underlies human beings’ capacity to engage in complex social and cultural behavior, in contrast to the striving for more heonic or simply pleasurable experience.
   – Michael Friedman, “Would a Year of Voluntary Public Service Bring Out America’s Best?” Huffington Post, March 11, 2015

Question 30

oenophile

Answer 30

\EE-nuh-fahyl\
noun
1. a person who enjoys wines, usually as a connoisseur.

Question 31

irenic

Answer 31

tending to promote peace or reconciliation; peaceful or conciliatory.

Question 32

munificence

Answer 32

the quality of being munificent, or showing unusual generosity: The museum’s collection was greatly increased by the munificence of the family’s gift.

Question 33

abdominous

Answer 33

having a large belly; potbellied.

Question 34

wing-ding

Answer 34

1. Slang. a noisy, exciting celebration or party.

2. Slang. a fit, either induced by drugs or feigned.

Question 35

clinquant

Answer 35

adjective
1. glittering, especially with tinsel; decked with garish finery.

noun
1. imitation gold leaf; tinsel; false glitter.

Question 36

prepossessing

Answer 36

that impresses favorably; engaging or attractive: a confident and prepossessing young man.

Question 37

salubrious

Answer 37

favorable to or promoting health; healthful: salubrious air.

Question 38

sybaritic

Answer 38

1. pertaining to or characteristic of a sybarite; characterized by or loving luxury or sensuous pleasure: to wallow in sybaritic splendor.
2. (initial capital letter) of, relating to, or characteristic of Sybaris or its inhabitants.

Question 39

inveigle

Answer 39

1. to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk or inducements (usually followed by into): to inveigle a person into playing bridge.
2. to acquire, win, or obtain by beguiling talk or methods (usually followed by from or away): to inveigle a theater pass from a person.

Question 40

hebetude

Answer 40

\HEB-i-tood, -tyood\
noun
1. the state of being dull; lethargy.