Misc. 7 Flashcards
amphiboly
\am-FIB-uh-lee\
noun
1. ambiguity of speech, especially from uncertainty of the grammatical construction rather than of the meaning of the words, as in The Duke yet lives that Henry shall depose.
potboiler
a mediocre work of literature or art produced merely for financial gain.
stemwinder
- Older Slang. a. a rousing speech, especially a stirring political address. b. something remarkable of its kind. c. a stirring orator.
- a stemwinding watch.
dilatory
- tending to delay or procrastinate; slow; tardy.
2. intended to cause delay, gain time, or defer decision: a dilatory strategy.
nudnik
Slang. a persistently dull, boring pest.
compunction
- a feeling of uneasiness or anxiety of the conscience caused by regret for doing wrong or causing pain; contrition; remorse.
- any uneasiness or hesitation about the rightness of an action.
infra dig
beneath one’s dignity.
“… the man among the holly-bushes had made her see it all so plainly: the ridiculousness of being in love, the infra dig business of chasing a man or being chased by a man. “Is love really so absurd and infra dig?” she said aloud to herself. “Why of course!” came a deep, laughing voice.”
– D. H. Lawrence, “The Last Laugh,” The Woman Who Rode Away and Other Stories, 1928
Infra dig is a shortening of the Latin phrase infrā dignitātem, “beneath (one’s) dignity.” It entered English in the early 1800s.
immure
- to shut in; seclude or confine.
2. to enclose within walls.
equipoise
- an equal distribution of weight; even balance; equilibrium.
- a counterpoise.
quondam
former; onetime: his quondam partner.
bruit
\broot\
verb
1. to voice abroad; rumor (used chiefly in the passive and often followed by about ): The report was bruited through the village.
asomatous
having no material body; incorporeal.
thrasonical
boastful; vainglorious.
tyro
a beginner in learning anything; novice.
cordate
- heart-shaped: a cordate shell.
2. (of leaves) heart-shaped, with the attachment at the notched end.
sockeroo
Slang. a notable success: Her performance was a sockeroo.
senectitude
the last stage of life; old age.
handsel
- a gift or token for good luck or as an expression of good wishes, as at the beginning of the new year or when entering upon a new situation or enterprise.
- a first installment of payment.
etiolate
- to cause to become weakened or sickly; drain of color or vigor.
- to cause (a plant) to whiten or grow pale by excluding light: to etiolate celery.
fallal
a bit of finery; a showy article of dress.
asseverate
to declare earnestly or solemnly; affirm positively; aver.
troglodyte
- a person of degraded, primitive, or brutal character.
2. a prehistoric cave dweller.
calliopean
\kuh-lahy-uh-PEE-uh n\
adjective
1. piercingly loud; resembling a calliope in sound: a calliopean voice.
sine die
\SAHY-nee DAHY-ee, SIN-ey-DEE-ey\
adverb
1. without fixing a day for future action or meeting: The assembly adjourned sine die.
portmanteau
- Also called portmanteau word. Linguistics. a word made by putting together parts of other words, as motel, made from motor and hotel, brunch, from breakfast and lunch, or guesstimate, from guess and estimate.
- a case or bag to carry clothing in while traveling, especially a leather trunk or suitcase that opens into two halves.
macaronic
1: characterized by a mixture of vernacular words with Latin words or with non-Latin words having Latin endings
2
: characterized by a mixture of two languages
ramify
1 : to split up into branches or constituent parts
2 : to send forth branches or extensions
3 : to cause to branch
“In alternating chapters, ‘The Lost Boy’ moves back and forth in time, from a present-day whodunit set in a city … to a grim tale set in the 1870s on one of the myriad rocky islands lying off the coast. These narratives are related in fascinating ways, their threads crisscrossing and ramifying inventively.” — Anthony Lewis, The Providence Journal, 27 Nov. 2016
nugatory
1 : of little or no consequence : trifling, inconsequential
2 : having no force : inoperative
“The novel’s greatest talker is Sandro’s best friend, Ronnie Fontaine, whose photographs (such as we hear about them) seem nugatory, but whose stories are captivating.” — James Wood, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2013
distaff
1 a : related through a mother
b : inherited or derived from the female parent
2 : female
adjure
1 : to command solemnly under or as if under oath or penalty of a curse
2 : to urge or advise earnestly
carceral
of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison
grandee
a man of elevated rank or station; especially : a Spanish or Portuguese nobleman of the first rank
barbican
an outer defensive work; especially : a tower at a gate or bridge
vernal
Of, in, or appropriate to spring
bolthole
chiefly British
: a place of escape or refuge; a place where a person can escape and hide.
canard
a false or baseless, usually derogatory story, report, or rumor:
“This week, Lewandowski distinguished himself by reviving the birther canard—the thoroughly debunked conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was not born in the United States.”
– Margaret Talbot, “The Trouble with Corey Lewandowski on CNN,”
luciferous
- bringing or providing light.
- providing insight or enlightenment.
Luciferous comes from Latin lūcifer “morning star,” literally, “light-bringing.” It entered English in the mid-1600s.
Cimmerian
[si-MEER-ee-uh n]
- very dark; gloomy: deep, Cimmerian caverns.
- Classical Mythology. of, relating to, or suggestive of a western people believed to dwell in perpetual darkness.
vaunting
- having a boastfully proud disposition: a vaunting dictator.
- marked by boastful pride: a vaunting air of superiority.
smaragdine
- emerald-green in color.
2. of or relating to emeralds.
