Perdido Street Station 2 Flashcards
sardonic
mocking and scornful in a humorous way; ironically or disdainfully humorous e.g. her sardonic jokes in the late nighr show
cant
trite talk that has lost its meaning from over-repetition
- also jargon
moribund
almost dead
- moribund, she gasped “i love you”
- the DVD is moribund with present live streaming services
shambolic
(british slang) disorderly, chaotic
gullible
naive and easily tricked or deceived e.g.the trusting gullible granny was fooled by the thieves
lewd
morally loose, lusty (salacious), dirty e.g. like lewd jokes
garish
gaudy, tastelessly showy and vivid e.g. an outfit
saunter
a careless leisurely gait, walk without aim
burr
seed with thorns or prickles - the dog’s fur is full of burrs after a run in the meadow
fatuous
lacking intelligence; inane
teeter
waver or sway as of lack of balance; move unsteadily from side to side
- the piles of books teetered precariously
embezzlement
a fraud or theft of money or property you manage for someone else e.g. club’s pocket money or in a company stealing some shipped goods
crag (craggy)
rugged rock or cliff; a rock having a rough jagged face
inexorable
stubborn or unavoidable; not to be placated, appeased or moved by entreaty (a plead) e.g. Russia’s inexorable move
ponce
- ) an effeminate man, fussy about apparel
2. ) a pimp; one who procures sexual partners for a sex worker (UK word)
procure
- ) get by special effort e.g. she procured cigarettes to prison
- ) arrange for sexual partners for others e.g. a pimp procures sex workers for clients
chump
a gullible person easy to take advantage of e.g. ey felt like a chump after being cheated out of money
skivvy
[skih-vy]
a female domestic worker for menial work
menial
[mih-nial]
requiring little to no training or talent, especially of domestic (unskilled) work
leeway
a permissible difference allowing some freedom e.g. ask you teacher if there is any leeway to hand the paper later
forbearance
- ) a good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence; patience e.g. thank you for your forbearance in this mess
- ) a delay in acting or in rights enforcement e.g. his forbearance to reply astonished her
expostulate
argue fervently against (strongly trying to convince) e.g. expostulate with your brother who was trying to jump off the roof blindfolded OR expostulate against meat consumption
forestall
prevent from happening; preclude e.g. your job is to forestall the alternative failures of the project
deprecate
[deh-preh-cate]
- ) to express strong disapproval of (deplore) e.g. i deprecate smoking in public
- ) to belittle disrespectfully e.g. seniour students deprecate youngsters
hutch
- ) a cage (wood and metal) for animals
2. ) small crude shelter-dwelling
dejected
having given up hope; low spirited and melancholy depressed e.g. she roamed the streets dejcted from her loss
stevedore
[stih-vih-dore]
a dock-worker who loads and unlods cargo
forsake
abandon or leave someone in need e.g. they forsook me and now i am a pariah
suffuse
spread or flood through and fill space like the smell of flowers in meadows
paltry
[poh-ltry]
derisory-ish (contemptibly and rodiculously) small in content e.g. Oliver Twist got a paltry amount of gruel and asked for more
abstruse
difficult to grasp and understand; requiring extensive knowledge; deep and intelectually challenging
- almost like the opposite of obtuse
e. g. understanding how internet works is abstruse
obtuse
slow to learn, lacking intellectual insight
attenuate
weaken, fade
scrawny
(derogatory) thin and weak physically
oneiric
[onai-ric]
relating to dreams
greek: oneiros = dream
mocking and scornful in a humorous way; ironically or disdainfully humorous
sardonic
abandon or leave someone in need
forsake
almost dead
moribund
barb
a spiteful insult (like a barbed wire)
simper
to smile in a overaffected, articifial, coy way (coy = modest and shy in a provocative or playful way) e.g. his fake simper annoys me
trite talk that has lost its meaning from over-repetition
- also jargon
a cant
(british slang) disorderly, chaotic
shambolic
gaudy, tastelessly showy and vivid e.g. an outfit
garish
naive and easily tricked or deceived e.g. the trusting granny who was fooled by the thieves
gullible
morally loose, lusty (salacious), dirty e.g. jokes
lewd
a careless leisurely gait, walk without aim
saunter
n./v.
seed with thorns or prickles e.g. in the dog’s fur after a run in the meadow
burr
waver or sway as of lack of balance; move unsteadily from side to side
teeter
lacking intelligence; inane
fatuous
a fraud or theft of money or property you manage for someone else e.g. club’s pocket money or in a company stealing some shipped goods
embezzlement
rugged rock or cliff; a rock having a rough jagged face
crag
stubborn or unavoidable; not to be placated, appeased or moved by entreaty (a plead)
inexorable
spread or flood through and fill space like the smell of flowers in meadows
suffuse
- ) an effeminate man, fussy about apparel
2. ) a pimp; one who procures sexual partners for a sex worker (UK word)
ponce
- ) get by special effort
2. ) arrange for sexual partners for others e.g. like a pimp
procure
a gullible person easy to take advantage of e.g. ey felt like a … after being cheated out of money
chump
derisorily (contemptiibly and rodiculously) small in content
paltry
[poh-ltry]
a female domestic worker for menial work
skivvy
[skih-vy]
requiring little to no training or talent, especially of domestic (unskilled) work
menial
[mih-nial]
a permissible difference allowing some degree of freedom
leeway
- ) a good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence; patience
- ) a delay in acting or in rights enforcement
forbearance
difficult to grasp and understand; requiring extensive knowledge; deep and intelectually challenging
(almost like the opposite of obtuse)
e.g. understanding how internet works
abstruse
argue fervently against (strongly trying to convince) e.g. against meat consumption
expostulate
prevent from happening; preclude
forestall
- ) to express strong disapproval of (deplore) e.g. about smoking in public
- ) to belittle disrespectfully e.g. seniour students to youngsters
deprecate
[deh-preh-cate]
- ) a cage (wood and metal) for animals
2. ) small crude shelter-dwelling
hutch
having given up hope; low spirited and melancholy depressed
dejected
a dock-worker who loads and unlods cargo
stevedore
[stih-vih-dore]
slow to learn, lacking intellectual insight
obtuse
weaken, fade, reduce the force
- also reduce the virulency of a virus/infection/epidemic
- reduce in thickness, make thin
attenuate
(derogatory) thin and weak physically
scrawny
relating to dreams
oneiric
[onai-ric]
retaliate
take revenge (for a perceived wrong)
flounder
walk with great difficulty; stagger
dissolution
- ) separation into parts
2. ) unrestrained morally or comventionally (debauchery)
dale
a valley in a hilly area typically with a river
contrition
the feeling of pain or sorrow or rueful guilt for one’s wrongdoings or sins
(used to be related to religion)
behest
[b-hest]
an auhoritative request or command e.g. at the officer’s behest, he gave up
mawkish
effusively or insicerely emotional
e.g. the accidental and mawkish meetings with your former classmates or friends on the street
effusive
bubbly emotional like Aunt Sally kissing you 30 times