Red book - lesson 14

Question 1

VEX (woodpeckers VEX trees with their PECKS)

Answer 1

verb: to annoy; to distress; to bother
eg: it is a VEXING situation when Marlene made dates with two boys at the same time.
syn: to agitate, to annoy, to displease, to disturb, to irk, to irritate
ant: to calm, to comfort, to aid, to ease, to soothe

Question 2

MINISCULE

Answer 2

adj: very small
eg: it only takes a MINISCULE crack in a dam to start a flood
syn: little, small, minute, tiny, itsy-bitsy, microscopic, dwarf
ant: big, large, giant, huge, enormous, immense, massive

Question 3

WADDLE (babies with BOTTLES WADDLE)

Answer 3

verb: to walk with short steps swaying from side to side; walk like a duck
eg: Sailors on ships WADDLE
syn: wobble, wiggle, toddle
ant: walk straight, steady

Question 4

DETEST (Dave DETESTS taking TESTS)

Answer 4

verb: to dislike immensely; to hate
eg: Many people DETEST spiders and snakes.
syn: to abhor, to despite, to loathe
ant: to admire, to cherish, to love, to adore

Question 5

REFRAIN: (friendly clouds trying to REFRAIN from dropping their RAIN)

Answer 5

verb: to keep oneself from doing, saying, or thinking something
eg: the drill sergeant could not REFRAIN from telling his new recruits they were a bunch of crybabies.

the police REFRAINED from making arrest of Chinese spies until they collected all the evidence.

syn: to abstain, to avoid, to curb, to resist
ant: to carry on, to keep on, to continue, to allow

Question 6

WINDFALL

Answer 6

noun: unexpected good fortune
eg: Uncle Terry died and his inheritance was a WINDFALL.
syn: a gift from God, a godsend, a stroke of luck

Question 7

FRUGAL

Answer 7

adj: like saving
eg: to be FRUGAL does not mean to be cheap. Sometimes real FRUGALITY is to buy the best that will last the longest.
syn: thrifty, prudent, careful, meticulous, stingy
ant: careless, wasteful, incautious, lavish

Question 8

THROTTLE

Answer 8

verb: to strangle
eg: Phil’s mom threatened to THROTTLE him if he tracked dirt into the house one more time.
syn: to choke, to silence, to stifle
ant: to encourage, to help, to release

Question 9

IMPALE

Answer 9

verb: to pierce through with any sharp pointed object
eg: Roger fell on a stick and IMPALED his hand.
syn: to prick, to lance, to perforate, to puncture, to skewer
ant: to close, to seal

Question 10

GARBLE (Henry, you sound GARBLED when you GARGLE)

Answer 10

verb: to confuse
eg: Susan was so excited she GARBLED everything she wanted to say.
syn: to misinterpret, to misquote, to jumble

ant; to clear up, to explain, to decipher