T's Flashcards
Table
In American English, to table something means to postpone discussion of it until later. (In British English, to table a bill is the opposite - to submit it for consideration.)
I see we’re not going to agree on whether to scrap our entire curriculum and develop a new one, so let’s table that discussion and move on to voting on the budget.
Tardy
Late, not on time.
Taxonomy
Science or technique of classification. The taxonomic system in biology classifies organisms by Phylum, Class, Order, Species, etc.
Temperament
Natural personality, as in an angry temperament, or a pleasant temperament.
Temperance
Moderation, self-control, esp. regarding alcohol or other desires or pleasures; total abstinence from alcohol. Relatedly, temperate means moderate, as in a temperature climate.
After the end of the Civil War, economic change led to an increase in alcohol problems and the birth of the Temperance Movement, which ultimately led to Prohibition, the complete ban of alcohol.
Grandma is a model of temperance - she drinks red wine every night, but only the third of a glass that she read was the minimum amount needed to help prevent heart attacks.
Terrestrial
Relating to the Earth or to land; worldly.
Mr. and Mrs. Daruza were certain they had seen a UFO, as well as aliens running around in the night. What they really saw was an especially dense flock of birds in the air, and some mundane, terrestrial animals on the ground.
Thenceforth
From that time forward.
In 1956, Grace Kelly married Rainer III, Prince of Monaco, and was thenceforth known as Princess Grace.
Theoretically
In theory (but not necessarily in reality). People sometimes just say theoretically when talking about theories, bu they also often say it when they mean that something will not work in real life.
Theoretically, the new process will result in reduced particle emission. (This could mean, “So we will need to try it in order to find out,” or it could mean “But I doubt that it will really work.” We need the next sentence to know which meaning is intended.)
Thesis
Proposition supported by an argument.
Thorny
Controversial, full of difficulties. Literally, having thorns, prickly (as a rose bush).
Tides
Periodic rise and fall of the ocean about every 12 hours, caused by the attraction of the sun and moon. Metaphorically, we can say the tides of refugees, for instance - implying the refugees are arriving periodically, in large groups.
Token
Sign, symbol, mark, badge; souvenir, memento; sample, or person, thing, idea taken to represent an entire group. A token can also be a coin-like disk used as currency for subways, arcade games, etc. As an adjective, it means “not very important.”
I am starting to realize that this law firm hired me to be its token woman. There I am, smiling in all the ads, but I never actually get to work on important cases.
Hollywood movies are often guilty of tokenism - many have exactly one black character (the “token minority”), often present only to give advice to the (usually white) main characters.
I am giving you this “Best Friends Forever” necklace as a token of our friendship.
Trajectory
The curved path of an object in flight, as in the missile’s trajectory.
Transient
Moving around, not settled; temporary, not lasting.
In the last decade, podcasting was thought to be the “next big thing,” but it turned out to be a largely transient phenomenon.
Transmute
Transform, change from one form to another.
