Wordplay & Language Flashcards
Greek, “the many”
Rhyming phrase meaning “common people”
HOI POLLOI
Chinese, “touching/knocking the head” (to the floor)
Part of a ritual upon meeting the emperor that involves kneeling & bowing
Means “to act servile/submissive”
KOWTOW
French
Casino worker, typically roulette
CROUPIER
Greek for “chief sea” (originally meaning the Aegean)
Now refers to its many islands
ARCHIPELAGO
Greek term for a “cave/hole dweller”
Generic term for a cave person
Also a genus of wrens
TROGLODYTES
Kind of house built in the “Bengali” style - the word comes from Bengali
BUNGALOW
“Work expands to fill allotted time.”
PARKINSON’S LAW
“If anything can go wrong, it will.”
MURPHY’S LAW
Italian, means “grand tour”
Used in car names and a PlayStation driving sim
GRAN TURISMO
Latin, “Roman peace”
Period of ~200 years ruled by the “5 Good Emperors” from Augustus to Marcus Aurelius
PAX ROMANA
Hebrew, “peace” (“be with you”)
Greeting and goodbye
Root of “Solomon” & “Salem”
SHALOM (ALEICHEM)
From the Hindi/Bengal for “small boat”
A small boat carried or towed by a larger one
DINGHY
From French, “petticoat”
A debutante’s ball
COTILLION
Latin American girl’s 15th birthday party
QUINCEANERA
Phrase coined by Cleopatra in Shakespeare
Refers to a time of youthful exuberance
Sounds leafy
SALAD DAYS
Found in a cloud, it refers to a situation’s bright side
Coined by John Milton
SILVER LINING
Stenography/dictation method
John Gregg developed a system to replace Pitman’s in 1888
SHORTHAND
From the French
Car parker at a restaurant, or a kind of key they might use with limited access
OR
Personal attendant/manservant
e.g. Figaro or Jeeves
Distinct from a butler, who serves a household
VALET
Steward or head servant of a great household
Means “household’s highest”
May be 2 words or hyphenated
MAJORDOMO
A group of quails, swans, or of “beauties” or women
BEVY
Word originally meaning a demon
Now also means a silly, gossipy, or flighty person
Appears in “King Lear” & in the Sound of Music’s “Maria”
Has 4 “B”s
FLIBBERTIGIBBET
Nickname for an American general, in Britain it means “to filibuster”
STONEWALL
Latin phrase
“Without which, nothing”
Means an essential aspect or element
SINE QUA NON
Latin phrase
“What for what” or “Something for something”
Originally referred to medicine substitutions
As a term for a political deal, it was in the news during Iran-Contra & in 2019
QUID PRO QUO
French 2-word term
A precocious, embarrassing child, or an unorthodox and rebellious prodigy
ENFANT TERRIBLE
Latin 2-word term
“Behold the man”
Spoken by Pilate in the gospel of John, referring to Jesus
Common title for depictions of Jesus, including a fresco famously restored in 2012 by an amateur Spanish artist
ECCE HOMO
Italian, “little cup”
Architectural term for the topper on a domed roof, like an inverted cup
CUPOLA
2-word Hawai’ian phrase
Title of a song by Lili’uokalani
“Farewell to thee”
ALOHA ‘OE
Latin, “what”
Also British slang for a pound sterling
QUID
From French, “fragile”
To feign illness, usually for one’s own benefit
MALINGER
From Latin, “compliant”
Fawning, servile, or obedient
Has a “QU” in the middle
OBSEQUIOUS
Latin, “stopping of arms”
Cessation of fighting by agreement
Examples include one at Compiegne, Nov. 11 1918, and Panmunjom, 1953
ARMISTICE
French, “caper” or “goat’s leap”
Curved furniture leg typical of “Queen Anne” style
CABRIOLE
Word for one who works with wicks and wax
CHANDLER
An “atilliator” is a maker of these weapons
CROSSBOWS
One who makes arrows for bows
FLETCHER
Slang for a publicist or a press agent
Sounds like what their client might catch if they do a poor job
FLACK
Historical term for a road thief
Typically asked one to “Stand & deliver” (their goods)
Dick Turpin was a famed one, who rode a horse named Black Bess
Name taken by Nelson, Cash, Jennings, & Kristofferson
HIGHWAYMAN
From a term for “prickly pear”
Refers to a Jew born in Israel
Also a brand of hummus
SABRA
(from “TSABAR”)
Italian name for an Arthurian characer
Refers to a double mirage, especially those seen in the Strait of Messina
FATA MORGANA
From Latin via old French, a “benison” means this
BLESSING
Italian, “Beautiful song/singing”
Ill-defined operatic style
BEL CANTO
Term for a horse’s face mark (longer than a star)
Also an ax mark on a tree to show a trail
BLAZE
“Colorful” term for an insignificant value
“Not worth a…”
Refers to copper pennies
RED CENT
Grass effigies burned in ancient China
Metaphorically, something discarded after use
Name of a Peckinpah film
STRAW DOGS
French word for a nickname
SOBRIQUET
From “heart” & “together”
Agreement or harmony
Kind of grape
CONCORD
Agreement between the pope and a state
CONCORDAT
Italian, “round (room)”
Part of US capitol under the dome where some lie in state
ROTUNDA
2nd Greek letter
A kind of test, cell, blocker, brainwave, decay/radiation/particle, carotene, & globulins
BETA
