Gre Mnemonics (G, H, I, J, K, L)

Front 1

gallant

Back 1

courageous; noble

*think: galloping knight

She's still single because she's waiting for a gallant knight to come galloping in on his horse and sweep her away.

Front 2

gambol

Back 2

to happily dance around; to frolic

*think: game ball

After she scored three goals and led the team to victory, the coach awarded her the game ball which made her gambol all over the place.

Front 3

garble

Back 3

to make hard to understand

*think: gargle

A ban connection can garble a voicemail to the point that the message just sounds like someone mid-gargle.

Front 4

gaudy

Back 4

flashy in a tasteless way

*think: gawd ugly

The rapper's inch-thick gold chain was so gaudy that even his fans said, "Gawd that's ugly!"

Front 5

germinate

Back 5

to grow or to cause to grow

*think: germ in Nate

After entering his nose, the germ in Nate was able to germinate into a cold because he was so tired.

Front 6

glacial

Back 6

slow and/or cold

*think: glacier

My answer had a glacial (slow) pace, and the interviewer gave me a glacial (cold) look that made me feel like I was on a glacier.

Front 7

glancing

Back 7

indirect

*think: glance

The knight just took a quick glance at his opponent; as a result, his blow was glancing and didn't cause damage.

Front 8

glowered

Back 8

looked at with anger

*think: glow rrr

The scary, frowning jack-o-lantern glowered at us; its glow seemed to say "RRRRRRRR!"

Front 9

grasping

Back 9

excessively greedy

*think: Mr. Burns' grasping

The Simpsons' Mr. Burns is a grasping (adj.) tycoon who is always grasping (v.) at any new source of profit.

Front 10

grating

Back 10

irritating

*think: cheese grater

Reading Facebook election posts is grating; I'd almost rather rub a cheese grater on myself.

Front 11

gravitas

Back 11

powerful seriousness

*think: gravity

As the judge entered, his gravitas was like gravity, drawing everyone's eyes to him and silencing the room.

Front 12

grisly

Back 12

horrific; disgusting

*think: grizzly death

If you piss off a grizzly bear, it may give you a grisly death.

Front 13

grovel

Back 13

to act like an unworthy servant by crawling or lowering oneself

*think: face in the gravel

Grovel to his majesty by putting your face in the gravel, slave!

Front 14

guttural

Back 14

strange and unpleasant sounding

*think: gutter roar

You'd have the guttural gutter roar of a homeless man if you spent the night sleeping in the gutter.

Front 15

hallowed

Back 15

sacred

*think: halo-ed

The cemetery where saints are buried is so hallowed it's practically "halo-ed."

Front 16

harbinger

Back 16

something that shows what will happen in the future

*think: bringer

The superstitious woman thought the black cat crossing her path was a harbinger of bad luck and a bringer of misfortune.

Front 17

hermetic

Back 17

protected from outside influence

*think: hermit

The hermit lived in a hermetic cave that was only reachable via a treacherous mountain path.

Front 18

hidebound

Back 18

inflexible; ultra-conservative

*think: animal hide-bound

Santorum's views are so hidebound that his underwear is probably made from animal hide bound around his waist.

Front 19

hirsute

Back 19

hairy

*think: hair suit

I saw an old guy in the locker room who was so hirsute he looked like he was wearing a hair suit.

Front 20

holistic

Back 20

dealing with something as a whole

*think: whole list

Holistic medicine treats the whole list of body issues instead of just addressing one symptom.

Front 21

homespun

Back 21

simple; unpretentious

*think: home spun

Her clothes are pretty homespun, but then again, they actually are home spun - her mom weaves them at home on a loom.

Front 22

husbandry

Back 22

careful management

*think: husband

In the 1950s, a woman's husband usually practiced husbandry of their finances.

Front 23

idyllic

Back 23

pleasingly; naturally simple

*think: ideal campsite

The idyllic forest grove, with its sunbeams, babbling brook, and butterflies, seemed like an ideal campsite.

Front 24

idiosyncrasy

Back 24

a weird trait

*think: idiotic 'N SYNC

I might seem idiotic to suggest and 'N SYNC-crasy where 'N SYNC rules our nation, but it's just my idiosyncrasy.

Front 25

illiberal

Back 25

narrow-minded

*think: ill liberal

Unlike his fellow open-minded Democrats, Jack was so illiberal that people thought he must be a mentally ill liberal.

Front 26

imprimatur

Back 26

official approval

*think: Game of Thrones imprint

In Game of Thrones, a king conveys his imprimatur with an imprint of his crest on a scroll's wax seal.

Front 27

inane

Back 27

lacking meaning; silly

*think: insane

Saying you "like stuff" if others ask about your interest is inane; it might make them think you're insane.

Front 28

incandescent

Back 28

bright; brilliant

*think: candle's scent

If you smell a candle's scent, it's because an incandescent flame is melting the candle's wax.

Front 29

indomitable

Back 29

unconquerable

*think: in-dominate-able

Spain's national soccer team is so good that they're indomitable or "in-dominate-able" - they're unable to be dominated.

Front 30

infinitesimal

Back 30

incredibly tiny

*think: infinitely small

Electrons are pretty much infinitely small - they're so infinitesimal that observing them changes them.

Front 31

inimical

Back 31

unfriendly; hostile

*think: enemy

Of course the other beauty contestant hid your lipstick! She's your enemy; it's no surprise she'll be inimical.

Front 32

inordinate

Back 32

exceeding reasonable limits

*think: not ordinary

Joey Chestnut consumed an inordinate number of hot dogs; it's not ordinary that he ate 62 of them.

Front 33

insipid

Back 33

bland; dull

*think: in Sippy cups

FYI: if your drinks are served in sippy cups, you're probably a baby - that's why they feed you insipid, mushy food.

Front 34

insular

Back 34

narrow-minded

*think: insulate

The hick's outlook was so insular that he might as well have been surrounded by insulation.

Front 35

interloper

Back 35

one who intrudes

*think: interrupt elope

The interloper interrupted them from eloping when the priest said, "Speak now or forever hold your peace."

Front 36

jocose

Back 36

given to joking

*think: joke coach

It was no surprise that the jocose high school student grew up to be a joke coach.

Front 37

judicious

Back 37

having good judgment

*think: Hey Jude's judgment

The Beatles' song, "Hey Jude," says to be judicious, to use good judgment, and to "let her into your heart."

Front 38

kindle

Back 38

to start; to stir up

*think: kindling

You can't just light a log on fire - to kindle the campfire, you need some kindling: twigs, paper, dried grass, etc.

Front 39

kismet

Back 39

fate

*think: kiss met

I knew it was kismet that I'd marry her because we kissed as soon as we met each other.

Front 40

lackadaisical

Back 40

without energy or spirit

*think: lack daze

Lackadaisical people lack energy so much that they're in a constant daze.

Front 41

lamented

Back 41

expressed regret for

*think: lame ent

Even though he knew he deserved it, the lame ent lamented getting fired from the Lord of the Rings movie.

Front 42

lapidary

Back 42

precise; cutting

*think: lap your opponent

If your track relay team can lap its opponent, you're justified in making a lapidary remark.

Front 43

largess

Back 43

generosity

*think: large-ness

Due to his wealthy parents' largess and the large-ness of their generosity, the college student lived pretty largely and drove a Ferrari.

Front 44

lassitude

Back 44

tiredness; laziness

*think: lazy attitude

Your lassitude is caused by your lazy attitude and belief that Lassie will come save you if you need help.

Front 45

legerdemain

Back 45

sleight of hand; a display of skill

*think: Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger's domain was the silver screen; his acting legerdemain captivated audiences.

Front 46

levity

Back 46

lightheartedness

*think: levitate

The comedian's levity made us laugh so hard we felt as though we were levitating above our chairs.

Front 47

licentious

Back 47

lacking restraint

*think: license-ish

Flappers were thought to be licentious, since they acted as if they had a license to do whatever they wanted.

Front 48

listless

Back 48

having little interest or energy

*think: to-do-list-less

If you've never made a to-do list, you're list-less and probably listless.

Front 49

lithe

Back 49

flexible; graceful

*think: lie there

My cat is lithe; I would be too if I just could lie there all day like him with no stress.

Front 50

logorrhea

Back 50

excessive wordiness

*think: word diarrhea

I thought a long speech would help my grade, but my teacher said my logorrhea was like verbal diarrhea.

Front 51

loll

Back 51

to hang out lazily

*think: LOL

If you're the type of person who writes "LOL!" in emails, you probably don't have a job yet and just loll about the house.

Front 52

lovelorn

Back 52

without love

*think: love torn

After his wife died in an accident, the man felt lovelorn, as though he'd had his love torn from him.

Front 53

lucre

Back 53

money; profit

*think: lucrative

When you put in the years of training necessary to secure a lucrative career, lucre is your reward.

Front 54

luminary

Back 54

mournful or gloomy

*think: lug Brian

I became lugubrious when I realized I would have to lug the unconscious Brian up the stairs.

Front 55

lurid

Back 55

sensational; shocking

*think: lure in

I'm trying to be more lurid to lure in more Twitter followers.