Hitchens, Five

Front 1

loll

Back 1

verb

1. To move, stand, or recline in an indolent or relaxed manner.

2. To hang or droop laxly: a pennant lolling from the mast.

Front 2

profusion

Back 2

noun

1. abundance; a great quantity or amount (often fol. by of).

2. lavish spending; extravagance.

Front 3

anathema

Back 3

noun

1. A formal ecclesiastical ban or excommunication.

2. A vehement denunciation; a curse:
"the sound of a witch's anathemas in some unknown tongue" (Nathaniel Hawthorne).

3. One that is cursed/damned, reviled/loathed, or shunned:

Front 4

pudenda

Back 4

noun - Plural

the external genital organs, esp. those of the female; vulva.

Front 5

onanism

Back 5

noun

1. Masturbation.

2. Coitus interruptus.

Front 6

tripe

Back 6

noun

1. the first and second divisions of the stomach of a ruminant, esp. oxen, sheep, or goats, used as food.

2. Slang. something, esp. speech or writing, that is false or worthless; rubbish.

Front 7

rote

Back 7

noun

routine; a fixed, habitual, or mechanical course of procedure: the rote of daily living.

Front 8

rote

Back 8

noun

routine; a fixed, habitual, or mechanical course of procedure: the rote of daily living.

Front 9

stultify

Back 9

verb

1. To render useless or ineffective; cripple.

2. To cause to appear stupid, inconsistent, or ridiculous.

3. Law: the insanity defense: To allege or prove insane and so not legally responsible.

Front 10

efface

Back 10

verb

1. To rub or wipe out; erase.
"Five years' absence had done nothing to efface the people's memory of his firmness" (Alan Moorehead).

2 To conduct (oneself) inconspicuously:
"When the two women went out together, Anna deliberately effaced herself and played to the dramatic Molly" (Doris Lessing)

Front 11

regnant

Back 11

–adjective

1. reigning; ruling (usually used following the noun it modifies)
a queen regnant.

2. exercising authority or influence.

3. prevalent; widespread.

Front 12

clerisy

Back 12

noun

Educated people considered as a group; the literati; intelligentsia

Front 13

hermetic

Back 13

a–adjective

1. made airtight by fusion or sealing.

2. not affected by outward influence or power; isolated.

Front 14

promulgate

Back 14

verb

To give (first) public notice; to make known; to publish; to proclaim; to announce officially.

Front 15

dependency

Back 15

noun

1. Dependence.

2. Something dependent or subordinate.

3. A territory under the jurisdiction of a state of which it does not form an integral part.

Front 16

geld

Back 16

verb

1. to castrate (an animal, esp. a horse).

2. to take strength, vitality, or power from; weaken or subdue.

Front 17

plaudit

Back 17

noun

Enthusiastic expression of praise or approval:
a new play that opened to the plaudits of the critics.

Front 18

outpoint

Back 18

verb

1. Nautical: To sail closer to the wind than (another vessel).

2. Sports: To surpass (an opponent, especially a boxer) in the number of points won.

Front 19

encyclical

Back 19

noun

Roman Catholic Church. a letter addressed by the pope to all the bishops of the church.

Front 20

vicar

Back 20

noun

1. A person who acts in place of another; substitute

2. C of E:
a. The priest of a parish in the Church of England who receives a stipend or salary but does not receive the tithes of a parish.

b. A cleric acting in the place of a rector or bishop in the Anglican Communion generally

3. A cleric in charge of a chapel in the Episcopal Church of the United States.

4. Roman Catholic Church A priest who acts for or represents another, often higher-ranking member of the clergy.

Front 21

succor

Back 21

"sucker" rhymes with "pucker"

noun

1. Help; relief; aid; assistance.

2. a person or thing that gives help, relief, aid, etc.

Front 22

pedantic

Back 22

adj.

Characterized by a narrow, often ostentatious concern for book learning, formal rules, and trivial details

a pedantic attention to details.

Front 23

evince

Back 23

verb

To show or demonstrate clearly; manifest, prove
evince distaste by grimacing.

Front 24

swagger

Back 24

verb

1. To walk or conduct oneself with an insolent or arrogant air; strut.

2. to brag, boast

Front 25

scrutineer

Back 25

noun

A scrutinizer; specifically, an examiner of votes, as at an election.

Front 26

vernacular

Back 26

noun

1. The standard native language of a country or locality.

2. The everyday language spoken by a people as distinguished from the literary language; a dialect.

3. A variety of such everyday language specific to a profession, social group or region:
the vernaculars of New York City.
in the legal vernacular.

4. An idiomatic word, phrase, or expression.

5. The common, nonscientific name of a plant or animal.

Front 27

idiom

Back 27

noun

1. A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements
keep tabs on.

2. A specialized vocabulary used by a group of people; cant; jargon; e.g., a regional dialect
legal idiom
"Also important is the uneasiness I've always felt at cutting myself off from my idiom, the American habits of speech and jest and reaction, all of them entirely different from the local variety" (S.J. Perelman).

3. A style of artistic expression characteristic of a particular individual, school, period, or medium:
the idiom of the French impressionists;
the punk rock idiom.

Front 28

dry

Back 28

adj.

1. Free from liquid or moisture:
changed to dry clothes.

2. Wines: Not sweet as a result of the decomposition of sugar during fermentation.

3. Having a large proportion of strong liquor to other ingredients:
a dry martini.

4. Having no adornment or coloration; plain:
the dry facts.

5. Devoid of bias or personal concern:
presented a dry critique.

6. Lacking tenderness, warmth, or involvement; severe:
The actor gave a dry reading of the lines.
rattled off the facts in a dry mechanical tone.

7. Wearisome; dull:
a dry lecture filled with trivial details.

8. Humorous or sarcastic in a shrewd, impersonal way:
dry wit.

9. Unproductive of the expected results:
a mind dry of new ideas.

Front 29

recant

Back 29

verb

To make a formal retraction or disavowal of (a statement or belief to which one has previously committed oneself).

Front 30

rearguard

Back 30

noun

a detachment assigned to protect the rear of a (retreating) military body