May 2005 Vocab

Front 1

noun

1 : a member of any of various peoples (as in antiquity) who lived or were reputed to live chiefly in caves
*2 : a person characterized by reclusive habits or outmoded or reactionary attitudes

Back 1

troglodyte

Hint 1

"Trōglē" may sound like a scary cave-dwelling ogre, but it's actually just a perfectly unintimidating Greek root that means "hole" or "cave."

Front 2

verb

: to look or stare with sullen annoyance or anger

Back 2

glower ("ow" as in "cow")

Hint 2

part of its story leads us to Scotland. Originally, the word meant simply "to look intently" or "to stare in amazement," but by the late 1700s, glowering stares were being associated with anger. distant relative of Middle Low German "glūren," which means "to be overcast," and of Middle Dutch "gloeren," meaning "to leer."

Front 3

adjective

1 a : of or relating to the walls of a part or cavity b : of, relating to, or forming the upper posterior wall of the head
2 : attached to the main wall rather than the axis or a cross wall of a plant ovary
*3 : of or relating to college living or its regulation

Back 3

parietal

Hint 3

from Latin "paries," meaning "wall of a cavity or hollow organ" and has been around since the 15th century, getting more definitions

Front 4

noun

1 : energy, pep
*2 : courage, determination
3 : know-how, expertise

Back 4

moxie

Hint 4

originated from a cola brand in the early 1900s that may have been thought to bring verve and vim back to the most lethargic of people

Front 5

adjective

: having an allover pattern of small flowers and plants

Back 5

millefleur

Hint 5

from the Latin "mille florae" meaning "a thousand flowers"

Front 6

verb

: recoil, retract; especially : to return to a prior position

Back 6

resile

Hint 6

derive from the Latin verb "resilire" which comes from "salire," meaning "to jump"

Front 7

noun

: one that practices or is skilled in the art of bell ringing

Back 7

campanologist

Hint 7

from "campana," Late Latin for "bell")

Front 8

verb

1 a : wash, bathe *b : to flow along or against
2 : pour

Back 8

lave

Hint 8

from Latin "lavare," meaning "to wash."

Front 9

noun

1 : a net for catching birds or fish
*2 : something impeding activity, progress, or freedom : restraint— usually used in plural

verb

1: confine; enmesh

Back 9

trammel

Hint 9

traces back to the Late Latin "tremaculum," which comes from Latin "tres," meaning "three," and "macula," meaning "mesh."

Front 10

noun

*1 : an inexperienced or incompetent boxer
2 : oaf, lout

Back 10

palooka

Hint 10

may have come from a popularized comic during 1924 called

Front 11

verb

1 : to turn back to an earlier topic or circumstance
*2 : to go back to something as an origin or source

Back 11

hark back

Hint 11

originated from the use of the word "hark" (meaning "listen") in hunting and direction, later taking figurative meanings

Front 12

noun

: partiality to cronies especially as evidenced in the appointment of political hangers-on to office without regard to their qualifications

Back 12

cronyism

Hint 12

play on the Greek word "chronios," meaning "long-lasting," from "chronos," meaning "time;" started bad connotation towards mid-20th century, but used to just mean "friendship"

Front 13

adjective

: idle and ineffectual : indolent : sluggish : inactive : torpid

Back 13

fainéant

Hint 13

borrowed from French; it derives from "fait-nient," which literally means "does nothing," and ultimately traces back to the verb "faindre," or "feindre," meaning "to feign." Feign means to pretend or make pretense of.

Front 14

verb>

1 : to drink liquor freely or excessively
*2 : to take part in a drunken revel : engage in dissolute behavior

Back 14

carouse

Hint 14

The French adopted the German term as "carous," using the adverb in their expression "boire (to drink) carous," and that phrase, with its idiomatic sense of "to empty the cup," led to "carrousse," a French noun meaning "a large draft of liquor."

Front 15

adjective

: having a full rounded figure : pleasingly plump

Back 15

zaftig

Hint 15

comes from the Yiddish "zaftik," which means "juicy" or "succulent" and which in turn derives from "zaft," meaning "juice" or "sap."
often used to describe women pleasingly plump, full-figured, shapely, womanly, curvy, curvaceous, voluptuous, statuesque.

Front 16

noun

: a party or reception held in the evening

Back 16

soiree

Hint 16

French, "soirée" means "evening party," or simply "evening" and that comes from the Latin adverb "sero" (meaning "at a late hour"), which comes from the Latin adjective "serus" (meaning "late")

Front 17

verb

: to make more violent, bitter, or severe

Back 17

exacerbate

Hint 17

the Latin adjective "acer," meaning "sharp," forms the basis of a number of words that have come into English. The words "acerbic" ("having a bitter temper or sour mood"), "acrid" ("having a sharp taste or odor"), and "acrimony" ("a harsh manner or disposition") are just the tip of the iceberg. derives from the prefix "ex-," which means "out of" or "outside," and "acerbus," which means "harsh" or "bitter" and comes from "acer."

Front 18

noun

1 : a brief survey or sketch : outline
*2 : an immediate impression; especially : insight

Back 18

aperçu (apersoo)

Hint 18

the past participle of the verb "apercevoir" in French ("to perceive" or "to comprehend"), which in turn comes from Latin "percipere" ("to perceive").

Front 19

noun

: a song of lamentation for the dead : elegy

Back 19

threnody

Hint 19

borrowed from the Greek word "thrēnōidia" (from "thrēnos," the word for "dirge")

Front 20

adjective

: located in the vanguard : advanced

Back 20

vanward

Hint 20

originated from "vanguard" that means "the forefront of an action or movement" or is the head troops of an army; writers appended "-ward," an adjective suffix meaning "is situated in the direction of" to the word, making it mean "in the forefront"

Front 21

noun

: an act or instance of predicating (affirmation)

Back 21

predication

Hint 21

can also mean "foundation" or "base," and possibly "implication" or this word can apply to grammar

Front 22

noun

: a person who flits about in social activity

Back 22

gadabout

Hint 22

related to "Gadfly," which is a term used for any of a number of winged pests (such as horseflies) that bite or annoy livestock? traces back to the Middle English verb "gadden," meaning "to wander without a specific aim or purpose."