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160 Cards in this Set
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- 3rd side (hint)
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abeyance
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suspension; temporary cessation
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At bay.
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abjure
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to renounce, reject or shun
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ablation
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removal
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abnegate
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to refuse or deny oneself; give up rights, claims etc.
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abrogate
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to annul, do away with
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abscission
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cutting off
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alpenglow
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reddish glow seen on mountains at sunrise
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Sunrise
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ambuscade
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to ambush
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arbiter
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one having power to judge or determine
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agon
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struggle, conflict
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adumbrate
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to outline or shade; also, to suggest
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agitprop
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propaganda
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negotium agit with this
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abstemious
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temperate, abstinent
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apothegm
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a short, witty and instructive saying
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apostasy
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renouncement of one's religious or political beliefs
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atelier
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workshop or studio
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asseverate
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to affirm, declare emphatically
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arriviste
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an upstart
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asperity
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roughness of surface, sound or manner
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autochthonous
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indiginous, native
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inchoate
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partially developed
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jape
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to jest
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Surely, you jape.
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bifurcate, bifurcation
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dividing into two branches
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autocrat
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ruler with unlimited authority
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Julio-Claudians; tsars; etc.
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bibelot
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a trinket
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bowdlerize
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to redact
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bruit
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to report
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"The Columbian banana market..."
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carapace
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shell or protective covering
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castigate
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to criticize severely
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braggadocio
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empty boasting
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bricolage
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act or product of construction using any and all available materials
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brummagem
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cheap and showy; also, spurious
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attenuate
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to weaken
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autodidact
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one who is self-taught
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Benjamin Franklin
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chichi
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affectedly trendy
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Remember Chi-Chi? From the sixth grade?
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canard
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an unfounded or false report
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John Thorpe
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cognoscente
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a person with special knowledge
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comity
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a state of mutual harmony, friendship, and respect
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"I forgot...it's for the whales."
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concatenation
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a chain; also a succession
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condign
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deserved, adequate
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contumatious
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obstinate; stubbornly disobedient
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contretemps
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something inopportune or embarassing
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conurbation
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a network or aggregation of urban communities
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con
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copacetic
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very satisfactory
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crepuscular
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pertaining to twilight
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Rocket Car
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cozen
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to deceive or obtain by way of deceit.
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cynosure
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a center of attention
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James in Thomas the Tank Engine
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deipnosophist
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one skilled at table talk
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coterminous
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of equal extent or duration
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term
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desideratum
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something desired
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suint
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sheep's sweat
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expropriate
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to deprive of possession; also, to transfer property to oneself
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"Get Rich or Get Out of My Way: The Dogbert Investment Paradigm"
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fabulist
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teller of fables; also, liar
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fabula miriabilis
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ganache
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chocolate icing
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Ahem: yum.
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gauche, gaucherie
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tactless; gaucherie=a tactless or socially awkward act.
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"Can he lead a normal life?"
"No. He'll be an engineer." |
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hagiography
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idealized biography, often of saints
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flaneur
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one who strolls about aimlessly
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I need a bigger coffee cup so this looks harder.
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fustian
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pompous or pretentious language
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hypnagogic
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leading to sleep; hypnotic
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gamine
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an urchin; also mischievous girl or young woman
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hinterland
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backcountry
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gastronome
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lover of good food and drink
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gelid, algid, hoary
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cold
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gimcrack
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showy object
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inhere
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to be inherent
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inveigle
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to persuade or obtain by ingenuity or flattery
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limn
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to draw or paint; also, to describe
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methuselah
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an extremely old man
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ineluctable
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impossible to avoid or evade; inevitable.
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The opposite of "inelectable".
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mellifluous
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flowing sweetly or smoothly
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Hero fountain
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metier
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an occupation, especially one in which one excels
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palaver, airy persiflage
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pointless talk
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palliate
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to extenuate; also, to relieve
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oppobrium
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reproach mixed with contempt
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osculation, buss
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the act of kissing; a kiss
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parvenu
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somebody newly rich or influential
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Dogbert's investment guide.
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perfervid
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ardent, impassioned
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ostensible
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appearing to be true, but not necessarily so
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orgone
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universal communal life force
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oneric
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pertaining to or suggestive of dreams
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panjadrum
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important or self-important official
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one who is pointy-haired
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plangent
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beating with a loud or deep sound; also, expressing sadness
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prolix
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wordy
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purdah
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social seclusion
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quiddity
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the nature of a thing
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quidnunc
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one who gossips
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quotidian
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occuring daily; also, ordinary
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repine
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to feel or express discontent
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sine qua non
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an indispensible thing
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Without, uh... qua non.
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seriatim
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in a series; one after another
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sapid
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having flavor, especially a pleasant flavor
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rubicund
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ruddy
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subfusc
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dark or dull in color
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stygian
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dark and gloomy, also infernal
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suppositious
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fraudulently substituted; also, hypothetical
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susurrus, susurration
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a whispering or soft murmur
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redoubt
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a stronghold
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quisling
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a collaborator; a traitor
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sacrosanct
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sacred, inviolable
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redivivus
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living again; revived, restored
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shibboleth
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a culturally relevant word or phrase
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sesquipedalian
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having many syllables
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tergiversation
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evasion; also, desertion
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toper
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crapulous, a drunkard, a sot
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woad
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blue dye
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termagant
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a scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman
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thaumaturgy
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sorcery
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tocsin
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a warning
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tmesis
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in grammar and rhetoric, the separation of the parts of a compound word
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virtu
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love of art
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trencherman
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a hearty eater
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ukase
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an edict
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undulant
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resembling waves
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vatic
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relating to prophecy
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velleity
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a slight wish or inclination
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volte-face
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an about-face
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jingoism
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rabid patriotism, often sparked by some perceived threat
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"We don't want to fight, but by jingo, if we do, we've got the men, we've got the ships, we've got the money too."
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vicissitude
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a change in fortune
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vade mecum
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a book or other object which one routinely carries about
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augury
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an omen, prediction
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badinage
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light, playful talk
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exegete
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one who interprets difficult literary works
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saturnine
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gloomy or sullen
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gainsay
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to contradict to deny
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foofaraw
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showy ornamentation; also, a fuss
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zymosis
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fermentation
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trammel
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shackle (or) fireplace hook for a kettle
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upbraid
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to scold or criticize harshly
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Angelina Jolie.
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connubial
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of or pertaining to marraige
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billingsgate
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foul language
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aspersion
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a damaging or derogatory remark
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bromide
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a commonplace or conventional saying
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epigone
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an inferior imitator
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excoriate
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to express strong disapproval of; also, to flay.
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disparate
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fundamentally different
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deracinate
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to uproot
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foment
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to nurse to life or activity; to incite
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extirpate
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to eradicate; to destroy
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hauteur
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haughtiness, arrogance
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palimpsest
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an object or place whose older layers or aspects are apparent
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phantasmagoria
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a shifting series or succesion of things seen or imagined
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raillery
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good-humored banter or teasing reparte
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tatterdemalion
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a person dressed in tattered clothing
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expiate
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to make amends for; to atone for
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frangible, friable
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easily broken
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prevaricate
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lie
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decedent
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dead person
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tatterdemalion
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ragamuffin
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bluestocking
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scholarly woman
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perlite
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volcanic glass
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exchequer
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treasury
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evenfall
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dusk
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gamut
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range
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tessera
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mosaic square
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conscription
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military draft
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dipsomania
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alcoholism
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ivorybill
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woodpecker
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oakum
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hemp fiber
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asepsis
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sterility
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avulsion
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forcible separation
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