Week 1

Front 1

bureaucracy

noun

Back 1

1 : Refers to all the rules and procedures followed by government departments and similar organizations, especially when you think that these are complicated and cause long delays.
2 : Administrative system operated by a large number of officials.
NYT:
The United States has a vast bureaucracy to scrutinize how our government spends money abroad. While this kind of oversight is often necessary, there must be an exception made for crisis response in failed states.

Front 2

posthumous

adjective

Back 2

occurring, awarded, or appearing after the death of the originator
DERIVATIVES
posthumously adverb
NYT:
1 : As with other departed artists, this may not necessarily be Mr. Cash’s last posthumous release.
2 : Michael Jackson's posthumous concert film "This Is It"

Front 3

Acrid
(adj)

Back 3

strong/unpleasant taste/smell
angry + bitter
s: PUNGENT

1.The acrid smell of burnt rubber filled the cabin
2.The acrid controversy over the cartoons blossomed in early 2006, but still the corrosion lingers.

Front 4

legion

noun/adj

Back 4

1 : A legion is a large group of soldiers who form one section of an army. N-COUNT oft in names
...the Sudan-based troops of the Libyan Islamic Legion.
2 : A legion of people or things is a great number of them.
His delightful sense of humour won him a legion of friends.
3 : If you say that things of a particular kind are legion, you mean that there are a great number of them. (adj)
Ellie's problems are legion.
NYT:
1 : For the legion of people carrying Droids, myTouch 3G’s and other Android devices, among the better choices is Calorie Counter, from the software developer FatSecret.
2 : complete with a legion of dedicated, ticket-stub-mounting fans and a growing discography influenced by jam and Southern rock

Front 5

degradation

noun

Back 5

1 : situation, condition, or experience that's shameful and disgusting, esp. w/ poverty or immorality
2 : process of something becoming worse (can be environment)
3 : decline to a demoralized/destitute state
NYT:
The amount of environmental degradation increases, but each generation takes that amount as the norms, as the non-degraded condition

Front 6

odious

adjective

Back 6

1 : extremely unpleasant; repulsive
2 : arousing or deserving hatred or repugnance; hateful
DERIVATIVES
odiously adverb
odiousness noun
NYT:
It would end an odious practice under which the prison system earns a profit by overcharging poor families for the collect calls they receive from relatives

Front 7

bulwark

noun

Back 7

1 : a bulwark against something protects you against it. A bulwark of something protects it.
2 : a person, institution, or principle that acts as a defense
SEE rampart
NYT:
Pentagon planners saw the system as a bulwark against the ultimate calamity, a nuclear attack, while skeptics ridiculed it as a defense that will not work

Front 8

poseur

noun

Back 8

a person who acts in an affected manner in order to impress others
NYT:
“We build excitement” pledge was tarnished by decades of poseur sporty cars (like the two-seat Fiero)

Front 9

obviate

verb

Back 9

1 : to remove (a need or difficulty)
the Venetian blinds obviated the need for curtains.
2 : to prevent/avoid
a parachute can be used to obviate disaster.
DERIVATIVES
obviation noun
obviator noun
NYT:
1 : Sharing genes doesn't obviate the need to behave decently and kindly
2 : Does not obviate the risk of radiation exposure which to me is a very real concern for frequent fliers

Front 10

espouse

verb

Back 10

1 : adopt or support (a cause, belief, or way of life)
2 : archaic -marry
NYT:
1 : Robert P. George has hijacked the word “reason” to suit the beliefs and purposes of the group of Catholic bishops who espouse his philosophical dogma.
2 : people are afraid that their country is becoming a country of left-wing principles that they don’t espouse

Front 11

defoliate

verb

Back 11

1 : remove leaves from (a tree, plant, or area of land) for agriculture/military
The area was defoliated and napalmed many times.
NYT:
That was the chemical used to defoliate soybean bushes in preparation for harvesting by huge machines.

Front 12

brusque

adjective

Back 12

1 : saying something quickly and shortly, so that it seems rude
2 : abrupt or offhand in speech or manner
She could be brusque and impatient.
NYT:
1 : a gruff manner that can sometimes seem downright brusque, and a reputation as one of the truly upright men in the business.

Front 13

broach

verb/noun

Back 13

1 : bring up a topic for discussion, usually a sensitive one
2 : to be overcome or submerged by a wave or surge of water.
Each time we came around into the wind, the sea broached our bow.
3 : to pierce/open
NYT:
1 : The cowards in the media wll not dare to broach the truth.
2 : Medical schools spend more time on end-of-life issues than they did in the past, and the greater willingness of younger doctors to broach the subject may reflect that change

Front 14

obstreperous

adjective

Back 14

1 : noisy and difficult to control
If people's demands are not met, they might become obstreperous, which means noisy in an unruly and aggressive way, usually in defiance of authority (: an obstreperous child).
NYT:
1 : I hope the obstreperous Republicans who managed to obliterate the public option in the healthcare bill are happy with the damage they have done to the country.
2 : Even when Mr. Madoff was most obstreperous, S.E.C. managers didn’t support efforts to gather information from him.

Front 15

largess

noun

Back 15

generosity in bestowing money or gifts upon others (esp. to poor)
NYT:
1 : “We have your money,” he said. “Ask for it. We want to give it back to you.” Such sudden largess was greeted happily by money-crunched officials
2 : That move, as well as taxpayer largess in the form of federal bailout money, kept [Morgan Stanley] from collapsing.