Friday Vocabulary

1. muzzy — blurry, fuzzy, unfocused; confused, dazed; drunk, mentally impaired due to alcohol Fernando shook his head—which was a mistake—to try to focus on what Jess was saying, and finally got it through his muzzy head that his roommate was shouting something about the apartment being on fire.   2. mouchard — [French] nark, …

Friday Vocabulary

1. obduracy — stubborn inflexibility, state of being unmoved or unashamed Though Laithley continued in his obduracy, ever and anon did my lord offer the hand of friendship and pledged the return of his lands if only that stubborn knight would take the oath.   2. outrance — [obsolete] furthest extremity, at the very limits …

Friday Vocabulary

1. peripeteia — sudden turn of events, reversal of fortune, crisis However, the thoughtful peripeteia of the classic Greek drama (as, for example, the drastic return of Neoptolemus to his normal open disposition) has been replaced by a poor pallid counterfeit, and every moviegoer knows that the dramatic scenes of failed plans and stratagems of …

Friday Vocabulary

1. censor — to remove or suppress objectionable content from work to be published or promulgated Still, the easiest way for the occupying government to repress these renascent ideas of nationalism was to encourage these artists to censor themselves, whether from fear of paperwork or of financial loss.   2. sprezzatura — [Italian] studied nonchalance, …

Friday Vocabulary

1. ferine — feral, untamed, of or related to the state of animals existing in nature Not all ferine creatures exhibit such maternal love, but many do.   2. latitudinarian — tolerant, allowing great latitude in attitude (esp. of religious principles); lax, lacking necessary rigidity in views Of course, the allowances of these latitudinarian directives …

Friday Vocabulary

1. pongo — [British slang] soldier; [obsolete] large ape, as an orangutan or gorilla “I’m not about to let some bloody pongo wheedle his way into Lucy’s affections!”   2. perennial — perpetual, enduring; [biology] of a plant with a life cycle lasting over two years; recurrent Usually Garland found the perennial vigor and enthusiasm …

Friday Vocabulary

1. choler — anger, ire, irritability Nothing could raise Ira’s choler so much as the suavity of robots.   2. cat — [UK slang] to vomit “Sorry I almost catted back there,” Timothy said in his oh-so-serious voice, “but the news took me somewhat by surprise.”   3. cannikin (also canikin or canakin) — small …