Friday Vocabulary

1. jade — vicious, worn-out, or worthless horse; disreputable woman

Though she be but a jade your contemptuous attitude towards her does you no credit.

  2. circumvallation — state of being surrounded by rampart or entrenchment

Vercingetorix was unable to lift the siege of Alesia after the circumvallation of that settlement, leading to the final victory of Caesar over the Gauls.

  3. plaudit — marked expression of approval, applause

He claimed to disdain the plaudits of the critics and crowds because of his dedication to his art, but we suspected that it was not their approval he truly craved.

  4. singlet — close-fitting woolen undershirt or jersey, usu. sleeveless

When we came upon the murderer, he stood over the body dressed only in a white singlet and shorts, like some Victorian era boxer in training.

  5. stile — steps or rungs permitting person to pass over wall or fence whilst forming barrier for sheep, cattle, etc.

As Alice approached the stile she saw that the Red Knight had gotten hopelessly stuck in the fence and was now hanging upside down, suspended from a large dutch oven strapped to his back.

  6. mordant — caustic, biting

She evinced more of a mordant witlessness, as when she remonstrated the company that she couldn’t imagine why they were decrying the collapse of civilization when her shoes were chafing her feet very terribly.

  7. slue — to turn about an object’s axis; to swing around

Our ship’s boy was foolishly showing off his balance on the port tip of the spar when the ship left the lea of the cliffs, the sudden wind from that quarter causing the spar to slue, sending the boy headlong into the sea.

  8. reticle — fine wires or threads placed within eyepiece of telescope, etc. to facilitate accurate observation

Adjusting for windage, the silent observer targeted his next victim in the reticle of his gunsight.

  9. reticule — small bag or purse, usu. woven

Though the delicate lace network of her reticule seemed quite frail, I was astounded by the sheer volume and mass of the objects she habitually carried in her handbag.

  10. send down — to expel

Thus we learned that he had been sent down from Dublin University for “acts of an immoral nature”, to our great dismay.