Friday Vocabulary

1. conduce — to lead, to bring about

Far from seeing this as a setback, I believe it will conduce to his eventual success if he learns from the experience.

 

2. crypt — depression or sinkage surrounding a villus in the intestinal epithelium

Each villus may be surrounded by many crypts, and within these—among other functions—are generated the stem cells from which many varieties of intestinal cells come to replenish the depleted intestinal membrane.

 

3. expectorate — to expel from the chest or lungs (by hawking or spitting or coughing)

One may expectorate sputum or phlegm, but, as Ambrose Bierce noted, one cannot expectorate tobacco juice, unless you are chewing it all wrong.

 

4. obnoxious — [archaic] exposed to danger

Thus small acts of malfeasance are followed by greater crimes which leave you obnoxious to incarceration and other punishments of the state.

 

5. delope — to purposely shoot off target during a duel

Just because I deloped when Pudgy Randall and I dueled does not mean I apologized for any thing at all; I merely wished to avoid removing his mother’s last child from this earth.

 

6. lenity — mildness, mercifulness; instance of mercifulness or gentleness

Though Roman’s actions since have made others question my lenity on that fateful day, I have never doubted for one moment that mercy is always the better policy.

 

7. carboy — large glass container covered with basketwork protection, used for storing corrosive liquids

The observation balloon was filled and ready for release, and the support team were storing the carboys of vitriol safely back in the wagons.

 

8. laager — camp, especially one formed by a protective circle of wagons

The turkey was protected within a laager of gravy boats and other condiments in crystal bowls.

 

9. cassock — long, coat-like garment worn by priests and other religious in Catholic and certain Protestant denominations

You can easily distinguish a Catholic from an Anglican priest by counting the buttons on his cassock, as the former will have thirty-three buttons while the latter has thirty-nine.

 

10. superinfection — infection occurring during or after an earlier infection, especially after the use of antibiotics

By discontinuing the use of most broad-spectrum antibiotics in favor of more targeted drugs, the risk of superinfection has been reduced dramatically, although MRSA is still a concern at every hospital.

 

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