VOCABULARY

abstruse – difficult to comprehend
amanuensis
apostate – abandonment of a previous loyalty; defection
blackmail – mail (obsolete) rent
boon – gift
carmine – a vivid red
chicote
chimeras
communion – act or instance of sharing; intimate fellowship and support
complaisance – affability; disposition to please or comply
detainee – person held in custody, esp. for political reasons
envenomed – to make poisonous; embitter
expiation – to pay penalty or make amends
Facile – superficial, too easy
fetor
fulgurous – emitting flashes or, or like, lightning
gibbet – an upright post with projecting arm for hanging criminals; bodies of executed criminals hung there as a warning
heliotrope – bloodstone
Hotchkiss (a gun?)
iniquity
jacinth – blue
lapidary – a sculptured or engraved upon stone
orphic – mystic, oracular; fascinating, entrancing
pallet – straw-filled tick or mattress; small hard bed or a temporary bed
Panacea – magic potion (cure-all)
parody – feeble or ridiculous imitation
pay court – conduct or attention intended to win favor
prosaic
Pundit
sanctuary – a consecrated place; a place for worship; a place for refuge or protection
sanguine – confident, optimistic; temperament and bodily configuration; high color; cheerfulness
sibilant
slough
taciturnity – temperamentally disinclined to talk; silent
uncials
uncrown – dethrone, depose
unkempt – not combed hair; rough; unpolished
vermiculated

3/2/95
boner - [slang] a foolish and obvious blunder. [from BONE(HEAD) + ER]


2/15/95

anomaly - 1. a deviation from the common rule, type, or form. 2. someone or something anomalous: With his quiet nature, he was an anomaly in his exuberant family. 3. an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc. 4. an incongruity or inconsistency.


2/10/95

metaphor - the application of a word or phrase to an object or concept which it does not literally denote, in order to suggest comparison with another object or concept, as in "A mighty fortress is our God."


9/16/94

subtle - 1. thin, tenuous, or rarefied, as a fluid or an odor. 2. fine or delicate, often when likely to elude perception or understanding: (subtle irony). 3. delicate or faint and mysterious: (a subtle smile). 4. requiring mental acuteness, penetration, or discernment: (a subtle philosophy). 5. characterized by mental acuteness or penetration: (a subtle understanding). 6. cunning, wily, or crafty: (a subtle liar). 7. insidiious in operation: (subtle poison). 8. skillful, clever, or ingenious: (a subtle painter).

nonchalant - cooly unconcerned, indifferent, or unexcited; casual. Synonyms: cool, calm, collected, composed.

clairvoyant - 1. having the alleged supernatural power of seeing objects or actions removed in space or time from natural viewing.
2. quick, intuitive knowledge of things and people
3. sagacity - acuteness of mental discernment and
soundness of judgment.

mesmerize - 1. to hypnotize
2. to spellbind; fascinate
3. to compel by fascination
4. mesmerism - hypnosis as induced by Friedrich Anton Mesmer (Austrian physician, 1733-1815) through animal magnetism

metaphor - the application of a word or phrase to an object or
concept which it does not literally denote, in order to
suggest comparison with another object or concept, as in "A
mighty fortress is our God."