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38 Cards in this Set
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- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
huguenot
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noun
a member of the Reformed or Calvinistic communion of France in the 16th and 17th centuries; a French Protestant. |
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epic
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adj
1. resembly to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style: Homer's Iliad is an epic poem. an epic novel on the founding of the country. 2. heroic; majestic; impressively great: the epic events of the war. a crime wave of epic proportions. |
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coloratura
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–noun
1. runs, trills, and other florid decorations in vocal music. 2. a lyric soprano of high range who specializes in such music. |
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rollicking
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–adjective
1. carefree and joyous: They had a rollicking good time. 2. swaggering(); boisterous. |
swaggering, verb
To walk or conduct oneself with an insolent or arrogant air; strut |
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roman à clef
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raw-mah na "kler"
a novel that represents historical events and characters under the guise of fiction. |
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newfangled
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adjective
1. too new to be considered reliable 2. New, esp. gratiutously new 3. Fond of novelty. |
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hector
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n.
A bully. |
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bedraggled
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verb
1. to make limp, dirty and wet, as if dragged through the mud 2. Being in a deteriorated condition; dilapidated: a street of bedraggled tenements. |
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mash-up
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noun.
An audio recording that is a composite of samples from other recordings, usually from different musical styles |
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choleric
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adj
extremely irritable or easily angered; irascible: a choleric disposition. |
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gridiron
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noun
1. a football field. 2. a utensil consisting of parallel metal bars on which to broil meat or other food. 3. a structure above the stage of a theater, from which hung scenery and the like are manipulated. |
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scamp
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–noun
1. an unscrupulous and mischievous person, especially a naughty young person (upstart) rascal; rogue; scalawag. 2. a grouper, Mycteroperca phenax, of Florida: so called from its habit of stealing bait. |
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jive
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–noun
1. swing music or early jazz and associated jargon. 2. Slang. deceptive, exaggerated, or meaningless talk: Don't give me any of that jive! |
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shtetl
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"shtet"-l
(formerly) a Jewish village or small-town community in eastern Europe. |
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tableaux
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noun
1. A vivid or graphic description: The movie was a tableau of a soldier's life. 2 A striking incidental scene, as of a picturesque group of people: "New public figures suddenly abound in the hitherto faceless totalitarian tableaux" (John McLaughlin). 3. An interlude during a scene when all the performers on stage freeze in position and then resume action as before. |
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verisimilitude
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–noun
1. the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true 2. something having merely the appearance of truth. |
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potshot
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n.
1. A casual or easy shot. 2. criticism aimed at an easy target made without careful consideration reporters taking potshots at the mayor. |
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curmudgeon
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n.
a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person. |
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flack
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–noun Sometimes Disparaging.
1. press agent. 2. publicity. |
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wistful
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–adjective
1. characterized by melancholy; longing; yearning. 2. pensive(), esp. in a melancholy way. |
pensive, adj
1. Deeply, dreamily thoughtful. 2. Melancholic thoughtfulness. |
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cheeky
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adj.
offensively bold; insulting impudent (rude; disrespectful); insolent (arrogant; rude, disrespectful); impertinent (improperly forward, irrelevant); saucy (improperly forward); audacious (recklessly bold); pert (boldly forward; stylish; lively); brazen (shameless; made of brass) cheeky fellow cheeky behavior. |
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bile
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–noun
1. Physiology. a bitter, alkaline, yellow or greenish liquid, secreted by the liver, that aids in absorption and digestion, esp. of fats. 2. ill temper; peevishness. 3. Old Physiology. either of two humors associated with anger and gloominess. |
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canny
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–adjective
1. careful; cautious; prudent: a canny reply. 2. astute; shrewd; knowing; sagacious(): a canny negotiator. 3. frugal; thrifty: a canny housewife. |
sagacious:
suh-"gey"-shuhs |
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specious
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adjective
1. Having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious/lacking real merit; specious arguments. 2. deceptively attractive |
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consternation
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noun
paralyzing fear |
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mountebank
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moun-tuh-bangk
noun 1. a flamboyant deceiver selling false medicines; one who attracts customers with tricks or jokes 2. any charlatan() or quack |
charatan: noun
one who makes fraudulent claims to skill or knowledge |
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edict
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–noun
1. a decree issued by a sovereign or other authority. 2. any authoritative proclamation or command. |
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deracinate
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verb
1. to pull up by the roots; uproot; extirpate(); eradicate. 2. to displace (a person) from a native or accustomed environment/culture. |
extirpate: verb:
1. to remove or destroy totally; exterminate 2. to pull up by or as if by the roots. |
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light
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verb
1. to get down or descend, as from a horse or a vehicle. 2. to come to rest, as on a spot or thing; fall or settle upon; land: The bird lighted on the branch. My eye lighted on some friends in the crowd. 3. to come by chance; happen; hit (usually fol. by on or upon): to light on a clue; to light on an ideal picnic spot. 4. to fall, as a stroke, weapon, vengeance, or choice, on a place or person: The choice lighted upon our candidate. |
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quarry
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noun
1. A surface excavation for extracting stone. 2. A rich or productive source: found the book an indispensable quarry of information. 3. a hunted animal or bird. 4. any object of search, pursuit, or attack. |
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stubble
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–noun
1. Usually, stubbles. the stumps of grain and other stalks left in the ground when the crop is cut. 2. such stumps collectively. 3. any short, rough growth, as of beard. |
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gauntlet
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noun
1. a medieval glove, as of mail or plate, worn by a knight in armor to protect the hand. 2. a glove with an extended cuff for the wrist. 3. the cuff itself. —Idioms 4. take up the gauntlet, a. to accept a challenge to fight: He was always willing to take up the gauntlet for a good cause. b. to show one's defiance. Also, take up the glove. 5. throw down the gauntlet, a. to challenge. b. to defy. Also, throw down the glove. |
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feint
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n.
1. A feigned attack designed to draw defensive action away from an intended target. 2. A deceptive action calculated to divert attention from one's real purpose. See Synonyms at wile. |
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goshawk
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"gos"-hawk
–noun any of several powerful, short-winged hawks, as Accipiter gentilis, of Europe and America, formerly much used in falconry. |
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aerie
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–noun
1. a lofty nest of any large bird, esp a bird of prey 2. a house, fortress, or the like, located high on a hill or mountain. |
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duly
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adverb
1. in a due manner; properly; fittingly. 2. in due season; punctually. |
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scrum
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noun
A play in Rugby in which the two sets of forwards mass together around the ball and, with their heads down, struggle to gain possession of the ball. |
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goad
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verb
To prod or urge with or as if with a long pointed stick. |
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