On Disk Monthly 82/odm82.zip/ODM82.WRD

Text File | 1993-06-22 | 10KB | 392 lines

G5              | Word-Up! Data File, type 5, for ON DISK MONTHLY

Copyright 1993 Softdisk, Inc.

Sean Golden     | Author credit

82              | ODM Issue number of publication.  Use "." to omit.

3               | Number of word quizzes in this file.

|Quiz #1;

ADAMANTINE            | Secret word

utterly unyielding; impenetrably hard     | Secret Definition

20                      | # words in quiz #1

additory, adj.
capable of being added
concerned with hearing or the ear
a stage or ampitheatre
The additory effects of heat and pressure fused the minerals.

adduce, v.
bring forward as evidence
guess the truth
pierce, as with fangs
The attorney was able to adduce a new discovery to win his case.

aquiline, adj.
of or like an eagle
pertaining to a northern region of France
having a sticky consistency
The general had an aquiline nose.

bastion, n.
projecting portion of a fort
a dam made of earth
guardian angel
The trumpets rang with triumph as the last bastion fell.

beldam, n.
an old hag
massive chaos
dream
His eyes watered as he watched the beldam limp down the street.

cairn, n.
stones piled to mark something
a sacrificial altar
a grain grown in Scotland, used for feeding cows
The old woodsman found the cairn and led us out of the forest.

chamois, n.
an agile goat-like antelope
a smooth-woven cloth
a girl's frilly petticoat
The skin of the chamois makes a soft, supple leather.

colubrine, adj.
of or resembling a snake
having many columns
slightly salty, yet still drinkable
From the jet's window the colubrine sprawl of the river was highlighted by the sun.

doughty, adj.
steadfastly courageous
large but slow-footed
made with batter
The king's honor guard was filled with doughty men.

flummox, v.
to bewilder, confuse
to weave from ox hair
to speak ill of
The boxer tried to flummox his opponent by bobbing his head and dancing on his toes.

haft, n.
the hilt of a knife or sword
weight
a small portion
The battle-scarred warrior grinned as he gripped the haft of the sword.

macabre, adj.
gruesome, horrible
nutty, as a pecan or almond
fancy, refined
From the hillside, the soldiers appeared to be in a macabre dance.

numismatic, adj.
of or pertaining to coins
using compressed air
of or relating to wheels
The numismatic display appealed to the thieves.

profligate, adj.
utterly and shamelessly immoral
wealthy and generous
educated, knowledgeable
John decided to change his profligate ways when he joined the church.

shrike, n.
a small predatory bird
a long thin dagger
a loud piercing whistle
Unlike its larger cousins, the shrike impales its victims upon thorns.

ampule, n.
a sealed glass or plastic bulb
a measure of electricity
a blemish or sore on the face or throat
The doctor carefully measured a dose from the ampule of medicine.

advection, v.
the horizontal movement of air
placement of advertisements
destruction caused by tornadoes
Meteorologists are still working out the details of advection and how it affects the weather.

azure, adj.
of a sky-blue color
ardent, romantic
smooth, tranquil
The azure waters of the Caribbean are famous all over the world.

churlish, adj.
rude, boorish
sliced in a spiral fashion
hard, knobby
The churlish behavior of the fans almost made the team sorry to have won the game.

cuspidor, n.
bowl for expectorating
back tooth
large South American spider
The abandoned bar was historically accurate, down to the cuspidor on the sawdust floor.

|  2nd quiz

FRACTIOUS          | Secret Word
quarrelsome, irritable               | Secret Definition

20                      | # words in quiz

cogitate, v.
reason, think
move quickly and abruptly
chew slowly
It was fascinating to watch the old professor sit and cogitate over his lunch.

blight, n.
a thing to cause wither or ruin
a spectre which haunts old ruins
a small vegetable
The long draught was a blight on the region, and the little town never recovered.

aspirant, n.
ambitious, career seeker
a device to remove fluid from the body
a conniving manipulative person
Tom was known to be an aspirant with a desire to become an attorney.

atlatl, n.
a device to throw spears long distances
a prehistoric ancestor to the horse
a hunting pack of Paleo-Indians
The widespread use of the atlatl allowed early humans to harvest mammoths and other large mammals.

belay, v.
to fasten a rope
to arrange in a prone position
to postpone
When mountain climbing, always remember to belay your partner well.

biota, n.
plant or animal life of a region
small insignificant part
calm surroundings
The industrial accident threatened the biota of the park.

bric-a-brac, n.
small collection of sentimental items
French fish stew recipe
hand carved stones for building fences
Hank's bric-a-brac was neatly arrayed in a glass case.

caricature, n.
wild exaggeration
a freshly killed animal
photograph
The senator was amused by his caricature in the newspaper.

cascade, n.
series of waterfalls
an asteroid
a slow-moving river
The mountains were famous for their melodious cascades.

clarion, n.
clear and shrill
made of brass
expensive
The clarion call of the trumpets spoke of victory, though far away.

crinoline, n.
a petticoat which keeps a skirt belled out
the area between high and low tidal zones
a sea shell with fluted chambers
Laura was embarrassed to discover her crinoline was showing.

disport, v.
to divert or amuse oneself
to predict the future
to participate in any two-person activity.
While my wife was away, I found few ways to disport myself.

effigy, n.
mock-up of a person for the purpose of ridicule
a mythical forest-dwelling sprite
a medal, award or other prize
After their losing season, the students burned the football coach in effigy.

eponym, n.
the person for whom a tribe, race or nationality takes its name
a short memorial service
a word which is spelled like another, but is pronounced the same.
Jesus of Nazareth is the eponym of the Christian faith.

glyph, n.
an ornamental figure or relief carving
an error or failure in a computer system
a creature part lion, part eagle and part scorpion
The ancient document was authenticated by the glyph which sealed its case.

heathen, adj.
irreligious
evil
of or relating to heather
The missionary went to bring religion to the heathen masses.

hexad, n.
a group of six
cursed
a six-legged poisonous reptile
The hexad of golfers ahead played so slowly that Jon threw his driver at them.

narcissism, n.
self-love, egocentrism
a powerful narcotic flower
the study of narcolepsy
His narcissism was so irritating that his wife finally left him.

rivulet, n.
small stream
fastening device
military badge of honor
We were all thrilled to see the rivulet fill with water after the long draught.

ursine, adj.
bear-like
soft, silky
loud
Frank has so much hair, he has an ursine look in the pool.

| 3rd quiz

ZITHER                  | Secret Word
instrument like a flat guitar           | Secret Definition

20                      | Words in quiz #3

blithe, adj.
joyous, merry
tongue-tied
arrogant, snobbish
His blithe attitude made the entire group more energetic.

maladroit, adj.
unskillful, bungling
sick, unhealthy
untruthful, sneaky
Although he was certainly maladroit at second base, he played outfield like a star.

allograph, n.
writing or signature by one person for another
a chart of alloys used in creating metals
a device used to measure tensile strength
The use of an allograph is sometimes necessitated by ill-health.

avarice, n.
insatiable greed
immoral behavior
resentment of authority
His avarice made King Midas look good by comparison.

biblioklept, n.
one who steals books
a bookworm
a catalog of author names
The owner of the bookstore feared that one employee might be a biblioklept.

bona fide, adj.
in good faith
bony, skeleton-like
counterfeit
He was a bona fide outdoorsman, and proved it by making a fire.

buskin, n.
a thick-soled lace-up boot
a two-horse wagon
a leather shoulder pad, for shooting rifles or shotguns
I like to wear my buskins on hot summer days.

lampoon, v.
to ridicule
to drive a spear into
to illuminate
The comedian liked nothing better than to lampoon the President.

chevron, n.
a badge of stripes in a normal or inverted "v" configuration
a particularly large and heavy anvil
an elementary particle, related to the nucleon
The new sergeant proudly displayed his new chevrons on his uniform.

detrition, n.
wearing away by rubbing
shards and fragments left from a collision
seed husks left from separating the seed
The wind and sand had carved intricate shapes through detrition of the sandstone.

effloresce, v.
blossom, to burst into bloom
to glow brightly
to bubble with enthusiasm
Watching the garden effloresce was a favorite pastime of Homer's.

extirpate, v.
to destroy
to absolve of wrong-doing
to rule with absolute authority
Hitler tried to extirpate the Jewish race in the holocaust.

galvanize, v.
to startle into sudden activity
to cover with a coat of plastic
to bring out from hiding
The young boy's scream galvanized the lifeguard.

hierocracy, n.
government of a priesthood
pictographic lettering
a multi-level patio
The Vatican is an hierocracy.

paradigm, n.
an example, pattern
a flexible cloth parachute
extreme paranoia
Daniel Boone and Jim Bowie were paradigms of the rough and tumble west.

servile, adj.
slavishly obsequious
crescent shaped
nasty, abhorrent
John was dismayed by the servile attitude of his assistant.

supine, adj.
lying on the back
melancholic
sacred, holy
The  supine and unconscious victim was found on the conference table.

welter, v.
to roll, toss or heave
to fasten together
to poke or jab quickly
The little ship would likely have trouble in the weltering seas of the approaching storm.

similitude, n.
likeness or resemblence
of remarkable simplicity
large upright stone
The young comedian was a similitude of the famous rock star.

tractile, adj.
ductile
easily misled, gullible
very fast
Copper is doubly useful for electrical wires, it is tractile and conducts well.