Set 6 Flashcards
cushy
cushy
1 (of a job, task, or situation) undemanding, easy, or secure; a cushy job or life is very easy and does not need much effort
…I wish I had a nice cushy job like her.
…a very cushy number(=an easy job or life)
…a cushy job in the civil service
…He had a fairly cushy upbringing.
2 NORTH AMERICAN
(of furniture) comfortable
…cushy chairs and couches
> “easy,” 1915, Anglo-Indian slang, from Hindi khush “pleasant, healthy, happy” + -y (2). Wright’s “English Dialect Dictionary” (1898) has cush “a soft, useless person,” identified as Scottish and Northumberland and explained as “A common term of reproach, used of one who allows others to beat him, either in self-defence or at work,” hence cushie “soft, flabby.”
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Dictionary of English, Etymonline
rarefied
rarefied
vet
vet noun
1 (also veterinary surgeon British English formal) someone who is trained to give medical care and treatment to sick animals
2 INFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN
a veteran
vet verb (vetted, vetting) [transitive]
1 BRITISH
to check someone’s past activities, relationships etc in order to make sure that person is suitable for a particular job, especially an important one
…All candidates are carefully vetted by Central Office.
2 to check a report, speech etc carefully to make sure it is acceptable
…The author vets every script for the new TV series.
> Possibly by analogy from Etymology 1, in the sense of “verifying the soundness [of an animal]”.
> “to submit (an animal) to veterinary care,” 1891, from veterinarian. The colloquial sense of “subject (something) to careful examination” (as of an animal by a veterinarian, especially of a horse before a race) is attested by 1901.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Wiktionary, Etymonline
flagellate
flagellate
gaffe
gaffe
/ɡæf/
an embarrassing mistake made in a social situation or in public SYN faux pas
…He made an embarrassing gaffe at the convention last weekend.
> From French gaffe (“blunder”). Doublet of gaff.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Wiktionary
heresy
her‧e‧sy
/ˈherəsi/
1 a belief that disagrees with the official principles of a particular religion.
2 a belief, statement etc that disagrees with what a group of people believe to be right
…To come to work without a shirt and tie was considered heresy.
> “doctrine or opinion at variance with established standards” (or, as Johnson defines it, “an opinion of private men different from that of the catholick and orthodox church”), c. 1200, from Old French heresie, eresie “heresy,” and by extension “sodomy, immorality” (12c.), from Latin hæresis, “school of thought, philosophical sect.” The Latin word is from Greek hairesis “a taking or choosing for oneself, a choice, a means of taking; a deliberate plan, purpose; philosophical sect, school,” from haireisthai “take, seize,” middle voice of hairein “to choose,” a word of unknown origin, perhaps cognate with Hittite šaru “booty,” Welsh herw “booty;” but Beekes offers “no etymology.”
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Etymonline
sultry
sultry
1 weather that is sultry is hot with air that feels wet; Sultry weather is hot and damp: HUMID, close, hot, sticky
…a hot and sultry day
…The climax came one sultry August evening.
…Since the rain, the air had become heavy and still and sultry.
2 a woman who is sultry makes other people feel strong sexual attraction to her; Someone who is sultry is attractive in a way that suggests hidden passion: SEDUCTIVE, sexy, sensual, voluptuous
…a dark-haired sultry woman
…a sultry film star
…She threw Carlo a sultry glance.
> 1590s, “oppressively hot, close and moist” (of weather), ultimately from swelter (to feel extremely hot and uncomfortable) + alteration of -y (2), either as a contraction of sweltry or from obsolete verb sulter “to swelter” (1580s), alteration of swelter. Figurative sense of “hot with lust” is attested from 1704; of women, “lascivious, sensual, arousing desire” it is recorded from 1940. Related: Sultriness.
> swelter (v.): c. 1400, “faint with heat,” frequentative of swelten “be faint (especially with heat),” late 14c., from Old English sweltan “to die, perish,” from Proto-Germanic *swiltan- (source also of Old Saxon sweltan “to die,” Old Norse svelta “to put to death, starve,” Gothic sviltan “to die”), perhaps originally “to burn slowly,” hence “to be overcome with heat or fever,” from PIE root *swel- (2) “to shine, beam” (see Selene). From the same ancient root comes Old English swelan “to burn.” For specialization of words meaning “to die,” compare starve.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Etymonline
pithy
pith‧y
/ˈpɪθi/
If something that is said or written is pithy, it is intelligent and strongly stated, without wasting any words: SUCCINCT, terse, concise, compact, short, short and sweet, brief, condensed, compendious, to the point, summary, epigrammatic, crisp, laconic, pointed
…Press releases must be short and pithy.
…a series of pithy quotations
> early 14c., “strong, vigorous,” from pith (n.) + -y (2). Meaning “full of substance or significance” is from 1520s; literal meaning “full of pith” not attested until 1560s. Related: Pithily; pithiness. Pithless “wanting strength, weak” is attested from 1550s but is rare.
> pith (n.): Old English piþa “central cylinder of the stems of plants,” also, figuratively, “essential part, quintessence, condensed substance,” from West Germanic *pithan- (source also of Middle Dutch pitte, Dutch pit, East Frisian pit), a Low German root of uncertain origin. Figurative sense of “energy, concentrated force, closeness and vigor of thought and style” is by 1520s. The pith helmet (1889, earlier pith hat, 1884) was so called because it is made from the dried pith of the Bengal spongewood.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
patriarchy
pa‧tri‧arch‧y
/ˈpeɪtriɑːki $ -ɑːr-/
> 1560s, “ecclesiastical province under a patriarch; church government by patriarchs,” from Latinized form of Greek patriarkhia, from patriarkhēs “male chief or head of a family” (see patriarch). Meaning “system of society or government by fathers or elder males of the community” is recorded from 1630s.
> Etymonline
faux pas
faux pas
/ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː$ ˌfoʊ ˈpɑː/
plural faux pas /-ˈpɑːz/
FORMAL
A faux pas is a socially embarrassing action or mistake: GAFFE, blunder; indiscretion, impropriety
…It was not long before I realized the enormity of my faux pas.
> from French faux pas “faux pas, blunder; misstep, false step”
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Wiktionary
plagiarism
plagiarism
pander
pander
quibble
quibble
tongue-in-cheek
tongue-in-cheek
intersperse
intersperse
rejoinder
rejoinder
eponymous
eponymous
perfunctory
per‧func‧to‧ry
/pəˈfʌŋktəri $ pər-/
A perfunctory action is done quickly and carelessly, and shows a lack of interest in what you are doing; a perfunctory action is done quickly, and is only done because people expect it: CURSORY, desultory; QUICK, brief, hasty, hurried, rapid, passing, fleeting, summary; token, casual, superficial, uninterested, careless, halfhearted, unthinking, sketchy, mechanical, automatic, routine, offhand, indifferent, inattentive
…She gave the list only a perfunctory glance.
…He gave a perfunctory nod.
…The applause was perfunctory.
> “done mechanically or without interest or zeal and merely for the sake of being rid of the duty of doing it; done so as to conform to the letter but not the spirit,” 1580s, from Late Latin perfunctorius “careless, negligent,” literally “like one who wishes to get through a thing,” from Latin perfungus, past participle of perfungi “discharge, busy oneself, get through,” from per “through” (from PIE root *per- (1) “forward,” hence “through”) + fungi “perform” (see function (n.)). Related: Perfunctorily.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
vaunt
vaunt
effusive
ef‧fu‧sive
/ɪˈfjuːsɪv/
showing your good feelings in a very excited way; expressing feelings of gratitude, pleasure, or approval in an unrestrained or heartfelt manner: GUSHING, gushy, unrestrained, unreserved, extravagant, fulsome, demonstrative, lavish, enthusiastic
…Our host gave us an effusive welcome.
…Rio Celeste Hideaway Hotel, an eco-resort near the Tenorio Volcano National Park, captured the fourth place on the list and garnered some of readers’ most effusive comments.
—Devorah Lev-Tov, Travel + Leisure, 11 July 2023
effusive in
…Dotty was effusive in her thanks.
…He was effusive in his praise for the general.
…The Ticket, was particularly effusive in his praise of quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who completed 38 of 47 passes for 510 yards and four touchdowns.
—Detroit Free Press, 6 Sep. 2023
> “flowing profusely” (especially of words), 1660s, with -ive + Latin effus-, stem of effundere “pour forth, spread abroad; to lavish, squander, waste,” from assimilated form of ex “out” (see ex-) + fundere “to pour” (from nasalized form of PIE root *gheu- “to pour”). Hence, “with extravagant display of feelings” (1863). Related: Effusively.
> gheu-: Proto-Indo-European root meaning “to pour, pour a libation.” It forms all or part of: alchemy; chyle; chyme; confound; confuse; diffuse; diffusion; effuse; effusion; effusive; fondant; fondue; font (n.2) “complete set of characters of a particular face and size of type;” found (v.2) “to cast metal;” foundry; funnel; fuse (v.) “to melt, make liquid by heat;” fusible; fusion; futile; futility; geyser; gush; gust (n.) “sudden squall of wind;” gut; infuse; ingot; parenchyma; perfuse; perfusion; profuse; refund; refuse (v.) “reject, disregard, avoid;” refuse (n.) “waste material, trash;” suffuse; suffusion; transfuse; transfusion.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Dictionary of English, Etymonline
buttress
buttress
grisly
grisly
finicky
finicky
spelunking
spelunking
