I took the FMS entrance test today which has a vocab intensive section. I had a good feeling about it of course. And though i scored my maximum in the VA section I got a reality check as well. There were some real toughies. One such question was about an opportunist politician without any scruples or ethics who wouldn't mind representing a place he has no connection with.I wasn't familiar with any of the phrases in the options and naturally marked the wrong answer. So this post is dedicated to the questions i failed to crack...
DOG WHISTLE POLITICS
Dog whistle politics means using code words. When dogs whistle they emit some high frequency sound to communicate with each other, which is inaudible to humans. It refers to a hidden, unstated idea, usually divisive or politically dangerous, nevertheless understood by the voters. So you say something which everyone hears but it conveys a special meaning to the intended audience.
CARPET BAGGER
A carpet bagger is a politician who seeks public office in a locality with which he has no connections. [THIS WAS MY ANSWER :-( ]
PORK BARREL
Is a derogatory term for appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely and primarily to bring money to a representative's district
FIFTH COLUMNIST
A member of a subversive organization who helps the enemy invade. A fifth column is basically a secret organization that tries to undermine a bigger organization such as a nation to the aid of an external enemy.
Today's vocab digest is made up of a few esoteric dishes...choicest of words from my fms test.
Wheedle
Bedizen
Cachinnate
Canoodle
Tumescent
Twaddle
WHEEDLE
Wheedle means to coax by flattery or endearments.("Babu puchu jaanu please mera kaam karwa do!!!!!")
She used her coquettish charms to wheedle the secret out of him.
Bedizen
is a verb. To bedizen is to deck out gaudily. It is poetic and rarely used except in competitive exams to give us a hard time
Canoodle
to kiss and cuddle
One of the downsides of visiting relatives is that they try to canoodle you.
Tumescent
adj Swelling
A tumescent wound on her right knee......
Twaddle
silly writing or talk
nonsense
He used to bear my incessant twaddles with a sweet smile.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Making a few DEPosits
When i set out to build up my vocabulary, I knew that i couldn't memorize lists alphabetically.It would be too tedious. But at the same time clustering words together helps in memorizing. So i started clustering words not just by their first letter but by their first three letters.
Like here are a few Denizens of the D-village of Lexiconasia which you can DEPend upon.
Depilatory
this word is an adjective and gives nothing away. It gives us no obvious clues as to what it may mean.
Depilatory can be used to describe substances which people use to remove unwanted hair. That may be some kind of ointment or cream.
Depilatory creams are in vogue.
Deplete
deplete is a verb and it means to reduce the number or quantity of. SO if something is depleting it is actually reducing in number or size. Like in my hostel i used to stock chocolate biscuits beneath my bed. They depleted very fast.
Deplore
A verb. You would deplore a terrorist attack. You may also deplore smoking.
To deplore is to express sorrow and severe disappointment for something bad. Some sentence examples would be:
Uncle Ben deplored the rise of incidents of violent muggings in the city; little did he know that he himself would become a victim of one such mishap.
Depose
Depose looks familiar. But look closely. IT'S NOT RELATED to DISPOSE.
Depose means to remove from power.
The king deposed the despotic minister. He now works as an assistant tailor in some obscure shop.
Deprave
Deprave is a verb which means to corrupt morally.
Tom's mother advised him to stay away from Finn. She feared that Finn might deprave him.
Deprecate
To Deprecate is to express disapproval of someone or something.
If someone called you vermin, it means they are deprecating you.
Her father's deprecating comments hurt my sentiments so I decided to withdraw my name from the competition.
Depredations
noun. Harmful or damaging acts like robbing or plundering.
He may be serving a long sentence for his depredations, but his friends still think of him as a hero.
Like here are a few Denizens of the D-village of Lexiconasia which you can DEPend upon.
Depilatory
this word is an adjective and gives nothing away. It gives us no obvious clues as to what it may mean.
Depilatory can be used to describe substances which people use to remove unwanted hair. That may be some kind of ointment or cream.
Depilatory creams are in vogue.
Deplete
deplete is a verb and it means to reduce the number or quantity of. SO if something is depleting it is actually reducing in number or size. Like in my hostel i used to stock chocolate biscuits beneath my bed. They depleted very fast.
Deplore
A verb. You would deplore a terrorist attack. You may also deplore smoking.
To deplore is to express sorrow and severe disappointment for something bad. Some sentence examples would be:
Uncle Ben deplored the rise of incidents of violent muggings in the city; little did he know that he himself would become a victim of one such mishap.
Depose
Depose looks familiar. But look closely. IT'S NOT RELATED to DISPOSE.
Depose means to remove from power.
The king deposed the despotic minister. He now works as an assistant tailor in some obscure shop.
Deprave
Deprave is a verb which means to corrupt morally.
Tom's mother advised him to stay away from Finn. She feared that Finn might deprave him.
Deprecate
To Deprecate is to express disapproval of someone or something.
If someone called you vermin, it means they are deprecating you.
Her father's deprecating comments hurt my sentiments so I decided to withdraw my name from the competition.
Depredations
noun. Harmful or damaging acts like robbing or plundering.
He may be serving a long sentence for his depredations, but his friends still think of him as a hero.
Whetting your Appetite
Whetting is a verb that means stimulating someone's interest or appetite. Appetite is a nice word to be used instead of hunger. So if you are feeling like having food that means you have worked up your appetite. Mothers often worry about their toddlers having a poor appetite that is of not eating well enough. Appetite also means inclination towards something. Like i have an appetite for books. That means i have an interest in books. And that interest is sort of deep and you almost say "metaphorically" that i eat them. Some people have an appetite for adventure, some for parties. Whetting has an alternate meaning. It also means to sharpen a blade. The word comes from "Whetstone". Most of you know of or have seen a Whetstone. It is that tough fine-grained stone used for sharpening blades. So that's two new words for you "WHETTING" and "APPETITE".
"Whetting one's appetite" is used quite often so you might have come across it. Note that Appetite has two Ps
Chew on these two words and swallow them.
Swallowed?
Hungry for more?
Good.
So here is the word list for today:
Jeremy was dint just love his elder brother, he revered him. He followed him all about the place, like a loyal acolyte, eager to please and assist him in every way.
I would willingly give Rex a kick up his rear but he is always surrounded by his rather bulky(huge) acolytes.
John saw the grizzly bear approaching him threateningly. He turned around for help. His acolytes were nowhere to be seen.
So an acolyte is what we call in Hindi a CHAMCHA.
Caveat means a threat or a warning. It is a fancy latin word meaning beware. You would come across it in newspapers. Its again a noun. Remember that scene from Om Shanti OM where kirron kher dresses up and shouts "Andar MAT Jaana". Now there she was giving him a rather spooky caveat . Let us quickly use the word in a sentence and get it over with.
The wise man's caveat saved our lives.
"Let it be my caveat to all of you- what you do to others, so shall be done unto you"
Contemplate means to look at for a long time. Girls are often found contemplating their reflections in the mirror. Some people might find that narcissistic. When you contemplate something you could be examining it very carefully or you might just be in some deep thought. An example:
He sat for hours contemplating that piece of paper. Wondering what those words could mean.
Compatriot is a noun for a person who belongs to one's own country.
In your own country the person sitting next to you in a bus is a stranger, but in a foreign land that same stranger becomes a compatriot, a familiar face, a friend.
Delectable is an adjective. It talks about anything that is delightful or delicious.
So your little sister's school dance can be delectable and so can be your mum's cooking.
We celebrated by digging in a delectable chocolate cookie.
Famished
Speaking of cookies, here comes another word for hungry. When you are very very very hungry. You are famished. Famished means a person who is very hungry, often because of prolonged deprivation of food.
Her dress was sparkling but she herself looked famished.
The children played all afternoon and returned home famished but happy.
Lambaste is a verb. It means scolding heavily.
The teacher lambasted us for indiscipline.
My mother lambasted me when she discovered that I had broken her favorite lamp.
Liturgy is the prescribed form of public worship. Like when we enter the temple, mostly everyone follows the same ritual. Starting from touching the stairs, to ringing the bell and bowing in front of the idol, folding hands and taking prasad. Liturgy can also be used to describe anything which is followed with the same kind of discipline.
Every Sunday, without exception, Jonah used to put on his headphones and clean his bike. It was his sacred liturgy.
Squall has two meanings. One being a sudden violent storm accompanied by rain or snow. So you could be held back by a squall. It can also indicate a brief commotion. The other meaning of squall is a loud harsh cry or to utter such a loud harsh cry.
Our stay in the village would have been more enjoyable if we weren't hit so often by squalls.
My brother's squalling guitar gives me headaches.
Squander means wasting. The most common thing that people squander is time. Some like squandering money too. If you squander a lot, you become a "squanderer".
I reckoned that I had already wasted a lot of time and wouldn't be able to finish the assignment anyway, so i squandered some more.
Digest these for now.There are more words in the lexicon. I will keep them coming!
"Whetting one's appetite" is used quite often so you might have come across it. Note that Appetite has two Ps
Chew on these two words and swallow them.
Swallowed?
Hungry for more?
Good.
So here is the word list for today:
- Acolyte
- Caveat
- Contemplate
- Compatriot
- Delectable
- Famished
- Lambaste
- Liturgy
- Squall
- Squander
Jeremy was dint just love his elder brother, he revered him. He followed him all about the place, like a loyal acolyte, eager to please and assist him in every way.
I would willingly give Rex a kick up his rear but he is always surrounded by his rather bulky(huge) acolytes.
John saw the grizzly bear approaching him threateningly. He turned around for help. His acolytes were nowhere to be seen.
So an acolyte is what we call in Hindi a CHAMCHA.
Caveat means a threat or a warning. It is a fancy latin word meaning beware. You would come across it in newspapers. Its again a noun. Remember that scene from Om Shanti OM where kirron kher dresses up and shouts "Andar MAT Jaana". Now there she was giving him a rather spooky caveat . Let us quickly use the word in a sentence and get it over with.
The wise man's caveat saved our lives.
"Let it be my caveat to all of you- what you do to others, so shall be done unto you"
Contemplate means to look at for a long time. Girls are often found contemplating their reflections in the mirror. Some people might find that narcissistic. When you contemplate something you could be examining it very carefully or you might just be in some deep thought. An example:
He sat for hours contemplating that piece of paper. Wondering what those words could mean.
Compatriot is a noun for a person who belongs to one's own country.
In your own country the person sitting next to you in a bus is a stranger, but in a foreign land that same stranger becomes a compatriot, a familiar face, a friend.
Delectable is an adjective. It talks about anything that is delightful or delicious.
So your little sister's school dance can be delectable and so can be your mum's cooking.
We celebrated by digging in a delectable chocolate cookie.
Famished
Speaking of cookies, here comes another word for hungry. When you are very very very hungry. You are famished. Famished means a person who is very hungry, often because of prolonged deprivation of food.
Her dress was sparkling but she herself looked famished.
The children played all afternoon and returned home famished but happy.
Lambaste is a verb. It means scolding heavily.
The teacher lambasted us for indiscipline.
My mother lambasted me when she discovered that I had broken her favorite lamp.
Liturgy is the prescribed form of public worship. Like when we enter the temple, mostly everyone follows the same ritual. Starting from touching the stairs, to ringing the bell and bowing in front of the idol, folding hands and taking prasad. Liturgy can also be used to describe anything which is followed with the same kind of discipline.
Every Sunday, without exception, Jonah used to put on his headphones and clean his bike. It was his sacred liturgy.
Squall has two meanings. One being a sudden violent storm accompanied by rain or snow. So you could be held back by a squall. It can also indicate a brief commotion. The other meaning of squall is a loud harsh cry or to utter such a loud harsh cry.
Our stay in the village would have been more enjoyable if we weren't hit so often by squalls.
My brother's squalling guitar gives me headaches.
Squander means wasting. The most common thing that people squander is time. Some like squandering money too. If you squander a lot, you become a "squanderer".
I reckoned that I had already wasted a lot of time and wouldn't be able to finish the assignment anyway, so i squandered some more.
Digest these for now.There are more words in the lexicon. I will keep them coming!
Welcome to Lexiconasia!
One thing that i do well is read books. I always have been in love with stories and when my mum finally ran out of her repertoire of folk tales she introduced me to books, hoped we would and get along and made good her escape from my continuous nagging. So many years later i realized that those books gave me a power- the power of a good vocabulary. Last year i spent most of my time preparing for management entrance tests- all of them required words. That's when I consciously started collecting words. And like any collector, i had a hidden desire to put them on display.
I am starting this blog cause i needed a more durable and snazzier place for my wordies. This is my own little haven, enriched with diversity, safe from global warming and no risk of terrorist attacks whatsoever.
I am starting this blog cause i needed a more durable and snazzier place for my wordies. This is my own little haven, enriched with diversity, safe from global warming and no risk of terrorist attacks whatsoever.
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