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:

• Acolyte
• Caveat
• Contemplate
• Compatriot
• Delectable
• Famished
• Lambaste
• Liturgy
• Squall
• Squander

Acolyte is a noun. An acolyte means a devoted follower, an assistant. So you could say that Robin was Batman's acolyte. But tom who devotedly insists on following Jerry everywhere is not his Acolyte. He is his "archenemy"(the biggest enemy). Lets use it in a sentence shall we:
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!