Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know (MCQ Test + PDF) Week 2 - Day 2
NEW WORDS
- furtive [fėr´ tiv]
“Hogan directed a furtive glance up and down the alley.” John Steinbeck, “How Mr. Hogan Robbed a Bank”
- felon [fel´ ən]
“I was surprised to see this notorious felon become a regular at our bible discussion classes.” Rabbi Myron David, A Chaplain’s Jail Tales [adapted]
- plethora [pleth´ ə rə]
“SUFFERERS CONFRONT A PLETHORA OF POLLEN” Headline, New York Times, 6/5/99
- hapless [hap´ lis]
“Parents, too, have an almost irresistible impulse to mold their children in their own image or at least graft a few of their own ambitions onto their hapless offspring.” Arthur Gordon, “The Neglected Art of Being Different”
- irate [ī´ rāt or ī rāt´]
“I got irate because people have been yelling at me my whole life.” Olivia Winslow, “Cop Tells of a Confession,” Newsday, 6/23/99
TODAY’S IDIOM
- Pyrrhic victory—a too-costly victory (King Pyrrhus defeated the Romans but his losses were extremely heavy)
In heavy fighting the troops managed to recapture the hill, but it could only be considered a Pyrrhic victory.
