Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know (MCQ Test + PDF) Week 3 - Day 4
NEW WORDS
- euphemism [yü´ fə miz əm]
“But now he was merely an elder statesman, the euphemism for a politician who no longer has any influence.” Robert Wallace, “Not Him”
- mundane [mun´ dān]
“Why bother with mundane musings when you can sit on the lawn and build cities out of grass clippings?” Enid Nemy, “The World is Her Cloister,” New York Times, 6/20/99
- incongruous [in kong´ grü əs]
“He was clothed with tatters of old ship’s canvas: and this extraordinary patchwork was held together by a system of various and incongruous fastenings.” Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
- condolence [kən dō´ ləns]
“Words of condolence seem very poor things and yet they are all one can use to tell of one’s sympathy.” Maisie Ward, Father Maturin
- stipulate [stip´ ū lāt]
“I shall come out from here five minutes before the stipulated term, and thus shall violate the agreement.” Anton Chekhov, “The Bet”
TODAY’S IDIOM
to go up in smoke—to come to no practical result (kindling smokes but it will not light a fire)
The mayor’s plans to get the gubernatorial nomination went up in smoke when he couldn’t end the costly strike.
