Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know (MCQ Test + PDF) Week 39 - Day 1
NEW WORDS
- saga [sä´ ga]
“The saga of the Kennedy family has enthralled and saddened us.” Barbara Walters, quoted in New York Times, 7/10/99
- belated [bi lāt´ tid]
“When he made his belated entrance into the political campaign, he was told he had no chance.” Jewell Bellush and Dick Netzer, Urban Politics
- decrepit [di krep´ it]
“Some schools are in such decrepit condition that students will be transferred to safer schools until repairs can be made.” NYC Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew, Newsday, 7/6/99
- imperturbable [im´ pər tėr´ bə bəl]
“The Prince de Ligne had given the Empress Catherine the name of imperturbable, or immoveable.” Walter Tooke, The Life of Catherine
- vacillate [vas´ ə lāt]
“In planning for the book I vacillated between a selective, but deeper approach or a general, more limited approach.” Milton Konvitz, editor, Bill of Rights Reader
TODAY’S IDIOM
a sacred cow—a person or thing that cannot be criticized (From India, where cows may not be harmed because of religious rules)
I decided to throw down the gauntlet* by exposing the boss’s son who had been ruling the roost* as the sacred cow of the business.
