LESSON 29
Appearances. and
Attitudes (V)
Is there a connection between crochet and crotchety?
Would a dilatory person win a punctuality award?
.....
;
What is the relationship between spleen and splenetic?
'.',
~ •. 'r
Are the police pleased to get a loquacious
t
stool pigeon.?
What medicine is appropriate for a bucolic condition?
ambivalent
bucolic
crotchety
dilatory
disconsolate
dudgeon
froward
genteel
jocund
loquacious
splenetic
tendentious
truculent
vacuous
venal
1.
ambivalent (am-biv' -e-Ient}-having
conflicting feelings toward a person or
thing,such as love and hate.
a. I've read a great deal on the topic of capital punishment but I'm stin
ambivalent about it.
b. On the surface, Sloan was loyal to the chemical company but she
maintained ambivslent feelings about its defense policies.
2.
bucolic (byoo-kAI'-ik)--rural;
rustic; pastoral. The Greek word boukolilroS
means "herdsman."
a. The artist was celebrated for his bucolic canvases painted at the Ohio farm.
b. Two hours out of the big city, our eyes were refreshed by bucolic
countryside scenes.
.
3.
crotchety (krAch'-it~}-full
of ~uliar
whims; ill-tempered; eccentric. Crochel
work was done with a small, twisted hook; from "twisted" it was an easy jump to
"eccentric"-thus
the connection between crochet and crotchety.
a. No one took Uncle Sid seriously when he asked for watermelon pudding
because he had a reputation for being crotchety.
b. The crotchety old millionaire left his fortune to his twelve cats.
4.
dilatory (diJ'-&-tOr~ }-slow; late in doing things; inclined to delay; meant to gain
time.
a. -The crooked sheriffs dilatory tactics prevented Columbo from watching thf
thieves that night.
b. Phyllis' dilatory habits drove her punctual husband up the wall.
S. dlaconaolate
a.
b.
(dis-kAn'-se-lit}-sad;
dejected; cheerless.
After the-badnews arrived in a telegram from the Secretary of Defense, thf
new widow was understandably disconsolate.
When Zelda Fitzgerald was disconsolate, she sought relief through alCOhOl·
(duj'-en}-resentment;
an angry or offended feeling. It comes frOI1'
the Angio-French expression en digeon which meant "the hand on the dagger
hilt."
a. Captain Ralston was in high dudgeon after having been demoted.
b. Filled with dudgeon, Edgar sought revenge against his stepbrot!'l6f,
Edmund.
6. dudgeon
l;,
E
I.
7.
t
128
froward (frO'-erd,-werd}-contrary;
not easily controlled; stubbornly wilJflJ~
a. The froward colt was led into the ring by three handlers who were careful fJII'
to be kicked.
b. Petruchio displayed one way to deal successful..,. with a froward woman ,n
The Taming of the Shrew.
LESSON 291 APPEARANCES
8.
genteel Oen-t~I'}-well-bred;
refined; excessively polite.
a. Mrs. Berman's genteel manners were quite out of place in the sailors' bs
she operated.
.
b. Etiquette and genteel behavior are taught by Emily Post and Am
Vanderbilt.
9.
Jocund Oak'-and, jO'-kend)--pleasant;
agreeable; genial. Our word joke can b4
traced back to jocund.
a. One of the things that gets me off to a good start each morning is ou
elevator operator's jocund face.
b. The company's jocund mood was shattered by the blackout.
10.
a
person or
but I'm still
loquacloua
(Io-kwa'-shes)-talkative.
Some synonyms are garrulol.i:
voluble, prolix, verbose, and prating.
a. With a few drinks under his belt, my normally quiet cousin can becom
quite loquacious.
b. The loquacious talk-show host never gave his guests a chance to ttl
about themselves.
.1 to- -splenetic (spli-net'-ik)-jrritable;
bad-tempered; spiteful. The word derive
from spleen, the abdominal organ which the ancients regarded as the seat c
emotions.
a. Frieda's splenetic outburst at the dinner table was in poor taste.
b. One way to drive Albie into a splenetic frenzy is to discuss income taxe:
with him.
ny but she
boukolikos
9 Ohio farm.
by bucolic
12.
ric. Crochet
asyjumpto
on pudding
tendentIous (ten-den' -shes)-opinionated;
advancing a definite point of viev
or doctrine ..
a. Although the Post's political columns are often tendentious, I find then
very informative.
b. Our school board rejected several history texts, objecting to tht
tendentious writing they contained.
13.
truculent (truk'-yoo-lentHierce;
cruel; savage.
a. In a truculent editorial, the newspaper's owner ripped the Supreme Cour
-----decision-to-shreds.----b. Lord Hastings was unprepared for Richard's truculent outburSt.
I.
lanttogain
itching the
14.vacuoua
(vak'-yoo-was)--empty;
purposeless; stupid; senseless.
a. Two years on drugs had changed Roger's alert, look to a vacuous stare.
b. The judge dropped the assault charges when he realized how vacuous
they were.
JI.
,fense, the
15.
Ihalcohol.
mes from
ledagger
venal (ve'-n'l)-that
which can readily be bribed or corrupted.
a. Originally there was enough money to cover all expenses but venal
officials took most of it.
b. When caught for speeding, George tried to set up a venal bargain with the
arresting officer.
)ted.
,pbrother,
EXERCISES
, willful.
ireful not
'Oman in
AND ATTITUDES
I. Which Word Comes to Mind?
In each of the following,
1.
read the statement,
then circle the word that comes to mind.
Cows in the meadow, sheep in the corn
(venal.
bucolic,
disconsolate)
w'
,.uMUb YUU NEED TO KNOW TO PASS YOUR EXAM
2. First, I want to go-then
v.
I want to stay
(ambivalent, truculent,
dudgeon)
3. "What's your rush? So what if we're late?"
(jocund,
dilatory, genteel)
4. The millionaire asked to be buried in his Rolls Royce
(crotchety,
tendentious,
froward)
5. "Were you vaccinated with a phonograph needle?"
(vacuous, loquacious,
splenetic)
II. True or False?
In the space provided, indicate whether each statement is true or false.
__
__
__
_
_
1.
2.
3.
4.
S.
A jocund person has a good chance of being hired as a receptionist.
Splenetic behavior is always a sign of good breeding.
Truly great bullfighters welcome an animal which is froward.
Watergate has become synonomous with venBl arrangements.
SkyScrapers and subways are integral parts of the bucolic life.
III. Fill In the Blank
Insert one of the new words in the proper space in each sentence below.
1. Martha wondered how Gary could hope to convince her with such
2. The successful politician walks a thin line between appearing too
3. Step~an tried to sort out his .
.~-
and too wishy-washY·
feelings of respect and resentment towards his father.
4. After the hectic campaign, the president-elect was refreshed by his
S. A(n)
explanations.
retreat.
child perhaps needs more love than a well-adjusted one.
-
IV. What's the Antonym?
Which of the new words is most nearly opposite in meaning to the one provided?
1. punctual
2. gentle
3. even-tempered
_
4. gross
5. incorruptible
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LESSON 29/APPEARANCES
AND ATTITUDES
1
i
i
V. Matching
Match the word in column A with its correct definition in Column B by writing the letter of that definition in the SPI
~~ed.
.
A
__
__
__
__
__
__
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
1S.
r--'",-..--
-
Ins.
------1----1
;hy-washy.
-P
ather.
-
------
ambivalent
bucolic
crotchety
dilatory
disconsolate
dudgeon
froward
genteel
jocund
loquacious
splenetic
tendentious
truculent
vacuous
venal
B
a. resentment
b. not easily controlled
c. having conflicting feelings
d. J1J-tempered
e.talkative
f. irritable
g. opinionated
h. empty
i. refined
j. rural
k. inclined to delay
I. genial
m. able to. be bribed
n. savage
o. dejected