Build Your Vocabulary Skills! A Quick and Easy Method - John LaCarna 2017

The mnemonic vocabulary

A

ABASE (uh BASE) lower, humiliate

KEY: A BASE

LINK SENTENCE: He committed such a base act, that he was lowered and humiliated in the eyes of the world.

ABASH (uh BASH) embarrass

KEY: A BASH

LINK SENTENCE: His friends threw a bash in his honor although they knew that such attention embarrassed him.

ABATE (uh BATE) subside

KEY: A BAIT

LINK SENTENCE: Stick with a bait that works, until the bites subside.

ABDICATE (AB deh kate) to give up a high position

KEY: ABIDE ATE

LINK SENTENCE: Because he couldn't abide what they ate, he gave up his high position as king of the cannibals.

ABERRATION (AB uh RAY shun) a deviation from the normal

KEY: A BEAR RAT

LINK SENTENCE: A bear as small as a rat is a deviation from the normal.

ABETTOR (uh BET ur) encourager

KEY: A BETTOR

LINK SENTENCE: A bettor on a 100-to-1 shot will shout encouragement to the horse and jockey.

ABEYANCE (uh BAY uns) a temporary suspension

KEY: OBEY AUNT'S

LINK SENTENCE: When she didn't obey her aunt's curfew, her punishment was a temporary suspension of privileges.

ABHOR (uh BORE) despise

KEY: A BORE

LINK SENTENCE: The long-winded candidate was such a bore that all the voters despised him.

ABJECT (AB jekt) wretched

KEY: ABE OBJECTED

LINK SENTENCE: Abe Lincoln objected to the wretched state of the slaves.

ABJURE (ab JURE) to renounce under oath

KEY: ABE JURY

LINK SENTENCE: As a young lawyer defending an accused murderer, Abe Lincoln declared to the jury that his client had renounced all claims to his victim's estate.

ABNEGATE (AB nuh gate) relinquish

KEY: ADAM NAGGED ATE

LINK SENTENCE: Adam was nagged by Eve until he ate the fruit and relinquished happiness in Eden.

ABOMINATE (uh BAHM uh nate) to detest

KEY: A BOMB A MINUTE

LINK SENTENCE: When a bomb a minute hit the city, Londoners learned to detest the Nazis.

ABORTIVE (uh BORT iv) terminated prematurely

KEY: ABORTION

LINK SENTENCE: In an abortion, pregnancy is terminated prematurely.

ABRIDGE (uh BRIDGE) to shorten

KEY: A BRIDGE

LINK SENTENCE: The state built a bridge across the river to shorten the trip to the town.

ABROGATE (AB ruh gate) abolish

KEY: A BROGUE

LINK SENTENCE: In a thick brogue, the Irish Revolutionary Army leader called for the people to abolish British rule.

ABSCOND (ab SKAHND) to run off

KEY: ABLE KAHN

LINK SENTENCE: Not able to resist the forces of Genghis Kahn, the soldiers ran off in retreat.

ABSOLUTE (AB suh loot) unqualified

KEY: A SALUTE

LINK SENTENCE: He gave a salute to show unqualified loyalty to his country.

ABSOLVE (ab ZAWLV) to forgive

KEY: ABE SOLVE

LINK SENTENCE: Abe Lincoln tried to solve our great national problems by forgiving the South after the Civil War.

ABSTEMIOUS (ab STEM ee us) temperate

KEY: ABLE STEM

LINK SENTENCE: He was able to stem his desire for excesses, was temperate in all things.

ABSTINENT (AB stuh nunt) refraining from doing something

KEY: ABBEY STAND IT

LINK SENTENCE: I don't know how the monks in the abbey can stand it, refraining from worldly pleasures their whole lives.

ABSTRACT (ab STRAKT) conceptual, not concrete

KEY: ABE STRUCK

LINK SENTENCE: Abe Lincoln struck the concept of two separate nations off his list of possibilities.

ABSTRUSE (ab STROOS) difficult to understand

KEY: ABE'S TRUCE

LINK SENTENCE: Abe's plan to make a truce with the South after the Civil War was difficult for some Yankees to understand.

ABUT (uh BUT) to border on

KEY: A BUTT

LINK SENTENCE: The obese boy was made a butt of the children's jokes so often, he bordered on committing violence.

ABYSMAL (uh BIZ mul) bottomless

KEY: A BUSY MALL

LINK SENTENCE: Entering a busy mall during the Christmas season is like falling into a bottomless pit.

ACCLAIM (uh KLAME) praise

KEY: A CLAIM

LINK SENTENCE: The child made a claim that he never told a lie, to win praise from his teacher.

ACCLIMATE (ACK luh mate) to adjust to

KEY: A CLIMATE

LINK SENTENCE: Florida has a climate that is easy to adjust to.

ACCLIVITY (uh KLIV uh tee) upward slope

KEY: A CLIFF

LINK SENTENCE: A cliff was formed by the sharp upward slope of the hill.

ACCOLADE (AK uh lade) award of merit

KEY: ACT LAID

LINK SENTENCE: Because of the knight's heroic act, the king laid a bag of gold coins at his feet as an award of merit.

ACCORD (uh KORD) agreement

KEY: A CHORD

LINK SENTENCE: The great orator always struck a chord of agreement with his audience.

ACCOST (uh KOST) to approach

KEY: A COST

LINK SENTENCE: At a cost of many lives, the Allied forces approached Berlin.

ACCOUTRE (uh KOOT ur) equip

KEY: A SCOOTER

LINK SENTENCE: A scooter owned by the rich kid was equipped with all options, including air conditioning and power windows.

ACCRETION (uh KREE shun) increase, growth

KEY: CREATION

LINK SENTENCE: From the time of creation, the number of humans on earth has increased constantly.

ACCRUE (uh KROO) to come about by addition

KEY: CREW

LINK SENTENCE: The crew of the pirate ship was formed by the addition of thugs at every port.

ACERBIC (uh SUR bik) sour

KEY: A SYRUP PICKLE

LINK SENTENCE: A bit of syrup on a pickle won't take away the sour taste.

ACETIC (uh SEE tik) vinegary

KEY: A SEAT IKKY

LINK SENTENCE: A seat at the ikky restaurant is always available, as the wine tastes like vinegar.

ACIDULOUS (uh SIJ uh lus) sour, caustic

KEY: ACID YOU LOSE

LINK SENTENCE: If you drink sulfuric acid, you will lose your life, as it's one of the most caustic of all substances.

ACME (AK me) peak

KEY: ACNE

LINK SENTENCE: Most of us still had acne at the time of our peak athletic condition.

ACOUSTICS (uh KOO sticks) science of sound

KEY: A COO STICKS

LINK SENTENCE: A coo of a pigeon and the beat of drumsticks were recorded by the student of the science of sound.

ACQUIESCE (AK wee ESS) consent

KEY: A QUEST

LINK SENTENCE: A quest for Aztec treasure can be conducted only with the consent of the Mexican government.

ACRID (AK rid) sharp, bitter to taste or smell

KEY: ACT CRIED

LINK SENTENCE: The children acted nauseated and cried when given the bitter medicine.

ACRIMONIOUS (AK ruh MOH nee us) angry, harsh

KEY: ACRE MONEY

LINK SENTENCE; Whenever anyone came near his acre of money trees, the miser would assail them with angry, harsh language.

ACTUARIAL (ak chuh WER ee ul) pertaining to insurance statistics

KEY: ACTUAL AERIAL

LINK SENTENCE: The actual cost of an aerial disaster in terms of human grief is not reflected in insurance statistics.

ACTUATE (AK chuh wate) to put into action

KEY: ACT YOU ATE

LINK SENTENCE: Okay men, act like you ate your Wheaties this morning and get into action!

ACUMEN (uh KYOO mun) mental sharpness

KEY: A HUMAN

LINK SENTENCE: A human is superior to all other animals in mental sharpness.

ACUTE (uh KYOOT) sharp

KEY: A CUTE

LINK SENTENCE: A cute girl with a sharp intellect is a great combination.

ADAGE (AD ij) old saying

KEY: ADD AGE

LINK SENTENCE: It would add years to my age if the old saying, You’re only as old as you feel, were true, said the cranky old man.

ADAMANT (AD uh munt) unyielding

KEY: ADAM ANT

LINK SENTENCE: When Adam saw the first ant, he never dreamed that such a little creature would become such an unyielding adversary to the human race.

ADDUCE (uh DOOS) offer as proof

KEY: A DEUCE

LINK SENTENCE: The losing player pulled a deuce out of Doc's sleeve, and offered it as proof of cheating.

ADHERENT (ad HIR unt) follower

KEY: AD HEAR IT

LINK SENTENCE: Reverend Jones' TV ad is so persuasive that anyone who hears it will be a follower.

ADIPOSE (AD uh pose) fatty

KEY: ADD A POSE

LINK SENTENCE: Verna wouldn't let her husband add a pose of her in a bikini to the family album, because she was too fat.

ADJURATION (aj uh RAY shun) solemn urging

KEY: ADD YOUR RATION

LINK SENTENCE: When we were school children, Butch would try to add your ration of food to his own plate, despite the solemn urging of our teacher that he resist temptation.

AD LIB (AD LIB) to speak spontaneously

KEY: ADD LIBERTY

LINK SENTENCE: The First Amendment added the liberty to speak spontaneously to the Constitution.

ADMONISH (ad MON ish) to reprove

KEY: ADD MONEY

LINK SENTENCE: When the coach added money to the college player's account, the NCAA officials reproved him.

ADROIT (uh DROIT) skillful

KEY: DRAW IT

LINK SENTENCE: The view is so beautiful that I would draw it, if I were skillful enough.

ADULATION (aj uh LAY shun) excessive flattery

KEY: A DULL LADY SHUN

LINK SENTENCE: Only a dull lady would not shun the gigolo, but fall for his excessive flattery.

ADULTERATE (uh DUL tuh rate) to make impure

KEY: ADULTERY

LINK SENTENCE: The minister preached that adultery made a person impure in the eyes of God.

ADUMBRATION (ad um BRAY shun) foreshadowing

KEY: A DUMB BRAT

LINK SENTENCE: He seemed like such a dumb brat in elementary school that nothing foreshadowed his great achievements later.

ADVENTITIOUS (ad vun TISH us) accidental

KEY: ADVENTUROUS

LINK SENTENCE: In the adventurous sport of sky diving, you cannot afford a single accident.

ADVERSE (ad VURS) unfavorable

KEY: AD VERSE

LINK SENTENCE: The TV ad with silly verse received an unfavorable response from the viewers.

ADVOCATE (AD vuh kate) to speak in favor of

KEY: AD VOCAL CAT

LINK SENTENCE: In the TV ad, the vocal cat spoke in favor of Kitty Yums Yums.

AESTHETIC (es THET ik) relating to beauty

KEY: A SET OF TICKS

LINK SENTENCE: Her reason for collecting antique clocks was not just to have a set of ticks but was related to the beauty of the objects.

AFFABLE (AF uh bul) cordial

KEY: AFTER ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: Only after winning the election was the senator able to be cordial to his opponent.

AFFECTATION (af ek TAY shun) artificial mannerism

KEY: AFFECT THE NATION

LINK SENTENCE: An insincere candidate tries to affect the nation in his favor with artificial mannerisms.

AFFINITY (uh FIN ut ee) relationship

KEY: INFINITY

LINK SENTENCE: Edward VIII abdicated, giving up an infinity of power for his relationship with the woman he loved.

AFFIRM (uh FIRM) to declare as true

KEY: A FIRM

LINK SENTENCE: The witness made such a firm statement declaring the allegation to be true that the jury convicted the defendant.

AFFLUENT (uh FLOO unt) wealthy

KEY: A FLU AIN'T

LINK SENTENCE: A flu bug ain't concerned about how wealthy it's victims are.

AFFRONT (uh FRONT) to offend

KEY: A FRONT

LINK SENTENCE: That blacks could not ride in a front seat of buses before the Civil Rights Bill offended many people.

AGAPE (uh GAPE) open mouthed in surprise

KEY: A GAP

LINK SENTENCE: His mouth formed a wide gap as he stood open mouthed in surprise.

AGENDA (uh JEN duh) program

KEY: AGING

LINK SENTENCE: The aging process was the topic of the medical program.

AGGRANDIZE (uh GRAN dize) increase

KEY: A GRAND DICE

LINK SENTENCE: In a grand casino, the dice players seek to increase their wealth.

AGGREGATE (AG reh gut) sum total

KEY: AGGRAVATE

LINK SENTENCE: it aggravated me when I got a different sum total every time I added the figures.

AGGRIEVE (uh GREEV) to offend

KEY: A GRIEVE

LINK SENTENCE: The gangster will make your wife into a grieving widow if you offend him.

AGHAST (uh GAST) horror struck

KEY: A GUEST

LINK SENTENCE: A guest in the Bates Motel would be horror struck to know that ghastly murders had occurred there.

AGNOSTIC (ag NAHS tik) one who neither believes nor disbelieves in God

KEY: AGNES KNOWS TICK

LINK SENTENCE: Agnes knows how to tick off her father by claiming she doesn't believe in God, but then she calms him down by stating she doesn't disbelieve either.

AGOG (uh GOG) excited

KEY: A GAG

LINK SENTENCE: When they told her she won the lottery as a gag, she got so excited she dropped dead.

AGRARIAN (uh GRER ee un) related to farming

KEY: AGRICULTURE RAIN

LINK SENTENCE: A knowledge of agriculture and the effects of rain are essential to successful farming.

ALACRITY (uh LACK rut ee) promptness

KEY: A LACK

LINK SENTENCE: Although fast food restaurants have a lack of atmosphere, they make up for it in promptness of service.

ALCOVE (AL cove) a recess in a room

KEY: ALCOHOL

LINK SENTENCE: During prohibition, my grandfather served alcohol from a hidden recess in his store.

ALIENATE (AIL ee uh nate) to make hostile

KEY: ALIEN ATE

LINK SENTENCE: When the alien from outer space ate the Statue of Liberty, it made America hostile to him.

ALLAY (uh LAY) to calm

KEY: I LAY

LINK SENTENCE: I lay on the beach where a balmy breeze calms me.

ALLEGE (uh LEJ) to declare

KEY: ALL EDGE

LINK SENTENCE: All the defendants were on the edge of the seats as the prosecutor declared them guilty.

ALLEVIATE (uh LEEVE ee ATE) to relieve

KEY: ALLIGATOR LEAVE HE ATE

LINK SENTENCE: Before the alligator would leave, he ate everything in sight, relieving his hunger, and relieving us of all our food.

ALLOCATE (AL uh kate) to distribute

KEY: ALLEY CATS

LINK SENTENCE: The alley cats were distributed bowls of food by the children.

ALLUDE (uh LOOD) refer indirectly

KEY: A LEWD

LINK SENTENCE: A lewd exploit of my Aunt Chastity is referred to only indirectly by the family.

ALTERCATION (ALL tur KAY shun) angry dispute

KEY: ALTER CAT

LINK SENTENCE: From the instant they left the altar, the couple fought like cats and dogs, getting into angry disputes every day of their lives.

ALTRUISTIC (al true IS tik) unselfish

KEY: ALL TRUE

LINK SENTENCE: It's hard to believe but it's all true how unselfish your saintly mother is.

AMALGAM (uh MAL gum) mixture

KEY: ANIMAL AL - HAM

LINK SENTENCE: The animal called the al - ham is a mixture of an alligator and a pig.

AMASS (uh MASS) to accumulate

KEY: A MASS

LINK SENTENCE: A mass of junk accumulates in a teenager's room.

AMBIGUOUS (am BIG yoo us) having more than one meaning

KEY: AM BIGGER YOU US

LINK SENTENCE: I am bigger than you, our 300-pound boss told us, not realizing the double meaning.

AMBLE (AM bul) moving at an easy pace

KEY: AIM BULL

LINK SENTENCE: When Stinky aimed his slingshot at the bull, we kids sure didn't move out of that field at an easy pace.

AMBROSIA (am BRO zhuh) food of the gods

KEY: EMBRACE YA'

LINK SENTENCE: If you serve my grandma rum cake she will embrace ya', as she calls it "food of the gods".

AMBULATORY (AM byuh luh tore ee) capable of walking

KEY: AMBULANCE CARRY

LINK SENTENCE: Ambulances don't carry people who are capable of walking.

AMELIORATE (uh MEEL yah RATE) to make better

KEY: MEAL HE ATE

LINK SENTENCE: At every meal, he ate all his food because his mother told him it would make better the plight of the poor starving children abroad.

AMENABLE (uh MEN uh bul) open to suggestion

KEY: MEN ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: Men are able to accomplish more if they are open to suggestion from others.

AMENITIES (uh MEN ut ees) agreeable manners

KEY: MANY TEAS

LINK SENTENCE: Reginald was invited to many teas because of his agreeable manners.

AMIABLE (AY mee uh bul) agreeable, likable

KEY: AIM ABLE

LINK SENTENCES: Vickie's aim is to give as much help as she is able. She is a likable person.

AMICABLE (AM eh kuh bul) friendly

KEY: AIM CABLE

LINK SENTENCE: The diplomat's aim in sending the cable to Transylvania was to establish friendly relations.

AMITY (AM ut ee) friendship

KEY: AIM TO TIE

LINK SENTENCE: We should aim to tie the bonds of friendship between people.

AMORPHOUS (uh MOR fus) shapeless

KEY: MORE FOR US

LINK SENTENCE: Our mother dished out so much more for us than we needed that we became shapeless blobs.

AMULET (AM yuh lut) charm, talisman

KEY: A MULE LET

LINK SENTENCE: Even a stubborn mule will let you work him if you use this magic charm.

ANATHEMA (uh NATH uh muh) solemn curse

KEY: NASTY MA

LINK SENTENCE: The nasty witch Ma Hatfield put a solemn curse on the boys for stealing apples from her tree.

ANDIRON (AN die urn) metal support for fireplace logs

KEY: AND IRON

LINK SENTENCE: Steel and iron are used to support fireplace logs.

ANIMADVERSION (an uh mad VUR zhun) critical remark

KEY: ANIMAL ADVERSE

LINK SENTENCE: Even the animals were targets of the reviewers' adverse critical remarks about the Noah's Ark play.

ANIMATED (AN uh mate id) alive

KEY: ANIMAL MATED

LINK SENTENCE: The animals were mated in captivity to keep their species alive.

ANIMOSITY (an uh MOS it ee) active dislike

KEY: ANIMAL MOUSE

LINK SENTENCE: Of all animals, the mouse was the only on my mother had an active dislike for.

ANNALS (AN uls) historical records

KEY: ANNUAL

LINK SENTENCE: Annual updates were published to keep the historical records current.

ANNIHILATE (uh NY uh late) to destroy completely

KEY: ANNUAL NILE LATE

LINK SENTENCE: When the annual Nile flooding was late, the crops were destroyed completely.

ANNOTATE (AN uh tate) make written commentary on

KEY: A NOTE ATE

LINK SENTENCE: A note the spy ate when caught had contained his written commentary on our military installations.

ANOMALY (uh NAHM uh lee) irregularity

KEY: A NORMAL LIE

LINK SENTENCE: A normal lie is one thing, but Henry's whopper was so irregular it even shocked the member's of the Liar's Club.

ANTEDILUVIAN (ant eh duh LOO vee un) antiquated

KEY: AUNT DELUSION

LINK SENTENCE: My old aunt clung to the delusion that she was a spring chicken despite her antiquated appearance.

ANTIPATHY (an TIP uh the) strong dislike

KEY: AUNTY PATH

LINK SENTENCE: Aunty Em chose another path than the Yellow Brick Road because of a strong dislike for wicked witches.

ANTISEPTIC (AN tee SEP tick) free from bacteria

KEY: AIN'T IT PICKY

LINK SENTENCE: Ain't it too picky to wear a surgical mask all the time to be free from bacteria.

ANTITHESIS (an TITH uh sus) direct opposite

KEY: ANTI THESIS

LINK SENTENCE: The general's son wrote an anti-war thesis which directly opposed his father's view.

APATHETIC (AP uh THET ik) lacking emotion or interest

KEY: A PATH ATTACK

LINK SENTENCE: The battle-weary soldier stood in a path of enemy attack, so lacking was he in interest in fighting.

APERTURE (AP ur chure) opening

KEY: APE TOUR

LINK SENTENCE: The great ape took a tour of the city after escaping through an opening he made by bending the bars of his cage.

APEX (AP eks) summit

KEY: A PECK

LINK SENTENCE: The French president gave the U.S. president a peck on each cheek at the summit meeting.

APHORISM (AF uh riz um) a concise statement of a principle

KEY: A FOUR ISN'T

LINK SENTENCE: A four-man committee isn't what we need to draft a concise statement of our principles.

APLOMB (uh PLAHM) poise

KEY: PLUM

LINK SENTENCE: The ballerina who danced the Sugar Plum Fairy showed supreme poise.

APOGEE (AP uh jee) highest point

KEY: APOLOGY

LINK SENTENCE: It is false humility to apologize to those you surpassed when you reach the highest point of your career.

APOTHEGM (AP uh them) pithy saying

KEY: APT THING

LINK SENTENCE: Benjamin Franklin always found the apt thing to comment in the pithy sayings of Poor Richard's Almanac.

APOTHEOSIS (uh poth ee O sis) deification, perfect example

KEY: A PATH TO THE OASIS

LINK SENTENCE: When the mysterious stranger showed the lost desert travelers a path to the oasis, their gratitude was so great they deified him and worshipped his memory as the perfect example of benevolence.

APPARITION (ap uh RISH un) a ghost

KEY: APPEARANCE SHUN

LINK SENTENCE: The appearance of the headless horseman caused the villagers to shun the road at night, as they were afraid of ghosts.

APPEASE (uh PEES) to pacify

KEY: A PIECE

LINK SENTENCE: She gave the child a piece of candy to pacify him.

APPELLATION (AP uh LAY shun) a name

KEY: APPLE ATE ONE

LINK SENTENCE: When she offered him apples, he ate one even though her name was Eve.

APPOSITE (AP uh zut) appropriate

KEY: APT SIGHT

LINK SENTENCE: You are apt to sight whales off the New England coast as that is an appropriate place for them.

APPRISE (uh PRIZE) inform

KEY: A PRICE

LINK SENTENCE: For a price, the traitor informed on his comrades.

APPROBATION (ap ruh BAY shun) praise

KEY: PROBATION

LINK SENTENCE: His probation officer praised the ex-convict for his good behavior.

APROPOS (ap ruh PO) to the point

KEY: A PROPOSAL

LINK SENTENCE: In explaining a proposal to your boss, you must get to the point without wasting time.

ARABLE (AIR uh bul) fit for plowing

KEY: AIR ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: Even from an airplane, an expert farmer is able to tell when soil is fit for plowing.

ARBITER (ARE buh tur) person appointed to judge a dispute

KEY: ARE BITTER

LINK SENTENCE: The workers are bitter because the person appointed to judge the dispute sided with the company.

ARBOREAL (are BOR ee ul) of trees

KEY: A BOAR

LINK SENTENCE: Suddenly a wild boar ran out of the trees and charged us.

ARCHAIC (are KAY ik) old fashioned

KEY: ARCADE

LINK SENTENCE: Penny arcades with no video games are old fashioned.

ARCHETYPE (ARE keh type) an original model

KEY: ARCHITECT

LINK SENTENCE: The architect's original model illustrated how the building would look.

ARDENT (ARE dent) enthusiastic

KEY: AIR DENT

LINK SENTENCE: Grandpa jumped up in the air and dented the ceiling, he was so enthusiastic about his exercises.

ARDUOUS (AR joo us) difficult

KEY: HARD TO DO US

LINK SENTENCE: It would be hard to do us justice for doing that incredibly difficult job.

ARIA (AH ree uh) operatic solo

KEY: AIRY

LINK SENTENCE: The airy outdoor arena in Florence is a spectacular place for great operatic solos.

ARID (AIR ud) dry

KEY: ARRID

LINK SENTENCE: Arrid deodorant keeps you dry.

ARMADA (are MAHD uh) a fleet of warships

KEY: ARMY ADD A

LINK SENTENCE: In the old days, the nation that already had an army only needed to add a fleet of warships to have a complete military.

ARRAIGN (uh RAIN) to bring before court to answer charges

KEY: A REIGN

LINK SENTENCE: It was a reign of terror in which all dissidents were brought to court to answer charges of treason.

ARRANT (AIR unt) unmitigated, downright

KEY: AIR RANT

LINK SENTENCE: I don't care how much hot air he blows as he rants and raves, he is a downright liar.

ARROGANT (AIR uh gunt) haughty

KEY: ARROW GUN

LINK SENTENCE: When he saw the enemy soldiers using arrows against his guns, the general laughed haughtily.

ARTICULATE (are TIK yuh lit) speaking clearly and well

KEY: ART LATE

LINK SENTENCE: The art of the late Daniel Webster was simply to speak clearly and well.

ARTIFICE (ART uh fus) trickery

KEY: ART FACE

LINK SENTENCE: He was a master of the art of keeping an innocent face when plotting trickery.

ARTLESS (ART less) without guile

KEY: ART LESS

LINK SENTENCE: His beautifully crafted art was less liked by critics than the pretentious junk because it was simple and without guile.

ASCENDANCY (uh SEN dun see) dominance

KEY: ASCENDED

LINK SENTENCE: The energetic leader rapidly ascended into a position of dominance over his fellows.

ASCETIC (uh SET ik) practicing self-denial

KEY: ASSET

LINK SENTENCE: He disposed of all his material assets as he began a life of self-denial in the monastery.

ASKANCE (uh SKANS) with a sideways glance of disapproval

KEY: ASK AUNTS

LINK SENTENCE: When Rodney asked his elderly aunts if they minded his cigar smoke, they said they didn't, but glanced at him sideways with disapproval.

ASKEW (uh SKYOO) crooked, slanted

KEY: ASKS YOU

LINK SENTENCE: If Sylvia asks you if her nose is crooked, change the subject.

ASPERITY (uh SPER ut ee) sharpness of temper

KEY: A SPIRIT TEE

LINK SENTENCE: A spirit got teed off when the priest tried to exorcise it, as it was a sharp-tempered demon.

ASPERSION (uh SPUR zhun) slanderous remark

KEY: A SPUR SHUN

LINK SENTENCE: A fancy movie cowboy with silver spurs was shunned by the real cowpokes and slanderous remarks were made about him.

ASPIRE (uh SPIRE) to have an ambition

KEY: A SPIRE

LINK SENTENCE: When he saw a spire of the great cathedral against the sky, he formed his ambition to be an architect.

ASSAY (ASS ay) analyze, evaluate

KEY: ESSAY

LINK SENTENCE: In his famous essays, Montaigne analyzed and evaluated a remarkable variety of human issues.

ASSEVERATE (uh SEV uh rate) to assert earnestly

KEY: ASS EVER RATE

LINK SENTENCE: Senator Bluster said of the President, "How did that ass ever rate to be Chief Executive?" and asserted earnestly that he would unseat him in the coming election.

ASSIDUOUS (uh sij oo us) diligent

KEY: ON SIDE YOU US

LINK SENTENCE: A person we would want working on the side of you and us would have to be diligent.

ASSUAGE (uh SWAJ) ease

KEY: A SUEDE

LINK SENTENCE: Biff wore a suede leather jacket to ease the effects of the icy wind.

ATHWART (uh THWART) across, in opposition

KEY: A WART

LINK SENTENCE: As Christopher walked through the desolate area, he suddenly saw a man with a large wart on his nose watching him from across the street.

ATONE (uh TONE) to make amends

KEY: A TONE

LINK SENTENCE: In a conciliatory tone of voice he tried to make amends for his insult.

ATROPHY (AT ruh fee) deterioration from disuse.

KEY: A TROPHY

LINK SENTENCE: I won a trophy in weightlifting in my youth, but now my muscles have undergone deterioration from disuse.

ATTENUATE (uh TEN you ate) to make thinner

KEY: ATTEND YOU ATE

LINK SENTENCE: If you attended to what you ate you could become thinner.

ATTRITION (uh TRISH un) wearing

KEY: A TRICK SHOWN

LINK SENTENCE: A trick was shown to us by the old woodsman of how to start a fire by wearing away a log with a rapidly rotating stick.

AUDACITY (aw DAS uh tee) boldness or insolence

KEY: ODYSSEY

LINK SENTENCE: The Odyssey is a tale of the boldness of a mighty hero and his insolence toward the supernatural powers that opposed him.

AUGER (AW gur) a tool for boring wood

KEY: ARGUE EASIEST (to distinguish between auger and augur)

LINK SENTENCE: The carpenters argued over what was the easiest tool to use for boring wood.

AUGUR (AW gur) to foretell from omens

KEY: ARGUE UNKNOWN (to distinguish between augur and auger)

LINK SENTENCE: I argued that the future was unknown, but the fortune teller claimed she could foretell it from omens.

AUGUST (aw GUST) dignified

KEY: AUGUST

LINK SENTENCE: Despite the sweltering August weather, the Queen looked dignified in the parade.

AUSPICIOUS (aw SPISH us) having promise of success

KEY: AUSSIE SUSPICIOUS

LINK SENTENCE: The Aussies were suspicious of the yacht salesman who promised them success in winning America's Cup.

AUSTERE (aw STIR) unadorned, severe

KEY: AUSSIE TEAR

LINK SENTENCE: The Aussie cried a tear at the severely unadorned Outback.

AUTHENTIC (aw THEN tick) genuine

KEY: AUTHOR THIN

LINK SENTENCE: The author of the diet book was so thin it was believed that her weight-loss program was genuine.

AUTHORITARIAN (uh THAWR eh TARE ee un) dictatorial

KEY: AUTHORITY

LINK SENTENCE: A people's blind obedience to authority is necessary for a dictatorial government to succeed.

AUTONOMOUS (aw TAHN uh mus) self governed

KEY: AUTOGRAPH US

LINK SENTENCE: The autographs of our forefathers on the Declaration of Independence declared us a self governed people.

AVARICE (AV uh ris) greed

KEY: EVERY ICE

LINK SENTENCE: Every time the child saw ice cream, greed would overwhelm him.

AVER (uh VUR) state confidently

KEY: AVE. ERROR

LINK SENTENCE: Your contention that the White House is at 1776 Pennsylvania Ave. is in error no matter how confidently you state it.

AVERSE (uh VERS) having repugnance toward

KEY: A VERSE

LINK SENTENCE: A verse the coffeehouse poet recited so emphasized the hopelessness of life that even his sophomore audience showed repugnance toward it.

AVERSION (uh VUR zhun) dislike

KEY: A VERSION

LINK SENTENCE: An offbeat version of the national anthem was disliked by traditionalists.

AVIARY (AY vee AIR ee) enclosure for keeping live birds

KEY: AVIATION

LINK SENTENCE: Leonardo learned much about aviation by building an enclosure for birds and studying them.

AVID (AV id) eager

KEY: A VIDEO

LINK SENTENCE: A music video tape starring Elvis would be eagerly sought by millions of fans.

AWE (AW) respectful fear

KEY: ALL OWE

LINK SENTENCE: All the town owed the store owner so much money, they regarded him with respectful fear.

AXIOM (AK see um) a self-evident truth

KEY: AX THEM

LINK SENTENCE: When the defendant tried to ax them, his guilt was self-evident to the jury.

AZURE (ASH uhr) sky blue

KEY: AS SURE

LINK SENTENCE: Just as sure as the sky is blue, you're for me and I'm for you.

B

BAGATELLE (bag uh TEL) a trifle

KEY: BAG TELL

LINK SENTENCE: Although we were dying of curiosity to know what Melba had in the mysterious black bag, she refused to tell us, saying, "Oh, it's just a trifle.

BALEFUL (BALE ful) sinister

KEY: BAIL FULL

LINK SENTENCE: Rocco's bail was paid in full by a sinister character in a trench coat.

BALK (BAWK) foil

KEY: BARK

LINK SENTENCE: The dog's bark foiled the burglar's attempt to break in undetected.

BALLAD (BAL ud) a folk song or poem

KEY: BALL LAD

LINK SENTENCE: At the farmer's ball, the lads sang folk songs.

BALLAST (BAL ust) heavy material to balance a ship

KEY: BALL LAST

LINK SENTENCE: The cannonballs were loaded last on the ship and placed so as to balance it on the water.

BALUSTRADE (BAL uh strade) a handrail and supporting posts on a balcony or stairway

KEY: BALANCE STRIDE

LINK SENTENCE: The crowd was amazed at the acrobat's balance as they watched him stride on the handrail of the second-story balcony.

BANAL (buh NAHL) trite

KEY: BAN ALL

LINK SENTENCE: The English teacher banned all trite clichés from his class.

BANEFUL (BANE ful) harmful

KEY: BAND FULL

LINK SENTENCE: The band full of bagpipe players was harmful to the ears.

BARB (BARB) a sharp backwards-projecting point as on a fish hook

KEY: BARBIE

LINK SENTENCE: The child was punished for using his sister’s Barbie Doll as a fishing lure by attaching fishhooks to it.

BARRAGE (buh RAHZH) a prolonged attack

KEY: BEAR RAGE

LINK SENTENCE: When the woodsmen invaded its territory, the bear went into a rage and engaged in a prolonged attack on their camp throughout the night.

BARRISTER (BARE uh stur) British attorney who presents a case in court

KEY: BAR ROOSTER

LINK SENTENCE: The member of the bar strutted like a rooster when he presented the case in court.

BASK (BASK) enjoy warmth and sunshine

KEY: BASKET

LINK SENTENCE: After eating the contents of the picnic basket, we enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine.

BASTION (BAS chun) a strong defense

KEY: BEST ON

LINK SENTENCE: The best men in the army were placed on the front line to form a strong defense against the enemy.

BATE (BATE) reduce

KEY: BAIT

LINK SENTENCE: The super miracle fishing bait was so good, we feared it would substantially reduce the number of fish in the sea.

BATTEN (BAT un) grow fat or prosperous

KEY: BAT TEN

LINK SENTENCE: Any player who could bat ten home runs in ten times at bat would grow fat and prosperous with a lucrative major league contract.

BEATIFIC (be uh TIF ik) blissful

KEY: BEAT EFFECT

LINK SENTENCE: The beat of the exotic music had the strange effect of throwing the audience into a blissful state of ecstasy.

BEDIZEN (beh DIZ un) dress with vulgar finery

KEY: BE DIZZY

LINK SENTENCE: You would be dizzy if you saw Rosie dressed in her vulgar finery.

BEDRAGGLED (beh DRAG uld) dirty and disordered

KEY: DRAGGED

LINK SENTENCE: My twelve-year-old son looks like something the cat dragged in, he gets so dirty and disordered most of the time.

BEGUILE (beh GILE) deceive, cheat

KEY: BE GILDED

LINK SENTENCE: Be wary of the gilded jewelry they try to pass off as gold to deceive you and cheat you of your money.

BEHEMOTH (bih HE muth) a huge beast

KEY: BEE MOTH

LINK SENTENCE: A bee or a moth will look like a huge beast in the microscope.

BELABOR (beh LAY bur) assail (especially with words) to tiresome length

KEY: BEE LABOR

LINK SENTENCE: Although Buzz was as busy as a bee campaigning for the presidency of the labor union, his speeches assailed his opponent's character at such tiresome length that he lost the election.

BELEAGUER (beh LEE gur) besiege

KEY: BIG LEAGUE

LINK SENTENCE: The big league baseball star was besieged by fans when recognized on the streets.

BELIE (beh LIE) to prove something false

KEY: BE LIE

LINK SENTENCE: If what you say be a lie, I will prove it false.

BELLICOSE (BEL eh kose) warlike

KEY: BELLY COAST

LINK SENTENCE: The troops lay on their bellies on the Normandy coast in the Second World War.

BENCHMARK (BENCH MARK) reference point, standard

KEY: BENCH MARK

LINK SENTENCE: The old wooden bench with the "S" mark carved in it served as the initial reference point on the treasure map.

BENEDICTION (ben uh DICK shun) a blessing

KEY: BENEDICT

LINK SENTENCE: As we sat down to our Eggs Benedict, Father said the morning blessing.

BENEFICENT (buh NEFF eh sunt) doing good

KEY: BENEFIT CENT

LINK SENTENCE: She didn't financially benefit by a cent from the work she did in the community, but she had the satisfaction of doing good.

BENEVOLENT (buh NEV uh lunt) kindly

KEY: BENNY NEVER LENT

LINK SENTENCE: The miserly character Jack Benny portrayed never lent money to anybody, but in real life, he was a kindly man.

BENIGHTED (beh NITE ud) overcome by darkness

KEY: BE NIGHT

LINK SENTENCE: The evil wizard said, "Let there be night," and the land was overcome by darkness.

BENIGN (buh NINE) kindly, harmless

KEY: BE NINE

LINK SENTENCE: If I could be nine years old again I would be more kindly to the poor teachers I harassed.

BERATE (beh RATE) scold strongly

KEY: BEER ATE

LINK SENTENCE: When Tubby drank all the beer and ate all the food intended for guests, his mother scolded him strongly.

BEREAVE (beh REEVE) deprive of something

KEY: BEER EVE

LINK SENTENCE: We drank beer that eve at the wake to console ourselves for being deprived of the dear departed.

BEREFT (beh REFT) deprived of, lacking

KEY: BEER RAFT

LINK SENTENCE: The beer fell of the raft and so we felt deprived during the lengthy voyage down the river.

BERSERK (buhr surk) violent rage

KEY: BEES IRK

LINK SENTENCE: The bees were irked so much by the bear that they flew into a violent rage and attacked him.

BETE NOIRE (BET nuh WAHR) aversion

KEY: BET NOR

LINK SENTENCE: Although I've lived in Las Vegas for thirty years, I've never bet in a casino nor attended a stage show, as I have an aversion to high living.

BETROTH (bee TROTH) to become engaged to marry

KEY: BE TRUTHFUL

LINK SENTENCE: Be truthful to your prospective bride about your faults before you become engaged to marry.

BIAS (BY us) prejudice

KEY: BUY US

LINK SENTENCE: When dad offered to buy us any automobile as long as it was American made, he showed his prejudice in favor of domestic products.

BIBLIOPHILE (BIB lee uh file) book lover or collector

KEY: BIBLE FILE

LINK SENTENCE: A bible file on the many editions of the scriptures was kept by the book collector.

BICAMERAL (by KAM uh rul) two-chambered (as a legislative body)

KEY: BUY CAMERA

LINK SENTENCE: During the hottest period of the political scandal, Flash and I had to buy another camera so we could get pictures of the two chambers of the legislature simultaneously.

BIENNIAL (by IN ee ul) every two years

KEY: BUY ANY OLD

LINK SENTENCES: Buy a reliable Zoommobile. If you buy any old car, you'll have to get a new one every two years.

BILIOUS (BIL yus) bad tempered

KEY: BILLY US

LINK SENTENCE: The old lawman said, "Billy the kid might be a folk hero to you, but to us, he was a bad tempered murderer."

BILK (BILK) to cheat

KEY: BILLED MILK

LINK SENTENCE: The crooked cow billed us for milk she didn't deliver to cheat us.

BIVOUAC (BIV uh wak) temporary encampment

KEY: BEEF ACT

LINK SENTENCE: When my wife cooked her beef stroganoff, Uncle Porky would act as though our house was his temporary encampment until it was all consumed.

BLANDISHMENT (BLAN dish munt) flattery

KEY: BLAND DISH

LINK SENTENCE: Although the beautiful brunette served the most bland dish Jake had ever tasted, he flooded her with flattery on her cooking.

BLASPHEMOUS (BLAS fuh mus) irreverent

KEY: BLAST FAMOUS

LINK SENTENCE: The editorial writer blasted famous people with his irreverent writing.

BLATANT (BLATE unt) coarse, noisy

KEY: LATE AUNT

LINK SENTENCE: We almost expected my late aunt to raise a ruckus at her own funeral, she was such a coarse, noisy woman in life.

BLAZON (BLAZ un) a heraldic coat of arms

KEY: BLAZE

LINK SENTENCE: His Satanic Majesty has the blazes of hell on his coat of arms.

BLIGHTED (BLITE ud) diseased, withered

KEY: BEE LIGHTED

LINK SENTENCE: The bee lighted on the withered flower during the drought.

BLITHE (BLYTH) light hearted, merry

KEY: BEE LIFE

LINK SENTENCE: The animated movie pictured a bee's life as a merry one as they showed it buzzing about the flowers.

BODE (BODE) portend

KEY: ABODE

LINK SENTENCE: The gloomy castle, said to be the abode of Dracula, portended evil.

BOGUS (BO gus) fake

KEY: BOGEY US

LINK SENTENCE: As we grew older, we realized the carnival bogey that frighten us as children was a fake.

BOLSTER (BOWL stur) support

KEY: BOULDER

LINK SENTENCES: Don't worry. The boulder on the cliff hanging over your house has sufficient support at the base, I think.

BOMBASTIC (bahm BASS tick) pompous

KEY: BOMB BASE

LINK SENTENCE: When the bomb hit the base, the pompous general forgot his dignity and dove for cover.

BONDAGE (BOND ige) slavery

KEY: BOUND AGE

LINK SENTENCE: Individuals were bound to their masters for life in the age of slavery.

BOOR (BURR) rough person

KEY: BOAR

LINK SENTENCE: They compare him to a wild boar, he's such a rough person.

BOOTLESS (BOOT lus) useless

KEY: "BOOTLESS"

LINK SENTENCE: A "bootless" soldier is useless to the army when fighting is on rough terrain.

BOVINE (BO vine) cow-like

KEY: BEAU WHINED

LINK SENTENCE: Her beau whined like a cow when she left him.

BOWDLERIZE (BODE luh rize) to censor a literary work by cutting out parts considered objectionable

KEY: BOWED RISE

LINK SENTENCE: The old preacher's back was bowed by his lifelong practice of making all the classics rise in moral value by cutting out parts he considered objectionable.

BRAVADO (bruh VAHD O) pretended bravery, swagger

KEY: BRAVERY

LINK SENTENCES: Casper's bravery was only pretended. In a crisis his swagger disappeared and he shook like a leaf.

BRAWN (BRAWN) muscular strength

KEY: BROWN

LINK SENTENCE: The American brown bear has great muscular strength.

BRAZEN (BRAZE un) shameless

KEY: BE RACING

LINK SENTENCE: Aunt Prudella says that for women to be racing in skimpy shorts is a shameless spectacle.

BRAZIER (BRAY zhur) charcoal grill

KEY: BRACER

LINK SENTENCE: There's no better bracer-upper than the smell of steaks sizzling on a charcoal grill.

BREVITY (BREV ut ee) shortness of time, conciseness

KEY: BRIEF TEA

LINK SENTENCE: The Englishman had to settle for a brief tea time because of the shortness of time available.

BRISTLING (BRIS uh ling) showing anger

KEY: BRISTLE

LINK SENTENCE: His hair stuck up like bristles when he showed his anger.

BROACH (BROACH) open up

KEY: BROOCH

LINK SENTENCE: The brooch on Lucretia Borgia's bosom could be opened up to reveal a compartment filled with poison.

BROCADE (bro KADE) fabric with raised design

KEY: BROKE AID

LINK SENTENCE: When Amy's sewing machine broke, Aunt Maggie came to her aid, sewing the raised design on the fabric by hand.

BROCHURE (bro SHURE) pamphlet

KEY: BRASH SURE

LINK SENTENCE: The preacher's brash son was sure to antagonize the congregation when he passed out the irreligious pamphlets.

BROOK (BROOK) to put up with something

KEY: BROOK

LINK SENTENCE: You can swim in the brook if you are willing to put up with piranha.

BRUSQUE (BRUSK) blunt, abrupt

KEY: BRUSH

LINK SENTENCE: Zelda gave Dave the brush-off by acting in a blunt, abrupt manner toward him.

BUCOLIC (byoo KOL ik) rustic

KEY: BEAUTIFUL COLLIE

LINK SENTENCE: The beautiful collie chased the sheep in the rustic painting.

BUFFOON (buh FOON) a clown

KEY: BUFFALO

LINK SENTENCE: When the buffalo threw the rodeo rider, the clown diverted it's attention from the fallen cowboy.

BULWARK (BULL wurk) strong defense

KEY: BULL WALK

LINK SENTENCE: The bull walking in Joe's yard is a strong defense against intruders.

BUMPTIOUS (BUMP shus) obtrusively self-assertive

KEY: BUMPED US

LINK SENTENCE: After his car bumped us, the intoxicated driver became obtrusively self-assertive, claiming it was our fault.

BURGEON (BUR jun) flourish

KEY: BIRDS IN

LINK SENTENCE: The birds in my yard flourished after I built a giant feeder.

BURLESQUE (bur LESK) give an imitation that ridicules

KEY: BURLY ASKED

LINK SENTENCE: Several burly members of the audience asked that the performance stop when the comedian gave an imitation ridiculing fat people.

BURLY (BUR lee) husky

KEY: BERL

LINK SENTENCE: The folk singer Berl Ives was a big husky man.

BURNISH (BUR nish) polish

KEY: BURNED ASH

LINK SENTENCE: When he burned her antique table with his cigar ash, she made him polish it.

BUTTRESS (BUT ress) to support

KEY: BUTT TRESTLE

LINK SENTENCE: When the goat butted the trestle that supported the tracks, the train fell in.

C

CABAL (kuh BAL) small secret group of plotters

KEY: CABLE

LINK SENTENCE: The government intercepted a cable from the secret group plotting its overthrow.

CACHE (KASH) hiding place

KEY: CASH

LINK SENTENCE: Scrooge stashed his cash in such a good hiding place that he himself couldn't find it.

CACHET (ka SHAY) prestige

KEY: CASH SHAH

LINK SENTENCE: Having as much cash as the Shah of Iran, gives great prestige.

CACHINNATION (KAK uh NAY shun) laughing loudly

KEY: CACKLE

LINK SENTENCE: The witch started with a cackle, then burst out laughing loudly at the frightened Hansel and Gretel.

CACOPHONY (kuh KAHF uh nee) discord, harsh sound

KEY: CACKLE PHONY

LINK SENTENCE: Simon's cackle over his boss' inane jokes was so forced and phony, it got harsher sounding as the evening went on.

CADAVEROUS (kuh DAV er us) corpse-like

KEY: KID EVER WAS

LINK SENTENCE: It's impossible to count every kid that ever was frightened by Dracula's corpse-like appearance.

CAJOLE (kuh JOLE) coax

KEY: CAGEY OLD

LINK SENTENCE: The cagey old used car salesman coaxed the customer into buying the lemon.

CALLOW (KAL o) young and inexperienced

KEY: CALL LOW

LINK SENTENCE: Although her job obliged her to call on houses in the low income area, the young and inexperienced social worker loved it.

CALUMNY (KAL um nee) slander

KEY: CALLING

LINK SENTENCE: I'm calling him a liar to his face, because what he said was slander.

CAMARADERIE (kah muh RAH duh ree) comradeship

KEY: COMRADE RIDE WITH ME

LINK SENTENCE: My comrade rides with me down life's most perilous paths, so strong are the bonds of of comradeship.

CANARD (kuh NAHRD) false report, unfounded rumor

KEY: CAN HARD

LINK SENTENCES: He can still work hard. The rumor that he's grown too old is unfounded.

CANDID (KAN did) frank

KEY: CANDY DID

LINK SENTENCES: Too much candy did you in. To be frank with you, you're fat as a pig.

CANKER (KANG kur) ulcerous sore

KEY: CAN CURE

LINK SENTENCE: Your doctor can cure your ulcerous sore if you'll stop picking at it.

CANNY (KAN ee) shrewd

KEY: CAN KNEE

LINK SENTENCE: I can remember sitting on my father's knee, taking his shrewd advice to heart.

CANT (KANT) jargon

KEY: CAN'T

LINK SENTENCE: Policemen who can't understand the criminal jargon had better learn.

CANTATA (kun TAHT uh) a choral composition which tells a story

KEY: CAN'T ADD HER

LINK SENTENCE: Maria's furious that I can't add her song to the chorus, but it doesn't fit the story.

CANTER (KANT ur) a horse's easy gait

KEY: CAN'T ERR

LINK SENTENCE: You can't err buying a riding horse with such an easy gait.

CANVASS (KAN vus) solicit votes

KEY: CANVAS

LINK SENTENCES: Young Abe Lincoln campaigned by wrestling. By pinning opponents to the canvas, he would solicit votes.

CAPACIOUS (kuh PAY shus) spacious

KEY: CAPACITY

LINK SENTENCE: The seating capacity of the spacious dining hall was over a thousand.

CAPARISON (kuh PARE uh sun) ornamentation for a horse

KEY: COMPARISON

LINK SENTENCE: The real cowboy's horse looked drab in comparison to the ornamented parade horse.

CAPITULATE (kuh PITCH uh late) surrender

KEY: CAPITAL LATE

LINK SENTENCE: The reinforcements arrived at the capital too late and the nation had to surrender.

CAPRICE (kuh PREES) whim

KEY: CAP PRICE

LINK SENTENCE: Wanda bought the mink cap despite its price on a whim.

CAPRICIOUS (kuh PRISH us) changeable

KEY: CAP PRECIOUS

LINK SENTENCE: The government put a cap on the price of the precious metal, as it was too changeable.

CAPTIOUS (KAP shus) inclined to find fault

KEY: CAPTURE US

LINK SENTENCE: The dictator tried to capture us because we found fault with his rule.

CARAFE (kuh RAF) decanter

KEY: CARE AFTER

LINK SENTENCE: My grandma didn't have a care in the world after drinking a whole decanter of sherry.

CARICATURE (KARE ih kuh choor) a portrait which exaggerates a person's prominent features

KEY: CHARACTER SURE

LINK SENTENCE: To capture Bob Hope's character, a portrait must be sure to exaggerate his prominent nose and chin.

CARMINE (KAR min) vivid red

KEY: CARMEN

LINK SENTENCE: Carmen held a vivid red rose in her teeth.

CARNAGE (KAR nij) destruction of life

KEY: CAR NAG

LINK SENTENCE: When the car replaced the old nag, civilization paid for increased mobility with increased destruction of life.

CARNIVOROUS (car NIV er us) flesh eating

KEY: CARNIVAL NEVER FOR US

LINK SENTENCE: The carnival was never for us, with its wild man eating raw flesh.

CARP (KARP) to find fault

KEY: CARP

LINK SENTENCE: When he only caught one carp all day the fisherman found fault with the polluted lake.

CARRION (KARE ee un) rotting flesh of a dead body

KEY: CARRY ON

LINK SENTENCE: The brave troops forced themselves to carry on the battle, fighting beside the rotting flesh of the dead bodies of their comrades in the field.

CARTE BLANCHE (KAHRT BLAWSH) unlimited authority

KEY: CART BLANCH

LINK SENTENCE: When Caesar rode through villages in his cart, the people blanched, for he had unlimited authority over their lives.

CASTIGATE (KAS tuh gate) punish

KEY: CASTLE GATE

LINK SENTENCE: The king's forces broke through the castle gate of the rebellious baron he sought to punish.

CATACLYSM (KAT uh kliz um) catastrophe

KEY: CATECHISM

LINK SENTENCE: Religious people studied their catechisms like never before when they thought world catastrophe was imminent.

CATHOLIC (KATH uh lick) universal

KEY: CATHOLIC

LINK SENTENCE: In Italy and Spain, Catholic churches are almost universally present.

CAUCUS (KAW kus) meeting of members of a political party to choose candidates or determine policy.

KEY: CAUCASIAN

LINK SENTENCE: An all-Caucasian political meeting cannot choose candidates or determine policies representative of the needs of all the people.

CAUSTIC (KAW stik) capable of burning or corroding substances

KEY: CAR STICK

LINK SENTENCE: Your car sticks to one spot because the battery is corroded.

CAVALCADE (KAV ul kade) procession, parade

KEY: CALVARY AID

LINK SENTENCE: Horsemen representing the U.S. Calvary coming to the aid of the good guys charged down the street in the parade.

CAVIL (KAV ul) quibble

KEY: CAVE

LINK SENTENCE: The cave people did not quibble about whether the mastodon meat was rare, medium, or well done.

CELERITY (suh LER ut ee) promptness

KEY: CELERY TEA

LINK SENTENCE: The waiter bought the stuffed celery and the tea with commendable promptness.

CENSURE (SIN sure) criticize severely

KEY: SIN SURE

LINK SENTENCE: Anyone fallen into sin was sure to be criticized severely by Reverend Jones.

CHAFE (CHAFE) to make sore by rubbing

KEY: SHAVE

LINK SENTENCE: When the boy first began to shave, he made his face sore by constantly rubbing it.

CHAGRIN (shuh GRIN) embarrassment

KEY: SHE GRINNED

LINK SENTENCE: When I fell into the punch bowl in front of the princess, she grinned at my embarrassment but tried not to laugh aloud.

CHARLATAN (SHARL uh tun) quack

KEY: CHARLEY TON

LINK SENTENCE: In hopes that he would cure the team's charley horses, the coach gave a ton of money to the quack.

CHARY (CHA ur ree) cautious

KEY: CHARITY

LINK SENTENCE: The wealthy man was approached by so many false charities he became cautious about giving donations.

CHICANERY (shick AN ur ee) trickery

KEY: CHICKEN CANNERY

LINK SENTENCE: The chicken cannery substituted horse meat until their trickery was discovered.

CHOLERIC (KAHL ur ik) quick tempered

KEY: COLLAR

LINK SENTENCE: He gets hot under the collar at the slightest provocation, he is so quick tempered.

CHRONOLOGY (kruh NAHL uh gee) an ordering of events from earliest to latest

KEY: CROWN KNOWLEDGE

LINK SENTENCE: The historian could name everyone who wore the crown of England sequentially, as he had great knowledge of the order of historical events.

CHURLISH (CHUR lish) ill mannered

KEY: CURLY LEASH

LINK SENTENCE: We walked our curly-hair poodle on a leash because he was so ill mannered as to jump on strangers.

CIRCUMLOCUTION (sur cum lo KYOO shun) an indirect expression

KEY: CIRCLE LOCATION

LINK SENTENCE: "The buzzards circle our location," is an indirect way of expressing that we are doomed.

CIRCUMSCRIBE (SUR cum scribe) limit

KEY: CIRCUS INSCRIBED

LINK SENTENCE: The circus manager inscribed a set of rules to limit the danger of the acts.

CIRCUMSPECT (SUR cum spekt) cautious

KEY: CIRCUS EXPECTED

LINK SENTENCE: The circus trapeze artist expected to fall sooner or later, so he was cautious and used a net.

CIRCUMVENT (SUR cum vent) to go around

KEY: CIRCLE WENT

LINK SENTENCE: Sailing in a great circle, Magellan went around the globe.

CITADEL (SIT uh dul) fortification

KEY: CITY DELAWARE

LINK SENTENCE: When Washington reached the city after crossing the Delaware he found it heavily fortified.

CLAMOR (KLAM ur) uproar

KEY: CLAIM MORE

LINK SENTENCE: The demonstrators, claiming they needed more wages, caused an uproar.

CLANDESTINE (klan DEST und) secret

KEY: CLAN DESTINED

LINK SENTENCE: The McBeth clan, believing it was destined to gain the throne, plotted in secret against the king.

CLEMENT (KLEM unt) merciful

KEY: CLIMATE

LINK SENTENCE: In the scorching climate, the merciful rains came.

CLICHÉ (klee SHAY) an overused phrase

KEY: CLASH

LINK SENTENCE: In the debate, there was a dramatic clash between the great orator's fresh, imaginative expressions and his opponent's overused phrases.

CLOISTER (KLOY stur) seclude

KEY: CLOTHES STARE

LINK SENTENCE: The poor boy's tattered clothes were stared at so much, that he secluded himself at home.

CLOY (KLOY) to weary by too much of something

KEY: CLAWED

LINK SENTENCE: The animal trainer was badly clawed by the tiger that had wearied of too much hamburger meat.

COAGULATE (ko AG yuh late) to solidify (blood)

KEY: COLD LATE

LINK SENTENCE: We put the meat into the cold freezer too late to stop the blood from solidifying.

CODICIL (KAHD uh sul) a supplement modifying a will

KEY: CODE SILLY

LINK SENTENCE: They thought the document written in code was a silly joke until it was deciphered to be a supplement to the will cutting them out without a penny.

COERCE (ko URS) to force someone to do something

KEY: CURSE

LINK SENTENCE: The witch threatened him with a curse to force him to do what she wanted.

COGENT (KO junt) convincing

KEY: CODGER GENT

LINK SENTENCE: The mean old codger tried to seem like a gent but was not convincing.

COGITATE (KAH juh tate) to think over

KEY: CODGER STATE

LINK SENTENCES: The old codger would not state how he felt about his 100th birthday. He said he would have to think it over for a few years.

COGNIZANT (KAHG nuh zunt) aware of

KEY: COCK NO SENSE

LINK SENTENCE: The cock is supposed to have no sense, but it is aware of the break of dawn.

COGNOMEN (kahg NO mun) family name

KEY: CODGER NO MEN

LINK SENTENCE: Even when Teddy Roosevelt was an old codger, no men were brave enough to cast aspersions on his family name.

COHESIVE (ko HE siv) holding together

KEY: COOPERATION HE SAVED

LINK SENTENCE: Lincoln is our greatest president because, with the cooperation of Congress, he saved the Union, holding the country together by waging the Civil War.

COLLATE (kuh LATE) 1. to assemble in proper order. 2. to compare material critically

KEY: COLD LATE

LINK SENTENCE: Working in the cold damp monastery late every night, the scholarly monk meticulously assembled the ancient manuscript in proper order so that he could compare the material critically.

COLLUSION (kuh LOO zhun) secret agreement for evil purposes

KEY: COLLISION

LINK: The authorities were able to prevent the air collision when an informer told them of the evil secret agreement between the foreign power and the air traffic controller.

COMELY (KUM lee) attractive

KEY: COME LIE

LINK SENTENCE: "Come lie on the beach beside me," said the attractive girl in his dreams.

COMMEND (kuh MEND) to praise

KEY: COME IN

LINK SENTENCE: I bade the writer to come in and be welcome In my house for I have high praise for his work.

COMMENSURATE (kuh MENS uh rut) of equal size

KEY: COMMENT SIR ATE

LINK SENTENCE: All Camelot commented that when Queen Guinevere served, Sir Lancelot ate portions equal in size to King Arthur's.

COMMISERATE (kuh MIZ uh rate) to feel sympathy for

KEY: COME MISERABLE

LINK SENTENCE: When the child couldn't come to Disney Land with the rest of the class, he was so miserable that we all felt sympathy for him.

COMMODITY (kuh MAHD ut ee) article for sale

KEY: COME ODD TIE

LINK SENTENCE: The seller of gaudy neckwear said, "Come see the odd ties I have for sale."

COMPASSION (kum PASH un) pity

KEY: COMELY PASSION

LINK SENTENCE: The comely cheerleader inspired such passion in the poor little water boy that we pitied him.

COMPELLING (cum PEL ing) forceful

KEY: CAME PULLING

LINK SENTENCE: The Evangelist came to town, pulling in millions of followers through his forceful preaching.

COMPLACENT (kum PLACE unt) contented

KEY: COME PLACE SCENT

LINK SENTENCE: The travel agent exhorted us to come to the place of flowery scents and beautiful sights where we would be relaxed and contented.

COMPLEMENT (KAHM pluh munt) that which completes

KEY: COMPLIMENT

LINK SENTENCE: The compliment made her day complete.

COMPLIANT (kum PLY unt) yielding to the will of others

KEY: COME PLAY

LINK SENTENCE: When the child's friends called him to come play instead of doing his homework, he yielded to their will.

COMPREHENSIVE (KOM pruh HEN sive) including everything

KEY: COMPREHEND

LINK SENTENCE: The genius read and comprehended a page at a glance, and his knowledge included everything.

COMPUNCTION (kum PUNK shun) remorse

KEY: COMB PUNCTURED

LINK SENTENCE: When his comb punctured the customer's scalp the barber was filled with remorse.

CONCATENATION (kahn kat uh NAY shun) group linked together in a chain

KEY: CON CATTLE

LINK SENTENCE: The cons were treated like cattle, linked together by shackles in a chain gang.

CONCILIATE (kun SIL ee ate) placate

KEY: CONE SILLY ATE

LINK SENTENCE: When given the "ice cream cone" made of mud, the silly father ate it to placate the rowdy child.

CONCILIATORY (kun SIL yuh tory) making peace

KEY: CAN SILLY STORY

LINK SENTENCE: After an argument, I can tell my wife a silly story to make peace by making her laugh.

CONCLAVE (KAHN klave) secret meeting

KEY: CONCAVE

LINK SENTENCE: A concave section of the rock behind the waterfall formed a hideout for secret meetings.

CONCOCT (kun KOKT) to devise

KEY: CAN COCK

LINK SENTENCE: The old farmer can wake early at the cock crow without any alarm devised by man.

CONCOMITANT (kun KAHM eh tunt) attending

KEY: CAN COMMIT

LINK SENTENCE: The hypocrite can commit evil acts with righteous words attending them.

CONCUR (kun KUR) to agree

KEY: CONQUER

LINK SENTENCE: The great orator was able to conquer audiences into agreeing with him.

CONDIGN (kun DINE) fitting

KEY: COME DINE

LINK SENTENCE: Come dine with me where we had our first date, for it's a fitting place to celebrate our fiftieth anniversary.

CONDONE (kun DOHN) to excuse

KEY: CON DONE

LINK SENTENCE: The con said, "I done it, but I had a good excuse."

CONGRUENT (kun GROO unt) likeness

KEY: CAN GROW INTO

LINK SENTENCE: The child can grow into the exact likeness of his father.

CONJECTURE (kun JEK chur) surmise

KEY: CONVICT JACK SURE

LINK SENTENCE: Although no one was convicted for the Jack The Ripper murders, many books have sure been written surmising who he was.

CONJOIN (kun JOIN) join together

KEY: CAN JOIN

LINK SENTENCE: You can join the plumber's union if you can join together two water pipes.

CONJURE (KON jur) to summon up by magic

KEY: CAN JURY

LINK SENTENCE: Can the jury summon up the victim by Magic to ask who murdered him?

CONNOISSEUR (KON uh SUR) expert

KEY: CAN SURE

LINK SENTENCE: She can sure tell all about foreign policy, as she's an expert in the field.

CONSCIENTIOUS (kon she EN shus) scrupulous

KEY: CONSCIENCE IN US

LINK SENTENCE: The conscience in us makes us too scrupulous to do a sloppy job.

CONSCRIPT (cun SKRIPT) to draft

KEY: CAN SCRAP

LINK SENTENCE: Men who can "scrap" are sought in the military draft.

CONSECRATE (KON suh krate) to dedicate as sacred

KEY: CONSEQUENCES DESECRATE

LINK SENTENCE: You will suffer dire consequences if you desecrate something dedicated as sacred.

CONSENSUS (kun SEN sus) unanimity

KEY: CAN SENSE U.S.

LINK SENTENCE: When congressmen can sense that the U.S. Public feels strongly about something, there is near unanimity in their vote.

CONSIGN (kun SINE) entrust for sale

KEY: CON SIGN

LINK SENTENCE: The con artist persuaded me to sign over my car, entrusting it for sale by him.

CONSPICUOUS (cun SPIK yoo us) very noticeable

KEY: CAN EXPECT YOU US

LINK SENTENCE: We can expect you to see us clowns in the crowd, as our red hats and orange suits are very noticeable.

CONSTITUENT (kun STICH uh wunt) a necessary part, a member of an elected official's voting body - the people he represents.

KEY: CONSTITUTION

LINK SENTENCES: The U.S. constitution is a necessary part of our system of government. It provides that every adult can be a voter.

CONSUMMATE (kun SUM ut) perfect

KEY: CAN SUMMIT

LINK SENTENCE: You can reach the summit of the mountain only through perfect climbing technique.

CONTEMPT (kun TEMPT) disdain

KEY: CAN TEMPT

LINK SENTENCE: Nothing can tempt the ascetic who disdains worldly pleasures.

CONTENTIOUS (kun TEN shus) quarrelsome

KEY: CONTENT US

LINK SENTENCES: The million-dollar-a-year salary contents us. Joe is just being quarrelsome in demanding more.

CONTIGUOUS (kun TIG yuh wus) adjoining

KEY: CAN'T IGNORE

LINK SENTENCE: We can't ignore the blare of rap music from the adjoining apartment.

CONTINGENT (kun TIN junt) 1. A quota 2. dependent 3. accidental occurrence

KEY: COUNT INGENUITY

LINK SENTENCE: You must count on your ingenuity to make your sales quota, and not be dependent on accidental occurrences.

CONTRABAND (KAHN tra band) smuggled merchandise

KEY: COUNTER BAND

LINK SENTENCE: The Border Patrol countered the plans of the band of smugglers and confiscated the smuggled merchandise.

CONTRETEMPS (KAWN truh tahn) mishap

KEY: COUNT THE TIMES

LINK SENTENCE: I couldn't count the times The Three Stooges had mishaps in the movie, it happened so frequently.

CONTRITE (kun TRITE) regretful

KEY: COUNT RIGHT

LINK SENTENCE: When fired because he couldn't count change right, the clerk was regretful that he had dropped out of school.

CONTUMACIOUS (KAHN too MAYSH us) stubbornly rebellious

KEY: COSTUME MADE US

LINK SENTENCE: The silly elf costumes our teacher made us wear in the school play caused us to become stubbornly rebellious and refuse to enter the stage on cue.

CONUNDRUM (cuh NUN drum) a puzzle

KEY: CAN NONE DRUM

LINK SENTENCE: The music teacher said, "why can none of you play the drums worth a hoot is a puzzle to me."

CONVENTIONAL (kun VEN shuh nul) customary

KEY: CONVENT SHUN

LINK SENTENCE: The nuns in the convent shunned customary lifestyles.

CONVERGE (kun VURJ) to come together

KEY: CONVERT URGE

LINK SENTENCE: All the converts to the movement were urged to come together at the mass rally.

CONVERSANT (kun VURS unt) familiar with

KEY: CAN VERSES SAINT

LINK SENTENCE: He can quote Biblical verses like a saint, as he is thoroughly familiar with the Scriptures.

CONVERSE (kun VERSE) to talk

KEY: CONVERSATION

LINK SENTENCE: A master of art of conversation, he could talk your ears off.

CONVEYANCE (kun VAY unce) a vehicle to carry people

KEY: CAN WEIGH OUNCE

LINK SENTENCE: They can weigh an ounce more, but that's all if they expect my old vehicle to carry all those people.

CONVICTION (kun VIK shun) strong belief

KEY: CONVICTION

LINK SENTENCE: Despite his client's conviction by the jury, the attorney maintained his strong belief in the American legal system.

CONVIVIAL (kun VIV yul) festive

KEY: CONVICT ALL

LINK SENTENCE: When the jury convicted all members of the gang, it was a festive occasion for the victims.

CONVOLUTED (KON vuh loo tid) coiled, twisted

KEY: CAN VOLUNTEER

LINK SENTENCE: He can volunteer to explore the coiled and twisted passages of the cave because of his great sense of direction.

COPIOUS (KO pee us) abundant

KEY: COPY US

LINK SENTENCE: The competition can copy us, but our abundant production of new ideas will keep us ahead.

CORDIAL (KAWR jul) warm and courteous

KEY: CAR JAIL

LINK SENTENCE: After the drunk driver drove his car into the jail, the police warmly and courteously invited him inside.

CORNUCOPIA (kor nyuh KO pee uh) an abundance of food

KEY: CAN YOU COPE

LINK SENTENCE: The pharaoh asked Joseph, "Can you cope with an abundance of food followed by famine."

CORPULENT (KOR pyuh lent) fat

KEY: CAR PULL OUT

LINK SENTENCE: To remove him from the car we had to pull him out as he was so fat he got stuck.

CORRELATE (KO ruh LATE) show a relationship between

KEY: CAR RELATE

LINK SENTENCE: When I was driving the car my father related to me the story of a terrible wreck to show the relationship between speed and accidents.

CORROBORATE (kuh ROB uh rate) confirm

KEY: CAR ROBBER

LINK SENTENCE: The car robber's henchman confirmed his alibi.

COTERIE (KOTE uh ree) social set

KEY: COAT AIRY

LINK SENTENCE: A mink coat and an airy convertible are standard items in the upper class social set.

COUP (KOO) masterstroke

KEY: COO

LINK SENTENCE: Mata Hari would coo at officials while planning a masterstroke against them.

COVENANT (KUV uh nunt) formal agreement

KEY: COVER NUT

LINK SENTENCE: The reporter covered up that the senator was a nut as part of a formal agreement between his newspaper and the political party.

COVERT (KO vurt) hidden

KEY: COVERED EARTH

LINK SENTENCE: The treasure was covered with six feet of earth so that it remained hidden for centuries.

COVETOUS (KUV ut us) envious

KEY: COVERED EYES

LINK SENTENCE: He covered his eyes with envy when his neighbor drove up in a new Mercedes.

COWER (KOW ur) to cringe

KEY: COWARD

LINK SENTENCE: The coward cringed at the slightest danger.

COY (KOY) shy

KEY: COWBOY

LINK SENTENCE: The rough cowboy was shy around pretty women.

CRASS (KRASS) stupid, gross

KEY: GRASS

LINK SENTENCE: The beautiful wintergreen grass of my lawn was trampled over by stupid, gross trespassers.

CRAVEN (KRAY vun) cowardly

KEY: CRAVE IN

LINK SENTENCE: Although the knights craved the treasures in the dragon's den, all were too cowardly to win it.

CREDENCE (KREE dens) belief

KEY: CREED

LINK SENTENCE: The Apostle's Creed is an expression of religious belief.

CREDULOUS (KRED you lus) easily deceived

KEY: CREDIT YOU LOSE

LINK SENTENCE: If you don't keep track of your purchases on credit, you can lose sight of the amount you owe, because we are easily deceived as to how much we are spending.

CRITERION (kry TEER ee un) a standard

KEY: CRY TEARS ON

LINK SENTENCE: Anyone who cries tears on every challenging occasion cannot meet the Marines' standards.

CRUX (KRUKS) critical point

KEY: CRACKS

LINK SENTENCE: Cracks in a bridge can cause it to collapse if they are at a critical point.

CRYPTIC (KRIP tik) having a hidden meaning, mysterious

KEY: CRYPT

LINK SENTENCE: The vampire's crypt was hidden in a cave under the mysterious castle.

CULL (KULL) to choose from a group; to pick over and reject the inferior

KEY: CALL

LINK SENTENCE: Many call but few are chosen in professional football -- the coaches pick over and reject the inferior.

CULPABLE (KUL puh bul) guilty

KEY: CUP ENABLE

LINK SENTENCE: Fingerprints on the cup of poisoned tea enabled the detective to name the guilty man.

CULTIVATE (KUL tuh vate) to help grow

KEY: COLD THEY ATE

LINK SENTENCE: The cold fresh vegetables they ate helped Them grow into healthy adults.

CURRY (KUR ee) seek favor by flattery

KEY: CARRY

LINK SENTENCE: As the boy carried the girl's books to school, he sought her favor by flattering her on how smart she was in class.

CURSORY (KURSE uh ree) superficial

KEY: CURSE

LINK SENTENCE: All of the coward's cursing and threatening are just a superficial act.

CURTAIL (kur TAIL) to shorten

KEY: CUR'S TAIL

LINK SENTENCE: The cur's tail was shortened by clipping when it was adopted by the upper-crust family.

CYNIC (SIN ick) one who attributes selfish motives to all human actions

KEY: SIN NICK

LINK SENTENCE: Preacher Jones' sermons held that sin was so rampant that even St. Nick was a burglar, as the preacher attributed selfish motives to everyone.

D

DAIS (DAY us) raised platform at one end of a hall

KEY: DAZE

LINK SENTENCE: The VIP was dazed after falling off the platform at the end of the hall.

DAUNT (DAWNT) intimidate

KEY: DON'T

LINK SENTENCE: All the do's and don'ts of the Military school intimidated the freshmen.

DEARTH (DURTH) lack

KEY: DEATH

LINK SENTENCE: The death of many members of the desert expedition was caused by a lack of water.

DEBACLE (deh BAHK ul) disaster

KEY: THE BUCKLE

LINK SENTENCE: When the buckle on his parachute broke, it was a disaster.

DEBASE (duh BASE) degrade

KEY: THE BASE

LINK SENTENCE: The base accusations he made against his opponent only served to degrade his own image in the voters' eyes.

DEBAUCHERY (deh BAWCH ur ee) wild living

KEY: THE BATCH CHEERY

LINK SENTENCE: The batch of cheery college students engaged in wild living.

DEBILITATE (deh BIL uh tate) to weaken

KEY: THE LITTLE HE ATE

LINK SENTENCE: With the little he ate on that crash diet, it weakened him.

DEBONAIR (DEB uh NAIR) suave

KEY: THE BORN AIR

LINK SENTENCE: He was the perfect picture of the born aristocrat with his air of suave sophistication.

DEBUNK (dee BUNK) to expose false claims

KEY: THE BUNK

LINK SENTENCE: That is the bunk, Houdini said when he exposed the spiritualist’s false claims to contact the dead.

DECIDUOUS (deh SIJ uh wus) shedding leaves annually

KEY: DECIDED TO USE

LINK SENTENCE: The miser decided to use the beautiful trees, which shed their colorful leaves in the fall, for firewood.

DECIMATE (DES uh mate) to completely destroy

KEY: DECEIT MATE

LINK SENTENCE: Deceit in a mate can completely destroy a marriage.

DECLIVITY (deh KLIV ut ee) a downward slope

KEY: DECLINE

LINK SENTENCE: The sharp decline at that point caused many skiers to fall down the slope.

DECOROUS (DEK uh rus) dignified

KEY: DECORATION

LINK SENTENCE: The old general with his uniform covered by decorations cut quite a dignified figure.

DECORUM (deh KORE um) propriety

KEY: THE CORE

LINK SENTENCE: After eating an apple, to throw the core across the dinner table at your brother, hardly exemplifies propriety.

DEFECTION (duh FECK shun) desertion

KEY: DEFECTIVE

LINK SENTENCE: The airline's defective old airplanes caused the desertion of all its pilots.

DEFRAY (deh FRAY) to pay the costs of

KEY: THE FRAY

LINK SENTENCE: The judge ordered the individuals responsible for the fray to pay the costs of the damage.

DEFT (DEFT) skillful

KEY: DEAF

LINK SENTENCE: Although my grandfather is completely deaf, few people realize it, so skillful is he at reading lips.

DEFUNCT (duh FUNCT) dead

KEY: THE FUN

LINK SENTENCE: Have all the fun you can today, for tomorrow you may be dead.

DEGRADE (dih GRADE) to reduce in value

KEY: THE GRADE

LINK SENTENCE: The grade of "A" will be reduced in value if awarded too freely.

DEIGN (DANE) condescend

KEY: DANE

LINK SENTENCE: The haughty Great Dane would not condescend to roll over and play dead as his master ordered.

DELECTABLE (duh LEKT uh buhl) delicious

KEY: DELI TABLE

LINK SENTENCE: The deli food served on our table was delicious.

DELETERIOUS (DEL uh TIR ee us) harmful

KEY: DELI TERRIBLE

LINK SENTENCE: This deli is terrible; its food is harmful to health.

DELINEATE (deh LIN ee ate) to describe

KEY: DELI ATE

LINK SENTENCE: The food he brought from the little deli where he regularly ate was so good that we made him draw us a map to describe how to get there.

DELIRIOUS (deh LEER ee us) mentally confused

KEY: DELAYING US

LINK SENTENCE: My scatterbrained brother is always delaying us on our trips, as he's so mentally confused he keeps forgetting things.

DELUGE (DEL yooj) a great flood

KEY: DELI HUGE

LINK SENTENCE: The deli on the ark was huge to sustain Noah and family during the forty days and forty nights of the great flood.

DEMAGOGUE (DEM uh gog) leader who appeals to emotion and prejudice of the people

KEY: DIM AGOG

LINK SENTENCE: The dim people were all agog over the leader who appealed to their narrow prejudices.

DEMARCHE (day MARSH) diplomatic maneuver

KEY: THE MARCH

LINK SENTENCE: The general considered that the march of soldiers was more effective than any diplomatic maneuver.

DEMEAN (deh MEEN) to lower in dignity

KEY: THE MEAN

LINK SENTENCE: With the mean and petty attitude he had, he only lowered himself in dignity.

DEMISE (deh MIZE) death

KEY: THE MICE

LINK SENTENCE: The mice hoped for the death of the cat.

DEMOTE: (deh MOTE) to lower in rank

KEY: THE MOTE

LINK SENTENCE: When the sentry allowed the enemy across the mote, he was lowered in rank.

DEMUR (deh MUR) object

KEY: DIMMER

LINK SENTENCE: When they made the lights in the library dimmer to economize, the patrons objected.

DENOUNCE (deh NOWNS) to speak against

KEY: THE NUNS

LINK SENTENCE: The nuns took a vow to speak against Satan.

DEPLETE (deh PLEET) to use up the supply of

KEY: DEEPLY

LINK SENTENCE: They had to dig deeply into the earth when they used up the supply of water near the surface.

DEPRECATE (DEP reh kate) disapprove

KEY: DEPUTY ATE

LINK SENTENCE: When the deputy ate a fine dinner paid for by the gangster, the sheriff disapproved.

DEPREDATION (dep ruh DAY shun) plundering

KEY: DEPUTY DATE

LINK SENTENCE: The sheriff gave the deputy a deadline date to arrest those guilty of plundering the town.

DERANGED (deh RANGED) demented

KEY: THE RANGE

LINK SENTENCE: The cowboy, lost on the range for a month, became demented.

DERIDE (duh RIDE) to ridicule

KEY: THE RIDE

LINK SENTENCE: The horseback riding of the tenderfoot was so inept that the cowboys ridiculed him.

DERIVATIVE (deh RIV ut iv) based on another work

KEY: THE RIVER

LINK SENTENCE: The musical Big River was based on another work, namely, Huckleberry Finn.

DEROGATORY (duh RAHG uh tore ree) disparaging

KEY: THE RAGGEDY TORN

LINK SENTENCE: The raggedy torn clothes she wore brought disparaging comments from the other children.

DESCRY (deh SCRY) to catch sight of

KEY: DAYS CRY

LINK SENTENCE: On clear days, the child would cry out in the evenings as she caught sight of her father approaching in the distance.

DESECRATE (DES eh krate) to abuse the sacred

KEY: DIZZY CRATE

LINK SENTENCE: The dizzy movers dropped the crate with the religious statues, abusing the sacred objects.

DESICCATE (DES uh kate) to dry out

KEY: DAISY KATE

LINK SENTENCE: When he gave the daisy to Kate, she pressed it in her diary so that it would dry out and last forever.

DESPOTIC (dih SPOT ik) tyrannical

KEY: THE SPOT

LINK SENTENCE: The spot where Hitler met his end marked the end of Nazi tyranny.

DESULTORY (DES ul tore ee) jumping from one thing to another

KEY: DESOLATE STORY

LINK SENTENCE: The desolate house in the horror story was haunted by ghosts that jumped from one thing to another in the rooms.

DETER (deh TUR) to prevent

KEY: DETOUR

LINK SENTENCE: The detour sign prevented us from going our usual route.

DEUS EX MACHINA (DAY us eks MAH kuh nuh) something introduced from outside to solve a problem.

KEY: DAYS MACHINE

LINK SENTENCE: After Melvin had tried for three days to fix the washing machine, the neighbor's child came from outside to solve the problem by plugging in the cord.

DEVIOUS (DEE vee us) roundabout

KEY: DIVVY US

LINK SENTENCE: When it came time for him to divvy us crooks up our share of the booty, the boss hemmed and hawed in a roundabout manner.

DEVOID (deh VOID) entirely lacking

KEY: DUH VOID

LINK SENTENCE: Duh void of a gangster is entirely lacking in trustvoithiness.

DEXTEROUS (DEX ter us) skillful

KEY: DECKS TO US

LINK SENTENCE: The way he handled those decks of cards seemed to us too skillful for our poker game.

DIABOLICAL (dy uh BOL uh kul) devilish

KEY: DIE ABLE CALL

LINK SENTENCE: The witch claimed that although her evil master had died, he was able to call out to her by devilish means.

DIADEM (DY uh dem) a crown

KEY: DIED DIM

LINK SENTENCE: When the king died, his dim-witted son inherited the crown and nearly ruined the country.

DIAPHANOUS (dy AF uh nus) transparent

KEY: DIE PHANTOM US

LINK SENTENCE: After the king died, his phantom appeared to us, a transparent spirit.

DIATRIBE (DY uh tribe) a verbal attack

KEY: DIE TRIBE

LINK SENTENCE: When so many warriors died in the tribe, the natives ascribed it to a verbal attack by the enemy witch doctor.

DICHOTOMY (dy KAHT uh mee) a division

KEY: THE ACADEMY

LINK SENTENCE: The Academy Awards make a division between the top movies and the also-rans.

DICTATORIAL (dick tuh TORE ee ul) tyrannical

KEY: DICTATOR TERRITORY

LINK SENTENCE: The dictator ruled the conquered territory with a tyrannical hand.

DIDACTIC (dy DAK tik) intended to instruct

KEY: DIED ACTED

LINK SENTENCE: The drama teacher had the scene in which Romeo and Juliet died acted over and over again to instruct the students to perform it correctly.

DIFFIDENT (DIF ih dunt) shy

KEY: DIFFERENT

LINK SENTENCE: Because her accent was different, the foreign student was shy at first.

DIFFUSE (dif YOOZ) spread out

KEY: THE FUSE

LINK SENTENCE: When the fuse was replaced, the light spread out in all directions.

DILATORY (DIL uh tore ee) delaying

KEY: DIAL TOE

LINK SENTENCE: Although the robbery victim's hands were bound, he managed to dial the telephone with his toe, bringing the police on the scene without delay.

DILEMMA (duh LEM uh) a difficult choice

KEY: THE LIMB

LINK SENTENCE: Whether or not to climb out further on the shaky limb for his prized kite presented a difficult choice for the boy.

DILETTANTE (dil uh TAHNT) dabbler

KEY: DILLY TAN

LINK SENTENCE: She got a dilly of a tan while dabbling in swimming, surfing, water skiing, sailing, and a slew of other sports on the beach.

DILIGENT (DIL eh junt) hard working

KEY: DILLY JAUNT

LINK SENTENCE: The unethical congressman went on a dilly of a jaunt to the Bahamas at the expense of hard working taxpayers.

DIN (DIN) loud noise

KEY: DIN

LINK SENTENCE: He recited " Gunga Din" complete with loud noises representing gunfire.

DISAVOW (dis uh VOW) disclaim

KEY: DICE A VOW

LINK SENTENCE: After he lost everything at dice, he made a vow to disclaim all gambling.

DISCERNIBLE (deh SERN uh bul) clearly seen

KEY: THIS EARN NIBBLE

LINK SENTENCE: Everybody knows that this fisherman earns his every nibble, for he can be clearly seen in his boat from dawn until dusk.

DISCERNMENT (deh SURN munt) ability to see things clearly

KEY: THIS EARN MEANT

LINK SENTENCE: This fortune he earned for his advice meant he had the ability to see things clearly.

DISCOMFIT (dis KUM fut) upset, embarrass

KEY: DISCOMFORT FIT

LINK SENTENCE: Gertrude was discomforted, as her slacks fit so tight they upset and embarrass her.

DISCONSOLATE (dis KAHN suh lut) without hope

KEY: DIES CONSOLE LATE

LINK SENTENCE: When a husband dies, it is often difficult to console the widow over the loss of her late spouse, as the future can seem without hope.

DISCORD (DIS kard) disagreement

KEY: THIS CARD

LINK SENTENCE: This card found in his sleeve caused a disagreement at the poker game.

DISCOUNT (DIS kownt) to reduce the amount, to disregard

KEY: DISCOVER COUNT

LINK SENTENCE: The candidate discovered that the crooked officials' count reduced the number of his votes by disregarding the absentee ballot.

DISCOURSE (DIS korse) to discuss a subject

KEY: THIS COURSE

LINK SENTENCE: The professor said, "In this course, I will discuss the subject of abnormal psychology."

DISCRETE (dis KREET) separate

KEY: DISC CRATE

LINK SENTENCE: When he moved, he carefully packed his valuable collection of 78 RPM discs in a crate separate from his other recordings.

DISCURSIVE (dis KUR siv) shifting from one subject to another

KEY: THIS CURSED

LINK SENTENCE: This cursed habit of his of shifting from one subject to another is driving me crazy.

DISDAIN (dis DANE) despise

KEY: THIS DANG

LINK SENTENCE: Mama’s strongest cussword was this dang ..., even when she utterly despised something.

DISINGENUOUS (dis in JEN yoo us) not straightforward

KEY: THIS ISN’T GENUINE

LINK SENTENCE: This diamond isn’t genuine despite the Jeweler’s claim, as he is not straightforward in his dealings.

DISINTERESTED (dis IN truh stid) unbiased

KEY: THIS INTERESTED

LINK SENTENCE: In this country, we are interested in unbiased justice.

DISPARAGE (dih SPARE ij) belittle

KEY: THIS PAIR RAGE

LINK SENTENCE: This dance pair went into a rage when the critics belittled their act.

DISPARATE (DIS pur it) dissimilar

KEY: THIS PAIR ATE

LINK SENTENCE: This pair, Jack Sprat and his wife, ate dissimilar foods.

DISPASSIONATE (dis PASH uh net) objective

KEY: THIS PASSIONATE

LINK SENTENCE: This passionate groom could never be objective about his bride.

DISSEMBLE (dis EM bul) to hide one's feelings or thoughts

KEY: THE CYMBALS

LINK SENTENCE: When his boss' son played the cymbals throughout dinner, Vic had a hard time hiding his true thoughts and feelings.

DISSEMINATE (duh SEM uh nate) to spread about

KEY: DAYS IMMINENT

LINK SENTENCE: The cult believed the days of the end of the world were imminent, and sought to spread the word about.

DISSENT (deh SENT) difference of opinion

KEY: DECENT

LINK SENTENCE: The question of whether or not the movie was decent caused differences of opinion within the audience.

DISSIDENT (DIS ih dunt) a person who disagrees

KEY: THIS SIDE IN

LINK SENTENCE: You take that side and I’ll take this side in the debate and we’ll disagree publically.

DISSIMULATE (dis IM yah late) hide the truth

KEY: DISSIMILAR

LINK SENTENCE: The facts are often dissimilar from his reports, as he tends to hide the truth.

DISSONANT (DIS uh nunt) disharmonious

KEY: THIS SOUND AIN'T

LINK SENTENCE: When I played my bagpipes, the conductor said, "This sound ain't right; it's disharmonious with the rest of the orchestra."

DISTEND (dis TEND) to swell

KEY: DESTINED

LINK SENTENCE: When the fortune teller told him he was destined for greatness, it made his head swell.

DISTRAIT (deh STRAY) absent minded; inattentive

KEY: THE STRAIGHT

LINK SENTENCE: Milton can't keep his car from veering off the straight way, he's so absent minded and inattentive.

DISTRAUGHT (dis TRAWT) agitated

KEY: DISC WROUGHT

LINK SENTENCE: When the flying disc landed, it wrought havoc on the village, causing all the folks to become agitated.

DIURNAL (dy URN ul) daily

KEY: DIE URN

LINK SENTENCE: After the old Mr. Cranshaw died and was cremated, his widow visited his urn daily.

DIVERGENT (dy VERG unt) varying

KEY: DIVER GENT

LINK SENTENCE: The tough deep sea diver was a gent at social gatherings, varying his personality according to the occasion.

DIVERSE (deh VERSE) varied

KEY: THE VERSE

LINK SENTENCE: The verse of Shakespeare expresses varied sentiments.

DIVERT (deh VERT) to change the course of

KEY: DIVERS EARTH

LINK SENTENCE: The divers dug a channel in the earth under the river to change its course.

DOCTRINAIRE (dok truh NARE) dogmatic

KEY: DOCTRINE

LINK SENTENCE: In matters of doctrine, the religious leader was extremely dogmatic and would allow no argument.

DOFF (dahf) to take off (clothing)

KEY: DEAF

LINK SENTENCE: He was deaf until he took off his ear muffs.

DOGGED (DAW gid) trailed persistently

KEY: DOGS

LINK SENTENCE: The police dogs trailed the fugitive persistently.

DOGGEREL (DOG uh rul) loose comic verse

KEY: DOG RULE

LINK SENTENCE: "A dog could rule better than that fool," is an example of loose comic verse.

DOGMATIC (dog MAT ik) asserted authoritatively without proof

KEY: DOG AUTOMATIC

LINK SENTENCE: The dirty dog of a tyrant used automatic weapons to assert his viewpoint authoritatively.

DOLOROUS (DOH lur us) mournful

KEY: DOLED US

LINK SENTENCE: During the Great Depression, as they doled us out our rations, we waited mournfully in the soup lines.

DOLT (DOLT) stupid person

KEY: DOLED IT

LINK SENTENCE: After he inherited the money, he doled it all out to swindlers, who take advantage of such a stupid person.

DON (DON) to put on (clothing)

KEY: DAWN

LINK SENTENCE: The duck hunter arose at dawn to put on his hunting togs.

DORMANT (DOR munt) inactive

KEY: DOORMAT

LINK SENTENCE: The doormat is less inactive than that lazy oaf.

DOSSIER (DAWS yay) a collection of documents

KEY: DOZE SEE A

LINK SENTENCE: I am so bored by office work that I start to doze whenever I see a collection of documents.

DOTAGE (DOTE ige) senility

KEY: DOTTY AGE

LINK SENTENCE: We become dotty with age as we pass into the state of senility.

DOUGHTY (DAWT ee) brave

KEY: DOUGH TEE

LINK SENTENCE: The boxing champion said, "With the kind of dough they're paying me to tee off on opponents, it's easy to be brave."

DOUR (DOW ur) gloomy

KEY: DOOR

LINK SENTENCE: When his lady-love closed the door in his face, he became gloomy.

DRAWL (DRAWL) to speak in a drawn out fashion

KEY: DRAW

LINK SENTENCE: "Well, now draw pahdna," said the gunfighter in a drawn-out fashion.

DROLL (DROHL) funny

KEY: THE ROLE

LINK SENTENCE: In the role of Inspector Clouseau, Peter Sellers was hilariously funny.

DRONE (DRONE) to make a monotonous sound

KEY: DRAWN

LINK SENTENCE: A bow drawn steadily over strings makes a monotonous sound.

DROVER (DROW vur) one who drives domestic animals

KEY: DRIVER DROVE OF

LINK SENTENCE: A drover is a driver of a drove of animals.

DUBIOUS (DOO bee us) doubtful

KEY: DUE BIAS

LINK SENTENCE: Due to the judge's bias, it is doubtful that he will render a fair verdict.

DULCET (DUL sut) soothing to the ear

KEY: DULL SIT

LINK SENTENCE: Her husband thought the opera dull and refused to sit through it, but she found the beautiful music soothing to her ear.

DUPLICITY (doo PLIS ut ee) deceitfulness

KEY: DUPLICATE CITY

LINK SENTENCE: The treacherous mayor gave the enemy spy a duplicate of the city map, as he was the ultimate in deceitfulness.

DURESS (duhr RES) compulsion by threat

KEY: DRESS

LINK SENTENCE: He would dress in white tie and tails only after his wife compelled him by threats.

E

EBULLIENT (eh BULL yunt) boiling over with excitement

KEY: A BULL ENTER

LINK SENTENCE: In Spain, when a bull enters the arena, the crowd boils over with excitement.

ECLECTIC (eh KLEK tick) chosen from varied sources

KEY: ELECT TICKET

LINK SENTENCE: The voters did not elect candidates from a straight ticket but chose them from varied parties.

ECONOMICAL (EK uh NOM uh kul) thrifty

KEY: ECONOMY WILL

LINK SENTENCE: Some experts believe the economy will be weakened if everyone becomes too thrifty and reduces buying.

EDICT (EE dikt) decree

KEY: A DICTATOR

LINK SENTENCE: A dictator issued a decree abolishing free elections.

EDIFY (ED uh fy) to improve morally or intellectually

KEY: EDIT

LINK SENTENCE: The prude edited the works of Shakespeare with the idea that he was improving them morally.

EFFECTUAL (eh FEK chuh wul) effective

KEY: AFFECT ALL

LINK SENTENCE: A medicine that would affect all patients beneficially would be a very effective remedy.

EFFERVESCENT (EF ur VES ent) bubbly

KEY: EVER WASN'T

LINK SENTENCE: Did you ever see Dinah Shore when she wasn't bubbly?

EFFETE (eh FEET) exhausted

KEY: FEET

LINK SENTENCE: My feet were exhausted after finishing the marathon.

EFFICACIOUS (ef uh KAY shus) effective

KEY: EFFECT CASH

LINK SENTENCE: The effect of paying workers more cash was to make them dramatically more effective in their work.

EFFLUVIUM (eh FLOO vee um) a noxious vapor

KEY: HE FLEW VIA

LINK SENTENCE: He flew via airline because he could not stand the noxious vapors on the highway.

EFFRONTERY (eh FRUNT uh ree) boldness

KEY: IN FRONT

LINK SENTENCE: When the jester walked right in front of the king and stuck his tongue out, we were all shocked by his boldness.

EFFUSIVE (eh FYOO siv) unrestrained in emotional expression

KEY: A FUSE IF

LINK SENTENCE: He'll blow a fuse if you provoke him, and then he’ll really be unrestrained in expressing his emotions.

EGREGIOUS (eh GREE jus) extremely bad

KEY: AGREE JUST

LINK SENTENCE: All people agree who are just, that slavery is an extremely bad institution.

ELABORATE (eh LAB ur it) detailed

KEY: HE LABORED AT

LINK SENTENCE: He labored at making his model ship as detailed as possible.

ELAN (ay LAHN) flair

KEY: A LAND

LINK SENTENCE: The man who owns a piece of land of his own, shows a certain flair that the unlanded do not have.

ELICIT (eh LIS ut) to draw out

KEY: ELI SIT

LINK SENTENCE: With Eli Whitney's cotton gin, farmers could sit and draw out the seeds with ease.

ELLIPSIS (eh LIP sis) the omission of words from a sentence

KEY: ILL LIPS IS

LINK SENTENCE: His ill lips is the reason he omits words from his sentences.

ELUCIDATE (eh LOO seh date) to make clear

KEY: LOOSE DATE

LINK SENTENCE: Her mother let her loose on a date only after making it absolutely clear how she was to behave.

EMACIATED (eh MAY she ate ed) scrawny

KEY: MASH SHE ATE

LINK SENTENCE: No matter how many mashed potatoes she ate to gain weight, she was still as scrawny as could be.

EMBELLISH (em BEL ish) to adorn

KEY: ELM BELLS

LINK SENTENCE: The elm tree was covered with bells to adorn it for Christmas.

EMBROIL (em BROIL) to involve in conflict

KEY: EM BROIL

LINK SENTENCE: When Jack and Em broiled steaks on their outdoor grill, the smoke involved them in conflict with the neighbors.

EMEND (ee MEND) to correct

KEY: HE MEND

LINK SENTENCE: After Scrooge's dream, he decided to mend his ways and correct the mistakes he had made.

EMISSARY (EM uh sar ee) a representative

KEY: A MISSIONARY

LINK SENTENCE: A missionary organization sends representatives to other countries.

EMOLLIENT (eh MAHL yunt) soothing to the skin

KEY: A MOLE LENT

LINK SENTENCE: A mole on Helen's cheek irritated her face, so Georgia lent her a lotion to sooth her skin.

EMPHATIC (em FAT ik) forceful

KEY: HIM FAT IKKY

LINK SENTENCE: When his pupils called him a fat ikky slob, the principal’s reaction was forceful, to say the least.

EMULATE (EM yuh late) to imitate

KEY: AIM TOO LATE

LINK SENTENCE: You draw, aim and fire too late to imitate Hopalong Cassity.

ENAMORED (in AM ured) in love

KEY: IN AN ARMORED

LINK SENTENCE: Although the tycoon rode in an armored car, he was struck by Cupid's arrows and fell in love.

ENCOMIUM (en KO me um) praise

KEY: INCOME

LINK SENTENCE: George's vast income is the reason people praise him so much.

ENCYCLOPEDIC (en CY clo PEE dick) wide range of knowledge

KEY: ENCYCLOPEDIA

LINK SENTENCE: He was called "a walking encyclopedia" because of his wide range of knowledge.

ENDEMIC (en DEM ik) native

KEY: EPIDEMIC

LINK SENTENCE: The epidemic struck all the natives of the village.

ENDOW (en DOW) to make a gift of funds

KEY: IN DOUGH

LINK SENTENCE: He was "in the dough" when his rich uncle Made him a gift of funds.

ENERVATE (EN ur vate) weaken

KEY: ENERGY ATE

LINK SENTENCE: In an effort to boost his energy, the boxer ate so much, it weakened him instead.

ENGAGING (en GAJE ing) charming

KEY: ENGAGED

LINK SENTENCE: My son is engaged to a charming young lady.

ENGROSS (en GROWS) absorb the attention

KEY: IN GROSS

LINK SENTENCE: There is too much blood in those gross horror movies for me, but they absorb the attention of my children.

ENHANCE (en HANS) to make better or greater

KEY: IN HANDS

LINK SENTENCE: The power is in your own hands to make yourself better.

ENJOIN (en JOIN) direct, prohibit

KEY: JOIN

LINK SENTENCE: When two people are joined together by marriage, the pronouncement directs a prohibition against any man rending it asunder.

ENMITY (EN mih tee) hostility

KEY: ENEMY

LINK SENTENCE: The enemies expressed mutual hostility when they met.

ENNUI (ahn WEE) boredom

KEY: A NEW WE

LINK SENTENCE: If we study a new subject every year, we'll never experience boredom.

ENSIGN (EN sun) naval officer, flag

KEY: A SIGN

LINK SENTENCE: As a sign of patriotism, the naval officers carried flags in the parade.

ENSUE (en SOO) to result

KEY: SUE

LINK SENTENCE: My threat to sue him for libel resulted in an immediate retraction of his defamatory statements.

ENTHRALL (en THRALL) charm

KEY: ENTER ALL

LINK SENTENCE: When the great actress entered the room, all of us were charmed.

EPHEMERAL (eh PHEM uh ruhl) short-lived

KEY: A FAME REAL

LINK SENTENCE: A rock star's fame may be very real for a time, but it is often short-lived.

EPICURE (EP eh kyur) one with discriminating taste in food, wine, arts, etc.

KEY: EPIC

LINK SENTENCE: Epic poetry is enjoyed by those with discriminating taste.

EPILOGUE (EP uh lawg) part at end of book or play

KEY: A PILE OF LOGS

LINK SENTENCE: A bonfire was made on stage with a pile of logs at the end of the play about Joan of Arc.

EPIPHANY (ih PIF uh nee) revelation

KEY: EPIC PHONY

LINK SENTENCE: The coffee-house poet's epic was phony, but he thought it was a great revelation.

EPISTEMOLOGY (eh PIS tuh MAHL uh jee) the study of knowledge

KEY: A PISTOL TO MOLLY

LINK SENTENCE: Her teacher had to hold a pistol to Molly's head to fill it with knowledge.

EPITAPH (EP uh taf) inscription on a tombstone

KEY: A PIT AFTER

LINK SENTENCE: When you die, they drop your body into a pit, and after that, inscribe nice things on your tombstone.

EPITHET (EP uh thet) a descriptive term

KEY: A PITY THAT

LINK SENTENCE: It's a pity that the most fitting descriptive term for him is "crooked."

EPITOME (eh PIT uh me) essence, perfect example

KEY: THE PITS TO ME

LINK SENTENCE: Pop art is the pits to me, but to some it expresses the essence of art, and is the perfect example of avant garde creativity.

EQUABLE (EK quh bul) stable

KEY: EQUALLY ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: You are equally able to cope with adversity as with fortune, if you are emotionally stable.

EQUANIMITY (EE quh NIM uh tee) composure

KEY: EQUAL ANIMAL

LINK SENTENCE: The lion tamer was the equal to any animal in the cage as he faced them with composure.

EQUITABLE (EK que tuh bul) fair

KEY: EQUAL TABLE

LINK SENTENCE: The Washington hostess made sure the banquet had an equal number of tables for Republicans and Democrats, to maintain her reputation for fairness.

EQUIVOCAL (eh KWIV uh kul) ambiguous

KEY: EQUAL VOCAL

LINK SENTENCE: Although Senators Smith and Smoot were equal in vocal loudness, the content of Smoot's speeches was so ambiguous, no one knew where he stood.

ERRATIC (er RAT ic) wandering, unpredictable

KEY: A RAT ATTIC

LINK SENTENCE: A rat, when trapped in an attic, runs around in a wandering, unpredictable manner.

ERUDITE (ER yuh dite) profoundly learned

KEY: IRRADIATE

LINK SENTENCE: He irradiated brilliance as he was so profoundly learned.

ESCHEW (iss CHOO) avoid

KEY: HIS CHEW

LINK SENTENCE: His tobacco chewing caused all the ladies to avoid him.

ESOTERIC (ESS uh TER ik) understood by few

KEY: SO TERRIFIC

LINK SENTENCE: Many works of genius considered so terrific now were understood by few at first.

ESTRANGED (is TRANGED) kept apart

KEY: IS STRANGER

LINK SENTENCE: Often, the genius is a stranger to his fellows, kept apart from them by the uniqueness of his vision.

EUPHEMISM (YOO fah miz em) substitution of inoffensive terms for offensive ones

KEY: YOU FAMOUS

LINK SENTENCE: I said to the senator, "You famous people, speaking publicly, often substitute inoffensive terms for offensive ones, but I know what you really want to say."

EUPHONY (YOO fuh nee) sound pleasing to the ear

KEY: YOU PHONY

LINK SENTENCE: You're a phony even though your speech is pleasing to the ear.

EVANESCENT (ev uh NES unt) lasting only briefly, tending to vanish

KEY: EVER NEST

LINK SENTENCE: Don't ever build your house of straw, like a bird's nest, for it will last only briefly and vanish in the storm.

EXACERBATE (ex ASS er bate) to irritate

KEY: EX ACE BATTER

LINK SENTENCE: The old ex ace batter was irritated by the sportswriter's opinion that he ought to retire.

EXCORIATE (ek SKOHR ee ate) denounce strongly

KEY: EX SCORE RATE

LINK SENTENCE: Under the ex coach, the team's scores were so poor they were rated last, and he was denounced strongly by the fans.

EXCULPATE (EX skul pate) to clear of blame

KEY: EX CULPRIT ATE

LINK SENTENCE: The ex-culprit ate in celebration after he was cleared of blame.

EXEMPLARY (ig ZEM pluh ree) serving as an example

KEY: EXAMPLE PLAYER

LINK SENTENCE: Jackie Robinson was an example of a great baseball player, and served as an example of courage for all Americans.

EXHORT (ig ZORT) to urge

KEY: EXERT

LINK SENTENCE: His friends helped the runner exert himself to his limit by urging him on in the race.

EXIGENT (EX seh gent) urgent

KEY: EXIT GENT

LINK SENTENCE: He made a quick exit to the gents' room because of an urgent need.

EXONERATE (ex AHN ur ate) to declare innocent

KEY: EXTRA HONOR ATE

LINK SENTENCE: The extra helping his honor ate before the decision made him tend to declare the defendant innocent.

EXORBITANCE (ex OR buh tunce) something excessive

KEY: EXERCISE BIT ONCE

LINK SENTENCE: I do my exercise a little bit at a time now, because once when I did it excessively, I was sore all over.

EXPATIATE (ex PAYSH ee ate) to write or talk at length

KEY: EX PATIENTS

LINK SENTENCE: The psychiatrist's ex patients continued to write or call and talk to him at length about their problems.

EXPEDIENT (ik SPEE dee unt) immediately advantageous

KEY: EXTRA SPEEDY

LINK SENTENCE: Doing jobs in an extra speedy fashion may be immediately advantageous but compromises quality in the long run.

EXPEDITE (EX puh dyte) to handle promptly

KEY: EXPERT DIED

LINK SENTENCE: When the old expert died, the work slowed down, as no one else knew how to handle it promptly.

EXPEDITIOUS (ex puh DISH us) prompt

KEY: EXPEDITION

LINK SENTENCE: The expedition into the wild animal habitat must start promptly so we can be back before nightfall.

EXPEND (ex PEND) to spend

KEY: EX PEN

LINK SENTENCES: The ex con who robbed the bank had been released from the pen too early. He should have been made to spend more time in jail.

EXPIATE (EX pee ate) to make amends for

KEY: EXPECT ATE

LINK SENTENCE: I expect that since you ate your sister's candy, you will make amends by giving her yours.

EXPOSITION (EX po ZISH un) explaining

KEY: EXTRA POSITION

LINK SENTENCE: When the administrator created the extra position for his brother-in-law, he had a lot of explaining to do to the board of directors.

EXPOSTULATE (ik SPAHS chuh late) to reason earnestly with someone against something

KEY: EXPECT POST LATE

LINK SENTENCE: Since I expected the post to be late, I reasoned earnestly with him against mailing tax payments so close to the deadline.

EXPUNGE (iks PUNJ) erase

KEY: X'ED PUNS

LINK SENTENCE: The theater director X'ed out the puns from Romeo and Juliet to erase them from the script.

EXTEMPORANEOUS (ex TEMP uh RAN ee us) offhand

KEY: EX TEMPER

LINK SENTENCE: My ex-wife had such a temper that she would blow up at any offhand remark.

EXTENUATE (ex TEN yoo ate) to excuse

KEY: EXTRA TEN YOU ATE

LINK SENTENCE: The extra ten cookies you ate can be excused because Grandma makes them irresistible.

EXTIRPATE (EK stur pate) eradicate

KEY: EGGS STIR POT

LINK SENTENCE: After the eggs were stirred in the pot by Mama, she made an omelet that we quickly eradicated.

EXTRANEOUS (ex TRAY nee us) irrelevant

KEY: EXTRA TRAINERS

LINK SENTENCE: The school wasted money when it hired extra trainers to teach irrelevant subjects.

EXTRAPOLATE (ik STRAP uh late) to draw a conclusion

KEY: EXTRA PLATE

LINK SENTENCE: When I saw an extra plate at the table I drew the conclusion that we would have a dinner guest.

EXTRICATE (EX tra kate) to free

KEY: EXTRA TRICKY

LINK SENTENCE: The extra tricky crook could free himself from any jail.

EXUBERANT (ig ZOO ber unt) joyous

KEY: EXIT ZOO

LINK SENTENCE: As the hyena escaped through the exit of the zoo, it laughed joyously.

F

FABRICATE (FAB reh KATE) create

KEY: FABULOUS KATE

LINK SENTENCE: Fabulous Kate Hepburn created many memorable movie roles.

FACETIOUS (fuh SEE shus) joking

KEY: FACES SEE US

LINK SENTENCE: We turned our faces so the teacher could not see us joking about her.

FACILE (FASS ul) easy

KEY: FAST I’LL

LINK SENTENCE: I’ve done it fast and I’ll do it faster, it’s easy.

FACILITATE (fuh SIL eh tate) to make easier

KEY: FACE SILLY ATE

LINK SENTENCE: The face the silly child made when he ate his broccoli made it easier for him to tolerate it.

FALLACIOUS (fuh LAY shus) invalid

KEY: FALL ACTION US

LINK SENTENCE: In the fall and winter, football has plenty of action for us, but it is invalid to hold that the spring and summer have no exciting sports.

FALLIBLE (FAL uh bul) liable to make a mistake

KEY: FAIL ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: When we fail, we must be able to start over again, for anybody can make a mistake.

FALLOW (FAL o) uncultivated

KEY: FALL LOW

LINK SENTENCE: In fall, the low land lay uncultivated and in summer, the high ground lay uncultivated.

FANATIC (fuh NAT ik) someone excessively devoted to a cause

KEY: FAN ATTACK

LINK SENTENCE: The fan who attacked the umpire was excessively devoted to the cause of his team.

FARCE (FARS) a comic show, a mockery

KEY: FOREST

LINK SENTENCE: A forest is the setting for the comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

FASTIDIOUS (fa STID ee us) difficult to please

KEY: FAST TEDIOUS

LINK SENTENCE: The employees worked as fast as they could at the tedious job, as the supervisor was difficult to please.

FATUOUS (FACH uh wus) silly

KEY: FAT USE

LINK SENTENCE: Some fat people use silly excuses for overeating.

FEASIBLE (FEES uh bul) workable

KEY: FEES ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: Dr. Quako's first principle of medicine is that you must first pay his fees before he is able to develop a workable treatment plan.

FEBRILE (FEB rul) feverish

KEY: FEEBLE

LINK SENTENCE: She became feeble as her feverish condition persisted.

FECUND (FEE kund) fertile

KEY: FEE CON

LINK SENTENCE: The naive settlers paid a fee to the con-artist who claimed he could make their desert land fertile.

FEIGN (FAYN) to pretend

KEY: FAINT

LINK SENTENCE: Her faint in front of the handsome lifeguard was pretended.

FELICITOUS (fuh LIS uh tus) well expressed

KEY: FELLOW SIT US

LINK SENTENCE: May the spirit of Longfellow sit beside us and guide our pens so that our saga will be as well expressed as those of Evangeline and Hiawatha.

FERAL (FEAR ul) wild

KEY: FEAR ALL

LINK SENTENCE: Big city fold fear all wild creatures.

FERRET (FER et) to hunt

KEY: FEAR IT

LINK SENTENCE: "If you fear it, you'll never hunt it successfully,” said the big-game hunter.

FETID (FET ud) foul smelling

KEY: FEET

LINK SENTENCE: Everyone passes out when ol' "Bathless" takes off his shoes, his feet are so foul smelling.

FETTER (FET ur) shackle

KEY: FATTER

LINK SENTENCE: He keeps getting fatter as his appetite is a shackle holding him to the table.

FIASCO (fee ASS ko) a complete failure

KEY: FEE ASS CO.

LINK SENTENCE: Mishandling of the fees by the ass who ran the Co. caused the business to be a complete failure.

FIAT (FEE ut) decree

KEY: FIAT

LINK SENTENCE: Even the lowliest subject in the rich, utopian land had a Fiat sports car by decree of the king.

FICKLE (FICK ul) unpredictably changeable

KEY: FLICKER

LINK SENTENCE: The flicker of a candle in a drafty room is unpredictably changeable.

FILIBUSTER (FIL uh bus tur) long speech

KEY: FELL AND BUSTED

LINK SENTENCE: I fell and busted my head when I fell asleep during the long speech.

FINITE (FY nite) having limits

KEY: FIND NIGHT

LINK SENTENCE: Superman could not find Lois Lane's black cat at night as even his sharp eyes have limits.

FITFUL (FIT ful) irregular

KEY: FIT FULL

LINK SENTENCE: It was difficult to fit her full bottom and little top because of the irregular shape of her figure.

FLACCID (FLAK sud) limp

KEY: FLOW LIKE SIDE

LINK SENTENCE: The warm water flowing like a massage inside the hot tub made her limp with relaxation.

FLAG (FLAG) to lose strength

KEY: FLAG

LINK SENTENCE: When citizens belittle the flag, we will lose strength as a nation.

FLAIL (FLAYL) thrash

KEY: FAIL

LINK SENTENCE: You will fail your swimming test if you thrash around like that.

FLAMBOYANT (flam BOY unt) flashy

KEY: FLAME BOY AUNT

LINK SENTENCE: Her first flame when she was a girl, was a boy who drove my aunt around on his flashy red tricycle.

FLAUNT (FLAWNT) to show off

KEY: FLOAT

LINK SENTENCE: He floated on his back down the rapids to show off.

FLEDGLING (FLEJ ling) a young bird

KEY: FLED JAILING

LINK SENTENCE: The criminal who fled from jailing flitted about like a young bird out of its nest.

FLIPPANT (FLIP punt) frivolous

KEY: FLIP AUNT

LINK SENTENCE: When he did a back-flip in front of his fiance's elderly aunt, she thought him too frivolous to marry.

FLORID (FLAWR id) ruddy

KEY: FLOW RED

LINK SENTENCE: The flow of red blood can be seen in his ruddy face.

FLOTSAM (FLOT sum) floating pieces of wreckage

KEY: FLOAT SOME

LINK SENTENCE: After the ship sank, we could see floating, some pieces of wreckage in the water.

FLOURISH (FLUR ish) to grow abundantly

KEY: FLOWERS RICH

LINK SENTENCE: The flowers in the rich soil grew abundantly.

FLUKE (FLOOK) stroke of luck

KEY: FLEW KEY

LINK SENTENCE: When we flew to Key West in the hurricane, we survived only by a stroke of luck.

FOIBLE (FOY bul) weakness in character

KEY: FOILED

LINK SENTENCE: He repeatedly foiled his own plans for success because of a weakness in his character.

FOIST (FOYST) to palm off

KEY: FAST

LINK SENTENCE: By fast talking the salesman palmed the lemon off.

FOMENT (fuh MENT) to stir up

KEY: FOAM MEANT

LINK SENTENCE: The foam on Big Bad John's mouth meant he was about to stir up trouble.

FOP (FOP) one who wears flashy clothes

KEY: FLOP

LINK SENTENCE: We laughed when the pretentious snob flopped into the mud, ruining his flashy clothes.

FORBEARANCE (fore BARE unce) refraining from, patience

KEY: FOR BEARING

LINK SENTENCE: For bearing with me and refraining from homicide, my wife should receive a medal for patience.

FOREBODING (fore BO ding) a feeling of something bad about to happen

KEY: BEFORE BOATING

LINK SENTENCE: Before boating on the Titanic, my grandfather had a feeling of something bad about to happen.

FORENSIC (fuh REN sick) legal, relating to public debate

KEY: FOREIGN SICK

LINK SENTENCE: When the foreign president got sick and died at the white house, it resulted in a mass of legal investigation and public debate over the cause of death.

FORESTALL (fore STALL) to prevent

KEY: FORE STALL

LINK SENTENCE: The armed guard was stationed before the thoroughbred's stall to prevent the 10-million-dollar horse from being stolen.

FORFEIT (FAWR fut) lose the right to something

KEY: FOR FAT

LINK SENTENCE: For fat people to get thin, they must lose the right to eat everything they want.

FORTITUDE (FORT uh tude) courage, tenacity

KEY: FORT ETUDE

LINK SENTENCE: To honor the brave soldiers who defended the fort, the composer wrote an etude praising their courage and tenacity.

FORTUITOUS (for TOO ut us) accidental

KEY: FORTUNE TO US

LINK SENTENCE: That the events predicted on the fortune cookies actually happened to us was only accidental.

FOSTER (FAWS tur) to promote the development of

KEY: FASTER

LINK SENTENCE: He ran the race faster than last year because his training promoted the development of speed.

FRACTIOUS (FRACK shus) unruly

KEY: FRACTURED

LINK SENTENCE: The movie star suffered a fractured leg when mobbed by unruly fans.

FRAILTY (FRAYL tee) weakness

KEY: FAIL TIE

LINK SENTENCE: I even failed the attempt to tie my shoestrings, due to weakness when I was ill.

FRAUGHT (FRAWT) bearing menace

KEY: FRIGHT

LINK SENTENCE: The passengers got a fright from the storm bearing menace to the ship.

FRENETIC (fruh NET ik) frantic

KEY: FRENZY NET

LINK SENTENCE: The tiger went into a frenzy when caught in the net and became frantic to escape.

FRESHET (FRESH ut) an overflow of a stream caused by rain or melting snow.

KEY: FRESH ET

LINK SENTENCE: The fresh fish were et up quickly after they were washed up in the overflow.

FRITTER (FRIT ur) to waste away little by little

KEY: FLITTER

LINK SENTENCE: The way you flitter from one task to another, you waste away your day little by little without finishing anything.

FRIVOLOUS (FRIV uh lus) not serious

KEY: FIRE VOLLEYS US

LINK SENTENCE: When Sarge said he would fire volleys at us if we didn't march smartly, he was not serious.

FROND (FROND) leaf of a fern

KEY: FRIEND

LINK SENTENCE: Her friend watered the leaves of the fern when she was on vacation.

FROWARD (FRO wurd) contrary

KEY: FORWARD

LINK SENTENCE: The armed man continued to come forward, contrary to police orders to halt.

FROWZY (FRAU zee) messy

KEY: FRIZZY

LINK SENTENCE: Her frizzy hair reflected her messy grooming.

FRUGAL (FROO gul) thrifty

KEY: FEW GAL

LINK SENTENCE: Few gals so young and rich are so thrifty.

FRUITION (froo ISH un) coming to fulfillment

KEY: FRUITS

LINK SENTENCE: The fruits of his labor were great riches when they came to fulfillment.

FULMINATE (FULL muh nate) to denounce harshly

KEY: FULL MINUTE

LINK SENTENCE: Senator Claighorn strung one abusive name after another without repeating himself for a full minute, denouncing his opponent harshly.

FULSOME (FULL sum) disgusting

KEY: FULL SOME

LINK SENTENCE: The way his mouth is always full of some extravagant flattery for his boss is disgusting.

FURTIVE (FUR tiv) stealthy

KEY: FUGITIVE

LINK SENTENCE: The fugitive crept stealthily away when he saw the policeman.

FUSILLADE (FYOO suh lahd) a rapid outburst (gunfire)

KEY: FUSSED A LOT

LINK SENTENCE: When the demonstrators fussed a lot against the government, the dictator responded with a rapid outburst of gunfire.

G

GAFFE (GAF) social blunder

KEY: GOOF

LINK SENTENCE: He really goofed when he made that social blunder before his boss' wife.

GAINSAY (gain SAY) contradict

KEY: GAIN SAY

LINK SENTENCE: He had nothing to gain by saying anything to contradict his boss, but he did it anyway as a matter of principle.

GALA (GAY luh) festive

KEY: GALLO

LINK SENTENCE: Gallo wine was served at the festive gathering.

GAMBOL (GAM bul) to frolic

KEY: GAMBLE

LINK SENTENCE: They gambled and frolicked in Las Vegas the whole weekend.

GARISH (GARE ish) showy

KEY: GEAR RICH

LINK SENTENCE: The fishing gear the rich man used was more showy than effective.

GARNER (GAR nur) gather

KEY: GAR NEAR

LINK SENTENCE: When the gar came near the boat, the nets gathered them up.

GARNISH (GAR nish) adorn

KEY: GAR IN DISH

LINK SENTENCE: The gar in the dish was adorned with sprigs of parsley.

GARRULOUS (GARE ru lus) talking too much

KEY: GARRISON

LINK SENTENCE: Leave was cancelled for the whole garrison because the troops talked too much about their assignment.

GAUCHE (GOHSH) awkward

KEY: GO! SHOO!

LINK SENTENCE: Madame Van Updyke hissed, "Go! Shoo!" to the awkward waiter after he spilled the caviar down her back.

GAUNT (GAWNT) thin

KEY: JAUNT

LINK SENTENCE: His daily jaunt into the mountains made him thin and muscular.

GENIAL (JEE nee ul) friendly

KEY: GENIE ALL

LINK SENTENCE: The genie granted the wishes of all friendly people and put curses on all hostile ones.

GENOCIDE (JEN uh side) extermination of a whole people

KEY: GENERAL NO SIDE

LINK SENTENCE: The courageous German general during WWII declared he would fight for no side that advocated extermination of a whole people.

GENRE (ZHAN ruh) an artistic category

KEY: JOIN ROW

LINK SENTENCE: He joined a row of beer bottles together with ribbon and claimed he had created a new category of beer bottle art.

GEOPOLITICS (JEE uh PAHL uh tiks) the study of the influence of geography on politics

KEY: GEOGRAPHY-POLITICS

LINK SENTENCE: Geography-politics is the study of the influence of geography on politics.

GERIATRICS (JER ree AT ricks) medical specialty dealing with the elderly

KEY: JURY TRICKS

LINK SENTENCE: The jury of senior citizens wasn't influenced by the attorney's tricks as the elderly members were too wise.

GERMANE (jer MANE) pertinent

KEY: GERM MAIN

LINK SENTENCE: The germ is the main factor pertinent to disease.

GERRYMANDER (JER ee man dur) to alter a voting district for political advantage

KEY: GERRY SALAMANDER

LINK SENTENCE: During Governor Ellridge Gerry's term, the district looked like a salamander after it was altered by the legislature for political advantage.

GIBBET (JIB ut) a gallows

KEY: GIBLETS

LINK SENTENCE: The condemned man chose chicken giblets as his last meal before going to the gallows.

GIBE (JIBE) to jeer

KEY: JOB

LINK SENTENCE: The workers who crossed picket lines to go on the job were jeered by the strikers.

GIRDER (GURD ur) a steel beam

KEY: GIRDLE

LINK SENTENCE: My 300-pound grandma's girdle is reinforced with steel beams.

GIST (JIST) main point

KEY: JUST

LINK SENTENCE: That my candidate for judge is a just man is the main point of my argument for his election.

GLEAN (GLEEN) to gather bit by bit

KEY: GLEAM

LINK SENTENCE: The prospector's gold nuggets gleamed as he gathered them bit by bit.

GLIB (GLIB) fluent but superficial

KEY: GLITTER LIP

LINK SENTENCE: The glittering words from his lips were fluent but superficial.

GLOAMING (GLOW ming) dusk

KEY: GO ROAMING

LINK SENTENCE: It's dangerous to go roaming the streets after dusk in the city.

GLOAT (GLOWT) to think of something with pride

KEY: GLOWED

LINK SENTENCE: He glowed with pride at the thought of his victory.

GLOWER (FLAHW ur) to look at angrily

KEY: GLOWED

LINK SENTENCE: The witch's eyes glowed like red coals as she looked at Dorothy angrily.

GLUT (GLUT) stuff full

KEY: GLUTTON

LINK SENTENCE: The glutton stuffed himself full of apple pie.

GNARLED (NARLED) bent, knotty

KEY: GNAWED

LINK SENTENCE: My dog gnawed my walking stick so much that it is bent and knotty.

GOAD (GODE) taunt

KEY: GOAT

LINK SENTENCE: The goat will butt you if you taunt him.

GOSSAMER (GAHS uh mur) light, delicate

KEY: GO SUMMER

LINK SENTENCE: You can go all summer long wearing light and delicate material.

GOURMAND (gur MAHND) individual fond of food in large quantities

KEY: GO MAN

LINK SENTENCE: We shouted, "Go, man!" at Uncle Tim as he wolfed down large quantities at the pie eating contest.

GOURMET (gur MAY) a connoisseur of fine food

KEY: GORE MAY

LINK SENTENCE: Gore may appeal to the connoisseur of fine food but like my steaks well done.

GRANDILOQUENT (gran DIL uh quent) using high flown, flowery language

KEY: GRAND ELOQUENT

LINK SENTENCE: My grandfather spoke eloquently in the high-flown, flowery language of his era.

GRANDIOSE (GRAN dee ohs) showy

KEY: GRAND DOORS

LINK SENTENCE: The grand doors with their gold trim are too showy for this little shack.

GRAPHIC (GRAF ik) vivid

KEY: GRAPH

LINK SENTENCE: The 1929 stock market graph gives a vivid picture of The Great Crash.

GRATUITOUS (gruh TOO uh tus) uncalled for

KEY: GRATUITY

LINK SENTENCE: The one-penny gratuity he gave the waiter to belittle him was uncalled for.

GREGARIOUS (grih GARE ee us) sociable

KEY: GREY AIR

LINK SENTENCE: Grey wolves travel in packs through the night air. They’re very sociable animals.

GRISLY (GRIZ lee) ghastly

KEY: GRIZZLY

LINK SENTENCE: The grizzly bear rearing up before us in the moonlight was a ghastly sight.

GROVEL (GRAHV ul) to beg

KEY: GRAVEL

LINK SENTENCE: The homeless man knelt down in the gravel road to beg for food.

GRUELING (GROO uh ling) exhausting

KEY: GREW LONG

LINK SENTENCE: As the days grew long in the summer, field work in the sun became exhausting.

GUILE (GILE) deceit

KEY: GAL

LINK SENTENCE: His paw told the country boy that big city gals were deceitful.

GULLIBLE (GULL uh bul) easily duped

KEY: GIRL ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: The girl was able to make her boyfriend think she was faithful, because he was easily duped.

H

HABILIMENTS (huh BIL uh munts) clothing

KEY: REHABILITATE

LINK SENTENCE: As part of their rehabilitation program, the former delinquents were taught to dress in neat, tasteful clothing.

HACKNEYED (HACK need) trite, overused

KEY: HACK NEED

LINK SENTENCE: The hack writer needed to use trite, overused expressions as he lacked imagination.

HAGGARD (HAG urd) worn out

KEY: HAG GUARD

LINK SENTENCE: The old hag guarded her warrior son as he slept, worn out by the day's battle.

HALCYON (HAL see on) calm

KEY: HALL SEEN ON

LINK SENTENCE: From the great glass-domed hall of the palace, the stars could be seen on a calm night.

HALLOWED (HAL owed) sacred

KEY: HOLLERED

LINK SENTENCE: The child was scolded when he hollered in the sacred place.

HAP (HAP) chance

KEY: HAPPEN

LINK SENTENCE: One should not let everything happen by chance, but should plan for the future.

HARANGUE (huh RANG) bombastic speech

KEY: HE RANG

LINK SENTENCE: When the chairman had had enough, he rang the bell to cut off the bombastic speech.

HARBINGER (HAWR bin jur) that which foreshadows something to come

KEY: HARP BINGE

LINK SENTENCE: The harp you heard during your last binge foreshadows what is to come if you continue your wild life.

HARROW (HARE oh) to torment

KEY: HORROR

LINK SENTENCE: In the horror movie, the monster tormented the heroine.

HAUGHTY (HAW tee) arrogant

KEY: HAW TEA

LINK SENTENCE: The king laughed "Haw, haw!" at the invitation to the commoner's tea party, as he was too arrogant to be courteous.

HEED (HEED) to pay attention to

KEY: HEAT

LINK SENTENCE: In the heat of the little classroom, it was hard to pay attention to the teacher.

HEGEMONY (heh JEM uh nee) preponderant influence of one nation over another

KEY: EDGE GEMS AND MONEY

LINK SENTENCE: The country's edge in its abundance of gems and money gave it a preponderant influence over other nations.

HEINOUS (HAY nus) wicked

KEY: HEH US

LINK SENTENCE: Walking down the lonesome road at midnight, we heard the "heh heh" behind us of the wicked witch.

HERESY (HEHR uh see) belief which deviates from accepted dogma

KEY: HER RACY

LINK SENTENCE: Her racy essays expressed beliefs which deviated from the accepted.

HERMETIC (hur MET ik) impervious to external influence

KEY: HERMIT

LINK SENTENCE: The hermit lived a secluded life impervious to external influence.

HETERODOXY (HET uh ruh dock see) heresy

KEY: HATRED OF THE OX

LINK SENTENCE: The belief that religion condones hatred of the ox is heresy in the countries where they are sacred animals.

HETEROGENEOUS (HET uh row GEN ee us) varied

KEY: HATE GENEROUS

LINK SENTENCE: The human race is comprised of people who hate and people who are generous and varied kinds in between.

HEW (HYOO) to chop

KEY: WHO

LINK SENTENCE: The killer in the "who-dunnit?" chopped up his victims.

HIATUS (hy ATE us) gap

KEY: HIGH AT US

LINK SENTENCE: The enemy planes attacking from on high dove at us through a gap in the clouds.

HIBERNATE (HY ber nate) to sleep through the winter

KEY: HIGH BEER ATE

LINK SENTENCE: He got high on beer so often after he ate in cold weather that he slept through the winter.

HIERARCHY (HY uh rahr kee) a group arranged in order of status

KEY: HIGHER ARK

LINK SENTENCE: Noah placed his more intelligent animals higher in the ark, arranging them in order of status in the animal kingdom.

HIEROGLYPHICS (hy uh ruh GLIF iks) Egyptian picture writing

KEY: HIGHER LIFE

LINK SENTENCE: The mummy went on to a higher life according to the Egyptian picture writing on the tomb.

HINDRANCE (HEN druns) an obstruction

KEY: HIND RAINS

LINK SENTENCE: The flooding that came behind the rains caused an obstruction on the road.

HISTRIONIC (HIS tree AHN ik) theatrical

KEY: HISTORY OF NICK

LINK SENTENCE: The history of St. Nick was made into a Christmas theatrical program.

HOARD (HORDE) to store up

KEY: HARD

LINK SENTENCE: Hardtack is stored up for long boat voyages.

HOLOCAUST (HAH luh cawst) great destruction

KEY: HOLE CAUSED

LINK SENTENCE: The great hole the earthquake caused in the earth wrought great destruction to the city.

HOMAGE (AHM ige) respect

KEY: HOME AGE

LINK SENTENCE: In our home, age receives its due respect.

HOMEOPATHY (HO me ahp uh thee) a system of medical treatment

KEY: HOME OPERATIONS

LINK SENTENCE: Home operations are a system of medical treatment not to be recommended.

HOMEOSTASIS (HO me uh STAY sis) the tendency of the bodily system to maintain internal stability

KEY: HOME STAY

LINK SENTENCE: Home is the place to stay on Saturday nights for the stability of your bodily system.

HOMESPUN (HOME SPUN) plain

KEY: HOME SPUN

LINK SENTENCE: At home, grandma spun the plain fabric we preferred over fancy store-bought material.

HOMILY (HAHM uh lee) moral lecture

KEY: HOMELY

LINK SENTENCE: The homely girl's self esteem rose after she heard a moral lecture on the greater importance of inner beauty.

HONE (HONE) to sharpen

KEY: HOME

LINK SENTENCE: She developed a profitable home business sharpening knives for her neighbor.

HOSPICE (HAHS pus) lodging for travelers, or shelter for the terminally ill

KEY: HOSPITALITY

LINK SENTENCE: Great hospitality was shown to my terminally ill grandmother in the lodging place during her final voyage home.

HUSTINGS (HUS tings) political campaigning

KEY: HUSTLE

LINK SENTENCE: In a close race, the candidate who hustles the most in his political campaigning will win.

HYPERBOLE (hy PUR buh lee) An exaggeration for effect

KEY: HIGH PER BOWL

LINK SENTENCE: When the economist said that prices would rise so high in the next ten years that soup would cost $1000 per bowl, I hope that he was only exaggerating for effect.

HYPOTHESIS (hy PAHTH uh sis) unproved theory

KEY: HYPE POT

LINK SENTENCE: The company's advertising hype that you will lose your pot belly with their diet pills is based on unproved theory.

I

ICONOCLAST (eye KAN uh klast) person who attacks sacred things

KEY: ECONOMICS CLASS

LINK SENTENCE: In the economics class, the radical professor attacked things held sacred, such as the work ethic and the value of thrift.

IDIOM (ID ee um) vernacular expression

KEY: IDIOT I AM

LINK SENTENCE: What an idiot I am, for taking his vernacular expression literally.

IDIOSYNCRASY (ID ee o SING kruh see) a personal peculiarity

KEY: IDIOTS CRAZY

LINK SENTENCE: Idiots and crazy people are not the only ones with personal peculiarities.

IDYLLIC (eye DIL ik) relating to peaceful rustic setting

KEY: IDLE LIKE

LINK SENTENCE: I could be idle like a country gentleman in this peaceful rustic setting.

IGNOMINIOUS (IG no MIN ee us) disgraceful

KEY: IGNORANCE MANY OF US

LINK SENTENCE: The ignorance that many of us have of our country's history is disgraceful.

IMMINENT (IM uh nunt) about to occur, threatening to happen

KEY: IN A MINUTE

LINK SENTENCE: I knew that in a minute the horrible thing that was threatening to happen would occur.

IMMUTABLE (im YOOT uh bul) unchangeable

KEY: HIM MUTE TABLE

LINK SENTENCE: Father insisted that each of us keep himself mute at the table until after the meal, and he was unchangeable in enforcing this rule even after we had grown.

IMPALE (im PALE) to pierce through with a stake

KEY: HIM PALE

LINK SENTENCE: He was so frightened by horror movies that it made him pale to see Dracula pierced by the stake.

IMPASSIVE (im PASS ive) unemotional

KEY: HIM PASS

LINK SENTENCE: The lady Trekkie, infatuated with Spock, tried to excite him by making a pass, but he was too unemotional to respond.

IMPECCABLE (im PECK uh bul) perfect

KEY: I'M PICKY

LINK SENTENCES: I'm picky about my three-minute eggs. They must be perfect or I won't eat them.

IMPEDE (im PEDE) to hinder

KEY: I'M PAID

LINK SENTENCE: The defense attorney said, "I'm paid to hinder the prosecution."

IMPERIOUS (im PIER ee us) haughty

KEY: EMPEROR

LINK SENTENCE: The emperor gave orders in a haughty manner.

IMPERVIOUS (im PUR vee us) impenetrable

KEY: EMPIRE VIA

LINK SENTENCE: Hannibal invaded the Roman Empire via the Alps but ran into an impenetrable barrier in the city of Rome.

IMPETUOUS (im PECH oo us) impulsive

KEY: IMP CHOOSE

LINK SENTENCE: Don't let that little imp choose his own dinner, as he’s so impulsive, he’ll stuff himself with candy.

IMPINGE (im PINJ) to strike against or encroach

KEY: HIM PINCH

LINK SENTENCE: Before the girl’s first date, her mother advised, “Don’t let him pinch you, as that encroaches on your personal space.”

IMPLACABLE (im PLAK uh bul) unable to be appeased

KEY: IMPIOUS PLAQUE

LINK SENTENCE: When his impious son scoffed at the plaque he had been presented, the philanthropist went into a rage and could not be appeased.

IMPLEMENT (IM pluh munt) to carry out

KEY: IMPLEMENTS

LINK SENTENCE: Carpenters use the implements of their trade to carry out their tasks of building.

IMPLICIT (im PLIS it) implied

KEY: AIM PLEASE IT

LINK SENTENCES: We aim to please. It is implied by our money-back guarantee.

IMPORTUNE (im pawr TOON) to ask urgently

KEY: IMPORTANT FORTUNE

LINK SENTENCES: Our father's invention is so important it could make him a fortune. We asked him urgently to patent it.

IMPRESARIO (im pruh SAHR ee o) manager of entertainment

KEY: EMPEROR SO

LINK SENTENCE: The emperor was so impressed with the show, that he hired the manager of the entertainment for the palace.

IMPROMPTU (im PROMP too) offhand

KEY: PROMPT TO

LINK SENTENCE: The ham is prompt to perform offhand at the slightest encouragement.

IMPROVIDENT (im PRAHV ee dunt) not thrifty

KEY: PROVIDENCE

LINK SENTENCE: When we chided her for extravagance, Lola answered that Providence will look after her, so she need not be thrifty.

IMPUDENT (IM pyuh dent) insolent

KEY: IMP PUT A DENT

LINK SENTENCE: The little imp put a dent in the king's crown and was beheaded for his insolence.

IMPUGN (im PYOON) to attack the integrity of something

KEY: IN PEW YAW

LINK SENTENCE: In the pew the crooked politician just yawned at the preacher's attack on his integrity.

IMPUNITY (im PYOON uh tee) without punishment

KEY: IMP YOU TEA

LINK SENTENCE: Mama said, "You little imp, you spilled the tea," but as it was accidental, she let me go without punishment.

INADVERTENT (IN ad VER tent) unintentional

KEY: IN ADVERTISEMENT

LINK SENTENCE: The picture of the fat lady in the cake mix advertisement was unintentional in its implications.

INANE (in ANE) absurd

KEY: INSANE

LINK SENTENCE: The insane man made absurd statements.

INBORN (IN born) present from birth

KEY: IN BORN

LINK SENTENCE: Music was in Mozart when he was born, literally present from the very time of his birth.

INCENDIARY (in SIN dee airy) fire setting

KEY: CINDERS DAIRY

LINK SENTENCE: Cinders flew from the dairy of Mrs. O'Mally, after her cow kicked over the lantern that set Chicago on fire.

INCHOATE (in KO it) just beginning, not organized

KEY: INC. ATE

LINK SENTENCE: The workers at Hot Dogs, Inc. ate up all the profits when the company was just beginning and not organized to control internal consumption.

INCIPIENT (in SIP ee unt) beginning to be

KEY: SIP AUNT

LINK SENTENCE: The little sip of wine my aunt Gertie took was the beginning of her wild life.

INCISIVE (in SICE ive) sharp

KEY: INCISORS

LINK SENTENCE: The Doberman's incisors are as sharp as knives.

INCOHERENT (in ko HEER unt) muddled

KEY: INK ON HER RANT

LINK SENTENCE: When he spilled ink on her dress, she ranted and raved in a muddled fashion.

INCONSEQUENTIAL (in kon sih KWIN shul) unimportant in consequences

KEY: IN CONSEQUENCE

LINK SENTENCE: In that there are no consequences if you don’t do it, it’s unimportant whether you do it or not.

INCONTROVERTIBLE (in kon truh VURT uh bul) unquestionable

KEY: IN COUNTING ROWS OF TABLES

LINK SENTENCE: In counting the rows of tables in the banquet ball, it became unquestionable that some guests would have to sit on the floor.

INCORRIGIBLE (in KAWR ih juh bul) incapable of being reformed

KEY: IN COURAGE ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: In an act of great courage, the priest was able to redeem gang members who were thought incapable of being reformed.

INCUMBENT (in KUM bunt) obligatory, the holder of an office

KEY: INCOME BENT

LINK SENTENCE: Despite his high income tax, the congressman bent over backwards to avoid loopholes, as he felt it obligatory of a holder of an office to be above reproach.

INCURSION (in KUR zhun) invasion

KEY: CURSE SHUN

LINK SENTENCE: Patriots cursed and shunned the occupying troops after the invasion.

INDEMNIFY (in DEM nuh fy) to compensate for damages

KEY: IN DIM NIFTY

LINK SENTENCE: The pedestrian who tripped in the dim light of the street sued the city for a nifty sum for compensation for damages.

INDIGENOUS (in DIJ uh nus) native

KEY: IN DIG GENIUS

LINK SENTENCE: In the archaeological dig in Peru, the genius of the native culture was apparent.

INDIGENT (IN duh gent) impoverished

KEY: INDIA GENT

LINK SENTENCE: In India, men are gents no matter how impoverished they are.

INDIGNANT (in DIG nunt) angry at something unjust

KEY: DIGNITY AIN'T

LINK SENTENCES: His slander is an insult to my dignity and ain't just. That's why I'm angry at him.

INDOLENT (IN duh lunt) lazy

KEY: IN DOUGH LENT

LINK SENTENCE: In fact, the dough you lent the lazy bum only eliminated his need for work.

INDOMITABLE (in DAHM ut uh bul) unbeatable

KEY: UN DOMINATE

LINK SENTENCE: Rocky Marciano's opponents were unable to dominate him as he was unbeatable.

INDULGENT (in DUL gent) lenient

KEY: DULL GENT

LINK SENTENCE: He is such a dull gent, that everyone tends to be lenient toward him.

INEFFABLE (in EF uh bul) inexpressible

KEY: AN EFFORT ABLE

LINK SENTENCES: It is only with an effort that I am able to even think about the terrible storm, much less describe it. The actual horror is inexpressible.

INELUCTABLE (in eh LUK tuh bul) inevitable

KEY: IN LUCK ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: No matter how much in luck you are in your life, you will not be able to escape death, the inevitable fate of all mankind.

INEPT (in EPT) incompetent

KEY: INN APT

LINK SENTENCE: The rooms at the sleazy Inn are apt to be filthy, as the staff is incompetent.

INERT (in URT) inactive

KEY: IN ART

LINK SENTENCE: The world champion loafer was the greatest in the art of being inactive.

INEVITABLE (in EV uh tuh bul) bound to happen

KEY: INVITE TABLE

LINK SENTENCE: If you invite King Kong to eat at your table, havoc is bound to happen.

INEXORABLE (in EKS uh ruh bul) relentless

KEY: IN EXORCISE

LINK SENTENCE: The demon in the girl was finally exorcised by the relentless efforts of the priest throughout the night.

INFER (in FUR) deduce

KEY: IN FUR

LINK SENTENCE: Watson, by the fact that she's attired in a fur coat, I deduce that she's wealthy.

INFRASTRUCTURE (IN fruh struck chur) fixed installations for military purposes

KEY: INFANTRY STRUCK

LINK SENTENCE: The infantry struck at the military installations.

INGENUOUS (in JEN yoo us) naive, straightforward

KEY: GENUINE

LINK SENTENCE: If Luke told you the painting is a genuine Picasso, it is not naive to believe him, for he is so straightforward, he never lies.

INGRATE (IN grate) an ungrateful person

KEY: IN GREAT

LINK SENTENCE: In not appreciating the great sacrifices his parents made for him, he revealed himself an ungrateful person.

INGRATIATE (in GRAY she ate) to bring oneself into favor

KEY: IN GRASS SHE ATE

LINK SENTENCE: Sitting in the grass at the family picnic, she ate everything her rich grandmother prepared, to bring herself into the old lady's favor.

INHERENT (in HEAR unt) present from birth

KEY: INHERIT

LINK SENTENCE: Her musical talent was inherited from her mother and present from birth.

INIQUITOUS (in IK wut us) sinful

KEY: INQUIRY US

LINK SENTENCE: Every few years, the ethics committee conducts another inquiry into us sinful members.

INNATE (in ATE) inborn

KEY: IN ATE

LINK SENTENCE: In an instant, the tiger ate the trainer, its inborn ferocity suddenly manifest.

INNOCUOUS (in NOK yoo us) harmless

KEY: A KNOCK TO US

LINK SENTENCE: A knock on the head to us rough-playing youngsters was harmless.

INNOVATE (IN uh vate) to introduce something new

KEY: INVITED ATE

LINK SENTENCE: The invited guests ate octopus pie as the hostess liked to introduce something new at her dinners.

INNUENDO (in yuh WEN do) an indirect hint about something

KEY: A NEW INDO

LINK SENTENCE: The candidate did not directly accuse his opponent of favoring our involvement in a new war in Indo-China, but he gave indirect hints to that effect.

INNUMERABLE (eh NOO mur uh bul) countless

KEY: IN NUMERAL

LINK SENTENCE: In practice, no set of numerals you can write in your lifetime would reflect the almost countless stars in the universe.

INORDINATE (in OR dn it) excessive

KEY: AN ORDINARY

LINK SENTENCE: An ordinary grocery bill of today would have been considered excessive by our parents.

INSATIABLE (in SAYSH uh bul) not able to be satisfied

KEY: IN SAT ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: In the circus tent, we sat where we were able to see the most, but our child was not able to be satisfied as he wanted to be close to all three rings at once.

INSCRUTABLE (in SKROOT uh bul) mysterious, not easily understood

KEY: UNSCREW

LINK SENTENCE: How to unscrew a " child proof" medicine bottle top is not easily understood by me, but my five-year old solves this mystery easily.

INSIPID (in SIP id) dull

KEY: IN SIPPING

LINK SENTENCE: In sipping liquor, you make your brain dull.

INSOLENT (IN suh lunt) arrogant

KEY: INSULTING LENT

LINK SENTENCE: The loan shark was insulting as he lent the money with an arrogant sneer.

INSOLVENT (in SOL vunt) unable to pay debts

KEY: IN SOLVE

LINK SENTENCE: The company's inability to solve its financial problems rendered it unable to pay debts and resulted in bankruptcy.

INSOUCIANCE (in SOO see uns) unconcern

KEY: ENSUE SCIENCE

LINK SENTENCE: To the dull student, the marvels that ensue from science are matters of unconcern.

INSULAR (INS yuh lur) of limited outlook

KEY: IN CELLAR

LINK SENTENCE: As his family had kept him in a cellar until he was forty, he had a limited outlook on the world.

INSURGENT (in SUR junt) rebel

KEY: INSURE GENT

LINK SENTENCE: The government could not insure any aristocratic gent's safety against rebels.

INTELLIGENTSIA (in TELL uh GENT see uh) people of highest intelligence

KEY: INTELLIGENT SEE YA

LINK SENTENCE: The intelligent man said to the intelligent Woman "See ya at the next meeting of MENSA (the organization of highly intelligent people)."

INTEMPERATE (in TEM puh rut) lacking in self control

KEY: IN TEMPER

LINK SENTENCE: You can see in his quick temper that he lacks self control.

INTERNECINE (in tur NES een) mutually destructive

KEY: ENTER NEST

LINK SENTENCE: When the hawk entered the eagle's nest, there ensued a mutually destructive battle in which both birds were killed.

INTERREGNUM (int uh REG num) the time between two governments

KEY: INTERROGATE

LINK SENTENCE: Many citizens were interrogated and tortured in the anarchistic time between governments.

INTERSTICE (in TUR stus) narrow space between things

KEY: ENTER STY

LINK SENTENCE: The city folk couldn't figure out how the huge hog entered the sty through a narrow space between the slats.

INTIMATE (IN tuh mate) hint

KEY: INTIMATE (IN tuh mut)

LINK SENTENCE: The couple had such an intimate relationship that she had only to hint to him what she wanted and he understood completely.

INTIMIDATE (in TIM uh date) frightened by threats

KEY: INTIMATE DATE

LINK SENTENCE: When the boy tried to get too intimate on the date the girl frightened him with threats that she would tell her father.

INTRACTABLE (in TRACK tuh bul) stubborn

KEY: IN TRACTOR ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: The farmer in a tractor is able to plow the field faster than one with a stubborn mule.

INTRANSIGENT (in TRAN seh junt) stubborn

KEY: ENTRANCE GIANTS

LINK SENTENCE: We warned our late friend to stay away from the entrance to the giant's cave, but he was too stubborn.

INTREPID (in TREP id) courageous

KEY: IN TRAP

LINK SENTENCE: Although caught in a trap by the enemy, the courageous soldier fought on.

INTUITIVE (in TOO ih tiv) knowing through insight

KEY: INTO IT IF

LINK SENTENCE: Speaking of trouble, she would really have got into it if it weren’t for her insight.

INUNDATE (IN un date) flood

KEY: NONE DATE

LINK SENTENCE: None of the scholars could precisely date the great Biblical flood.

INURE (in YUR) to accustom

KEY: IN A YEAR

LINK SENTENCE: In a year of living in Alaska, I've grown accustomed to the cold.

INVECTIVE (in VEK tiv) a violent verbal attack

KEY: INVITATION

LINK SENTENCE: When we extended the preacher an invitation to cocktail party, we received a violent verbal attack on the evils of alcohol.

INVEIGH (in VAY) to make a verbal attack

KEY: ENVY

LINK SENTENCE: It is only because of envy that literary critics make verbal attacks against successful writers.

INVETERATE (in VET ur it) deep-rooted

KEY: IN VETERAN ATE

LINK SENTENCE: In their reunion, the veterans ate a banquet in honor of their deep-rooted comradeship.

INVIDIOUS (in VID ee us) tending to provoke ill will

KEY: IN VIDEO ADS

LINK SENTENCE: In the candidate's video ads were allegations tending to provoke ill will toward his opponent.

IRASCIBLE (ir AS uh bul) easily angered

KEY: IRRITATE, RAZZ

LINK SENTENCE: Don't irritate or razz King Kong, as he is very easily angered.

ITINERANT (eye TIN ur unt) traveling from place to place

KEY: A TENDERFOOT

LINK SENTENCE: A tenderfoot ain't fit to travel from place to place with the hikers.

J

JARGON (JAR gun) specialized vocabulary of a group

KEY: JAR GUN

LINK SENTENCE: The gangster said, "I robbed the candy jar with my gun," meaning he robbed a bank, in the criminal's specialized vocabulary.

JAUNDICED (JAWN dissed) exhibiting envy or hostility

KEY: JOHN DICE

LINK SENTENCE: Honest John's lucky dice evoked envy and hostility from the losers.

JEOPARDY (JEP ur dee) danger

KEY: JEEP PARTY

LINK SENTENCE: Driving your jeep home from the beer party can place you and others in danger.

JOCOSE (joke OSE) playful

KEY: JOKE US

LINK SENTENCE: Father always joked with us boys about our girlfriends when he was in a playful mood.

JUDICIOUS (joo DISH us) showing sound judgement

KEY: YOU DISH US

LINK SENTENCE: The gourmet meals you dish us out show sound judgement.

JUNKET (JUNG kut) a pleasure trip

KEY: JUNK

LINK SENTENCE: Sammy bought junk souvenirs every time he went on a pleasure trip.

JUNTA (HUN tuh) a revolutionary group controlling a government

KEY: HUNTER

LINK SENTENCE: The hunters became the hunted after the revolutionary group gained control of the government and sought out the former government officials.

JUNTO (JUNT o) a group united in a common purpose

KEY: UNTO

LINK SENTENCE: He believed in doing unto others as you would have them do unto you because he hoped all mankind would unite in a common purpose to create a more humane world.

JURISPRUDENCE (joor is PROOD ins) legal philosophy

KEY: JURIES PRUDENCE

LINK SENTENCE: Juries must exercise prudence in applying legal philosophy.

K

KINDLE (KIN dul) to start burning

KEY: CANDLE

LINK SENTENCE: A candle was used to start the firewood burning.

KINSHIP (KIN ship) family relationship

KEY: KIND SHIP

LINK SENTENCE: Noah took animals of every kind on his ship, but the only people he took were those who had a family relationship.

L

LACONIC (luh KON ik) concise

KEY: LACK NICK

LINK SENTENCE: With their lack of unnecessary verbiage, Hemingway's Nick Adams stories were models of concise writing.

LAGGARD (LAG urd) slow, falling behind

KEY: LEG GUARD

LINK SENTENCE: He injured his leg during the National Guard parade and fell behind the others.

LAMBENT (LAM bunt) bright, flickering

KEY: LAMP BENT

LINK SENTENCE: The lamp was bent over by the storm, so that it sent bright flickering light on the street.

LAMENT (luh MENT) to mourn

KEY: LAMB MEANT

LINK SENTENCE: When she learned that the lambs were meant for slaughter, the little girl mourned.

LAMPOON (lam POON) satire

KEY: LAMP ON

LINK SENTENCE: The comedian put a lamp on his head to do a satire of Starlight Express.

LASCIVIOUS (luh SIVE ee us) lustful

KEY: LASS CIVILIZE US

LINK SENTENCE: A pretty lass can civilize us lustful men.

LASSITUDE (LASS uh tood) weariness

KEY: LASSIE

LINK SENTENCE: After a long hard day of saving human lives, Lassie, overcome with weariness, retreated to her doghouse for a snooze.

LATITUDE (LAT uh tood) freedom of action

KEY: LADDER TIED

LINK SENTENCE: The ladder was tied securely to the tree to give him safe freedom of action as he saved the cat.

LAUDABLE (LAW duh bul) worthy of praise

KEY: LORD ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: The preacher said that because the Lord was able to do anything, He was worthy of praise.

LAVE (LAVE) to wash

KEY: LAVATORY

LINK SENTENCE: Use the lavatory to wash your dirty face.

LAVISH (LAV ish) luxurious

KEY: LAVA WASHED

LINK SENTENCE: The lava washed away the luxurious mountain villa when the volcano erupted.

LAX (LAX) careless

KEY: LACKS

LINK SENTENCE: That mechanic lacks customers because he is so careless in his work.

LEAVEN (LEV un) to raise dough

KEY: LEAVE IN

LINK SENTENCE: Her mother taught her to leave the bread in the oven until the dough rises.

LEVEE (LEV ee) an embankment on a river

KEY: LEVI

LINK SENTENCE: Men wearing Levi jeans built the embankment on the river.

LEVERAGE (LEV uh rij) influence

KEY: LEVEL AGE

LINK SENTENCE: The level head of advanced age gives the elderly great influence in most cultures.

LEVITY (LEV eh tee) frivolity

KEY: LEVITATE

LINK SENTENCE: The magician made silly Suzie levitate, saying that lightness of body comes from frivolity of mind.

LEXICON (LEX uh kun) a dictionary

KEY: LACKS CAN

LINK SENTENCE: Anyone who lacks a broad vocabulary can improve it with proper use of a dictionary.

LIAISON (LEE ay zon) communication between groups

KEY: LAZY SON

LINK SENTENCE: When the general put his lazy son in charge of making communication between divisions of the army, disaster resulted.

LIBELOUS (LY buh lus) damaging to the reputation

KEY: LIE BULL

LINK SENTENCE: The politician's statements were full of lies and bull as he attempted to damage his opponent's reputation.

LIGNEOUS (LIG nee us) woody

KEY: LEG KNEE

LINK SENTENCE: The pirate's leg from the knee down was woody.

LIMPID (LIM pud) clear, transparent

KEY: LIMP

LINK SENTENCE: I limped for a week after stepping on glass so clear and transparent I could not see it.

LINGUISTICS (ling GWIS ticks) the study of language

KEY: LINGO STICKS

LINK SENTENCE: The lingo of every country he visits sticks in his memory, as he has a deep love of the study of language.

LISTLESS (LIST lis) lacking energy

KEY: LISTEN LESS

LINK SENTENCE: The student listened less to the lecturer at the end of the day when he lacked energy.

LITIGATE (LIT uh gate) carry on a lawsuit

KEY: LITTER GATE

LINK SENTENCE: When my neighbor dumped his litter over my gate, I filed a lawsuit.

LOATH (LOHTH) unwilling

KEY: LOAF

LINK SENTENCE: The loafers were unwilling to work.

LOLL (LAHL) to hang out lazily

KEY: LOWLY

LINK SENTENCE: Lowly beach bums hang out lazily by the sea.

LOPE (LOPE) run at an easy pace

KEY: LEAP

LINK SENTENCE: In a race, the young leap to the finish, while the older competitors run at an easy pace.

LOWING (LO ing) mooing

KEY: LOW

LINK SENTENCE: The city folk were startled by the low — pitched mooing of the cattle.

LUGUBRIOUS (leh GOO bree us) mournful

KEY: LUG GOO

LINK SENTENCE: As the townspeople lugged their belongings out of the muddy goo after the flood, they wailed a mournful cry.

LUMEN (LOO mun) a measure of light intensity

KEY: ILLUMINATED MEN

LINK SENTENCE: As the spotlight illuminated the men on the stage, the intensity of the light could be measured by the brightness of the actors' faces.

LUMINOUS (LOO muh nus) bright

KEY: LOOMING US

LINK SENTENCE: Looming over us were the bright stars.

M

MACABRE (muh CAHB ruh) horrible

KEY: MACARONI COBB

LINK SENTENCE: Her recipe for macaroni and corn cobb was absolutely horrible.

MACE (MACE) medieval war club

KEY: MACE

LINK SENTENCE: The knight in armor looked strange carrying a can of Mace instead of his medieval war club.

MACERATE (MASS uh rate) to soften by soakin

KEY: MISER ATE

LINK SENTENCE: The miser ate cheap meat softened by soaking in tenderizer.

MACHETE (muh SHET ee) large knife for hacking

KEY: MASHED TEA

LINK SENTENCE: The witch doctor mashed up the tea leaves after hacking them up with a large knife to make the potion.

MACHINATION (mak uh NAY shun) plot

KEY: MACHINE NATION

LINK SENTENCE: Using the diabolical machine he invented, the mad scientist would have conquered the nation, had his plot succeeded.

MADRIGAL (MAD reh gul) a song for several voices in harmony

KEY: MAD REGAL

LINK SENTENCE: His mad regal Majesty King George commanded a group of birds to sing in harmony.

MAGNANIMOUS (mag NAN uh mus) generous

KEY: MAGNIFICENT ANIMALS

LINK SENTENCE: The King gave his subjects a herd of Arabian horses, magnificent animals, to show how generous he was.

MAGNILOQUENT (mag NIL uh kwunt) using flowery language

KEY: MAGNIFICENTLY ELOQUENT

LINK SENTENCE: The great orator was magnificently eloquent, using flowery language in his speech.

MALAPROPISM (MAL uh prahp is um) a wrong word or expression

KEY: MALADY PROPER

LINK SENTENCE: The malady's proper name is Hansen's Disease; the frightening name "leprosy" is the wrong word.

MALEFACTOR (MAL uh fak tur) an evildoer

KEY: MALE FACT

LINK SENTENCE: In the good old days, every male accepted it as a fact that he was to protect females from evildoers.

MALEVOLENT (muh LEV uh lunt) having ill will

KEY: MALE VIOLENT

LINK SENTENCE: The male tiger was violent toward other males, as it bore ill will toward rivals for its mate.

MALICE (MAL is) a desire to do harm

KEY: MAUL US

LINK SENTENCE: The tiger will maul us if we get too close, as it has a desire to do harm to those who caged it.

MALINGERER (muh LIN guh rur) a person who feigns illness to avoid work

KEY: MALADY LINGER

LINK SENTENCES: If he really suffered from a malady, he wouldn't linger around the pool hall. He's just feigning illness to avoid work.

MALLEABLE (MAL ee uh bul) easy to shape

KEY: MAILABLE

LINK SENTENCE: A lump of putty is mailable in an envelope as it is easy to shape to fit.

MANDATORY (MAN duh tore ee) compulsory

KEY: MAN TORE

LINK SENTENCE: The man who tore up library books was sentenced to do compulsory community service in the library.

MANIFEST (MAN uh fest) evident

KEY: MAN FESTIVAL

LINK SENTENCE: That the man had been at the beer festival that weekend was evident from the way he looked Monday morning.

MARGINAL (MAR jun ul) on the edge

KEY: MARGIN

LINK SENTENCE: A margin is on the edge of a sheet of paper.

MARRED (MAWRED) damaged

KEY: MARS RED

LINK SENTENCE: The child claimed that it was men from Mars, the red planet, who used red crayon to damage the painting.

MARTIAL (MAR shul) warlike

KEY: MARTIANS

LINK SENTENCE: The Martians in The War of the Worlds were warlike creatures.

MARTINET (MART un et) strict disciplinarian

KEY: MARTIN NET

LINK SENTENCE: The child who ran wildly about the yard trying to catch the martins with his net needed the services of a strict disciplinarian.

MAUDLIN (MAWD lin) overly sentimental

KEY: M' DA' LIN'

LINK SENTENCE: The little boy told his girlfriend to stop calling him m' da' lin' in pubic, as he considered it mushy and overly sentimental.

MAUVE (MOHVE) a soft purple

KEY: MAW OF

LINK SENTENCE: We treated the Maw of our family like a queen on Mother's Day, even draping a purple robe about her.

MAVERICK (MAVE er ick) independent individual

KEY: MAY VARY

LINK SENTENCE: His ideas may vary from that of the group as he is a very independent individual.

MAWKISH (MAW kish) overly sentimental

KEY: MAW CASH

LINK SENTENCE: His Maw and his cash are the only two things he gets overly sentimental about.

MEANDER (mee ANN dur) to take a winding course

KEY: MEAN DARE

LINK SENTENCE: The mean girl dared her boyfriend to take a winding course down the mountain at full speed.

MEDIOCRE (meed ee O kur) only average

KEY: MEDIUM OK

LINK SENTENCE: His abilities are "medium ok" -- that is, only average.

MEDLEY (MED lee) an assortment of melodies

KEY: MEDICINE LAY

LINK SENTENCE: The best medicine for her as she lay sick proved to be an assortment of melodies, proving the healing power of music.

MELLIFLUOUS (meh LIF luh wus) sweetly flowing

KEY: MELODY

LINK SENTENCE: The melody of the string quartet sweetly flowed through the air.

MEMENTO (muh MEN toe) souvenir

KEY: MEMORY MEANT TO

LINK SENTENCE: The memory of our trip to Europe is meant to be revived by the souvenir we brought back.

MEMORIALIZE (meh MORE ee uh lize) to commemorate

KEY: MEMORY REALIZE

LINK SENTENCE: By keeping the memories of Washington and Lincoln alive, we realize the greatness of our national heritage, and that is why we commemorate them on President's Day.

MENIAL (MEE nee ul) servile

KEY: MEAN ALL

LINK SENTENCE: The cruel king was mean to all his servile minions.

MENTOR (MEN tur) teacher

KEY: MEN TORE

LINK SENTENCE: Men of learning tore up their old maps of the world after the greatest geography teacher of all time, Columbus, made his discovery.

MERCURIAL (mur KYOOR ee ul) changeable in temperament

KEY: MERCURY

LINK SENTENCE: Just as mercury changes in volumn with the temperature, so does his temperament change from day to day.

MERETRICIOUS (mer uh TRISH us) falsely or tawdrily attractive

KEY: MARY TRICK US

LINK SENTENCE: Mary tried to trick us into believing she was beautiful by wearing tawdrily attractive make up.

MERGER (MUR jur) a joining

KEY: MAJOR

LINK SENTENCE: A major corporation was formed by the joining of the two minor companies.

METAPHYSICS (met uh FIZ iks) the study of ultimate reality

KEY: MEDITATE PHYSICAL

LINK SENTENCE: The philosopher meditated on the physical basis of ultimate reality.

METE (MEET) distribute, give each his share

KEY: MEAT

LINK SENTENCE: At dinner, Mother dished out the meat, giving each child his share.

METICULOUS (meh TICK you lus) careful about details

KEY: MET TICKLE US

LINK SENTENCE: When we met the great chef, it tickled us to see how careful he was about the details of each dish.

MIASMA (my AZ muh) foggy atmosphere

KEY: MY ASTHMA

LINK SENTENCE: My asthma was aggravated by the foggy atmosphere of London.

MILLENNIUM (muh LEN ee um) a thousand years, a future period of great happiness

KEY: MILL LENIN

LINK SENTENCE: The poor workers in the mills believed Lenin's promise of a thousand years of great happiness through the Communist revolution.

MINCING (MINS ing) affecting dainty airs

KEY: MINCE

LINK SENTENCE: Alicia served mince meat pie on a silver platter, and ate it primly, affecting dainty airs.

MIRAGE (mir AHGE) an unreal image

KEY: MIRROR AGE

LINK SENTENCE: The child tried to go into the mirror, because, at his age he did not realize it was an unreal image.

MISANTHROPE (MIS un thrope) a hater of mankind

KEY: MISER THROW

LINK SENTENCE: The miser said he won't "throw money away" to charity as he is a hater of mankind.

MISCHANCE (mis CHANCE) misfortune

KEY: MISS CHANCE

LINK SENTENCE: When he missed his chance to make a fortune, he considered it his greatest misfortune.

MISCREANT (MIS kree unt) villain

KEY: MISS CRY OUT

LINK SENTENCE: Miss Heroine cried out for help when Mister Villain entered the scene.

MITIGATE (MIT uh gate) to make less severe

KEY: MITTEN GATE

LINK SENTENCE: The child put on her mittens before leaving home through the gate, to lessen the severity of the bitter cold.

MNEMONIC (neh MAHN ik) a device to improve the memory

KEY: PNEUMONIA

LINK SENTENCE: Grandpa had pneumonia so severe he lost his memory of who I was.

MODICUM (MAHD eh cum) a small amount

KEY: MORE TO COME

LINK SENTENCE: The cook promised that there was more to come when he served the small amount of appetizers.

MOLLIFY (MAHL uh fy) soothe

KEY: MILDER BY

LINK SENTENCE: She made the child's fears milder by using soothing words.

MOLLYCODDLE (MAHD ee kahd ul) to pamper

KEY: MOLLY CUDDLE

LINK SENTENCE: Aunt Molly cuddled the child constantly, pampering her too much.

MOLT (MOLT) to shed skin or feathers

KEY: MELT

LINK SENTENCE: It's skin seemed to melt off when the snake shed it.

MOOT (MOOT) debatable

KEY: MOOD

LINK SENTENCE: When the boss is in a bad mood, don't bring up anything debatable.

MORIBUND (MAWR uh bund) dying

KEY: MORE RIBBON

LINK SENTENCE: My proud grandmother asked that more ribbons be placed in her hair as she lay dying.

MOROSE (muh ROSE) sad

KEY: MORE ROSES

LINK SENTENCE: You should send your wife more roses when she is sad.

MOSAIC (mo ZAY ik) inlaid stone decoration

KEY: MOSES

LINK SENTENCE: The picture of Moses and the ten commandments was created with inlaid stone decorations.

MOTE (MOTE) a speck

KEY: MOAT

LINK SENTENCE: As Jack crossed the moat to the giant's castle, he could not be seen, as he was a tiny speck in comparison to its enormity.

MOTILITY (mo TIL ut ee) capability of motion

KEY: MOTOR ABILITY

LINK SENTENCE: The gasoline motor gave us the ability to travel great distances by increasing our capability of motion.

MOTLEY (MAHT lee) a mixture of different things

KEY: MOTTO

LINK SENTENCE: The motto of the United States, E Pluribus Unum expresses our union of a mixture of different peoples.

MULCT (MULKT) punish by a fine, swindle

KEY: MULCH

LINK SENTENCE: The crook who sold her a pile of mulch, telling her it was miracle fertilizer that would make a tree grow overnight was punished by a fine for swindling.

MUNDANE (MUN dane) commonplace

KEY: MONDAY

LINK SENTENCE: On Monday, after a weekend of frolicking, we return to our commonplace work.

MUNIFICENT (myoo NIF eh sunt) very generous

KEY: MAGNIFICENT

LINK SENTENCE: The magnificent magnate gave very generous bequests to charities.

MURAL (MYOOR ul) a wall painting

KEY: MIRROR ALL

LINK SENTENCE: The vain queen hung mirrors on all the walls of the palace, covering the beautiful wall paintings.

MYRIAD (MIR ee ud) many

KEY: MIRRORS

LINK SENTENCE: In the hall of mirrors, we saw many images of ourselves.

N

NADIR (NAY dur) lowest point

KEY: NADER

LINK SENTENCE: Ralph Nader seemed to believe that automobile safety had reached its lowest point.

NAIVE (nah EEV) simple, unsophisticated

KEY: MY EVE

LINK SENTENCE: When we first married, I called my wife “my Eve,” as she was so unsophisticated.

NASCENT (NAS unt) coming into existence

KEY: NICE SCENT

LINK SENTENCE: I enjoy the nice scent of flowers coming into existence in the spring.

NEBULOUS (NEB yoo lus) vague

KEY: NAB LOST

LINK SENTENCE: He nabbed the job you lost by giving your vague answers in the interview.

NEFARIOUS (neh FARE ee us) wicked

KEY: NEVER FOR US

LINK SENTENCE: The tolerant minister preached that it is never for us to judge another person as irredeemably wicked.

NEGLIGENCE (NEG leh junce) carelessness

KEY: NEGLECT GENTS

LINK SENTENCE: The service station's neglect of keeping the gent's room clean showed their carelessness.

NEOPHYTE (NEE uh fite) a beginner

KEY: NEED TO FIGHT

LINK SENTENCE: You need to fight the established companies for a share of the market if you are a beginner in the field.

NIGGARDLY (NIG urd lee) stingy

KEY: NAGGED HER

LINK SENTENCE: Her husband nagged her whenever she bought clothes, he was so stingy.

NOCTURNAL (nok TUR nul) related to the night

KEY: NECK TURN

LINK SENTENCE: You risked your neck making the U-turn at night in traffic.

NONENTITY (nahn EN tuh tee) an unimportant person or thing

KEY: NOT ENTITLED

LINK SENTENCE: You are not entitled to an audience with the king if you are an unimportant person.

NONPAREIL (nahn puh REL) having no equal

KEY: NONE PAR ALI

LINK SENTENCES: None were on a par with Mohammed Ali in the boxing ring. He had no equal.

NONPLUSSED (nahn PLUSSED) baffled

KEY: NONE PLUS

LINK SENTENCES: None of the college graduates could answer what two plus two was. The question baffled them.

NOSTRUM (NAHS trum) a quack remedy

KEY: NOSTRIL

LINK SENTENCE: The nostril-drop preparation claimed to cure colds was a quack remedy.

NOTORIOUS (no TORE ee us) infamous

KEY: NOT TARRY

LINK SENTENCE: Do not tarry when you come face to face with the infamous murderer.

NOVEL (NAHV ul) new and unusual

KEY: NO EVIL

LINK SENTENCE: In the past, if a widow wore no veil to the funeral it would have been a new and unusual practice.

NOVICE (NAHV is) a beginner

KEY: NO VICE

LINK SENTENCE: The office holder has as yet engaged in no vice, as he was a beginner in politics.

NOXIOUS (NOCK shus) harmful (especially of fumes)

KEY: KNOCK US

LINK SENTENCE: Since one whiff of the fumes from that sewage ditch is enough to knock us out, it's got to be harmful to anyone living in the area.

NUANCE (NYOO ahns) shade of difference

KEY: NEW ANSWER

LINK SENTENCE: The scholar thought he had found new answers to life's great questions in his interpretation of shades of difference of meaning in ancient scriptures.

NULLIFY (NULL uh fy) undo

KEY: NEWLY FIRED

LINK SENTENCE: The newly fired worker had been unable to undo the mess he'd made.

NUMISMATIST (nyoo MIZ muh tist) a coin collector

KEY: NEW MISS MIGHT

LINK SENTENCE: The new Miss Liberty gold piece might be highly valued by future coin collectors.

O

OBDURATE (OB duh rit) unyielding

KEY: OBJECT DURABLE

LINK SENTENCE: Any object made of cast iron is durable and unyielding.

OBJECTIVE (ob JECK tiv) without bias

KEY: OBJECTION IF

LINK SENTENCE: The attorneys would have no objection if the judge's decision was rendered without bias.

OBSCURE (ob SKYOOR) unclear

KEY: OBJECT CURE

LINK SENTENCE: How that magic healing object could cure anything was unclear to me.

OBSEQUIOUS (ob SEE quee us) servile, fawning

KEY: OBESE SEEK US

LINK SENTENCE: When we were children, our father owned a candy store and our obese friends would seek us out and be servile and fawning.

OBSTNATE (OB stuh nit) stubborn

KEY: OBJECTED STAND IT

LINK SENTENCE: When the opposing attorney objected to every question, he shouted "I can't stand it, how stubborn he is."

OBTUSE (ob TOOS) dull witted, blunt

KEY: OBJECT TO USE

LINK SENTENCE: The brutish clod objected to the use of "five buck words" in his presence because he was so dullwitted.

OBVIATE (OB vee ate) prevent

KEY: OBVIOUS ATE

LINK SENTENCE: It was obvious that the reason he ate his wife's burnt steaks was to prevent hurt feelings.

OCCLUDE (uh KLOOD) obstruct

KEY: A CLUE

LINK SENTENCE: The criminal's accomplice destroyed a clue in an attempt to obstruct justice.

ODIOUS (OHD ee us) repulsive

KEY: ODOR

LINK SENTENCE: The odor emanating from the sewer was repulsive.

ODORIFEROUS (o duh RIF ur us) giving off an odor

KEY: ADORE FOR US

LINK SENTENCE: Our wives adore exotic perfumes, but for us men, steaks on the grill give off the most enjoyable odor.

OFFICIOUS (uh FISH us) meddlesome

KEY: OFFICIAL TO US

LINK SENTENCE: The football official rules using instant replay were, to us, more meddlesome than helpful.

OGLE (OHG ul) to stare at

KEY: UGLY

LINK SENTENCE: The ugly man was stared at by the rude child.

OMINOUS (AHM uh nus) threatening

KEY: ARMING US

LINK SENTENCE: We started arming us when the enemy started threatening aggression.

OMNIPOTENT (om NIP uh tunt) infinitely powerful

KEY: I'M NIPPING PORT

LINK SENTENCE: When I'm nipping Grandpa's homemade port wine, I think I'm infinitely powerful.

OMNISCIENT (om NISH unt) all knowing

KEY: OMEN SENT

LINK SENTENCE: The dove was a good omen sent by the gods according to the all-knowing seer.

ONEROUS (ON uh rus) burdensome

KEY: HONOR US

LINK SENTENCE: All the parties our children gave to honor us on our 50th wedding anniversary got pretty burdensome after a while.

ONUS (O nus) burden

KEY: ON US

LINK SENTENCE: The Republican protested that the taxes on us, the middle class, were too great a burden to bear.

OPAQUE (o PAYK) impossible to see through

KEY: A PACK

LINK SENTENCE: The magician knew what card was on the bottom of a pack, even though it was impossible to see through it.

OPERETTA (ahp uh RET uh) a light musical

KEY: OPERA AIN'T A

LINK SENTENCE: With its tragic theme, an opera ain't a light musical.

OPPORTUNE (ahp ur TOON) suitable

KEY: OPPORTUNITY

LINK SENTENCE: When opportunity knocks, you must not only listen but give a suitable answer.

OPPOSITION (ahp uh ZISH un) something that opposes

KEY: OPPOSITE SITTING ON

LINK SENTENCE: The manager had to explain to the dense fighter that the man in the opposite corner sitting on the stool was the one who opposed him.

OPPROBRIOUS (uh PRO bree us) hateful

KEY: A PROBE

LINK SENTENCE: Senator Schlick protested that a probe of his expense account write-offs would be a hateful thing to do.

OPULENT (OP yuh lunt) lavish, wealthy

KEY: OPAL LENT

LINK SENTENCE: The rare opal she lent her friend to wear at the lavish ball displayed how wealthy she was.

ORNATE (are NATE) decorated

KEY: ORNERY

LINK SENTENCE: My ornery old uncle fumed when my aunt decorated their home in bright colors.

OSCILLATE (OSS ill ate) to waver

KEY: AS SILLY ATE

LINK SENTENCE: As the silly boy ate the whole cake, he was so stuffed he wavered when he walked.

OSTENTATIOUS (OSS ten TAY shus) showy

KEY: ASTONISH US

LINK SENTENCE: He always astonishes us with his showy magic tricks.

OUTGROWTH (OUT growth) a consequence

KEY: OUR GROWTH

LINK SENTENCE: Our growth of ear hair is a consequence of growing old.

OVERWROUGHT (over RAWT) agitated

KEY: OVER RAW

LINK SENTENCE: When his steak was served over-raw, he became agitated, as he hated rare meat.

P

PACIFY (PASS uh fy) to ease anger

KEY: PASSED BY

LINK SENTENCE: When he passed by the slum dwellings, it eased his anger over his own lot in life.

PAEAN (PEE un) song of praise

KEY: pain

LINK SENTENCE: The marathon runner forgot the pain in his body as he crossed the finish line to a song of praise by his family and friends.

PALATABLE (PAL uh tuh bul) pleasing to taste

KEY: PALACE TABLE

LINK SENTENCE: At the palace ball, everything on the table is pleasing to the taste.

PALLIATE (PAL ee ate) to cover up to make appear less serious

KEY: PAL ATE

LINK SENTENCE: After my pal ate all the cream puffs, he tried to make it appear less serious by saying he was removing temptation from me.

PALLID (PAL ud) pale

KEY: PAL LIED

LINK SENTENCE: Whenever my pal lied, he turned pale, and so always lost to me at poker.

PALPITATE (PAL puh tate) to beat strongly (a heart)

KEY: PAL PIT ATE

LINK SENTENCE: When my pal fell into the pit and the tiger ate him, my heart beat strongly with excitement.

PAN (PAN) to criticize harshly

KEY: PAN

LINK SENTENCE: When the audience threw pots and pans at the performers, that was the harshest criticism they could receive.

PANDEMONIUM (PAN dee MONE ee um) disorder

KEY: PAN MONEY

LINK SENTENCE: When the millionaire poured a pan of money into the crowd, it caused disorder.

PANDER (PAN dur) to cater to lower desires

KEY: PANNED

LINK SENTENCE: The critics panned the x-rated movie as catering to lower desires.

PANEGYRIC (PAN eh JEER ick) a speech giving praise

KEY: PAIN JEER

LINK SENTENCE: His face showed pain when the crowd jeered at his speech giving praise to the unpopular candidate.

PARADIGM (PARE uh dim) a good model

KEY: PAIR OF DIM

LINK SENTENCE: Does that pair of dim-witted rock stars think they are good models for young people?

PARADOX (PARE uh dox) a seeming contradiction

KEY: PAIR OF DOCS

LINK SENTENCE: Of the pair of docs treating the patient, one held that the problem was in his head, the other that it was in his foot, a seeming contradiction.

PARAGON (PARE uh gahn) model of excellence

KEY: PAIR OF GUNS

LINK SENTENCE: The movie cowboy with his pair of pearl-handled guns used to be the model of excellence for every red-bloodied American boy.

PARALLEL (PARE uh lel) similar

KEY: PAIR ALLY

LINK SENTENCE: The pair became allies because they had a similar philosophy.

PARAMETER (puh RAM ut ur) guidelines

KEY: PA RAM

LINK SENTENCE: Pa Ram and the Ma Ewe laid guidelines for Baby Sheep.

PARAMOUNT (PARE uh mownt) most important

KEY: PAIR MOUNTIES

LINK SENTENCE: A pair of mounties were needed to protect the most important people.

PARIAH (puh RY uh) outcast

KEY: MARIA

LINK SENTENCE: The "Black Maria" took away the criminals, the outcasts of society.

PARODY (PARE uh dee) a satirical imitation

KEY: PARROT DIED

LINK SENTENCE: Our parrot died mysteriously right after it gave a satirical imitation of my father.

PARQUET (par KAY) flooring of inlaid wood

KEY: PARKING

LINK SENTENCE: The parking lot of inlaid wood was pretty but not practical.

PARSIMONIOUS (PAR suh MO nee us) stingy

KEY: PARSON MONEY TO US

LINK SENTENCES: The parson never gave any money to us poor folk. He was so stingy, he kept the poor box to himself.

PARTISAN (PAR teh zun) supporter of a cause or person

KEY: PARTY INSANE

LINK SENTENCE: The radical party attracted insanely fanatical supporters.

PATHOLOGY (puh THOL uh gee) medical abnormality

KEY: PATH LODGE

LINK SENTENCE: The path to my mountain lodge is motorized to accommodate the medical abnormality I suffer from in my legs.

PATHOS (PATH oss) sadness

KEY: PATH OF

LINK SENTENCE: The path of life leads through sadness at times.

PAUCITY (PAW suh tee) scarcity

KEY: PAW CITY

LINK SENTENCE: Paw moved the family to the city because of the scarcity of work in the country.

PECCADILLO (pek uh DILL o) a slight offense

KEY: PECK OF DILL

LINK SENTENCE: Eating a peck of dill pickles at the table may be only a slight offense against good manners, but the punishment is major indigestion.

PEDAGOGUE (PED uh gog) a bookish teacher

KEY: PET A DOG

LINK SENTENCE: To pet a dog was a simple pleasure at which my bookish teacher turned up her nose.

PEJORATIVE (peh JAWR ut iv) disparaging

KEY: PERJURY

LINK SENTENCE: He committed perjury in his trial in an attempt to disparage the character of the witness against him.

PENCHANT (PEN chant) inclination

KEY: PINCH AUNT

LINK SENTENCE: We always have to pinch Aunt Mildred in church to check her inclination to fall asleep.

PENITENT (PEN ih tunt) remourseful

KEY: PENITENTIARY

LINK SENTENCE: Only after the criminal was sent to the penitentiary did he become remourseful.

PENURIOUS (pen NYUR ee us) stingy

KEY: PENNY EARNED

LINK SENTENCE: Scrooge still has every penny he ever earned, he's so stingy.

PERENNIAL (puh REN ee ul) recurring

KEY: PARENT KNEEL

LINK SENTENCE: I remember my parents kneeling constantly during the recurring droughts to pray for rain.

PERFUNCTORY (pur FUNGK tuh ree) superficial

KEY: PERFECT FUNNY STORY

LINK SENTENCE: The writer thought his satire was the perfect funny story but the critics found it superficial.

PERMEATE (PERM ee ate) to spread throughout

KEY: PERMANENT

LINK SENTENCE: When the home permanent wave was introduced, it spread throughout the country.

PERNICIOUS (pur NISH us) destructive

KEY: PAIR OF KNICKERS

LINK SENTENCE: When Grandpa was a boy in a pair of knickers, he was the most destructive little brat imaginable.

PERORATE (PER ur rate) to speak formally

KEY: PRAYER ATE

LINK SENTENCE: In the prayer before we ate at the banquet, the minister asked that those who were to speak formally be granted the gift of brevity.

PERPLEX (pur PLEX) to confuse

KEY: PURPLE LEGS

LINK SENTENCE: The runner with purple legs confused the other competitors.

PERQUISITE (PUR kwuh zut) a "perk", something extra over regular pay

KEY: PERKED

LINK SENTENCE: The workers perked up when they received an extra paycheck.

PERSONABLE (PUR suh nuh bul) amiable

KEY: PERSON ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: Any person is able to make friends if he is amiable to others.

PERSPICACIOUS (pur spuh KAY shus) astute

KEY: PERSPIRATION

LINK SENTENCE: The individual who said genius is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration made a very astute remark.

PERUSE (puh ROOZ) read carefully

KEY: PERSON USE

LINK SENTENCE: Before any person uses a chain saw, he should read the directions carefully.

PERVADE (pur VADE) to spread throughout

KEY: PERSIAN INVASION

LINK SENTENCE: The Persian invasions of Alexander The Great spread his empire throughout the world.

PERVERSE (pur VERSE) contrary

KEY: PERFECT VERSE

LINK SENTENCE: The poet thought he wrote perfect verse, contrary to the critics' opinion.

PETTISH (PET ish) peevish

KEY: PET

LINK SENTENCE: I pet the peevish bulldog when he growled at me.

PETULANT (PECH uh lunt) cranky

KEY: PET YOU LENT

LINK SENTENCE: That pet parrot you lent me is so cranky, all he does is swear.

PHILANTHROPIST (phil LAN throw pist) benevolent person

KEY: PHILADELPHIA

LINK SENTENCES: The benefactor of our school is from Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. Maybe that's why he's such a benevolent person.

PHILISTINE (FIL uh steen) one insensitive to intellectual and artistic values

KEY: FILLY

LINK SENTENCE: Even the filly the crude woman rode was less insensitive to intellectual and artistic values than she was.

PHLEGMATIC (fleg MAT ik) sluggish, indifferent

KEY: FLED AUTOMATIC

LINK SENTENCE: Everybody fled when Joe's automatic tree chopper went wild, even the most sluggish and indifferent individual.

PILLAGE (PIL ege) to plunder

KEY: PILLOW

LINK SENTENCE: The miser kept his money in a pillow, thinking it would be safe from plunder.

PIOUS (PY us) devout

KEY: PIOUS

LINK SENTENCE: Pope Pious XII was a devout Catholic.

PIQUANT (PEE kunt) pungent

KEY: PICKLES AIN'T

LINK SENTENCE: These sweet pickles ain't pungent enough for my taste.

PIQUE (PEEK) to anger, resentment

KEY: PICK

LINK SENTENCE: The way his older brothers picked on Ed deliberately to anger him, it's no wonder he showed resentment toward them later in life.

PITHY (PITH ee) concise

KEY: PIT

LINK SENTENCE: Poe's short story, "The Pit and the Pendulum," is a model of concise writing.

PITTANCE (PIT uns) a small amount

KEY: PIT ANTS

LINK SENTENCE: When you dig a pit to trap ants, only a small amount of dirt needs to be displaced.

PLACATE (PLAY kate) to soothe

KEY: PLAQUE ATE

LINK SENTENCE: The plaque he received when he ate the record number of pies helped soothe his bellyache.

PLACID (PLAS id) peaceful

KEY: PLAY SAD

LINK SENTENCE: The play Romeo and Juliette has a sad ending, although it begins peacefully enough.

PLAGIARISM (PLAY juh rism) to pass off someone else's writings as your own.

KEY: PLAY RISEN

LINK SENTENCE: The bumbling con man claimed the play, Hamlet, had risen in his own mind in an attempt to pass it off as his own.

PLAUSIBLE (PLAW zuh bul) believable

KEY: APPLAUSE ABLE

LINK SENTENCE: The magician received great applause for being able to make the impossible believable.

PLEBEIAN (pleh BEE un) common

KEY: PLAY BEAN

LINK SENTENCE: The play about Jack and the Beanstalk Illustrated how a common lad could climb to the heights.

PLUCK (PLUCK) courage

KEY: PLUNK

LINK SENTENCE: The way he plunked into the rapids to save the child showed great courage.

PLUMB (PLUM) to measure depth with a weighed line

KEY: PLUM

LINK SENTENCE: He tied a plum to the end of the line to measure the depth of the pool.

POIGNANT (POIN yunt) sharply touching the emotions

KEY: PAW AIN'T

LINK SENTENCE: Last Christmas when the child told us, "My Paw ain't got no job," it was a sharply touching moment.

POLEMIC (puh LEM ik) argument against something

KEY: POLE ELIMINATE

LINK SENTENCE: Peary's trip to the North Pole eliminated all arguments against the possibility of such a journey.

POLITIC (PAH luh tick) prudent

KEY: POLE TICK

LINK SENTENCE: The demolition squad used a long pole to move the ticking package as a prudent measure.

POLITY (PAHL ut ee) a form of government

KEY: PILE OF TEA

LINK SENTENCE: At the Boston tea party the colonists threw a pile of tea into the harbor to protest the form of government they were under.

PONDEROUS (PAHN dur us) heavy, dull

KEY: PONDAROSA

LINK SENTENCE: On the Pondarosa, Hoss was Heavy, but the program was never dull.

POPULIST (PAHP yuh lus) advocate of the rights of the common people

KEY: POPULAR LISTEN

LINK SENTENCE: Abe Lincoln was very popular because he listened to common people whose rights he advocated.

PORTENTOUS (par TEN tus) ominous

KEY: POUR TENSION

LINK SENTENCE: When he poured himself a drink to ease tension, it was an ominous sign of a drinking problem developing.

POSEUR (po ZURE) an affected person

KEY: POSER

LINK SENTENCE: He posed for his portrait wearing a monocle, he's such an affected person.

POULTICE (POLE tis) soft mass of herbs used for healing

KEY: POOL ICE

LINK SENTENCE: After I fell into the pool through the ice, my grandmother pressed a soft mass of herbs on my chest to relieve my cold.

PRAGMATIC (prag MAT ik) practical

KEY: PRAY AUTOMATIC

LINK SENTENCE: The minister prayed that the automatic collection plate he invented would prove practical.

PRECARIOUS (pruh KARE ee us) risky

KEY: PRE CARRY US

LINK SENTENCE: When we went to pre-school, our father would carry us across the street where it was too risky to let us walk.

PRCEPT (PREE sept) a rule prescribing a course of conduct

KEY: PREPARE EXCEPTION

LINK SENTENCE: "Be prepared" at all times without exception is a rule prescribing a course of conduct for Boy Scouts.

PRECIPITATE (pruh SIP puh tate) to cause to happen abruptly

KEY: PRECIPICE

LINK SENTENCE: When he slipped over the edge of the precipice it happened so abruptly he didn't know what hit him.

PRECLUDE (pree KLOOD) to make impossible

KEY: PRAY CLUE

LINK SENTENCE: The detective prayed for a clue, for without one, it would be impossible to solve the crime.

PRECURSOR (preh KUR sur) forerunner

KEY: PRAY CURSE

LINK SENTENCE: The new president prayed for himself and cursed his forerunner for the mess that was left him.

PREDECESSOR (PRED eh sess ur) someone who came before

KEY: PRAY DECEASE

LINK SENTENCE: The newly crowned king prayed for guidance from the deceased monarchs who came before him.

PREDESTINED (pree DEST und) determined beforehand

KEY: PREPARE DESTINATION

LINK SENTENCE: When you prepare to reach your destination, it's best to determine every step beforehand.

PREDILECTION (pred ul EK shun) strong preference

KEY: PREDICT ELECTION

LINK SENTENCE: His attempts to predict the result of the election failed, as he was biased by his strong preference for one of the candidates.

PREEN (PREEN) to groom and adorn oneself carefully

KEY: GREEN

LINK SENTENCE: The other girls turned green with envy at how beautiful Ann was when so carefully groomed and adorned.

PRELUDE (PREL yood) an introductory part

KEY: PROWL LOOT

LINK SENTENCE: A masked figure prowled on the stage and made off with the loot in the introductory part of the mystery drama.

PREPONDERATE (pruh PON dur ut) to be more important

KEY: PONDER RATE

LINK SENTENCE: Philosophers who ponder about human knowledge rate intellect as more important than emotion.

PREPOSTEROUS (pree PAHS tur us) nonsensical

KEY: PROPOSED TO US

LINK SENTENCE: The method the crackpot proposed to us to predict winning lottery numbers was nonsensical.

PRESENTIMENT (preh ZENT uh munt) premonition, feeling that something is about to happen

KEY: PRESENT SENTIMENTAL

LINK SENTENCE: When my wife gave me that present and acted so sentimental for no reason, I had a premonition that her mother was about to visit.

PRESUMPTIVE (preh ZUMP tiv) assumed to be probable

KEY: PRESUME TIFF

LINK SENTENCE: The police presumed that the cause of the tiff in the poker game was that when Doc won every hand, the other players assumed it probable that he was cheating.

PRETENTIOUS (preh TEN shus) pompous

KEY: PRETEND TO US

LINK SENTENCE: He tried to pretend to us to be so sophisticated, but just came off as a pompous ass.

PREVARICATE (preh VARE uh kate) to lie

KEY: PRAY VERY ATE

LINK SENTENCE: The mother prayed for the child who grew very sick when he ate all the cookies in the jar and then lied about it.

PRISTINE (PRIS teen) original, unspoiled

KEY: PRISSY STAIN

LINK SENTENCE: The prissy lady removed the stains from the old brass spittoon and polished it until it regained its original, unspoiled state.

PROBITY (PRO beh tee) integrity

KEY: PROBE TIE

LINK SENTENCE: The probe of the congressman's ties to organized crime raised questions as to his integrity.

PROBLEMATIC (PRAHB luh MAT ik) doubtful

KEY: PROBLEM AUTOMATIC

LINK SENTENCE: That your problem will be automatically solved without effort its doubtful.

PROCLIVITY (pro KLIV ut tee) inclination

KEY: PRO CLIFF

LINK SENTENCE: The pro skier jumped the cliff with ease, but I had no inclination to follow him down that inclination.

PROCRASTINATE (pro KRAS tuh nate) to put things off

KEY: PROFESSOR CRASH

LINK SENTENCE: The absent-minded professor's car crashed because he had put off fixing the breaks.

PRODIGIOUS (pruh DIJ us) enormous

KEY: PRO DIG JUST

LINK SENTENCE: To bury the pro basketball player, they had to dig a just enormous grave.

PRODIGY (PRAHD uh gee) an extremely talented child

KEY: PROD A GENIUS

LINK SENTENCE: You don't have to prod a genius like that extremely talented child.

PROFANE (pro FANE) irreligious

KEY: PROFESSOR FAN

LINK SENTENCE: The professor was a fan of irreligious philosophers.

PROFLIGATE (PRAHF leh gut) wasteful

KEY: PROFIT GATE

LINK SENTENCE: All of the profits the boxer made from the gate receipts of his fights were thrown away in wasteful living.

PROFUSE (pruh FYOOS) lavish

KEY: PROF USE

LINK SENTENCE: The prof used lavish words of praise for his favorite student's presentation.

PROGENY (PRAHG en ee) descendants

KEY: PRO GENETIC

LINK SENTENCE: The pro musician's abilities were apparently genetic as all his descendants were similarly gifted.

PROGNOSTICATE (prahg NOHS tuh kate) to predict

KEY: PRO KNOWS TICKET

LINK SENTENCE: Any pro on Wall Street knows that the ticket to success is correct prediction of market fluctuations.

PROLIFERATE (pruh LIF uh rate) to spread rapidly

KEY: PROFIT LIFE RATE

LINK SENTENCE: He had a profit for life as the rate of demand for the book he wrote spread rapidly.

PROPENSITY (pruh PEN suh tee) a natural inclination

KEY: PROPER IN CITY

LINK SENTENCE: I act proper in the city and follow natural inclinations in the country.

PROPHETIC (pruh FET ik) predicting the future

KEY: PROFIT TICK

LINK SENTENCE: You'd make a great profit in the tick of a clock if you could predict the future of the stock market.

PROPITIOUS (pruh PISH us) favorable

KEY: PRO PITCHER

LINK SENTENCE: Since our star throws a fast ball as well as any pro pitcher, our chances to win the championship are favorable.

PROPRIETY (pruh PRY ih tee) proper behavior

KEY: PROPER HIGH TEA

LINK SENTENCE: To be accepted at proper high class tea parties, you must learn proper behavior.

PROSAIC (pro SAY ik) ordinary

KEY: PROSE

LINK SENTENCE: My prose seems ordinary beside his flowery poetry.

PROSELYTIZE (PROS uh leh tize) to convert someone to another belief

KEY: PROSE TIES

LINK SENTENCE: The charismatic preacher's gripping prose breaks people's ties with their original religions and converts them to his own.

PROTEAN (PROHT ee un) able to change shape or roles readily

KEY: PRO TEAM

LINK SENTENCE: The pro football team was able to change its formations readily to confuse the opposition.

PROVOCATIVE (pruh VOCK uh tive) serving to stir up

KEY: PROVE VOCAL

LINK SENTENCE: To prove his point the attorney became loudly vocal to stir up the jury.

PRUDENT (PROOD unt) wisely cautious

KEY: PRUDE DENT

LINK SENTENCE: After the prude put a dent in the x-rated comedian's head, the theater management was wisely cautious and provided helmets for the performers.

PSEUDONYM (SOO doh nim) an alias

KEY: SEE THE NAME

LINK SENTENCE: You can see the name was an alias when he called himself Napoleon Bonaparte.

PUERILE (PYOO ur ul) childish

KEY: PURE

LINK SENTENCE: When accused of malfeasance, the politician claimed to be as pure and innocent as a child.

PUGNACIOUS (pug NAY shus) inclined to fight

KEY: PUG NATION

LINK SENTENCE: The pug wanted to box the whole nation, so inclined was he to fight.

PUISSANCE (PWIS uns) power

KEY: PUSS SENSE

LINK SENTENCE: Puss showed good sense when he ran from the powerful pit bull.

PULCHRITUDE (PUHL cruh tude) beauty

KEY: POLKA TUNE

LINK SENTENCE: My mother considered Lawrence Welk's polka tunes to be the most beautiful of music.

PUNCTILIOUS (pungk TIL ee us) formally precise

KEY: PUNCTUAL

LINK SENTENCE: Our father was always punctual to the second, as he was formally precise in everything he did.

PUNDIT (PUN dit) a learned person

KEY: PUN DATE

LINK SENTENCE: He quoted Shakespeare's puns to his date to impress her that he was a learned person.

PUNGENT (PUN gent) biting to the taste or smell

KEY: PUN GENT

LINK SENTENCE: The pun the gent told was biting to the smell -- in other words, it stunk.

PURIST (PYOOR ist) one who strictly adheres to tradition

KEY: PURE

LINK SENTENCE: A knight must be pure of heart and strictly adhere to the traditions of chivalry.

PURPORT (pur PORT) meaning, to claim

KEY: PURPOSE

LINK SENTENCE: Man's purpose in life is to create meaning out of chaos, the philosopher, claimed.

PUSILLANIMOUS (PYOO suh LAN uh mus) cowardly

KEY: PUSS SILLY MOUSE

LINK SENTENCE: The puss in the Wizard of Oz was afraid of a silly mouse, as he was a cowardly lion.

PUTATIVE (PYOO tuh tiv) commonly regarded

KEY: DISPUTE IT IF

LINK SENTENCE: Few would dispute it if you say that Lincoln is commonly regarded as our greatest president.

PUTREFY (PYOO truh fy) to rot

KEY: PUTRID

LINK SENTENCE: The putrid food had rotted when the refrigerator broke.

Q

QUALIFY (KWAHL luh fy) modify

KEY: QUALITY LIFE

LINK SENTENCE: Your quality of life will diminish if you modify your habits to eliminate every risk.

QUANDARY (KWHAN duh ree) a dilemma

KEY: QUANTITY DAIRY

LINK SENTENCE: Such a small quantity of food was produced by the dairy that year, that the farmer was in a dilemma whether to get out of the business or stick it out.

QUELL (KWEL) suppress

KEY: QUILL

LINK SENTENCE: With a stroke of his quill pen, the tyrannical king suppressed the critical newspaper.

QUERULOUS (KWER uh lus) touchy, fretful

KEY: QUARREL US

LINK SENTENCE: He picks a quarrel with us everytime he sees us, he is so touchy and fretful.

QUEUE (KYOO) a line of people or vehicles

KEY: CUE

LINK SENTENCE: When the drum major gave the cue, the line of people and vehicles in the parade began to move.

QUIESCENT (quee ESS unt) at rest

KEY: QUEST CENT

LINK SENTENCE: When his quest for treasure had not gained him a cent, the project was put at rest.

QUINTESSENCE (kwin TESS uns) perfect example

KEY: QUINTUPLETS ESSENTIAL

LINK SENTENCE: When they had quintuplets, the couple felt it essential to become the most perfect examples of parenthood imaginable.

QUIXOTIC (kwik SOT ik) impractically idealist

KEY: QUICK ATTACK

LINK SENTENCE: A quick attack on the strong enemy fortifications appealed more to the impractically idealistic young soldiers than to the seasoned veterans.

R

RAILLERY (RAY luh ree) teasing

KEY: RAIL LEERY

LINK SENTENCE: The way he railed over every little thing made them leery of teasing him.

RAMIFY (RAM uh fy) to branch

KEY: RAM FIBER

LINK SENTENCE: When the battleship rammed the fiberglass boat, cracks branched out in all directions from the point of impact.

RAMPART (RAM part) fortification

KEY: RAM PART

LINK SENTENCE: The besieging troops' ram parted the wall of the fortification.

RANCOR (RANG kur) ill will

KEY: RAN CAR

LINK SENTENCE: When he ran his car down the bicycle trail, he incurred the ill will of the bicyclists.

RAPACIOUS (ruh PAY shus) greedy, plundering

KEY: RAP PACE US

LINK SENTENCE: In our school play, Attila rapped his spear on the stage to pace us in our march to greedily plunder Rome.

RAPPORT (ra PORE) a relationship of mutual trust and affinity

KEY: RAP PORT

LINK SENTENCE: The sailors helped each other beat a disturbing-the-peace rap in every port, because of their relationship of mutual trust and affinity.

RATIFY (RAT uh fy) to approve officially

KEY: RATTY

LINK SENTENCE: The city was so ratty that the council officially approved hiring the Pied Piper.

RAUCOUS (RAW kus) loud and harsh

KEY: RAW CUSS

LINK SENTENCE: His raw language and cussing in a loud and harsh voice shocked the ladies at the church picnic.

RECANT (reh KANT) to take back something said

KEY: REGRET CAN'T

LINK SENTENCE: Although you regret what you said, you can't take it back.

RECEPTIVE (reh SEP tiv) willing to accept

KEY: RECEIPT

LINK SENTENCE: If you show the clerk your receipt, she will be willing to accept the item you wish to return.

RECIPIENT (ruh SIP ee unt) a person who receives something

KEY: RECIPE AUNT

LINK SENTENCE: The recipe for happiness according to my aunt, is that it's better to give than to receive.

RECIPROCAL (ruh SIP ro kul) mutual

KEY: RACE SIP PRO

LINK SENTENCE: After the race, the runners sipped champagne together as pros showing mutual respect.

RECLAIM (reh KLAME) to take back

KEY: "RE-CLAIM"

LINK SENTENCE: My son "claimed" our new car for his dates, but I "re-claimed" it and took it back.

RECONCILE (REK un sile) to make up

KEY: WRECK SILLY SMILE

LINK SENTENCE: When the teenager wrecked her parent's car, she gave a silly smile to try to make up.

RECONDITE (REK un dite) profound

KEY: RECKON THAT

LINK SENTENCE: After the cowboy read Einstein's theory of relativity, he said, "Ah reckon that's a pretty dern profound book."

RECRIMINATION (reh KRIM uh NAY shun) accusing the accuser

KEY: REPEAT CRIMINAL

LINK SENTENCE: Every time he repeated his criminal acts he would accuse his accuser of framing him.

RECURRENT (ruh KUR unt) occurring again

KEY: CURRENT

LINK SENTENCE: The philosopher believed that all current events are past events occurring again as all things went in cycles.

REDOLENT (RED ul unt) smelling of, suggestive of

KEY: RED LENT

LINK SENTENCE: The red longjohns he lent his little brother smelled of mothballs.

REDOUBTABLE (reh DOWT uh bul) feared

KEY: RED DOUBTABLE