An abridged dictionary
When I'm reading, I hate to stop to look up unfamiliar words. Fortunately, I don't need to rely on a dictionary. I can figure out the meanings of words using my extraneous knowledge of English word roots, prefixes, and suffices.
I don't need to look up "salacious," for instance, because I immediately recognize that it refers to specially discounted prices, as in, "The Fourth of July is a salacious holiday." I quickly see that "strident" means walking with long steps and that a "barista" is a female lawyer. My perfidious knowledge of the English language enables me to deduct the meaning of any unfamiliar word. For example:
quotidian 鈥� a person fond of repeating the words of famous people
cellophane 鈥� past tense of "cellphone"
pro bono 鈥� a fan of the U2 lead singer
penultimate 鈥� the supreme writing instrument
cartographer 鈥� a photographer specializing in automobiles
shutterbug 鈥� a photographer specializing in insects
pretension 鈥� before stress
lassitude 鈥� demeanor of a young Scottish woman
gustatory 鈥� with brief surges of wind
photosynthesis 鈥� the act of combining pictures
yawl 鈥� southern term for sailboat
dreadnought 鈥� fear of the zero
idiomatic 鈥� a transmission suitable for the less-than-brilliant driver
autocrat 鈥� government official who regulates cars
plutocrat 鈥� government official responsible for canine cartoon characters and former planets
placebo 鈥� the site of a gazebo
utilitarian 鈥� an employee of the electric company
unctuous 鈥� having the characteristics of an uncle
Polynesia 鈥� the ability to remember everything
prolapsed 鈥� descended temporarily to amateur status
votive 鈥� democratic
oxymoron 鈥� hyperventilating dullard
commutation 鈥� act of traveling to and from work
ostracize 鈥� to shun large, flightless birds
promenade 鈥� a beverage served at square dances
gyroscope 鈥� an instrument for examining sandwiches
blunderbuss 鈥� a mass transit faux pas
polyphonic 鈥� owning several telephones
egress 鈥� female egret
鈥� Dale Roberts, a college career counselor, lives in Asheville, N.C.
