PREPARE FOR THE GRE TEST WITH A NEW WORD EACH DAY

Welcome to my blog

Words and phrases shown on this blog are taken from actual speeches and written text in the public arena during the current week

I hope that GRE General Test Takers and others who aim to build their word power will find this blog useful

"Language is the medium of all understanding and all tradition

And language is not to be understood as an instrument or tool that we use, rather it is the medium in which we live" (Gadamer)



This is a work in progress.
- Your comments and suggestions are welcome
- Hope you will visit often, and share this blog with your friends

Sunday, July 29, 2012

246. Uxorious


From, "Mitt's Olympic Meddle," by Maureen Dowd, The New York Times, 7/28/12:

In his [Romney's] interview with Brian Williams in London, Romney couldn’t resist giving himself the laurels for saving the Salt Lake City Games by analyzing whether the British ones were off by a hair, or a hire.
Then he tried to scamper back to the obligatory common-man script and ended up looking clumsy and the one thing he most certainly is not: unuxorious.


Uxorious:  Having or showing an excessive or submissive fondness for one's wife

245. Calumny


From, "Mitt's Olympic Meddle," by Maureen Dowd, The New York Times, 7/28/12:


Even as he angled to appear Anglo-Saxon and obsequiously vowed to restore the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office, Mitt condescended to the nation that invented condescension. The Brits swiftly boxed his ears for his insolence and foul calumny

Calumny:  a false and slanderous statement

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

244. Public Art



Public Art in Nassau, Bahamas                          Photo by JHM

Enjoy the art in your community.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

243. Arcane


From, "Unlikely Gadfly Buzzes Tower's IPO," by Craig Karmin, The Wall Street Journal, 7/18/1:

As if stock-market volatility, arcane securities regulation, and the tepid state of the office market weren't enough, the real estate family seeking to list the Empire State Building now has to contend with an unexpected foe: a semiretired guy in a beach community near San Diego.

Arcane:  understood by few

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

242. Penchant


From, "Romney Rejects Calls on Tax Returns," by Patrick O'Connor and Daniel Lippman, The Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2012:

The issue of Mr. Romney's tax returns came up Monday on the Senate floor. "His penchant for secrecy makes Americans wonder, what is he hiding?" said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Penchant:  a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something

Monday, July 9, 2012

241. Asynchronous



From, “Disruptions: Life’s Too Short for So Much E-Mail,” by Nick Bilton, The New York Times, 7/8/12:

“E-mail is an asynchronous technology, so you don’t need to be on it to receive a message,” she said. “Synchronous technologies, like instant messenger, depend on people being present.” Although some people allow their instant messenger services to save offline messages, most cannot receive messages if they are not logged on. With e-mail, it is different. If you go away, e-mails pile up waiting for your return.
 
a·syn·chro·nous: 
of or requiring a form of computer control timing protocol in which a specific operation begins upon receipt of an indication (signal)...

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

240. Eponymous


From, "Arianna Huffington, Part media tycoon part New Age evangelist, the founder of the Huffington Post knows how to turn a personal preoccupation into a cause celebre," by Adrienne Gaffney, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, July/August 2012:

In the late 90's, her politics took a dramatic left turn, which led to the idea for her eponymous site.

eponymous: bearing the name/named after a particular person

Monday, July 2, 2012

239. Pulchritude


From, "The Elusive Girl From Ipanema," by Thomas Vinciguerra, The Wall Street Journal, June 30-July 1, 2012:

Clearly, this is art for the ages. But why?  [re the popularity of the song Girl from Ipanema]
One reason is the girl of the title. The embodiment of sultry pulchritude, she is also utterly unobtainable: "But each day when she walks to the sea/She looks straight head, not at me."

Pulchritude: beauty