Elliot Carruthers's Blog, page 14
February 2, 2016
Derision
Derision
<der-rij-shun>
ridicule; mockery; scorn;
showing contempt with insults and laughter.
The boys wailed with derision when his hat blew off and he had to chase it.
Memory trick:
derision reminds of deride.
deride means to mock.
At work:
Never react with derision to any question the client may ask. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
<der-rij-shun>
ridicule; mockery; scorn;
showing contempt with insults and laughter.
The boys wailed with derision when his hat blew off and he had to chase it.
Memory trick:
derision reminds of deride.
deride means to mock.
At work:
Never react with derision to any question the client may ask. There is no such thing as a stupid question.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
February 1, 2016
Posit
Posit
<paz-it>
propose; presume; suppose;
to assume something is going to happen;
It is safe to posit the sun will rise in the morning. It is sure to happen.
Memory trick:
posit reminds of positive.
I am positive it will come true.
At work:
We can posit sales will rise when we reduce our prices. We will have more sales.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
<paz-it>
propose; presume; suppose;
to assume something is going to happen;
It is safe to posit the sun will rise in the morning. It is sure to happen.
Memory trick:
posit reminds of positive.
I am positive it will come true.
At work:
We can posit sales will rise when we reduce our prices. We will have more sales.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
January 31, 2016
Obsequious
Obsequious
<ahb-seek-qwee-us>
servile; subservient; slavish;
being submissive and groveling.
She is not obsequious. She gives her opinion and stands up for herself.
Memory trick:
obsequious reminds of obsessed.
we flatter and fawn when we are obsessed.
At work:
I don't want obsequious employees. I want people who are willing to speak up.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
<ahb-seek-qwee-us>
servile; subservient; slavish;
being submissive and groveling.
She is not obsequious. She gives her opinion and stands up for herself.
Memory trick:
obsequious reminds of obsessed.
we flatter and fawn when we are obsessed.
At work:
I don't want obsequious employees. I want people who are willing to speak up.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
January 30, 2016
Knotty
Knotty
<not-tee>
complicated; tricky; puzzling;
something difficult to understand.
The math question was a knotty problem. I could not figure it out.
Memory trick:
You have to solve a knot to untie it.
At work:
The bugs in the computer program was a knotty problem. We rebuilt it instead of fixing it.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
<not-tee>
complicated; tricky; puzzling;
something difficult to understand.
The math question was a knotty problem. I could not figure it out.
Memory trick:
You have to solve a knot to untie it.
At work:
The bugs in the computer program was a knotty problem. We rebuilt it instead of fixing it.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
January 29, 2016
Seminal
Seminal
<sem-in-nahl>
major; influential; formative;
something important that leads to later events.
The invention of the wheel was a seminal development. It changed the world.
Memory trick:
seminal reminds of minimal.
we grow from a minimal point.
At work:
The discovery was a seminal moment. It led to products that made us a fortune.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
<sem-in-nahl>
major; influential; formative;
something important that leads to later events.
The invention of the wheel was a seminal development. It changed the world.
Memory trick:
seminal reminds of minimal.
we grow from a minimal point.
At work:
The discovery was a seminal moment. It led to products that made us a fortune.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
January 28, 2016
Opprobrious
Opprobrious
<ah-pro-bre-us>
abusive; hurting; humiliating;
showing hate or scorn.
The boy gave the vegetables an opprobrious look. He smiled when butter was added.
Memory trick:
opprobrious reminds of oppose.
At work:
He decided not to send the opprobrious email. He wanted to think of something positive to write.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
<ah-pro-bre-us>
abusive; hurting; humiliating;
showing hate or scorn.
The boy gave the vegetables an opprobrious look. He smiled when butter was added.
Memory trick:
opprobrious reminds of oppose.
At work:
He decided not to send the opprobrious email. He wanted to think of something positive to write.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
January 27, 2016
Apocryphal
Apocryphal
<ah-pok-ruh-fil>
untrue; mythical; false;
a false story or idea widely believed to be true.
The earth is flat was an apocryphal belief. Everyone thought it was true.
Memory trick:
apo - CRY - phal
remember the boy who cried wolf - a story about a lying.
At work:
We had an apocryphal faith in the product. We had to rebuild it because the quality was not good.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
<ah-pok-ruh-fil>
untrue; mythical; false;
a false story or idea widely believed to be true.
The earth is flat was an apocryphal belief. Everyone thought it was true.
Memory trick:
apo - CRY - phal
remember the boy who cried wolf - a story about a lying.
At work:
We had an apocryphal faith in the product. We had to rebuild it because the quality was not good.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
January 26, 2016
Ossify
Ossify
<oss-sih-feye>
rigid; harden; stiffen;
to become hard due to time.
You must finish before the paint can ossify. It is hard to paint when the canvas gets stiff.
Memory trick:
ossify reminds of "iffy".
it becomes "iffy" to change it when it gets hard.
At work:
A bad computer program will ossify and become impossible to fix. Program it correctly from the start.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
<oss-sih-feye>
rigid; harden; stiffen;
to become hard due to time.
You must finish before the paint can ossify. It is hard to paint when the canvas gets stiff.
Memory trick:
ossify reminds of "iffy".
it becomes "iffy" to change it when it gets hard.
At work:
A bad computer program will ossify and become impossible to fix. Program it correctly from the start.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
January 25, 2016
Prevaricate
Prevaricate
<preh-vair-rah-kayte>
fib; distort; con;
to lie by exaggerating the truth.
It's easier to tell the truth. You have to remember your lies when you prevaricate.
Memory trick:
prevaricate reminds of fabricate.
fabricate means to create something.
At work:
The secret to marketing is to prevaricate. The secret to making a customer happy is to deliver more than you promised.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
<preh-vair-rah-kayte>
fib; distort; con;
to lie by exaggerating the truth.
It's easier to tell the truth. You have to remember your lies when you prevaricate.
Memory trick:
prevaricate reminds of fabricate.
fabricate means to create something.
At work:
The secret to marketing is to prevaricate. The secret to making a customer happy is to deliver more than you promised.
(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
January 24, 2016
Iconoclast
Iconoclast
<eye-kahn-nah-klast>
heretic; rebel; cynic;
someone who is a critic of an established institution.
He is an iconoclast and never celebrates birthdays. He does not believe in the tradition.
Memory trick:
iconoclast reminds of "icon blast".
we blast old icons.
At work:
He disagrees with the classical methods of design. He thinks they are ineffective.
(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
<eye-kahn-nah-klast>
heretic; rebel; cynic;
someone who is a critic of an established institution.
He is an iconoclast and never celebrates birthdays. He does not believe in the tradition.
Memory trick:
iconoclast reminds of "icon blast".
we blast old icons.
At work:
He disagrees with the classical methods of design. He thinks they are ineffective.
(c) 2015 E. Carruthers
