Elliot Carruthers's Blog, page 28

Ungainly

Ungainly

<uhn-gane-lee>

uncoordinated; clumsy; awkward;

moving in an ungraceful way.

The turtle was ungainly and I easily outran it.

Memory trick:
ungainly reminds of un gain
something clumsy does not gain

At work:
Your presentation is ungainly because of all the extra exclamation points.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Rancor

Rancor

<rank-ker>

hate; spite; grudge;

having a long-lasting bitterness for someone.

His rancor became friendship after he got to know her.

Memory trick:
rancor reminds of ran
we ran because we did not like them

At work:
I can work with him. I feel no rancor because I understand why he did those bad things

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Protract

Protract

<pro-trakt>

too long; prolong; lingering;

something that continues on for a long time beyond the normal length.

He did not protract the song. Everyone was relieved.

Memory trick:
protract reminds of prolong

At work:
Don't protract the sales pitch. Stop talking when they agree to buy.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Homage

Homage

<ah-midge>

respect; honor; acclaim;

to praise someone in public with admiration.

We gave him a great homage with cheers.

Memory trick:
homage reminds of home

At work:
We would like to pay you homage for a great job.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Prolix

Prolix

<proh-liks>

tedious; lengthy; rambling;

saying or writing something with too many words.

I find his writing to be prolix and boring.

Memory trick:
prolix reminds of prose and licks
saying too much prose makes us lick our dry lips

At work:
Your presentation is too prolix. Redo it with less words.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Afoot

Afoot

<ah-foot>

going on; brewing; in progress;

something happening now.

Come Watson! The game is afoot and there is no time to waste.

Memory trick:
foot reminds of moving
it is moving now

At work:
The secret meeting is afoot. We need to interrupt it and stop the vote.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Propriety

Propriety

<pro-pry-it-tee>

decency; morality; correctness;

behaving in a moral and acceptable way.

She lived a life of propriety. She was well respected.

Memory trick:
propriety reminds of proper

At work:
Your hard work and propriety will be rewarded. You are a good decent person.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Truculent

Truculent

<truk-you-lent>

aggressive; brutal; combative;

quick to argue or fight.

The truculent dog became friendly after I gave him treats.

Memory trick:
truculent reminds of truck
a truck rolls over things

At work:
He was truculent until we made the deadline. He became happy and agreeable.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Coerce

Coerce

<ko-erse>

bully; intimidate; persuade;

to pressure someone to do something by using force or threats.

I used the broom to coerce the bug to fly out the window.

Memory trick:
coerce reminds of force

At work:
I don't need to coerce my employees because I pay them well.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers

Palatial

Palatial

<pah-lay-shul>

grand; lavish; deluxe;

something large and fancy.

The doghouse is palatial. Ten dogs can fit in there.

Memory trick:
palatial reminds of palace

At work:
The new conference room is palatial. The table is huge.

(c) 2015 E. Carruthers