Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know (MCQ Test + PDF) Week 8 - Day 1
NEW WORDS
- emaciated [i mā´ shē ā tid]
“Twiggy, whose fame was related to her emaciated look, is now better known for her singing and dramatic talent.” Play review, New Jersey Star Ledger, 5/12/99
- surge [sėrj]
“In one wild surge they stormed into a police station, where the bewildered officers tried to maintain order.” James Michener, “The Bridge at Andau”
- tranquil [trang´ kwəl]
“Over this house, most tranquil and complete, Where no storm ever beat, She was sole mistress.” Phyllis McGinley, “The Doll House”
- sanctuary [sangk´ chü er´ i]
“The identity of Rinehart may be a temporary sanctuary for the narrator, but it is another identity he must reject if he is to find himself as a person.” Anthony Abbott, Invisible Man
- ascend [ə send´]
“As he set himself to fan the fire again, his crouching shadow ascended the opposite wall.” James Joyce, “Ivy Day in the Committee Room”
TODAY’S IDIOM
sour grapes—to disparage* something that you cannot have (from Aesop’s fable about the fox who called the grapes sour because he could not reach them)
Marcia said that she didn’t want to be on the Principal’s Honor Roll anyway, but we knew that it was just sour grapes on her part.
