Lesson 25

Crossword Puzzle Words

1. acrid: bitter; sharp; irritating to taste or smell

2. addle: to muddle; confuse. This word is often used in compounds of such as addlebrained

3. ado: fuss; trouble; bother

4. alms: money, food, or clothing given to poor people. Note the connection with elsemonsynary which means “charitable”

5. amulet: something worn around the neck as a protection against bad luck; a charm

6. aperture: opening; hole; gap.

7. askew: to one side; crooked

8. bauble: trinket; toy; showy but worthless thing. The Old French word bauble meant “toy”

9. bevy: group; flock. Bevy comes from an Old French word that meant “drinking group”

10. bilk: deceive; swindle; cheat. This word may be a corruption of balk, a term used in the card game of cribbage

11. blithe: light-hearted; joyful; cheerful. The Anglo-Saxon word blithia was used to describe a bright sky.

12. careen: to cause to lean sideways; to lurch or toss from side to side. The Latin word carina means “side of a ship”

13. chary: careful; cautious; shy. The Anglo-Saxon word cearig meant “sorrowful”

14. nabob: a very rich or influential man. A nabob was a native distinct ruler or a European who became very wealthy in India.

15. onus: task; burden; responsibility

Exercises

I. Which Word Comes to Mind?

In each of the following, read the statement, then circle the word that comes to mind

1. An arm covered with costume jewelry

(addle, bauble, nabob)

2. Walking through the cemetery at night

(amulet, bilk, chary)

3. Peering into the camera lens

(onus, blithe, aperture)

4. A beggar on the streets of Calcutta

(alms, bevy, askew)

5. An angry crowd gathers to protest

(ado, careen, acrid)

6. A man abandons his family

(bilk, onus, careen)

7. A person of means

(nabob, amulet, chary)

8. Mutual recriminations

(chary, acrid, blithe)

9. Completely nonplussed

(addled, careen, askew)

10. A bauble fit for a king

(bevy, amulet, aperture)

II. True or False?

In the space provided, indicate whether each statement is true or false.

____ 1. An expensive amulet is a bauble

____ 2. It's easy to be blithe when everything is going wrong.

____ 3. Addle-pated individuals are clear thinkers

____ 4. People are likely to seek favors and money from nabobs

____ 5. Saying good-bye to poverty is bidding a “farewell to aims”

____ 6, A blithe-spirited person is would tend to be optimistic

____ 7. Being bilked is usually a pleasant experience

____ 8. A bevy of thoughts dwell in the mind of a thinking person

____ 9. A careening car is probably out of control

____ 10. Collecting aims for the rich is hard to justify

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