QUIZ 1

PYONGYANG

Saber-rattling – war of nerves (threatening behavior which is intended to frighten someone)

Op-ed - opposite the editorial page

Lull – pause, calm

Clinch – assure

Botched – blundered

Espousal – marriage

To pay lip service – to pretend to support

Straggler – laggard

Anachronism - misplacement

Fallacy – illusion

To assuage – relief, alleviate

Neo-con – neo-conservative

Qualm – anxiety, disquiet

Stand up to sth – oppose sth

Aspersion – slander

NGO – non-governmental organization

Be passed off as – pretend to be

Wishful thinking – delusion

Glaringly – hugely, highly

Typology – classification

Variable – changeable, parameter

Dog-and-pony show – over-staged show

Belligerent – nasty, aggressive

Inexorably – finally, brutally

To thaw – unfreeze, soften

Infusion – immersion

Entrepreneur – producer

Pragmatic – sensible

Sterling – admirable

To zip around – to move very quickly

To lavish – pamper, shower

Stunted – kept from growing

Extort – cheat, blackmail

To retaliate – reciprocate, get even with someone

Self-containedness – self-reliance

Subversive – rebellious, destructive

In the ascendant – on the rise

Deference – obedience, compliance

Invective – verbal abuse

Blanket threat – non-specific threat

Appeasement – conciliation

Bullying – domineering

Yoking – joining

SCANDAL!!!

Astride – astraddle

Knockoff – discount

Plywood – wood panel

Axis – pivot

Cupped – cup-shaped

Impudence – insolence

Coarseness – vulgarity

Vamp – seductress

To be groomed for – to be prepared for

Austere – rigid, bare

Bulk – largeness

Disruptive – disturbing, causing confusion

Calcified – cemented, concrete

Tart – a female prostitute, woman of questionable morality

Impertinence – boldness

Riotous – wild

Rampant – out of control

Insolently – arrogantly

Puce – red

Cant – slant, hypocrisy

Dissembler – hypocrite

Louche – indecent

To ensnare – to trap

Virility – manhood

Chunky – husky

Ménage – family

Telex – telegram

To grasp at straws – to make a futile attempt

Philanderer – debaucher

Bile – animosity

Undergrowth – underbrush

To be in crosshairs – to be aimed at, to be targeted

Illustrious – prominent, famous

To ingratiate – to flatter

To flaunt – to show off, to proclaim

Pivotal – important, central

Palatial – grand, deluxe

To have a roving eye – to be flirty

Bourse – stock market

To ghost – to ghostwrite

Demotic – colloquial

Flighty – fickle

Devious – dishonest, crafty

Scold – criticizer

Titillation – thrill

To sift through – to examine

Picaresque – anecdotal, episodic

Spook – spy

Roundabout – indirect

Feisty – lively

Tenuous – weak

High-end – exclusive

Dais – platform

Sedan (chair) – litter

Quirk – twist

Promiscuity – lechery

To nab – to seize

To coerce – to force, to compel

Chutzpah – arrogance, impudence

To be dismayed – to be alarmed, distressed

Demimonde – hedonistic group

Atavistic – primitive, naïve

Austerely – forbiddingly

Pliant – yielding

Alumnus – graduate

MI5 – Military Intelligence, Section 5 (Security Service)

Crux – bottom line

To press home – to make clear

To pull scales from one’s eyes – to make them see the truth

Acumen – guile

Scruple – doubt

Carouser – drunkard

Salubrious – pleasant

To vet – to examine

A mandarin – a bureaucrat, a high official

Allegation – accusation

Pump – question relentlessly

Spinmeister – spin doctor, publicist

Avowedly – allegedly

Legwork – investigation

Squalor – filth, decay

Cuckolded – cheated on

Clubbable – sociable

Volatile – explosive, changeable

To oust – to expel, get rid of

DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH

Oddball – eccentric

Fledging – greenhorn, beginners

Bid – endeavor

Ubiquity – omnipresence

To amble – to drift, to walk casually

MLB – Major League Baseball

To spur – to prompt

To package – to sell, to show in an attractive way

To wham – to hit, to bang

To rattle off – to recite quickly

Languish – suffer, rot

Reedy – skinny, gangly

Breezy – fresh

WBC – World Baseball Classic

To lobby – to campaign for

Ragtag – scruffy

Inestimable – priceless

Diamond(baseball) – a baseball field

Projectable – likely to succeed

PERTH

Jagged – irregular

Cluster – bunch

Breadth – width

Arid – dry

Barren – desolate

Ore – mineral

In the black – profiting, making money

Genteel – elegant

Naif – amateur

Gritty – rough

Palpable – clear, obvious

Sanguine – optimistic

Salubrious – healthy

Balmy – pleasant

Redolent – aromatic, perfumed

Aloft – high up

To coalesce – consolidate, brew

Abject – hopeless

Smelting – metal extraction process