Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 15 - Day 3

Word List
  • persevere [pėr´ sə vir´]
    persist
    → “The Knicks persevered as first Patrick Ewing and then Johnson went down with injuries.” George Vecsey, “Sports of the Times,” New York Times, 6/22/99
  • landmark [land´ märk´]
    historic, turning point of a period
    → “The remarkable trees formed good landmarks by which the place might easily be found again.” Washington Irving, “The Devil and Tom Walker”
  • extrinsic [ek strin´ sik]
    foreign, coming from outside
    → “Disdaining contributions from extrinsic lobbying groups, the candidate won my admiration and my vote.” Lawrence Burton, “Inside the Polls”
  • declaim [di klām´]
    speak loudly
    → “Some of the province’s most illustrious men visited the courthouse and declaimed within its four walls.” Hazel Grinnell, Travel Journal
  • fetter [fet´ ər]
    to hamper
    → “The cruel fetters of the galley slaves were wet with blood.” Alex Haley, Roots

Lawyer Kroll persevered in his defense of Danny Escobedo. The case was argued before the Supreme Court, and in 1964, in a landmark decision, the Court reversed Danny’s conviction. Legal aid, said the judges, must be instantly available to a suspect. “A system of law enforcement that comes to depend on the confession,” one Justice declared, “will, in the long run, be less reliable than a system that depends on extrinsic evidence independently secured through skillful investigation.” A Justice who declaimed against the decision said, however, “I think the rule is ill-conceived and that it seriously fetters perfectly legitimate methods of criminal enforcement.”

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

  1. Collectors avidly* sought the rare coin for its __________ value.
  2. If we __________, we can overcome many of our inhibitions.*
  3. The Battle of Midway was a __________ victory in the U.S. campaign for ultimate* victory over the Japanese in World War II.
  4. I knew that my father would __________ against Mother’s choice of ostentatious* fabrics.
  5. The senator inveighed* against the policy because he felt it would __________ our Air Force.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

  1. a. to hamper
  2. b. foreign, coming from outside
  3. c. speak loudly
  4. d. persist
  5. e. historic, turning point of a period
  1. persevere __________
  2. landmark (adj.) __________
  3. extrinsic __________
  4. declaim __________
  5. fetter (v.) __________

Answer Key
to break the ice—to make a start by overcoming initial difficulties
The auto salesman had a poor week, but he finally broke the ice by selling a fully equipped Cadillac.

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