Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 19 - Day 4

Word List
  • restrictive [ri strik´ tiv]
    harsh, confining
    → “Mr. el Hage said that the law was too restrictive, claiming that he had nothing to do with violent acts.” Benjamin Weiser, “Terrorism Suspect,” New York Times, 6/23/99
  • balk [bôk]
    to refuse to move
    → “She rested on the stair—a young woman of a beauty that should balk even the justice of a poet’s imagination.” O. Henry, “Roads of Destiny”
  • blunt [blunt]
    plain spoken
    → “Managers will put it bluntly: ‘You’ve got to catch the ball.’” Tim McCarver, Baseball for Brain Surgeons
  • nostalgia [no stal´ jə]
    yearning for the past
    → “The various objects one picks up just before leaving a foreign country are apt to acquire an extraordinary souvenir-value, giving one a foretaste of distance and nostalgia.” Corrado Alvaro, “The Ruby”
  • rife [rīf]
    widespread
    → “Cyberspace is rife with sweatshops but very few people realize it.” Karl Taro Greenfield, “Living the Late Shift,” TIME, 6/28/99

When Prince Schubert asked for additional restrictive measures, the people began to balk. Speaking on radio, the young reformer explained the reasons for higher taxes and food rationing; he was blunt when he stated the need for personal sacrifices. Nevertheless, the resistance to reform was great, and nostalgia for the “good old days” of King Andre began to grow. The people admitted that graft and corruption had been rife under Andre, but at least “everybody got his slice of the pie.” Although Prince Schubert was tempted to quit, he determined that he would help the people in spite of themselves.

Sample Sentences Don’t pass the buck*! Use the new words in the following sentences yourself.

  1. The rebel’s innate* hatred of __________ decrees led him to crave* freedom all the more.
  2. A string of caustic* epithets* was directed at the recruit by his __________ sergeant.
  3. Although the former farm girl pretended to be urbane*, a feeling of __________ always came over her when she heard country music.
  4. Criticism of the author was __________ among the coterie* of intellectuals who used to praise him.
  5. Jimmy was a lawbreaker, but he would __________ at the idea of carrying a lethal* weapon.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

  1. a. widespread
  2. b. plain spoken
  3. c. to refuse to move
  4. d. yearning for the past
  5. e. harsh, confining
  1. restrictive __________
  2. balk (v.) __________
  3. blunt __________
  4. nostalgia __________
  5. rife __________

Answer Key
behind the eight ball—in trouble
Susan found herself behind the eight ball in chemistry when she failed to do the term project.

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