Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 2 - Day 2

Word List
  • furtive [fėr´ tiv]
    secret, stealthy
    → “Hogan directed a furtive glance up and down the alley.” John Steinbeck, “How Mr. Hogan Robbed a Bank”
  • felon [fel´ ən]
    a person guilty of a major crime
    → “I was surprised to see this notorious felon become a regular at our bible discussion classes.” Rabbi Myron David, A Chaplain’s Jail Tales [adapted]
  • plethora [pleth´ ə rə]
    excess
    → “SUFFERERS CONFRONT A PLETHORA OF POLLEN” Headline, New York Times, 6/5/99
  • hapless [hap´ lis]
    unfortunate
    → “Parents, too, have an almost irresistible impulse to mold their children in their own image or at least graft a few of their own ambitions onto their hapless offspring.” Arthur Gordon, “The Neglected Art of Being Different”
  • irate [ī´ rāt or ī rāt´]
    angry, incensed
    → “I got irate because people have been yelling at me my whole life.” Olivia Winslow, “Cop Tells of a Confession,” Newsday, 6/23/99

Casting a furtive glance over his shoulder, the felon slipped out the main prison gate to be swallowed up in the British fog. A plethora of escapes from supposedly secure prisons embarrassed the hapless wardens. To compound* their problems, the officials were badgered* by irate citizens who accused the guards of accepting bribes from convicts whose motto was: “Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage.”

(*compound—click here; *badgered—click here)

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

  1. The __________ contest winner was unable to locate the lucky ticket.
  2. My uncle was __________ when the drunken driver swerved in front of us.
  3. In a __________ manner she removed her shoes and tiptoed up to her room.
  4. When the teacher asked why the homework had not been done, he was greeted by a __________ of incredible alibis.
  5. Since the boss learned that Bob associated with a known __________ , he fired him.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

  1. a. angry, incensed
  2. b. a person guilty of a major crime
  3. c. unfortunate
  4. d. excess
  5. e. secret, stealthy
  1. furtive __________
  2. felon __________
  3. plethora __________
  4. hapless __________
  5. irate __________

Answer Key
Pyrrhic victory—a too costly victory (King Pyrrhus defeated the Romans but his losses were extremely heavy)
In heavy fighting the troops managed to recapture the hill, but it could only be considered a Pyrrhic victory.

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