Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 23 - Day 3

Word List
  • pedagogue [ped´ ə gog]
    teacher
    → “He is neither bandit nor pedagogue, but, like myself a broken soldier, retired on half pay for some years.” Stephen Vincent Benet, “The Curfew Tolls”
  • enunciate [i nun´ sē āt]
    to utter, proclaim
    → “At his press conference, Jerry Springer enunciated his qualifications for a Senate seat in Ohio.” Francis X. Clines, “Springer Considers Race for Senate,” New York Times, 8/4/99
  • inordinate [in ôrd´ n it]
    excessive
    → “Was it, perhaps, because his back had broken under his inordinate burden?” I. L. Peretz, “Buntcheh the Silent”
  • irascible [i ras´ ə bəl]
    irritable
    → “He became so irascible that within six months he lost his wife and half of his office staff.” Herman Wouk, Don’t Stop the Carnival
  • introspective [in´ trə spek´ tiv]
    looking into one’s own feelings
    → “All had the thin, narrow faces and large, wide-open eyes—introspective eyes.” Ivan Cankar, “Children and Old Folk”

Dr. Weston is convinced that the pedagogue is the culprit.* Since teachers seat their pupils in alphabetical order, the “S” to “Z” child is usually the last to receive his test marks, the last to eat lunch, the last to be dismissed, and so on. As they are the last to recite, these youngsters feel frustrated* because what they had to say had usually been enunciated earlier. The inordinate amount of waiting that this group has to do causes them to become irascible and jittery. “S” to “Z” people also become quite introspective, convinced that they are inferior to those at the top of the alphabet.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

  1. Reporters were expecting the candidate to __________ his policy on the escalation* of the war.
  2. His profligate* son made the parsimonious* old crank even more __________.
  3. Since Alice is so gregarious* it surprised me to learn that she is also an __________ girl.
  4. Mr. Ford is proud to be called a teacher, but he demurs* at the title of __________.
  5. In an attempt to show how assiduous* he was, the executive spent an __________ amount of time on his report.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

  1. a. irritable
  2. b. excessive
  3. c. to utter, proclaim
  4. d. looking into one’s own feelings
  5. e. teacher
  1. pedagogue __________
  2. enunciate __________
  3. inordinate __________
  4. irascible __________
  5. introspective __________

Answer Key
to get one’s back up—to become angry
Every time his mother mentioned getting a haircut, the young guitarist got his back up.

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