Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 35 - Day 2

Word List
  • equanimity [ē kuə nim´ ə tē]
    astounded
    → “We have to call upon our whole people to stand up with equanimity to the fire of the enemy.” Winston Churchill, speech, 1942
  • effrontery [ə frun´ tər ē]
    calmness, self-control
    → “In view of his personal background, we were astonished at his effrontery in attacking the morals of the candidate.” Jewell Bellush and Dick Netzer, Urban Politics
  • nonentity [non en´ tə tē]
    ruin, collapse
    → “With sufficient financial backing, almost any political nonentity could become a national contender.” Washington Post, 6/15/98
  • flabbergasted [flab´ ər gast əd]
    boldness
    → “The President was flabbergasted when his private office recorded conversations were made public.” Herbert Brucker, Journalist
  • debacle [dā bä´ kəl]
    one of no importance
    → “After leading the league for most of the season, September brought the debacle that ruined their hopes.” Roger Kahn, The Boys of Summer

Thurber punctures in an incisive* way the platitudes* that come from stories handed down through the generations. These old saws are accepted by everyone. One such tale is about a tortoise who had read in an ancient book that a tortoise had beaten a hare in a race. The sage* old tortoise construed* this story to mean that he could outrun a hare. With equanimity he hunted for a hare and soon found one. “Do you have the effrontery to challenge me?” asked the incredulous* hare. “You are a nonentity,” he scoffed* at the tortoise. A course of fifty feet was set out. The other animals gathered around the site*. At the sound of the gun they were off. When the hare crossed the finish line, the flabbergasted tortoise had gone approximately eight and three-quarter inches. The moral Thurber draws from this debacle for the tortoise: A new broom may sweep clean, but never trust an old saw.

Which of the five “new words” have you seen before? Answer with equanimity.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in these sentences.

  1. He was a precocious* youngster, but he soon reached the nadir* of his career, lost all of his prestige*, and became a __________.
  2. Do you have the __________ to take that supercilious and facetious* attitude toward something as sinister* as this?
  3. These turbulent* times require a leader who does not go into a capricious* pique,* but rather one who faces acrimonious* criticism with __________.
  4. When the judge exonerated* the charlatan,* we were all __________.
  5. The fortuitous* appearance of a relief column permitted an adroit* escape from the imminent* __________.

Definitions Match the new words with their definitions.

  1. a. calmness, self-control
  2. b. astounded
  3. c. boldness
  4. d. ruin, collapse
  5. e. one of no importance
  1. equanimity __________
  2. effrontery __________
  3. nonentity __________
  4. flabbergasted __________
  5. debacle __________

Answer Key
to raise Cain—to cause trouble, make a fuss
When he found he was left holding the bag,* he decided to raise Cain.

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