Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 37 - Day 2

Word List
  • austere [ô stir´]
    simple, unadorned, hard
    → “New York City was founded by austere puritan colonists who could never imagine the city as it is today.” Moses Riechin, The Promised City
  • felicitous [fə lis´ ə təs]
    happy
    → “The evening of hypnotism was not a felicitous one; we were frightened that we would lose our will or enter into unpleasant acts.” Diary of Anais Nin
  • halcyon [hal´ sē ən]
    peaceful, calm
    → “The halcyon days we recall with pleasure had many clouded moments.” Wolcott Gibbs, New Yorker, 4/8/49
  • tenable [ten´ ə bəl]
    supportable, defendable
    → “He took the tenable position that lawyers should never cross examine a witness without knowing the answer before asking the question.” Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
  • superfluous [sůpėr´ flü əs]
    excessive, surplus
    → “He drove through the beautiful countryside in silence; conversation would have been superfluous.” Travel and Leisure, 10/94

Thoreau’s book about the austere but happy life at Walden Pond propagated* his fame around the world. He built a small hut and began living an ascetic* existence. He found it to be a felicitous experience. In this idyllic* setting he was able to spend his time reading, studying nature, writing, and thinking. Far from being indolent,* he kept busy in many ways. At the end of the experiment he recalled the halcyon days with pleasure. He believed he had learned the secret of the truly happy life. The only tenable way of life is one in harmony with nature; material possessions are superfluous.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in these sentences.

  1. When he found his sinecure* was no longer __________ , he felt it a propitious* time to resign.
  2. Far from being ostentatious,* she was considered the acme* of fashion because of her __________ manner of dress.
  3. Because he was an itinerant* worker, he had to disdain* carrying __________ equipment.
  4. On that __________ occasion the amount of money he spent was irrelevant.*
  5. During the turbulent* days of the war, they wished for the __________ days of earlier times.

Definitions Match the new words with their definitions.

  1. a. supportable, defendable
  2. b. simple, unadorned, hard
  3. c. peaceful, calm
  4. d. happy
  5. e. excessive, surplus
  1. austere __________
  2. felicitous __________
  3. halcyon __________
  4. tenable __________
  5. superfluous __________

Answer Key
off the beaten track—not usual, out of the ordinary
Because his ideas were always off the beaten track, he lived under a sword of Damocles* on his job.

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