Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 45 - Day 4

Word List
  • callow [kal´ ō]
    youthful, inexperienced
    → “A group of newly arrived callow students followed nervously at the director’s heels.” Aldous Huxley, Crome Yellow
  • appalled [ə pôld´]
    dismayed, shocked
    → “A calm and steady temperament deserted him while he stared, appalled, at the contents.” John Cheever, The Wapshot Chronicle
  • penchant [pen´ chənt]
    a strong leaning in favor
    → “Annabel had a penchant for silver fox coats but Midge said they were common.” Dorothy Parker, “The Standard of Living”
  • decapitate [di kap´ ə tāt]
    behead
    → “The FBI hoped that the arrest of the drug lord would decapitate the illegal organization.” David Denby, Beyond Rangoon
  • termagant [tėr´ mə gənt]
    a scolding woman, a shrew
    → “This book deals with the matrimonial adventures of an extremely rich and bullying termagant.” Saturday Review, 11/99

Seeking his adversaries,* the knight rides to their hideout. Despite his callow appearance, he is reputed* to disdain* danger and to be a prodigious* horseman. The kidnappers lose their equanimity* at his approach. They are appalled at the prospect, and they are in a quandary* as to which one will meet him on the field of combat. The leader, under duress,* rides out. “Do you have a penchant to die?” derides* the knight. More vituperative* remarks follow. They spur their horses toward each other. It takes but one blow for our hero to decapitate the villain. The others flee to avoid their imminent* destruction. The knight takes the maiden on his horse, and they ride back to the castle. Their wedding soon follows. Little does the knight realize that the fair maiden is a garrulous* termagant who will make his life miserable with caustic* remarks. Still, the cliché,* “And they lived happily ever after,” must conclude our fabricated* tale.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in these sentences.

  1. We do not __________ criminals because of our aversion* to such repugnant* punishments.
  2. I do not wish to deprecate* your __________ for cowboy music, but I find it banal.*
  3. Why do you remain docile* while that __________ besmirches,* maligns,* and belittles* you?
  4. Each long holiday weekend we are __________ at the carnage* on our highways.
  5. It was deplorable* the way the capricious* girl led the __________ youth on a merry chase.

Definitions Match the new words with their definitions.

  1. a. youthful, inexperienced
  2. b. behead
  3. c. a strong leaning in favor
  4. d. a scolding woman, a shrew
  5. e. dismayed, shocked
  1. callow __________
  2. appalled __________
  3. penchant __________
  4. decapitate __________
  5. termagant __________

Answer Key
coup de grâce—the finishing stroke
When my girlfriend left me, it was a bitter pill to swallow,* but the coup de grâce was that she kept my engagement ring.

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