Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 7 - Day 3

Word List
  • stymie [stī´ mē]
    to hinder, impede
    → “The family has been stymied in its attempt to remove a dead relative from the juror rolls.” Associated Press story, “Jury Duty Summonses Don’t Stop Despite Death,” New York Times, 6/25/99
  • effigy [ef´ ə jē]
    a likeness (usually of a hated person)
    → “ANGRY SERBS HANG UNCLE SAM IN EFFIGY ” Headline over Associated Press photo, New York Times, 8/23/99
  • flout [flout]
    show contempt, scoff*
    → “His ideas frightened the farmers, for he would flout and ridicule their traditional beliefs with a mocking logic that they could not answer.” S. Raja Ratnam, “Drought”
  • cognizant [kog´ nə zənt]
    aware
    → “I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states.” Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter From Birmingham Jail”
  • turbulent [tėr´ byə lənt]
    unruly, agitated
    → “Up to the turbulent surface came a peculiar-looking craft, risen from the calm but dangerous depth of the ocean.” Lt. Don Walsh, “Our Seven-Mile Dive to the Bottom”

The school authorities were stymied. Public opinion had been marshaled against them. No longer was it a simple case of disciplining two wayward lads. Suddenly it had taken on the appearance of a nightmare in which the principal was either hanged in effigy or pictured in cartoons making a villainous swipe at the two innocent Samsons. But the officials could not allow Ron and Len to flout their authority with impunity.* Members of the school board concurred* with the principal’s action but they were cognizant of the popular support for the boys. Clearly a compromise was called for to resolve the turbulent situation.

Sample Sentences In which of the following newspaper headlines do the new words belong?

  1. “COACH OF LOSING TEAM HANGED IN __________ ”
  2. “CAUSE OF CANCER CONTINUES TO __________ DOCTORS”
  3. “F.B.I. __________ OF CLANDESTINE* GANGLAND MEETING”
  4. “MANY MOTORISTS __________ TRAFFIC LAWS, STUDY REVEALS”
  5. “__________ ATMOSPHERE IN ANGRY SENATE CHAMBER”

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

  1. a. unruly, agitated
  2. b. to hinder, impede
  3. c. show contempt, scoff*
  4. d. aware
  5. e. a likeness (usually of a hated person)
  1. stymie __________
  2. effigy __________
  3. flout __________
  4. cognizant __________
  5. turbulent __________

Answer Key
a bitter pill to swallow—a humiliating defeat
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the famous billiard player to be overwhelmed by the 12-year-old girl.

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