| A | B |
|---|
| terse | brief and to the point |
| roguish | playfully mischievous |
| insouciance | a blithe lack of concern |
| deference | expression of esteem or respect |
| polymath | an adept in many branches of knowledge |
| brooding | persistent moody meditation |
| pander | to cater to others' low tastes in order to exploit their weaknesses |
| forsake | to leave or abandon |
| desolately | without hope or consolation |
| contend | to maintain or assert or compete |
| Philistine | one opposed to intellectual pursuits |
| satirical | meant to expose human folly to ridicule |
| decorum | appropriate behavior/conduct/manners |
| bourgeois | of the middle class |
| anoint | choose by or as of divine intervention |
| ardor | intensity or passion |
| dreary | gloomy |
| solicit | to request urgently or persistently |
| proficient | showing knowledge or skill |
| metonymy | a figure of speech in which something closely related is substituted for the thing itself |
| intimation | slight suggestion or hint |
| ferocity | fierceness |
| rend | to tear violently |
| impromptu | without preparation; spontaneous |
| meticulously | carefully |
| genteel | marked by refinement in taste or manners |
| dissemble | to make believe with the intent to deceive |
| compromise | a middle way between two extremes |
| aplomb | coollness or composure under strain |
| artifice | a deceptive maneuver |
| implicit | not overtly stated |
| poise | composure or self-control; grace in bearing |
| inadvertently | unintentionally |
| impose | to compel to behave in a certain way |
| odious | unequivocally detestable |
| affable | diffusing warmth and friendliness |
| antipathy | intense dislike |
| obliquely | indirectly |
| eccentric | peculiar |
| bellicose | showing a disposition to fight |
| invective | abusive language intended to disparage |
| flout | to treat with contemptuous disregard |
| protocol | a code of behavior or etiquette |
| epistolary | made up of letters |
| perforate | to poke holes in |
| travesty | a comedy that uses broad satire and improbable situations |
| fatuous | devoid of intelligence |
| puissance | power or might |
| wean | to detach the affections of |
| innate | inborn or inherited |
| ludicrous | incongruous |
| plod | to walk in a heavy |
| gait | a manner of walking |
| abysmal | extremely or hopelessly bad or severe |
| regal | like royalty |
| benign | harmless |
| loom | to come into view indistinctly or threateningly |
| tome | a large volume or book |
| transient | staying for only a short time |
| discreet | marked by prudence or self-restraint |
| mortify | to cause to feel shame or acute embarrassment |
| avert | to turn away |
| gall | to embarrass or shame |
| unwittingly | without knowing or awareness |
| affront | to treat or refer to rudely |
| manifest | provide evidence for |
| emanate | to proceed or issue forth |
| egalitarian | favoring social equality |
| churl | a crude or ill-bred person lacking manners or refinement |
