Chapter 23
I’m Against That--- or
Am I Next to It?
Placing items next to each other for the sake of comparing
or contrasting them.
The old phrase ‘champagne taste on a beer budget’ neatly juxtaposes the longing for expensive objects with a meager bank account.
1. juxtapose -verb
Condition of sharing or of connecting without a break.
As lab partners Gillian and Chelsea had contiguous work areas.
2. contiguous -adj
Condition of being physically close.
The real estate agent was quick to point out the proximity of the house to the best elementary school in the district.
3. proximity -noun
A literary way of saying ‘across’
A famous eighteenth-century poet refers to stars that shoot “athwart the sky.”
4. athwart- preposition/adverb
the curved path of something hurling through space
Air traffic controllers at any airport must be constantly aware of the trajectories of all planes scheduled to land.
5. trajectory -noun
Lying close to or next to
What a bad idea-- the rat poison and the aspirin on adjacent shelves in the bathroom!
6. adjacent -adj
the outer limits or edge of an area or object
Although Samantha was focusing on her homework, her grandmother’s illness was always in the periphery of her consciousness.
7. periphery -noun
The formation of a right angle or a line that is vertical
Mr. McKean used a plumb line to make sure that the installation of the door frame was perpendicular.
8. perpendicular -adj
Being neither vertical or horizontal but slanting
Cynthia eyed the four unmarked streets entering the traffic circles at oblique angles and wondered which one was Mt. Carmel Road.
9. oblique -adj
Diagonally placed
Nat, hungry because he had skipped breakfast, used his mid-morning break to run to the bagel shop catercorner to the school.
10. catercorner -noun
Splendor in the Grass
Chaper 24
A striking or splendid display
When Doreen first visited the United Nations, she was delighted by the panoply of flags of all the countries represented there.
1. panoply -noun
To sparkle
Russian women at the czar’s ball wore coruscating diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires.
2. coruscate -verb
Great brilliance of performance
Dressed in a purple robe tipped with ermine, Prince Boyohboy entered the kingdom with great éclat.
3. éclat -noun
Can be used admiringly for something dashing and colorful in style
The faculty members defended Emily’s flamboyant individuality as displayed through her spiky hair and equally spiky jewelry.
4. flamboyant -adj
Lavish, marked by abundance
The memory of the glamorous carriages, sumptuous cuisine, and personal service will stay with you forever.
5. sumptuous -adj
A display of fireworks
Some years North Ogden’s display of pyrotechnics is quite magnificent.
6. pyrotechnics -noun
To polish to a high sheen
The hair of Princess Myohmy was not so much brushed as burnished, for she had six handmaidens responsible for its gleaming appearance.
7. burnish -verb
An individual whose life is given over to pleasure and luxury
Camping in the woods is not something a sybarite would want to do even if it were in a trailer camper.
8. sybarite -noun
A shining spectrum of colors
Photographers marveled at the iridescent display of colors on a beautiful sunset.
9. iridescent -adj
Overly showy, pretentious
Bernie characterizes Brian as ostentatious because he possesses three luxury sedans, an SUV and a convertible.
10. ostentatious -adj
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