| abut |
to adjoin or press against; be next to; border on. |
| Byzantine |
characterized by complexity and intrigue. |
| despoil |
to forcefully take belongings or goods from; plunder. |
| deter |
to stop or discourage from some action by creating doubt or fear. |
| dilatory |
used to cause a delay. |
| epigraph |
a pertinent quotation or motto, especially found at the beginning of a literary work or of a chapter. |
| erratic |
not expected or predicted; not regular. |
| extralegal |
not regulated or permitted by law; outside of legal authority. |
| fracas |
a noisy disturbance or quarrel. |
| highbrow |
one who has or pretends to have highly sophisticated intellectual and cultural interests and tastes (often used disparagingly). |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| meretricious |
appealing or attracting in a cheap, showy, or shallow way. |
| reprise |
repetition of a musical phrase or theme in an identical or slightly altered way. |
| Sabbatarian |
one who observes the Sabbath on Saturday, as Jews and certain Christians. |
| solipsism |
the self-centered habit of interpreting and judging all things exclusively according to one's own concepts of meaning and value. |