| atavism |
the recurrence or reappearance of a particular trait, style, attitude, or behavior that seemed to have disappeared, or that which has recurred or reappeared after such an absence. |
| cachet |
prestige. |
| curmudgeon |
an irritable or ill-tempered person. |
| derision |
mockery or ridicule. |
| disabuse |
to free (a person) from misconception or deception; set straight. |
| epicure |
a person who has cultivated tastes, as in food or wine; connoisseur. |
| expound |
to discuss or explain in detail (usually followed by "on" or "upon"). |
| granulate |
to make into small particles or grains. |
| guttural |
articulated in the back of the mouth; velar. |
| linguistics |
(used with a singular verb) the scientific and historical study of the form and structure of human language. |
| maverick |
a person who thinks and behaves independently, especially one who refuses to adhere to the orthodoxy of the group to which he or she belongs. |
| oblique |
not direct or straightforward in intent, means, or achievement; indirect or devious. |
| syntax |
the word order or pattern of word order in a sentence. |
| tort |
in law, any civil rather than criminal harm or injury that violates the implicit duty of each citizen not to harm others, and for which one may bring a civil suit and collect compensation. |
| untoward |
unexpected and unfortunate. |