| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| derision |
mockery or ridicule. |
| elide |
to leave out or slur, as a syllable or letter, in pronunciation. |
| epicure |
a person who has cultivated tastes, as in food or wine; connoisseur. |
| euphoria |
a strong feeling of well-being or elation, sometimes unrealistic or unwarranted, and able to be induced by certain drugs. |
| hagiography |
an admiring and uncritical biography of anyone. |
| harbinger |
someone or something that signals or foreshadows a later arrival or occurrence; herald; forerunner. |
| kismet |
destiny, fortune, or fate. |
| knurled |
having small ridges. |
| lapidary |
an expert on or dealer in gemstones. |
| penumbra |
an indefinite, borderline area. |
| repose2 |
to put or place (confidence, hope, or the like) in someone or something. |
| salvo |
the firing of guns or other firearms simultaneously or in succession, especially as a salute. |
| shyster |
a person, usually a lawyer, who uses underhanded, unethical methods. |
| syntax |
the word order or pattern of word order in a sentence. |