| acclivity |
a rising slope. |
| argot |
the vocabulary or jargon characteristic of a specific group or class, especially of criminals. |
| ascertain |
to learn without question; determine. |
| austere |
having only what is needed; very simple or plain. |
| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| banal |
lacking originality or liveliness; disappointingly ordinary; commonplace; trite. |
| canny |
difficult to fool or take advantage of; shrewd; wary; clever. |
| exponent |
one that expounds or interprets. |
| insipid |
having a bland or uninteresting flavor; tasteless. |
| malapropism |
the humorous or ridiculous misuse of a word, especially by using a word that sounds similar to the correct word, but whose meaning is inappropriate. |
| meretricious |
appealing or attracting in a cheap, showy, or shallow way. |
| quotidian |
happening every day or once a day. |
| sententious |
using or marked by pompous, high-flown moralizing. |
| surcingle |
a girth or belt that wraps around the body of a horse to secure a saddle, pack, or the like to its back. |
| uxorious |
excessively or foolishly devoted to one's wife, and often thereby submissive to her. |