Aug 8     The words listed below are the ones that you may run across while filling out job applications. Most of them are so common place you may think you know what they mean. A few aren't so common, but are handy to know.

     Match each of the words in the left column with the letter of its definition in the right column. The answers are below.

1. alumni                  a. biographical sketch

2. resume                 b. occupation, vocation

3. referral                 c. recommendation

4. objective               d. personal encounter

5. nee                       e. graduate

6. curriculum vitae    f. handiwork

7. career                   g. summary

8. experience            h. maiden name

9. remuneration         i. goal, target

10. accomplishment   j. pay & benefits

1.e  2.g  3.c  4.i  5.h  6.a  7.b  8.d  9.j  10.f

Aug 22     At a younger age, I learned a saying that went, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Not only was that a lie, it still is a lie. Words can be used to hurt. Words can be used to heal. Words can get you fired. But important to my point today, is that words can get you hired!

     The kind of words can help you get hired are known as verbs. Verbs are the kind of words that mean action. "Been there, done that." These are the words you want to stress when talking or writing to someone you want to hire you. Notice that all the words are in the past tense. These are things you did.

     Match each of the words in the left column with the letter of its definition in the right column.

1. analyzed              a. started

2. chaired                 b. to oversee

3. skilled                   c. put into use

4. executed               d. to examine carefully

5. facilitated             e. assisted the progress of

6. implemented         f. to preside over with authority

7. initiated               g. carried out

8. maintained          h. to manage or use

9. operated                i. having ability, expertise

10. supervised           j. to keep in good condition

1.d  2.f  3.i  4.g  5.h  6.c  7.a  8.j  9.h  10.b

Sep 5     Before the year 1066, English was primarily a Saxon language influenced by the Norse, and less so by the Celts. Even though the Romans had occupied the area for some time, the natives adopted very few Latin words for their daily use.

     In 1066, a man named William from Normandy, France seized the English throne and French became the "official" language. Over time, the French nobility came to think of themselves as English. By then, the native Saxon language spoken by the peasants and the nobility's French dialect had merged to become what we now call "Middle English," the language of Chaucer. The result of this merger caused the English language to have two primary roots: Germanic through the Saxons and Latin through the French.

     When you talk about your "mother's side' of your family, you are using words that are Saxon based. When you mention your "maternal ancestors," you are using words that are Latin in origin. In the columns below, match the Latin and Saxon synonyms. 

1. osculate                a. sharp

2. affluent                b. scratchy

3. acute                    c. kiss

4. feline                    d. speed

5. view                      e. becloud

6. abrasive                f. rich

7. court                     g. cat

8. sylvan                  h. look

9. obnubulate            i. woo

10. velocity                j. wooded

1.c  2.g  3.a  4.g  5.h  6.b  7.i  8.j  9.e  10.d

Sep 19     The English language can be thought of as a linguistic sponge. It absorbs words from anywhere and everywhere. Some words stay a permanent part of the vocabulary. Others, like the Norwegian name Quisling for traitor, have a relatively short life span.

     The words in this list were introduced into English from many areas of the globe. Match each of the words in the first column with the language of its origin in the second column. 

1. igloo                     a. American Spanish

2. tabu                     b. Arabic

3. algebra                 c. Chinese

4. amen                    d. Greek

5. alphabet               e. Hebrew

6. abalone                 f. Inuit

7. jaguar                  g. Japanese

8. nirvana                h. Polynesian

9. typhoon                 i. Sanskrit

10. tycoon                 j. Tupi

1.f  2.h  3.b  4.e  5.d  6.a  7.j 8.i  9.c  10.g

Oct 17     A friend of mine once went searching for just the right word and the manner he did so caught my attention. What he did was to try a couple of different prefixes in front of the same word before coming up with the meaning he was trying to get across.

     The word "prefix" itself has a prefix, so it makes for a good example. The "fix" part comes from the Latin "figere" meaning "to fasten." "Pre" (also from Latin) means "before." So, a prefix are letters that one fastens before another word which is called the "stem."

     Match each of the prefixes in the left column with the letter of its definition in the right column.

 1. com                      a. in; but also can reverse the meaning of the stem

2. de                         b. beside, near

3. ex                         c. again, backwards

4. im                        d. out of, from

5. inter                     e. with, together

6. juxta                     f. under, below, slightly

7. pro                       g. removal, negation, reversal

8. re                         h. across, beyond, through

9. sup                        i. between, among, reciprocally

10. trans                   j. in favor of

1.e  2.d  3.g  4.a  5.i  6.b  7.j  8.c  9.f  10.h

Oct 3     A working definition of prefixes was introduced in a previous edition. Here, those same prefixes are all attached to the same stem. This shows how a prefix changes the basic meaning of the word it is placed in front of.

     The stem used below is "pose." Match each of the words in the left column with the letter of its definition in the right column.

 1. compose               a. to thrust something upon others

2. depose                  b. to consider as a possibility

3. expose                  c. to place side by side

4. impose                 d. to place or come between other things

5. interpose              e. to pose again; peace, tranquility

6. juxtapose              f. to uncover or bare

7. propose                g. to make by joining things, parts, ideas

8. repose                  h. to change from one position to another

9. suppose                 i. to suggest

10. transpose             j. to remove from office

1.g  2.j  3.f  4.a  5.d  6.c  7.i  8.e  9.b  10.h

Oct 31     O.K. folks, how many of you out there suffer from tredecaphobia? No one I hope; a tredecaphobic is someone who is afraid of the number 13. I find it ironic that the word "tredecaphobia" itself has 13 letters. It is possible to avoid words that are 13 letters long, but your vocabulary will be descriptively poorer. Match the following 13 words with their 13 definitions in the second column.

 1. dermatologist       a. blameworthy

2. professoriate        b. other than one's own choice

3. rejuvenescent      c. destructive fire

4. reprehensible       d. one who studies skin

5. thermodynamic   e. made hopelessly unhappy

6. involuntarily       f. large number of

7. comprehension    g. a group of professors

8. disconsolated       h. flowering, blossoming

9. circumstances      i. having many colors

10. conflagration     j. making young again

11. multitudinous   k. using or producing heat

12. inflorescence      l. surrounding conditions

13. polychromatic    m. the act of understanding

1.d 2.g 3.j 4.a 5.k 6.b 7.m 8.e 9.l 10.c 11.f 12. h 13.i

Nov 14     A contraction as defined by Webster is "a shortened form of a word or group of words." By nature, they're an informal way of getting out point across in a shorter amount of time. By informal, I mean that they aren't used in official or formal documents. One quirk of my spell checker that perplexes me is that it doesn't recognize contractions. I can't see why they were left out of the checker's dictionary as they're very common in everyday speech.

     Native speaker of English usually don't give contractions a second thought as they're brought up to use them. However, for speakers of other languages, contractions represent another hurdle while mastering English. Even Data from Star Trek, The Next Generation wasn't programmed to use them originally.

     On the left is a column of contractions to be matched with a definition on the right. Most are in common usage; an odd one had me stumped for a while, but I got it. 

1. I've                       a. how is

2. e're (poetic)            b. will not

3. shan't                   c. Did you eat?

4. I'm not                  d. you are

5. you're                   e. I have

6. we'd                      f. ever

7. J'eet? (slang)        g. she will

8. she'll                    h. shall not

9. how's                     i. I am not

10. won't                   j. we would

1.e  2.f  3.h  4.i  5.d  6.j  7.c  8.g  9.a  10.b

Nov 26     A "place-name" is simply the name given to a geographical location such as a town, a mountain or a river. Among other methods of coming up with names, the first European settlers adopted the ones already in use by the native peoples. These place names are probably the greatest impact the Native American languages had on the English language. The Celtic influence came about the same way 1000 years earlier when the Angles, Saxons and Norse took over their lands.

     There is a lake in the middle of Massachusetts that was originally called in the Algonquian language "Chargoggagoggmanchaugagoggchaubunagungamaugg (You fish on your side, I will fish on my side, and no one fishes in the middle)." Not being able to handle the inconveniently long name, the colonists renamed it Lake Webster. Other place names remained in use, though sometimes in altered forms.

     Match each of the names in the left column with the letter of its Native American origin and definition in the right column.

1. Arizona                a. Algonquian: at the great hill

2. Connecticut          b. Delaware: large plains

3. Kentucky              c. Fox: large lake

4. Massachusetts       d. Iliniwek: owners of big canoes

5. Michigan              e. Mahican: beside the long tidal river

6. Minnesota              f. Ojibwa: place of the beaver

7. Missouri               g. Papago or Pima: place of small springs

8. N. & S. Dakota      h. Sioux: sky tinted waters

9. Wisconsin              i. Sioux: allies or friends

10. Wyoming             j. Wyandot: land of tomorrow

1.g  2.e  3.j  4.a  5.c  6.h  7.d  8.i  9.f  10.b

Dec 12     Have you ever eaten "humble pie (or crow)?" Are have you ever "eaten your heart out?" How about having someone "eat out of your hand?" In actuality, the meaning of "to eat crow" is to admit you were mistaken. While it isn't possible to eat your own heart, it is possible to be jealous or extremely sad. Someone "eating out of your hand" means they trust you. These colorful expressions are known as idioms.

     An idiom is a specialized expression and often used to describe a situation. More than being just descriptive, an idiom can function as any of the major parts of speech; such as a noun, verb, adjective adverb etc... A frequent trait of an idiom is that the meaning of the phrase sometimes has nothing to do with the meaning of any of the words in the phrase. It is possible to tell where someone is from by what idioms they use. This is because not only does each language have its own unique idioms, but often the regional dialects within a language posses their own as well.

     Just to demonstrate the wide variety of how idioms are used, the list below centers around the use of the word "shoe." Match each of the idioms in the left column with the letter of its definition in the right column.

 1. fill someone's shoes          a. to walk

2. in someone else's shoes    b. easy to talk and work with

3. the shoe is on the other foot c. a modest, friendly person

4. where the shoe pinches    d. to be very much afraid

5. comfortable as an old shoe e. the opposite is now true

6. if the shoe fits, wear it       f. in a similar situation as someone else

7. a shoe-string catch           g. to trap a ball by the glove's top laces

8. shake in one's shoes        h. a competent replacement

9. common as an old shoe     i. if what is said describes you, you are meant

10. shoe leather express       j. where the trouble is

1.h 2.f 3.e 4.j 5.b 6.i 7.g 8.d 9.c 10.a

Dec 24     In the story "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, Ebenezer Scrooge was shown a pleasant memory of Mr. Fezziwig, his former employer, by the Ghost of Christmas Past. Scrooge replied, "He (Fezziwig) has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Say that his power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count 'em up; what then? The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune." Scrooge had just remembered that kind words and warm looks were of great worth; more so than cold cash. It was a hard lesson for Scrooge, may it not be as hard for us.

     The following words were gleaned from this story. Match each of the words in the left column with the letter of its definition in the right column.

1. aught                   a. railing

2. balustrade            b. to deck out, array

3. bedight                 c. cheerful, merry

4. frousy                   d. deny, contradict

5. gainsay                e. wine with sugar, nutmeg and lemon

6. jocund                   f. acquaintances

7. kenned                 g. everywhere, ever present

8. kith                      h. anything whatever

9. negus                    i. knew, perceived

10. ubiquitous           j. dirty and untidy

1.h  2.a  3.b  4.j  5.d  6.c  7.i  8.f  9.e 10.g

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