Flashcards
Halcyon
1. Calm, peaceful, and pleasant.
2. Adjective
3. I enjoyed the * scene by the lake; the birds cooing reminded me of a beautiful time long past.
4. * is often somewhat nostalgic.
Sadistic
1. Enjoying the pain of others.
2. Adjective
3. Big Nurse may be *. She seems to love it when the occupants of the ward suffer.
4. * is... CRUEL!
Matriarchy
1. A hierarchy dominated by women.
2. Noun
3. The ward is a *, ruled by Big Nurse and other females.
4. * is the woman equivalent of patriarchy.
Notorious
1. Infamous, known for bad reasons.
2. Adjective
3. Hitler and Stalin are *; they are well known for their cruel deeds.
4. *=Infamous
Braggart
1. An arrogant person.
2. Noun
3. He was such a(n) * and constantly talked about his accomplishments.
4. *=Arrogant.
Bedlam
1. Insulting term for an insane asylum.
2. Noun.
3. It would be quite cruel to call the ward a(n) "*."
4. * is pejorative. The definition we are using is chaotic, out of order, crazy...
Plattitude
1. A trite and corny remark.
2. Noun.
3. Comedians who merely spout out *s will not become popular; everyone will be tired of their jokes upon first hearing them!
4. * is BORING.
Gripe
1. To complain naggingly, a complaint
2. Verb, Noun
3. McMurphy's * about not being able to watch the World Series is completely ignored by the ward; they ignore his complaint.
4. * is a complaint.
Prototype
1. A quintessential example, or the first model or product. Later products are based of it.
2. Noun
3. Before an inventor patents his invention, he often will make a *, a first copy, to see if the invention works.
4. * is the first copy, or typical example.
Ornery
1. Irritable, uncooperative, unpleasant
2. Adjective
3. His * disposition led to very few friendships; no one wanted to be near someone so irritable.
4. * is not a thing you want to be!
Maudlin
1. Sentimental, weakly emotional, self-pitying
2. Adjective.
3. His * manner made the audience cry. They too felt those hard feelings.
4. * may or may not be insincere... it depends. Involves self-pity.
Giddy
1. Not serious; light-headed or dizzy.
2. Adjective.
3. Often alcohol makes people very *; they are quite light-headed and feel their head is spinning.
4. * often does have to do with alcohol.
Bile
1. A substance in the liver used to break down fat, or anger.
2. Noun.
3. * is quite bitter due to its alkalinity, which allows it to break down the weakly acidic fat in the liver.
4. * can also mean anger.
Hovel
1. Shack or slum house, or just sham place
2. Noun
3. The disgusting town was full of *s; the dilapdiated residences were disgusting and definitely did not contribute to the overall appearance.
4. * is negative.
Belligerent
1. Fighting party in a conflict; Quarrelsome.
2. Noun; Adjective.
3. The Union and the Confederacy were the two *s in the Civil War, and fought one another extensively.
4. * is sometimes millitary, and sometimes, say, a person's manner.
Gaff
1. Stick with a hook, or a large iron hook.
2. Noun.
3. They used the gaff because the hook on the end could catch the fish.
4. Let's use THE IRON HOOK.
Jetty
1. A pier; A breakwater to defend land.
2. Noun.
3. The city would have been flooded by the hurricane, had it not been for the * in front of it, which stopped the flow of water.
4. * can be both a pier and a breakwater. Which one are we using? Both seem fine.
Ramshackle
1. Dilapidated, in need of serious repair, shoddy.
2. Adjective.
3. The * hovel was in such a terrible state that it would take 100 men 100 years to fix it!
4. * is quite negative.
Lobotomy
1. A surgery used on emotionally or mentally ill patients that removes nerves connecting their frontal lobe to emotion-controlling areas of the brain.
2. Noun.
3. *(pl.) often have unintended side effects; what may be intended to help a patient overcome depression can stifle their personality due to this cutting off of the emotional areas of the brain from the frontal lobe.
4. *(plural again) are no longer common.
Bellicose
1. Belligerent.
2. Adjective.
3. Do not be so * and pick fights so often. Why are you so eager for conflict?
4. * is pretty negative.
Anachronism
1. A temporal inconsistency.
2. Noun.
3. A picture of George Washington using a computer would be an *.
4. The word has a pretty specific meaning- inconsistency in time.
Chronic
1. Long-lasting and recurring.
2. Adjective.
3. The patients on the ward with mental problems are often simply called just, "s."
4. * often refers to a disease.
Chronological
1. In the order in which something occurred.
2. Adjective.
3. Please sort your timeline in * order; I do not want the year 1900 to the left of 1890!
4. * often refers to a timeline or something else similar; it is temporal order.