3.
WORDS
These are words that you should know if you want to be able to hold your own in an intelligent conversation. These are difficult words that people actually use! Sure, you can get by in a conversation with words like ‘sunny’, ‘raining’, ‘nice’ and ‘avocado’ and, on the other hand, you don’t need to know obscure words like ‘qat’, ‘vexillum’ and ‘xystus’ (an indoor stadium in ancient Greece). The words here are ones that smart people actually use – and expect you to know as well!
Racism directed at Jewish people. ‘Anti-Semitism was rife in Poland at that time.’ ‘Sometimes I think he might be a bit anti-Semitic.’ ‘This film reeks of anti-Semitism.’
‘Cynical’ means suspicious about everything, never believing good of anyone or anything. ‘You’re so cynical! Of course Westpac cares about us.’ ‘Well, if you’re going to be cynical about it!’ ‘I’m getting cynical about the idea of true love.’
‘Sceptical’ means not convinced, approaching something with suspicion. ‘I’m pretty sceptical about this government.’ ‘She says she’ll do it but I can’t help feeling sceptical.’ ‘You gotta be sceptical when it comes to faith healing.’
‘Deride’ means insult, ridicule, to put a lot of crap on someone. ‘He derided the whole concept.’ ‘She gave a derisory laugh.’ ‘That’s the most derisive reaction I’ve had from anyone.’
‘Defame’ is a legal term for putting a lot of crap on someone – and, what’s worse, crap that isn’t even true! ‘She’s suing him for defamation.’ ‘The newspaper defamed him three times in four days.’ ‘That comment could well be defamatory.’ (‘Libel’ is something defamatory that’s written down, ‘slander’ is something defamatory that’s spoken.)
‘Vilify’ means put serious crap on someone. ‘He vilified me on the front page of the local newspaper!’
Teaching something, but often with a hint that there’s too much teaching or preaching. ‘A lot of the Bible is quite didactic.’ ‘She has a rather didactic style but the students like her.’ ‘Some of those old films are too didactic for my taste.’
Very useful word, because there are so many people you can apply it to! Diffident people hang back, don’t like to stand out, don’t like to make decisions or express strong opinions. If you’re diffident about something, you’re not all that keen, probably a little bit negative. ‘I’m kind of diffident about the whole idea.’ ‘I wish he wasn’t quite so diffident.’ ‘She’s rather diffident in class, but her homework’s always done well.’
Temporary, not lasting long. ‘Everything humans have created is ephemeral.’ ‘Teenage tastes are pretty ephemeral.’
Trying to be funny. ‘Don’t be facetious.’ ‘He’s a bit facetious at times, but you can’t help liking him.’ ‘The whole article was totally facetious, but they took it literally.’
Liking to mix with people. Usually describes someone who’s outgoing, friendly, bouncy and confident. ‘He’s the most gregarious person I’ve ever met.’ ‘Cockatoos are gregarious birds.’ (This means that they like mixing with other cockatoos, incidentally, not with humans!) ‘You need to be more gregarious.’
An ‘icon’ is an object that has become special and precious, because it represents a whole lot of stuff. ‘The Hills Hoist is almost an Australian icon.’ ‘The book Catcher in the Rye is an icon of American literature.’ ‘Nearly all Russian homes had an icon showing the Virgin Mary or Jesus.’
An ‘iconoclast’ is someone who attacks icons, or widely held and valued beliefs. ‘The book takes an iconoclastic approach to Buddhism.’ ‘Something of an iconoclast in art circles, she painted portraits of people as jelly babies.’
‘Introverts’ tend to keep to themselves, be private, avoid people. ‘She’s become more introverted as she’s got older.’ ‘Do you think he’s too much of an introvert? He needs to get out more.’
‘Extroverts’ enjoy people, talk about themselves perhaps, mix easily. ‘Sophie’s a real extrovert! Talk about a party animal!’
‘Introspective’ means having the habit of looking within, of thinking about your inner life. ‘The trouble with people today is that they’re too introspective.’ ‘A little introspection’s a very healthy thing.’ ‘An artist needs to be introspective.’
A drama where everything is over the top, on an exaggerated scale. Typically, soap operas such as The Young and the Restless are melodramas. ‘My life feels like a melodrama at the moment.’ ‘Everything is such a melodrama with her.’ ‘Calm down! Stop being so melodramatic!’
Paradoxes are so cool! They are statements that contradict themselves yet also contain some truth. They carry within them the seeds of their own impossibility. For example: ‘I went riding the ox, in search of the ox.’ ‘I’m saying nothing, and I’m saying it’ (John Cage). ‘The child is father of the man’ (Wordsworth). ‘Be spontaneous!’ ‘The only rule is that there are no rules.’ ‘The name of this street is No-Name Street.’
‘Pedantic’ means too fussy about little details. ‘She’s so pedantic – you lose two marks for every spelling mistake.’ ‘This may sound pedantic, but are you sure you need to say “I had a smile on my face.”? After all, smiles are always on faces.’
Having good insight, being perceptive. ‘That’s very perspicacious of you.’
‘Erudite’ means wise. ‘Homer Simpson can be quite erudite sometimes – well, occasionally.’
A statement made so many times that it’s become boring and has lost its impact. ‘Politicians talk only in platitudes.’ ‘I know it’s a platitude, but it truly is a small world, isn’t it?’
Taking a very practical approach to issues without worrying much about theories. ‘The Premier is a real pragmatist – he likes people who get things done.’ ‘The pragmatic view of history is that if we don’t learn from the past we’ll keep on repeating the same mistakes.’
Advanced for her/his years. ‘Mozart was the most precocious musician the world has ever seen.’ ‘She’s quite precocious.’ ‘Learning algebra at 8! That’s a bit precocious!’
Having no religious element in it; treating religious observances with disrespect or even contempt. ‘Profanity is not acceptable in this school.’ ‘The exhibition mixes the sacred with the profane.’
Writing or speaking that is not poetry. ‘She wrote some of the greatest prose works in the English language.’ ‘His prose is better than his poetry.’ ‘Your prose is a little dull at times.’
More than is needed, more than is necessary. ‘These computers are redundant.’ ‘In the sentence “He knelt down”, “down” is redundant.’ ‘Sorry, Mr Gibson, your job has become redundant.’
Activities that are not religious. ‘Secular schools gradually became more popular than church schools in some regions.’ ‘As Australia becomes a more secular society, the nature of Christmas is changing.’ ‘We should take a secular approach to the issue of birth control.’
A vegetarian who won’t eat stuff that is produced from animals – including milk, cheese and eggs.