word of the day: concubine

CONCUBINE, n [kŏng'kyə-bīn']

Meaning:
1. (in polygamous societies) a woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife or wives
2. mistress

Example:
My half-sisters wore rose-colored tunics and so did their mothers, my father's concubines.

word of the day: HERMAPHRODITE

Hermaphrodite, n [hər-māf'rə-dīt']

Meaning:
one having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs; at birth an unambiguous assignment of male or female cannot be made

Synonyms:
androgyne; epicene; gynandromorph; intersex

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

# Feathers From A Thousand Li Away:
sulk:
unanimous:
chenille:
smudge:
concubine:
doom:
pavilion:
squaw:

# The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates:
replica:
scurry:
immediacy:
jaunty:
ruffle:
celestial:
cascade:
arpeggio:
petticoat:
gawker:
fiasco:
Alakazam:

# American Translation:
leprosy:
swoon:
shudder:
doily:

# Queen Mother Of The Western Skies:
impertinent:
teak:
rickshaw:
kowtow:
shun:
ravel:
wonderment:
insidious:
syndrome:
trinket:
reverentially:
jut:
orgy:
essence:

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck vocabulary

# pp. 1-16 --
mottled:
droned:
periscope:
lumbered:
imperiously:
hutch:
juncture:
skitter:
pantomime:
imperiously:
morosely:

# pp. 17-37 --
liniment:
cesspool:
ominously:
trace chains:
skinner:
grizzled:
graybacks:
swamper:
pugnacious:
brittle:
skinner:
douse:

# pp. 38-65 --
derision:
subdued:
kewpie doll:
subdue:
gnawing:
hoosegow:
reprehensible:

# pp. 66-83 --
spectacles:
indignation:
fawning:

# pp. 84-98 --
pulley:
sullenly:
manger:
snivel:
bewilder:

# pp. 99 to end --
haunches:
waggle:

LESSON 8: POPULAR CULTURE – BODY LANGUAGE

CONTRADICT, vb. [kŏn'trə-dĭkt]
(Sometimes a person’s body language contradicts his words.)

Meanings:

· (1) to be opposed to (2) to say the opposite of what someone else has said
· e.g. It's unwise to contradict your boss.

Synonyms: (1) clash, conflict, disaccord (2) oppose, gainsay, negate, controvert, deny, oppugn
Antonyms: agree, correspond
Idiom: go (or run) counter to

REPRIMAND, vb. [rěp'rə-mānd']
(If a person is reprimanded for being late, she may cross her arms.)

Meanings:

· To criticize a person severely
· e.g. The soldier was severely reprimanded for being drunk.

Synonyms: censure, condemn, reprehend, upbraid, admonish, reprove, reproach, rebuke, castigate, chastise, chide, call down, [infl./slang] dress down, rap, bawl out, lambaste, chew out, light into, tick off
Antonyms: commend, praise
Idioms: bring/call/take to task, call on the carpet, haul/take over the coals, let someone have it

DEFENSIVE, n. [dĭ-fěn'sĭv]
(That shows she feels defensive.)

Meaning:

· (1) self-protective attitude (2) ready to reject criticism
· e.g. he had the attitude that work was fun

INDIFFERENCE, n. [ĭn-dĭf'ər-əns]
(They shrug their shoulders to show indifference.)

Meanings:

· lack of interest
· e.g. We were shocked by their indifference toward poverty; he showed complete indifference to the cries of the baby.

Synonyms: unconcern, listlessness, apathy, insensibility, [infl./slang] cold shoulder
Antonym: eagerness, responsiveness

UNIVERSAL, adj. [yōō'nə-vûr'səl]
(However, some gestures, such as a smile, are universal.)

Meaning:

· present or happening everywhere
· e.g. English may become a universal language that everyone can learn and use.

Synonyms: general, catholic, cosmic, common, worldwide, global, omnipresent, ubiquitous
Antonym: confined, local

UNIQUE, adj. [yōō-nēk']
(Every person has his or her own unique gestures.)

Meaning:

· (1) being the only one of its kind (2) very unusual
· e.g. His style is unique.

Synonyms: singular, exceptional, extraordinary, unrivaled, anomalous, utmost
Antonyms: like, similar, standard, trite
Idioms: first and last, one and only

6, 7, 8, 9

Q: Why 6 is afraid of 7?

A: Because 7 8 9. (clue: homophones)



(Note: The homopnones of eight is ate. So 7, 8, 9 can also read as 7 ate 9. Now, do you agree that 6 should afraid of 7?)

WHY ENGLISH IS SO HARD

We’ll begin with box, and the plural is boxes;
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a whole lot of mice,
But the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be called pen?
The cow in the plural may be cows or kine,
But the plural of vow is vows, not vine.
And I speak of a foot, and you show me your feet,
But I give a boot -- would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be called beeth?
Then one may be that, and three may be those,
Yet the plural of hat would never be hose.
We speak of a brother, and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
The masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim!
So our English, I think you will all agree,
Is the trickiest language you ever did see.

When the English tongue we speak
Why is break not rhymed with freak?
We say sew but likewise few;
And the maker of a verse
Cannot cap his horse with worse?
Beard sounds not the same as heard;
Cord is different from word.
Cow is cow, but low is low;
Shoe is never rhymed with foe.
Think of hose and dose and lose;
And of goose and yet of choose.
Think of tomb and comb and bomb,
Doll and roll and home and some,
And since pay is rhymed with say,
Why not paid with said, I pray?
We have blood and food and good,
Mould is not rhymed with could,
Wherefore done but gone and lone.
Is there any reason known?
So in short it seems to me
Sounds and letters disagree.