Say What? Do How? Killer Vocabulary Part 2 (H-Q) Quiz

Answer: combination spear-and-battle-ax

If you've seen any of Hollywood's medieval epics, you've seen the spike-and-axe contraption called a halberd. (In the same vein, you've seen the medieval coat of armor, too, called a hauberk. Picture a hoodie with no zipper, made out of chain mail, which goes down to above your knees.) Hart's-horn? Not an instrument of war, it used to be the term describing smelling salts.

Answer: shame and dishonor

Although ignominy may be the result of one's foolishness or a controversy, ignominy itself is shame and dishonor. It is anything BUT indifference!

Answer: a long lamentation or complaint

The word jeremiad derives from the warnings, complaints and denunciations Jeremiah used to deliver regularly to the inhabitants of Judah to turn them from their evil ways. Sometimes, a champagne bottle is a "jeroboam", which is also, coincidentally, a Biblical name.

Answer: wear it on his head - it's a cap

If you've seen any Civil War flicks, you've seen a kepi. Originated by the French army, it's a cap with a flat round top and a stiff visor; the Americans used a shorter version, with the top pushed down front-wise at an angle.

Answer: tearful

Lachrymose derives from the Latin: lacrima, "tear". Lily liked to listen to sad lyrics and cry over them. Larry indulged Lily's liking for lachrymose lyrics (the lacy handkerchiefs) up to a point. He really was an insensitive beast!

Answer: misuse of words

Malaprop comes from the French mal à propos (ill-suited). It means a misused word, usually to comic effect. The Sheridan play "The Rivals" featured Mrs. Malaprop, who would say such things as "illiterate" for "obliterate." Modern American comedy makes frequent use of malapropisms too, e.g., Archie Bunker's "transvestite (transistor) radios" and "an albacore (albatross) around my neck" from "The Sopranos." (Quoted items from Wikipedia)

Answer: a naive person

(Pronounced nah-eef, two syllables) A naif, or naive person, always believes what someone tells him/her. Not being at all suspicious of others, a naif is a perfect target for a scoundrel. Refugees, although new to the ways of their new country, are not necessarily naive. And weirdos? Expect some hard-bitten skeptics among their number. Waif? An eye-rhyme, nothing more.

Answer: fawning

Obsequious means showing too great a willingness to serve or obey; in short, to fawn. True, this occasion was a formal affair, with all the elders in attendance, and Otto was optimistic about the whole affair, but that had nothing to do with his obsequiousness. Oh, and Otto was thin; not obese.

Answer: a speech which praises

A panegyric is a speech that praises; a speech that condemns is a philippic. A good example of a panegyric is the funeral speech Shakespeare has Antony make in "Julius Caesar." Ironically, Antony denies that this is to be a speech of praise - "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him" - but then delivers a panegyric for the ages, concluding with "My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar/ And I must pause till it come back to me."

Answer: a traitor

A quisling is a traitor. The word derives from Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian Fascist who seized power during the German invasion of Norway in 1940. Many times quirky guys like Quinn are slaves to their own impulses, and are quick to forget past loyalties. Not that Quisling himself was quixotic; he was an opportunist.