Vocab Virtuoso Gifts

Academic Idol - 'Professor Johannsen's paper was zippy. It had robust vocabulary and I almost felt that I could dance to it. I would give it a 7.'

'I've been trying to think of a word for two weeks.'

"Da, I know what opprobrium means."/ "That's great, son. Do you know anyone else who does?"

"Of course, that's only a first draft."

"My god - a thesaurus!"

"Dad, I know what opprobrium means." "That's great, son. Do you know anyone else who does?"

'When drouthy, it's a cumshaw even when it mizzles.'

"Excuse me, can I have a word?"

"That question you asked earlier piqued my curiosity, Steve..."

"Today we're filling out mock college applications."

'The magian didn't have to grouch about the mucker's mafficking.'

'At any sign of garboil, the sophy evidenced momism.'

'Third sentence, second one over...what does that word mean?'

'Once a donzel, the dyvour now settled for orts.'

'They sat in an etape, playing bezique and swilling skookum saloop.'

Wordplay: Rejection.

'Serving pyranose from his buskin left some paly.'

Classics Dept. I love the study of dead languages. You never have to keep up with the latest slang.

'I think that you will find that 3 across is 'antidisestablishmentarianism.''

'The larrikin was shirty because his crowdy wasn't flyless.'

Wordplay: Spokesperson.

'The stolid soucar cared little for the boatel.'

'Ha-ha! My Dad is right! If you say a word too many times, it doesn't sound like a real word anymore!'

"Could you tell me what happened without using those 'National Spelling Bee' words?"

'It sure didn't pay to increase my vocabulary that time!'

'They argued over the ordering of a cutty sark.'

"You'll love this. It's swarthy yet munificent, didactic and gregarious with hints of dogma."

"Counsel for prose is overruled. Poetry, you may continue."

'Roget it's fantastic, superb, extraordinary...where on earth did you get the idea?'

"It's a play on words."

Ninedency: A budding tendency

An informed voter is a good voter

'So it's the Mumm's Cordon Rouge, '98 Pouilly-Fuisse, '86 Chateau Margaux, and the '92 Barsac - would you like any food?'

'As Chuck's definition of terroir dragged past the 20-minute mark, Suzy concluded, the longer the explanation, the less likely you know what the word means.'

'No, you're not calling at a bad time. I'm a professional wine taster - it's alwasys a good time.'