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7/31/14

NIGH

NIGH

Nye

Adjacent; bordering; near;

Being close or near.

You are nigh to me and I can hear you whisper.

Nigh

Nigh (Reminds) Near

You are near.

NEAR



A bee does not have hoofs. How does a bee, behoove you?
Answer below...


 
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Answer: 
It makes honey. Behoove means to use or profit from. You benefit when you eat the honey.

7/30/14

NUGATORY

NUGATORY

New-ga-tor-re

Ineffectual; trifling; valueless;

Being of little importance.

They are nugatory because they are useless and not good for anything.








I soon learned that my paperclip collection was nugatory. No on wanted to buy it.

Nug - a - tory

Nug (Reminds) Nugget

Tory (Reminds) Story

A nugget story because it is not important.

NUGGET STORY





A bee does not have hoofs. How does a bee, behoove you?
Answer below...


   
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Answer: 
It makes honey. Behoove means to use or profit from. You benefit when you eat the honey.



7/29/14

OBDURATE

Ob-jer-rayt

Adamant; harsh; dogged;

Being stubborn. Being indifferent to advice.

He is obdurate and will not listen to advice because he is not yielding.


The cat was acting obdurate and stubbornly refused to get off my book.



Ob - du - rate

Ob (Reminds) Object or refuse

Rate (Reminds) Berate

Object to being berated.

OBJECT BERATE





You show up on an antedate for a date. How was your date?

Answer below...




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Answer: 
Not good. Antedate is a date earlier than a given date. You showed up early and your date was not there.

7/28/14

OBTUSE

Ob-toose

Dense; dumb; slow;

Having dull thinking.

She is obtuse and will need a tutor and she will get smarter.


The obtuse robot did not understand math. It was very dumb.

Ob - t - use

Ob (Reminds) Object

Use (Reminds) Use

We object to a use that we do not understand.

OBJECT USE




Do you ever succumb?
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Answer: 
I hope not! Succumb means to submit or yield. Never surrender!

7/27/14

OCULUS

OCULUS

Ock-you-lus

Opening; headlight; eyeball;

Being an eye.

The oculus is very small for such a big animal.

Oculus

Oculus (Reminds) Binocular

We use our eyes with a binocular.

BINOCULAR




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7/26/14

OFFICIOUS

OFFICIOUS

Oh-fish-ish

Pushy; intrusive; meddling;

Giving unwanted help.

Stop giving officious advice because I can choose my own shoes.

The officious woman insisted that I not eat ice cream before dinner. She was always annoying.

Off - icious

Off (Reminds) Off or back off

Icious (Reminds) Vicious

Back off with your advice or I will be vicious.

OFF VICIOUS




You are a veracious and ravenous. You say, "You did not eat the pie."  I believe you. Why?

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Answer:  

A veracious person tells the truth. Veracious means having the habit of being honest.

7/25/14

OOMPH

OOMPH

Oomf

Zing; dash; pep;

Having a lot of energy.

The car had oomph and it went from idle to fast quickly.

The car had great oomph. It went very fast.

Oom - ph

Oom (Reminds) Ohm

An ohm is a measurement of energy.

OHM




You go trundling. What do you do with your balls?

Answer below...


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Answer:  

You throw them down the lane. Trundling means to bowl.

7/24/14

OSTENTATIOUS

Os-tent-tay-shis

Loud; flamboyant; garish;

Being very flashy.

Her hat is ostentatious because it is gaudy with big flowers.

Everyone looked at her ostentatious hat. It was very flashy.

Osten - tatious

Osten (Reminds) Ostrich

Tentatious (Reminds) Tenacious

An ostrich is tenacious and has flashy feathers.

OSTRICH TENACIOUS




We play scrabble. You want to quit. I say quitting is an obliquity thing to do. Why do you sit back down and play?

Answer below...




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Answer: 

Obliquity means dishonest or underhanded.

7/23/14

PARABLE

<Pa-ra-bil>

Teaching; tale; legend;

Telling a moral story that teaches a Lesson.

Your story was a parable and I learned from your fable.

The parable taught us to be kind to animals. It was a good story with a good lesson.



Par - a - ble

Par (Reminds) Par or good enough

Ble (Rhymes) Bull or a bull story

Your bull story was on par and it teaches us.

PAR A BULL




Is your commorancy common or is it fancy?

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Answer:  


It depends. A commorancy is the place where you live or sleep.

7/22/14

PARADIGM

PARADIGM

Par-ah-dime

Pattern; standard; model;

Thinking the same thing.

Believing the earth is round is a paradigm because it is a common belief.

The paradigm that the earth was flat went out of favor. Sales of flat earth maps went flat. Pun intended.

Para - digm

Para (Reminds) Parable or story

Digm (Remind of) Dime or decade

A story changes through the decades.

PARABLE DIME



Tonight, I will lock my doors and lucubrate for hours. What am I doing?

Answer below...


Answer:  

Studying. Lucubrate means to work or study at night.

7/21/14

PARAPHRASE

PARAPHRASE

Pa-ra-fraze

Restate; recap; reword;

Rewording something to clarify it.

Let me paraphrase because I can explain it better.


Let me paraphrase it this way. You won the lottery!

Para - phrase

Para (Reminds) Parable

Phrase (Reminds) Phrase or say

Saying a parable story as a new phrase.

PARABLE PHRASE




You come home and realize your brazier is hot. Why are you happy about it?

Answer below...



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Answer:  

A brazier holds hot coal. Your house is nice and warm. Pronounced: Bray-zure

7/20/14

PEDAGOGY

PEDAGOGY

Ped-ah-go-gee

Schooling; learning; training;

Being the science or art of teaching.

Computers changed the pedagogy because you can study on the Internet.

Ped - a - gog - ee

Ped (Reminds) Pedia

Gog (Reminds) Gog

We learn from a pedia and we are agog.

PEDIATRIC AGOG



Your eyes belie where your ball lies. Do I know where your ball is?

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Answer: 
 
Yes. Your eyes give away where your ball is. Belie means to reveal a secret.

7/19/14

PEJORATIVE

PEJORATIVE

Pa-jaw-ra-tiv

Disparage; demean; derogatory;

Insulting for the purpose of being mean.

Never use pejorative words when you can say nice things instead.


He read a book on insults so he could have an insulting pejorative at the ready.

Pej - orative

Pej (Reminds) Peeve

Orative (Reminds) Orate or say

I am peeved and I will orate my anger.

PEEVE ORATOR




You don't like germane things. Why don't you respond when someone greets you?

Answer below...

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Answer:  

Germane means appropriate. You don't like appropriate things like greeting people.

7/18/14

PERSNICKETY

PERSNICKETY

Per-snik-et-tee

Picky; fussy; finicky;

Being hard to please.

The persnickety cannot make up their mind about choosing colors.



The persnickety boy would only wear fancy expensive sneakers.

Pers - nickety

Pers (Reminds) Purse lips

Nickety (Reminds) Picky

We purse our lips when we are picky.

PURSE PICKY





Your car has a stalwart engine. Can you drive it or does it stall?

Answer below...




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Answer:  

You can drive it. Stalwart means being strong. Your car has a strong engine.

7/17/14

PERSPICACIOUS

PERSPICACIOUS

Per-spee-kay-shish

Clever; astute; aware;

Having insight and wisdom.

I am perspicacious because not much gets past my wise mind.


The perspicacious child figured out what was in the box.

Perspi - cacious

Perspi (Reminds) Perspective

Cacious (Reminds) Tenacious

My perspective is tenacious when I think a lot.

PERSPECTIVE TENACIOUS


 

California is not caliginous. How can that be?

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Answer:  

California is bright and sunny.  "Caliginous" is to be dark and gloomy.


7/16/14

PETTIFOGGER

PETTIFOGGER

Pet-tee-fog-er

Nitpicker; quibbler; trifler;

Being a person who argues about trivial things.

Never argue with a pettifogger because he will bore you with trivia.


The pettifogger wanted to argue about trivial things.

Petti - fogger

Petti (Reminds) Petty

Fogger (Reminds) Fog or unclear


You are petty and foggy talking is trivial.

PETTY FOGGER



Tonight, I will lock my doors and lucubrate for hours. What am I doing?

Answer below...






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Answer:  

Studying. Lucubrate means to work or study at night.

7/15/14

PHOSPHORESCENCE

PHOSPHORESCENCE

Fos-for-res-sense

Glimmering; sparkling; shinning;

Being a glowing luminous light.

The phosphorescence bulb lit up the room and the dark was gone.


The bulb bathed the basement in a phosphorescence glow. Soon new things would be discovered.

Phosphor - escence

Phosphor (Reminds) Phosphor or glow

Escence (Reminds) Essence or nature

A phosphor essence thing glows.

PHOSPHOR ESSENCE




A cetacean swims by our boat. Why are we not afraid?

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Answer:  


A cetacean is a dolphin or a whale. Cetacean means an aquatic mammal having a blowhole.

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7/14/14

PIED

PIED

Pyed

Checkered; speckled; flecked;

Being composed of many colors.

The coat is pied and spotted with a rainbow of color.


I wore my favorite pied tie. It was pretty and had a lot of colors.

Pie - d

Pie (Reminds) Pie or pieces

A pie can be in colorful pieces.

PIE



You cogitate loafs of bread. What will you probably do next?

Answer below...



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Answer:  

Think about something more interesting. Cogitate means to think deeply. Thinking about bread is boring.

7/13/14

PRESAGE


PRESAGE

Pres-sadge

Prophecy; forewarning; boding;

Having intuition or foresight.

I have a presage that something good is going to happen.


I had a presage that I would play in the snow today.

Pre - sage

Pre (Reminds) Before

Sage (Means) Sage or psychic

He knows before it happens because he is a sage.

PRE SAGE




You get in your car and forgo a road trip. How was your trip?
 
Answer below...


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Answer:  

You never took it. Forgo means to give up or to not do.

7/12/14

PRETERNATURAL

PRETERNATURAL

Pre-ter-natch-er-ral

Odd; peculiar; otherworldly;

Being beyond what is natural.

It was preternatural to see flying turtles until we saw it was a kite.


Rabbits in the tree were preternatural and very odd to see.

Pre - ter - natural

Pre (Reminds) Pre or before

Natural (Reminds) Natural

Things are strange when they are pre-natural.

PRE NATURAL




You are a sailboat captain. You yell, "Put up the sails and scuttle ahead!"  How fast do you go?

Answer below...

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Answer:  

You don't go. You sink your boat. Scuttle means to sink a ship on purpose.

7/11/14

PROBITY

PROBITY

Pro-bit-tee

Morality; sincerity; rightness;

Having integrity and honesty.


I like your probity and believe you are telling the truth.


The boy proved his probity when he pointed to the money that the man dropped.

Prob - ity

Prob (Reminds) Probe

Ity (Reminds) Itty or little

We probe for lies and find itty.

PROBE ITTY



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You have punctilious punctuation. What should be done to correct it?
 
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Answer:  

Nothing. Punctilious means doing something with great care. Your punctuation is very good.

7/10/14

PRODIGAL

PRODIGAL
 
Extravagant; lavish; excessive;

Being reckless with money.

A prodigal person wastes money and they are never thrifty.


He was a prodigal person because he spent money at a fast rate.

Prod - i - gal

Prod (Reminds) Products

Gal (Reminds) Gallons

He buys products by the gallons.

PRODUCTS GALLON




I drink lemonade, but I never drink promenade. Why?

Answer below...



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Answer:  

A promenade is a walkway or a street. It also means a dance or a party.

7/9/14

PROGENY

PROGENY

Prodge-gen-nee

Children; seed; spawn;

Ascendants or offspring

He is my progeny and I am his parent.

Prog - eny

Prog (Reminds) Progress

Eny (Reminds) Any

Progress is any baby.

PROGRESS ANY




You have a great scuttlebutt. You run to share it with your friend. What are you and your friend enjoying?

Answer below...

 

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Answer:  

Gossip. Scuttlebutt means gossip.

7/8/14

PROPERTIED

PROPERTIED

Prop-per-teed

Rich; wealthy; prosperous;

Rich and owning land

You will be propertied and have a lot of money.


We were surprised to learn he was propertied and he donated large amounts of land.

Propertie - d

Propertie (Reminds) Property

A rich person owns property.

PROPERTY




You write: "I am a mimick and I will write about spelling."  I write back: "You're not good."  Why am I right?

Answer below....



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Answer: 

Mimick is spelled as mimic.


7/7/14

PROPITIOUS

PROPITIOUS

Pro-pish-us

Opportune; advantageous; favorable;

Being convenient and kind.

The money came at a propitious moment and we used it immediately.

It was propitious timing that I found money under my bed.

Propit - Ious

Propit (Reminds) Profit

Ious (Reminds) IOUs

Good timing brings profit when it is an IOU.

PROFIT TO US




You let out a whelp! We both go running down the street. Why?
 
Answer below...



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Answer:  

A whelp is a puppy. We have to get it.

7/6/14

PROTEAN

PROTEAN

Pro-tee-an

Multifaceted; elastic; pliable;

Changing in shape or variety.

The gift-of-the-month was protean and a different fruit arrived each month.


I see you are prepared for the protean weather we have around here.

Pro - tean

Pro (Reminds) Pro or good

Tean (Reminds) Teen or changing

A pro-teen is good at changing.

PRO TEEN





Your aunt is an antonym to a woman. What is she to you?

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Answer:  

Nothing. The woman is not related to you and your aunt is. They are antonyms to each other. Opposites.

7/5/14

PUNCTILIOUS

PUNCTILIOUS

Punk-til-lee-us

Precise; correct; strict;

Doing something with great care and attention to detail.

I was punctilious with my grammar and my report was excellent.


The punctilious artist made every paint stroke perfect.

Punct - tilious

Punct (Reminds) Punctual

Tilious (Reminds) Titillate

A punctual person is titillated by precision.

PUNCTUAL TITILATE




Is a confabulation always fabulous?
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Answer: 
It depends on the speakers. A confabulation is a conversation or a speech.

7/4/14

QUASI

QUASI

Kwa-zeye

Alike; partly; so-called;

Resembling something or being almost alike something.

You are a quasi-teacher because you teach well.


A cat is a quasi tiger.

Qua - si

Qua (Reminds) Quack or a fake

Si (Rhymes) Sigh

You are faking, but it works and I sigh.

QUACK SIGH




You go fishing. You put a metacarpus on the shoulder of your friend. Why doesn't he mind?

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Answer:  

A metacarpus is a hand.


7/3/14

QUIBBLE

QUIBBLE

Kwib-bul

Protest; bicker; disagree;

Verbally fight about unimportant things.

I never quibble because I would rather talk about real issues.

I realized it was bad to quibble with a cat when I saw the claws come out.



Qui - ble

Qui (Reminds) Quiz

Ble (Rhymes) Bull

I quiz you like a bull.

QUIZ BULL



You ruminate on things while you ruminate a lettuce sandwich. What are you doing?

Answer below...



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Answer:  

You are thinking about things while you are chewing a lettuce sandwich. Ruminate means to think about something, but ruminate also means to chew.

7/2/14

QUIXOTIC

QUIXOTIC

Qwiks-ot-tic

Foolish; unrealistic; impulsive;

Impractical and unpredictable

It is quixotic of you to suggest it and they will never agree.

Quix - otic

Quix (Rhymes) Quick

Otic (Reminds) Neurotic or crazy

We are quick at being neurotic when we are foolish.

QUICK NEUROTIC




You have vignettes with vinegar. What do you have?

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Answer: 

You have short movies and vinegar. Vignette means a short movie or a short scene. You are enjoying vinegar while watching a movie.

7/1/14

RAMBUNCTIOUS

RAMBUNCTIOUS

Ram-bunk-shus

Unruly; rowdy; wild;

Being loud and out of control.

He was rambunctious and he made a lot of noise.


The rambunctious robot wrecked the room. It was out of control.

Ram - bunc - tious

Ram (Remind of) Ram

Bunc (Reminds) Bunk or a bed

A ram falls into a bunk because he was out of control.


RAM BUNK



How can a centipede be an antipode to an annelid? Tough question.

Answer below...


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Answer:  

Antipode means opposite of. A centipede has legs. An annelid is a worm and has no legs. They are opposites in that way.

IMMUTABLE

  IMMUTABLE <Im-mute-ah-bul> Unalterable; permanent; total; An unchangeable and undeniable absolute An immutable law never changes bec...