All About Literature

1.       prevaricate : to depart from or evade the truth. The leadership's perennial obsession with secrecy led it to prevaricate about the extent of the disease in the capital for five months. -- Roderick Macfarquhar, "Unhealthy Politics", Newsweek International, May 12, 2003 2.       ostracize : to banish or expel. New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani called Monday on the members of the United Nations to unite in a global effort to eradicate terrorism and to ostracize countries that refuse to join. -- Stevenson Swanson, "Giuliani asks global effort on terrorism", Chicago Tribune, October 2, 2001 3.       fillip : a snap;  also , a stimulus. You fillip me o' the head. -- Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida 4.       apocryphal : of doubtful authority or authenticity. He always told romanticised apocryphal stories of his ancestry, sometimes a bastard grandfather, b...

1.       debouch : to emerge; to issue. When the mill hands hassled Pete at the Manchester Cafe, he took off his apron, debouched from behind the counter and beat them senseless. -- Richard Rhodes, Why They Kill 2.       machination : a crafty scheme intended to accomplish some usually evil end. Alongside the various representations of sincere tears, then, are a series of representations of insincerity and emotional machination. -- Tom Lutz, Crying 3.       unguent : an ointment. The window-sill was cluttered with shampoos and soaps and unguents. -- Amit Chaudhuri, Freedom Song 4.       skulk : to hide in a sneaking manner. When not rummaging under bushes, Mr. Sculley can often be seen skulking in the woods or prowling along the shore. -- Tom Gilling, The Sooterkin 5.       dictum : an authoritative statement. As an editor, Rahv ...