Twelve Words for a Word Searcher’s Vocabulary #9

Frivolous talk provokes a derisive smile; wise speech evokes nothing but respect.~ Proverbs 14:3 (MSG)

When I can’t sleep at night, I get up and read a couple of chapters of whatever book I’m enjoying. After that, I try to bore myself to sleep by doing a few word search puzzles. This usually does the trick–until I come across words I don’t know. Here’s a list of them. Do you know their meaning? 

1. ARAGO – a) an inner ear condition; b) a colorless odorless inert gaseous element; c) a conflict, especially between literary characters; d) a lunar impact crater on the moon
2. BOMBAX – a) a throat condition; b) a large genus of trees, having digitate leaves and showy white or scarlet flowers; c) a public disturbance; d) a solvent used to remove rust
3. JITNEY – a) attestation of a fact; b) thick sauce of Indian origin used as a condiment; c) a small hut built in the jungle; d) an unlicensed taxicab
4. MASQUE – a) a building used for worship by Muslims; b) a substance with a penetrating persistent odor obtained from a sac beneath the abdominal skin of the male musk deer; c) a short, allegorical drama; d) when the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon in the evening
5. MYSID – a) resembling a crustacean; b) showing a disdainful attitude; c) a large European thrush; d) unobservant
6. NAPHTHA – a) a type of sleep apnea; b) a volatile, liquid hydrocarbon mixture; c) the lay of a fabric; d) the crest of a hill
7. SHALLOON – a) a fool; b) a Welsh castle; c) a type of wool; d) a large brawl
8. SILLY MID-ON – a) a position in the game of cricket; b) part of a Shakespearean costume; c) British slang for a mid-life crisis; d) a type of sailboat
9. TIGERELLA – a) a female tiger cub; b) a bi-colored tomato; c) an African children’s game; d) a  style of weaving
10. OBTRUSE – a) lacking sharpness or quickness in intellect; b) obsolete; c) blunt ended; d) type of engineer’s ruler
11. TASSE – a) an implied answer; b) a dangling ornament; c) an overlapping plate in a knight’s suit of armor; d) to disturb or annoy
12. VASSAL – a) a vase made from Venetian glass; b) a person under the protection of a feudal lord; c) go back and forth between two opinions; d) a concave article

 

Have you chosen the correct definition? Can you use the words in a sentence? Scroll down to see how you did.

1. d) Arago: d) a lunar impact crater on the moon
2. b) Bombax: b) a large genus of trees, having digitate leaves and showy white or scarlet flowers
3. d) Jitney: d) an unlicensed taxicab
4. c) Masque: c) a short, allegorical drama
5. a) Mysid: a) resembling a crustacean
6. b) Naphtha: b) a volatile, liquid hydrocarbon mixture
7. c) Shalloon: c) a type of wool
8. a) Silly mid-on: a) a position in the game of cricket
9. b) Tigerella: b) a bi-colored tomato
10. b) Obtruse: b) obsolete
11. c) Tasse: c) an overlapping plate in a suit of armor
12. b) Vassal: b) a person under the protection of the feudal lord

Jumping for joy over your score?

10-12 May I call you in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep?

07-09 When you speak, do people roll their eyes?

04-06 So you, too, were a lazy student.

00-03  Did I wake you?