Chapter 23

I’m Against That--- or

Am I Next to It?

Placing items next to each other for the sake of comparing

or contrasting them.

The old phrase ‘champagne taste on a beer budget’ neatly juxtaposes the longing for expensive objects with a meager bank account.

1. juxtapose -verb

Condition of sharing or of connecting without a break.

As lab partners Gillian and Chelsea had contiguous work areas.

2. contiguous -adj

Condition of being physically close.

The real estate agent was quick to point out the proximity of the house to the best elementary school in the district.

3. proximity -noun

A literary way of saying ‘across’

A famous eighteenth-century poet refers to stars that shoot “athwart the sky.”

4. athwart- preposition/adverb

the curved path of something hurling through space

Air traffic controllers at any airport must be constantly aware of the trajectories of all planes scheduled to land.

5. trajectory -noun

Lying close to or next to

What a bad idea-- the rat poison and the aspirin on adjacent shelves in the bathroom!

6. adjacent -adj

the outer limits or edge of an area or object

Although Samantha was focusing on her homework, her grandmother’s illness was always in the periphery of her consciousness.

7. periphery -noun

The formation of a right angle or a line that is vertical

Mr. McKean used a plumb line to make sure that the installation of the door frame was perpendicular.

8. perpendicular -adj

Being neither vertical or horizontal but slanting

Cynthia eyed the four unmarked streets entering the traffic circles at oblique angles and wondered which one was Mt. Carmel Road.

9. oblique -adj

Diagonally placed

Nat, hungry because he had skipped breakfast, used his mid-morning break to run to the bagel shop catercorner to the school.

10. catercorner -noun

Splendor in the Grass

Chaper 24

A striking or splendid display

When Doreen first visited the United Nations, she was delighted by the panoply of flags of all the countries represented there.

1. panoply -noun

To sparkle

Russian women at the czar’s ball wore coruscating diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires.

2. coruscate -verb

Great brilliance of performance

Dressed in a purple robe tipped with ermine, Prince Boyohboy entered the kingdom with great éclat.

3. éclat -noun

Can be used admiringly for something dashing and colorful in style

The faculty members defended Emily’s flamboyant individuality as displayed through her spiky hair and equally spiky jewelry.

4. flamboyant -adj

Lavish, marked by abundance

The memory of the glamorous carriages, sumptuous cuisine, and personal service will stay with you forever.

5. sumptuous -adj

A display of fireworks

Some years North Ogden’s display of pyrotechnics is quite magnificent.

6. pyrotechnics -noun

To polish to a high sheen

The hair of Princess Myohmy was not so much brushed as burnished, for she had six handmaidens responsible for its gleaming appearance.

7. burnish -verb

An individual whose life is given over to pleasure and luxury

Camping in the woods is not something a sybarite would want to do even if it were in a trailer camper.

8. sybarite -noun

A shining spectrum of colors

Photographers marveled at the iridescent display of colors on a beautiful sunset.

9. iridescent -adj

Overly showy, pretentious

Bernie characterizes Brian as ostentatious because he possesses three luxury sedans, an SUV and a convertible.

10. ostentatious -adj