VOCABULARY :D

1. Simulacrum: a slight, unreal, or superficial likeness or semblance; an effigy, image, or representation
  • The twins, although sharing a simulacrum with each other, have distinct personalities that distinguish them from their similar physical traits.
2. Apocryphal: of dubious authorship or authenticity
  • Plagiarists are accused of claiming true authorship for their apocryphal collection of works.
3. Venal: open to bribery; corruptible; (French/Latin root): to sell; (venial: minor sin, venereal disease: STD)
  • Sentencing Paul a 2-year life in jail was not enough for him; it was his second time he had obtained mercy from the court of law and yet, he returned to his venal nature once more.
4. Canonical: 1) pertaining to, established by, or conforming to a canon or canons; 2) included in the canon of the Bible; 3) authorized, recognized, accepted; 4) <Mathematics (of an equation, coordinate, etc.)> in simplest or standard form; 5) following the pattern of a musical canon; 6) <Linguistics (of a form or pattern)> characteristic, general or basic
  • Shakespeare's grand collection of plays and poetry has been canonical to most high school English classes.
5. Gambit: 1. <Chess> an opening in which a player seeks to obtain some advantage by sacrificing a pawn or piece; 2. any maneuver by which one seeks to gain an advantage; 3. a remark made to open or redirect a conversation
  • By cheating on his AP Biology exam, Caleb tried to compensate for those hours he spent playing video games through gambit; he texted his friend for the answers.
6. Inveterate: 1) settled or confirmed in a habit, practice, feeling, or the like; 2) firmly established by long continuance, as a disease, habit, practice, feeling, etc.; chronic
7. Pinguid: fat; oily
  • Just as Matt felt the need to wash his face for another refreshing day, Matt's disgusting pinguid skin glistened at the rays of morning sunlight through the window.
8. Teleological: 1) The study of design or purpose in natural phenomena. 2) The use of ultimate purpose or design as a means of explaining phenomena. 3) Belief in or the perception of purposeful development toward an end, as in nature or history.
*Matrix
*Oedipus Rex
9. Sophism: 1) a specious argument for displaying ingenuity in reasoning or for deceiving someone. 2) any false argument; fallacy.
  • The X, Y, Z, and the coins story uses fallacious words such as "find" and "lose" to make it seem as if there were 9 different coins. But instead, they all are the same coin, and they just took different forms.
10. Vocab -- Please correct the following sentence: the boston common a public area in downtown bosteon is the main settin for the shrot story the patriot which is about a man who argues to such an extent that it became _ ( insert vocab word).
  • A common public area in downtown Boston is the main setting of the short story, "The Patriot", which is about a man who argues to such an extent that it becomes a sophism.
11. Endemic: natural to or characteristic of a specific people or place; native; indigenous; belonging exclusively or confined to a particular place
  • The sudden transition in mood that followed the attack on September 11 is endemic in the physical transformation into a bug in Kafka's "Metamorphosis".
12. Inculcate: to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly; to cause or influence (someone) to accept an idea or feeling
13. Castration: an idea developed by Sigmund Freud that is associated with a deep-seated fear or anxiety in boys and men; It posits that when seeing a female's genitalia, small boys falsely assume that the girl removed her penis as punishment for misbehavior. The boy gets nervous that this might actually happen to him; <Psychology>: to render impotent, literally or metaphorically, by psychological means, esp. by threatening a person's masculinity or femininity
14. Epicurean: fond of or adapted to luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures; having luxurious tastes or habits, esp. in eating and drinking
15. Iniquity: gross injustice or wickedness; a violation of right or duty; wicked act; sin
16. Diaphanous: very sheer and light; almost completely transparent or translucent; delicately hazy
17. Rapacious: given to seizing for plunder or the satisfaction of greed; inordinately greedy; predatory; extortionate
18. Varnished: (of animals) subsisting by the capture of living prey; predacious; glossy; superficial polish or external show, esp. to conceal some defect or inadequacy (n.); give a glossy appearance to; give an improved appearance to; adorn; give a superficially pleasing appearance to, esp. in order to deceive
19. Sepulcher: a tomb, grave, or burial place
20. Veneration: profound respect or reverence
21. Mizzen: a fore-and-aft sail set on a mizzenmast; mizzenmast; noting a sail, yard, boom, etc., or any rigging belonging to a mizzen lower mast or to some upper mast of a mizzenmast; noting any stay running aft and upward to the head of a mizzen lower mast or some specified upper mast of a mizzenmast
22. Emissary: a representative sent on a mission or errand; an agent sent on a mission of a secret nature, as a spy; sent forth, as on a mission
23. Cipher: to use figures or numerals arithmetically; to calculate numerically; figure; any of the Arabic numerals or figures; something of no value or importance; the key to a secret method of writing; a secret method of writing, as by transposition or substitution of letters, specially formed symbols, or the like
24. Jocund: cheerful; merry; gay; blithe; glad
Syn: joyful
Ant: depressed, gloomy
25. Abscond: to depart in a sudden and secret manner, esp. to avoid capture and legal prosecution
Syn: decamp
Ant: ambulate
<Parallelism, repetition, dependent clause>
With confusion, regret, and disappointment, I am calling my mom to see if there is any way she can get me the clothes I can wear for senior portraits - something better than this pink sweater that I wore to school this morning.

Vocab Nov. 3
1. Which of the following doesn't work? Why.
a. Bill played a musical number by Bach; Joan, Beethoven.
b. Lou Williams was in for adultery; John Jones for gambling.
c. His mother told him to rent a car; his sister, to pack the suitcases.

2. Write your own original example.

3. Find one from something you have read (this may take a couple of weeks).

Journal Entry
Blogs HW
Point of View Paper
Imitation of Borges's Style
Metamorphosis
Book Report (Emily)
Author Books