Out of the mouth of Wolfe - a quiz
This is just a brief musing. In one of my previous musings I mentioned I am
on a reading kick of Rex Stout's novels involving his main protagonist, Nero
Wolfe. The words Stout puts into Wolfe's mouth are mostly old school and in
a style not seen in current novels or heard in conversations. Invariably in
the course of any story, Nero utters a few words that have me running to the
dictionary (actually the dictionary on the internet). I know the
definitions of some of the words but rarely hear them used in this day and
age.
Anyway, with that as a background, I thought I share a few of Wolfe's words
from Stout's novel, The Final Deduction. Rather than just listing them, I
thought I'd make use of them, not in a quiz, but more of a challenge. Let's
see if you know the definition of each and then ask yourself when you last
heard someone use one of them while talking or the last time you saw them in
print. Scroll down to see the answers. Have fun:
Pfui
Piquer
Ill-grounded
Subdolous
Lucidity
Flummery
Broach the idea
Befuddled
Egregious
Ignoramus
Misapprehension
(speaking to a woman) A creature so obtuse
Remonstrate
Overweening
Acumen
Perspicacity
Spontaneous
Premeditation
Elucidate
Manifest
Vulgarian
Mettle
Rigmarole
Verisimilitude
Ostensible
Consummation
Cogent
Not to be borne
Animus
Execrable
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Pfui We know this word as Phooey
Piquer (French) To sting, bite; give a shot; stick, jab; prickle
Ill-grounded Unfounded
Subdolous Crafty, cunning, artful
Lucidity Easily uinderstood, bright
Flummery Complete nonsense, foolish
Broach the idea To mention for the first time
Befuddled Confused
Egregious Extraordinarily bad, flagrant
Ignoramus An extremely ignorant person
Misapprehension Misunderstanding
(speaking of a woman) A creature so obtuse Not quick in perception
Remonstrate Plea in protest
Overweening Overconfident or brash
Acumen Keen insight or shrewdness
Perspicacity Keen understanding
Spontaneous Resulting from a natural impulse
Premeditation Plotting in advance
Elucidate To make clear or explain
Manifest Clear or evident
Vulgarian A vulgar person
Mettle Courage and fortitude
Rigmarole A complicated procedure
Verisimilitude The appearance of truth
Ostensible Outwardly appearing as such
Consummation The act of completing
Cogent Convincing or believable
Not to be borne Not to be supported
Animus Strong dislike or hostile attitude
Execrable Utterly detestable or abhorrent
on a reading kick of Rex Stout's novels involving his main protagonist, Nero
Wolfe. The words Stout puts into Wolfe's mouth are mostly old school and in
a style not seen in current novels or heard in conversations. Invariably in
the course of any story, Nero utters a few words that have me running to the
dictionary (actually the dictionary on the internet). I know the
definitions of some of the words but rarely hear them used in this day and
age.
Anyway, with that as a background, I thought I share a few of Wolfe's words
from Stout's novel, The Final Deduction. Rather than just listing them, I
thought I'd make use of them, not in a quiz, but more of a challenge. Let's
see if you know the definition of each and then ask yourself when you last
heard someone use one of them while talking or the last time you saw them in
print. Scroll down to see the answers. Have fun:
Pfui
Piquer
Ill-grounded
Subdolous
Lucidity
Flummery
Broach the idea
Befuddled
Egregious
Ignoramus
Misapprehension
(speaking to a woman) A creature so obtuse
Remonstrate
Overweening
Acumen
Perspicacity
Spontaneous
Premeditation
Elucidate
Manifest
Vulgarian
Mettle
Rigmarole
Verisimilitude
Ostensible
Consummation
Cogent
Not to be borne
Animus
Execrable
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Pfui We know this word as Phooey
Piquer (French) To sting, bite; give a shot; stick, jab; prickle
Ill-grounded Unfounded
Subdolous Crafty, cunning, artful
Lucidity Easily uinderstood, bright
Flummery Complete nonsense, foolish
Broach the idea To mention for the first time
Befuddled Confused
Egregious Extraordinarily bad, flagrant
Ignoramus An extremely ignorant person
Misapprehension Misunderstanding
(speaking of a woman) A creature so obtuse Not quick in perception
Remonstrate Plea in protest
Overweening Overconfident or brash
Acumen Keen insight or shrewdness
Perspicacity Keen understanding
Spontaneous Resulting from a natural impulse
Premeditation Plotting in advance
Elucidate To make clear or explain
Manifest Clear or evident
Vulgarian A vulgar person
Mettle Courage and fortitude
Rigmarole A complicated procedure
Verisimilitude The appearance of truth
Ostensible Outwardly appearing as such
Consummation The act of completing
Cogent Convincing or believable
Not to be borne Not to be supported
Animus Strong dislike or hostile attitude
Execrable Utterly detestable or abhorrent
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Thanks for the tough word challenge, John. Some of the books we enjoy most engage our brains as much as much as our imagination. Sounds like Stout is one of those subdolous (did I use that right?) writers. Gave a Kindle to husband for Christmas (best gift he says ever) and can look up definitions without leaving page. Saves lots of trips to computer/dict when attempting the meatier reads. Just thought I'd "broach the idea."
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