1/30/16

Knotty

Knotty

<not-tee>

complicated; tricky; puzzling;

something difficult to understand.

The math question was a knotty problem. I could not figure it out.

Memory trick:
You have to solve a knot to untie it.

At work:
The bugs in the computer program was a knotty problem. We rebuilt it instead of fixing it.


(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
 

1/29/16

Seminal

Seminal

<sem-in-nahl>

major; influential; formative;

something important that leads to later events.

The invention of the wheel was a seminal development. It changed the world.

Memory trick:
seminal reminds of minimal.
we grow from a minimal point.

At work:
The discovery was a seminal moment. It led to products that made us a fortune.


(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
 

1/28/16

Opprobrious

Opprobrious

<ah-pro-bre-us>

abusive; hurting; humiliating;

showing hate or scorn.

The boy gave the vegetables an opprobrious look. He smiled when butter was added.

Memory trick:
opprobrious reminds of oppose.

At work:
He decided not to send the opprobrious email. He wanted to think of something positive to write.


(c) 2016 E. Carruthers

1/27/16

Apocryphal

Apocryphal

<ah-pok-ruh-fil>

untrue; mythical; false;

a false story or idea widely believed to be true.

The earth is flat was an apocryphal belief. Everyone thought it was true.

Memory trick:
apo - CRY - phal
remember the boy who cried wolf - a story about a lying.

At work:
We had an apocryphal faith in the product. We had to rebuild it because the quality was not good.


(c) 2016 E. Carruthers

1/26/16

Ossify

Ossify

<oss-sih-feye>

rigid; harden; stiffen;

to become hard due to time.

You must finish before the paint can ossify. It is hard to paint when the canvas gets stiff.

Memory trick:
ossify reminds of "iffy".
it becomes "iffy" to change it when it gets hard.


At work:
A bad computer program will ossify and become impossible to fix. Program it correctly from the start.


(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
 

1/25/16

Prevaricate

Prevaricate

<preh-vair-rah-kayte>

fib; distort; con;

to lie by exaggerating the truth.

It's easier to tell the truth. You have to remember your lies when you prevaricate.

Memory trick:
prevaricate reminds of fabricate.
fabricate means to create something.

At work:
The secret to marketing is to prevaricate. The secret to making a customer happy is to deliver more than you promised.


(c) 2016 E. Carruthers
 

1/24/16

Iconoclast

Iconoclast

<eye-kahn-nah-klast>

heretic; rebel; cynic;

someone who is a critic of an established institution.

He is an iconoclast and never celebrates birthdays. He does not believe in the tradition.

Memory trick:
iconoclast reminds of "icon blast".
we blast old icons.

At work:
He disagrees with the classical methods of design. He thinks they are ineffective.


(c) 2015 E. Carruthers