I finished The Best American Essays today ! A few were a little tough to push through due to obscure subject matter of only marginal interest to me, but most of the essays were incredibly thought-provoking and full of interesting trivia, humor, and well-written quips.
Here is the last of the new words I learned from the anthology.
excoriate: (v) to criticize severely, to damage the surface of something
neocons: (n) short for neoconservative, a term first used in the 30s
mendacity: (n) falsehood, lies
(not to be confused with)
mendicancy: (n) state of being a beggar
encyclical: (n) papal letter sent to Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church
metier: (n) a talent or asset, forte
exiguous: (adj) very small in amount, scant, meager
emphysema: (n) disease of the lungs causing breathlessness
pugilist: (n) professional boxer
kippers: (n) a type of cured, salted, and dried fish
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