The Lottery by Shirley Jackson The Lottery by Shirley Jackson The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the…
How much land does a man need? How much land does a man need? An elder sister came to visit her younger sister in the country. The elder was married to a tradesman in town, the younger to a peasant in the village. As the sisters sat over their tea talking, the elder began to…
Disciple 1100 Words You Need Disciple 1100 Words You Need /dɪˈsaɪ.pļ/ (noun) the follower of a famous person, belief or idea, original follower of Jesus Christ, believer, supporter, devotee, partisan, adherent, learner, fan, buff, enthusiast, proponent In Christian theology, apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were…
Desultory 1100 Words You Need /ˈdes.əl.tər.i/ (adj) passing from one thing to another aimlessly and cursorily, fleeting, cursory, superficial, random, aimless, casual, haphazard, unfocused, indiscriminate Wellman left Captain Bottolfsen and his marooned sailors on Waldenoya and returned to his polar party on Martensoya in May. By this time the summer sun had warmed the pack ice into a wet…
Lugubrious 1100 Words You Need /luːˈguː.bri.əs/ (adj) sad and depressed, morose, gloomy, mournful, melancholic, somber, doleful, miserable, cheerless, wretched, dismal, downbeat, depressing No such consideration can excuse my difficulty with “lugubrious.” I do recall when I first saw that one. A classmate in high school wrote in my yearbook “The vicissitudes of life are very…
Maudlin 1100 Words You Need Maudlin 1100 Words You Need /ˈmɔːd.lɪn/ (adj) overemotional and sentimental, tearfully sentimental, feeling sad, self-pitying, weepy, tearful, moody, delicate, touchy: She began to busy herself with getting dinner ready. Staring out the window, her mind drifting as she peeled potatoes. She looked at what she had and grabbed a couple…
Obsequious 1100 Words You Need Obsequious 1100 Words You Need /əbˈsiːkwɪəs/ (adj) extremely eager to please or obey others, submissive, obedient, servile, seeking favor, fawning, sycophantic, flattering, compliant, deferential There is a difference between being self-disciplined and being obedient or obsequious. The intent of completing an act varies from a self-disciplined child and one who…
Vicissitudes 1100 Words You Need Vicissitudes 1100 Words You Need /vɪˈsɪs.ɪ.tjuːdz/ (noun) all the changes and problems that make a situation even worse, difficulties, hardships, predicaments, variations, ups and downs, fluctuations, deviations: “Today is another day! Yesterday is gone but not its memories. There were so many things we expected yesterday which did not happen…
Trenchant 1100 Words You Need Trenchant 1100 Words You Need /ˈtren.tʃənt/ (adj) expressed in a direct and incisive manner, expressing strong criticism and forceful opinions, straightforward, candid, to the point, cutting, sharp, biting, acerbic, severe, penetrating, forthright, caustic In April 1989 a trenchant critic of Roger Douglas’s economic policies, Jim Anderton, resigned from the Labour…
Ponder 1100 Words You Need Ponder 1100 Words You Need /ˈpɒndə/ (verb) to think about something very carefully, reflect on / upon, speculate, consider, deem, think over, contemplate, deliberate, weigh up, meditate over, ruminate In chapter 19 of the last work he ever completed, Bastiat pondered on the nature of war and who benefits from…