Choose the word or phrase with the closest meaning to the word on the left.

1. elixir a. a friendly puppy b. a cure-all c. drying agent d. one who slips out

2. ucalagon a. a neighbor whose house is on fire b. a cleaning compound c. a small stagnant pool d. a tropical plant used in Polynesian cooking

3. floccinaucinihilipilification a. a sheep-shearing process b. the making of a light wool fabric c. the condition of being bald except for a single tuft d. the act of making worthless

4. mumpsimus a. a writ, "you may take" b. a childhood disease c. a persistent mistake d. scientific Latin for most lumpy

5. deracinate a. eliminate all ethnic differences b. uproot c. describe anthropologically d. lacking in reason

6. parse a. identify grammatically b. an Indo-Iranian language c. stop briefly d. to make equal

7. opus a. a comic penguin b. burden c. open sore d. a work

8. quiddity a. former British monetary unit b. a riddle in verse or song c. essence of a thing d. a nosey person

9. amanuensis a. secretary b. freeing of slaves c. dysfunction of the hands d. matchmaker

10. libertine a. generous person b. person of loose morals c. one who believes in books d. political minimalist

11. visceral a. gutsy b. sticky c. painful d. immoral

12. secular a. religious b. agnostic c. worldly d. sectarian

13. sesquipedalian a. following on foot b. obsequious c. a foot and a half in length d. one hundred and fifty feet

14. sanguine a. cheerful b. cold-blooded c. blood-thirsty d. related by blood

15. serendipity a. calmness b. sympathy for those in need c. a plaintive love song sung in the evening d. a faculty for accidental discovery

16. modicum a. a convenience b. the means by which something is done c. a moderate amount d. last year's fashion

17. burke a. a small carriage b. to suffocate c. a digging tool d. type of boot

18. inure a. hurt b. unburnt c. to make used to d. uncertain

19. redact a. edit b. become angry c. emote d. regeneration of a lost digit

20. caducous a. drooping b. a staff c. feckless d. a nobleman

21. interdiction a. ban b. prayer c. interruption d. pause

22. querulous a. complaining b. questioning c. odd d. cunning

23. perfunctory a. thorough b. dead c. working well d. hasty

24. obdurate a. lasting b. persevere c. unyielding d. overdone

25. equivocate a. speak fairly b. make an equine noise c. be evasive d. shiver

26. scopophilia a. voyeurism b. love of rocks c. fondness for owls d. a disease of the head

27. immanent a. hanging over b. about to occur c. remaining in d. surpassing

28. rogation a. prayer b. wickedness c. turning d. changing

29. transitory a. long b. permanent c. passing d. incomplete

30. recidivism the tendency to a. lose leaves b. get caught again c. skip class d. relapse

31. arrogate a. haughty b. disparage c. claim for oneself d. denounce

32. salient a. striking b. skirmishing c. too salty d. happy

33. etymology the study of a. insects b. tumors c. causes d. word origins

34. anthropophage a. the study of human life spans b. cannibal c. charitable person d. ancient hominid

35. cacoethes a. malignant tumor b. bad habit c. ill-fitting d. unpleasant feeling

36. poetaster a. artificial flower b. newly formed star c. a poor versifier d. a master chef

37. paucity a. small town b. power source c. hesitation d. scarcity

38. pusillanimous a. oozing b. catlike c. cowardly d. putrid

39. necropolis a. high city b. fortified part of a city c. nudist colony d. graveyard

40. cynophobia fear of a. philosophers b. poisons c. dogs d. large gatherings

41. ichthyopole a. fishmonger b. a skin disease characterized by dermal scaliness c. one who studies piscine habitats d. a underwater city

42. scholology the study of a. marginal notes b. leisure c. school d. fish groups

43. exacerbate a. embroider the truth b. embitter c. put to death d. hollow out

44. perspicuous a. clear b. spiny c. full of holes d. foreign-sounding

45. A.D. a. after death b. ante diem c. Anno Domini d. all day

46. materfamilias a. woman of the house b. queen mother c. grandmother d. matriarchal society

47. specious a. of a certain kind b. deceptive c. illogical d. analogous to generic

48. hoi polloi a. the masses b. the upper crust c. an exotic dish d. a cry of anguish

49. epitaph a. adjective b. insult c. high point d. funerary inscription

50. interim a. bury b. between ourselves c. temporary d. end of the term