ambidextrous [ am-bi-DEK-struh’ s ]
[adjective]
MEANING:
1. able to skillfully use both hands
2. unusually skilful; versatile; adroit
3. double-dealing; hypocritical or deceitful
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Being an ambidextrous violinist, Yehudi Menuhin attracted large audiences during his hey day.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
He’s also pianistically ambidextrous these days, a big deal for a brilliant artist who lost the use of his right hand in 1965 and only regained it – to a limited degree – about 10 years ago.
hovel [ HUHV-uh’ l, HOV- ]
[noun]
MEANING:
1. a small and miserable dwelling
2. an open shed which is low
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Being a man without means, the best accommodation he could afford in Mumbai was a hovel.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
When your home is a hovel, a neighbor seems an enemy because everybody is fighting for too little space.
idée fixe [ ee-dey FEEKS ]
[noun]
MEANING:
an idea that one has entertained for a long time; a fixed idea; obsession
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The British psychedelic band Pink Floyd’s idee fixe of incorporating technology in music was considered ahead of its time.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Again, Berlioz’s idée fixe puts in an appearance, with a heart-pounding variation for cellos and basses over which the theme itself floats in fragments.
epilogue [ EP-uh’-lawg, -log ]
[noun]
MEANING:
1. a speech or poem recited at the conclusion of a play
2. one who delivers the speech or poem at the end of a play
3. a short section appended to the conclusion of a piece of literary work like a novel
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The epilogue was set nearly nineteen years in the future.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
This victory is an epilogue in the first half of the season.
expurgate [ EK-sper-geyt ]
[transitive verb]
MEANING:
1. to remove obscene, objectionable or vulgar passages from a book
2. to purge, cleanse or rid of obscenities or morally offensive things
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The publisher expurgated the book to almost half of what it was before.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
They blamed the mounting frustrations on the failure of the entire political system and on ethical flaws in need of being expurgated root and branch.
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