WORD LISTSSouth Africans "Burnish" While Ukrainians "Blandish": Ten Words in the News You Need to KnowWed Dec 11 08:58:50 EST 2013
By Vocabulary.com (NY)
 While mourners burnish Mandela's memory, Ukrainian protesters brandish makeshift weapons against security forces. Meanwhile, in the US, legislators agree on budget terms, and we look at the term infrastructure.
To fully understand these unfolding news stories, learn ten key words taken from this week's New York Times and Washington Post coverage.   
queue
As mourners pay their respects to Nelson Mandela, journalists use queue, a British synonym for line and line up to describe mourners' movements.
She was part of a group that had been waiting from early in the morning and marched back and forth before being told to join the back of a queue of people waiting for a bus.
-- Body of Nelson Mandela Lies in State in Pretoria, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
pandemonium
To understand exactly what's happening in South Africa, you'll need to know that pandemonium means chaos. "Pan" means "many" as in pantheistic--so think of pandemonium as many people going in many different directions.
At another designated assembly points, in the Pretoria showground, pandemonium broke out as thousands queued and tried to shove their way past police.
-- Body of Nelson Mandela Lies in State in Pretoria, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
phalanx
File phalanx next to flank as words that describe troop movements. Literally, as it's used here, phalanx means a line of soldiers in close ranks working as one; figuratively, it means many working together as one.
On its way to the Union Buildings, the black hearse carrying the coffin past knots of well-wishers on the streets of Pretoria was escorted by a phalanx of police motorcycle outriders.
-- Body of Nelson Mandela Lies in State in Pretoria, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
burnish
You can burnish the blade of your sword until it shines in the sun. But you can also burnish something you can't see, like the memory of a great leader. It means "to polish," in the sense of removing tarnish to reveal shine.
In death, Mr. Mandela seems to loom ever larger, his flaws sanded away in the many tributes, his image burnished for posterity, his successors smaller in comparison.
-- Body of Nelson Mandela Lies in State in Pretoria, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
status quo
Status quo is a Latin phrase meaning "the state in which." It's come into English to mean "current state of things." A politician might ask constituents contrast it to change.
With the deal already under fire from conservatives for weakening the sequester, Ryan argued that the package represents “a clear improvement on the status quo” by replacing one-time cuts to agency budgets with permanent savings from other programs.
-- House, Senate negotiators reach budget deal, The Washington Post, Dec. 10, 2013
infrastructure
When reading about government budgeting, infrastructure is an important word to have under your belt. It refers to the underlying structure of things. A building's infrastructure might involve steel beams. A nation's consists of highways, railroads, and other government owned entities.
The Pentagon would get a $2 billion increase over last year, while domestic agencies would get a $22 billion bump, clearing space for administration priorities such as fresh investments in education and infrastructure.
-- House, Senate negotiators reach budget deal, The Washington Post, Dec. 10, 2013
truncheon
Think trunk as in a tree to remember this word. Both trunk and truncheon evolved from the Latin truncus, meaning staff. Truncheoncame to refer to a policeman's club in 1880s England, and that's the context in which it's being used in these stories about security forces in the Ukraine.
Officers in helmets pushed through the crowds with shields but did not use the truncheons hanging at their sides.
-- Police Pull Out of Kiev Square After Move on Demonstrators, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
rebuke
A rebuke can run the gamut from a slap on the wrist to a slap in the face. Often it's used to characterize actions as aggressive as a rebuke to someone's wishes or desires can be a sign of disrespect.
The effort to clear large parts of the main protest site overnight was a stinging rebuke to Western diplomats who thought they had received promises that force would not be used against peaceful demonstrators.
-- Police Pull Out of Kiev Square After Move on Demonstrators, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
brandish
When you brandish something you wave it in the air threateningly, or just put in on display. Just remember the phrase "brandishing a pistol" and you'll be able to reconstruct its meaning.
As the security forces spread throughout the square, a large crowd of protesters brandishing sticks, clubs, metal rods and anything else they could find massed in front of the Trade Unions building, which leaders of the demonstration had turned into the headquarters of what they call the National Resistance.
-- Police Pull Out of Kiev Square After Move on Demonstrators, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013
vie
This short and simple synonym for "compete" comes from the Middle English envie, which meant "to make a challenge." It might be more helpful, however, to associate it in your mind with envy because when you use vie you must also mention what's being vied for, as in athletes vying for first place and singers vying for fame.
Ukraine remains caught in a tug of war between Europe and Russia, which are vying for political sway over the country’s future.
-- Police Pull Out of Kiev Square After Move on Demonstrators, The New York Times, Dec. 11, 2013 |
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