Barron 7.3

V. give an imitation that ridicules. In Spaceballs, Rick Moranis burlesques Darth Vader of Star Wars, outrageously parodying Vader's stiff walk and hollow voice.

ADJ. husky; muscular. The burly mover lifted the packing crate with ease.

V. make shiny by rubbing; polish. The maid burnished the brass fixtures until they reflected the lamplight.

V. move about energetically; teem. David and the children bustled about the house getting in each other's way as they tried to pack for the camping trip. The whole house bustled with activity.

V. support; prop up. The attorney came up with several far-fetched arguments in a vain attempt to buttress his weak case. also N.

ADJ. plump; vigorous; jolly. The soldiers remembered the buxom nurse who had always been so pleasant to them.

N. small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests. The cabal was defeated when their scheme was discovered.

N. hiding place. The detectives followed the suspect until he led them to the cache where he had stored his loot. He had cached the cash in a bag for trash: it was a hefty sum.

ADJ. discordant; inharmonious. Do the students in the orchestra enjoy the cacophonous sounds they make when they're tuning up? I don't know how they can stand the racket. cacophony, N.

N. corpse. In some states, it is illegal to dissect cadavers.

ADJ. like a corpse; pale. By his cadaverous appearance, we could see how the disease had ravaged him.

N. rhythmic rise and fall (of words or sounds); beat. Marching down the road, the troops sang out, following the cadence set by the sergeant.

V. coax; wheedle. Diane tried to cajole her father into letting her drive the family car. cajolery, N.

N. disaster; misery. As news of the calamity spread, offers of relief poured in to the stricken community.

ADJ. deliberately planned; likely. Lexy's choice of clothes to wear to the debate tournament was carefully calculated. Her conventional suit was one calculated to appeal to the conservative judges.

N. large kettle. "Why, Mr. Crusoe," said the savage heating the giant caldron, "we'd love to have you for dinner!"

N. ability; quality. Einstein's cleaning the blackboards again? Albert, quit it! A man of your caliber shouldn't have to do such menial tasks.

N. beautiful writing; excellent penmanship. As we examine ancient manuscripts, we become impressed with the calligraphy of the scribes.

ADJ. hardened; unfeeling. He had worked in the hospital for so many years that he was callous to the suffering in the wards. callus, N.

ADJ. youthful; immature; inexperienced. As a freshman, Jack was sure he was a man of the world; as a sophomore, he made fun of freshmen as callow youths. In both cases, his judgment showed just how callow he was.

ADJ. heat-producing. Coal is much more calorific than green wood.

N. malicious misrepresentation; slander. He could endure his financial failure, but he could not bear the calumny that his foes heaped upon him.

N. good-fellowship. What he loved best about his job was the sense of camaraderie he and his coworkers shared.

N. shell or jewel carved in relief; star's special appearance in a minor role in a film. Don't bother buying cameos from the street peddlers in Rome: the carvings they sell are clumsy jobs. Did you enjoy Bill Murray's cameo in Little Shop of Horrors? He was onscreen for only a minute, but he cracked me up.

V. disguise; conceal. In order to rescue Han Solo, Princess Leia camouflaged herself in the helmet and cloak of a space bandit.

N. frankness; open honesty. Jack can carry candor too far: when he told Jill his honest opinion of her, she nearly slapped his face. candid,ADJ.

ADJ. related to dogs; dog-like. Some days the canine population of Berkeley seems almost to outnumber the human population,

ADJ. shrewd; thrifty. The canny Scotsman was more than a match for the swindlers.

N. insincere expressions of piety; jargon of thieves. Shocked by news of the minister's extramarital love affairs, the worshippers dismissed his talk about the sacredness of marriage as mere cant. Cant is a form of hypocrisy: those who can, pray; those who cant, pretend.

ADJ. ill humored; irritable. Constantly complaining about his treatment and refusing to cooperate with the hospital staff, he was a cantankerous patient.

N. story set to music, to be sung by a chorus. The choral society sang the new cantata composed by its leader.

N. slow gallop. Because the racehorse had outdistanced its competition so easily, the reporter wrote that the race was won in a canter. alsoV.