ex-plain / ikˈsplān verb   to make plain and understandable If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. Albert Einstein, 1879-1955   to provide reason or cause for Never explain – your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway. Elbert Hubbard, 1856-1915   to interpret or assign meaning to No power of genius has... Read More

it / it   pronoun   that one; used as subject or direct or indirect object of a verb or preposition A good deed dies when it is spoken about. Arabian Proverb   used as the subject of a verb that describes a condition or action It is raining and you can hear the pattern of the drops. Jiddu Krishnamurti, 1895-1986   used to... Read More

acclamation ac·cla·ma·tion  /  ăk-lə-mā-shən noun an enthusiastic expression of praise or approval The light of genius is sometimes so resplendent as to make a man walk through life, amid glory and acclamation; but it burns very dimly and low when carried into “the valley of the shadow of death.”  William Mountford, 1816 – 1885   an enthusiastic, affirmative oral vote Even though he lost... Read More

hy-per-bol-e / hīˈpərbəlē   noun   extreme exaggeration I’ll always marvel at the liveliness of southern speech – so full of metaphor and hyperbole, quirks and vividness. Frances Mayes, 1940-   a dramatic overstatement or figure of speech not meant to be taken literally The speaking in a perpetual hyperbole is comely in nothing but love. Francis Bacon, 1561-1626

pa-ter-nal / pəˈtərnl   adjective   of, like, or relating to a father I always found something strangely paternal about the director-actor relationship. Adam Driver, 1983-   inherited from the male parent At anaphase one of each pair of chromosomes goes to each daughter cell, such that each daughter cell inherits one copy of the paternal chromosome, and one copy of the maternal chromosome.... Read More

bleat / blēt   verb   to utter the wavering cry of a sheep or goat The feeble howl with the wolves, bray with the asses, and bleat with the sheep. Madame Roland, 1754-1793   to talk with a whine in the voice The dull rhythmic tramp of the soldiers’ boots formed the background to Goldstein’s bleating voice. From ‘1984’ by George Orwell, 1903-1950... Read More

roar / rôr   verb   to utter a deep, loud cry in distress, anger, or excitement After the sharp-eyed jay and the roaring lion, peace will come on dove’s gentle wing. Erin Hunter, ?-   to laugh boisterously The fine line between roaring with laughter and crying because it’s a disaster is a very, very fine line. Roald Dahl, 1916-1990   to make... Read More

snarl / snarl   verb, sense 1   to growl in a threatening manner, as a dog That they may have a little peace, even the best dogs are compelled to snarl occasionally. William Feather, 1889-1981   to speak in a gruff, threatening way We are accustomed to see men deride what they do no understand, and snarl at the good and beautiful because... Read More

bark / ˈbärk   verb   to utter a short, sharp cry, as a dog Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear. Dave Barry, 1947-   to snap; to speak in a curt tone Don’t waste yourself in rejection, nor... Read More

verb   to make a low-pitched, harsh sound The most professional curse ever snarled or croaked or thundered can have no effect on a pure heart. From ‘The Last Unicorn’ by Peter S. Beagle, 1939-   to speak in a deep, throaty voice The Oldest Inhabitant croaks: “Well, of all… Things…Can it be…really!…No!…Yes!… From ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’ by T. S. Eliot,... Read More