Vocabulary Mnemonics

August 3, 2024

Matt’s words

Verisimilitude (n): The appearance of being true or real.

Think Jurassic Park, or Michael Crichton novels.

As a pop novelist, he was divine…. When it came to verisimilitude, he made you believe that cloning dinosaurs wasn’t just over the horizon but possible tomorrow. – Stephen King

Mnemonic: Think “very similar”

Avuncular (adj): relating to an uncle; uncle-like behavior

Warren Buffett’s famously avuncular style…

The new coach’s avuncular manner was the complete opposite of his martinet predecessor.

Mnemonic: Think of “uncle” in the middle

Toponym (n): a place name, especially one derived from a topographical feature; a word that is the name of a place

Examples: United States, North America, Canada

The toponym “Great Salt Lake” derives from the salt in the water.

Cook decided to call this magnificent place Sandwich Sound – as though Sandwich hadn’t already achieved sufficient immortality by way of the voyage’s charts. Cook was running out of ideas for toponyms, or perhaps he’d just lost patience with the rigamarole of naming things. – The Wide Wide Sea, page 257.

Mnemonic: Think “topography” (study of the land surface).

Think “top” as in “top of the mountain.”

Pertinacious (adj): holding firmly to an opinion or course of action; obstinate; dogged. Someone who won’t take no for an answer.

The pertinacious judge was unpersuaded by all arguments

After the mutiny, Captain Bligh pertinacious efforts to get back to England were rewarded

Mnemonic: Think “tenacious.”

Curio (n): a rare, unusual, or intriguing object; a curiosity

Example: vintage Pez dispenser; rare coin

The explorers exchanged curios with the natives.

Mnemonic: Think “curious” or “curiosity”

Dr. Mom’s words

Craven: (adj) very cowardly; not at all brave

“It’s horrifying to witness craven acts of terrorism.”

“I felt a craven desire to avoid any confrontation with my cantankerous neighbor.”

Mnemonic: Craven sounds like raven, a bird that, when it craves food, feeds on the flesh of dead animals, being too cowardly to go after live prey.

Tell: (n) an unconscious action that betrays an attempted deception

“My dad was great at poker because he had a knack for spotting his opponents’ tells.”

“When my friend averted her eyes from me during a conversation, it was a tell that I had said the wrong thing.”

Mnemonic: A “tell” tells, or gives a clue about, your hand, in poker, or your true feelings or beliefs

Remunerate: (v) to pay someone for work or services; to compensate

“The offer of remuneration I received after helping my neighbor move was completely unexpected.”

Mnemonic: Pronounce the word “re-mun-e-rate.” “M-u-n now sounds like money (a typical form of payment for something), and rate can refer to a scale of payment. So remuneration has to do with being paid for something, in this case with money.

Pentapopemptic: (n) a person who has been divorced five times

“It was quite a surprise to find out my great-great grandpa was a pentapopemptic.”

Mnemonic: “Penta” means five, as in pentagon or pentameter. “Pop” can make you think of a balloon popping, meaning the party is over. In this case, and now the person is “emptic,” or empty, alone.  “Apopemptic” means sending away, departing, farewell, valedictory, so saying goodbye to someone.

Muggle: (n) a person who does not have a particular type of skill or knowledge; a beginner, notice, or tyro

“It was embarrassing for the elderly man to be such a muggle about his cell phone that he had to ask his grandchildren for help.”

Mnemonic #1: In the Harry Potter world, muggles are people without magical powers, so they lack that skill.

Mnemonic #2: Think of a person who has to “struggle” to learn something new. A muggle may struggle.

BIG sentence:

The town of Avunc, short for avuncular, earned the toponym because, way back in the day, the older uncles in town had exhibited several tells as to their most admirable qualities; for example, they were always pertinacious about the verisimilitude of their communications, they selflessly displayed curios for all to enjoy, they faithfully remunerated even muggles for their barest efforts to serve, and none ever cravenly hid the fact that he was a pentapopemptic.