Vocabulary Mnemonics

June 7, 2025

Matt’s words

Abstruse (adj): difficult to comprehend

Some question what the White House could gain by reviewing abstruse rules for nuclear safety.

Mnemonic: Think of “Abstruse Bruce.” The actor Bruce Willis has in recent times been experiencing mental challenges, we are told. A person in such a condition would find more things abstruse than usual, perhaps.

Bumptious (adj): Noisily self-assertive, obtrusive

The bumptious salesman wouldn’t leave us alone.

Mnemonic: A bumptious person would have a higher likelihood of bumping in to while they were behaving bumptiously.

Cheeky (adj): Boldly rude, but in a playful way; irreverent

...a cheeky grin…

All his cheeky comments are going to get him a punch in the cheek.

Mnemonic: This kind of behavior might get you a punch in the cheek. Also, think of something being said “tongue in cheek.” It’s got a jokey element to it, so the person might be being cheeky.

Ungulate (n): hooved mammal (e.g., pig, cow, horse)

They showed prints of a three-toed ungulate, perhaps of a rhinocerous or ancient tapir. –NPR

Mnemonic: Think of the shoes, “Uggs.” They are big and clunky, almost like hooves. So “Ugg-ulates” reminds us of hooves on feet, just like big Uggs.

Histrionics (n): a deliberate display of emotion…for effect; being theatrical

Accompanying himself on electric guitar, his slow, bluesy version was intensely soulful and blissfully free of the vocal histrionics that have long been de riguer of Superbowl anthem singers. –San Diego Union Tribune

Mnemonic: “Histrio” in Latin means “actor.” Also, you see “trio” in there. Sometimes you see an acting group composed of a trio. They would be engaging in his”trio”nics.

Dr. Mom’s words

Griffonage (n): careless handwriting; a crude or illegible scrawl

The old journal was filled with a messy array of griffonage, making it difficult to decipher the author’s thoughts.

Mnemonic: A “glyph” is a symbolic figure or character, often carved or incised. If someone’s handwriting is so bad it looks basically like glyphs, it’s griffonage.

Hagiography (n): a biography of someone that puts the subject in a very flattering light; “hagio” comes from ancient Greek and means holy or sacred (think Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul)

The book gives a good idea of his virtues without resorting to hagiography.

Mnemonic: A hagiography will turn even a hag into a stunning beauty.

Genteel (adj): of aristocratic birth; stylish, elegant, or graceful in manner; opposite of vulgar or rude

Women who played the sport of lacrosse typically played the more genteel women’s field lacrosse version.

Mnemonic: A genteel member of society presumably experiences a gentler birth and has a more gentle demeanor than someone from a rougher background.

Ornery (adj): stubborn or irritable, often in a humorously endearing way; a playful tendency to trouble

It had been fun to play a trick on those ornery boys. They were not bad boys: just wild things full of vim and vinegar who were trying to fill their time and show off. —Connie Leonard Geron

Mnemonic: An ornery person, a contrarian, might just reply “or not” to whatever someone suggests that makes sense or seems proper and correct.

Murder (n): a group of crows

A murder of crows had roosted in the tree and were cawing loud(ly) enough to wake the whole neighborhood. –Wikipedia

Mnemonic: Crows can be meancing-looking creatures and are actually associated with death. It’s not hard to imagine a flock, or group, of them swarming down and murdering something or someone.

COLOSSAL COMPILATION:

The biography I wrote of my super interesting but ornery, bumptious, cheeky, ungulate-like, griffonage-prone, histrionic aunt—a woman you would just as soon sic a murder of crows on as talk to–ended up being something of a hagiography lest I offend my genteel but abstruse uncle and cousins beyond repair.