Vocabulary Mnemonics

July 19, 2025

Matt’s words

Billet doux (n): love letter 

“… [Jon] Batiste creates splendid music—those of us with kids likely experienced it lately on his soundtrack to the Pixar hit ‘Soul.’ ‘Batiste: Movement 11′,’ the composition of his that’s nominated for a Grammy in a classical category, is nearly two minutes of intense, pensive joy tinctured with darkness, of the kind that people send to each other as a billet-doux …” — John McWhorter, The New York Times

Mnemonic: Think of Billy trying to say “I do” with a love letter. 

Addlepated (adj): confused; mixed up 

The Pink Panther, Lieutenant Drebin in The Naked Gun, and Bill Murray in The Man Who Knew Too Little are all addlepated detectives whose mistakes work out to their advantage.

Mnemonic #1: Pate means “head” and addle means “rotten egg” So it’s the opposite of egghead. 

Mnemonic #2: Think “addled.” 

Gelid (adj): cold or icy 

Other offerings there sound like a warm hug in gelidform: Jasmine Milk Tea laced with chocolate-coated almond slivers, or Rhubarb Crumble with toasted anise.” — Kim Cook, The Chicago Sun-Times, 30 June 2023

Mnemonic: Think of a gell you have to keep the lid on to keep cool. 

Cozen (v): to deceive/win over by coaxing 

It’s only office seekers with no real solutions who rely on cozeningthe voter. — The News-Gazette (Lexington, Virginia), 21 June 2023

Mnemonic: Think of cozying up. 

Divers (adj): more than one

Our festival showcases the fantastic in all its forms, promoting divers styles, points of view, themes, and aesthetics—and I think these winners really show as much. — Ben Croll, Variety, 9 July 2022

Mnemonic: Think “diverse.” 

Dr. Mom’s words

Bemused (adj): bewildered or confused; lost in thought

On the first day of high school, a large subset of students mill around with bemused expressions on their faces.

Mnemonic: Combine the “be” in bewildered with the “used” in confused. Connect them with the “m,” which means me. I’m bemused.

Specious (adj): having a false look of truth or genuineness; seeming to be right or true, but really wrong or false

…specious allegations, specious claims…

Hucksters flaunted their specious cure-ails on posters, broadsides, and other printed formats.

Mnemonic: Think of “speech that is fallacious,” or false.

Folly (n): foolish behavior; lacking good sense or judgment

Youthful folly can unfortunately result in lifelong misery.

It is folly to imagine you can get away with anything.

Mnemonic: Imagine watching a young person who is constantly falling or tripping over themselves. You’d have a hard time thinking that person had it all together. You’d assume them foolish and/or careless.

Heuristic (n): Mental shortcuts individuals rely on to more efficiently make decisions and judgments; rules of thumb; they simplify complex information; a “quick and dirty approach” to processing information

Example from psychology: The “anchoring heuristic” is used when you make a decision based upon a subjective anchoring point that influences all your subsequent thinking on the subject. If you tell your kids there are 5 hours of driving left on the family trip, anything less than that will feel short.

Emotions are often our main heuristic guide to discovering moral truths.

Mnemonic: “Heuristic” originates with the Greek verb “heurisko,” which means to find or discover. Archimedes famously shouted “Eureka,” or “I have found it!” upon discovering displacement of water. You are able to feel smart because you’ve figured out something difficult in a simple way.

Feral (adj): in a wild state, especially after having been domesticated; savage

The feral animals have begun venturing into towns in the hunt for food as winter bites. Times, Sunday Times (2017)

Mnemonic: Think of a “feral free-for-all.” Anything goes in this environment; life is full of brutishness and inhumanity.

COLOSSAL COMPILATION:

On a gelid winter day, the addlepated, bemused lover engaged in the folly of attempting, by divers ways, to cozen her feral-like suitor by writing a billet doux full of specious promises and utilizing manipulative heuristics.