WELCOME TO THIS POST!
A LOVELY GROUP OF FLOWERS FOR MY READERS!
These are Tagetes.
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Source: 4028mdk09 CC BY SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons
WORDS.
Another
interesting list of English words!
QUANDARY
Noun,
usually used as a phrase: to be in a quandary – To be uncertain of the decision
to take about something
The parents
were in a quandary over changing their child’s school.
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QUAY
Noun, countable
– A hard surface next to a sea or river, where boats can tie up.
The
children went down to the quay to meet the fishing boat
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QUERULOUS
Adjective,
mostly literary – A querulous person complains often and in a way that annoys
other people.
She was a
very querulous old lady.
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QUIXOTIC
Adjective –
Ideas or plans that are quixotic are not practical and usually do not succeed.
My uncle is
very quixotic, and I love him just as he is.
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MY COMMENTS
ON THESE WORDS.
I think
these words are really “quirky”!” Some
of them are used under special circumstances.
“Quandary”
is not often used nowadays; at least, I haven’t heard it or seen for along
time. I think modern speakers would use another expression, such as “I don’t
know what to do about…”
I think I
would probably find this word in fiction writing, but I don’t really know if
this is so at this date.
“Quay” is a
much used word for activities that are related to ships, boats, seas, rivers
and so on. It’s a strange word and it doesn’t appear to be used so much in the
United States, where the term ”wharf” is preferred. The origin of “quay” is
thought to be French, which in turn derived the word from the Celtic language.
From there it was transferred to Britain.
“Querulous”
is another word that I have not seen used except perhaps in fiction. I think in
normal life we would say that the person is always complaining or whining about
something. However it is a very descriptive word, the expression “querulous old
lady” brings the character to life immediately.
And finally
on this list we have the term “quixotic”. Now this one is easy for Spanish
speakers, because of the literary association with the famous knight who fought
with the windmills! He was Don Quijote!
Nowadays a person
or a gesture is termed to be “quixotic” when they are related to idealistic
ventures that are as “impossible” as the windmill fighting was. It is, however
a very descriptive word: when it is used, the meaning becomes immediately
clear.
The bad
news for Spanish speakers is that the only expression that they can relate to,
is the last one: “quixotic”.
The other
three have no similar sounding word in the Spanish language
So there you
have them: four more words taken from the lists that are recommended for the
graduate entry tests, such as GRE, GMAT, IELTS, TOEFL and so on.
This post
aims to help you improve your scores on these tests, so do practice using these
words, and I’ll see you on the next post!
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A FAREWELL FLOWER FOR MY READERS! ENJOY!
A solitary Tagetes!
Click to enlarge
Source: Algiridas, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
© 2013 joveron (Joan Robertson)
I will be very happy to receive your comments! Just
click the word “comments” lower down.
