Brainy books - Oct 2020
Across
- 1. Liveliness. Someone who is full of gusto, verve or life is a person full of X
- 3. Put-down; Disparage; Pooh-Pooh; Scorn; Ridicule. …in a tome of deprecation….
- 5. Emotionless; apathetic
- 8. Erratic; unpredictable
- 12. Cocky, brazenly cheeky, impertinent
- 13. Divide, diverge
- 15. Devoid of freshness or originality of thought or deed; bland; mundane; trite; commonplace
- 18. Having the power to charm, deceive or trick; e.g. Will she beguile him into poor judgment? She was a beguiling lady
- 19. Aggressively hostile
- 20. Dumb; Dense; Dopey
- 21. Forlorn, sad; pensive in a yearning way, longing for.
- 23. Married
- 24. Antagonistic; quarrelsome
- 25. Moan, grumble, complain
- 29. Reverence for or great respect of, mostly for a religion I.e. devout
- 30. Stealthily treacherous or deceitful
- 31. A manifestation of divine care or direction.
- 32. Inclined to have lascivious or lustful thoughts, salacious, vulgar
- 34. Small-minded
- 38. Inappropriate; out of place
- 39. Either: Excessively smooth, suave, smug e.g. it was a delightful and graceful speech rather than unctuous and overblown OR Excessively piousness or moralistic fervour
- 40. Joyous, merry, cheerful e.g. All loved his X spirit OR Being thoughtless e.g. His X nature shows he was indifferent to anyone’s feelings
- 41. Improvise; ad-lib
- 43. Erratic; unpredictable
- 47. Excessively talkative about trivial matters
- 48. Extremely greedy
- 54. Making something difficult to understand
- 59. Obscene, lewd, indecent, prurient
- 62. A controversial argument against an opinion, doctrine. Or someone who argues in opposition to another. A polemical person is someone who is contrary, belligerent.
- 65. Insatiable greed for wealth or power
- 68. Green with vegetation
- 71. Cowardly; afraid
- 72. Frugal, stingy
- 75. A story or thing with a hidden meaning ex Animal Farm - a political allegory about the different classes in society through the depiction of animals
- 77. Private knowledge shared by only a select few e.g. There is a pill in Tibetan Buddhism that contains a lot of esoteric ingredients, some of which are bodily substances.
- 78. Showing great enthusiasm for or interest in: i.e. an X fan of rugby, Or X for power
- 79. Funny in an eccentric way
- 83. Changing, alternating phases or fortunes in life i.e. the ups and downs off life
- 84. Foolish, silly, inane
- 85. Skeptical; unconvinced; doubtful e.g. At the time, critics were incredulous that the show would work.
- 87. Brief powerful and meaningful in expression; succinct
- 89. Loyalty, faithfulness
- 91. Drunkard
- 93. Expert, skilful
- 96. Without delicacy or sensitivity
- 97. A word that has many meanings, of which one is the reverse of the other e.g. Bolt: To secure, or to flee OR Bound: Heading to a destination, or restrained from movement OR Left: Remained, or departed
- 98. Accede, cave-in
- 100. Knowledgeable; scholarly
- 104. Quarrelsome; antagonistic; aggressively hostile, belligerent; pugnacious
- 105. Deferential: servile; brown-nosing
- 108. Having prescience, Foresight; knowing things before they happen
- 111. Official approval or sanction. I.e. One of the things about elites is that they only care about the approbation of the members of their own elites.
- 113. Deceitful; untrustworthy
- 114. An omen of something monuments about to happen i.e. a premonition
- 118. To atone for, make amends for I.e. Even if their future behaviour was perfect it would not X for being so badly behaved
- 119. Inclined to being silent/reserved in talking and manner; sullen
- 120. Being at rest, quiet, still
- 121. Undermining the power or authority of a central government
- 122. A foolish undertaking or idea e.g. the folly of performing without a rehearsal.
- 123. I believe, I surmise, I presume, I venture, I x
- 124. Sound judgement, acumen, astuteness
- 125. Submissive
Down
- 2. Uncontrollable; unruly; bad beyond correction
- 4. Recklessly extravagant; - X with money I.e. profligate, squandering, lavish, recklessly extravagant, squandering, lavish
- 6. Giving one's name to a tribe, place e.g. Romulus, the eponymous founder of Rome.
- 7. A boxer, fighter
- 9. Caution with regard to practical or financial matters I.e. shrewd, careful, cautious, frugal
- 10. A feeling of hostility or hatred towards someone
- 11. Generous in forgiving, altruistic
- 14. Lively, animated, spirited
- 16. To keep apart from others. segregate, isolate, seclude
- 17. Unemotional, impassive
- 18. Debauched
- 22. Gloomy
- 26. Any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actual or attributed quality: e.g. Marvellous Matt; Nasty Nick
- 27. Performed merely as a routine duty, indifferently, apathetically, superficially e.g. he held open the door for her with only a perfunctory sense of manners
- 28. Spacious; capable of holding lots
- 33. A short allegory with one basic idea is a fable or parable
- 35. Feverish; delirious
- 36. Excessive confidence, cocky, arrogance
- 37. Sorcery, witchcraft, communication with the dead
- 42. A person displaying pointlessly precise conformity or fussiness of trivialities in a self-righteous or irritating way
- 44. Convincing, to the point; relevant; pertinent
- 45. Maliciously harmful or ruinous i.e. a pernicious lie
- 46. A society characterised by human misery, such as oppression, disease, squalor
- 47. Thoughtlessly, Insincerely talkative; Superficially quick talker
- 49. A short allegory/story with one basic idea is a fable or parable eg. the moral of the story is. …. he who cries wolf….
- 50. Inactive through indolence or indifference; Prostrate; flat on one’s back
- 51. Boastful; excessive pride about ones own achievements, abilities etc,
- 52. Harmless
- 53. Recklessly extravagant; lavish; not just with money though I.e. a reprobate, a degenerate
- 55. Constant use or excessive repetition. Banal. I.e. the trite phrases in his letter
- 56. With suspicion, mistrust, or disapproval
- 57. Clandestine, covert, sly, shifty
- 58. Matter-of-fact, unimaginative, drab, mundane, dull, humdrum. This could apply to many things - a X speech, or mind, or story etc
- 60. Something or someone has done or been something so often that it, or, they, have almost taken the form of a proverb. Become a byword for. A person or thing commonly associated as the embodiment of some quality e.g. Mike’s X inability to have any money
- 61. Spacious; capable of holding lots
- 63. Favoured by fortune, opportune, promising. I.e. an auspicious occasion
- 64. Grumpy, mean, rude
- 66. Scold, admonish, castigate
- 67. Flirtatious (by a woman - especially in a teasing, lighthearted manner)
- 69. Gaiety or jollily, amusement, laughter
- 70. The state of being profound
- 71. Reverence for or great respect of, mostly for a religion i.e. devout
- 73. To stay for a time in a place; live temporarily: i.e. to sojourn on the Riviera for two months.
- 74. Son or daughter
- 76. Using few words; expressing a lot in a few words; pithy; terse
- 80. Charitable; unselfish concern for the welfare of others
- 81. Breaking away from a country
- 82. Eager or excessive desire, especially to possess something; greed; avarice, longing, craving
- 86. Redress, repayment, atonement (i.e. penance). Making amends for or compensation I.e. to someone or a country for damage from war.
- 88. Incitement of rebellion against a government. Mutiny. Insurrection. Through writing or speech; not through physical act like treason
- 90. Indifference; lack of care or concern e.g. She had a gaiety and insouciance,
- 92. Imperious; arrogantly condescending
- 94. A feeling of pity, sympathy, compassion
- 95. Hazy, indistinct, vague
- 99. Filled with a sense of guilt and the desire for atonement i.e. a X sinner who wants to atone for his errors/sins
- 101. Astute, shrewd I.e. sageness
- 102. To object e.g. they wanted me to drive but I demurred
- 103. A state of anxiety, care or concern e.g. Dan showed great X about his wife's health
- 106. Talking to yourself; a monologue
- 107. Snobbish, scornfully arrogant
- 109. Outstandingly bad; deplorable; atrocious
- 110. Inactive, sluggish, lethargic
- 112. Abruptly concise; curt; brusque.
- 115. Slavishly submissive
- 116. When something is understood without anything being said; implied; unspoken I.e. x approval
- 117. Laid-back, lacking in interest or vitality