flay = strip off skin; plunder; remove the skin from; criticize
harshly
sophomoric = immature; half-baked; like a sophomore
exculpate = clear from blame or guilt
perturb = disturb greatly
variegated = (esp. of a flower or leaf) many-colored
excerpt = selected passage (written or musical) taken
from a longer work; V.
insolvent = bankrupt; lacking money to pay; N. insolvency
parley = conference (between opponents); CF. speak
compendium = brief, comprehensive summary; ADJ.
compendious
gusty = windy
benison = blessing
don = put on; OP. doff
chaffing = bantering; joking
hive = box for bees; V: cause to go in a hive
catapult = slingshot; hurling machine; V: fire from catapult
aspirant = seeker after position or status
magistrate = official with power to administer the law
finite = limited
supplicant = one who supplicates; ADJ.
scrappy = quarrelsome
intelligentsia = intellectuals; members of the educated
elite (often used derogatorily)


hinterlands = back country; inner part of a country; OP.
foreland
satyr = half-human, half-bestial being in the court of
Dionysus (resembling a goat), portrayed as wanton(
unrestrained) and cunning; lecher; CF. faun; CF.
goat: lecherous man
throttle = strangle; regulate the speed of with a throttle;
N: valve that regulates the flow; CF. throat ?
faction = party; clique (within a large group); dissension
pinion = restrain or immobilize by binding the wings or
legs; N: bird.s wing
filch = steal (things of small value)
sportive = playful; frolicsome; merry; CF. sport: play or
frolic; CF. sportsmanlike
spontaneity = lack of premeditation; naturalness; freedom
from constraint; ADJ. spontaneous: self-generated;
unpremeditated; happening without being planned
concede = admit; acknowledge as being true (often reluctantly);
yield; grant; Ex. concede a goal
galleon = large three-masted sailing ship
dissemble = disguise; hide the real nature of; pretend
missive = letter; written statement; CF. sent
temporize = gain time as by postponing an action; avoid
committing oneself