squander = waste; spend foolishly
colloquy = informal discussion; conversation
refurbish = renovate; make clean, bright, or fresh (make
new) again; make bright by polishing; Ex. refurbish an
old theater; CF. furbish: polish
desolate = make desolate; forsake; abandon and desert

barb = sharp projection from fishhook, arrow, or other object;
openly cutting remark
beneficial = helpful; useful; advantageous
billow = large wave of water; a great swell or surge (of
smoke); V: surge, swell, roll in billows
verisimilar = having the appearance of truth or reality;
probable or likely to be true; plausible
ravage = devastate; plunder; despoil; Ex. crops ravaged
by storms
disconsolate = hopelessly sad (at the loss of something)
outmoded = no longer in fashion or use; no longer stylish;
old-fashioned
ruminate = chew over and over (mentally or, like cows,
physically); mull over(ponder)
epigram = witty thought or saying, usually short
mealymouthed = indirect in speech (when something unpleasant
must be said); hypocritical; evasive
unerringly = infallibly; ADJ. unerring: making no mistakes
arcane = esoteric; secret; mysterious; known only to the
initiated; Ex. arcane ritual; Ex. arcane process closed to
the uninitiated listener
founder = person who establishes (an organization or
business)
disgruntle = make discontented
monastic = related to monks or monasteries; removed
from worldly concerns
unfaltering = steadfast; firm; not changing
porous = full of pores; like a sieve
snip = short quick cut with scissors; V: cut with scissors
canto = division of a long poem
elliptical = elliptic; oval; of an ellipse; containing an ellipsis;
ambiguous either purposely or because key words
have been left out