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Which word matches the description?
(Answers are at the bottom of this page)


  1. What you might call people who are so smart that you don't have a clue what they're saying. But this word will make you sound as if you do.

    a. pusillanimous b. sententious c. recondite d. lugubrious


  2. We bet you can count on one hand the number of times you've actually heard someone say this word for "shrewd," "keen-eyed," or "discerning." Some words are better read than said.

    a. prosaic b. opaque c. taciturn d. perspicacious


  3. A complicated word for how the story ends, best used when it's been a complicated story. Think of it as an untying of a knotty situation, which takes you close to the word's French and Latin roots.

    a. dernier cri b. denouement c. dishabille d. ennui


  4. Today we might say "cocky," "arrogant," and "know-it-all." The Greeks combined those with the consequences that would befall such excessive pride: the gods would get you. Just ask Oedipus.

    a. hubris b. impediment c. interregnum d. encomium


  5. A smart-sounding way of saying you're clueless, often used in the medical field, probably because patients have paid too much to hear a doctor say, "I don't know."

    a. inchoate b. ineffable c. ineluctable d. idiopathic


  6. There's "made-to-order" and "custom-made," and then there's that so-very-Bond-Street way to say it. Raise one eyebrow as you utter it.

    a. bespoke b. tour de force c. über d. ersatz

The answers are 1c, 2d, 3b, 4a, 5d, 6a.

All the words featured as choices are in
Smart Words. Know some?
See - you're even smarter than you thought.


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