WILDCAT
WORD WALL
To prepare our WHS
wildcats with the vocabulary section of the FCAT, ACT, and SAT
they are presented with weekly words. Click on the month to see the words
we have learned.
August/September | October | November | December | January | February | March | April/May
December 2007
Allusions
Allusions are indirect references
to real or fictional persons, places, or events.
December 3 (Monday)
Achilles’ heel
Definition: vulnerable spot or weak point - Thetis dipped her son
Achilles in the river Styx, making him invulnerable, except in
the heel by which she held on to him. That is the spot where he
was mortally wounded by an arrow.
Sentence: The only department in which our team is vulnerable is
relief pitching. It is our Achilles heel.
December 5 (Wednesday)
Catch-22
Definition: paradox (contradiction) in an order or regulation that
makes people victims of its provisions, regardless of what they
do
Sentence: The Budget Fitting Room was closed, so we went to the
other fitting room, where a sign said: “Closed. Use Budget Fitting
Room.” It was a Catch-22 situation.
December 7 (Friday)
crocodile tears
Definition: false tears; insincere show of grief - It used to be
believed that crocodiles shed tears while devouring their victims.
Sentence: The expressions of regret at the party for the retiring
executive were crocodile tears. The staff was glad to be rid of
her.
December 11 (Tuesday)
fifth column
Definition: subversive group of civilians working secretly within
their own country to turn it over to an invading enemy. General
Mola, advancing on Madrid with four columns in 1936, said that
he would be aided by a fifth column of sympathizers within the
city.
Sentence: The Nazis coordinated their surprise attack with acts
of sabotage by a well organized fifth column, so there was little
effective resistance.
December 13 (Thursday)
Freudian slip
Definition: slip of the tongue by which it is thought a person
unintentionally reveals his or her true feelings.
Sentence: In accepting the Oscar, she made a Freudian slip: instead
of saying “I couldn’t have done it all without you,” she said “I
could have done without all of you.”
December 17 (Monday)
juggernaut
Definition: massive, irresistible force crushing everything in
its path - Juggernaut is a name of the Hindu god Vishnu, and hence
of his idol and the huge car on which it is annually hauled in
a procession. Worshippers are alleged to have thrown themselves
under its wheels to be crushed.
Sentence: After sixteen consecutive victories the Red Sox juggernaut
ground to a halt as the Rovers scored twice in the bottom of the
ninth for a 2-1 triumph.
December 19 (Wednesday)
Murphy’s Law
Definition: satirical maxim stating that if anything can go wrong,
it will
Sentence: I had a flat tire on the way to work, and when I opened
the trunk I found that my spare, too, was flat. Clearly, I was
a victim of Murphy’s Law.
December 21 (Friday)
Pandora’s box
Definition: source of extensive unforeseen troubles - Beautiful
Pandora, the first mortal woman according to Greek mythology, received
a box she was forbidden to open, but she did, releasing all the
ills that have since plagued the world.
Sentence: The mayor’s advisers opposed a public hearing, warning
that it could be a Pandora’s box, and the mayor later regretted
that she had not listened to them.
