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July 19 & 20, 2003 boisterous (BOY strus) The adjective boisterous means to be noisy, lively and full or energy. A group of men staged a boisterous Punjabi dance as a golden brown bus from New Delhi travelled towards Pakistan. She was cheered by the boisterous Australian crowd for her short-lived Olympic record. The boisterous protestors, who overflowed onto side streets, hoisted banners and screamed for the president to resign. "Are you ready to win?" the candidate asked the boisterous crowd of his supporters. July 18, 2003 stall The verb stall means to stop or stop progressing, but possibly to continue at a later time. Stall can also mean to prevent someone from doing something until a later time. In a vehicle, stall means for the engine to stop. The adjective form is stalled. The rebel advance stalled a few kilometers from the capital. As the economy stalled, the trade deficit rose alarmingly. They accused her of deliberately stalling for more time. Stalled peace negotiations between the government and the MLF are due to resume later this month. July 17, 2003 extortionist (ik STOR shun ist) The noun extortionist refers to a person who illegally uses force or threats of force to obtain something, usually money. The crime is known as extortion. The verb form is extort. The government's campaign against crime has done nothing to help taxi motorcyclists, who say they are still being forced to pay extortionists under the protection of police. In some countries, public officials are nothing more than extortionists with their victims being the poor. Night entertainment businesses often have to break the law to make a profit so they are easy victims of extortion. The businessman claimed the former mayor extorted $400,000 from him. July 16, 2003 drowsy (DROW si) The adjective drowsy means to be very sleepy and unable to think clearly. The noun form is drowsiness. The drowsy-looking massage parlour owner spoke from Bumrungrad hospital after a truck driver found him on the motorway. The warm room made us drowsy. Many cold medications have a tendency to make users drowsy. The combination of heat and food produced a comfortable drowsiness and a sense of relaxation. July 15, 2003 entrenched (in TRENCHT) The adjective entrenched means to be so firmly established as to be difficult to change. The police malpractice was so deeply entrenched that it was taken for granted, the prime minister said. The Microsoft Windows brand is firmly entrenched, a monopoly in people's minds. Economic sanctions can be useless against entrenched dictators. The national testing system now appears to be entrenched. July 14, 2003 hasten (HEY sun) The verb hasten means to do something or make something happen more quickly. It can also mean to hurry. The noun form is haste Mr Suvit had on many occasions written to the panel asking it to hasten its work. It was necessary to partially collapse his parachute to hasten the descent and land before striking the wires. World leaders hastened to condemn the attacks. The bomb may have gone off earlier than planned due to the haste in which it was set up. Click here to see our words in the news for the previous week. Return to our home page | Comments to Terry F. at terryfrd@ksc15.th.com | |© The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. All rights reserved 2003 | Last modified: July 21, 2003