Have you ever heard the word “tucket”? You’ll see that new noun (or at least it’s new to some of us) in this week’s Vaughan’s Vocabulary.
I recently encountered a word that I have not seen and used in quite a while, contretemps, whose pronunciation does not match its spelling. I have that one, too, and three others.
1. tucket (TUCK-it)
A. a short piece of music, usually played on an organ, played at a baseball game
B. a trumpet fanfare
C. a device worn tightly around the abdomen
D. None of the above
2. contretemps (CON-truh-tahn)
A. an importune or embarrassing event, argument or disagreement
B. dispute, argument
C. an embarrassing mishap
D. All of the above
Tucket is baseball organ music, or a short piece played at a baseball game. Example: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is probably the most recognizable tucket. The Free Dictionary by Farlex defines tucket as “a trumpet fanfare.” So, both A and B are correct for No. 1.
D is the correct answer for No. 2. For both the singular and plural version, the word is spelled the same, but the latter has the “tahns” sound. On Thursday evenings, I teach Introduction to Communication (CO-1013) at Mississippi State University. In five of our sessions, the class will be working in small groups to write segments of a drama called “Communication.” I’m going to ask our writers to work “contretemps” into the script.
3. tedious (TEE-dee-us)
A. wordy so as to cause weariness or boredom, as a speaker, a writer or the work they produce, prolix
B. marked by monotony; long and tiresome
C. boring and too slow and long
D. All of the above
4. demure (di-MYUR)
A. quite, modest, reserved
B. costly, extravagant
C. opprobrious
D. flashy, showy
5. apothecary (uh-POTH-uh-care-ee)
A. healthy
B. a druggist, a pharmacy
C. a container for storing medicines
D. a false statement
For No. 3, what I have for A, B, and C came from Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster.com. D is the answer.
No. 4 is A. At Ryan’s party everyone was dancing to the music of K.C. and the Sunshine Band, except for Margaret, who sat demurely on the sofa.
No. 5 is B. An apothecary is an individual who prepares and sells drugs (legally) or compounds for medical purposes; an apothecary is also a pharmacy.
Editor’s Note: Don Rodney Vaughan, Ph.D., teaches journalism, interpersonal communication and public speaking at East Mississippi Community College and is the pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Webster County. Contact him at dvaughan@eastms.edu.
