I developed another category of words that would be ideal for Alex Trebek to use on “Jeopardy.” I call this category “Vocabulary-Builders that Begin with B.” See how well you do in identifying eight advanced words that begin with the second letter of the alphabet (one of my favorite consonants).
1. This noun’s last three letters are the letters of my first name, Don. Merriam-Webster defines this 12-letter dandy as “the writing of alternate lines in opposite directions, as from left to right and from right to left.”
2. The ambassador was rather blunt in his manner and speech. Some of the audience members thought he was far from gracious and close to being harsh. This ambassador could be described as what?
3. These are two adjectives that mean lacking in originality, and I never want to be that.
4. It’s a word for a secondary and sometimes unexpected and unintended result. I tell my students that their reading comprehension of not-so-difficult reading material will likely improve after reading a Shakespeare play. Therefore, improved reading comprehension is an example of something being a ___.
5. Its synonym is sinister. This type of person can hurt you.
6. Erik Satie’s “Jack in the Box” and Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” are examples of these.
7. This French word doesn’t sound like it means love letter, but it does.
Questions:
What is boustrophedon? What is brusque? What are banal and bromidic? (Note: Give banal’s first syllable the same sound of the first syllable in banana: buh-NAL). What is byproduct? What is baleful? What are ballets? What is billet-doux?
Editor’s Note: Dr. Don Rodney Vaughan is the pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church near Eupora and is on the faculty of East Mississippi Community College, Golden Triangle Campus. Contact him at dvaughan@eastms.edu.
