CREVASSE AND CREVICE

#099
CREVASSE AND CREVICE
Both crevasse and crevice are related to narrow opening in ice and rock respectively.

CREVASSE :
A crevasse is a deep crack in an ice sheet or glacier.

CREVICE :
A narrow opening or fissure, especially in a rock or wall.

Crevasse and Crevice
Photo Credits : CCarlstead and Jono Hey

IDIOM - Live from hand to mouth

#098
IDIOM - Live from hand to mouth
- To have just enough money to live on and nothing extra.
- Having or providing only the bare essentials.

Young Child in Poor Neighborhood of Coptic Christian Quarter - Cairo, Egypt-1989
They are literally living Hand to mouth.
Photo Credits : Adam Jones

Example / Usage :

- My father earned very little and there were four of us kids so we lived from hand to mouth.

POGROM

#097
POGROM
- An organized massacre of a particular ethnic group.
- The organized killing of many helpless people usually because of their race or religion.

Boston Massacre, Mar. 5, 1770. Chomolithograph by John Bufford
Image Credits : Marion Doss

Example / Usage
- Liberman warns South African Jews of coming pogrom.
- When Congress goons carried out anti-Sikh pogrom.

Quid Pro Quo

#096
Quid Pro Quo
- A Latin term meaning 'something for something' or 'this for that'.
- Something given in compensation, esp an advantage or object given in exchange for another.
- In politics quid pro quo can refer to the use of political office for personal benefit.

Credits : Jon Gosier

Credits : Nebbie

Example / Usage :
- Court summons XYZee, ABSee in quid pro quo case.
- It remains to be seen if the US would be willing to call off drone strikes in Pakistan without a quid pro quo.

Maroon

#095
MAROON
- To put ashore on a deserted island or coast and intentionally abandon.
- To place in an isolated and often dangerous position.

Marooned houses on the Eastern Indian Coast hit by Tropical Cyclone Phailin
Photo Credits : EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection

Example / Usage :
- The rising flood waters marooned us on top of the house.
- Flood situation grim, lakhs marooned, death toll rises to 6.
- Choppers evacuate marooned people, airdrop relief items

Root Word - Carn

#094
ROOT WORD - CARN
- Related to flesh.

Lion is a Carnivorous animal.
Photo Credits : whippets.chrichri

Examples :
Carnivorous : Flesh eating.
Incarnate : Embodied in human form (especially of a deity or spirit)
Reincarnation :  To undergo rebirth in another body
Carnage : The killing of a large number of people.
Carnify : To become muscular or fleshy

Mammoth

#093
MAMMOTH
- A large extinct elephant.
- Huge, Enormous, Giant.

Huge Wolly Mammoth

Example / Usage :
- Only the nuclear and the solar power can meet the mammoth energy requirements of India.
- Couple prepares for mammoth European adventure.

ROOT WORD - COGN

#092
ROOT WORD - COGN
- Learn/know
- The mental process of knowing.

Photo Credits : Steel Wool

Example :
- Cognizance : Awareness
- Cognizant : Fully informed
- Cognition : Process of knowing
- Recognize : To identify, know someone.
- Incognito : Having one's true identity concealed.

AUSTERE / AUSTERITY

#091 AUSTERE
- Having no comforts or luxuries.
- Severe or strict in manner.

Photo Credits : grahamc99 

Example / Usage :
- They choose austere furnishings for the office.
- They lived an austere life in the country.
- G20 puts growth before austerity, vows to tread carefully.

FORD

#090 FORD
- A shallow place in a river or stream allowing one to walk or drive across.

Photo Credits : PeterMEck

Example / Usage :
- Don't attempt getting the horses across the stream until we had reached the FORD.
- It was only much later that bridges would replace fords.

FACADE

#089 Facade
- The front of a building, esp. an imposing or decorative one.
- An artificial or deceptive front.
- A front or outer appearance, esp a deceptive one

View of approaches from the west facade of the Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C

Example / Usage :
- Facade of respectability to what had in reality been a debacle.
- A wealth of earlier building history is hidden beneath georgian facades.
- The richly decorated multi-coloured brick facade is a well known landmark.

ADDENDUM CORRIGENDUM

#088 ADDENDUM CORRIGENDUM
Addendum:
- Something added or to be added, especially a supplement to a book.
- An addition to a completed written document.

Corrigendum:
- A thing to be corrected, typically an error in a printed book.
- An error in a printed work discovered after printing and shown with its correction on a separate sheet.

Corrigendum given in and Indian Daily

Example / Usage:
- Last Minute Budget Addendum and Deadline Pressure Leads to Questionable Program Approval.
- Revised Corrigendum to the Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production.

CATAPULT

#087 CATAPULT
- An ancient military engine for hurling stones, arrows, etc.
- A device for launching an airplane from the deck of a ship.

Photo Credits : Clarinetlover

Example / Usage :
- Narendra Modi can catapult BJP to power.
- Lead guitarist catapulted the band to instant stardom.

ALIBI

#086 ALIBI
- A claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place.
- Excuse, plea.

Example / Usage :
- He was able to prove an alibi which could not be shaken.
- Man claims receipts could have been alibi.
- Brothers of the accused confirm alibi, Accused brothers' say he was at home on night of murder.

MASQUERADE

#085
MASQUERADE
- A false show or pretense.
- A party, dance, or gathering of persons wearing masks and other disguises, and often elegant, historical, or fantastic costumes.

Photo Credit : Susanna A

Word Origin :
From Mascara, a cosmetic commonly used to enhance the eyes.

Example / Usage :
- A masquerade may be attempted through the use of stolen login IDs and passwords.
- He is masquerading as the expert on the Internet

PLETHORA

#084
PLETHORA
- Superfluity or excess.
- A very large amount of something, especially a larger amount than you need, want, or can deal with.

Plethora of flowers.
Captured at Kaas Valley, Maharashtra, India

Usage / Examples :
- A plethora of books have been written on the subject.
- Allen won a plethora of medals during his illustrious career.
- iFixit finds a plethora of minor tweaks inside the 2013 MacBook Air

JAMBOREE

#083
JAMBOREE
- Any noisy merrymaking.
- A large celebration or party, typically a lavish one.

Photo Credits : Jeff Daly

Usage / Examples :
- A Jamboree fundraiser to benefit Parents of Special Children.
- Canada's Craven Country Jamboree is known for bringing some of the biggest stars to their three-day festival

GROTESQUE

#082
GROTESQUE
- Is usually used to describe strange shapes or bizarre forms.
- Comically or repulsively ugly or distorted.

Grotesque monsters, deformed men or fabulous animals?
Photo Credits : Tyrus Flyn

Usage / Example :
- The Woolwich footage was grotesque.
- Among the more grotesque exhibits in the circus was the man with four eyes.

Mannequin

#081
MANNEQUIN
- A wooden figure or model of the human figure used by tailors, dress designers, etc., for fitting or making clothes.
- One employed to model clothing.

Mannequin at store.
Photot Credits : MOs810

Examples / Usage :

- To fight sex crimes, BMC wants lingerie mannequins banned.
- Several mannequins posing for this year's catalogue look especially bony.

CONFISCATE

#080
CONFISCATE
- Take or seize someone's property with authority.

Photo Credits : Yenna

Usage :
- The border guards confiscated our movie cameras.
- Guards confiscated knives and other weapons from the prisoners.
- The teacher confiscated all cell phones for the duration of the field trip.
- His passport was confiscated by the police to prevent him from leaving the country.

Espionage

#079 ESPIONAGE
- The practice of spying or of using spies.
- The discovering of secrets, especially political or military information of another country.

Spying the Land
Photo Credits : Yellow Cat

Example / Usage :
- U.S. diplomat detained in Russian on espionage charges.
- E-mail may also be an ideal medium for industrial espionage.

Paparazzi

#078
PAPARAZZI
- A freelance photographer, especially one who takes candid pictures of celebrities for publication.

Usage :

- Protective father keeps paparazzi away from daughter.
- Many celebrities complain about the extent to which paparazzi invade their personal space.

Poignant

#077 POIGNANT
- Evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret.
- Painfully affecting the feelings.

POIGNANT MESSAGE: Martin, 8, who died in the Boston blasts, was at the finish line with his family, waiting for his father to cross.

Usage :
- A pointed, poignant film about honor killings.

Gaffe

#076
GAFFE
- A clumsy social error; a faux pas.
- A blatant mistake or misjudgment.

Usage :
- He realized that he had committed an awful GAFFE when he mispronounced her name.
- Home Secretary expresses regret over GAFFE of naming the rape victims.
- Italy president snubs German candidate over clown GAFFE.

PLACEBO

#075
PLACEBO
- A harmless pill prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect.
- Something of no intrinsic remedial value that is used to appease or reassure another.

Usage / Examples :
- Are Sleeping Aids Effective or Just A Placebo Effect?
- The reason for these other trials being positive was the placebo effect.
- Placebo effect alone can work for some.

Charlatan

#074
Charlatan
- A person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill; a fraud.
- A person who pretends or claims to have more knowledge or skill than he or she possesses.

Usage
- Ankit Fadia is like many charlatans who gets published in one article and rides the wave of not only poor journalism but also his own hype. [From : Forbes India]
- Let's get these charlatans for what they deserve!
- The magician was so bad, everyone knew he was a charlatan.

Somersault

#073
SOMERSAULT
- An acrobatic movement in which a person turns head over heels in the air or on the ground and lands or finishes on their feet.
- A complete overturn or reversal, as of opinion.

Example
- His car somersaulted into a ditch.
- Gujarat is a saffron state and the BJP's somersault from Hindu protection to Muslim appeasement is bound to tell on it.

Pasture

#072

PASTURE

- Land covered with grass and other low plants suitable for grazing animals, esp. cattle or sheep.

- Land or a plot of land used for grazing.

Pasture Land

Example :

- There are insurance programs which ensure farmers get a fair yield for their PASTURE land.

A nice Quote :

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving." 

The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your PASTURE. 

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

Hacienda

#071
HACIENDA

- A large estate or plantation especially in Spanish-speaking country.
- The main house on such an estate.

Amputate

#070
AMPUTATE
- Cut off (a limb), typically by surgical operation.

DESPICABLE

#069
DESPICABLE
- So worthless.
- Hateful; beyond Contempt.

Usage :
- This despicable vote insults democracy.
- Charity box theft despicable.
- Lance Armstrong is a liar, and a despicable man.

Conundrum

#068
CONUNDRUM
- A confusing and difficult problem.
- A riddle whose answer is or involves a pun or unexpected twist

This is in London, UK. I was watching Top Gear and couldn't resist "screenshotting" it. 

How the hell does one know, which light is for which road?

Example / Usage :
- The Telangana conundrum: Will Hyderabad be the stumbling block?
- Nitin Gadkari's two statements reflect BJP conundrum over second term.
- Michael Clarke adds new twist to selection conundrum.

EXPATIATE

#067
EXPATIATE
- To write/talk at length or in detail.

Usage / Example : 

- She expatiated on/upon her work for the duration of the meal.
- Can you please expatiate on  this hope that you are talking about?

TUTELAGE

#066
TUTELAGE :
- Help, advice or teaching about how to do something.
- Guardianship.

Example / Usage :

 - The company is relying on the TUTELAGE of its new CEO to increase profits.
 - Newton made a series of six voyages under his father's TUTELAGE.

ROOT WORD - PHON

#065
ROOT WORD - PHON
- Voice, Sound
- The root 'phon' means sound, so you find it in words to do with sound

Related Words : 
xylophone - A musical instrument.
telephone - A distant voice (tele - distance)
saxophone - A musical instrument.
euphony - A sweet sound (eu - pleasant)
cacophony - A harsh / disturbing sound. (caco - unpleasant)

CLANDESTINE

#064
CLANDESTINE
- Planned or done in secret, especially because illicit.

Usage / Example :
- Delhi gangrape victim laid to rest in CLANDESTINE manner.
- The US suspected some Indian firms were assisting the CLANDESTINE missile programme of Iran,
according to US State Department cables released by WikiLeaks.