July Vocabulary Review: Olympic Size!

It’s the end of the month, time again to review the vocabulary that we’ve learned during the previous weeks!

In honor of the Olympic games, this month’s quiz is slightly longer, to push your word nerd thinking to the limit.  (Hey, if Ryan Lochte can sprint 100m in each stroke to win gold in the 400 IM, surely you can answer 5 little questions, right?)



Word Nerd Workout:

  1. Which choice below best fits the modern use of portmanteau?
    1. customs inspector
    2. fantabulous
    3. wine from a specific region in France
  2. Which choice below best fits the antiquated use of portmanteau?
    1. luggage
    2. drunkard
    3. ship
  3. If you were taking a tour through the English countryside, you would want your guide to be:
    1. petulant
    2. obsequious
    3. sagacious
  4. Fill in the blank:  auspicious : propitious :: winsome : _____________
  5. Bonus short answer:  Explain the etymology (origin) of the word “olympiad”.  
Next week I’ll share link love, tweets, and Facebook posts about  anyone who gets all five answers correct!
Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!

Julia
Julia Tomiak
I believe in the power of words to improve our lives, and I help people find interesting words to read. Member of SCBWI.

8 Comments

  1. 1)fantabulous
    2)luggage (drunkard is too old a term, I’m thinking)
    3)Sagacious mostly but can understand wanting an obsequious companion on occasion.
    4)auspicious and propitious not only have a similarity of meaning but form and rhyme…so…wholesome, handsome, toothsome. If I could combine their meanings (portmanteau them), we’d be close. Wait! Blythesome
    5)I believe Olympiad is another portmanteau combining Olympics with the four year period.

  2. 1. Fantabulous (a word I frequently employ!)
    2. Luggage (your other readers chose drunkard, but I think I remember a previous post on Dickens and luggage…!)
    3. Segacious (def. not petulant and I can’t remember what obsequious means)
    4. “The Fab Five of the Women’s Gymnastic Team!”
    5. Hmmm…The Greeks and their Olympic games. My husband thinks it has to do with the passing of the torch.

  3. I hope I remember!
    1. Fantabulous
    2. Drunkard
    3. 2 or 3, depending on my mood (trick question, right?)
    4. charming (??)
    5. guessing: origin is Greek and hearkens to their competitions.

    Whew!

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