Definition (Noun) A person zealously devoted to a particular party, cause, pursuit, etc.; a votary. In Context "The average devotee of this sport is more interested in acquiring a personal collection of rare and beautiful specimens than in gathering them for sale." Albert Carter, "Collecting Butterflies: Thrilling Home Hobby," Popular Science Monthly, January 1935.
The Whole or the Parts? Our daily discourse is sprinkled with collective nouns – words such as faculty, team, committee, and family that are singular in form but plural in implication. This creates a dilemma for careful writers. Is the board opposed to the admission of ten-year-olds or are the board against it? Is the class producing good work or are the class excelling? The answer depends on whether we choose to focus on the group as a whole or on its constituent parts. Context matters. If the family went their separate ways after the funeral, then it makes no sense [...]
Definition (Noun) A piece of dining-room furniture for holding side-dishes, wine, plate, etc., and often having cupboards and drawers. In Context "I went to the sideboard and took down the decanter of brandy and poured out a generous snifter; golden and amber-smelling." John Wray, The Right Hand of Sleep, 2000.
Definition (Adjective) Unmoving, unchanging, rigid. In Context "Egged on by Western applause, he appointed Yegor Gaidar, a young Western-oriented economist, to cure the sclerotic economy with shock therapy." Michael Binyon, "Overwhelmed by the Demons He Unleashed," The Times, April 24, 2007.
Definition (Noun) Commendatory license, sanction. In Context "The committees wanted to address these complex issues, but, given the political and economic ramifications of market reform, they needed the SEC's imprimatur on the legislation." Anne M. Khademian, The SEC and Capital Market Regulation: The Politics of Expertise, 1992.
Definition (Verb) Especially of an infant: to cry feebly, to whimper; to make a whining noise. In Context "My father's alarm clock came to life with the voices of the news of the world, and my sister, in her bassinet, lifted her arms to mewl and grope at the morning." Tony D'Souza, The Konkans, 2008.
Critical Assessment "It is an old publishing custom to make smooth the path of a promising book by assembling as many advance tributes as possible, but seldom have so many been printed on the jacket of a first novel as on that of 'A Separate Peace,' by John Knowles. These eleven garlands of praise were written by such diverse men of letters as E. M. Forster, Truman Capote, Aubrey Menen, Angus Wilson and Peter Fleming and might conceivably antagonize more prospective readers than they allure. If they should, it would be a pity, because 'A Separate Peace' is just as good [...]
