| astute |
keen in understanding and judgment; shrewd. |
| cravat |
a scarf or band of cloth tied loosely about the neck. |
| despoil |
to forcefully take belongings or goods from; plunder. |
| élan |
enthusiasm or vigor. |
| exponent |
one that expounds or interprets. |
| flummox |
(informal) to confuse or puzzle. |
| forbear |
to keep or abstain from (an action or utterance). |
| goad |
something that spurs a person to action; stimulus. |
| intransigence |
refusal to alter one's ideas or position in response to the wishes of others. |
| maverick |
a person who thinks and behaves independently, especially one who refuses to adhere to the orthodoxy of the group to which he or she belongs. |
| oblique |
not direct or straightforward in intent, means, or achievement; indirect or devious. |
| oblivious |
not conscious or paying attention; unknowing or unaware (usually followed by "to" or "of"). |
| obscurantism |
a deliberate lack of clarity or directness of expression, as in certain styles of art or literature. |
| quondam |
having been in the past; former. |
| requite |
to retaliate for; strike back on account of. |