| argot |
the vocabulary or jargon characteristic of a specific group or class, especially of criminals. |
| askance |
with distrust or suspicion. |
| augury |
the art or practice or an instance of predicting the future or obtaining hidden knowledge by interpreting omens. |
| baneful |
causing or leading to death, destruction, or ruin; harmful or deadly. |
| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| condign |
well-deserved or fitting, especially of punishment or reprimand. |
| convoluted |
complex; intricate. |
| descant |
a secondary, usually higher, melody that is played or sung at the same time as the chief melody. |
| deterge |
to cleanse, wash, or wipe off. |
| fixation |
an obsession, especially one that interferes with normal functioning. |
| intelligentsia |
the elite class of highly learned people within a society, or those who consider themselves part of such a class. |
| pastiche |
a work of visual art, music, or literature that consists mostly of materials and techniques borrowed from other works, sometimes done as an exercise to learn the technique of others. |
| scion |
an offspring or heir. |
| supine |
lying with the face upward. |
| vitiate |
to harm the quality of; mar; spoil. |