| atavism |
the recurrence or reappearance of a particular trait, style, attitude, or behavior that seemed to have disappeared, or that which has recurred or reappeared after such an absence. |
| austerity |
a tightened or stringent economy, as when there are high taxes, frozen wages, and shortages of consumer goods. |
| convoluted |
complex; intricate. |
| doggerel |
trivial, crudely constructed verse. |
| electuary |
a drug mixed with honey, syrup, or the like to form a paste to be smeared on the teeth or gums of a sick animal. |
| epicure |
a person who has cultivated tastes, as in food or wine; connoisseur. |
| gadfly |
a persistent critic, especially of established institutions and policies. |
| germane |
having relevance to a given matter; pertinent; significant. |
| gossamer |
delicately fine, gauzelike, or filmy. |
| heterodox |
deviating from an officially approved belief or doctrine, especially in religion. |
| 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. |
| requite |
to retaliate for; strike back on account of. |
| rodomontade |
puffed-up boasting or bravado. |
| sequester |
to remove into protection and isolation; seclude. |
| transpose |
to exchange the position or order of (two things). |