| cantankerous |
irritable, stubborn, and quarrelsome. |
| cloture |
in U.S. parliamentary procedure, a method of ending debate and causing an immediate vote on the matter being discussed. |
| espouse |
to take up, hold, or commit oneself to (a cause, idea, or belief); embrace. |
| frangible |
easy to break; breakable; fragile. |
| glean |
to gather or discover (facts, information, or the like) a little at a time. |
| idiosyncrasy |
a characteristic of temperament, habit, or physical structure particular to a given individual or group; peculiarity. |
| indemnity |
insurance against damage, loss, or liability. |
| malingerer |
one who pretends to be ill or injured, especially in order to avoid work or duty. |
| modular |
designed with standardized units that may be arranged or connected in a variety of ways. |
| omnibus |
concerning or including a large collection of things. |
| panegyric |
a formal speech or piece of writing devoted to publicly praising a person or thing. |
| peroration |
the concluding part of a speech in which there is a summing up of the principal points. |
| preferment |
the act of promoting or being promoted to a higher position or office. |
| raffish |
carelessly unconventional or disreputable, sometimes appealingly so. |
| Saturnalia |
an occasion of unrestrained revelry. |