| argot |
the vocabulary or jargon characteristic of a specific group or class, especially of criminals. |
| askance |
with distrust or suspicion. |
| canny |
difficult to fool or take advantage of; shrewd; wary; clever. |
| conclave |
a secret, private, or confidential meeting or gathering. |
| condone |
to pardon, disregard, or overlook voluntarily or without condemning. |
| declivity |
a downward or descending slope. |
| deter |
to stop or discourage from some action by creating doubt or fear. |
| epicure |
a person who has cultivated tastes, as in food or wine; connoisseur. |
| figurehead |
a person whose title sounds important but who has no real power. |
| flummox |
(informal) to confuse or puzzle. |
| pinchbeck |
false, sham, or counterfeit. |
| quondam |
having been in the past; former. |
| solipsism |
the self-centered habit of interpreting and judging all things exclusively according to one's own concepts of meaning and value. |
| sotto voce |
in a low voice or undertone, so as not to be overheard; softly (often used as a musical direction). |
| travesty |
something so grotesque or inferior as to seem a parody. |