Abaton (n)
"As inacessible as Abaton."
Artemisia, to commemorate her conquest of Rhodes, erected two statues in the island, one representing herself, and the other emblematical of Rhodes. When the Rhodians recovered their liberty they looked upon this monument as a kind of palladium, and to prevent its destruction surrounded it with a fortified enclosure which they called Abaton, or the inaccessible place. (Lucan speaks of an island difficult of access in the fens of Memphis, called Abaton.)

absolve (v)
1. to free from guilt or blame or their consequences.
2. to grant or pronounce remission of sins to.
3. to set free or release, as from some duty, obligation, or responsibility (usually followed by "from" )

ad nauseam (adv) (Latin)
to a sickening or disgusting degree.

afterglow (n)
1. a glow after a light has disappeared, as in metals cooling after being heated to incandescence, or in the western sky after sunset.
2. an agreeable feeling occurring after a pleasant or profitable experience.

air brake (n)
1. a brake or system of brakes operated by compressed air.
2. (Aeron.) a device for reducing the air speed of an aircraft by increasing its drag.

alibi (n)
1. the defense by an accused person of having been elsewhere at the time an offense was committed.
2. an excuse used to avoid blame.

archetype (n)
1. An original model or type after which other similar things are patterned.
2. An ideal example of a type; quintessence.

ascot (n)
a kind of scarf or necktie, knotted so that the broad ends are laid one across the other.

avarice (n)
immoderate desire for weath; greed.

bask (v)
1. to lie in or be exposed to a pleasant warmth.
2. to enjoy a pleasant situation.

bella donna (n) (Italian)
1. Also called deadly nightshade. a poisonous plant, Atropa belladonna, of the nightshade family, having purplish-red flowers and black berries.
2. Pharm. a drug from the leaves and root of this plant, containing atropine and related alkaloids: used in medicine to check secretions and spasms, to relieve pain or dizziness, and as a cardiac and respiratory stimulant.
(Italian) literally: "fair lady" (so called because it is said to have been used by women to dilate the pupils of the eyes and to create an artificial pallor)

body politic (n)
1. a group of persons politically organized under a single governmental authority
2. a people considered as a collective unit

brainpan (n)
The bones which enclose the brain; the skull; the cranium.

break the circuit (v)
1. to stop the flow of electricity along its path.
2. for a horse or dog to break free from the racing track

breath easy (v)
to have relief from anxiety, tension, or pressure.
(Also: "breathe easily" or "breathe freely".)

bullhorn (n)
A portable device consisting of a microphone attached to a loudspeaker, used especially to amplify the voice.

Burma Shave (n)
A popular brushless shaving cream known for its widespread roadside signs posted from the 1930s to 1950s. Each slogan spanned four or five small signs with white letters on a red background. Examples: "A peach looks good" "with lots of fuzz" "man's no peach" "and never wuz" "Burma Shave" and "She put a bullet" "through his hat" "but he's had closer" "shaves than that" "Burma Shave".

by and by (n)
the future

call someone's bluff (n)
to challenge someone with a display of strength or confidence, when a deception is suspected.

carcinoma (n)
a cancer; a malignant tumor arising from epithelial cells.

cataclysm (n)
1. A violent upheaval that causes great destruction or brings about a fundamental change.
2. A violent and sudden change in the earth's crust.
3. A devastating flood.

cauliflower ear (n)
an ear that has been deformed by repeated injury, resulting in an irregular thickening of scar tissue. Often associated with boxers.

charade (n)
a readily perceived pretense; a sham or travesty.

cherub (n)
1. in art, the representation of a beautiful winged child
2. a beautiful infant or child
3. short for cherubim, an order of angelic beings ranking second to the seraphim in the celestial hierarchy.

cliffhanger (n)
1. a melodramatic adventure serial in which each installment ends in suspense in order to interest the reader or viewer in the next installment.
2. a situation or contest of which the outcome is suspensefully uncertain up to the very last moment.

club foot (n)
a congenitally deformed or distorted foot.

complacence (n)
1. Contented self-satisfaction
2. Total lack of concern.

confidence man (n)
A man who swindles his victims by using a confidence game (a game in which the victim is defrauded after his confidence has been won).

congenital (adj)
1. of or pertaining to a condition present at birth, whether inherited or caused by the environment.
2. having by nature a specified character: a congenital optimist.

consternation (n)
a sudden, alarming amazement or dread that results in utter confusion; dismay.

contessa (n) (Italian)
countess; the wife or widow of a count in the nobility of Continental Europe.

cove (n)
1. a small indentation or recess in the shoreline of a sea, lake, or river.
2. a sheltered nook.
3. a hollow or recess in a mountain; cave; cavern.

crocodile tears (n)
a hypocritical show of sorrow; insincere tears.
(from the ancient belief that crocodiles shed tears while eating their victims)

curio (n)
A curious or unusual object of art or piece of bric-a-brac. [Short for curiosity.]

cuttherug (v)
(slang) dance.

cry wolf (v)
to give a false alarm: Is she really sick or is she just crying wolf?

curmudgeon (n)
a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man

decorum (n)
1. appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety.
2. the conventions of polite behavior; etiquette.

depose (v)
to remove from office or power; dethrone.

depot (n)
a railroad or bus station

dregs (n)
1. the sediment of liquids; lees; grounds.
2. the least valuable part of anything: the dregs of society.

delirium (n)
1. A sporadic or temporary mental disturbance associated with fever, intoxication, shock, or injury and marked by restlessness, excitement, hallucinations, and general incoherence.
2. Intense excitement; frenzy; rapture.

delirium tremens (n)
A violent form of delirium caused especially by excessive use of alcoholic liquors and narcotic drugs, and characterized by tremblings, acute mental distress, and delusions of the senses. (trembling delirium)

demagogue (n)
A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.

demiurge (n)
1. (Platonism) the artificer of the world.
2. (in the Gnostic and certain other systems) a supernatural being imagined as creating or fashioning the world in subordination to the Supreme Being, and sometimes regarded as the originator of evil.

do a number on (v)
(slang) to undermine, defeat, humiliate, or criticize thoroughly. The committee really did a number on the mayor's proposal.

drawn (adj)
haggard, as from fatigue or ill health.

dress (v)
1. to put clothing upon.
2. to trim; ornament; adorn: to dress a store window; to dress a Christmas tree.
3. to cultivate (land, fields, etc.)
4. to arrange (a stage) by effective placement of properties, scenery, actors, etc.
5. to ornament (a vessel) with ensigns, house flags, code flags, etc.: The bark was dressed with masthead flags only.
6. to supply with accessories, optional features, etc.: to have one's new car fully dressed.
7. to prepare (skins, fabrics, timber, stone, ore, etc.) by special processes.

dubious (adj)
1. fraught with uncertainty or doubt; undecided.
2. arousing doubt; doubtful: a dubious distinction.
3. of questionable character: dubious profits.

eat one's words (v)
to retract one's statement, esp. with humility: They predicted his failure, but he made them eat their words.

elixir (n)
1. A substance or medicine believed to have the power to cure all ills.
2. A substance believed to maintain life indefinitely. Also called elixir of life.

entreaty (n)
earnest request or petition; supplication.

epoch (n)
1. a point of time distinguished by a particular event or state of affairs; a memorable date.
the mean longitude of a planetary body as seen from the sun at such an instant or date.

estrange (v)
1. to turn away in feeling or affection; make unfriendly or hostile; alienate the affections of.
2. to remove to or keep at a distance.

fane (n)
1. a temple.
2. Archaic. a church.
[1350-1400; ME < L fanum temple, sanctuary]

fascist (n)
one who believes in fascism, which is a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

fathomless (adj)
1. impossible to measure the depth of; bottomless.
2. impossible to understand; incomprehensible.

Fatima
a village in central Portugal, north of Lisbon where a Roman Catholic shrine exists.

fatuous (adj)
1. vacuously, smugly, and unconsciously foolish.
2. delusive; unreal: fatuous hopes.

flack (n)
1. antiaircraft fire, esp. as experienced by the crews of combat airplanes at which the fire is directed.
2. criticism; hostile reaction; abuse: Such an unpopular decision is bound to draw a lot of flak from the press.

floor (v)
1. to bring down to the floor or ground; knock down.
2. to overwhelm; defeat.
3. to confound or puzzle; nonplus.

forlorn (adj)
1. desolate or dreary; unhappy or miserable, as in feeling, condition, or appearance.
2. lonely and sad; forsaken.
3. expressive of hopelessness; despairing: forlorn glances.
4. bereft; destitute: forlorn of comfort

fringe (n)
1. an outer edge; margin; periphery.
2. something regarded as peripheral, marginal, secondary, or extreme in relation to something else: the lunatic fringe of a strong political party.

gangrene (n)
Death and decay of body tissue, often occurring in a limb, caused by insufficient blood supply and usually following injury or disease.

gaslight (n)
1. light produced by the combustion of illuminating gas.
2. a gas burner or gas jet for producing this kind of light.

gaudy (adj)
1. brilliantly or excessively showy: gaudy plumage.
2. cheaply showy in a tasteless way; flashy.
3. ostentatiously ornamented; garish.

genuflect (v)
1. to bend the knee or touch one knee to the floor in reverence or worship.
2. to express a servile attitude.

geriatrics (n)
the branch of medicine dealing with the diseases, debilities, and care of aged persons.

Gershwin, George (1898 - 1937)
American composer who brought jazz idiom to classical music forms in his orchestral works, such as Rhapsody in Blue (1924), and composed the scores for many musical comedies. His collaborations with his brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin (1896-1983), include the popular song "Fascinatin' Rhythm" (1924) and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935).

gibberish (n)
1. Unintelligible or nonsensical talk or writing.
2. Highly technical or esoteric language, often unnecessarily pretentious or vague.

gilded (adj)
1. covered with a thin layer of gold.
2. deceptively attractive.

grim (adj)
1. stern and admitting of no appeasement or compromise.
2. of a sinister or ghastly character; repellent.
3. having a harsh, surly, forbidding, or morbid air.
4. fierce, savage, or cruel: War is a grim business.

grunion (n)
a silversides common on the coast of California.

gullible (adj)
easily deceived or duped.

Guthrie, Woody (1912 - 1967)
American folk singer and composer of numerous songs about hardship and social injustice. His best-known composition is "This Land Is Your Land" (1940).

Haight Ashbury (n)
a district of San Francisco, in the central part of the city: a center for hippies and the drug culture in the 1960s.

harelip (n)
a congenitally deformed lip, usually the upper one, in which there is a vertical fissure causing it to resemble the cleft lip of a hare.

hearth (n)
1. the floor of a fireplace, usually of stone, brick, etc., often extending a short distance into a room.
often used synonomously with "home"; fireside.

heist (v, n)
1. to steal or hold up; rob.
2. a robbery or burglary.

hoi polloi (n)
The common people; the masses. (From Greek, and first introduced into English by James Fenimore Cooper in 1837.)

hoosegow (n)
(slang) a jail.

hot joe (n)
(slang) coffee.

huckster (n)
1. One who sells wares or provisions in the street; a peddler or hawker.
2. One who uses aggressive, showy, and sometimes devious methods to promote or sell a product.

hurdy gurdy (n)
any instrument, such as a barrel organ, played by turning a crank.

idyllic (adj)
charmingly simple or rustic; unspoiled, pastoral.

impeach (v)
1. to accuse (a public official) before an appropriate tribunal of misconduct in office.
2. Chiefly Law. to challenge the credibility of: to impeach a witness.
3. to bring an accusation against.
4. to call in question; cast an imputation upon: to impeach a person's motives.

incantation (n)
1. the chanting or uttering of words purporting to have magical power.
2. repetitious wordiness used to conceal a lack of content.

incognito (adj)
having one's identity concealed, as under an assumed name, esp. to avoid notice or formal attentions.

indigo (n)
a color ranging from a deep violet blue to a dark, grayish blue.

inert (adj)
1. unable to move or act.
2. sluggish in action or motion; lethargic.

ingrate (n)
an ungrateful person.

keep (n)
1. board and lodging; subsistence; support: to work for one's keep.
2. the innermost and strongest structure or central tower of a medieval castle.

Kerouac, Jack (1922 - 1969)
American writer and leading figure of the beat generation. His primarily autobiographical books include On the Road (1957) and Desolation Angels (1965).

ketosis (n)
excessive formation or secretion of ketones in the body, as in acidosis or diabetes.

knick-knack (n)
a trifling article; trinket; trifle.

kingdom come
1. the next world; the hereafter; heaven.
2. Informal. A place or future time seemingly very remote.

Klaatu
A humanoid alien from a story entitled "Farewell to the Master." (Adapted to film as "The Day the Earth Stood Still")

latria (n)
(Rom. Cath. Theol.) the supreme worship, which may be offered to God only.

lay low (v)
1. to overpower or kill; defeat.
2. to knock down; make prostrate.
(Not to be confused with "lie low," meaning hide out.)

lifeline (n)
1. any of various lines running above the decks of a ship or boat to give sailors something to grasp when there is danger of falling or being washed away.
2. the line by which a diver is lowered and raised.
3. a route or means of transportation or communication for receiving or delivering food, medicine, or assistance:

love beads (n)
a necklace of small, often handmade beads, worn as a symbol of peace and goodwill, esp. in the 1960s.

Madonna
1. the Virgin Mary (usually prec. by the ).
2. a picture or statue representing the Virgin Mary.

major-domo (n) [major greater + domus house.]
A man who has authority to act, within certain limits, as master of the house; a steward; also, a chief minister or officer.

malcontent (adj, n)
1. not satisfied or content with currently prevailing conditions or circumstances.
2. someone who is chronically dissatisfied.

medley (n)
a piece of music combining tunes or passages from various sources: a medley of hit songs from Broadway shows.

melanoma (n)
a black pigmented tumor.

melancholy (adj)
1. causing melancholy or sadness; saddening: a melancholy occasion.
2. soberly thoughtful; pensive.

menace (n)
1. something that threatens to cause evil, harm, injury, etc.
2. a person whose actions, attitudes, or ideas are considered dangerous or harmful.
3. an extremely annoying person.

meringue (n)
1. a delicate, frothy mixture made with beaten egg whites and sugar or hot syrup, and browned, used as a topping for pies and pastries.
2. a pastry or pastry shell made by baking such a mixture, sometimes filled with fruit, whipped cream, etc.

mongoloid (n)
a person affected with Down's syndrome

monogram (n)
1. a design consisting of two or more alphabetic letters combined or interlaced, commonly one's initials, often printed on stationery, embroidered on clothing, etc.
2. a single emblematic or decorative letter; applied initial.

muddled (adj)
1. mixed up in a confused or bungled manner; jumbled.
2. mentally confused.
3. muddy or turbid, as water.

The Mystery Spot (n)
a tourist attraction near Santa Cruz, California, where water is said to run uphill.

naive (adj)
unsophisticated, ingenuous, or artless.

naysayer (n)
a person who habitually expresses negative or pessimistic views:

negation (n)
1. the act of denying: He shook his head in negation of the charge.
2. a denial: a negation of one's former beliefs.
3. something that is without existence; nonentity.
4. the absence or opposite of something that is actual, positive, or affirmative: Darkness is the negation of light.
5. a negative statement, idea, concept, doctrine, etc.; a contradiction, refutation, or rebuttal: a shameless lie that demands a negation.

neurosis (n)
1. a psychological disorder affecting mental functions.
2. a tendency to be nervous or morbid.

nuance (n)
a subtle difference or distinction in expression, meaning, response, etc.

nostalgia (n)
a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

oblique (adj)
1. indirect or evasive: oblique political maneuvers.
2. devious, misleading, or dishonest: gave oblique answers to the questions.
3. having a slanting or sloping direction, course, or position; inclined.

Occam's Razor (n)
A rule in science and philosophy stating that entities should not be multiplied needlessly. This rule is interpreted to mean that the simplest of two or more competing theories is preferable and that an explanation for unknown phenomena should first be attempted in terms of what is already known. [Also spelled "Ockham's Razor" after William of Ockham.]

Okie (n)
A disparaging term for a migrant farm worker, especially one from Oklahoma during the 1930's.

Painted Desert (n)
A plateau region of north-central Arizona east of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers. Irregularly eroded layers of red and yellow sediment and clay have left striking bands of color.

palsy (n)
1. paralysis
2. any impairment or loss of sensation or of ability to control movement.

paraclete (n)
1. an advocate or intercessor.
2. the Holy Spirit; the Comforter.

patronize (v)
1. to give (a store, restaurant, hotel, etc.) one's regular patronage; trade with.
2. to behave in an offensively condescending manner toward: a professor who patonizes his students.
3. to act as a patron toward (an artist, institution, etc.); support.

phase (n)
1. a stage in a process of change or development.
2. one of the recurring appearances or states of the moon or a planet in respect to the form, or the absence, of its illuminated disk.

philistine (n)
1. an ignorant, narrow-minded person, devoid of culture and indifferent to art.
2. one of a warlike race of ancient Philistia.

pie in the sky (adj, n)
the illusory prospect of future benefits: Political promises are often pie in the sky.
a state of perfect happiness; utopia: to promise pie in the sky.

pieta (n)
(Fine Arts) a representation of the Virgin Mary mourning over the body of the dead Christ, usually shown held on her lap.

pinkeye (n)
An acute, very contagious form of conjunctivitis, caused by the hemophilic bacterium Hemophilus aegyptius and characterized by inflammation of the eyelids and eyeballs.

placebo (n)
1. a substance having no pharmacological effect but given merely to satisfy a patient who supposes it to be a medicine.
2. (Rom. Cath. Ch.) the vespers of the office for the dead: so called from the initial word of the first antiphon, taken from Psalm 114:9 of the Vulgate.

pockmark (n)
A pitlike scar left on the skin by smallpox or another eruptive disease.

polygraph (n)
1. an instrument for receiving and recording simultaneously tracings of variations in certain body activities, also known as a "lie detector."

porkpie (n)
A man's hat having a low, flat crown and a flexible brim. Also called porkpie hat.

posse (n)
1. the body of persons that a peace officer of a county is empowered to call upon for assistance in preserving the peace, making arrests, and serving writs.
2. a body of persons set to deliver justice, though sometimes without explicit authority.

prim (adj)
formally precise or proper, as persons or behavior; stiffly neat.

prima donna (Italian)
a temperamental person; a person who takes adulation and privileged treatment as a right and reacts with petulance to criticism or inconvenience.

psychosomatic (adj, n)
1. of or pertaining to a physical disorder that is caused by or notably influenced by emotional factors.
2. (n) a person whose physical state is caused by his mental state.

quack (n)
1. a fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill.
2. a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to skill, knowledge, or qualifications he does not possess; a charlatan.
(quackery: the instance, methods, or practice of quacks.)

quaint (adj)
1. combining an antique appearance with a pleasing oddity, fancifulness, or whimsicalness.
2. pleasingly odd or old-fashioned.

reel (v)
1. to sway or rock under a blow or shock.
2. to waver or fall back.
3. to sway about in standing or walking, as from dizziness, intoxication, etc.; stagger.
4. to turn round and round; whirl.
5. to have a sensation of whirling:

rouge (n)
1. a reddish powder, chiefly ferric oxide, used for polishing metal, glass, etc.
2. any of various red cosmetics for coloring the cheeks or lips.

rural (adj)
of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the country, country life, or country people; rustic: "rural tranquillity"

sacraments (n)
1. Eccles. a visible sign of an inward grace, esp. one of the solemn Christian rites instituted by Jesus Christ to symbolize or confer grace: the sacraments of Protestant churches are baptism and the Lord's Supper; the sacraments of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, matrimony, penance, holy orders, and extreme unction.
2. the consecrated elements of the Eucharist, especially the bread.
3. something regarded as possessing a sacred character or mysterious significance.
4. a sign, token, or symbol.

schtick (n)
1. a characteristic attribute, talent, or trait that is helpful in securing recognition or attention.
2. an entertainment routine or gimmick.

scribe (n)
1. a person who serves as a professional copyist, esp. one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of printing.
2. Also called sopher, sofer. (Judaism.) one of the group of Palestinian scholars and teachers of Jewish law and tradition, active from the 5th century B.C. to the 1st century A.D., who transcribed, edited, and interpreted the Bible.

seal (v)
1. to affix a seal to in authorization, testimony, etc.
2. to assure, confirm, or bind with or as if with a seal.
3. to grant under one's seal or authority, as a pardon.
4. to impress a seal upon as evidence of legal or standard exactness, measure, quality, etc.

second-guess (v)
1. to use hindsight in criticizing or correcting.
2. to predict something or outguess someone

self-possessed (adj)
in full command of one's faculties, feelings, and behavior.

Shangri-la (n)
1. an imaginary paradise on earth, esp. a remote and exotic utopia.
2. a faraway haven or hideaway of idyllic beauty and tranquility.
[after the fictional Tibetan land of eternal youth in the novel The Lost Horizon (1933) by James Hilton]

sidecar (n)
a small car attached on one side to a motorcycle and supported on the other side by a wheel of its own, used for a passenger, parcels, etc.

sigh (v,n)
1. to let out one's breath audibly, as from sorrow, weariness, or relief.
2. to yearn or long; pine.

slip-n-slide (n)
a long plastic sheet with a connected water hose that makes it slippery. Often placed on sloping surfaces so children can slide along its length.

sludge (n)
1. mud, mire, or ooze; slush.
2. a deposit of ooze at the bottom of a body of water.
3. sediment deposited during the treatment of sewage.
4. a fine, mudlike powder produced by a mining drill.

smoking jacket (n)
a short coat worn instead of a regular suit coat as a lounging jacket

sovereign (n)
1. a monarch; a king, queen, or other supreme ruler.
2. a person who has sovereign power or authority.

spectre (n)
1. a ghostly apparition; a phantom.
2. a haunting or disturbing image or prospect: the terrible specter of war.

start (vi)
1. to appear or come suddenly into action, life, view, etc.; rise or issue suddenly forth.
2. to spring, move, or dart suddenly from a position or place: The rabbit started from the bush.
3. to give a sudden, involuntary jerk, jump, or twitch, as from a shock of surprise, alarm, or pain: The sudden clap of thunder caused everyone to start.

steed (n)
a horse, esp. a high-spirited one.

Steinbeck, John (1902-1968)
American writer of short stories and novels, most notably The Grapes of Wrath (1939), which concerns the social and economic plight of migrant farm workers in California. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize for literature.

succor (n)
1. help; relief; aid; assistance.
2. a person or thing that gives help, relief, aid, etc.

sucker (n)
Informal. a person easily cheated, deceived, or imposed upon.

supplication (n)
an act or instance of supplicating; humble prayer, entreaty, or petition.

swallow a line (v)
to readily believe someone's claim without question or suspiscion.

tableware (n)
the dishes, utensils, etc., used at the table.

tendril (n)
A twisting, threadlike structure by which a twining plant, such as a grape or cucumber, grasps an object or a plant for support.

terrible (adj)
1. causing terror, awe, or great fear.
2. formidable and powerful.

theotokos
a title of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of the incarnate Son of God.

throes (n)
A condition of agonizing struggle or trouble: "a country in the throes of economic collapse."

travelog [or travelogue] (n)
a lecture, slide show, or motion picture describing travels.

-trix (suffix)
a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, where it formed feminine nouns or adjectives corresponding to agent nouns ending in -tor . On this model, -trix is used in English to form feminine nouns (aviatrix; executrix ) and geometrical terms denoting straight lines (directrix ).

turnstile (n)
1. a structure of four horizontally revolving arms pivoted atop a post and set in a gateway or opening in a fence to allow the controlled passage of people.
2. a similar device set up in an entrance to bar passage until a charge is paid, to record the number of persons passing through, etc.

tyger (n)
a spelling variant of tiger; used by the poet William Blake.

upstart (n)
a person of humble origin who attains sudden wealth, power, or importance, especially one made immodest or presumptuous by the change.

vale (n)
1. a valley.
2. the world, or mortal or earthly life: "this vale of tears."

vacuous (adj)
1. devoid of matter; empty.
2. lacking intelligence and substance; stupid or vacant.
3. Lacking serious purpose or occupation; idle.

venerate (v)
to regard or treat with reverence; revere.

vermilion (n)
1. a brilliant scarlet red.
2. a bright-red, water-insoluble pigment consisting of mercuric sulfide, once obtained from cinnabar, now usually produced by the reaction of mercury and sulfur.

vex (v)
1. to irritate; annoy; provoke.
2. to torment; trouble; distress; plague; worry.
3. to afflict with physical pain.

vox humana (n)
1. "human voice" (Latin)
2. a pipe-organ stop designed to produce tones resembling those of the human voice.

wear you heart on your sleeve (v)
1. to make your intimate feelings or personal affairs known to all.
2. to be liable to fall in love; fall in love easily:

writhe (v)
to twist the body about, or squirm, as in pain, violent effort, etc.