Easily taught or handled… docile If someone is docile, he is easily taught or handled. If you suddenly became a trouble-maker in class, your teachers would long for the days when you were sweet and docile. Docile comes from Latin root for teaching, docere, so someone docile is easy to teach. A docile student is willing to…
A quick meeting… powwow To powwow or have a powwow is to have a quick meeting. People powwow when they need to discuss something. Originally, powwow was a Native American term for a type of meeting or council. The term has since become a more general term for meetings and conferences, especially brief ones. Football players in a huddle are having…
Something that people think is really important that’s actually not important at all….. brouhaha Brouhaha is something that people think is really important that’s actually not important at all, like the brouhaha over some new celebrity gossip. Brouhahaseems like a big deal, but it’s a bunch of baloney. Brouhaha has two meanings, and tons of funny-sounding synonyms. The…
A certain type of person, usually a type you don’t care for. ilk Ilk is a certain type of person, usually a type you don’t care for. The word is used in sentences like “I’m tired of you and your ilk! When you say “you and your ilk,” you mean “you and everyone just like you.”…
Charming or suave. debonair Someone debonair is charming or suave. They have good manners, and they probably look good too. This French word has a fancy feel to it, and it is a fancy kind of word. Being debonair is a specific form of being charming that applies mostly to men. When you’re debonair, you…
The range or scope of something is…. purview The range or scope of something is its purview. If you are a professional race car driver, performing surgery is way outside your purview. Anything inside a range of interest or activity is within a purview. A supervisor is in charge of certain workers —…
A messy, complicated process that takes longer than it should…. rigamarole Rigamarole is a messy, complicated process that takes longer than it should. The rigamarole involved in getting your driver’s license might make it tempting to just keep riding your bike. The word rigamarole, which is also spelled rigmarole, is a great way to describe bureaucratic procedures like…