Meanwhile ’stochata’ suspects that George Orwell is ’the reason we have the word ”turgescent” in the English language.’

turgescent (adj) : becoming turgid or inflated; swelling; growing big – source: Your hate list

But here he is, smiling unctuously and shaking hands with the Maharajah of Jaipur.

unctuous (adj) : 1. of the nature or quality of an unguent or ointment; fatty; oily; greasy 2. having a smooth, greasy feel, as certain minerals 3. bland; suave; also, tender; fervid; as, an unctuous speech; sometimes, insincerely suave or fervid – source: The Observer Magazine 16.2.2003, p. 31

Stalin did not act in a dictatorial way. Instead, he was socially adept. He phoned up Bulgakov, and was very friendly. This stymied Bulgakov – politically and emotionally.

stymie (v) : hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of [syn: obstruct, blockade, block, hinder, stymy, embarrass] – source: Only when I laugh

In the New Testament, however, Paul tries to eradicate this notion, writing in I Timothy 6:10 that cupidity or ’the love of money is the root of all evil.’

cupidity (n) : extreme greed for material wealth [syn: avarice, avariciousness, covetousness] – source: ON LANGUAGE: Bible

Whenever an interviewer made the far-from-contentious suggestion that the band’s music was depressing, singer Thom Yorke reacted like a recalcitrant 14-year-old who had been asked to clear the table.

recalcitrant (adj) 1: marked by stubborn resistance to and defiant of authority or guidance [syn: refractory] 2: marked by stubborn resistance to authority – source: Hail To The Thief review

If any international act in the last decade is sure to generate enduring bitterness toward the United States, it is the epidemic suffering needlessly visited on Iraqis via U.S. fiat inside the United Nations Security Council.

fiat (n) : a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge) [syn: decree, edict, order, rescript] – source: Cool War – Economic sanctions as a weapon of mass destruction

This reduction includes legitimate business oversight, and may even extend, I have been told, to actual malversation of funds.

malversation (n) : evil conduct; fraudulent practices; misbehavior, corruption, or extortion in office – source: The neverending story

Perhaps it was seeing all the combinations and recombinations of couples coupling and uncoupling in a large building full of rooms to rent that gave him his jaundiced view of humanity.

jaundiced (adj) 1: (archaic) showing or experiencing a state of disordered feeling or distorted judgment as through bitterness or melancholy [syn: yellow] 2: affected by jaundice which causes yellowing of skin etc 3: showing or affected by prejudice or envy or distaste – source: The One Who Liked It Hot

Most people think that controlling arms shipments is merely a matter of international diplomacy. That may have been true during the cold war, when traffickers were often subcontractors of the superpowers, feeding the proxy conflicts Washington and Moscow wanted fought. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the exclusive club of arms brokers metastasized.

metastasize (v) : spread throughout the body, of cancer cells – source: Arms and the Man

The judge leading investigations into the Jackal’s past says that he is simply manipulating Coutant-Peyre; the head of the Paris bar association believes she must stop defending him; her parents and first husband are dismayed; she had a hard time placating two of her three sons.

placate (v) : cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of [syn: pacify, lenify, conciliate, assuage, appease, mollify, gentle, gruntle] – source: Crimes and passion: Even in prison the playboy terrorist Carlos the Jackal exerts a deadly charm over women