He became a self-confessed swot, obsessively throwing himself into his schoolwork

swot (n) : an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or studying excessively – source: Andrew Sullivan: Thinking. Out. Loud.

When my wife comes home from her day job, I apprise her of the offer.

apprise (v) 1: give information or notice to [syn: advise, notify, give notice, send word, apprize] 2: make aware of [syn: instruct, apprize] 3: gain in value [syn: appreciate, apprize, revalue] 4: increase the value of [syn: appreciate, apprize] – source: My ”Girlfriend Experience”: A Set Diary, Part One

It shows no loyalty to its writers, yet expects full fealty in return.

fealty (n) : 1. Fidelity to one’s lord; the feudal obligation by which the tenant or vassal was bound to be faithful to his lord; the special oath by which this obligation was assumed; fidelity to a superior power, or to a government; loyality. 2. Fidelity; constancy; faithfulness, as of a friend to a friend, or of a wife to her husband – source: My Short Career at The New Yorker

My deracination was kindly abetted by various friends at college.

deracination (n) 1: to move something from its natural environment [syn: displacement] 2: the act of pulling up or out; uprooting; cutting off from existence [syn: extirpation, excision] – source: Alison Bechdel: Fun Home – A Family Tragicomic (p. 145)

Yet my father did possess a certain radiance –– perhaps due to his habit of excessive, even idolatrous, sunbathing –– and so his death had and inevitably dimming, crepuscular effect.

crepuscular (adj) : like twilight; dim – source: Alison Bechdel: Fun Home – A Family Tragicomic (p. 124)

But the pose he strikes is not mincing or silly at all. He’s lissome, elegant.

lissome (adj) : gracefully slender; moving and bending with ease [syn: lissom, lithe, lithesome, slender, supple, svelte, sylphlike] – source: Alison Bechdel: Fun Home – A Family Tragicomic (p. 120)

Next time I see you without it, I’ll wale you.

wale (n) 1: a raised mark on the skin (as produced by the blow of a whip); characteristic of many allergic reactions [syn: welt, weal, wheal] – wale (v) To strike the skin in such a way as to produce a wale. – source: Alison Bechdel: Fun Home – A Family Tragicomic (p. 97)

It is true that Cheney and his myrmidons did use torture (while carefully avoiding the term itself) as a campaign platform.

myrmidon (n) 1: a follower who carries out orders without question; 2: (Greek mythology) a member of the warriors who followed Achilles on the expedition against Troy – source: Alex Gibney: First Blog

In the weeks following the attacks, L.A. swung between self-aggrandizing bouts of breast-beating, slight disappointment that nobody had thought to target Los Angeles, and meek avowals toward the new public mood, complicated only by the fact that nobody knew what that mood was – Timorous? Defiant? Vengeful? Somber? Sanguine?

timorous (adj) : timid by nature or revealing timidity [syn: fearful, trepid] – source: Tom Shone: Blockbuster (2004)

The last few years of knowing each other, we were like two men as uxorious husbands, essentially.

uxorious (adj) : foolishly fond of or submissive to your wife – source: Looking for One New Value But Nothing Comes My Way: An Interview with Film Critic Glenn Kenny About David Foster Wallace