ABDUCT

(ab DUKT) v.
to kidnap or carry off by force
Sounds like: DUCK

ABDUCTED DUCKS

The Evil Knight planned to ABDUCT the queen when she

came alone to the village.

Our basketball team was ABDUCTED by aliens who

carried them off to the planet Mars.

The neighbors boy ABDUCTED our pet pig, and we paid

a ransom of a box of cookies to get him back.
AMBLE
(AM ble) v.
to walk slowly; walk
with a leisurely gate
Sounds like: CAMEL

Caravan CAMELS on long journeys

rarely run; they AMBLE.

After school, Alexander and Tom AMBLED down the road

to the fishing hole to catch their dinner.

AMBLE on out here, the dance instructor said to the

new student. Lets see some of your moves.

Jack walked with an AMBLING quality, as if he hadnt a

care in the world.
SCAMPER
(SCAM pur) v.
to run; to go hastily of lightly
Sounds like: HAMPER

The laundry HAMPER SCAMPERED

to the finish line.

The dogs SCAMPERED across the lawn to the house.

The cat SCAMPERED after the rolling ball.

We planned to SCAMPER past the guards when their

backs were turned.
IMPALE
(im PALE) v.
to pierce through with any sharp
pointed object
Sounds like: PAIL

An IMPALED PAIL

The sales clerk IMPALED his sales order on a nail.

Roger fell on a stick and IMPALED his hand.

Butterfly collections usually consist of dead butterflies that

have been IMPALED and placed in display cases.
MINISCULE
(MI nus kyool) adj.
very small
Sounds like: MINI SCHOOL

Rogers MINISCULE MINI SCHOOL.

It only takes a MINISCULE crack in a dam to start a flood.

Jane explained she had turned her back only for a

MINISCULE moment, but it was long enough for her baby
sister to stick her entire face into the lemon pie.
ENCROACH
(in KROHCH) v.
to intrude gradually upon the
rights of another; to trespass
Sounds like: ROACH

ROACHES will ENCROACH wherever there is food.

With an ENCROACHING anxiety, I made my way to

where the crashed car lay on its side.

The weeds from the adjacent vacant lot continued

spreading with each rain until they ENCROACHED into
our vegetable garden.
FERTILE
(FUR tul) adj.
able to reproduce children, seeds,
or fruits; highly productive
Sounds like: TURTLE

A FERTILE TURTLE

Mabel is our FERTILE cow and has a calf every spring.

The village was located in a FERTILE valley where many

farms grow vegetables.

Most fiction writers have FERTILE imaginations.

LIMBER
(LIM bur) adj.
flexible; exercise so as to
become limber
Sounds like: LUMBER

LUMBER from the rubber tree

is very LIMBER.

Ballet dancers have LIMBER muscles.

The team LIMBERED up by doing stretching exercises

before the game.

Diane was a LIMBER athlete, but she is no longer as

flexible as she once was.
TIMID
(TIM id) adj.
shy, hesitant, fearful
Sounds like: TIM HID

TIM HID at his own birthday party

because he was TIMID.

Our dog TIMIDLY approached the dinner table because

he knew he was not allowed to beg for food.

TIMID salespeople usually do not do well.

The TIMIDITY of the welcoming committee was due to the

fact they were not sure who they were supposed to be
welcoming.
COLOSSAL
(kuh LOS ul) adj.
enormous, gigantic; huge in
size, extent or degree
Sounds like: FOSSIL

A COLOSSAL FOSSIL.

The navys aircraft carriers are COLOSSAL ships that

carry as many as three thousand sailors.

Borrowing my fathers car without his permission was a

COLOSSAL mistake.

Jerry had a COLOSSAL ego and thought he was the

most handsome guy in school.
ACCRUE
(ah KROO) v.
to accumulate over time

Link: A CREW

Pirates know how to ACCRUE A CREW.

Bryans unpaid parking tickets ACCRUED to the point

they would have paid for his college tuition.

By the time he was eighteen he had ACCRUED a
good knowledge of computer skills.

The stock dividends ACCRUED so rapidly that we
were soon able to buy a new car.
BOVINE
(BOH vyne) adj.
of, relating to, or resembling an animal
such as an ox, cow or buffalo; solid; dull

Link: VINE

A BOVINE on a VINE

The BOVINE features of the man scared the children.

Sue came to the party and sat in the corner reading a
book as she BOVINELY ignored all the guests.

The BOVINITY of Michaels personality changed to
that of zestful enthusiasm only when the subject of
beetles and cockroaches came up.
DOLT
(DOHLT) n.
a stupid person

Link: VOLT

A DOLT gets the VOLTS.

The frustrated teacher said he had a class full of

DOLTS.

Only a DOLT would put his shoes on backward.

Jonathan felt DOLTISH because he was the only
student to fail gym class.
FETTER
(FET ur) v./n.
to restrain; to hamper; a shackle

Link: FEATHER

A FETTERED FEATHER

The prisoners were FETTERED by shackles around

their ankles.

The cowboy FETTERED his horse so it would still be
there when he wanted to go home.

The prisoners FETTER was attached to his ankles
preventing him from running.
FUSILLADE
(FYOO se lahd) n.
a rapid outburst or barrage

Link: FUSELAGE

The aircraft FUSELAGE received

a FUSILLADE of gunfire.

The soldier jumped behind a concrete wall for

protection from the FUSILLADE of gunfire.

The guard at the gate was surprised by a FUSILLADE
of arrows which allowed the invaders to gain entrance
to the castle.

The defense lawyer overwhelmed the witness with a
FUSILLADE of questions.
MAMMOTH
(MAM uth) adj.
huge; gigantic

Link: MOTH

A MAMMOTH MOTH

Until I visited Manhattan, I could not imagine the

MAMMOTH size of the Empire State Building.

Herman Melvilles title character, Moby Dick, is a
MAMMOTH whale.

When Jane returned from vacation, she found a
MAMMOTH amount of work piled on her desk.
PANACHE
(pa NASH) n.
dashing elegance of manner or style

Link: MUSTACHE

Sir Charles MUSTACHE is a

symbol of his PANACHE.

Eric entered the room with PANACHE, wearing his

new tux, Rolex watch, and $500 shoes.

It was evident by the womans PANACHE that she was
a member of the royal family.

Mom was impressed with my PANACHE after I
returned home from finishing school.
PECCADILLO
(pek ah DIL oh) n.
a slight or trifling sin; a minor offense

Link: ARMADILLO

Norm thought running over an

ARMADILLO was a PECCADILLO.

The reporters were more interested in the presidents

personal PECCADILLOES than the state of the
economy.

Being ticketed for running a red light is a mere
PECCADILLO compared to driving while intoxicated.

Bob couldnt believe he could be punished for the
PECCADILLO of not cleaning his room at boarding
school.
PIOUS
(PIE us) adj.
devout or virtuous; holy

Link: PIE

A PIOUS PIE

Elizabeth PIOUSLY said her prayers every night before

bed.

The church was adorned with PIOUS artwork from
around the world.

The opposite of PIOUS is IMPIOUS, meaning lacking
in reverence or respect.
SAGE
(sayj) n.
a person of wisdom and prudence

Link: PAGE

The SAGE reads each PAGE.

During ancient times a SAGE was consulted for

momentous decisions.

Native American tribes regarded their medicine man as
a SAGE with special healing powers.

In our family we consider our grandparents the SAGES
of the family.
CAPACIOUS
(kuh PAY shus) adj.
roomy, able to hold much

Link: CAP SPACIOUS

A SPACIOUS CAP is CAPACIOUS.

The old castle has a CAPACIOUS dining room large

enough to seat a small army.

Davids memory for jokes is CAPACIOUS; he
remembers them all.

Our bed at the hotel was really CAPACIOUS; all three
sisters slept there.
COWER
(KOW ur) v.
to cringe in fear; to shrink away

Link: COW

Bessie, the COWERING COW, never

could stand the sight of her own milk.

When Sheriff Wild Bill Hickok entered the Last Chance

Saloon, the villains COWERED in fear.

The sound of the rusty door opening in the middle of
the night made Sue COWER under her sheets.

Jack COWERED in frustration just to think about
coming home from vacation and finding all the
homework he had to catch up on.
EGALITARIAN
(ih gal uh TARE ee un) adj.
advocating the doctrine of equal
rights for all citizens

Link: THE GAL IM MARRYIN

THE GAL IM MARRYIN is

an EGALITARIAN.

The Communists preached an EGALITARIAN

philosophy, but in the end they were the same old
fascists the world has known through the ages.

The founders of the Declaration of Independence were
no better; they also preached EGALITARIAN
principles, yet at the same time they owned slaves.

Martin Luther King was a true EGALITARIAN, he
preached for equal rights for all citizens.
FATHOM
(fa THUM) v.
to understand fully;
to penetrate the meaning of

Link: FAT THUMB

Doctors could never FATHOM the

reason for Larrys FAT THUMB.

Her friends thought they had FATHOMED the reason

Estelle applied for entrance in an all-boys college: She
never had any dates.

The jury found it hard to FATHOM how the defendant
could commit such a terrible crime.

(In nautical terms, FATHOM is six feet of water depth.)
We dropped anchor in four FATHOMS of water and
made plans to stay for the night.
IRASCIBLE
(ih RAS uh bul) adj.
easily angered, irritable

Link: WRESTLE BULLS

When he became IRASCIBLE, the

Masked Marvel would WRESTLE BULLS.

Normally, Rose was a pleasant wife and mother but if a

member of her family prevented her from watching her
favorite soaps, she could become quite IRASCIBLE.

Uncle Tim was a real grouch, even on his birthday he
would find a way to become as IRASCIBLE as a
spoiled child.

The school principal became so IRASCIBLE even his
teachers avoided speaking to him.
LAMENT
(luh MENT) v.
to express sorrow or regret; to mourn

Link: CEMENT

We LAMENT that Joe

got buried in CEMENT.

There must have been thousands of people at the

funeral to LAMENT the death of Princess Diane.

The nation LAMENTS the passing of the President
while at the same time celebrating his achievements
while in office.

It is LAMENTABLE that Roscoe quit college in his
sophomore year; his professors considered him the
brightest engineering student in his class.
POTENTATE
(POHT n tayt) n.
a powerful ruler; an important person

Link: IMPORTANT TATER

A POTENTATE in Tater Kingdom is

an IMPORTANT TATER.

POTENTATES are usually not elected officials, but the

descendants of a line of rajahs, sheiks, or kings.

The Shah of Iran was an Iranian POTENTATE who
lived in the twentieth century.

Ever since Sarah was elected president of the junior
class, she walks around with her nose in the air, as if
she thinks she is a POTENTATE.
SCRUTINIZE
(SKROOT uh nize) v.
to look very carefully; to examine

Link: SCREW EYES

U.S. Customs officials have SCREW

EYES when they SCRUTINIZE baggage.

Newspaper proofreaders SCRUTINIZE an entire

newspaper each day.

Each soldiers uniform is SCRUTINIZED by his
commanding officer.

I SCRUTINIZED all the books in the library and found
several I had wanted.
SURFEIT
(SUR fit) n.
an overabundant amount, especially
overindulgence in eating and drinking

Link: SURFERS

A SURFEIT of SURFERS
is a sure path to
disastrous surfboard accidents.

There was a SURFEIT of delicious food at the family

picnic.

The beach store had a SURFEIT of bathing suits and
last Saturday put on a bathing suit sale.

A SURFEIT of recruits showed up to try out for the
team, and Coach Rex had to turn the freshmen away.
TRUCULENT
(TRUH kyoo lunt) adj.
inclined toward conflict; eager to fight

Link: TRUCK YOU LENT

The TRUCK YOU LENT Uncle Frank

made him TRUCULENT.

Looking back on it, we never understood what made

Randolph TRUCULENT all through school; he always
had a chip on his shoulder.

A TRUCULENT attitude seldom wins friends or
influences people in a positive way.

The marine recruits were scolded by their
TRUCULENT sergeant for any small offense.