esurient \ih-SUR-ee-uhnt; -ZUR-\ (adjective) - Hungry; voracious; greedy.

"Paul, whose stomach suffered no pangs, regarded the fellow with esurient eyes, the eyes of an avid curiosity." -- Carl Van Vechten, 'Firecrackers'...Read More

tutelage \TOO-tuhl-ij; TYOO-\ (noun) - 1 : The act of guarding or protecting; guardianship; protection. 2 : The state of being under a guardian or tutor. 3 : Instruction, especially individual instruction accompanied by ...Read More

exegete \EK-suh-jeet\ (noun) - A person who explains or interprets difficult parts of written works.

"Haunted by the mystery of my patron saint, I stumbled for a long time over an enigma which no exegete has yet cleared ...Read More

pugnacious \puhg-NAY-shuhs\ (adjective) - Inclined to fight; combative; quarrelsome.

"After tolerating Patrick's pugnacious daughter, Kane would be ready to swear off women for the rest of his life." -- Carol Finch, '...Read More

plenary \PLEE-nuh-ree; PLEN-uh-ree\ (adjective) - 1 : Full in all respects; complete; absolute; as, plenary authority. 2 : Fully attended by all qualified members.

"The first plenary session held at the conference was ...Read More

Q. I'm always puzzled about which verb to use following a phrase starting with "if" or "as if." In one instance, I read, "If I were 90 years old ...", and in the next, "If I was doing that ..." Which should it be? -- Jim...Read More