Monday, July 7, 2008

Using that vocab-game 2, week 1

On to Game 2...where some things will be the same, but some things have changed. Yes, there will still be a $10 Amazon gift card for the person with the most points at the end of eight weeks of competition. But the actual rules have changed slightly, because we're handling our vocabulary lists a bit differently this year. Rich, Annie, and I are now meeting on a regular basis for "vocabulary klatches" where we share all the new words we've run across in our reading during the past week (or so). Annie will now be responsible for learning these along with her regular vocabulary list.

As far as the game goes, each contestant can choose up to ten of these words to use in sentences. Please do not use more. But you may use fewer. Which ten words you choose to use is up to you. Five points will now be awarded each week by Annie, according to her favorite sentences. In case you're new to the game (and I do hope we get some new players!), playing to Annie's interests is definitely in your best interest! She loves fantasy, animals (especially wolves and ravens and domestic cats and dogs), and books. Humor is generally a good tool to employ as well. Anyway, you may use more than one word in a sentence, just so you don't exceed ten vocabulary words total. If Annie should choose a sentence with more than one word in it, that contestant will receive points equaling the amount of words used. In addition, each week one of the words will be chosen beforehand as the "bonus" word, and anyone who happens to use that word in a sentence will receive a point. These are in addition to the five points (If that didn't make sense, please feel free to ask for clarification.)

Words for Week 1:

*acerbic

*prosaic

*ineffable

*draconian

*soporific

*unimpeachable

*consign

*empirical

*doyen

*parlous

*cudgel

*arrogate

*recrudesce

*littoral

*propitiate

*tisanes

*triturate

*arenicolous

*saxicolous

*tropism

*deus ex machina

*limn

*centripetal

*caveat

*palaver

*thralldom

*concomitant

*sanctimonious

*larcenous

*placate

*tumescence

*brigand

*plangent

*abstruse

*soupcon

*binnacle

*kitbag

You have until Thursday morning to post your sentences in the comments. (I tried to enable comment moderation so no one would be able to read anyone else's sentences until after the judging, but I don't think it worked.) Good luck everyone!

11 comments:

raidergirl3 said...

1. When Rick found his Eragon in Annie's kitbag, he couldn't believe her larcenous behaviour.

2. He was so mad, he swung the kitbag around his head but the centripetal force wasn't enough to keep it in its circular path, so the book flew off on a tangent.

3. Debi tried to placate Rick after the book theft was discovered, but he could not be calmed down.

4. Draconian measures were enacted by Rich, as Annie was confined to her room for the weekend.

5. Annie's behaviour was unimpeachable as she pleaded with Rich to lessen her punishment.

6. Debi was so upset with the commotion, she had to steep a tisane to calm her nerves.

Jean said...

Cool! I already have a couple of words in mind that I want in my ten. And to be fair, I did remind Steve of the contest. Maybe I'll see if Don and Blaine want to play, too.

Medbie said...

It's REALLY late, so I want to make sure I'm reading this correctly. Can we write more than one sentence. I guess what I'm trying to say is, are we to use 10 words total in sentences, or one sentence total with up to ten words? (Excuse a 3am surfer for her fogginess. :P )

Debi said...

Medbie,
Sorry the instructions are unclear. I sent you an e-mail which hopefully cleared things up! So happy you're going to play!

Anonymous said...

i is confused too... :0

Debi said...

JP and everyone else as well,

I apologize that I didn't make the instructions more clear! Hopefully this will help:

You can write as many sentences as you want, just so you don't use more than 10 of the words. So you could write 10 different sentences, each using one word. Or you could write 2 sentences using 2 words each and 6 sentences using 1 word each. However, you want to do it. And of course, you don't have to use 10 words at all...just that 10 gives you the most chances of earning points.

Did this make any more sense? If not, just ask.

Jean said...

Wow! It looks as though there will be some real competition this time around. Here goes my shot at it! Ten words used (draconian, cudgel, soupcon, kitbag, brigand, doyen, limn, binnacle, thralldom, recrudesce) in nine sentences.

It’s a small world—the same day that “draconian” appears on the vocabulary list, I got a political e-mail about “draconian cuts to Medicare.”

The raven used the twig as a cudgel to try to dislodge the shiny earring stuck in the plant.

PattyPuss licked her lips contentedly, thinking that she liked the soupcon of mint in the mole she had just caught in the herb garden.

As he stuffed the necklaces into his kitbag, the brigand smiled, thinking of all that he could buy with the proceeds of his plunder.

As doyen, the grey wolf bore responsibility for ensuring the pack’s survival through the hard winter.

The witness tried as best she could to limn the person she had seen running out of the bank.

The first mate grabbed the binnacle for support as the waves whipped the boat from side to side.

It would not be a thrill to be sold into thralldom.

The thought that smallpox might recrudesce made the scientist break out in hives.

Steve said...

Tired of her thralldom, she took up a cudgel against her oppressors.

The parlous state of relations between the two sides was the result of a palaver where serious negotiation should have been.

The forced deus ex machina did little to placate the critics' acerbic wit.

The kitbag-covered binnacle was no bother for the skilled navigator.

The cat burglar's well-honed skill made his larcenous incursions nearly undetectable.

Rich said...

acerbic - My dad's acerbic response left no doubt that the answer was "no".

prosaic - I am sick and tired of my math teacher's prosaic lectures.

draconian - Although my children consider it draconian, I have no problem taking their Nintendos away when they are acting ugly.

soporific - After she told me that my powerpoint lecture was soporific, I fell into despair.

doyen - As the doyen of our children, she has much power over her brothers.

kitbag - I was astonished as he reached into his kitbag and pulled out an African rock python that he let out into the grass to play.

Medbie said...

What is the deadline for this week? I haven't had a chance to finish up my sentences but want to be sure I don't miss out!

Debi said...

Medbie,
I'm sorry, but you missed it. It's stated at the bottom of the word list that the sentences needed to be in by Thursday morning, but we let it go until Thursday evening, hoping you were going to play but were just running late. I do hope you'll play next week though...there's still 7 weeks left in this game, so there's plenty of time to catch up!